Matt Paul has provided us with some photos (which are the first to make use of our larger site width) and a video of the ongoing stage construction for “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” taken yesterday at the Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland:
This construction is taking place directly in front of the old Skyway building in Tomorrowland
This video is also available in HD HERE
It’s finally here!!! The Year of a Million Dreams has just ended after over 2 years and now Disney Parks wants to know “What Will You Celebrate?” in 2009. Here’s some of what we have to look forward to (even though WDWNT has reported most of this already):
New immersive fun in theme parks
Disney Parks’ initiative to create more immersive experiences continues in 2009 at Walt Disney World Resort with premieres in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Here’s what’s in store:
- “The American Idol Experience” (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) – Starry-eyed Disney guests will get a taste of TV’s pop culture phenomenon – up close and personal – when Disney’s Hollywood Studios grand opens this “American Idol” attraction in mid-February. It’s another immersive opportunity as guests will be able to experience the challenge of auditioning, the rush of performing on stage in competition or the thrill of judging the performances in a live interactive setting modeled after the “American Idol” set. There will be several showtimes daily. Guests advancing through the screening process have the chance, in the nightly final competition, to win a guaranteed reservation for a regional audition for the “American Idol” TV show.
- Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure (Epcot) – Inspired by Disney Channel’s Emmy Award-winning “Kim Possible” animated series, guests of all ages will become secret agents to save the world from various comical villains and their mad inventions in this ultra-interactive adventure packed with mystery and excitement. Guests team up with members of Team Possible in this high-tech experience slated for a late-January opening in seven World Showcase pavilions representing countries on three continents.
- “Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! Street Party” (Magic Kingdom) – It’s party time beginning in mid-February when a cast of Disney characters, stilt walkers and other performers processes down Main Street, U.S.A. toward Cinderella Castle to high-energy tunes such as “Breakout” and “I Like To Move It.” Five floats decked out as gift-wrapped packages are part of the procession, and near the castle, Mad Hatter, Genie, Lumiere and Sebastian – the life and light of the party – pop out of four huge boxes. They join about a dozen other Disney characters headed by Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse to mix and mingle and dance in the street with Magic Kingdom guests during a 12-15-minute party scheduled to take place three times daily.
New high-tech innovations on land and seaHigh-tech innovations will help guests navigate theme park fun and treat guests to new thrills on both land and the high seas:
- Verizon (in Disney theme parks) – Marking a first in both the travel and mobile industries, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Verizon are teaming up to enhance the guest experience at Walt Disney World Resort (and at Disneyland Resort in California). Guests will be able to access an array of features on their Verizon Wireless phones including the ability to easily locate shows, restaurants and the Disney characters anywhere inside the parks; get real-time attraction availability information; access mobile games; receive messages from characters and more.
- Disney Digital 3-D (aboard Disney Cruise Line ships)– Movie entertainment at sea is being revolutionized with the debut of Disney Digital 3-D, a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience just introduced onboard the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. Guests will delight as first-run, feature Disney films leap off the silver screen and take on a whole new dimension in the onboard theaters. Tridimensional images will combine with lasers, fog, streamers, and special lighting effects to create an immersive movie-going experience like no other at sea. During these once-a-cruise special engagements, guests will feel the rush of being part of the hottest show in town.
- The Hall of Presidents (in Magic Kingdom) – An Audio-Animatronics version of President Barack Obama will join representations of the previous 43 presidents of the United States as part of an attraction that has been celebrating American history since Walt Disney World Resort opened. Disney Imagineers are also updating a broad array of show elements. Reopening is slated for early July.
‘Re-imagining’ Downtown DisneyFollowing the fall 2008 opening of T-Rex: A Prehistoric Family Adventure, A Place to Eat, Shop, Explore and Discover, the “re-imagining” of Downtown Disney continues with:
- Transformation of the Portobello Yacht Club – The name of this long-time favorite restaurant is shortened to “Portobello,” and an all-new menu reflects a new, warm, Italian trattoria décor. Portobello is open daily for lunch and dinner and is owned and operated by Levy Restaurants.
- New waterfront dining spot – A high-energy restaurant and bar opening in spring 2009 will feature Mexican and South American cuisine, an international wine bar and a tequila bar of more than 50 kinds of tequila and 10 signature frozen margaritas. The new as yet unnamed restaurant is being developed by E-Brands Restaurant Group, a multi-concept restaurant group which currently owns and operates Timpano Chophouse and Martini Bars, Samba Rooms, Taqueria Canonita, Aquaknox, David Burke, Salsa Orlando and Canonita Express in a number of cities across the United States. The Downtown Disney restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m. until late night with nightly entertainment.
‘Re-branding’ the sports complex
Aligning the world’s No. 1 family vacation destination with the worldwide leader in sports, Walt Disney World Resort and ESPN are joining forces to “re-brand” Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex with the ESPN brand, creating an entertaining and immersive experience for the nearly 2 million athletes, coaches and spectators who come through the sports complex each year. Plans for the re-branding initiative are still in the development stage, but initial concepts involve:
- Renaming the sports complex and incorporating the signature elements of ESPN – Throughout the 220-acre facility, which is a leading venue for amateur and professional sports in the country, the project aims to enhance the experience of both athletes and spectators by connecting them to their favorite ESPN programs, personalities and elements and making them feel like they’ve made it to the “big time.”
10 new places to go, 4 new places to settle downIn 2009, Disney Cruise Line is charting two new eastern Caribbean courses. Meanwhile, Adventures by Disney is adding eight destinations, including some of the most exotic and remote locations in the world, to its list of trips. And Disney Vacation Club is offering guests visiting Disney Parks four new resort experiences. Here’s a look at what’s coming:
- New eastern Caribbean itineraries (Disney Cruise Line) – St. Croix will be a featured stop on one new seven-night itinerary, and Tortola will be featured on another seven-night itinerary, giving Disney Cruise Line guests more choices than ever before to explore the beautiful islands of the Caribbean. Both islands are new to Disney Cruise Line, increasing the seven-night Caribbean choices on the Disney Magic to four itineraries (Disney’s traditional eastern and western Caribbean itineraries will continue). Itineraries with St. Croix and itineraries with Tortola sail select dates throughout 2009.
- New family-friendly adventure vacations (Adventures by Disney) – An expedition to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, a safari in Africa, and an exploration of Alaska are among eight new adventures in 2009, giving guests a total of 23 vacation options to choose from. Other new Adventures by Disney itineraries: Italy and Switzerland; Boston, Newport, New York City; Central Italy; Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco; and Glacier National Park and Banff National Park.
- New ‘home-away-from-home’ accommodations (Disney Vacation Club) – Four new options in 2009 will combine to revive “treehouse living” at Walt Disney World Resort, immerse guests in the African experience … in Florida, bring vacation ownership so close to Magic Kingdom that families can blow Tinker Bell a kiss goodnight and use Cinderella Castle as their nightlight, and provide the first Disney Vacation Club accommodations on the West Coast:
- The Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa– Treehouse living, a cherished tradition from 1975-2002, returns with the opening (scheduled for summer) of 60 three-bedroom villas elevated 10 feet off the ground on pedestals and beams designed to blend into the forest glens where they are nestled, providing Saratoga Springs with a new room category.
- Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Having completed the conversion of select rooms at Jambo House (at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge) into vacation villas, Kidani Village is taking shape (for phased openings in the spring and fall) with thatched roofs and hewn timber design. Kidani means “necklace” and the building is shaped like a piece of native African jewelry with guest villas forming the beads, garden-like walkways creating the knots in between and the lobby representing the ornament or jewel at its center.
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort – The 15-story curvilinear tower (slated for a fall opening) is designed to complement the fabled styling of the original building, which opened with Magic Kingdom on Oct. 1, 1971. The crescent shape, which features 295 two-bedroom-equivalent villas, promises to deliver some of the most dramatic views available anywhere at Walt Disney World Resort – some of scenic stretches of Bay Lake, others with views of Magic Kingdom.
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa – Offering 50 two-bedroom-equivalent vacation villas (in late fall), this expansion of the existing hotel at Disneyland Resort is an architectural and artistic celebration of California’s renowned Arts & Crafts style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The first guest has already been awarded free entry to a Walt Disney World theme park for the day in 2009:
Using an oversized park ticket created for the occasion, Seattle, Wash. resident Andrew DaCosta enters the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Jan. 1, 2009. DaCosta was honored this morning as the first person in the nation to receive free admission to a Disney theme park on his birthday as part of Disney’s “What Will You Celebrate?” DaCosta, who turns 49 today, redeemed his “Free On Your Birthday” registration at the Magic Kingdom Guest Relations window at 7:31 a.m. Jan. 1 is the first day of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. In addition to offering everyone who visits a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park on their birthday in 2009 free admission, the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign features new theme park entertainment, added celebration experiences and new ways for guests to customize their own “celebration vacation” at both vacation resorts. (Preston Mack, photographer)
Even though we are a few days removed from it, here are some interesting pictures taken from the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade of some new attractions on the way to WDW:
Concept art of the “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party”, debuting in February 2009
The stage inside the Superstar Television Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Original Concept Art
Original Concept Art
Real stage under construction
Theater and stage
Completed stage with some rules at the bottom
Robert Ashburn of Figment’s Media.Net and FTN has provided us with some his trip to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some newsworthy items using this new gallery option:
Space in Tomorrowland being prepared for Stitch’s Supersonic Dance Celebration that will debut in the Spring
The old Skyway building is also getting some much needed TLC during this time
Haven’t seen these signs in a while, I guess this still is 1994 Tomorrowland
Sign directing guests to the restrooms around the walls during this refurbishment
The entire building is not under tarps
A closer look
Resort-wide sales continue through the holiday season
The refurbishment of the second half of Tinker Bell’s Treasures reveals a new shop, Castle Couture
Some great new decor can be found in the new shop
Aurora’s dress changes colors as Fauna and Merryweather fight over red and blue
This seems to be an extension of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, selling the princess outfits that parents can purchase
There is a section for each princess
The work on the upper level of Pinnochio’s Village Haus is complete and it looks great
Work on the lower section continues
The exterior of the Hall of Presidents is now being refurbished in preparation for the July 2009 re-opening
The self-service kiosks at Pecos Bill’s have been moved to the center, surprising when the entire restaurant closes for refurbishment in January
It seems people are still afraid to use them
We’ll end this report with a nighttime picture of the new food vendor replacing the Frontierland Fry Wagon
Matt Paul was at the Magic Kingdom on Sunday to attend the Very Merry Christmas Party, and shares with us some very interesting photos:
A huge vending location of some kind is rising up behind the construction walls in the location of the former fry wagon
You can see fixtures for signage and an awning in this picture
construction materials behind the building on the hill
A few interesting developments from the last few days to note in this mixed-bag report:
-Matt Paul is reporting that the Mickey Mouse float in the Disney Dreams Come True Parade at the Magic Kingdom has been removed from the parade to be converted to the opening float for the latest version of the parade that will debut around January. The rumored name of the new parade will be the Celebrate Disney Dreams Come True Parade and it will most likely welcome in a slightly altered soundtrack for the parade using the “Celebrate You” theme song of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign. In the meantime, Mickey is appearing in a familiar spot on the castle finale float, where he once stood in his sorcerer’s apprentice costume during the Remember the Magic Parade. Matt will provide us with some pictures of this change once he returns home. Stay tuned for more information on this change as it becomes available.
-Disney has put up a number of new YouTube videos for the holiday season that you can view below:
-WDWNT Podcast Episode 72 is now available for download. Here’s a short synopsis:
Join me, Tom Corless, and a cast including Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman, Matt Paul , Jose Castillo, Adam Roth, and Luke Manning for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between You and the Walt Disney World Resort. I hope you enjoy all of the Walt Disney World information and fun we have to offer on this “missing mountain” edition of the WDW News Today Podcast.
To kick off episode 72, we have all the recent happenings from the last week to discuss in our Walt Disney World Resort News and Rumor Report. This time around, we’ll be talking about some early changes to the “What Will You Celebrate?” entertainment line-up for 2009, a major Magic Kingdom E-Ticket attraction that may go missing next year, and just what attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios may not be operating next time you visit the park.
Following that, we’ll have the third edition of “What were they thinking?”, where we will try to examine why certain decisions are made by Walt Disney World management. This time around, we’ll be discussing the presence of famous celebrities in Disney attractions and if it is a good or bad thing for the parks.
Finally, Town Square Talk is back this week, highlighting the hottest topics around our WDWNT Network of websites. First up, Matt Paul is here to highlight some new Disney Park videos you can download from the WDWNTube (wdwntube.com). I’m also making some Town Square Talk this week, with news on some upcoming segments for the podcast that you can vote for as part of WDWNT Interactive. Jason Diffendal also drops in and informs us about the next WDWCelebrations event coming up in May 2009 that has a lot to do with the segment that follows this one.
Finally, to end this weeks program, we kick start our countdown of the 20 Biggest Moments in Disney’s Hollywood Studios History as voted by you with a look at what took the #20 spot. We’ll also be examining just how important this moment is in the 20 year history of the park. We hope to see this segment improve as it continues with a larger group of participants, we were a little short on staff this week because the holidays are quickly approaching.
To subscribe to the WDW News Today podcast on Itunes, go to this link. If you do not have Itunes, visit our Podcast Download Directory to download or listen to all of our shows
This episode is also available in an enhanced version. An enhanced podcast is a podcast with added features that standard podcasts don’t have. Enhanced podcasts include many features like Chapter listings, this lets you skip through chapters or see what is in store for this weeks show. Enhanced podcasts also have images to let you differ the chapters by. Enhanced podcasts have one negative feature, you can not play them on most MP3 players. The file format for this is a .m4a which can play on Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. You will also need iTunes or Windows Media Player to be able to skip through chapters. If you need or would like the standard edition, download the normal edition listed below this file both on Itunes and in our podcast directory.
I just received the 2009 Disney Parks Vacation Planning DVD in the mail yesterday and here are some notes on what I found inside:
-The package and DVD is littered with balloons, it looks like a seasonal overlay of the 2008 DVD, very similar:
-The WDW brochure inside has also been updated for the celebration:
-More interestingly, this brochure features a map of the Magic Kingdom missing one of its signature attractions…
Notice there is no mention of Space Mountain, it simply sits there as a mystery structure
As many of you who follow this site are well aware, Space Mountain is scheduled for a still “unannounced” refurbishment in 2009, and the fact that the attraction is missing from this pamphlet and the DVD itself should remove the doubt from anyone’s mind about upcoming changes over at Space Mountain next year. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as we gather more information on this rumored refurbishment.
Even though we are just about three weeks away from the beginning of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign at the Walt Disney World Resort, we have already had a major change in plans. Now don’t panic just yet, it’s actually quite a positive one. Instead of taking the same exact concept that Disneyland park is going to use for what they are calling “Celebrate! A Street Party” on Main Street U.S.A. like was originally planned, the Magic Kingdom will be receiving a larger and more extensive version of this mini-parade/show beginning Spring 2009. Here is a release on the new offering:
At the Walt Disney World® Resort, the “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party” will come to life in early spring 2009 at the Magic Kingdom® Park. It will feature multiple floats (in this case, “party boxes”) each hosted by a Disney Character with fantastic upbeat music that will have you dancing and celebrating in front of Cinderella Castle. Hosts include Genie (from Aladdin), Lumiere (from Beauty and the Beast), Timon (The Lion King), Sebastian (The Little Mermaid) and the Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland ).
The concept sounds much stronger than the Disneyland version, as you can see here:
Beginning in spring 2009, the heart of Disneyland® Park will rock to the beat of some of the best party tunes of all time during “Celebrate! A Street Party.” Balloons and streamers fill the air on Main Street, U.S.A.®, while crazy conga lines, swing dancers and Disney Characters take to the street to celebrate with you!
It should be interesting to see how this “Main Street Family Fun Day Parade” replacement does when it debuts next year at the Magic Kingdom. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information on this new entertainment offering becomes available.
Just thought we would take a moment to look at some recent commercials the Walt Disney World Resort has put together for a variety of topics:
Holidays at WDW
A more recent “What Will You Celebrate?” commercial
3-D Theaters on the Disney Cruise Line
While there are still 3 months remaining in the long running Year of a Million Dreams at the Disney Parks, the marketing campaign for “What Will You Celebrate?” is already in full swing. If you head over to the official Walt Disney World website, you can plainly see that the mouse-ear balloons have already taken over the place. More interestingly, there is now a Walt Disney World Resort specific page for the 2009 celebration that focuses only on what guests of the Orlando Vacation Kingdom will be able to see or do when they are invited to “Celebrate Everyday!” beginning January 1st. You can see the new website by going HERE.
Did I mention that we now have an entire section for information on 2009’s “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign? If not, then be sure to follow the link in either the category section or by clicking the celebration logo located in the right sidebar of WDW News Today. We hope this will make it easier for you to follow all of the happenings for this upcoming celebration.
