WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth spent the day in the Walt Disney World theme parks yesterday and has plenty of newsworthy photos to share with us (mostly of Town Square Theater with a hint of Tiki Room):
Sign pointing guests inside
WDWNT Reporter Banks Lee visited Town Square Theater at the Magic Kingdom during it’s soft opening on March 30th and has a video walkthrough of the experience in both the Mickey and Princess meet and greets:
Town Square Theater on Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom held some soft openings yesterday to welcome the very first guests to the new homes of Mickey Mouse and the Disney Princesses. We have a ton of photos from WDWNT Reporters Robert Ashburn and Taylor Martina to share with you. Keep in mind that they both made several trips through the lines at the new location, so these photos are presented in the order they were taken. Basically, you will see that we go in circles from entrance, to meet and greet, to entrance over and over again. We would have attempted to sort all of these photos together in order, but we really wanted to get this information out to you as soon as possible. Without any further ado, here is an in-depth look at Town Square Theater:
Wait times sign for Mickey inside. Don’t expect to see this wait very often…
WDWNT Reporter Banks Lee visited The Magic Kingdom yesterday and took some great pictures of some newly revealed details at Town Square Theater on Main Street U.S.A.:
Banners for the Princesses and Magician Mickey are now up outside
The sign that was installed a few weeks ago
The Princesses will be living here until at least late 2012
This will be Mickey’s permanent home
Wait time signs await activation
Inside, work is wrapping up
A beautiful tile mural wrapping the new area into the Main Street story has been revealed
Signage directs guests to the three separate venues. The theater entrance is the gateway to the meet and greet experiences
Tony’s Town Square restaurant has reconfigured their waiting area so a line does not flow into the center of the new lobby that will now be pretty busy
This area is Box Office Gifts. There is a sign outside for a “Curtain Call Collectibles”, which we assume is another shop at the exit of the meet and greets
The Town Square Theater is officially opening on April 1st, so stay tuned to WDW News Today as we keep you up-to-date on this exciting project!
From the Disney Parks Blog:
At the Disney Parks Blog, we’re as excited as you are to learn more about Walt Disney Imagineering’s (WDI) plans for Town Square Theater, the new permanent home for Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom Park that’s set to debut in early April.
I’m happy to report that earlier today, WDI gave us an earful – pun intended – on the details planned for this exciting new meet-and-greet area.
In keeping with the small-town theme of Main Street, U.S.A., Town Square Theater will take on the tradition of turn-of-the-Twentieth-century theaters that served as the center of excitement in small towns, offering thrills through vaudeville and other forms of entertainment. At Town Square Theater, families will be able to go backstage to meet Magician Mickey Mouse, who is excited to meet and greet guests in his rehearsal room.
And of course, WDI has designed the entire experience to be magical. Guests will first enter the theater building through a lobby that will serve as a hub for character meet-and-greet queues, the Box Office Gifts merchandise shop and Tony’s Town Square Restaurant.
According to WDI Concept Designer Jason Grandt, the lobby will be decorated in gold and cream colors that were chosen to recreate the feel of a historic theater.
“Upon entering the lobby, guests will be faced with a beautiful tile mosaic featuring the Town Square Theater logo,” Jason said. “The color scheme reflects that of historical theaters with a little inspiration from our master magician, Mickey Mouse.”
Just beyond the lobby, guests will pass through an ornate arch and enter a queue to meet either Magician Mickey Mouse or the Disney princesses. Special interactive posters featuring Mickey’s various magic acts will be in place to enhance the guests’ journey through the queue line, which will take them deep into the backstage corridors of the theater.
“You will recognize the poster style as that of turn-of-the-century magicians such as Houdini,” Jon Georges, WDI director/senior show producer said. “But these posters carry Mickey’s magical touch that can bring them to life and interact with you as you wait.”
WDI is keeping us guessing on what comes next, but did send these mysterious photos for us to share.
WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited the Magic Kingdom yesterday and took a TON of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:
Time to “Let the Memories Begin”…
Read More about Adam Roth’s 3/9/11 Magic Kingdom Photo Report
A press release from Disney gives us more details on Mickey Mouse’s new home, the Town Square Theater, opening later this Spring:
Magic Kingdom officials have a hunch a really “hot ticket” in their realm this summer is going to be something other than a ride, a snack or a show. Rather, it’s a first-ever opportunity to nail down a time to meet with Mickey Mouse.
When meet-and-greets with Mickey move into a permanent new location in Town Square later this spring, Magic Kingdom guests will be able to obtain a Disney’s FASTPASS ticket specifying a one-hour window when they can return to see the popular character for hugs, photos and autographs — without waiting in the standby queue. It will mark the first time the complimentary, computerized service has been available for a character meet-and-greet at any Disney Park.
Since spending time with Disney characters is at the top of the “must-do list” of many guests, the FASTPASS ticket will allow them to experience their Mickey Mouse meet-and-greets more conveniently. As a result, guests will be able to devote more time enjoying other Magic Kingdom experiences with family and friends.
The new meet-and-greet location, Town Square Theater, will be located inside the current Exposition Hall area just inside the park entrance. Imagineers already are working to completely transform the space for the new experience. “This isn’t just remodeling Expo Hall; it is completely re-imagining this entire venue as a beautiful Victorian-era theater and the new home for Mickey Mouse,” Jon Georges, WDI Director, Senior Show Producer, said.
“Mickey and Main Street, U.S.A. are great examples of pure Americana that complement each other very well,” Concept Designer Jason Grandt said. “We drew a lot of inspiration from classic Mickey animated shorts such as The Nifty Nineties and Mickey’s Grand Opera. Many of the scenes in these shorts look like they take place right on Main Street.”
Guests arrive at a building befitting Mickey Mouse’s stardom — with a grand-Victorian-theater elevation, including a marquee that glistens with gold-leaf trim and sparkles with lights. Inside, there’s a mosaic floor, lush curtains with gold rope tie-backs and polished-brass chandeliers. Imagineers are creating new elements and surprises for Magic Kingdom guests, including an interactive queue — with an extra touch of Disney magic — and highly themed retail shops.
The queue takes guests “backstage,” where Mickey is waiting to greet them in a rehearsal-room environment amid posters, steamer trunks and stage props.
In addition, during the New Fantasyland construction, royalty will be visiting as the Disney Princesses will be in Town Square Theater to meet and greet their loyal subjects.
Currently, guests can visit with Mickey Mouse in Tomorrowland, in a location to the right of Space Mountain. Meet-and-greet experiences with the Disney Princesses are currently at Adventureland Verandah.
Josh Siegel visited the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and has a few newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:
Goodbye Toontown…
Read More about Josh Siegel’s 2/12/11 Magic Kingdom Photo Report
In honor of the closure of Mickey’s Toontown Fair, which has existed in some fashion at the Magic Kingdom since 1988, here are a few pictures of how Mickey and Minnie spent their last day in their old home:
Goodbye Toontown!
WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel paid a visit to Downtown Disney on Sunday evening and has some newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:
See folks, this is what happens when you don’t charge admission…
Read More about Josh Siegel’s 1/30/11 Downtown Disney Photo Report
