Photo Reports – Page 2 – WDWNT Archive

PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 8/1/16 (Figment’s Footprints Erased, Finding Dory, New Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT on August 5, 2016

Let’s see what’s new and exciting around Epcot in our very latest photo report:

The banner in the Frozen Ever After queue was getting beaten up pretty bad, so they put a metal plate inside of it to make it sturdier…

Plenty of Soarin’ Around the World merchandise available in The Land

The Mills Stage in Canada is currently home to Les Parfaits Inconnus, which you can watch below if you haven’t sen it yet:

The bar inside the Canada pavilion was quietly removed recently

All gone

MouseGear is selling a number of “reversible” plush right now

The Mater one makes no sense…

Taste Track (when open) now sells ice cream

Extensive work is once again being done to the interior of MouseGear

A lot of items were moved around again as well

Elena of Avalor has her own section in the shop

Some new oped edition pins released recently

The foam Star Wars weaponry has finally made its way to the east coast

Some new magnets

This register is somehow open during the work above it…

Another reversible plush

Finding Dory merchandise has taken the spotlight away from Star Wars… for now…

Found this giant EPCOT Center log inside what’s left of Innoventions West

Figment’s footprints at the exit of Journey Into Imagination, leading to the ImageWorks, were erased recently

Turtle Talk has new signage to promote the additions to the show

After 9 years, the Epcot 25th anniversary timeline was removed from the hallway near Club Cool

Â This awesome Crush souvenir cup is popping up at various locations around Walt Disney World, but here it was at the Beach Club.

PHOTO REPORT: Disneyland Resort 7/7/16 (Star Wars Land Wreckage, Marvel in DCA, ETC.)

WDWNT on July 20, 2016

Disneyland Reporter Conner Purzycki is back to bring us the very latest from the Disneyland Resort in our first photo report from the west coast in some time. Let’s see what’s new and exciting:

We begin by looking at the continuing work on Star Wars land

The Fort on Tom Sawyer Island is in the construction zone

Foundation work has begun

Toontown in the distance

The Fantasyland Skyway station was finally removed recently

Walt seems excited about it… *ducks to avoid projectiles*

In Downtown Disney, work continues on the second Starbucks location near Earl of Sandwich

The House of Blues closed and moved to Garden Walk nearby, no announcement yet on what will replace it

Chapel Hats, which has a store at Disney Springs, now has a shop at Downtown Disney Anaheim

New recycling bins have appeared around the resort, allowing guests to dump out the liquid first and then throw away the cup or bottle

The Star Trader is now selling rubber Star Wars weaponry…

No visible changes to be seen inside Star Wars Launch Bay since Super Hero HQ was closed

Autopia reopened a while ago, but more changes are still expected over the coming months

Star Wars construction has made a visible dent in the treeline near the Fantasyland Theater

Where trees and the Skyway station once were is now nothing

The Big Thunder Trail will remain closed until the completion of the project

The construction is quite visible while riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

The view from just outside Big Thunder

The tunnel lives…

Looking out at the Rivers of America

The Mark Twain isn’t moving, but you can still enjoy it

A deserted Tom Sawyer Island

Moving over to DCA, Soarin’ Around the World is now open

Lines have been noticeably longer for the new attraction

You can now get a bacon mac and cheese cone at the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land

Big crowds still showing up for Frozen: Live at the Hyperion

Spider-Man and Captain America enjoying their new home in Hollywood Land

If you don’t get here early, this is a pretty common sight

The ads for the Stark Expo are a nice touch given the New York backdrop for both characters

Rather than bring back Mad T Party or tear this down, Disneyland Resort opted to turn the backlot area into “Jammin’ on the Backlot”

There’s still a fountain under this stage…

The sneak peek of Pete’s Dragon is happening now in Sunset Showcase, former home of Muppetvision 3-D

PHOTOS, VIDEO: New-Look Facade for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress Completed at the Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on July 20, 2016

Since we reported on the beginning of the new paint scheme a few weeks ago, I know many readers have been anxious to see the finished product on the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom. Well, it finally appears that the project is nearing completion:

The doors now feature the original pavilion logo used at the park, although the arrows are going the wrong way… (we are nitpicking though)

The design is loosely based on concept art John Hench created for the Disneyland version of the attraction.

Any remaining gear-related signage should be leaving shortly, probably during the short refurbishment next week.

If you want to see the new facade in action, we also have a video to share with you today:

PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 6/8/16 (Frozen Ever After, Margaritas Return, Frozen Coke with Alcohol, ETC.)

WDWNT on June 22, 2016

I took a quick trip to Epcot last night to see what was new around the park, so mlet’s see what I found in our latest photo report:

New Epcot kid’s shirt

Pluto recently took Daisy’s place in World Showcase

Rose and Crown in the U.K. has more merchandise than most Walt Disney World attractions…

These pamphlets are currently being handed out at The Seas

This cool lithograph was for sale in the Seas gift shop

The Promenade transitioned out of Flower and Garden with a Chili Hot Dog

With the Margarita booth closed, Mexico is keeping the Flower and Garden booth around to sell Margaritas and a few small bites

The closed booth

The Royal Sommerhus is looking good, opens officially on the 29th

Frozen Ever After is coming along nicely as well

The last store in the chain of Norway shops is now all Frozen merchandise

New walls separate it from the attraction exit for now

The former changing room is walled off

The Refreshment Outpost axed the frozen yogurt it has had for over 2 years now in favor of ice cream…

Liberty Inn is now serving a Frozen Coke with a float of whiskey

The World Traveler store in International Gateway is selling bottles of wine and glasses now

Just in case you want wine on the way in or out of the park I guess…

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 6/9/16 (Finding Dory, Grand Floridian, New Tiki Room Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT on June 22, 2016

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen and myself recently visited the Magic Kingdom and the nearby resort hotels and have some newsworthy photos to share in our latest photo report, so let’s take a look:

They recently started selling a lot of Little Golden Book style merchandise, including these notepads

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom

The City Hall Restrooms are still closed for refurbishment

Coke bottles at the Disney Parks currently have Disney song lyrics on them

Heritage House is still behind tarps

Fairly new Star Wars C-3P0 and R2-D2 MagicBand

Finding Dory merchandise can now be found all around the resort

Chip and Dale have moved to Tomorrowland, while Woody and Jessie have taken their old spot

Last year’s March Magic desgins are now being sold as a mystery pin set

You can get 5 in a pouch for $27.99

You’ll be happy to know I finished my set 😉

More and more Disneyland Diamond Celebration merchandise is finding its way to WDW

Gaston’s Tavern menu seems set now, mostly pastries and LeFou’s Brew

And that monstrosity

New Happy Birthday pin that comes in a box

With the Castle stage show not performing, the Main Street Vehicles are getting more time to appear daily

The fun ends June 17th whenÂ Mickeyâs Royal Friendship Faire debuts

The upper level of Carousel of Progress has gone from orange to blue

Painters were out during operating hours painting the stage

Some new lighting installed in the stage

There is now variant version of Haunted Mansion issue #3, so Disney Parks have the regular version

Frontierland Trading Post had quite the shakeup last week, everything was moved around

The left side of the shop is now pins

The right side is all MagicBands and assorted band accessories

I was happy to see Frontierland and Splash Mountain merchandise is now being carried in the Briar Patch shop

New Huggies signage is being installed at changing tables all around WDW

We already have an entire post about the new Carousel of Progress paint scheme…

A new Tiki Room snowglobe available in Adventureland

The Grand Floridian has a fair amount of new logo merchandise available in M. Mouse MercantileÂ

Meanwhile, work continues on enhancements to Wilderness Lodge in preparation for the Copper Creek Villas

PHOTOS: Grand Floridian and Polynesian Beaches Get Permanent Fences

WDWNT on June 22, 2016

After the recent alligator attack, we figured Disney would do something, and we speculated on what exactly it would be on this week’s WDW News Tonight show on Wednesday night. Well, now we know: permanent rope fences have been installed along the waterfront at the Grand Floridian and Polynesian beaches. The signs warn of alligators and snakes in the area.

PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 5/25/16 (New Norway Restrooms, ImageWorks Lounge, ETC.)

WDWNT on June 7, 2016

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen (and our good friends Chris and Elizabeth Chatron) recently visited Epcot and have some newsworthy photos to share with us from their journeys, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting:

Soarin’ will reopen for a limited run on Friday leading into Soarin’ Around the World

Work is wrapping up on the new DVC lounge in the old, upstairs ImageWorks at Imagination as it will open June 6th

Work continues on the Royal Sommerhus and Frozen Ever After, both officially opening June 21st

In the meantime, the new Norway restrooms have opened, largely expanded and remodeled

The restrooms are big, just like the newer ones offered by the American Adventure

PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 5/31/16 (Soarin’ Returns, Frozen Facade Revealed, DVC Lounge Nears Completion, ETC.)

WDWNT on June 7, 2016

There was so much happening at Epcot over the weekend that I just had to make a visit, so let’s see what’s new and exciting around the park in our latest photo report:

The original Soarin’ is now back until June 16th

There was quite the rush to get in line for Soarin’ the first day back

The new men’s restrooms downstairs by the attraction also opened

A new elevator was also added to the left of the attraction entrance

Some minor changes were made to the Soarin’ queue

Screens installed

New wallpaper and lighting

We will return shortly…

Work continues on the new Disney Vacation Club lounge at Imagination

The sign was being installed while I was there

There it is…

Now back to Soarin’

New carpet

The queue games appear to be gone in favor of screens, at least for now…

The new theater, Concourse C, is now open and functioning

Instead of remastering the Florida-only pre-show, they are simply running the HD version of the pre-show from California

Will Patrick return? We hope so…

The new theater reminded me of all the reasons I love Soarin’ when it’s new: the smells work and the projections looked fantastic

The new digital projections are amazing, crystal clear

The third theater does leave a lengthy exit process back to The Land

Select SHAG Star Wars merchandise is now available at the Art of Disney at Epcot

This new limited edition MagicBand debuted over the weekend

Work continues on the Royal Sommerhus meet and greet, the Margarita stand will close permanently tomorrow to make room

The facade of Frozen Ever After has been revealed

Quite different from Maelstrom

The old waterfall was sealed up as well

While stopping in the U.K. pavilion, I couldn’t help but notice that the Rose and Crown has more merchandise than most Walt Disney World attractions…

Over at Turtle Talk with Crush, characters from Finding Dory have been added to the show

There are entirely new segments based around new characters, even though the movie isn’t out yet…

I always found it strange that Squirt did not appear, but that has been fixed now

PHOTO REPORT: Hollywood Studios 6/6/16 (Star Wars, Echo Lake Eats, Toy Story, ETC.)

WDWNT on June 7, 2016

There is a lot going on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios these days, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting in our very latest photo report:

Welcome to Hollywood

Trolley Car Cafe now offers two unique lunch sandwiches

Work continues on the two fairly un-themed towers for the new Star Wars fireworks show

Billboard for Finding Dory up behind the Great Movie Ride

Displays for now-cancelled ABC shows still up in the ABC Commissary

Writer’s Stop now has this sign outside to attempt to draw more guests in

There are scrims up in the Muppetvision exit so guests can’t peek at the demolition nearby

Lots of ads for The Muppets still up

Oasis Canteen added a kid’s meal and a Mickey Brownie to the menu, check out our review to see what we thought of the nuggets…

Finding Dory window display at Mickey’s of Hollywood

A Finding Dory phone case available

The projectors for the new Star Wars fireworks have been installed

Meanwhile, the old speaker towers are being covered to match the surrounding buildings

Echo Lake Eats opened recently

This contains three food booths to help with the overwhelmed counter service establishments at the park

Heading back to Oasis Canteen, we had to try the Mickey brownie

It’s pretty cute…

It was as pretty as it was terrible unfortunately, very dry and no flavor, certainly not anything that resembled a brownie at least…

Still not much to see by the exit of the new Toy Story Midway Mania track

Even though the area was cleaned out, the Tower of Terror bar idea has been shelved for now

A new mug for sale at 5 & 10

Pins have moved into The Darkroom for some reason, just open edition though

Celebrity Spotlight finally got some permanent signage

Work continues on Pizza Rizzo, the replacement for Pizza Planet

Inside Muppetvision 3-D, a few new interactive elements await activation

Another look at Pizza Rizzo

Red Carpet Dreams also received new signage as well

There are signs between the two meet and greets as well

Instead of holding stroller parking for Mickey and Minnie back here, Chip and Dale have found a home here instead

The speaker tower on Mickey Avenue is covered as well

At the end of PIXAR Place, a merchandise cart and Churro cart have taken up residence where the new Toy Story Mania track exits

Limited release Star Wars phone cases and MagicBands for sale, only at Star Wars Launch Bay

The thrid track at Toy Story Mania is helping, just 55 minutes at 2:00PM on a weekend

Honestly, the wait was probably even shorter than 55 minutes

PHOTO REPORT: Hollywood Studios 5/6/16 (Star Wars Land, Toy Story, May the 4th, ETC.)

WDWNT on May 18, 2016

Myself and reporter Dirk Wallen both visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios this week and have a ton of newsworthy photos to share with you from the park, so let’s take a look: