Tidbits May 2008

[Figment!]

Tidbits
May 2008

Rehabs in Space

5/22/08 Recent reports from Structural Engineering and Operations have indicated that the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain is still tentatively planned to receive a major refurbishment. According to these reports, the current rehab plans call for the track to receive a major maintenance overhaul, a refurbished load area, new on-ride effects, and new single seater trains with on-board audio. While these reports have held that most (if not all) of the track will be replaced, the track layout will reportedly remain unchanged. The refurbishment is reportedly tentatively scheduled to start January 2009 and last 10-11 months.

A Passing Thought

5/22/08 The Fuel for Thought post-show exhibit at Test Track has closed for refurbishment with out prior announcment. The area is currently behind construction walls with out any indication if the area is being refurbished or replaced with a new exhibit.

Treehouse Re-Growth

5/22/08 Demolition of the Treehouse Villa's has begun. The demolition is quite noticeable to Guests in the passing area; however, there has yet to be any signifigant reports of the work affecting any Guests' stay at the nearby resorts.

4/8/08 Construction Permits have been filed for the major refurbishments of the Treehouse Villas' Pool and all 60 the Tree House Villa units. While these permits show signs of the project progressing, they do not shed any light on a potential completion date.

Kiosk Under the Big Top

5/22/08 A themed extension area of Dumbo the Flying Elephant has been added to Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. The circus themed alcove features a relatively large Disney Vacation Club kiosk themed to a circus tent. The area also includes a "wild Animals" Circus Car photo spot.

A More Contemporary Tower

5/13/08 Construction permits have been filed to prepare the construction site for a "new coffee counter" to be added to the Contemporary's Lobby. It is unclear from this permit if this is an addition to or replacement of the existing Contemporary Grounds location. Resort Cast reported plans to replace current Contemporary Grounds coffee shop with a new Children’s area and add a new coffee shop nearer to the entrance to the convention center back in October of 2005. The remainder of these plans have come to fruition, so it is likely these will as well, however these current permits neither wholly confirm nor deny these previously reported plans.

Epicurean Expansion

5/13/08 The Magic Kingdom park has announced that its Diamond Horseshoe Saloon dining location will offer lunch service on select days in Late May 2008. The Frontierland counter service location will offer a lunch serving of assorted sandwiches and snacks May 17, 24, 25, 27, and 30. The lunch service will be offered from 11:00 am till 4:00 pm on those select days.

A New Journey

5/13/08 The Meet & Greet portion of the Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian exhibit at Disney's Hollywood Studios has been announced to open May 16, 2008. Disney has also released further details about the Prince Caspian Meet & Greet that will be part of the new exhibit, see Prince Caspian to Appear at Disney's Hollywood Studios for details and discussion. The full exhibit is still scheduled to open at a later time in "Summer 2008"

3/21/08 Paper work has been filed for the addition of structural steel and plaster rockwork to the currently-under-refurbishment Journey into Narnia attraction. Disney has also publicly announced the forthcoming form of attraction and a tentative opening date with the following press release:

Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) -- Guests can experience an exclusive opportunity to see behind-the-scenes footage, original concept art, storyboards, props and costumes from the latest installment of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” They can explore Aslan’s stone table chamber set recreated directly from the original molds, see blueprints used for the motion picture, and meet Prince Caspian. Opening summer 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Mission: Possible?

5/13/08 Construction walls have appeared in several locations around World Showcase that have been cited in construction permits to install "Interactive Distribution Carts". The permits listed the Italy pavilion, Norway pavilion and International Gateway area as sites of installation. These construction areas are the first overt sign of work being done to prepare the launch of this yet-to-be-defined interactive game.

4/30/08 Further vague permits for what appear to be interactive elements have been filed for locations around World Showcase lending to further semi-educated speculation that the Kim Possible themed Team Possible interactive game will soon be launched on a full scale. Additionally, there have been several Guest reports citing that elements from the trial run of the game have been reinstalled around World Showcase in their non-interactive state. With the Summer Season approaching, it is being speculated that this yet to be defined interactive game will likely be launched with in the coming months.

[goofy for pluto]

Thanks Jason!!

The interactive game sounds like something my DS would be interested in playing.
We are looking forward to hearing more about it.

[DisnIse]

I can't wait for the interactive game thing to be implemented. My oldest is just about "over" the whole mask thing at the Fun Stops. It sounds like a perfect way to keep kids in his demographic engaged in EPCOT!

Thanks for the updates!

[GrumpyFan]

The Kim Possible thing has been in the works for quite a while, it will be interesting to see it finally go live in the parks.

[Gottaluvgoof]

My family was chosen a few years back to play the Kim Possible game. My daughters loved it. They still talk about it and we were given a limited edition Kim Possible pin for playing. I know they would be thrilled to play it again.

[Jeff G]

I'm kind of excited about the Kim Possible game at WS. My DW & I love the exploring the different countries but the kids tend to get bored which limits our time we can spend there. They do the masks which is OK but having another avenue to entertain them would be excellent.

Thanks for the updates!

[Capt. Sparrow]

Is this the Narnia attraction that is opening May 16? Or is it something else?

[Bethanymouse]

Jason, Thanks so much for the update!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the updates.

[Mousemates]

Thanks for the updates.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks Jason!

[Figment!]

**Update**

[Ian]

I've heard from a few reliable sources that the Space Mountain refurb is a go. The only thing still being hashed out (from what I've been made to understand) is exactly what it's going to entail.

I think they're still pulling things out/adding things in in terms of just how extensive it will be. My guess is it will be somewhere in between a simple track replacement and the total overhaul that Disneyland's received.

[Dsnygirl]

thanks Jason! I'm glad to hear that SM will be getting it's refurb -- but I'm even happier to see that it's not planned to start 'til Jan 2009!! My girls haven't been to the World since May '06, and I was afraid they'd miss their chance to go on SM this December!!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I am so happy to hear that they are still moving forward with the "interactive game". DD loved playing Kim Possible a couple of years ago...and still talks about it!

I would love to be able to explore the rest of World Showcase the same way

[LauraF]

Yay for the SM refurb, but I hope it's at the end of January so I can ride one last time when I go earlier in the month!

Hmm, I wonder that would do the TTA . . . can anyone say "construction previews"? (Though they'll probably block the windows. I would.)

[faline]

If they redo the Space Mountain track, I hope it will be as smooth as the track in California!

[DisneyDudet]

If they redo the Space Mountain track, I hope it will be as smooth as the track in California!

Indeed! DLR has a great SM.

I hope that this will occur AFTER the marathon so we can ride i one more time. We will arrive the evening of the 6th, so we hope to ride it at least one more time!!!

If not, we'll ride it as much as possible in Sept!

[pink]

I'm happy to hear that SM won't be refurbished until 2009, I was afraid we were going to miss it in our trip in September. Thanks for the updates!