Tidbits August 2008

[Figment!]

Tidbits
August 2008

Reflections of Upgrades

8/25/08 After a show cancellation due to inclement weather, Illuminations Reflections on Earth officially debuted in it's Globe-less form over the weekend. During the now-in-progress refurbishment of the the Earth Globe float, the nightly presentation will be the alternative version that was tested earlier this year.

8/19/08 Due to further delays, Epcot Operations has announced the refurbishment for the Illuminations Earth Globe float has been rescheduled to begin August 21, 2008 and end Mid-September 2008. Although the consistent delays bring reasonable doubt to any scheduled date, this is the first date that has been internally announced to more than just those working on the project.

7/18/08 After months of delays, a date has been set for the start of the Illuminations Earth Globe refurbishment. Those involved in the project have reported that the refurbishment is currently scheduled begin August 13, 2008 and end in the Late September to Mid October time frame. During the refurbishment, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is currently scheduled to be shown with alternative show elements in-place of the Earth Globe float.

3/21/08 A test of an alternative show using additional pyrotechnics to replace the Earth Globe was recently conducted.

Spectroblackout

8/25/08 During the black-out of Spectromagic, the Magic Kingdom park has added further evening entertainment in addition to the 7:00 pm showing of the Disney Dreams Come True Parade. Daily from 4:30 pm till 7:00 pm a Meet & Greet featuring Pluto, Prince John, Friar Tuck, Marie, Clarice, Chip and Dale is conducted in front of the train station. Some of the characters are reportedly rotating, so not all are available during the whole time period. This additional Meet & Greet option is expected to continue through September 1, 2008--ending just prior to Spectromagic's return.

8/19/08 It has been internally announced that Spectromagic will be dark through September 1, 2008 due to a lengthier construction period being needed to complete work on the Liberty Square bridge. During this extended black-out period the Disney Dreams Come True Parade will continue its extra daily showing.

7/708 Due to construction work on the Liberty Square bridge, the Magic Kingdom has announced Spectromagic will be dark August 15 through August 29, 2008. During this time the park will offer an additional 7:00 pm showing of the Disney Dreams Come True Parade. Due to the loss of the bridge, Entertainment Cast have also reported that the parade route is currently planned to be altered to begin on Main Street USA, loop around The Hub, and return down Main Street USA during this time period.

Mission: Possible?

8/22/08 This new offering has been publicly announced. See New Interactive Attraction Coming to Epcot for details and an ongoing discussion.

8/12/08 The Walt Disney World resort has confirmed that the "interactive game" being installed around World showcase will be for a permanent offering of the previously tested Kim Possible Interactive Game. The Walt Disney World resort has internally announced the following:

Epcot continues to be a source of innovation: a Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure game under development will have Guests using portable electronic devices such as mobile phones to access interactive features hidden throughout the park.

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.

Spot Shuffling

8/19/08Character Cast have reported that a new Chip & Dale meet and greet will open in the Canada pavilion in Fall 2008 in order to supplement the removal of their existing meet and greet option from the Epcot Character Connection.

7/7/08 Character Cast have reported that the Epcot Character Connection will be changing its VIP line-up in Fall 2008. Starting at a yet-to-be-announced date this Fall, the Chip & Dale meet and greet location inside Epcot Character connection is planned to be replaced with a Donald Duck meet and greet location. Currently, it is reportedly unknown if a permanent Chip & Dale meet and greet location will re-open in another location or not.

Treehouse Re-Growth

8/12/08 Construction on the new Treehouse Villas will soon be showing some significant visual progress. The new prefabricated units have been scheduled to be delivered in three waves--August 12-14, 19-21, & 26-28, 2008. Upon delivery the prefabricated units are expected to be installed onto the newly renovated footings and supports. Despite this significant milestone looming, a concrete completion date for this project has not been announced.

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.

[Figment!]

InnovenChange

8/12/08 Storm Struck opened to Guests on August 7, 2008 at Epcot. The new Innoventions exhibit features a sensory 3-D movie followed by an interactive team activity and a sensory 3-D conclusion.

4/8/08 Construction Permits for the new Storm Struck exhibit coming to Innoventions have begun to be filed. Walt Disney Imagineering has recently filed permits to begin "site preparation" and install "show sets".

You are Here, Virtually

8/12/08 It appears that the Walt Disney World resort may be implementing the interactive map technology it tested in January 2008. The Walt Disney World resort has made the following, albeit vague, announcement:

In the near future, location-aware technology will allow Guests to more easily plan their day and navigate through the parks.

The announcement describes one of the main features tested during the "Disney Magic Connection" trial run conducted at the Magic Kingdom park early this year. Guests were able to use specially equipped Nintendo DS devices to navigate the park with interactive maps that showed the Guest’s real-time location and provided information on nearby by services and wait-times of attractions. Although the forthcoming feature has not been confirmed to be a permanent offering of the "Disney Magic Connection" the description at least appears to describe a service very similar.

Epicurean Expansion

8/12/08 The Walt Disney World resort has announced further additional offerings during the 2008 "Free Dining" promotional period. The Tommorowland Terrace Noodle Station will operate as the "Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe" August 24, 31 and September 7 and 14. The location will be serve a dinner buffet from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm . The buffet will feature Chimichurri Beef Loin, assorted salads, pasta, and assorted breads. The dinner buffet will be priced at $35 for Guests ages 10 and up and $18 for Guests 3 - 9. The meal will be redeemable for 1 Adult Table Service Credit for Guests ages 10 and up and redeemable for 1 Child Table Service Credit for Guests 3 - 9. As in years past during the promotional period, the Diamond Horseshoe will be offering dinner on August 24 - 31 and September 13 - 25. During these periods a family style dinner will be served daily 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The meal will feature roast turkey, carved beef, pork loin, mashed potatoes served family style. The family style dinner will be priced at $28.99 for Guests ages 10 and up and $14.99 for Guests 3-9. The meal will be redeemable for 1 Adult Table Service Credit for Guests ages 10 and up and redeemable for 1 Child Table Service Credit for Guests 3 - 9

7/3/08 The Walt Disney World resort will again be offering expanding dining options during its "Free Dining Plan" period. From August 24 – September 27, 2008, Chef Mickey’s, ‘Ohana and Whispering Canyon Café will offer expanded meal services. Chef Mickey’s will offer a special character lunch seating from 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm daily during the period. ‘Ohana will offer expanded dining hours starting breakfast seatings 7:30 am and dinner seatings at 4:00 pm daily during the offering. Whispering Canyon Café will offer expanded dining hours starting dinner service at 4:00 pm daily during the period.

[Mousemates]

Lots of good stuff to look forward to in this update...thanks.

[vizsla]

Thanks for the updates.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Thanks for the updates, Jason! Good reading!

[GrumpyFan]

Sounds pretty cool! I look forward to seeing these changes hit the park(s).

I saw a rumor somewhere else that Star Tours 2 is a definite and should be hitting the parks (DL & DHS) sometime next year. Also, there was mention of a new film for Soarin' in early development.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks Jason!

[Figment!]

**Update**

[DisneyDoug2]

Thanks!

[Iluvpooh]

Always a good read-Thanks

[Figment!]

**Update**

[MauiMouse]

8/12/08 Storm Struck opened to Guests on August 7, 2008 at Epcot. The new Innoventions exhibit features a sensory 3-D movie followed by an interactive team activity and a sensory 3-D conclusion.


8/12/08 The Walt Disney World resort has announced further additional offerings during the 2008 "Free Dining" promotional period. The Tommorowland Terrace Noodle Station will operate as the "Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe" August 24, 31 and September 7 and 14. The location will be serve a dinner buffet from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm . The buffet will feature Chimichurri Beef Loin, assorted salads, pasta, and assorted breads. The dinner buffet will be priced at $35 for Guests ages 10 and up and $18 for Guests 3 - 9. The meal will be redeemable for 1 Adult Table Service Credit for Guests ages 10 and up and redeemable for 1 Child Table Service Credit for Guests 3 - 9. As in years past during the promotional period, the Diamond Horseshoe will be offering dinner on August 24 - 31 and September 13 - 25. During these periods a family style dinner will be served daily 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The meal will feature roast turkey, carved beef, pork loin, mashed potatoes served family style. The family style dinner will be priced at $28.99 for Guests ages 10 and up and $14.99 for Guests 3-9. The meal will be redeemable for 1 Adult Table Service Credit for Guests ages 10 and up and redeemable for 1 Child Table Service Credit for Guests 3 - 9

Storm stuck seems very popular last week as there was a pretty good queue.

I walked by the Tomorrowland Noodle Station, they have the one area blocked off with plants in stands, so you have to enter closer to Tomorrowland than over near Main Street.

I also checked out Diamond Horseshoe as well. The dinner looks very similar to Liberty Tree if not the same but no characters. There were some people inside but had a lot of empty tables, and this was close to dinner time.

As of last Tuesday there was a crane on the back side of the castle stringing up the lights for the "Ice" show in December. Early in the afternoon the crane was lowered and the view was more back to normal. The walkway around the back side of the castle were both closed to pedestrians.

[Yellow_MM]

InnovenChange

You are Here, Virtually

8/12/08 It appears that the Walt Disney World resort may be implementing the interactive map technology it tested in January 2008. The Walt Disney World resort has made the following, albeit vague, announcement:The announcement describes one of the main features tested during the "Disney Magic Connection" trial run conducted at the Magic Kingdom park early this year. Guests were able to use specially equipped Nintendo DS devices to navigate the park with interactive maps that showed the Guest’s real-time location and provided information on nearby by services and wait-times of attractions. Although the forthcoming feature has not been confirmed to be a permanent offering of the "Disney Magic Connection" the description at least appears to describe a service very similar.

What is the lastest news on Nintendo DS in the parks?