Hurricane Comes, Construction Walls Down

As Hurricane Irma approaches Florida, WDW makes preparation for the possible storm hitting the theme park. This includes removing things that might fly off and cause damage or injury, and that means the construction wall around Star Wars land have been removed.

This website shows what the construction of Star Wars land looks like right now without the construction walls blocking the view. This is one of the few times we get to see the progress being made so far for this part of DHS, so don't miss it.

Zz.

Building WDW's Magic Kingdom

Oh my! This is quite a find!

A grand daughter recently discovered a treasure trove of pictures belonging to her grandparents who helped build and worked at the Magic Kingdom till their retirements. The pictures being shown here are all the various construction scenes during the building of the Magic Kingdom.

Her grandfather, Chester "Chet" Wise, helped build the Disney park starting in 1969 and continued to work there until he retired in the late 1980s. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Wise, also worked at the park. They lived right by it until Chet Wise died in 2002, so Valdes visited often. 

 

After her grandmother died in 2012, Valdes was given a box of pictures that she didn't examine until she was packing to move last March. 

 

What she found was a treasure trove: her grandfather had taken dozens of pictures of the Magic Kingdom under construction, often from high above.

I found it rather fun to play the game "Where In the Magic Kingdom Is This?" when I was looking through the various photos.

But not only that, but her grandparents also got to live full time on a Disney property!

My grandparents were one of 10 families that actually lived on Disney property, because Disney needed a handful of residents in order to incorporate Lake Buena Vista as an actual city back in the early 1970s. 

 

These employees were handpicked, and my grandparents lived on Disney property until my grandfather passed away. It was so close to the Magic Kingdom that I could see fireworks from their front yard when I was a kid.

 

Wow. That must have been quite magical! 

I'm hoping that she will do something to have these pictures exhibited. I'm sure the Disney archive people would love to get their hands on these.

Zz.

Earffel Tower Coming Down

More demolition at Disney's Hollywood Studios as they proceed with their renovations.

The Earffel tower is the latest slated to come down. This will go along with the Light Motor Action! and the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playset. All of them will be gone to make way for the destruction and reconstruction of DHS for the new Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land.

With the Earffel Tower being gone, DHS will temporarily be without a park  "icon". The Hat has been gone for a year, and now the water tower. DHS seriously needs an identity soon.

Zz.

"Soarin'" Refurbishment at Epcot Starts Jan. 4

If you are fond of the current version of Soarin', now is the time to go see it before it is changed forever. Disney Parks has announced that the refurbishement of Soarin' at Epcot will begin Jan 4, and it will only reopen in the middle of 2016.

In March, Disney said the ride, which opened in 2015, would be expanded from its original two theaters to three. In August, the company said the content would be updated and called Soarin' Around the World at Epcot at the sister attraction at Disney California Adventure theme park. The changes will also happen on the technological side with the installation of digital screens and projection systems.

So they definitely have plenty to do.

I can only hope that the new Soarin' has the same exhilarating feeling that makes one's hair stands on its end the way the current one does for me. This will take both the scenery and the music to come together perfectly.

Zz.

New Renderings For Disney Springs

Orlando Sentinel has renderings of the re-imagined Downtown Disney, now known as Disney Springs.

The project includes two multilevel parking garages and a new I-4 interchange that will offer guests direct access to Disney Springs.

Lake Buena Vista Drive is being widened from seven to 10 lanes to accommodate the high traffic volume. Two pedestrian bridges are also planned -- one that will lead guests into Disney Springs near the current Marketplace side and another that will offer access through the West Side.

This is a good thing, and hopefully will reduce the congestion along Buena Vista drive. I've always hated driving along that stretch at any time other than early morning. And that overpass access direct from I-4 should make it easier to get to this place.

Zz.

WDW Dowtown Disney construction

LaughingPlace.com has this post by Mike Neal showing the construction happening at Downtown Disney, soon to be Disney Springs.  Page 4 of the post has some aerial shots that must have been taken from the balloon.

Avatar Land update

This article at Guide2WDW has an interview with Disney chief Bob Iger, in which Iger stated that Avatar Land might not be opened until 2015. 

..."in all likelihood, we’re not going to open up Avatar Land until some time in 2015." Disney's CEO reported that the design work on the expansion to Animal Kingdom "is just beginning," which quieted online rumors that the project had been cancelled altogether. According to Iger, Walt Disney World guests might be able to visit the world of Pandora in just 3 years.

As a personal opinion, I continue to think Avatar Land could be a mistake.  It's too far from traditional Disney theming and, especially by 2015, will be based on a movie that will probably fade into obscurity.    Basing a new WDW Land on a movie like this has many potential problems and seems like a very odd idea for Disney.  You might point out that the Harry Potter attraction at Universal is based on movies, but Harry Potter is a mythic story of a hero's journey that is firmly embedded in modern culture and literature.  Can the same be said for Avatar?   But maybe Disney plans to go in a direction that ends up being interesting, positive and relevant. A Land that is inspired by some aspects of Avatar, but is not seemingly tied to the movie, might be a better approach.  The Imagineers could take some parts of Avatar and add their own touches to make it fit into Animal Kingdom.  We'll see what happens.

Festival of the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom

The Disney Blog reports that the Festival of the Lion King show at Camp Minnie Mickey may be moving or closing due to the new Avatar Land. 

The Festival Of The Lion King show has been the subject of relocation rumors practically since it opened in Camp Minnie Mickey instead of Africa, where it would seem to make more thematic sense. Elevation balloons were recently spotted over that section of the park. And while no ground has been broken, it was confirmed those balloons were some early planning for Avatar-land. With Avatar-land inching closer to reality, it looks like Camp Minnie Mickey is the likely candidate for Avatar.

 The report goes on to say that it isn't known if the show is moving to another location or closing.  There's no evidence of a new theater being built elsewhere in the park.  The current theater might be relocated, or the show might be changed or shut down.

Major Polynesian rehab planned

WDWMagic.com posted this news that Disney is planning a major rehab of the Polynesian resort. The post has a link to the building permit document filed with the Orange County Comptroller.  The project appears to include all the rooms at the Polynesian, in buildings 1-11, and the completion date is 12/31/2013. 

Grand Floridian DVC construction

LaughingPlace.com posted this update  with many photos of the construction of the new DVC Villa at the Grand Floridian. Various sources have reported the completion date as late 2013.   

WDW Trip

Fantasyland construction. View mostly blocked by a high fence.

WDW Trip

Fantasyland construction showing a circus tent.

WDW Trip

View of the construction of the new Fantasyland. A high fence blocked easy viewing.

On Disney Fantasy, and Fantasyland

A lot of fantasy in here.

This is a very informative interview with Disney Parks and Resort Chairman, Tom Staggs. Most of it covers the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship and what the future holds for the Disney Cruise line. But at the end, there's a short coverage of the ongoing expansion of the Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.

•Back on dry land now, on the Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom, which he says is on schedule.

"Every time I go down there or spend time with the Imagineers, I get more excited about the project. … Fantasyland is going to be more immersive than before; it's going to be more of a complete experience. I think it's going to be something that really delights our guests.

"We know this is a daunting challenge because Fantasyland is hugely popular. So reinventing Fantasyland, we have to take very seriously. I'm feeling very good about having preserved all that made Fantasyland so great and charming and also broadening and expanding it. So over the next couple of years you'll see it roll out a piece at a time."

Zz.

Fantasyland Update

Kevin Yee has a photo update of the construction around Fantasyland.




Zz.

Last Day for Toon Town

Today will be the last day for Toon Town at The Magic Kingdom. As part of the current expansion, the new Fantasyland will swallow Toon Town.

Friday is the last day for guests to visit Mickey's Toontown Fair, an attraction that first opened in 1988.

Plans call for Mickey Mouse and some other animated characters to move into a new home in the spring. They'll be located in the building currently known as Town Square Exposition Hall on Main Street.

Zz.

Moving The Winner The Pooh Tree

The Winner the Pooh tree at Fantasyland at MK was successfully moved. This is all part of the revamping and expansion of MK's Fantasyland.



Zz.