Skip to main content

Ears the News with Richard

Big Thunder Mountain is scheduled for a short refurbishment in April 2014. The Magic Kingdom attraction is closing on 4/7/2014 through to 4/9/2014. 

Pirates of the Caribbean is scheduled to be closed for refurbishment in late April 2014. The attraction at the Magic Kingdom closes on 4/28/2014 through to 4/30/2014. 

Both attractions are rumored to be receiving a new on-board photo system, although this is not yet officially confirmed.

Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
The Frozen meet and greet featuring Anna and Elsa has been extended to the end of January 2014. The Norway Pavilion meet and greet has been extremely popular, with wait times on some days over the holidays reaching 5 hours. You can now meet them until 1/31/2014.

The Aladdin and Jasmine meet and greet location at the Agrabah Bazaar is currently closed for refurbishment, and during this time they have relocated to the Adventureland Veranda porch.
The refurbishment is scheduled for run through until 2/13/2014.

Downtown Disney's Cirque du Soleil La Nouba will be closing for rehearsals and refurbishments later this month. The downtime begins on 1/12/2014 through 1/ 20/2014.

The MyMagic+ 'MagicBand-only' testing is set to expand from the Pop Century and All Star Resorts test to include all Walt Disney World Resort hotels by the end of January 2014.

With 'MagicBand-only', guests will be given a MagicBand in place of the Key to the World Card for all MyMagic+ functions, including park admission, touch-to-pay, touch-to-enter, and FastPass+. 
Key to the World cards can still be requested, but are not available for regular FASTPASS use. This means that by the end of January 2014, all Walt Disney World Resort Guests will be using FastPass+, and will not have access to the legacy FASTPASS system.

The rollout for 'MagicBand-only' is as follows.

Jan. 6 – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Jan. 7 – Disney’s Port Orleans Resort
Jan. 8 – Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Jan. 9 – Disney’s Old Key West Resort and Disney’s Saratoga Spring Resort & Spa
Jan. 10 – Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Jan. 13 – Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
Jan. 14 – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Jan. 15 – Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
Jan. 16 – Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Jan. 17 – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Jan. 20 – Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe at the Magic Kingdom is adding more air conditioned seating space with a refurbishment project beginning this week.
The new enclosed space will make use of the existing outdoor patio, which is rarely used in the summer months due to direct sun and high temperatures. Work begins this week and should be completed by mid February 2014.

Two smoking locations have been removed from Disney's Hollywood Studios effective  1/6/2014. 
The smoking location at Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show and outside the Hollywood Brown Derby have both been removed. The remaining smoking locations are:

Behind Hollywood Scoops on Sunset Blvd
Studio Catering Company courtyard
Next to 50's Prime Time Cafe
Between The Great Movie Ride and ABC Commissary

The official Disney Parks Blog has posted a great video giving us a glimpse behind-the-scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering as work progresses on creating the ride vehicles for the upcoming Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster for the Magic Kingdom's New Fantasyland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFGk5-WYN60


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Ways To Get Psyched For Your Disney Trip!

Hey-Howdy-Hey, Disney Guys and Gals!      Is anyone familiar with Barney Stinson's "Get Psyched" Mix? Anyone? How I Met your Mother Fans? Ok, great! So you totally get where I'm going with this! If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can watch a clip  HERE!  Basically, the theory is that no matter what's going on in your life, you can get yourself psyched up and ready for something awesome to happen, all by listening to the right piece of music. Playing off of that theory, I feel that one of the very best things about a Disney trip is actually  preparing  for it, or getting psyched! You can have a whole bunch of crappy stuff happening in your life at the time, but if you have a Disney trip on the horizon... even if it's 564 days away, you have something to look forward to and enjoy preparing yourself for. In fact, many Disney fans, (myself included), pretty much get from one day to the next by preparing for upcoming trips. You may even book a ne
Post a Comment
Read more

Mythos Restaurant at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Located on The Lost Continent of Universal's Islands of Adventure, Mythos is an award-winning, full-service restaurant that offers an otherworldly experience. If you've ever been to Universal's Islands of Adventure, you've undoubtedly walked by this restaurant with its towering rock formations, waterfalls and ancient figures carved into the side of the building. The restaurant has been calling to me for years and I was finally able to give it a try. When you enter the restaurant, it feels like you've entered a cavernous grotto from another world. There are oceanic and mythical touches throughout the indoor dining room and there's also outdoor seating with great views of the park. View from our table The menu features a mix of Mediterranean, Asian and American cuisine including Spanakopita Dip, Pad Thai and a Bacon Cheeseburger. There's also a kids menu for little ones and a dessert menu featuring Chocolate Banana Gooey Cake.  On our first visit to Mythos, we
Post a Comment
Read more

Bigfire Restaurant Review

Bigfire is, in my opinion, a great addition to Universal CityWalk at the Universal Orlando Resort. Having been a huge fan of Emeril's which was previously in this location, I was skeptic, but quickly put at ease once we were inside and met our server and have been back several times since. After a full day in the parks, we had a pretty late dinner on the agenda so we started in the lounge attached to the restaurant.  The cocktail selection is quite extensive, with bourbon drinks being the star here. My Manhattan was delicious and set the tone for a great meal ahead! The bar is also a great stop if you don't have a reservation, I found the bartenders friendly, attentive, and making great drinks! The open kitchen is a great feature as you enter the dining room.  The décor is modern yet cozy with touches of plaid throughout.  The highlight is of course the "big fire", where they wood smoke a variety of meats for the entrees. We started the meal with some wine a
Post a Comment
Read more