Skip to main content

Ears the News with Richard

Beginning September 18 2014, the Magic Kingdom's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train now offers both video and photos of riders.

Similar to the recent Tower of Terror onboard video, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train creates a series of video clips, including point-of-view footage, and scenes of the riders on the drops.

MyMagic+ MagicBands are used to automatically associate the photos and videos to the rider's My Disney Experience account, making the whole process a seamless experience.

The service is available now to guests who have purchased the Memory Maker package, and are wearing a MagicBand at the time of riding. The video is available online only at the My Disney Experience website, and cannot be viewed in the park. Photos are available online, and at the camera centers at the front of each park.





Disney has announced to Disney's Hollywood Studios cast members that the Studio Backlot Tour will be permanently closing on September 27 2014.

No information about what will replace the attraction has been announced, although the area has been rumored in the past to become home to a Cars Land and Pixar Land expansion, and more recently part of a possible Star Wars expansion.

Part of the exit to the Backlot Tour will soon be used for the relocated Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post.

Both Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom and Kali River Rapids will be going down for their annual refurbishment in January.

Splash Mountain is scheduled to be down between for January 4 to January 30 and Kali will be down between January 20 through to February 4 2015.

This fall, La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil will be offering a dinner package option with Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe, Planet Hollywood or Splitsville Luxury Lanes.

     $99 plus tax for a Category 2 ticket ($89 plus tax for children ages 3 to 9)
     $119 plus tax for a Category 1 ticket ($109 plus tax for children ages 3 to 9)
The package includes 1 ticket to a 6pm performance Tuesday through Saturday nights on the following dates:

     September 30 through November 1, 2014
     November 6 through November 22, 2014
Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe, Planet Hollywood or Splitsville Luxury Lanes is available either before or after the show. The offer includes one entrée, dessert and a non-alcoholic beverage. The meal coupon includes priority seating at the chose restaurant. Guests should be seated for dinner by 4:30pm to dine before the 6pm show. For dining after the show, priority seatings at the restaurants begin at 8pm. The package can be purchased now online or at (407) 939-7328.

A new revised operating schedule for the Walt Disney World Monorail system will be in operation from September 27 2014.

     Magic Kingdom Resort beam - 7am to 1 hour after park close
     Magic Kingdom Express beam - 8:30am to 1 hour following park close
     Epcot beam - 8am to 11pm or 1 hour after Magic Kingdom closes (whichever is earliest)

Disney has rolled out an update to its park rules which govern the admission policy for all of its domestic parks.

The guidelines are aimed at clarifying some points that may have previously been unclear, with greater clarity now given to e-cigarette usage and the requirement for children under 14 being accompanied by an adult.

The new rules are effective September 24 2014 at both Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort. New pages on both websites now contain the new rules - www.disneyworld.com/parkrules and www.disneyland.com/parkrules.

Along with the new pages on the websites, signage will be installed at the park main entrances with some of the most important rules highlighted.

Photos posted on WDWMagic, provided by Martin Smith
Several key Walt Disney Imagineers and Disney executives were spotted at Disney's Hollywood Studios on September 25th. WDI Chief Creative Executive Bruce Vaughn, Chairman Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Tom Staggs, Disney's Hollywood Studios VP Dan Cockerell, WDI's Kathy Mangum, Walt Disney World President George Kalogridis, and perhaps most interestingly, John Lasseter - Principal Creative Advisor, Walt Disney Imagineering.



Photos posted on WDWMagic, provided by Martin Smith


This group represents the ultimate power to bring something new to Disney's Hollywood Studios, comprising all the key players of both the finance and creative arms of the Walt Disney Company. Lasseter's presence would seem to indicate that the project is more than likely to be Pixar related.

It is suspected that this appearance might be related to a recent permit filing for work at Soundstage 1 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Simply titled, 'Project 3 - DHS Soundstage 1 Renovation,' the permits do not give away any details, other than the expiration date of 9/30/2016, and Whiting Turner being involved in the project. That particular contractor has been involved with Disney attractions in the past, and a long expiration date for the permit suggests something on a large scale.
Recent speculation has suggested one possible use of Soundstage 1 may be for an expansion of Toy Story Mania to provide additional capacity. Previous rumors for Soundstage 1 have centered around a Monsters Inc themed roller coaster attraction, expanding the Pixar Place mini-land.

The upcoming closure of the Studios Backlot Tour this weekend would appear to also be a significant step in this project, given its close proximity to Soundstage 1.

Disney has not yet commented on any expansion, or given any indication of what will replace the Studios Backlot Tour.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

Universal's Volcano Bay Private Cabana Review

On a recent training in Universal Orlando Resort, agents Maci, Ashley, Aubrey and Yaritza and I rented a private cabana for the day at Universal's Volcano Bay. There are multiple locations around the park along with the option to have an upper or lower level, all of which reflect in various pricing. Agent Ashley received an email the day before informing her of where to check-in the next morning. While we were personally escorted to the cabana shortly after check in, the line at the check in location is the same as those getting towels, meaning it was not short. As expressed by an additional guest checking into a different cabana, we would have greatly appreciated a separate line, since this caused our group about a half hour wait. We're all adults and made great use of our time getting some fun pictures before the park was filled with guests, but this is important to be aware of if you are traveling with children.  We had an upper level Cabana which came with a splendid view!