It's official, Pleasure Island to close

Well, I called it. Back in April I posted that Pleasure Island would be shuttering its night clubs in favor of more family friendly fare. Today The Walt Disney Company made it official. The Disney Blog has the deets and the official details.

Sad news about the Adventurer Club. I really wish they'd keep that one. I think it can keep the Kungaloosh and still shift to a more family friendly entertainment environment.

Tags: disney, downtown+disney, pleasure+island, adventurer+club, themepark, travel, vacation, entertainment, night+club

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Disney still hammering out details of "boutique park" a.k.a. Night Kingdom

Remember when news of a boutique experience aimed at attracting 2000 or so wealthy adult visitors to a new wild adventure concept called "Night Kingdom" was leaked to the Disney fan community? Well that was a trial balloon. Forces on both sides of the project were interested in seeing if the results they were getting in their $200 a head focus group were represented in the general public.

Guess what? The focus group was right. The idea was weak and quickly went on life-support. But a good idea never dies at Walt Disney Imagineering. It just gets tinkered with incessantly until it either changes completely from the original idea, or someone on the top shelves it.

I think we can all see what Disney wants to do with the "boutique park" experience. Catch some money from the deep pockets of those who expect a certain type of luxury when the travel, "whales" as they are known to the casinos. Five to Ten years ago, "Night Kingdom" as we first heard it, probably would have been enough. But since then the quality of luxury travel has been elevated to a new level. In part this is due to places like The Wynn Resort where guests are immersed in luxury from the moment they enter the resort to the moment they leave.

The new luxury for Walt Disney World would be a resort that does the same thing, immerses the guest in the show from the moment they enter to the moment they leave. And it has to do it on a new level. And it has to do it as part of the Disney brand (possibly the Indiana Jones or Star Wars brand).

Pick a theme, let's say Jungle Adventure. Put a waterfall, hidden treasure, secret map, and wild animals outside every bungalow. Provide adventure experiences (dining, water park, exploration events, full immersion dinner shows, etc) throughout the week, so that the guest never has to leave this boutique experience if they don't want to. And if they do, well the whole world of WDW is just a short luxury private people mover ride away.

The fact that Disney could provide something like this is why I've always thought that letting Four Seasons build on property was a bad idea. But I understand they owed an old friend (you know the Saudi Prince that bailed them out in Paris) a favor.

So, the idea of a "boutique experience" at Walt Disney World for those who can afford it hasn't died. "Night Kingdom" may emerge again, but it will only resemble its old self in name and location.

Tags: disney, imagineering, wdw, disney+world, wdi, night+kingdom, themepark, theme+park, boutique+park, whales, luxury

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Get your Pleasure in Now, Pleasure Island to close

Making official what has been reality in practice for over a year, Walt Disney World is expected to formally do away with the Pleasure Island concept later this year. It started New Years Eve 2005 when the last of the nightly New Years Eve celebrations happened and general admission tickets were phased out. Then it kicked into high gear in 2006 when a new pedestrian bridge brought the end of the West End Stage and the Hub Stage.

This year will see replacement of Rock'n'Roll Beach Club with a new restaurant concept. This will reduce the number of venues that require admission tickets to four. Add that to Raglan Road and T-Rex and slowly the night club focus of Pleasure Island is shifting to branded family entertainment.

This will have the affect of turning Downtown Disney into just another branded entertainment complex, much like City Walk just up I-4. at Universal Studios. I suppose that's the direction that will bring in the most money, but it doesn't seem very Disney.

Update: just to clarify, I don't feel that going more family friendly is un-Disney. I feel that bringing in lots of outside brands to occupy the space is un-Disney. I'd rather see more creative stuff from the mind of the mouse. Some sort of modern take on the Adventurer's Club would be great.

As for my source... well, obviously there is nothing official from Disney yet. But one walk through PI and it's obvious they've already effectively ended the concept of PI. It's now just a few night clubs. My sources are just confirming the target date of sometime this year.

Tags: disney, downtown+disney, walt+disney+world, wdw, travel, entertainment, orlando

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And Now for Something Completely Different

It's been a bit heavy around here recently. So I thought I'd lighten things up with this very happy video.

Meet Brennailya. She applied to the Walt Disney World College Program and kept a blog of her progress. It's a great blog for anyone looking to follow her footsteps.

But Brennailya didn't stop there. She also keeps a VLOG. This last episode is her after learning she was accepted into the program. The whole thing is funny, but you have to see her Tiki Room dance. That made my day and I'm still smiling while I'm writing this.

So, for your viewing pleasure:

Also check out her audition VLOG. I think Brennailya will make a magical addition to the cast at Walt Disney World.

Tags: disney, wdwcp, audition tape, disney world, disney college program

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Fan's Voices do Make a Difference at Disney

"it's a small world" fans don't give up. Your voices are being heard and Disney is busy doing damage control. If you want an example of where the opinion of fans has made a difference look no further than Epcot's Spaceship Earth.

When the attraction soft-opened in February we knew via official sources that it was not complete. There was work to be done, but having that attraction capacity was important to handle the holiday crowds. Still, it was obvious to those who rode it that something was wrong with the changes.

Many changes were done well. Changing the theme of the attraction from communications to technological advancement was subtle but effective for the most part. Some special effects were added that are fun to see. The exit area of the attraction is a big improvement over the dead space that was there before.

But there were problems. Huge script issues and the complete lack of sets and design in the second half of the attraction was a big issue.

So what do we find this last week, SSE has been updated with some new phrases to tighten up the script. We also have a Seimens spokesperson admitting that they weren't happy with the attraction either and there is still lots of work to be done.

I'm hearing that some of that work involves actually adding sets and story designs back into the second half of the attraction.

So yes, Disney fans. Your voices are being heard. When the quality isn't up to Disney standards we can make a difference.

Tags: disney, its a small world, disneyland, epcot, theme park, spaceship earth, small world, iasw, disney fans

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Mt Fuji back on the drawing boards for EPCOT?

Who knows where these rumors get started, but my sources are giving me the typical non-denial, denial when I mentioned this one. Mt. Fuji, long rumored to be a "Matterhorn"-esque roller coaster ride will be Epcots next big project. It is slated to be added to the Japan pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase and will be a very thrilling ride that will feature multiple coaster technologies along with the chance of getting wet.

The reason this is back on the project list is the delay of the rumored new Russia pavilion.

Tags: epcot, disney, wdw, disney+world, rumor, gossip, japan+pavilion

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Treehouse Villas Construction Has Begun

A few weeks ago the Orlando Sentinel revealed that Disney had filed plans to finally remodel (or in some cases replace) the aging and hurricane damaged Treehouse Villas that once delighted guests with their unique accommodations. The are environmental conditions to be sensitive too, so the changes will result in a loss of square footage, but hey, at least you'll be able to stay in them again. Of course, we don't know if that will require membership in the Disney Vacation Club or not.

What we do know now is that construction fences have gone up around the property signaling the project is a go.

The above images is from February of 2008. It appears to be in fairly good condition, but some of the villas were still strewn with Hurricane debris as recently as last fall.

(photo courtesy Lemoncat1 via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Tags: disney, wdw, disney+world, dvc, disney+vacation+club, treehouse+villas, orlando, hurricane+damage

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New Bus System coming to Walt Disney World

The Walt Disney World Resort transportation system is undergoing a major makeover right now. It is in the middle of installing a new package called Magic In Motion with the goal of improving service levels and increasing efficiency.

Last summer marked the start of the new system when on-board audio was added to the fleet of 263 buses. Soon each bus will be tracked by GPS and a computer system. In theory they will then know how many people are on each bus and where it is. This will allow them to redirect empty and under-utilized buses if they see there is a change in demand. If all works right, this will result in shorter wait times for guests and more efficiency for the transportation fleet.

I've been hearing about this system since sometime around the year 2000. I'm hoping they finally got it right. Right now it looks like May will see the system fully implemented.

The question is will this be a better experience for the guest? With fewer buses around how will they handle crushes of high capacity? Well, there is always that rumor that keeps floating around about how Disney will add a light rail or monorail line from Epcot to Disney's Animal Kingdom with Disney's Hollywood Studios inbetween. Yeah, don't hold your breath.

Photo courtesy BenUK via Flickr creative commons license.

Tags: disney, buses, transportation, wdw, disney+world, bus+fleet, urban+transit

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Magic Kingdom's Autopia gets new name

Well at least one part of the rumor I hinted about here has come true, The Tomorrowland Indy Speedway has lost its sponsorship by the Indy Racing League. New signage has begun to go up proclaiming the new name the "Tomorrowland Speedway." It remains to be seen if the other ideas for the attraction are given the green light.

Tags: disney, wdw, magic+kingdom, disney+world, autopia, indy+cars, IRL, indy+racing+league, tomorrowland, tomorrowland+speedway

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Cheesecake Factory Express leaving DisneyQuest

The Cheesecake Factory Express has decided to quit DisneyQuest at the end of their current contract. They've been serving desserts and excellent meals at the Downtown Disney arcade for ten years. But now they're closing up shop.

The Cheesecake Factory Express was originally planned as a franchise type store that would be available in each DisneyQuest as they were opened across the nation. The DisneyQuest idea never really took off and so the Cheesecake Factory was left with a single 'express' location.

Disney will take over operations of the location and give it a new name beginning in May.

At one time an ESPN Zone was rumored to go into the DisneyQuest location. Essentially exchanging one arcade and eatery for another with a stronger brand. There is apparently another major store in Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney rumored to be ready to pack up shop, Virgin Megastore, if it does ESPN Zone will likely occupy at least part of that building.

Tags: disney, downtown+disney, walt+disney+world, wdw, disneyquest, cheesecake+factory, food, foodie, espn, espn+zone, orlando

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Disney Park Parade Rotation coming soon

The first leg of the Parade Do-see-do has just been completed with California Adventure sending it's "Pixar Block Party Bash" to Disney's Hollywood Studios. California Adventure was rewarded with a brand new parade the "Pixar Play Parade", of course that's experienced a bump or two in the road lately.

Another rumor site recently posted that Disney's Animal Kingdom won't be getting a night parade after all. The infrastructure change required to make the DAK parade corridor capable of handling a night parade were deemed too drastic and therefore "Rivers Of Light" has been snuffed out. Having walked Disney's Animal Kingdom explicitly looking for how a night parade would work, I have to agree that any widening of the pathways would affect a drastic change on the intimate feel of the park.

Hopefully the Rivers of Light idea can be revived at another theme park; one also in need of a night parade... can you say Epcot? Although the death of ROL at DAK has not been confirmed by my sources.

Now I'm hearing that as soon as October 2009 the Parade of Dreams from Disneyland will be exported to the Magic Kingdom. This is in addition to rumors sending SpectroMagic to Paris in exchange for Fantillusion, which originally debuted at Tokyo Disneyland. I'm not sure if the Rivers of Light change will factor into this. It would be nice to get an original night parade at Walt Disney World soon.

Tags: disney, disneyland, magic+kingdom, wdw, disney+world, parade, spectromagic, fantillusion, dak, rivers+of+light, imagineering

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A New Autopia for Orlando?

After the farce, a well-themed and conceived farce, but a farce none the less, of an Autopia that was opened atDisneyland where Chevron's sponsorship prevented the possibility of installing green technology, ie electric cars, to the attraction, it sounds like the Walt Disney World version might finally see just such a change.

Major racing leagues like the IRL and Formula 1 are going green. Either by using biofuel as with the IRL or with Formula-1 targeting a switch to Hyrbid Technology in the next few seasons. Since the Autopia is currently themed to the Indy Racing League cars, it makes sense to follow in those footsteps.

I would like to see some sort of sponsorship where green technology can be introduced and visitors can be sure it is not just the effort of some company trying to 'greenwash' their image.

That said, this idea has been batting around for a few years and if it is greenlit, don't expect to see it in the next year or so.

For more on the rumor visit MouseExtra.

technorati tags: disney, disney+world, wdw, autopia, rumor, themepark, racing, irl, indy+racing

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Disneyland Australia a No Go. Or is it?

We know that Disney has had its eyes on Australia as a potential site for a new themepark for many years. In fact, the decision to build in Hong Kong instead of Australia was the final straw that caused Dick Nunis to finally leave the company.

The run of low attendance at Hong Kong Disneyland had Disney taking a second look at Australia as recently as December of 2007. But then Disney officials were quoted in February as saying there were "no active concepts" for Australia.

Were those carefully chosen words meant to throw others off the track of Disney's real purpose for Australia? A new land themed to the country in Disney's Animal Kingdom. I'm hearing rumors that the concept is back on the table.

So Disney may not be coming to Australia, but Australia is likely coming to Disney.
Tags: disney, rumor, disneyland, wdw, walt+disney+world, disney+world, themepark, theme+park, hkdl, hong+kong+disneyland

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Could you be riding Toy Story Mania as soon as next week?

What day is today? March 15th? ... would you believe that in just seven days the first soft openings for the Disney's Hollywood Studios version of Toy Story Mania are scheduled to commence? That's a full month earlier than I had heard before. Don't count on the early soft-openings but, from what I hear, the interior of the attraction is nearly complete with testing going very well.

Toy Story Mania may be ready, but some of the themeing for "Pixar Place" (the new name for "Mickey Avenue") is not quite finished. So it's likely the soft opening will one where they open a door in the wall to guests who may be passing by. Inevitably, some of those guests will be Disney internet fans who will quickly report back to their favorite discussion board. If you're one of those lucky guests, drop me a line with your report.

Update: I've been told by a reliable source not to count on any soft openings before April. Oh well.

Tags: disney, disney world, pixar, toy story mania, disneys hollywood studios, orlando, theme park, themepark, pixar place, wdw

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Night Kingdom On Or Off?

Sorry for the slow posting schedule things were slow for a while. But I'm back and ready with a whole slew of rumors and gossip to start the blog up again. I hope you'll tune in and send me any tips you may have.

Disney's Night Kingdom is the 'adult' themed boutique adventure tour experience that has been rumored to be under consideration for construction at Walt Disney World. It would host only 2000 guests a night and feature a ticket price of $250-$300.

Mainstream news reports keep indicating that 'bloggers' say it will be built at Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island. But I've read most of the reports and never saw that anyway. What was said was that the "Adventurer's Club" would be the gateway. But it was also mentioned that the Pleasure Island location of the "Adventurer's Club" would be closed and it would be re-opened at the new location.

That location has been speculated to be in the clearing that resulted from the construction of "Expedition Everest" after Disney cleared out all the construction equipment and supplies. I had heard this was for a new land to be called 'Australia' that would feature marine life (think Finding Nemo) and cute and fuzzy animals (think Koala).

But now I'm hearing rumors that the idea has been sent back to the drawing board once again after Disney executives saw some of the public feedback. The 'adult' aspect of the new boutique experience has been too played up by the rumors and news media. Disney executives want a high-ticket exclusive experience, but something the whole family can experience as well as couples and adults.

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End of Biometrics Finger Scanners at Walt Disney World?

Last weekend I saw Disney trying out some new ticket scanning machines over at the Main Gate of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. When I asked what they were, I was told they were testing for a new type of admission media. The media will be thicker with a more robust coding mechanism. Apparently the paper tickets aren't holding up as well with the fastpass machines.

As it turns out even the switch from a two finger scan to a one finger scan is still too much for most tourists to figure out. As the adage goes, when you check in to your hotel, your brain checks out. So delays at the turnstiles can be long. Plus it takes a lot of labor hours to staff each gate with cast members who can troubleshoot when the finger scanning doesn't work.

What I've heard is that now Disney is considering doing away with the finger scanning all together. Instead they would do spot checks for age and ID.

Not sure how much faith I put in this rumor. Since the reason they went to biometric scanning was to link each piece of admission media with a specific individual. That cuts down on re-sale (which the Florida legislature regulates) and passing off your idea to others in your party. I don't know how the new system would do that. Maybe Disney is just happy to have a body inside the park spending money.

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Disney's Hollywood Studios Rumors

Following the recent announcement that American Idol is coming as soon as this fall, I've come up with a few more tasty rumors for the recently renamed park.

First Toy Story Mania isn't the only other addition coming to the park. That whole area of the park will be renamed "Pixar Place" and will get another ride and a restaurant. The restaurant will be a buffet style eatery themed to Ratatouille. The attraction will be a Monster's Inc roller coaster take on the Nemo coaster that's so popular in Paris right now.

I'm also hearing some rumors about a Nightmare before Christmas Dark Ride. Not too sure about this one, it might just be rumors related to a possible NBC themed special ticket party coming to Hollywood Studios this year.

That's it. If you have more juicy tidbits, please send them my way.

Tags: disney, rumor, disney+world, disneys+hollywood+studios, orlando, pixar, imagineering

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Dolly Parton Out, High School Musical In?

Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede rapidly shut its doors after a buyout of the property was accomplished by the Chelsea property group, owner of the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on the adjacent property. I had the impression at the time that construction was immenent. But now it appears that Chelsea property group just wanted to have that property in its back pocket with no immediate plans for development. Which makes me wonder why Dolly pulled up stakes so quickly, I'm sure some sort of leasing deal could have been worked out.

But, since the property is now vacant, I've heard rumors that Disney may have its eye on the property. Demand for Disney's night-time dinner shows have always been strong, with some selling out months in advanced pretty much regularly. Why not leverage this open property with a dinner show based on one of today's hot properties. And what's hotter than High School Musical right now? Pretty much nothing.

The planning is still in the very early phases with lots of details to be worked out. But there is already a lot of HSM production going around (a stage show, an ice musical, and the theme park shows), so there is a lot from which performances could be drawn.

I've often thought that Disney is missing out by not having permanent installations of some of its licensed traveling road shows at its Orlando base. A broadway theatre and an ice rink could rotate versions of the current traveling shows. Put these out by Downtown Disney for entertainment and dining tie-in, or put them at Wide World Of Sports, and add more dining to that area (plus the ice rink could also serve a sports purpose).

The broadway style theater would be a natural tie-in to launch national tours, workshop potential shows, or just become a 'winter' resting place for some of the tours that need a stop and rest their traveling cast. I think the end result would be a drawing of additional talent to the Orlando area as some performers choose to make their homes here and perhaps transition to more permanent jobs at the theme parks after their show closes or moves on.

But that's just me dreaming. A High School Musical dinner theatre could actually have legs.

Tags: hsm, disney, high+school+musical, theater, dinner+theater, orlando, travel, vacation, theme+park, dolly+parton

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Jungle Cruise rumors

Disneyland's Jungle Cruise attraction received a much needed plussing a few years ago for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. Some new special effects, can you say Piranhas, and a return of the guns to the Hippo pool are some of the improvements that have most Disney fans happy to queue up for the classic attraction once more.

There was a rumor going around that Walt Disney World executives were hot to install some of Disneyland's improvements to the languishing Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom. Word now making the rounds is that the Magic Kingdom's attraction won't see any significant changes until after more is known about the upcoming movie based on the Jungle Cruise attraction and a promotional tie-in could be arranged.

With the Writer's Strike and looming Actor's Strike there is an effective hold on all movie work in Hollywood. This means folks in Orlando could be waiting a long time for more attraction updates. At least those like Jungle Cruise that have movie tie-ins.

Conrad Calling

While I'm on the subject. The title of the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie is rumored to be "Jungle Cruise: Heart of Darkness". I'm presuming a relationship with Joseph Conrad's book of the same name which was an allegory for man's passage into an industrialized world. If so, this has some interesting opportunities as we move from an industrialized world to one based on information.

However, I seem to recall that Walt Disney found some inspiration for his Jungle Cruise attraction from the movie "African Queen". That would seem to be more fertile ground for a movie. But what do I know. Dick Cook, who currently runs Walt Disney Pictures, once worked at Disneyland on the Jungle Cruise attraction. I'm sure he's keeping a close eye on this project.

Tags: disney, disney pictures, jungle cruise, dick cook, movie, hollywood, film, rumor, magic kingdom, wdw, disney world

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Dame Judi Dench to narrate Spaceship Earth

I've just heard that Dame Judi Dench, whom you may recognize as 'M' from the recent James Bond films, will be the narrator when Epcot's Spaceship Earth reopens early next year.

This will mark the first female narrator for the attraction and the fourth in the history of the attraction. Previous narrators were Vic Perrin, Walter Cronkite, and Jeremy Irons.

I had heard that Patrick Stewart had been selected as the new narrator. So take this latest leak with a grain of salt. Either Stewart or Dench is infinitly better than Patrick Warburton. Picture in your mind Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove saying "On This Our Spaceship Earth."

Tags: disney, epcot, sse, space ship earth, spaceship earth, judi dench, james bond, narrator, imagineer, imagineering, themepark, futurism, kronk

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