Tidbits July 2007

[Figment!]

Tidbits
July 2007

Mansion ReHAUNTishment

7/25/07 The following changes have been internally announced to take place during the on-going Haunted Mansion refurbishment:

• Upgrades to Audio Systems
• Upgrades to Lighting Systems
• Upgrades to some Special Effects Systems
• Replacement of the current Madame Leota crystal ball effect in the Séance Room with a new version (upgraded from the floating effect introduced at Disneyland)
• Replacement of the current Bride figure in the Attic Scene with a new version (upgraded from the "Constance" figure introduced at Disneyland)
• Replacement of the Giant Spider Figures in the Staircase Scene with a brand new scene reminiscent of the M.C. Escher Lithograph "Relativity" ( ie multiple staircases in a topsy, turvy orientation)

A Bigger Slice of Italy

7/25/07 Plans are underway to slightly expand Epcot's Italy pavilion. Construction Permits have been filed under the project name "Epcot Italy Promenade" with the General Description of " Install new bridge to island in front of Italy". The permit also notes electrical work, implying that the promenade itself will be lighted.

Extra Checking Hours

7/15/07 Magic Kingdom Cast have reported a new Evening Extra Magic Hours policy for the park to start with the July 15, 2007 event. Cast have reported that wristband check-points will be stationed at the entrance to each land off of the Hub and only Guests with Wristbands will be allowed to proceed past these check-points. Cast have also reported that Guests with-out wristbands lingering on Main Street may be asked to leave the park during times of peak crowds.

A Castle Christmas

7/14/07 The Walt Disney World resort has officially announced the Cinderella Castle Christmas Overlay for the 2007 Holiday Season:

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Returns -- For a quarter century Walt Disney World guests have been entertained and mesmerized by this time-honored tradition...

Guests can enjoy festive surprises including additions to the holiday parade and an all-new Castle Light Show. Cinderella Castle is adorned with thousands of shimmering white lights, covering the turrets and towers like a glistening blanket of ice. The twinkling lights create an elegant wintry effect perfect for the seasonal celebration.

Lighting up the castle becomes a Dream Come True moment as Cinderella joins Mickey, Minnie and the gang for the nightly ceremony.

As the announcement was part of the description for this year's Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, it appears it may be a Party only event--but this has yet to be confirmed.

6/25/07It has been internally announced that Cinderella Castle will be receiving a Christmas Overlay for the 2007 Holiday Season. The overlay is scheduled to be complete November 15th, 2007. The addition of the overlay will require the use of a crane near the Castle September 12th through November 14th, 2007. As usual, it is anticipated the use of the crane during normal operation hours will be minimal. While the details of the overlay itself were not announced, it is expected to mostly (if not entirely) consist of Christmas Lights.

O New!

7/14/07 In addition to new footage, the new film will reportedly feature a new theme song and narrator. Eva Avila, of 2006 Canadian Idol Winner fame, has reportedly recorded a new theme song for the attraction. It has yet to be confirmed if this is a cover of the original theme song or a wholly new one. It has also been reported that comedian Martin Short, Native Son of Ontario, will be providing new narration to the film as well as several on-screen appearances.

6/19/07 With the recent announcement of O Canada! being closed for refurbishment August 20-24, it is being speculated that the new film will debut when the attraction re-opens. While there has yet to be any evidence cited to support the installment of the new film the timing fits with the previous statements by the former Vice-President of Epcot and the length of rehab both support the speculation.

2/1/07 Earlier confirmed by Canadian filming permits, Brad Rex has further confirmed that O Canada! will be updated with new footage. According to Brad, the new version of the show is scheduled to debut Late Summer / Early Fall 2007.

Culinary Changes

7/14/07 Dining Cast have clarified that Teppan Edo is still scheduled to open August 21, 2007 and only Tokyo Dining may potentially be delayed till October 2007.

7/6/07 Dining Cast have reported that renovated Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki Restaurant will re-open as Teppan Edo. The renovated location will reportedly still feature Teppan Chefs. The new Sushi location replacing the Matsunoma Lounge and Tempura Kiku will reportedly be named Tokyo Dining. The renovations have reportedly been extended beyond their original schedule and are curently expected to finish October 2007.

6/18/07More details have started to surface about the new restaurant that Memo Emec (Epcot Regional Manager of Operating Participants) announced to replace the Tempura Kiku and the Matsunoma Lounge locations in Epcot's Japan Pavilion. The new sushi location (slated to open August 25, 2007) will reportedly feature a new kitchen built separate from the existing area. This new construction will reportedly allow for the new location's seating to expand into the kitchen areas of the former locations, providing more seating than that of the two former locations combined.

Test Pass

7/3/07 Studios Cast have reported that the Tower and Terror and Rock'n' Roller Coaster are both scheduled to receive the FastPass Machine upgrades this month. In order to install the upgrades, both attractions will experience periods of FastPass unavailability. FastPass is scheduled to be unavailable on the Rock'n' Roller Coaster July 12th through the 17th, 2007 and unavailable on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror July 23rd through the 25th, 2007.

6/13/07 It appears that several if not all of the Magic Kingdom FastPass locations were updated during the first two weeks of this month. Beyond the work permits reported below, there has been no further indication of the continued roll-out of these new machines.

6/2/07 The new FastPass machines with upgraded printing and reading capabilities appear to be planned to be moved beyond their current limited roll-out. Work permits have been filed to replace all existing FastPass machines at Epcot and the Animal Kingdom. A time table for this work was not filed, nor has one been reported.

Characters with More Character

7/3/07 Entertainment Cast have reported that the 2007 Celebrate the Season show will be receiving an enhancement. Pluto, Chip and Dale will reportedly debut "animated faces" like the characters in current version of Dream Along with Mickey. This enhancement is tentatively planned to debut at the first 2007 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party--November 12, 2007.

Entertainment Cast have also reported that Festival of the Lion King's M.C. is planned to receive the same style of enhancements. Timon is tentatively scheduled to feature the "animated face" enhancement before the end of the calender year.

[Figment!]

Trail Roll'n

7/3/07 Fort Wilderness has recently started a new Segway pilot program. The test program features an "off-road" Segway tour on the new Segway X2 Off-Road model. The pilot program is currently running Tuesday, Friday and Saturday twice daily at 8:30 am and 11:30 am. This new experience is for Guests 16 and up only and costs $65 per person. The 2 hour, 10 Guest experience features a 45 minute training period followed by 1 hour 15 minute period out on the trails. It is currently unknown how long this pilot program is scheduled to last.

Reflections of Upgrades

7/3/07 The continually delayed upgrades to the Illumination Earth Globe may finally be on their way. Epcot Cast have reported that the Globe is scheduled for rehab Late Summer/Early Fall 2007. Considering the past delays in the work, despite an announcement from the then Vice-President of the park, it seems time will tell if it is actually completed this time around.

2/1/07 Brad Rex has confirmed that the Illumination Earth Globe is indeed scheduled for a major overhaul. Although confirming the plans for the upgrade, he did not reveal a timetable for it. The most recent timetable rumour-wise has been for the rehab to start sometime in February.

[gauvin4]

Thanks for the update!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the update Jason!

[Jeff]

Thanks for the info!
Great as always!

[January-2007]

Entertainment Cast have reported that the 2007 Celebrate the Season show will be receiving an enhancement. Pluto, Chip and Dale will reportedly debut "animated faces" like the characters in current version of Dream Along with Mickey. This enhancement is tentatively planned to debut at the first 2007 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party--November 12, 2007.

Animated faces? What does that mean?

[Figment!]

Animated faces? What does that mean?

Animated Mouths and Eye Features.

[JPL]

The mouth of the characters move like audio animatronics in sync with the music and dialog of the show. The eyes allow the characters to change expression and blink adding to the life like effect of the mouth. It is a vast improvemnt over the static heads that are currently used in most shows with the exception of Dream of Along with Mickey which was used as the test for this new technology.

[Deesdisney]

Thanks for the update. I can not wait to see the animated faces. It sounds great. WDW just keeps amazing me with there tech.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Jason, what experiences do you have that give you such a vast knowledge of all this Disney?? You seem to be the knower of all. You rock, baby.

[DisneyDudet]

Hopefully there will be Illuminations for Illuminations Party during the I-Cot 10th Anniversary Celebration....

[scottgr]

Thanks

[Crow]

thanks!

[January-2007]

Weird. We watched the show for a few minutes in October but I didn't notice this. We will have to give it another look in September.

[Figment!]

Weird. We watched the show for a few minutes in October but I didn't notice this.

It became part of the show in Mid-February 2007 with test performances several weeks earlier.

[JPL]

The actual first use of the technology was Mickey's Magic Show which debuted at MGM during Little Ones Travel Time and then toured the country like Disney on Ice does

[vizsla]

Thanks for the updates

[Fantasmic]

Just watched some of the animated faces on you-tube.

I am amazed, they're fantastic!

[January-2007]

How about that. The most recent trip we took is the only one in which we could have seen this and we didn't watch the show at all since it was busier. Thanks for all the great info!!

[ghost999]

that's really helpful. thanks