Tidbits October 2007

[Figment!]

Tidbits
October 2007

Room Reshuffling

10/30/07 Toontown Hall of Fame has opened a second Disney Princess Room after a retrofitting refurbishment. Despite the addition of the room the number of Princesses has not been increased, rather the capacity to see the same Princesses line-up has just been doubled. Hence upon entry Guests now only see signs for the Princess Room and the Disney Pals room, although there are still three physically separate rooms.

Adding to further changes, it is currently rumorued amongst Character Cast that the current Disney Pals room will be retrofit to become a Disney Fairies Room later this Fall. In support of these rumours, Cast have reported that audition notices were recently posted backstage for Tinker Bell and several other of the Disney Fairies. According to the rumours, the characters typically appearing in the Disney Pals room would be re-located around Toontown Fair near their namesake attractions as a result of the change. The Fairies Room is rumorued to open Early 2008.

9/4/07 Character Cast have reported that the Toontown Hall of Fame is currently (and has recently been) operating at a limited capacity of 2 rooms, while the third is undergoing refurbishment. During the refurbishment, some characters have been displaced while others have moved to an alternative room. Re-assignments have so-far seemed to change on a daily basis, so Guests are recommended to check with Guest Services the day-of to find a character normally appearing in the Towntown Hall of Fame. The goal of the refurbishment has not been internally announced, although some Cast have reported that it is to create a second dedicated Princess Room.

A Whirl Wind of Change?

10/22/07 It has been internally announced that Primeval Whirl at Disney's Animal Kingdom is slated to under go semi-major renovations for a 45-60 day time period in Fall 2008. Although details of changes were reportedly not announced, the announcment reportedly stated that the aim of the renovations is to "retrofit" the attraction.

A Sans Central Cinema

10/22/07 Work permits and the location's marquee both confirm the that Main Street Cinema will be the new home to an Art of Disney location when it re-opens from its current refurbishment. The Marquee outside the location currently reads, "Coming Soon | The Art of Disney". Additionally, work permits have been filed citing the conversion of the space. The location is currently scheduled to re-open from refurbishment November 21, 2007.

8/13/07 Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom has announced that VMK Central will be ceasing operation inside of the Main Street Cinema on September 30, 2007.

Dino Dig

10/22/07 The location of the forthcoming T-Rex restaurant has been publicly revealed. The walls that have been constructed for ground breaking now display advertisements for the new restaurant and an opening date of "Summer 2008".

10/1/07 It appear that groundbreaking for the T-Rex restaurant may soon begin. The internally described area has now been sectioned off with construction barricades.

5/8/07The Ground breaking and construction of Landry's T-Rex Restaurant has been internally announced as a near term construction project for the Downtown Disney Area. The construction area has been described as the area in between Ronald's Fun House and the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. (see INTERCOT's Downtown Disney Dining Guide map for visual)

Lightsaber Lessons

10/11/07 The Jedi Training Academy opened on its new permanent stage earlier this week. The new stage is located adjacent to the Star Tours attraction at Disney-MGM Studios. The 20 minute show is set to run 8 times daily. The current show times are 9:40 am , 10:40 am, 11:40am, 12:30 pm, 1:20 pm, 2:10 pm, 3:45 pm and 4:45 pm.

InnovenChange

10/8/07 The recently opened "Creating the New World of Tomorrow"Exhibit, located in Innoventions West, appears to be sticking around for at least a few month tenure. Epcot Cast have reported that the 25th anniversary exhibit is currently schedule to operate through "Late December 2007". Also in Innoventions West, Cast have reported that a new Velcro exhibit is slated to open in the location of the former The Ultimate Home Theater Experience Exhibit. Over at Innoventions East, Cast have reported that the current refurbishment of the Opportunity City exhibit is to replace it with a new Waste Management exhibit. The refurbishment is currently scheduled to be complete February 1, 2007.

A Mitsukoshi Metamorphosis

10/8/07 Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining both opened today, one week ahead of schedule.

Please notice the new space, Advierta por favor los nuevos espacio

10/8/07Monorail Blue has completed the new compartment arrangement installation. Monorail Red is reportedly in process.

9/28/07Monorail Pink has now been installed with the new compartment arrangement. Monorail Blue is reportedly in process.

9/10/07 The previous test period was apparently deemed a success. The new compartment arrangement has remained on Monorail Lime and was recently installed on Monorail Gold. The new arrangement (four floor to ceiling leaning poles in the center of the compartment) is expected to to be expanded to the entire fleet.

[Figment!]

Town Square Switches

10/8/07After only a few days of the new line-ups Character Cast have already reported another change. Abby Mallard has reportedly been replaced in the typical Morning Line up by Pinocchio.

10/1/07Character Cast have reported the following new typical daily character offerings in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom as of 9/30/07.

Appearing intermittently from Park Open till 12:30 pm: Abby Mallard, Bert, Chicken Little, Chip, Clarabelle Cow, Daisy Duck, Dale, Horace Horsecollar, Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, and Pluto.

Appearing intermittently from 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm: Jimminy Cricket, Perla and Suzy.

A Handy Meet & Greet

10/1/07Handy Manny has begun a regular Meet & Greet appearance in the Animation Courtyard at Disney-MGM Studios. The start of the offering is earlier than expected as Handy Manny was previously announced to start Meet & Greets "November 2007". He joins the Stars of Playhouse Disney Meet & Greet that currently appears near the Playhouse Disney Live on Stage attraction intermittently from 10:35 am till 1:35 pm & 3:45 pm till 6:00 pm daily.

A Bigger Blue World

10/1/07Starting this week, Guests of Disney's Animal Kingdom will have an extra chance to catch Finding Nemo: The Musical. The show will now typically be presented five times daily. This is a one show (per day) increase from its original operational schedule.

Wondering What's Next?

10/1/07With the Food & Wine Festival now underway, the Wonders of Life pavilion has started (what appears to be) its new function as a special events pavilion. While it operates as the Festival Center for the event, a temporary sign has been placed on the pedestal that once served as a base for the Wonders of Life Pavilion marquee. Inside it is evident that the structures/attractions (including the Making of Me) in the center of the Pavilion have indeed been removed. The Body Wars marquee remains, but the initial section of the queue has been replaced with event area and the mural appears to have been removed. Cranium Command's marquee remains and appears to still have its queue in tact, at least from the exterior. The status of the attractions themselves is currently unknown, but it is speculated that they are both still operationally capable.

8/4/07 The exterior of the Wonders of Life pavilion is also experiencing some changes that signal its permanent closure as a public attraction. Over the last three days, the marquee sign in front of the pavilion has been removed and the signature Tower of Life (giant DNA sculpture) has been in process of being dismantled.

8/3/07 The future of the Wonders of Life pavilion looks somewhat bleak, at least in relation to ever entering full operation again. Construction permits have been filed to remove all permanent fixtures and electrical components from the large center area in preparation of this year's Food and Wine Festival usage.

[johnO]

Thanks for the info!

[Crow]

i was just looking at the sign for Teppan Edo etc. standing in front of it wishing it was open

[Caroleh]

Thanks for the update, Jason!!!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks Jason!

[Dawneeeey]

Thanks for the updates!!

[MinnieMommie]

thanks - some interresting tidbits

[vizsla]

Thanks for the updates.

[4ubie1]

Thanks Again for the Bits of Tid, Jason!!

[DizneyFreak2002]

Thanks for the updates...

[Figment!]

**Update**

[GrumpyFan]

Thanks for the Update!

A Mitsukoshi Metamorphosis
10/8/07 Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining both opened today, one week ahead of schedule.

Don't you mean a month behind schedule, since it was originally supposed to open last month?

Sorry, I couldn't resist, especially since we had to reschedule our meal we had planned for there last month.

[LarryBoy]

Appearing intermittently from 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm: Jimminy Cricket, Perla and Suzy.

Who are Perla and Suzy? I know a fair amount of things Disney and frequent WDW as much as possible, but for the life of me I've never heard of these two.

[bibbidiboo3]

Who are Perla and Suzy? I know a fair amount of things Disney and frequent WDW as much as possible, but for the life of me I've never heard of these two.

They are the mice from Cinderella.

[like2workout]

i wonder what goes into the decision to change the characters that do meet and greets, and especially so quickly. just curious as to why they would replace pinocchio with abby mallard, then swap back so quickly. i'm fascinated by behind the scenes type information, and wonder if that is a big decision or if someone just simply changed their mind?

["SULLEY "RULES!!]

Who are Perla and Suzy? I know a fair amount of things Disney and frequent WDW as much as possible, but for the life of me I've never heard of these two.

Where is Jiminy appearing? Is it over in Animal Kingdom at Conservation Station??????????

[vizsla]

Thanks for the updates.

[January-2007]

Thanks for the updates.

[LarryBoy]

Where is Jiminy appearing? Is it over in Animal Kingdom at Conservation Station??????????

According to Figment, Town Square in the MK.