Tidbits
July 2008




Summer of Citricos

7/31/08 The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa has announced that that Citricos will continue its expanded 7-night week schedule through March 29, 2009. This announcement is a 6 month extension to the previous 3 month extension announced earlier this month.

7/13/08 The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa has announced that Citricos will continue its expanded 7-night week schedule through September 28, 2008. The restaurant was originally scheduled to return to its Wednesday through Sunday schedule July 7, 2008; this has now been postponed till September 29, 2008.

A Bit Smaller Buffet


7/31/2008 Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort has modified its Lunch buffet offerings at its Trails End dining location. As of July 23, 2008, the buffet has introduced a buffet featuring assorted soups, salad and sandwiches only. The buffet previously included fried chicken, pulled pork and pizza in addition to the current offerings.

A Fairyly New Meet & Greet

7/31/08 Character Cast have reported that the Disney Fairies Meet 'n' Greet at the Magic Kingdom is tentatively scheduled to open October 26, 2008--the same day as its Disneyland counter-part. According to Cast, the Meet 'n' Greet line-up will rotate between Tinkerbell, Fawn, Iridessa, Rosetta and Silvermist.

7/18/08 The previously reported retrofit of the Disney Pals room into a Disney Fairies Room in the Toontown Hall of Fame appears to be in motion. The Walt Disney World resort has announced auditions to be held July 23, 2008 to be "friends" of the Disney Fairies. Auditions of this nature are typically held relatively close to the start of a Meet & Greet, although there have been yet to signs of work beginning to convert the room. With the Disneyland Fairies Meet & Greet announced to Open October 2008, the yet-to-be-announced Magic Kingdom location is still expected to open shortly after its West Coast counterpart placing an anticipated opening in Late 2008/Early 2009.

Exiting Stage Left?

7/26/08 Rumours have been circulating among Entertainment Cast that further entertainment offerings will be scaled back or retired in Late 2008/Early 2009 in addition to the already announced retirement of Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends and variable scale back of Fantasmic!. It is being rumored among Cast that Woody's Cowboy Camp will be retired Fall 2008, The Main Street Family Fun Day Parade will be retired Fall 2008, and The Disney/Pixar Block Party Bash Parade will be scaled back to 5 days-a-week in January 2009. Currently, none of these changes have been confirmed nor has any concrete evidence been cited in support of these rumours.

Drawn-Out Changes

7/23/08 The Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground has announced changes to its horse drawn holiday activities for 2008. Haunted Carriage rides will debut in October 2008 replacing the Haunted Hayride offering. The new offering is described as, "Roam the woods of Fort Wilderness on your Haunted Carriage Ride while hearing the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Each carriage can accommodate up to 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 children and is priced at $60 per ride. The Haunted Carriage rides will be offered October 3 - November 1, 2008. Each night three carriage rides will be available every half hour from 7:30 - 10:30 pm, with an extra 7:00 pm time slot added October 19 through November 1. Although dates have yet-to-be announced, Fort Wilderness has confirmed that its Holiday Sleigh rides will return for the 2008/2009 Holiday Season. For the 2008 offering it has also been announced that prices will be raised from $35 to $60 per ride. Both activities can be reserved 90 days in advance via 407-WDW-PLAY.

Restaurant Resurrection

7/23/08 Two of the Magic Kingdom’s typically dormant dining locations will be offering extra dinning options to help accommodate peak summer crowds. The Diamond Horseshoe Jamboree has extended its temporary lunchtime snack service. The eatery will continue to serve sandwiches and other snacks 11:00 am till 4:00 pm daily through July 31, 2008. The Advenutreland Veranda has re-opened after years of dormancy. The location is now serving a variety of beverages, cold sandwiches, and fruit daily through August 2, 2008.

Driving Up Prices

7/23/08 Guests wishing to live out their race car dreams will have to pay a little more to do so starting this November. Effective November 1, 2008, the Richard Petty Driving Experience program will be raising prices on 3 of its 4 packages. The price of the Rookie Experience package (8 laps) will raised from $424.94 to $478.19 per Guest, the price of the King's Experience package (18 laps) will be raised from $850.94 to $904.19, and the price of the Experience of a Lifetime package (30 laps) will be raised from $1,330.19 to $1,383.44. The price of the Ride Along Package will remain at current pricing.

Reflections of Upgrades

7/18/08 After months of delays, a date has been set for the start of the Illuminations Earth Globe refurbishment. Those involved in the project have reported that the refurbishment is currently scheduled begin August 13, 2008 and end in the Late September to Mid October time frame. During the refurbishment, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is currently scheduled to be shown with alternative show elements in-place of the Earth Globe float.