The Land: 2005 Refurbishment

[KylesMom]

I just spoke with Disney Dining awhile ago to check on later hours opening up for some priority seating reservations we had made last month.

On a whim, I also had them check the availability of reservations for The Garden Grill and was told that now it has a "To Be Determined" date - it is no longer July. So I don't know if this means the opening will be moved up, or back!

We were really bummed to find out this supposedly is not going to be open in mid June, but you never know! I'll just keep trying the next few weeks & see. [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[WEDTOPIA]

I was there Sunday for the pass-holder preview and I have to say ,even those pictures don't do it justice. The whole thing is extremely modern and well done. The colors in the carpeting and tables are dazzling. Sleek is the word I'd use. I was relieved to see new balloons ,I thought they were gone for good.

Soarin' was simply amazing. That ride is going to be POPULAR. The queue line is the longest in WDW , without a doubt. The food court is nice and roomy ,with the fountain gone and outward expansion of the seating area .All the signage around the pavilion is excellent.

It looks ready to go. No problem with a May 5th deadline. Disney did a boffo job on this. The future is back !

[img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[disneyboy98]

Thanks for sharing the pics with us. I can't imagine the que line for this attraction as it has to stretch from the entrance all the way to almost the Canadian Pavillion. Definitely going to be a big wait for that one.

Can't wait till July!! [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img]

[wedenterprises]

where are the fastpass kiosks? are they inside the land building? that seems like it might be a pain to have to go all the way into the building?? i say once you've ridden the thing once then do single riders!! ya! especially on M:S!!!! woohoo!!!

2 1/2 more weeks!!!!

[2tinkerbellsmom]

o.k We are arriving a week from Sat. and I am CONFUSED!! Will EVERYTHING BUT the Garden Grill be OPEN or is the WHOLE LAND pavillion BEHIND SCHEDULE???? I mean is it possible they will open everything else and still have the GG closed? we have never done the boat ride or anything else basically (but the Timon and Pumba movie which I didn't like) so I was really hoping to get to see all of this this trip!! Thanks

[Figment!]

Originally posted by wedenterprises:
where are the fastpass kiosks?

They are in the building in the vicinity of the attraction.

Originally posted by 2tinkerbellsmom:
o.k We are arriving a week from Sat. and I am CONFUSED!! Will EVERYTHING BUT the Garden Grill be OPEN or is the WHOLE LAND pavilion BEHIND SCHEDULE????

The Land pavilion is still scheduled to re-open May 1st. There are some rumors it may re-open as soon as April 21st.

When the Land pavilion does re-open it is expected that the Garden Grill will not be open at that time. The latest word from Reservations is that the Garden Grill's opening date is "to-be-determined".

[ April 19, 2005, 05:26 PM: Message edited by: Figment! ]

[rt207]

Those pics are great! I'm not thrilled with the new age change for an "adult" price at the Garden Grill. My DD doesn't eat enough to justify a kid's price buffet let alone an adult price. I'll have to really think about whether it'll be worth it to us for now. Maybe we wait until next year when she's older....

[Figment!]

*Status Update*

The pavilion is now under a "soft" opening to all guests and both SoarN' and Living with the Land are operating on a regular schedule. Circle of Life theater is expected to open with in the next few days. Neither Sunshine Seasons or Garden Grill are operating. Sunshine Seasons is expected to open when the pavilion officially opens May 1st. Garden Grill is still "to be decided".

[Figment!]

Originally posted by valjane:
I do have a question though: the little gift shop wasn't listed in the official pavilion attractions. Does this mean it's gone for good?

From recent reports, there is no shop even in the Land pavilion anymore. Many were expecting atleast a gift shop for SoarN', but as of the AP previews there was nothing reported to even seem like a gift shop underconstruction. According to some low level merchandising management, MouseGear will house all SoarN' merchandise.

[valjane]

Originally posted by Figment!:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by valjane:
I do have a question though: the little gift shop wasn't listed in the official pavilion attractions. Does this mean it's gone for good?

From recent reports, there is no shop even in the Land pavilion anymore. Many were expecting atleast a gift shop for SoarN', but as of the AP previews there was nothing reported to even seem like a gift shop underconstruction. According to some low level merchandising management, MouseGear will house all SoarN' merchandise. </font>[/QUOTE]Hmph.

Thanks for the answer though!

[FigmentFanatic]

Originally posted by Figment!:
*Status Update*

The pavilion is now under a "soft" opening to all guests and both SoarN' and Living with the Land are operating on a regular schedule. Circle of Life theater is expected to open with in the next few days. Neither Sunshine Seasons or Garden Grill are operating. Sunshine Seasons is expected to open when the pavilion officially opens May 1st. Garden Grill is still "to be decided".

GREAT NEWS!!!!! I was a little disappointed to hear The Land wouldn't be open until the day AFTER we leave WDW this trip. We love that pavilion, can't wait to see the changes in person for ourselves [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Figment!]

Originally posted by FigmentFanatic:
GREAT NEWS!!!!! I was a little disappointed to hear The Land wouldn't be open until the day AFTER we leave WDW this trip. We love that pavilion, can't wait to see the changes in person for ourselves [img]smile.gif[/img]

This is just a preview mind you, the *official* opening date is still May 1st. So it is not definite The Land will stay open till May 1st, they could hypothetically close it tomorrow.

Historically speaking though, once a soft opening has started regularly this close to a grand opening it stays open.

So while not definite,it is very, very, likely it will be open from now till May 1st.

Sorry if this is a slight buzzkill, but I figure better now then down there.

[ April 20, 2005, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Figment! ]

[Honey_BDynamo]

Originally posted by Figment!:
This is just a preview mind you, the *official* opening date is still May 1st. So it is not definite The Land will stay open till May 1st, they could hypothetically close it tomorrow.

Historically speaking though, once a soft opening has started regularly this close to a grand opening it stays open.

So while not definite,it is very, very, likely it will be open from now till May 1st.

Sorry if this is a slight buzzkill, but I figure better now then down there.

Buzzkill, maybe, but I prefer to be prepared.

I'm banking on the "Historically speaking though, once a soft opening has started regularly this close to a grand opening it stays open." part ...

DH and I are there May 2-7, so getting everything in on the last 3 days would be a nightmare ... but one that I'm willing to do!

Yay, 11 days [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img]

[Timbo]

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for the update and especially the pictures! [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img]

I echo Ian's comments above about this refurb being an excellent job while keeping the original feel of the pavillion. The Soarin' signage and CM costumes are new, but harken back to the original look of EPCOT pavillions that opened in the early 80s. The rest of the pavillion is just beatiful. I was so worried that we would lose the balloons and the mosaics outside, but we have not.

Kudos to Imagineering on this one! [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] I haven't seen it in person, but I'm one happy passholder now! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[FigmentFanatic]

Just a little hope of The Land being open is good enough for me. Since we will be there all of next week I have more than one opportunity to catch it open hopefully. Thanks for letting us know [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Ghost1000]

Originally posted by Figment!:
The pavilion is now under a "soft" opening to all guests and both SoarN' and Living with the Land are operating on a regular schedule. Sunshine Seasons is expected to open when the pavilion officially opens May 1st. Garden Grill is still "to be decided".

I'm hearing the following:
</font>

• Garden Grill reopening April 25th</font>
• Sunshine Seasons reopening April 29th</font>

Guess we'll see . . . [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[KathyMO]

I hope the Garden Grill opens before we get there on May 6th. All the pictures of the changes look great. Can't wait to ride SoarN'


Kathy [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

[Chimchimcheree]

Did they do away with the sunflower mural in the Garden Grill??
Is it no longer Farmer Mickey and friends? Maybe I missed it while reading through the thread, all I saw mentioned were Chip and Dale.
Will they still have the Ice Cream Social?

[Ghost1000]

Originally posted by Chimchimcheree:
Will they still have the Ice Cream Social?

Yes -- it is still available.

[Crow]

thanks for the pic & update! dont know when ill get there again w things going on in my life but i like to keep updated. ive never eaten at Garden Grill but its on my list