Tidbits
December 2007



 Mission: Possible?

12/28/07 Walt Disney Imagineering has been quietly filing for small construction projects around World Showcase for a yet-to-be-defined interactive game. Over the last several months construction permits have been filed to to install and support electrical infrastructure for an interactive game in the Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France, and United Kingdom pavilions. Based on the previous test run the Team Possible interactive adventure in this section of the park, it is widely expected that this work is for a permanent version of this offering. No time table has been stated in the permits for when all of the work will be complete nor when the "interactive game" will begin.

Los Changes

12/28/07 Rix Lounge & Cafe' Rix opened at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort earlier this month, albeit ~45 days behind schedule. In addition to the features previously reported for Rix Lounge, it has also been announced that it features a private party room called "Las Ventanas". Cafe' Rix serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast currently consists of an offering of assorted breakfast sandwiches, muffins, and pastries. Lunch & Dinner currently consists of Paninis, Flatbreads, Salads, Sandwiches,Wraps, Select Beer & Wines, and Assorted Desserts. The Lunch and Dinner offerings are served until Midnight.
4/17/07 Disney's Coronado Springs resort is undergoing some fairly drastic changes to it's light dining and retail options during the second half of this year. The resort is currently in the process of adding a new refreshment location called "Laguna Bar" to the resort's promenade area. The new watering hole is scheduled to open April 29, 2007. In addition, the resort's current lounge is also undergoing an expansion. Francisco's closed for refurbishment April 16 and is scheduled to re-open in a larger form October 13, 2007. When Francisco's replacement opens it will reportedly be a Cafe & Lounge location.

Ringing in a New Grille

12/21/07 Disney's Yacht Club resort has announced a nomenclature change to one of its dining venues starting in 2008. Effective January 1, 2008 the Yacht Club Galley will be renamed Captain's Grille. It has yet to be announced with this name change will bring any menu changes as well.

Epicurean Expansion

12/21/07 The Magic Kingdom has internally announced expanded dining offerings during the Peak Christmas/New Year Period. The park is operating all three of its Seasonal Dining Venues, adding additional serving periods and additional offerings to several of its regular venues, and adding several temporary dining kiosks. The expanded offerings were announced as follows:
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café will serve breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily, December 23- 31.

The Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station will be open for lunch and dinner as follows:
December 22 -28: 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
December 29-31: 11:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
January 1-5: 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

The Diamond Horseshoe will be serving quick service lunch December 23 - January 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In addition, a full service traditional turkey dinner will be offered from December 24 - 31. Dinner will be served between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on those dates.

El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante will open daily for lunch December 22 - January 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. December 28 - 31, El Pirata will offer extended operating hours until 8:00 p.m.

Sleepy Hollow will open for waffles daily at 7:00 a.m.

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor will open at 7:00 a.m. daily for "Coffee Express," offering coffee, hot cocoa and pastries.

New carts and kiosks will be open in several locations:

A Tomorrowland Kiosk will serve burgers, sandwiches and a salad.
Another cart in Tomorrowland will serve hot wings and chili.
In Fantasyland, a cart will serve a turkey wrap and Caesar salad.
The Center Street Hog Dog cart will return on December 25.
Items with-out dates appear to be effective 12/23/07 through 12/31/07 based on a related announcment.

Minus MGM

12/21/07 In preparation of the park's change-over, Disney-MGM Studios has begun to remove all Disney-MGM signage. Earlier this week, the Disney-MGM marquee was removed from the Animation Courtyard Arch. More recently, the Disney-MGM logo on the Earful Tower has been painted over.

Jambo January

12/12/07 Disney Vacation Club representatives recently announced a new completion date for the conversion of Disney Vacation Club units in the Jambo House section of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The remaining units have been announced to be complete by January 29, 2008--4 months ahead of the originally announced completion date.

Image(Re)Works

12/12/07 Construction permits have been filed to refurbish the ImageWorks - The Kodak "What If" Labs post-show area. The general description of improvements is listed as, "Refurbish and Refresh interior finishes including: Paint, Light Fixtures, Projectors, and Floor Covering." While this planned work has re-sparked speculation/rumours of a refurbishment to the attraction, there is currently no concrete evidence of planned changes beyond repair and refreshing of the post-show area. A time frame for the filed work has yet to be announced internally or otherwise.

Future Fuel

12/12/07 Attraction Cast have reported that 2 new car types have recently been tested on the Tommorowland Indy Speedway. One test car is reportedly a gas/electric hybrid car and the other is a Ethanol-85 powered car. The tests were reportedly conducted during the last week of November and the first week of December, 2007. Neither a goal of these tests nor a time frame for any potential wide-scale implementations are reportedly known at this time.