Staff writer Brian Bennett’s recent photo tour of DisneyQuest at Orlando’s Downtown Disney (link) generated numerous responses from our readers.
Nicholas Steinhoff writes:
Thanks for the story, Brian—especially timely, given the strong rumor this week that DisneyQuest will be closing in a couple years.
Here’s my question—with the new MyWay tickets, DisneyQuest is now available as one of the “plus” options. This was not the case with the old “hopper plus” tickets. However, Disney has been known to “grandfather in” things on occasion, such as pre-98 tickets that were not valid at Animal Kingdom, but were made valid a couple years later.
Do you know if older hopper plus options might now be valid at DisneyQuest? I have no shortage of plusses available from old tickets. Thanks for any insight you might have.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if the old “hopper plus” tickets plus options are now accepted at DisneyQuest. As you pointed out, that wasn’t the case back when the hopper pluses were originally sold (pre-2005) but I can’t say for sure if that ban has been lifted or not.
Gary writes:
Brian, why did you not mention that Disney Quest will be closing in early 2008? This was reported on jimhillmedia.com on 4/24.
My piece was designed just to let people know what’s in the big green building from a vacation/travel perspective. I tend to leave the news and rumors to other folks that are better plugged in with people that may know what’s going on.
In any case, I figure there is still a good year and a half to enjoy DisneyQuest and I’m sure my sons will pull me over to Downtown Disney a bunch of times between now and then.
Jim writes:
I just read your article on DisneyQuest, and really appreciated the walkthrough and pictures you provided. I’ve been to Disney World only 3 times and have never had the chance to go. And unfortunately, it looks like I might never get the chance. Have you seen this article:
I actually expected your story to have a preamble stating something to the effect of, since we know DisneyQuest is going to close it’s doors, we thought we’d show you what it is you can see there before it’s gone. Anyways, thanks again for the article.
Yes, I saw the piece Jim wrote. However, according to the timeline he provided, DisneyQuest won’t be closing until early 2008… So there’s still time to get there if you want to check it out.
Bob Becker writes:
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, thank you so much for the informative article you did in MousePlanet on DisneyQuest. We had wondered a lot about visiting DisneyQuest, and there is not a lot you can find out about it ahead of time. We now have definitely put it on our travel plans for when we visit Walt Disney World in September.
Rumors out on the Internet claim that DisneyQuest may be going the way of the dodo by early 2008. Don’t hesitate to visit DisneyQuest this Fall because you won’t have many more opportunities to do so!
Jay Weitlauf writes:
Thank you for the photo tour of DisneyQuest. How apropos given that another site is announcing its impending demise based on anonymous sources! Whether news of its passing is premature or not, I shall pay it a visit during one of my semiannual visits to Walt Disney World next week. As always, your articles are most enjoyable to those of us addicted to Disney.
Thanks for the kind note, Jay. I think Mr. Hill’s piece will cause a lot of people to spend more time over at DisneyQuest than they otherwise have done, especially as the calendar gets closer to the supposed closing date.
Carol Kelley writes:
Great article. Wow, they have a Battle Zone! My first husband and I actually owned our own full-size Battle Zone (and Galaga, and a desktop PacMan, leftover from a pizza place/arcade his parents used to own). How’s that for living room furniture? We were really good at it!
Unfortunately, it totally quit working and we were never able to get parts to fix it, so I haven’t played in years! I have always bypassed Disney Quest in the past due to the cost, but we definitely will have to make a stop there on our trip in 3 weeks. Especially since I’ve read rumors that it may be closing in a couple of years. Thanks for the pictures!
I didn’t mention in the article that the right control stick on Battlezone has been broken for the last several times that I’ve visited there. The day I visited to take the photos for the article, though, I saw a maintenance guy on the floor and told him about the problem. He said he’d look into it… And I surely hope he does!
About the rumored closing… It wouldn’t surprise me if Mr. Hill is correct, but even so we have a good year and a half to enjoy DisneyQuest before it shuts down according to his timetable.
Andy M. writes:
Loved your piece about DisneyQuest! I love that place! My daughter is only 19 months old and my wife is not much into gaming, so whenever we take our yearly trip to Disney, I have to “sneak out” at night and head over there. The cappuccino and the pastries at the Cheesecake Factory are second to none! (My personal favorite is the mini chocolate bundt cake with a café mocha—mmmm!) Where else besides at home in front of my PC could a gaming geek like me spend an entire day surrounded by video games? I enjoy it so much I usually close the place down (11 pm Sunday-Thursday and 12 am on Friday/Saturday)!Although DisneyQuest is one of my “must sees” on any trip I make to Walt Disney World, one thing continues to frustrate me year after year, is the state of disrepair that the Classic Zone’s games are kept in. I bet if you walked into DisneyQuest right now today:
The Spy Hunter game’s shifter and one of the buttons will be broken and the game will be unplayable; the Dragon’s Lair controller will not work when you push it left or right and so ‘Dirk the Daring’ will die a horrific death when you play; the Q*Bert game controller will not work in certain directions so poor Q*Bert will get stomped on by the snake or hit by a ball while attempting to jump out of the way; the Karate Champs game controllers will not do any type of combination move whatsoever and your poor, inept character will be taken out by an opponent’s lame front kick…go there today and check them out, I bet I’m right.
I wouldn’t mind that a certain game is broken when I’m there during my trip except that the same games have the same things wrong with them every year! Doesn’t anyone realize this or check the games?
I hope someone will get in there and fix those games—I look forward to going there and reliving the glory days of the thousands and thousands of hours spent as a kid feeding quarter after quarter into those games…
Since the games at DisneyQuest are set to free play—I’d like Dirk the Daring to finally show that evil dragon Singe the business end of a sword for taking Princess Daphne hostage… My next trip to Walt Disney World is in 10 days — Hang on Daphne! I’ll save you! (maybe this time for sure!)
I’m glad you liked the piece… Almost as much as it sounds like you like DisneyQuest.
Staff writer Mark Goldhaber, who brings us the Walt Disney World Update every week, answers questions and provides travel advice for readers visiting Walt Disney World.
Jim writes:
Your Walt Disney World updates page has been reporting that Wonders of Life is closed for good, but the June schedule on Disney’s site states that Cranium Command and Making of Me will be open in June. Could the Disney site be right? I hope so, we’ll be there in June and I’d love a last chance to see these great attractions!
If you notice, the attractions are listed as “open seasonally” every day of every month. Basically, it appears that the “season” for Wonders of Life (and related attractions) is gone for good. Sorry for the bad news.
Megan writes:
I was wondering in the Horizons ride I noticed when I went on it or a couple of times the ride stopped. Did that problem have anything to do with getting rid of Horizons?
Also, are the animatronics bolted to the floor with wires coming up from the floor? Because they make it appear there isn’t a plug and socket. I miss Horizons a lot and it’s sad when Disney conforms and starts to become a bunch of fast rides like any other theme park.
The ride could have stopped for many reasons. It could have been stopped to allow a slow-loading passenger more time to get on or off, or because somebody dropped something and it set off a sensor, and any of a dozen reasons.
As I understand it, animatronic figures are usually constructed bolted to the floor with the wires coming through the floor and up their legs.
Many of us miss Horizons. Luckily, there are still a number of web sites that keep the memory of Horizons alive, including the Horizons Tribute group on Yahoo and Horizons 1. I’ll pass this note along to George McGinnis for him to see, as well.
Scott writes:
Do you know the address and name of the director of guest relations for Disney World Resorts? I had a horrible experience recently in booking a stay—and got absolutely nowhere through the “managers” in reservations!
I don’t know the name of the director, but you can contact Guest Communications either via email at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com or via postal mail at:
Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040
Lou writes:
Any idea where I can buy the “Walt Disney World Top 7 Must Sees” DVD that plays on Walt Disney World Resort TV?
As far as I know, the shows from Walt Disney World Resort TV are not available on DVD. I believe that there are a couple of places on the Internet that do have the video available in a downloadable format, but I can’t recall the sites at the moment.
Steve and Amy write:
We were at Walt Disney World last week, and heard from a cast member that Soarin’ would definitely become permanent at the Florida park and a new movie would be used, showcasing Florida sites, after the 50th anniversary celebration was over. Good News!
I didn’t think that there was any doubt that Soarin’ would be permanent. Not only was it already extremely popular at Disney’s California Adventure, and hence expected to be popular at Epcot as well, but they’ve got so much invested in that huge building and all of the technology inside that there’s no way that they wouldn’t keep it running.
As to the new movie, we’ve been hearing the rumor for some time that a new film would debut for Epcot’s 25th anniversary in October 2007. However, it’s doubtful that it would showcase Florida sites, as there’s not all that much exciting in terms of Florida landscape. What we’ve been hearing is that it will likely be Soarin’ over the U.S. But we’ll just have to wait and see what they come up with.
Christopher writes:
I was wondering is Walt Disney World was going to do anything for its 35th birthday. I was there in 1986, 5 years old at the time, when they turned 15. I remember a moderate celebration. I hope to be down there October 1st when they actually turn 35.
I really have not heard anything about the 35th birthday. I’m guessing that they’re going to let things quiet down for a year after the Happiest Celebration on Earth promotion, then gear up again for Epcot’s 25th birthday in October 2007.
I was there during the celebration of the 15th anniversary (I still have some of the giveaways from that) and I was there on the actual 25th anniversary. I have a feeling that the 35th will pass as quietly as the 30th (overshadowed by the 100 Years of Magic celebration), though.
Sally Brownell writes:
I am applying to teach in Lee County, Florida schools and I was hoping to purchase a seasonal pass. Unfortunately, it seems as if they are only valid when teachers are teaching. As a gesture to Florida educators, would Walt Disney World consider offering a special Florida Resident Teacher Pass? Florida public school teachers cannot afford the regular residents pass easily and they shouldn’t be punished for wanting to improve the Florida quality of education.
First, thanks for writing to MousePlanet. While we’re not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, we are pleased that so many people come to us when planning their visits to the Disney theme parks.
At this time, Disney only sells regular and Premium Annual Passes, as well as Seasonal Passes for Florida residents. The Seasonal Passes are designed to allow Florida residents to visit the parks for most of the year, except for those peak seasons when the parks will already be crowded. Unfortunately for you, due to the nature of the crowds drawn by Walt Disney World, the peak seasons when the parks will already be crowded coincide with school vacations.
At this time, the only discounts for teachers that I’m aware of are the room rate discounts available at the Swan and Dolphin resorts.
If you’d like to contact Walt Disney World to see if they would be open to offering a different type of pass, you can write to them at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. Good luck!
