Walt Disney World Park Update

Update for October 31 – November 6, 2005

Go directly to: News & Views | Refurbishment/Attraction Closures | Park Events | Discounts/Promotions | Park Hours | Events/Entertainment Schedule

News and Views

MouseFest is less than a month away!

Just a reminder that MouseFest is scheduled for November 30 – December 5 (land) and December 4–8 (sea). MouseFest Gold Sponsor MousePlanet is organizing three events and officially participating in a fourth during the land portion. For more information and how to let us know that you’re coming, visit our MouseFest events page (link). For more information on MouseFest, visit the MouseFest event site (link).

Japan Reminder

As we head into the new year, space is beginning to fill up on MousePlanet.com’s Japan/Hong Kong Disney Adventure (March 2006).

For only a small deposit ($400-600 depending on itinerary) reserve your place today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

We have also been able to secure a FREE half-day sightseeing tour and a hotel upgrade to the Nikko Hotel in Hong Kong. (Participation in the Hong Kong pre-tour is needed.) Space is filling quickly so please secure your spot on this wonderful vacation. See this page for more details.

Dining reservations now available 180 days in advance; hours to be posted earlier

Disney made a major change last Friday, when they began allowing guests to make Walt Disney World Advance Dining Reservations up to 180 days in advance. (The ability to book up to ten days’ worth of reservations from the first day of your Disney resort stay is still in effect.) You can now make 180-day reservations for all table service dining locations, Disney child care centers, the Wonderland Tea Party, Grand Adventures in Cooking and Disney’s Pirate Adventure.

Disney had also planned to begin publishing operating hours six months in advance, beginning Friday, but as of publication deadline hours were still only available through December. (Some snooping around on the Walt Disney World web site indicates tha the hours are already available, but can not be navigated to just by clicking links on the calendar page.)

Cinderella’s Royal Table prices, menus change

On February 1, major changes will take effect at all meals at Cinderella’s Royal Table, the popular restaurant inside Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

The first, and most obvious change, will take place as your arrive at the restaurant. Taking a page from Chef Mickey’s restaurant at the Contemporary Resort, your party will be posed for photos in the lobby before they will seat you for your meal. A package of the photos will be presented to you during your meal to give you the option to purchase them. The package of four 4×6 inch and one 6×8 inch prints of your photo, plus one 6×8 inch print of Cinderella Castle, all in a Cinderella photo holder, will set you back $29.95. Of course, you can also buy additional photos.

Breakfast and lunch will still be Princess character meals, but the meal will be from a fixed-price, set menu. The pricing has gone up as well, to $31.99 for adults/$21.99 for children ages 3-9 for breakfast and $33.99 for adults/$22.99 for children ages 3-9 for lunch. The breakfast and adult lunch menus appear to be largely unchanged (just some renaming of menu items on the lunch menu), though the children’s lunch menu will be much less imaginative, switching the Pretzel Dogs for a “Wrapped Cheese Hot Dog” and dropping the “Minor Domo” sandwich and Pasta Marinara in favor of hamburger and cheeseburger options to go with the remaining fourth option of chicken strips.

Dinner will now also move to a fixed-price, set menu meal. Dinner will be hosted by the Fairy Godmother, rather than the princesses. Diners will also receive a special, unframed, unmatted lithograph (est. retail price $50). The meal itself will cost $39.99 for adults/$24.99 for children ages 3-9. The new children’s menu is the same as lunch (no more prime rib for kids), while the adult menu has undergone some severe cutbacks. To start with, the ability to order your own appetizer has been replaced by an appetizer plate to be shared by the table, as at lunch. The greater change is in the entree, however, as the current eight entrees have been reduced to four, three of which may change on a daily basis. There are “Chef’s Creation” offerings of chicken, pasta and seafood. The fourth option will come as a comfort to several on our MousePad discussion forums, as the Prime Rib will still be available.

Guests will be able to use Magic Your Way Plus Dining Plan credits at the restaurant, but it will require two table service credits.

Also effective February 1, all meals at the restaurant will require pre-payment in full with a credit card at the time of booking. The ability to make a reservation and then follow up with payment by check is now gone. No reservations can be made without a credit card. There will also be a cancellation penalty of the full price of the meal if you don’t show or cancel within 24 hours of your seating time. In addition, Disney Dining Experience and cast member discounts will also cease beginning February 1. Photo identification will be checked when the group checks in to ensure that the person who made the reservation is present at the meal. For reservations up until February 1, though, all current rules and pricing will still be in place.

More dining news

California Grill, atop the Contemporary Resort, has added a new credit card guarantee policy for all reservations. Guests will now need to provide a billing address, as well as credit card number, type and expiration date when booking a reservation. They will also be advised of a $20 per person fee for cancellations within 24 hours or for no-shows.

Checks will no longer be accepted for deposits on any dining reservations requiring those advance payments. In addition to California Grill and Cinderella’s Royal Table, deposits are required for the Spirit of Aloha Luau, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review and Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue.

It also appears that buffet prices are going up all around Walt Disney World.

Wilma blows through

At press time last week, Walt Disney World had announced the closure of all parks on Monday, October 24, in preparation for tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Wilma. The storm went through so quickly, however, that Disney opened the Magic Kingdom and Epcot theme parks in the early afternoon for Disney resort guests and cast member guests only. The Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom parks remained closed for the day. The Downtown Disney shopping district was also opened. In the evening, the Pleasure Island and BoardWalk entertainment districts were also open. The two remaining theme parks and the Typhoon Lagoon water park reopened the next day.

MousePad discussion forum readers were able to stay informed of the latest news of the storm through weather updates from MousePlanet staff member Karl Buiter and on-the-spot reports from MousePad reader JeffG, who was at the Wilderness Lodge.

After reopening Monday afternoon, Magic Kingdom remained open until midnight, Epcot until 10 p.m. Lines were short at both parks (because admission was limited), though some shops and dining locations remained closed due to staffing shortages, as many cast members needed to take care of storm-related issues.

At Magic Kingdom, it appears that Cinderellabration was the only attraction or show that did not open or take place, as the 3:00 Share a Dream Come True Parade was delayed to 5:00 and the SpectroMagic parade and the Wishes fireworks went off as scheduled at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m., respectively.

Over at Epcot, all attractions were open, but the Food & Wine Festival booths remained closed for the day. Reportedly, the booths take too long to shut down and reopen, and there was not enough time to get them open in time for the shortened day. They did return to service the next day. The scheduled free events did not take place, either. Whether it was due to presenters not being available due to the storm or some other reason, the events in the Festival Center and the Odyssey Restaurant did not take place. However, the $35 per person Food & Wine Pairing event at Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki Dining Room did take place. The Eat to the Beat concert performances by the Beach Boys also went on as scheduled.

A big thanks go out to MousePlanet readers Pam May and Steve Brunton for passing along much of the information used in this story.

New Walt Disney World Ambassadors named

Michael Collier and Marjorie Colas have been named as the 2006 Walt Disney World Resort Ambassadors. This marks the first time that both Ambassadors are African Americans. The pair will shortly begin training in their new duties, and will officially take over from the current Ambassador on January 1, 2006. Collier, a former member of the Walt Disney World College Program, has been a full-time employee for less than a year, working at the Contemporary Resort’s front desk. Colas, originally from Haiti, serves as a language service translator for Haitian, Creole and French-speaking cast members in Human Resources Compliance.

The Ambassador Program was founded in 1965, during Disneyland’s 10-year celebration. Walt Disney discovered that he needed someone to help represent Disneyland when he could not attend an event. Julie Reihm was selected to represent Disneyland at anniversary ceremonies, and as a hostess to escort VIPs around Walt’s Magic Kingdom. For more information about the Ambassador program, read our coverage of the 2002 Disneyland Resort Ambassador ceremony (link).

Everest Update

A portion of the construction walls in front of Expedition: Everest have been lowered, and it appears that the exterior work on the mountain is nearing completion. The scaffolding has been removed and landscaping work is well underway. The recruitment process for the attraction’s opening team has begun, with a possible January start of training on the attraction. Soft openings may begin in February, with an official opening date likely to be April 22, the eighth birthday for Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Extra Magic Hour changes on the way

Disney will be playing around with Extra Magic Hours (EMH) during the Christmas-New Year’s holiday week, including adding a morning EMH every morning in the Magic Kingdom every day. All other EMH days at all parks will be shifted around. It appears that the new daily schedule will hang around, at least until spring, on a trial basis.

In addition, we’re hearing that there will be another round of daily Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom for the two weeks surrounding Easter in the spring. These Easter week hours will be similar to the Christmas-New Year’s week hours. In addition to the daily morning EMH, regular hours will be 8 a.m.-midnight, and there will be one evening EMH each week that will last until 3 a.m. (During Christmas week, evening EMH will be on December 30). Those five-hour turnarounds will be tough for the custodial staff, so cut them some slack the next morning.

Two months left for fireworks at Pleasure Island

Pleasure Island has been slated for some “major enhancements.” While most details are as yet unavailable, we do know that both stages will be eliminated and that a new walkway will be constructed. In addition, the enhancements will require the end to the nightly fireworks show at midnight. The final fireworks show at Pleasure Island will be the grand finale to the New Year’s Eve party the night of December 31. If you want to see fireworks at Pleasure Island, you’ve got two months left.

“Narnia” to open wardrobe doors at Studios

On December 9, as the movie it promotes opens, the new Journey Into Narnia: Creating The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe attraction will allow guests to enter the world of Narnia through a giant wardrobe. Located on the same soundstage that most recently housed sets from the Haunted Mansion movie, guests entering the set will be surrounded by a wintry landscape, enormous trees and a replica of the lamppost, as seen in the movie. The White Witch’s castle and Mr. Tumnus’ house will be visible in the distance. A gallery displaying costumes, maquettes, storyboards, props, etc. will serve as the attraction’s exit. We’re hearing that the attraction will be in soft openings before December 9, but that is not confirmed at press time.

Passholder Best Rate Program extended through April 13

The Passholder Best Rate program is now accepting reservations, online only, through April 13, 2006. In addition, some rates have dropped even lower, with value resorts going for $49 most nights from January 16 – February 4, 2006.

Weiss named most influential businessman

Last week, the Orlando Business Journal named Walt Disney World President Al Weiss its Most Influential Businessman. In addition to a brief profile in the story about the ten finalists for the honor (link), a longer story focuses on Weiss (link). That story closes with an intriguing quote in light of the debate regarding Jay Rasulo’s succession of Paul Pressler as Chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts and what it might mean for Weiss. “I’ve had many offers to leave,” he told the Business Journal. “Both promotions from within Disney and from the outside. But when your job is creating magic for people, at the end of the day it’s pretty hard to walk away from that.”

Extra Magic Hour changes on the way

Disney will be playing around with Extra Magic Hours during the Christmas-New Year’s holiday week, including adding a morning EMH every morning in the Magic Kingdom every day. All other EMH days at all parks will be shifted around. It appears that the new daily schedule will hang around, at least until spring, on a trial basis.

Ears to the ground

…October 28 and 30 both sold out tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Tonight’s final party is also sold out.

…The Country Bear Jamboree closes tomorrow for its annual conversion to the Country Bear Christmas Special. The holiday show opens Sunday.

…The latest projections for passenger traffic shows that the current passenger load of 33 million per year would increase to 45 million in 2014. Reaching that figure would trigger construction of a new South Terminal, currently being designed to open with 24 gates. The projections show an expected load of 55 million passengers in 2020.

…In addition to his appearances with Abby Mallard (Ugly Duckling) at the Disney-MGM Studios, Chicken Little is currently on a national mall tour with Mickey Mouse to promote his new movie.

…The two-hour broadcast of the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade has been scheduled to start at 10 a.m. EST, 9 a.m. CST, 8 a.m. MST and 2:30 p.m. PST. The taping dates for the parade have not yet been set, though they usually occur during the first and/or second weekends of December.

…The cost to play miniature golf at Winter Summerland and Fantasia Gardens/Fantasia Fairways is going up to $10.75 for adults and $8.75 for children, up from $10 and $8. (Those prices are pre-tax.)

…Very strong rumors were pointing toward the closure of the Gooding’s supermarket in downtown Celebration, one of only three stores in the chain left. Reports were that the store would close on Friday, but we have not been able to confirm that yet. The Gooding’s location at Crossroads Plaza near Hotel Plaza Boulevard and Downtown Disney would not be affected at this time.

Don’t keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments. Email us here.

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

• Country Bear Jamboree – will be closed November 1–5 for the annual installation of the Country Bear Christmas Special.
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – refurbishment of seats and carpeting occurring on a rolling basis; the attraction remains open. However, the Carousel has been returned to the list of “seasonal” attractions, so its open status may change at any time.
• Main Street Railroad Station – under refurbishment through December 20. Guests will still be able to board the train at the station, though the entrance and exit may be relocated during the work. The locker rental stand area is being converted to stroller rental, with the lockers moving elsewhere. In addition, the curb in front of the station will be disappearing to allow easier transit for newly-rented and about-to-be-returned strollers. The station is also slated to receive new glass, canopies, paint and so forth.
• Liberty Square Riverboat – will reportedly not be operating due to refurbishment through next spring.
• Haunted Mansion – will be closed for minor mechanical refurbishment November 6–15.
• Donald’s Boat – will be closed for refurbishment November 1–18.
• Splash Mountain – will be closed November 17 and 18 for a minor technical refurbishment.
• Timekeeper – open seasonally.
• Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration – reportedly returns after the 18-month “Happiest Celebration on Earth” festivities end.

Epcot

• The Living Seas pavilion, including the popular Turtle Talk with Crush attraction, is closed for refurbishment through November 22. Rumors indicate that another new Finding Nemo-based attraction may be added.
• Ice Station Cool – closed through late this year for refurbishment. It will reopen as “Club Cool.” There are new rumors indicating that it may reopen as early as November 17.
• Norway’s Stave Church – closed through November 14 for refurbishment. When it reopens, it will feature a gallery focusing on the Viking explorers.
• Test Track – will be closed for refurbishment January 9 – February 14, 2006.
• The Wonders of Life pavilion – open seasonally. The Pure and Simple eatery and the Well and Goods Limited shop have been removed, while the Body Wars, Cranium Command, and The Making of Me attractions now open when the pavilion is open. The pavilion is currently closed, and has been removed from park maps. Its future is uncertain.

Disney–MGM Studios

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – will be closed for a brief refurbishment November 2–4.
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie sets – are officially scheduled to open on December 9.

Animal Kingdom

• Expedition Everest – is scheduled to open in Spring 2006. The likely official opening date is April 22, which is both Earth Day and the park’s birthday, but previews may start as early as February 2006.

Resorts

• Polynesian Resort – Work is now underway on the complete refurbishment and upgrading of rooms and hallways in all buildings, which is expected to be completed by June, 2006.
• Contemporary Resort – The South Garden Wing is closed for refurbishment through September, 2006. Rumors indicate that the buildings may be completely gutted and rebuilt as Disney Vacation Club villas. However, another rumor states that new DVC lodgings will be built on the current site of the Disney Tennis Center at the resort, and there is no confirmation of the either rumor yet. Renovations on the rest of the resort are also underway, with the tower building being done one floor at a time, and are expected to run through November, 2007.
• Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa – Phase I’s construction of four buildings complete; Phase II’s eight units are opening one each month, through October 2005; Phase III’s six units due in 2007, involves razing the old Fairway Villas.
• Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (DVC Resort) – Roof repairs due to hurricane rehabilitation are ongoing and scheduled to run through late November.

Water Parks

• Blizzard Beach – Closed for its annual refurbishment through December 24.
• Typhoon Lagoon – Will close for its annual refurbishment on December 25, and is expected to reopen on February 26, 2006.

Elsewhere

• Cirque du Soleil – La Nouba – performs Tuesdays – Saturdays.

Park Events

Ongoing

• Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Through Nov. 13. The annual celebration of things gustatory, plus the Eat to the Beat concert series (link).
• Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Oct. 31. The big celebration of the boo-tiful season (link). Oct. 31 is SOLD OUT.

November 2005

• World RUBIK’S CUBE Game Championship. November 5–6. Puzzle cube solvers do their thing at the Pop Century Resort (link).
• Festival of the Masters. Nov. 11–13. Artists display their works at Downtown Disney (link).
• Super Soap Weekend. Nov. 12–13. Daytime stars descend upon the Disney-MGM Studios (link).
• Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Nov. 14 – Jan. 8, 2006. Millions of lights bombard the eyes at the Disney-MGM Studios (link).
• Holidays Around the World. Nov. 25 – Dec. 30. Epcot celebrates the season, including the popular Candlelight Processional (link).
• Festival of the Seasons. Nov. 19 – Dec. 24. Downtown Disney celebrates the season (link).
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Nov. 27, 29, Dec. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20. Snow on Main Street, free hot cocoa and cookies. What’s not to like? (link).
• MouseFest 2005. November 30 – December 3. Meet your favorite Disney Internet and guidebook authors (including some of us!) at a gathering of the Disney Internet community around the World (link).

December 2005

• MousePlanet presents a mini-MouseAdventure at MouseFest. Dec. 1. Meet at the outdoor seating area by Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom at 10:00 a.m. for this event. This is a shortened version of MousePlanet’s signature event (link), and marks the first time that the event has been held in Florida.
• MousePlanet presents the second annual Mike Scopa Dole Whip Meet at MouseFest. Dec. 1. Meet at the Aloha Isle take-out window in Adventureland at noon.
• MousePlanet presents the first annual Shocolate Mousssse Meet at MouseFest. Dec 3. Meet at Boulangerie Patisserie at Epcot’s France pavilion at 5:00 p.m. following the Mega Mouse Meet for this event. For more on the origin of the Shocolate Mousssse phenomenon among MousePlanet readers, please see this thread on our MousePad discussion forums.
• Pop Warner Super Bowl. Dec. 4–10. Football players and cheerleaders descend on the resort for the annual championships (link).
• Pleasure Island New Year’s Eve. Dec. 31. Pleasure Island celebrates the actual New Year (link).
• New Year’s Eve at Cirque du Soleil. Dec. 31. Cirque puts on special New Year’s performances (link).
• Atlantic Dance Hall New Year’s Eve. Dec. 31. Ring in the New Year at the BoardWalk’s own dance club (link).

January 2006

• Disney’s Health and Fitness Expo. Jan. 5–7. Check in for the weekend’s races and check out the vendors (link).
• FamilyFun Magazine Family Fun Run. Jan. 7. The shortest run of the weekend (link).
• Walt Disney World Half-Marathon. Jan. 7. Registration closed (link). [Note: The full- and half-marathons are now held on separate days. Read our WDW Marathon Guide.]
• Walt Disney World Marathon. Jan. 8. Registration closed (link).
• College Cheerleading and Dance Team Championship. January 13–16.

February 2006

• National Dance Team Championship. February 3–6.
• National High School Cheerleading Championship. February 10–13.
• Atlanta Braves Training Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex (link). Dates in February ? March TBA.
• Twirlmania. February 17–20. Twirlers, auxiliary guard, pom, and dancers descend on the Wide World of Sports (link).
• Cheer & Dance National Championships. February 25–26. School & Youth Rec Cheer February 25, All-Star Cheer & Dance February 26 (link).

March 2006

• Cheer & Dance National Championships. March 3–5. All Star/Studio March 3, School Dance March 3–5 (link).
• ESPN The Weekend. March 3–5. Corporate synergy brings the cable channel back to the Studios for its third go-round (link).
• National All Star Cheerleading Championship. March 10–13.

April 2006

• Disney’s All-Star Kids Classic. April 1. Registration is now open for the kids’ inline race (link).
• Walt Disney World Inline Marathon. April 2. Registration is now open (link).
• Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. April 21 – June 11. Epcot comes alive with topiaries, other floral displays, gardening demonstrations and the “Flower Power” concert series (link).

May 2006

• Disney’s Minnie Marathon Weekend 5K and 1 Mile (link). May 6. The short runs of the ladies-only running weekend take place at and near Downtown Disney.
• Women Run the World 15 K (link). May 7. The ladies-only run starts at Animal Kingdom, goes through the Studios and ends at Epcot.
• Star Wars Weekends. Dates TBA. The popular event is slated to return to the Studios in 2006 (link).
• Epcot Teddy Bear and Doll Weekend. May 18–21. Collectible bears and dolls at Epcot (link).

September 2006

• Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Dates TBA. The annual gathering hopes not to be cancelled by hurricane again this year (link).
• Night of Joy. Dates TBA. Disney’s annual Christian music festival (link).
• Walt Disney World Triathlon. Sept. 24. Athletes compete in a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike ride, and a 10K run (link).
• Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Sept. 29 – Nov. 12. The annual celebration of things gustatory, plus the Eat to the Beat concert series (link).

October 2006

• Disney’s Race for the Taste 10K. Oct. 8. The annual Disney 10K race continues its association with the Epcot Food & Wine Festival (link).

January 2007

• Walt Disney World Half-Marathon. Jan. 6. Registration now open (link). [Note: The full- and half-marathons are now held on separate days. Read our WDW Marathon Guide.]
• Walt Disney World Marathon. Jan. 5. Registration now open (link).

Current Discounts & Promotions

Passholder Best Rate Program extended through April 13

The Passholder Best Rate program is now accepting reservations, online only, through April 13, 2006. In addition, some rates have dropped even lower, with value resorts going for $49 most nights from January 16 – February 4, 2006.

Radisson Resort Parkway releases rates through the end of 2006

Radisson Resort Parkway, a MousePlanet sponsor, has announced their rates through the end of 2006. Note that the resort has allocated some rooms as low as $77.00 weekdays and $87.00 weekends now through December 22.

Click here for more information, or here to make reservations now.

Plan ahead and save a few bucks

Walt Disney World’s entire ticket price structure changed as of January 2, 2005, to the new “Magic Your Way” passes. Advance purchase discounts are only available on tickets above the base ticket of at least 5 days.

Annual Passholders

Receive 10 percent off the price of their lunch meal at selected Walt Disney World Resort hotel restaurants, and the discount is good for up to three guests. The offer is valid Mondays through Fridays. Call 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463) for locations and reservations.

Park Hours

Hours and entertainment schedules are currently available through December 2005.

Entertainment Schedule

Hours and entertainment schedules are currently available through December 2005.

Theme Park Events

Downtown Disney Entertainment

(Separate admission required)