Update for September 24 – September 30, 2007
Go directly to: News & Views | Coming
Soon
| Trivia of the Week | Refurbishment/Attraction
Closures
| Park Events | Discounts/Promotions
| Park Hours/Events/Entertainment Schedule
News and Views
Epcot 25 celebration | Moms panel
shuts out applicants
| Epcot dining | Cirque price
hike
| $10 million hospital donation
| Another cast member arrested | Construction
update | Quick Takes …
Epcot 25 celebration to take place next Monday
After months of denying that there would be any official public recognition
of Epcot‘s 25th anniversary next Monday,
Walt Disney World is now planning a rededication
ceremony and other events to commemorate the park, which opened on October
1, 1982. Disney’s plans were perhaps spurred in part by the huge response
to the “Celebration
25” event created by Jenn Waitt and Adam Roth, and to a smaller event
called “The
Epcot Thing” created by Nathan Rose. The fact that several hundred
people were willing to travel to attend an unofficial event helped convince
Disney to involve the “Celebration 25” group in the official rededication
ceremony that takes place at the Fountain of Nations plaza behind Spaceship
Earth.
In addition to the 10:01 a.m. ceremony—which echoes the park’s original
dedication ceremony—Epcot is installing a special exhibit in the south
corridor of Innoventions West near the character
greeting location, distributing commemorative buttons to all park guests,
and adding a special ending tag for the evening’s showing of Illuminations.
The tag will feature well-known Epcot music and the voice of Walt Disney,
most likely from “The Epcot Film,” and will include perhaps as many shells
in the closing seconds as the show’s entire holiday tag.
“Retro” guidebooks, menus and other souvenirs will also be involved in the
event. The Innoventions exhibit will be in place through at least the end
of the year; we’ll bring you photos from the exhibit in the October 8 Park
Update.
Also, park guests will have the opportunity to chat with Imagineering Ambassador
Marty Sklar in the Circle of Life Theater
inside The Land pavilion, though seating will be limited. World
Showcase restaurants will also get into the act, providing menus reminiscent
of the original 1982 menus. It will be interesting to see how that integrates
with the opening week of the Epcot International
Food & Wine Festival.
Despite that, much of Disney’s focus remains on cast-oriented events, as
originally planned. The 300 opening-day cast members who still work there
will be recognized, and other giveaways, decorations and celebrations are
also involved.
Moms panel shuts out applicants
The application period for the Disney World Moms panel has closed well ahead
of schedule. Originally
announced for September 6 through October 5, Disney had only planned to
allow 5,000 applications. Response was so strong that the application cap
was increased to 10,000 within the first week, and within the week after,
the application period was closed—about three weeks early.
Those going to the application
Web site now find the message:
