Walt Disney World Park Update

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News and Views

Cirque du Soleil celebrates
five years at Walt Disney World

On June 2, Cirque du Soleil celebrated
the fifth anniversary of the debut of La Nouba, a show created for Walt
Disney World’s Downtown Disney West Side, and performed in a theater built expressly
for that show. The show conveys the French phrase “faire la nouba,”
which roughly translates to “live it up.” After over 2,500 performances
and 3.5 million spectators, what does a show like this do to celebrate? Well,
that’ll be done over the next six months, and include:

• July
  – a photo gallery situated inside the theater showcases images from behind
  the curtain and captivating moments with Cirque du Soleil performers. This photography
  display was created by accomplished photographers Yuri Maiorov, better known as
  La Nouba’s flying man, and Jean- Francios Bedard, a musician in the show.
• August
  – La Nouba recognizes its own performers who have competed at world-championship
  levels, as well as aspiring young performers. Cirque du Soleil coaches will invite
  Central Florida children to a special workshop training session.
• September
  – the sounds of La Nouba take center stage. The talented musicians who set
  the mood for the show with provocative music will stage a jam session at Downtown
  Disney.
• November – The team shares its artistry with guests
  attending the annual Festival of the Masters art show November 12–14 at Downtown
  Disney.

Gay Day events quiet except for feud between event founder,
promoters

While the local press appears to be largely not reporting on
the Gay Day events at Walt Disney World, the loudest noise appears to be coming
from the feud between Doug Swallow, founder of the event and owner of gayday.com,
and Tom Manley and Chris Alexander-Manley, who own gaydays.com. Manley and Alexander-Manley
run their site as a for-profit business, while Swallow only makes a small profit
on T-shirts and event guides. Some event sponsors have stopped advertising on
gaydays.com, as the prices have risen too high. Swallow allows all event sponsors
to advertise for free. Gaydays.com, which sponsors events and acts as a travel
agent for the event, claims that it was the reason why the event has grown to
the international behemoth that it is. Crowds this year were expected to reach
125,000–140,000, with total economic impact of over $100 million. Both sides
plan to continue their efforts to promote the event.

Share A Dream Come
True parade gets update

An updated version of the Share A Dream Come True
parade began running in the Magic Kingdom last Thursday, a day later than planned
due to rain. Among the changes:

• The former Crystal Castle float has
  been moved up in the lineup, and will now be referred to as the Peter Pan Float.
• 
  As many characters as possible have been moved off of the floats. Snow White,
  all Seven Dwarfs, Goofy, Donald and the villains are all walking. Also, for possibly
  the first time ever in Disney park history, Minnie Mouse is walking, rather than
  on a float. Many characters, including the Lost Boys, have been removed from the
  parade indefinitely. With the Lost Boys now really lost, Wendy is now riding
  on the Peter Pan float with Peter.
• Following the Peter Pan Float, the
  former Princess Float returns to the parade as a single unit float, renamed the
  Cinderella Float. The float has been modified to feature only the Fairy Godmother,
  Cinderella and Prince Charming.
• The Castle Float has become a permanent
  part of the parade, serving as the finale of Disney Princes and Princesses.
• 
  In addition, several other performer changes have been made to the parade lineup,
  along with choreography and blocking changes.
• The show stops are not
  returning at this time, however they are still being considered for a posible
  return somewhere down the line.

Multi-day stroller/wheelchair rental
test

For the next two weeks through Saturday, June 19, all four parks are
testing multi-day stroller and wheelchair rentals. With a multi-day rental, you
can avoid any wait times in stroller/wheelchair rental queues on subsequent days.
All guests purchasing a multi-day rental of two or more days receive a 10 percent
discount off of their total rental price. This test does not include ECVs.

Changes
in Liberty Square

The Liberty Square Riverboat smoking location
closed last Wednesday. The area was located to the right of the landing, before
you get to the Riverboat exit, on the Haunted Mansion side.

The Madame Leota
merchandise cart will be moved from the exit of the Haunted Mansion to the former
smoking location. This should help with guest flow in the area, and will result
in additional stroller parking at the Mansion. The smoking location behind the
Old Christmas Shop is still available for those wishing to smoke in Liberty Square.

A
new Operating Participant, the Historical Research Center, has been added to the
Heritage House. The employees of the Historical Research Center (HRC) research
family names and Coats of Arms, and will reproduce them on-site for guest purchase.
HRC also reproduces hand-crafted family heirlooms in the form of hand-painted
shields or hand stitched Coats of Arms, which can be custom framed upon request.

The
Gallery where guests could get a painting of themselves, located under the white
gazebo next to the Hall of Presidents, will be moved to Main Street, most likely
Center Street. The outdoor food market, right next door, will be now moved under
the roof to fill that space.

Epcot beer update

While the large-sized
beers are no longer available at carts around the World Showcase Promenade as
reported last week, you can still get them in some sit-down restaurants, including
the Biergarten.

The reason that Lowenbrau has replaced Beck’s is that Beck’s
decided to drop its sponsorship money, and Lowenbrau quickly agreed to a deal.

The disappearance of Ringnes is also due to corporate maneuvering. After Carlsberg
Breweries bought out Orkla, they decided to stop exporting Ringnes to the U.S.
because so few locations were importing it (the Norway pavillion being one of
them). Oddly, they decided to replace it with Carlsberg, which is a product of
Denmark, not Norway. Apparently, they know how bad Americans are at geography.

Animal Kingdom returns elephant to Pittsburgh Zoo

Jackson,
a 26-year-old African bull elephant, has been returned to the Pittsburgh Zoo after
a three-year stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The elephant, nicknamed Jack, is
prized for being the only bull in the United States who can mate naturally. Jack’s
stay in Florida was quite fruitful, as he impregnated one cow elephant. A second
may be expecting, as well. A third cow may be pregnant from Jack, though semen
from Jack and another bull was used to artificially inseminate her—so genetic
testing will be required to determine the father.

Ears to the Ground

…Timekeeper
opens for the summer season from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., from June 13 to August 14.

…There
is a rumor that Jungle Cruise will open with the rest of the park for the summer,
instead of at 10a.m. It would happen from sometime around mid-June to mid-Aug.

…The
Never Land Club at Disney’s Polynesian Resort is being refurbished May 31 to June
30, 2004. Operations were moved to the Tangaroa Terrace during this time.

…A
new Figment meet-and-greet is rumored to open early next year. You’ll be able
to get your photo taken with a larger-than-life-size Figment, and buy photos of
your character encounter, as well. The latest word is that they are apparently
still working on the design of the Figment costume.

…The “Disney
Bear,” which debuted in July 2002 at the grand opening of Once Upon a Toy
at Downtown Disney Marketplace, is now doing meet-and-greets inside the store.
This month, the bear with the mouse-shaped markings on its face and paws can be
seen Wednesday through Saturday evenings between 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

…”A
Taste of Fantasmic,” the Fantasmic “rain show,” had its first performance
last Thursday when the regular “Fantasmic” show was rained out. About
5,800 people watched the abbreviated show of water screens and fireworks set to
music. Since the pyrotechnics cannot be stored again once it got wet and had to
be fired off anyway, it was decided to allow guests to watch a shortened show
in order to avoid complaints from people who left a rained out performance of
Fantasmic only to see the fireworks being shot off as they rode the trams back
out to the parking lot.

…MousePlanet reader Kari Coil writes
that the Yacht club is under construction. The back side is covered in awnings
and tarps and there is a lot of hammering going on under it.

Have any interesting news or rumors? Let
us know.

Refurbishments and Attraction
Closures

Magic Kingdom

• “it’s a small world”
  – closed for rehab through March 18, 2005. The work is expected to be for
  upgrades to the lighting, audio, and electrical systems, rehabs to sets and Audio-Animatronic
  figures, asbestos abatement, roof repair, regular water maintenance (draining
  and refilling), replacement of boats, and the rumored swapping of the entry and
  exit queues for better traffic flow and more stroller parking. The audio upgrade
  will include a return to a cleaned-up copy of the stereo soundtrack heard at the
  1964 World’s Fair, which has been very well received when it returned to Disneyland
  a couple of years ago.
• 20,000 League Under the Sea lagoon – has
  been walled off to “clear the land as well as add landscape for future use.”
  The work is expected to run through November 21.
• The ExtraTERRORestrial
  Alien Encounter – closed for good. It is now undergoing a major rehab
  and reopens in fall 2004 as Stitch’s Great Escape. The official opening
  of the new attraction now appears targeted to October 1.
• Walt Disney’s
  Carousel of Progress – expected to remain open for the duration of the
  Stitch’s Great Escape construction.
• Timekeeper – returned
  to seasonal operation. The attraction will be open for the summer season from
  10 a.m. to 9 p.m., from June 13 through August 14.
• Adventureland –
  now opens again with the rest of the park daily with the exception of the Jungle
  Cruise and the Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management, which
  still open at 10 a.m. There is a rumor that the Jungle Cruise will open with the
  rest of the park for the summer, from mid-June through mid-August.
• The
  Hall of Presidents and the Country Bear Jamboree also open at 10
  a.m. every day.
• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway – remains open during
  its rehab, which will continue through August 8.
• Tom Sawyer Island
  – will be closed from July 25 through Sept. 25.
• The Enchanted Grove
  – rehab for replacement of the floor and serving windows extended to last
  through June 11.
• Mickey’s Toontown Fair train station – will
  be torn down and rebuilt between May 10 and June 18. The only stops made by the
  Walt Disney World Railroad during that time will be Main Street, USA and Frontierland,
  though the train will stop to take on water in Toontown once every three trips
  around the park. Guests will not be allowed to board or exit the train during
  that time.
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin – down for rehab Sept.
  13 – Oct. 15.
• Ariel’s Grotto – down for rehab Sept. 22 –
  Nov. 19 for theme-matching with the 20,000 Leagues Lagoon reclamation.
• 
  Astro Orbiter – down for rehab Jan. 2 – Feb. 16, 2005.
• Dumbo
  the Flying Elephant – down for rehab Jan. 10 – Feb. 10, 2005.

Epcot

• The Universe of Energy – may close for a short rehab at any time
  to remove the ExxonMobil signage now that its pavilion sponsorship has ended.
• Rose
  & Crown Pub & Dining Room – the pub portion is closed until just
  before July 4. The rehab is rumored to include a complete rebuild on the pub portion
  and the building of a divider between the pub and the restaurant.
• Food
  Rocks – closed permanently to make way for the entrance to the new Soarin’
  Over California attraction.
• The Behind the Seeds Walking Tour
  of the greenhouses at The Land – discontinued during reconstruction of the
  Food Rocks area into the queue for Soarin’. The tours are expected to resume upon
  completion of the construction.
• 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 will now be open when the pavilion is open.

Disney-MGM
Studios

• Residential Street at the Disney-MGM Studios –
  closed and demolished and construction is well underway to turn the site into
  the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, an American version of
  the popular Moteurs… Action! stunt show from the Walt Disney Studios
  at Disneyland Paris.
• Star Tours will be closed for rehab from July
  16 – August 1.
• The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
  – rehab has been extended through July 12.
• New York Street
  – undergoing a great deal of construction to change some facades to represent
  Chicago and San Francisco. The Chicago facades appear to be complete, while San
  Francisco is underway. The target completion date for the rest of the newly-titled
  Big City Street is October 2.
• The Osborne Family Spectacle of
  Lights – is now confirmed to be returning this year on Big City Street,
  from November 24 through January 2.

Animal Kingdom

• No
  currently reported rehabs.

Resorts

• Port Orleans Resort
  – A two-year extensive rehab of this resort’s rooms is ongoing. For Phase
  I, French Quarter has reopened. Phase II is underway, and involves Riverside going
  through a phased rehab. The Magnolia Bend mansions will go down one by one, followed
  by Alligator Bayou closing in sections.
• Polynesian Resort –
  nearing completion of the refurbishment of longhouses. Each longhouse under rehab
  is walled off and isolated during its rehab. Rarotonga is the last remaining longhouses
  currently scheduled to undergo rehab, and was tentatively scheduled through May
  2. However, it appears that the rehab on that longhouse has not been completed
  yet. There is currently no completion date available. Tokelau, Tahiti, and Rapa
  Nui have not yet been refurbished, but they have not yet been scheduled, either.
• The
  Never Land Club at Disney’s Polynesian Resort – will be refurbished May 31
  – June 30, 2004. Operations will be moved to the Tangaroa Terrace during this
  time.
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort – The main pool will be
  closed from September through the end of the year for construction of a new water
  slide.
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (a new Disney Vacation
  Club resort) – now open. Construction continues on the rest of the resort;
  the other three buildings of Phase I are due by the end of the year, the eight
  units of Phase II are due in 2005, and the six units of the newly-announced Phase
  III are due in 2007. Phase III will involve the razing of the old Fairway Villas.

Water
Parks

• No current water park rehabs underway.

Elsewhere

• Cirque du Soleil – La Nouba – to performing Tuesdays through
  Saturdays, but will be closed June 20-July 5, August 22-25, October 17-20, and
  December 5-13.
• The All Star Cafe at Disney’s Wide World of Sports
  complex – now closed Monday-Wednesday. It is open Thursday-Sunday, from 11:30
  a.m.-9 p.m.

Park Events

Ongoing

• Star Wars Weekends (link).
  Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, May 14 – June 13.

June 2004

• National Kidney Foundation 5K for Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness (link)
  . June 12.
• Family Pride Coalition Weekend (link).
  June 17 – 20.[Not official WDW events.]
• E-Ride Nights at the Magic
  Kingdom. June 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30.

July
2004

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp at Disney’s Wide World
  of Sports complex (link).
  July through mid-August.
• E-Ride Nights at the Magic Kingdom. July
  2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30.
• “ESPN The Weekend”
  (link).
  July 31 and Aug. 1.

September 2004

• Tom
  Joyner Family Reunion Weekend (link).
  September 2-5.
• Nights of Joy (link).
  September 9 – 11.
• Disney’s International Distance Triathlon
  (link).
  September 26.

October 2004

• Epcot International Food
  & Wine Festival (link).
  October 1 – November 14.
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
  (link).
  October 1, 3, 8, 12, 14, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29 and 31.
• 2004 Komen
  Central Florida Race For The Cure 5K (link).
  October 9.
• Disney’s 10K Classic (link).
  October 10.
• Funai Classic at Walt Disney World (link).
  October 21 – 24.
• 999 Happy Haunts event. Dinner, October 25.
  Gathering, October 27.

November 2004

• Super Soap Weekend
  (link).
  Dates in early November TBA.
• Festival of the Masters at Downtown
  Disney (link).
  November 12–14.
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (link).
  November 28 and 30, December 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 17.
• Festival
  of the Seasons at Downtown Disney (link).
  November 26 – December 24.
• Holidays Around the World (link).
  November 26 – December 30.

December 2004

• New
  Year’s Eve celebrations at Pleasure Island (link)
  and Atlantic Dance (link).
  December 31.

January 2005

• Disney’s Health
  and Fitness Expo (link).
  January 7 & 8.
• FamilyFun Magazine Family Fun Run (link).
  January 8.
• Disney Marathon (link)
  and Half-Marathon (link).
  January 9.

February 2005

• Atlanta Braves Training
  Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex (link).
  Dates in February through April TBA.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Special at
Radisson Resort Parkway

Rates at the Radisson Resort Parkway were just
reduced for dates of 5/31/04 – 6/13/04 to $75.95. A free upgrade to Deluxe
Pool view still applies with “UPGR” promo code on reservation. Click
here (link)
for more information about deals for MousePlanet readers and to make reservations!

Florida
Resident Cirque du Soleil La Nouba special

Florida residents can receive
20 percent off Category Two tickets at Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney’s West
Side from June 1 – September 30, 2004. Blackout dates are June 20 –
July5 and August 22–25. Proof of residency and advance purchase are required.
The discount is not available at the ticket window, and there is a limit of four
tickets per transaction. To order call 407-939-1282.

June discounts for
Georgia residents

Disney has announced a discount for Georgia residents
for the month of June. Discounts are for room-only reservations. Visit MouseSavers
for more details.

7-for-5 package now available

While not
as deep a discount as last year’s 7-for-4 package, this year’s buy-five-get-two-free
package is still a good deal. The package—officially called “Disney’s
Five Plus Two Dream Maker Package”—is available for stays from July
5 through November 18, but must be booked by June 28. A Disney Visa version of
the package that also includes 25 Disney Dollars is available. Visit MouseSavers
for more details.

Discounts for hotel-only and Dream Maker packages now
available

Discount rates for stays from July 5 through August 28 are now
available. Packages must be booked by June 15. Visit MouseSavers
for more details.

Gaylord Palms to pay for gas

Guests of the Gaylord
Palms Resort will receive a $75 credit to cover the higher cost of gasoline for
stays of at least three nights from June 15 through Sept. 6. The Orlando-area
resort will provide the room credit to guests who make a reservation using the
promotion code FREEGAS. It is not a requirement that guests drive to the resort
in order to get the discount.

Disney’s Summer Price Slice returns

Summer
Price Slice is back with special-value greens fees on tee times after 10 a.m.
daily from May 17 through Sept. 30 on Disney’s five championship courses.

Golfers can test the premier Osprey Ridge course after 10 a.m. for $65 (compared
to a normal seasonal greens fee of $119) or Eagle Pines for $50 (compared to a
normal seasonal fee of $109). Post-10 a.m. rounds on the Magnolia, Palm or Lake
Buena Vista courses are $45 (compared to a normal seasonal fee of $99). Cart is
included.

Disney’s Summer Price Slice also gives golfers the opportunity
to play afternoon rounds late into the day. Golfers can take on Osprey Ridge after
3 p.m. for $35 ($30 after 5 p.m.). Eagle Pines, Magnolia, Palm and Lake Buena
Vista start at $30 after 3 p.m. ($25 after 5 p.m.).

For tee times, guests
may call 407/WDW-GOLF (407-939-4653). For information on the Walt Disney World
golf courses Web site (link).

Plan ahead and save a few bucks

The Walt Disney World Resort is
encouraging visitors to buy their theme park tickets before they even leave home,
by offering a slight discount on advance purchases. You can save as much as $26
per adult, per ticket with the “Advance Purchase Savings” program. These
prices are before the 6.5 percent Orange County sales tax.

You can also
receive these Advance Purchase Savings with packages purchased through AAA.

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 July 2004.

Entertainment Schedule

Hours and
entertainment schedules are currently
available through July 2004.

Theme Park Events

Downtown Disney Entertainment

(Separate admission
required)