Mouse Extra

How many of you hate those damn Extra Magic Hour wristands? Who has hurt themselves trying to somehow pull them off? Well, according to some sources, such as WDWMagic.com, those days will soon be behind us. Apparently in early September, Disney will no longer be passing out wristbands. So how will the Disney folks keep tabs on who exactly is supposed to be enjoying the extra magic hours you ask?

Disney, instead, will be using your Key to the World cards or your resort ID. It seems unlikely that Disney will have some sort of scanning system in place at each and every attraction. I suppose the idea will be you must show a cast member your card as you get in line. This could lead to all sorts of “cheating.” I also would imagine you will be much more likely to lose your resort ID when you are constantly required to present it to someone. But personally, I am kind of glad those wristbands will be a thing of the past.

Today’s update is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Since EPCOT Center’s opening, Disney has been looking for ways to make the culture and cuisine heavy World Showcase more accessible to children. They have added a ton of character meet-n-greets. They threw in a small flume ride when they contructed Norway. They created the kidcot craft tables. All of them are fairly successful. And now they are bringing an animated star from the Disney channel lineup: Kim Possible

World Showcase seems an ideal place for kids to jet-set around the world as secret agents. Guests get Kimmunicators at certain kiosks. These interactive devices, presumably stemming from the My Pal Mickey tech, will guide guests throughout World Showcase on some sort of treasure hunt to find items. The whole idea is to stop villians from taking over the world, an admirable goal for certain. Each country will feature a unique mission. The countries involved are apparently Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. Here is the report from redorbit.com

I must say that I find this to be a unique and possibly interesting addition to World Showcase. Its a great way to involve the kids while not intruding on the more adult ideals of the area, such as the shopping, architecture and food. Its apparently going to begin later this year.

Today’s update is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Jim Hill Media has a terrific story this morning about some possible changes in the plans for Disney World’s 5th gate.  For months now we have been hearing about “Disney’s Night Kingdom” an ultra-expensive and extremely-interactive experience a la Discovery Cove.  Now it appears as though those plans may be changing and not necessarily for good reasons.  The name is reported to be “Disney’s Jungle Trek” and the plans may be evolving into something more…affordable.

“What else has changed about this $520 million project?,” you query. Well, in an effort to keep construction & operating costs of this proposed WDW addition down, WDI has been scaling back & cutting corners wherever it can. Cutting the number of ziplines to be built in this park from 5 to 2. Changing Jungle Trek’s meal component (Where each guest was to have been served an elegant dinner by that theme park’s extremely attentive staff) to a do-it-yourself all-you-can-eat buffet experience.

The Imagineers have even gone so far as to remove the individual “lands” that were to have been built inside of this niche park. Now what guests will find as they explore Disney’s Jungle Trek is a global village. Which will feature individual buildings & structures that then represent the four corners of the globe.

If you read the rest of the posting you will see that Mr. Hill does add some positive changes as well, so I don’t want people to believe this is all bad.  But doesn’t this sound vaguely familiar to anyone?  Does the term Beastly Kingdom pop into anyone else’s head when they start to read about budget cuts in new park construction?

The report goes on to make this point a bit clearer…

Of course, what’s kind of ironic about all this is that — while the Imagineers are increasing Jungle Trek’s operating hours as well as reducing the scope of this entire project in order to make this niche park seem that much more affordable to Mouse House managers — you know what hasn’t changed about this proposed WDW addition? Its admission price. Which is still projected to be around $300 per person.

Just last week I heard Bob Iger on CNBC enthusiastically declaring how well Disney is doing and noting the success of the theme parks.  But once again budgets are being slashed.  Does Mr. Iger feel his honeymoon with Disney fans allows him to revert to Eisner-era slashing?  Look out Mr. Iger, you may be developing your own reputation…

Screamscape.com has some interesting details via a press release on what we can expect to find in the upcoming T-Rex Café set to open this fall.  This is the first example of what is to come from the new Downtown Disney, so a lot is riding on this newbie.

Guests will be greeted with life-size animatronic dinosaurs that live among cascading waterfalls, bubbling geysers, a fossil dig site and much more. There will be a meteorite shower every 20 minutes and an aqua bar complete with a 6,000-gallon shark tank and a large octopus with mechanical tentacles. A full-size skeleton replica of Argentinosaurus, one of the largest of the dinosaurs and copied from a museum specimen about 125 feet in length, looms over the entrance, joined by a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

The only reason I am posting this is because I want to read what you the fans think of what you see hear.  The cynical Disney addict has been saying that this will be no more than a re-themed Rainforest Café.  But this looks a lot more elaborate than your average Rainforest and much more interesting as well. 

Yes, the animatronics could be ciraca-1964 and turns this into a giant cheese-fest, but let’s stay positive.  I mean a shark tank is cool in almost any form…unless this turns into some sort of Nemo-ized shark tank…

As Tropical Storm Fay makes its way up the Florida peninsula, Disney World has made some schedule changes to try and accommodate its current guests.  Here is the opening information via the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida Tourism blog.

Walt Disney World says it will open its parks early tomorrow, to give guests more time to enjoy themselves before Tropical Storm Fay reaches Central Florida.

All four theme parks will open at 8 a.m., followed by DisneyQuest at 9 a.m. and the AMC Theaters at Downtown Disney at 10 a.m.

Disney says there are no plans to close any of the areas early as of right now, though spokeswoman Jacquee Polak noted that rain and wind will likely be affecting park operations as early as Tuesday afternoon.

If you are at the parks, make sure you keep checking with Guest Services as this type of thing can change as the storm progresses.

How many times have I heard people suggest going to Walt Disney World during hurricane season?  I can’t even count them all.  Yes, it is the least crowded and yes, it can be the cheapest.  When Disney has done their free dining plan offers, they have come right smack in the middle of hurricane season.  Every year I suggest to my wife to go during September, thinking the lack of crowds and money savings will convince.  But each year she says she doesn’t want to “take that chance”.  I suppose that sometimes proceeding with caution is a good idea.

I know I have said this before, but the Star Tours 2 rumor may be the oldest rumor going. And may be it will be rearing its head again soon. As was noted here at Mouse Extra, the coming Clone Wars movie may effect what exactly happens with the future of Star Wars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Will there be a whole area of the park? Will we get a second Star Wars based attraction? It does seem we will at the very least get a revamp of Star Tours itself. And perhaps more information will be on the way in early September.

Star Wars fans I am sure are familiar with the magazine, Star Wars Insider. Well, the September issue, #104, will feature an in-depth article on the Star Tours ride as it turns 21. One solicitation states “Plus, take a trip with C-3PO celebrating 21 years of Star Tours.”

But even more interesting is the ad in Star Wars Insider #103. That says “Star Tours At 21! Insider Takes an in-depth look at Disney’s Star Tours ride, currently celebrating its 21st year. Covering its creation and development, the spin-off merchandise, and its future!”

The magazine should be out September 16th on the newsstand although subscribers get it earlier in the month. So look out for it.

Today’s posting is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.