Mouse Extra

Although certainly not official there has been some interesting tidbits on the Inside the Magic website. According to thier sources, the ride will shut down around April 15th not to reopen again until sometime in late September. Its certainly a long refurb, but more interestingly, it will be shut down for the entire summer season. It will, of course, be open for the Easter/spring break and the Christmas rush, but all summer long, the guests will be lacking the high speed attraction.

The ride will have “upbeat music, engaging media, dramatic lighting and a collection of Chevrolet concept cars and model vehicles.” Guests will use design stations to “make” thier car and then test it out the on Test Track course. Accoridng to Inside the Magic the “design area can be likened to interactive queue elements that Walt Disney World has been adding to other attractions in recent months and will precede the ride itself, which should include many (if not all) updated show scenes.” After the ride, there will be a post show involving your concept vechile.

Sounds like a nearly complete overhaul with mostly just the track itself sticking around. Hopefully, Disney will release more news and concept art in the coming weeks.

Test Track is getting a redo this Fall according to the Disney Parks blog. Although a specific date has not been given, the fall seems an odd choice. After all, that means the attraction will potenitally be refurbing in the summer. I imagine it won’t close until August but still.

According to Disney, the testing facility theme will be replaced and turned into the “Chevrolet Design Center of Epcot.” What that means is not enitrely clear. All Disney says is that you will design your own car and then ride in it. A fascinating concept to be sure but I am interested to see exactly what that means and how they pull that off. Or how 6 people who will be riding the thing agree on a car concept.

One thing I hope happens is a new interactive queue here. Test Track can use it. I suppose the retheming away from a testing facility would necessitate a new queue. Perhaps they queue would even incorporate the concept of designing your own car. In other words, maybe you will begin that process while you line up. I’m not sure. What I do know is that there are certain things I like about the current Test Track, like that last bank. I would think that would stay.

I am sure you have noticed the new trend in Disney queues. That is, the retooling of some lines to make them interactive. Disney has long saught a remedy to the long lines found at the parks especially during peak times. Fastpass was one answer to this. Now Disney is trying to be at least entertain you while you stand for an hour or more on lines.

To that end, Disney has added games to the queue at Soarin’. They have also created interactivty at the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and, more recently, the Haunted Mansion. I want to create a list of what I consider the 5 best queues in WDW (not counting the most recent changes). So here they are in order;

5. Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor: Yeah, I know this is a strange one, but I have always felt this attraction was underrated. And I put this on the list because of one of the things it does and thats incorporate technology. I think this queue is the beginning of a potential wave of interactivity. Its no secret that smartphones are, at this time, probably the number one form of entertainment while waiting in line. Here, Disney has, in a rudimentary form perhaps, began the process of using that tech within the queue and the attraction by allowing people to text jokes that may be used during the comedy show.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean; This queue just reeks of immersion. You really feel like you are in a dungeon. There are a lot of fun gags here, like the skeletons playing chess. And most importantly, its very cool, a wonderful place to cool down in the florida heat. The ride is pretty nifty too.

3. The Tower of Terror: Immersion to the nth degree. Stepping into the line, you are all of a sudden in a decrepit old hotel. The theming and the story telling is impeccable. The dust looks real. The boiler room is terrific. Its all so good. Its too bad I’m a chicken.

2. Expedition: Everest; Ok, so the yeti itself is a disaster, but the queue for this ride is absolutely wonderful. The artifacts from the Himalayas are fun, especially the ones dealing with the yeti. I particularly love the riped up tent and the statue of the yeti in the courtyard. The queue is so good you want to skip fast passes just to enjoy it.

1. Muppet Vision; This is my favorite pre-show/queue in all of Disney. Its an absolute hoot. Small screens show a movie about the muppets getting ready for the big show you are about to see. Add that to a plethora of sight gags throughout the “holding area” and you have a queue that may actully be better than the main attraction.

Orlando Attractions Magazine has reported and apparently Disney has confirmed that the band, British Invasion, is performing for the last time at Epcot’s World Showcase on April 30, 2011. According to the band’s facebook page, they gave thier notice to Disney. They will be performing in downtown Orlando starting May 14th. Their departure was first noted by the fan site, Illuminating Epcot.

Disney has not announced what will replace the band, but they have stated a replacement band is in place.

I, for one, will miss these performers. They were always a favorite of mine along World Showcase. Like many of the performers along the lagoon they brought a real sense of the country being represented. Well, at least we still have the mariachi band.

With Star Tours 2 nearly upon us and the Fantasyland expansion well underway, Disney execs may be getting close to announcing the next big thing from imagineering. After all, the D23 Expo is only 3 plus months away. One obvious choice for Disney expansion is a new pavillon at the World Showcase in Epcot. And Disney just maybe looking at adding a Brazilian section on the World Showcase lagoon.

According to the Fohla, a brazilian newspaper, Disney is in talks with the brazilian government on the aspects of a possible pavillon. If true, it would be the first new country to be added to the lineup in 25 years. Norway is the most ”recent” addition, opening in 1986.

The beauty of Rio

Brazil makes sense for many points. Most importantly, many WDW vets know that there are an enormous amount of visitors from the country. Huge tour groups roam the parks during the winter months. The country is vast in culture and cuisine. Who wouldn’t enjoy an amazon river cruise and a brazilian barbeque eatery. And a good caprhina please.

I certainly would love it. It would also be the first south american country at Epcot. Now granted, we all must wait for official word before believing this, but we can dream can’t we?

Time to continue with a trip report for last week’s vacation at Walt Disney World.  Day One of the trip is chronicled early last week.  My intention was to publish these reports the day on a sort of semi-live basis during my trip.  But honestly, when I am at the Mouse I really don’t have much time for blogging.

Before we being, I think it is important to explain the type of Disney World travelers we have become.  The days of standing on lines for E-tickets, or even walking back and forth across theme parks to make FastPass times are generally behind us.  We go to the Mouse as much for relaxation and good food as we do for the world class attractions and entertainment.  So you will come to notice we don’t squeeze as many attractions as possible into our days at the parks.

Day Two began around dinner time, as my wife and I had some family business to attend to during the morning and afternoon.  Epcot had an evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled for that night, plus we were looking for something to eat, so it was off to World Showcase.  (A recurring theme on this trip as you will come to find…)

We sampled some more of the Food and Wine Festival, always a great idea, and rode on the Maelstrom and Three Caballeros.  Let me also mention here that our attempt to sample one item from all of the Food and Wine stations met with miserable failure.  The problem was that the items we tried during our first 2 days were so darn good we wanted to get them again, which put an end to our mission.

Finally, with the Food and Wine closing and an inferno-barge-less showing of Illuminations, we walked down to Future World for a ride on Spaceship Earth, some pin-shopping, and a succesful attempt at getting my wife to try Beverly at Club Cool.  (I am a bad man, I know!)  By this time it was after 10pm and we were both spent after a long day.