Mouse Extra

It appears Disney’s Wide World of Sports is about to undergo a major change, as Disney finally puts the mega-popular ESPN brand name to its proper use in the theme parks.   According to a press release this morning, the complex will undergo a complete rebranding.  You can read the entire press release here.

Aligning the world’s No. 1 family vacation destination with the worldwide leader in sports, Walt Disney World Resort and ESPN are joining forces to re-brand Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex with the ESPN brand, creating an entertaining and immersive experience for the nearly 2 million athletes, coaches and spectators who come through the Disney sports complex each year.

Plans for the re-branding initiative – which was announced today during the ESPN upfront presentation to advertisers and sponsors – are still in the development stage, but initial concepts involve renaming the sports complex and incorporating the signature elements of ESPN throughout the 220-acre facility, which is a leading venue for amateur and professional sports in the country.  The project aims to enhance the experience of both athletes and spectators by connecting them to their favorite ESPN programs, personalities and elements.  It also will provide advertisers new sponsorship opportunities at the grass roots level.

It is somewhat unusual for Disney to be so upfront with things that are still at the “developmental stage”.  Usually they let it orbit the rumor world for a few months and then offer the details when they are good and ready.  Despite the longwinded press release, there is little here that says much more than a new name.  Could that really be all there is to this project?  Perhaps, but they seem to be hinting here to much more.

For one thing, I believe there still is an All Star Café over at that complex.  I can’t imagine ESPN would want a direct competitor to its own line of restaurants within their new digs.  Could this be the place where Disney puts the giant-sized flagship ESPNZone?

Bob Iger was recently quoted on CNN Money as saying the following:

“And not everything has to be a franchise. I was recently asked whether “Ratatouille” was a franchise. I said no: “Ratatouille” is an extremely good animated film and will be a classic unto itself, but it is not a franchise. You are not going to see “Ratatouille” attractions in parks. When you look at “Toy Story,” we’re making our third film, we’re opening two Toy Story Mania attractions at parks this summer, we have a very strong consumer products line, we have a “Toy Story” musical opening on the cruise line, we have a game in development - that’s a franchise.”

Of course, this nips in the bud the many rumors of a Ratatouille “wild mouse” coaster in Disney Hollywood Studios, a clone of the Crush Coaster from the Paris park. Which is too bad, since I think a wild ride through the sewers of Paris as a rat might have been fun. I feel Ratatouille is one of the better Pixar films.

But the real problem is the reasoning behind this. I can certainly live without a Ratatouille coaster, but i don’t want all future attractions restricted to those of a franchise. Does everything have to be based on the Princesses or Toy Story? Yes, I know Expedition Everest is not a “franchise” based attraction, not a pirate to be found anywhere. But that seems to be the exception to the rule these days. I hope this is not a sign of the end of original attractions like the Haunted Mansion or Soarin’ being imagineered. Lets hope not!

Set your DVR’s because tonight the travel channel begins what they are calling the “Season of Disney”.  It looks like the network plans on showing a show based around Disney every Friday night at 9pm EST for the next five weeks.  Tonight it begins with “Samantha Brown’s Disney Favorites”.

Here are the names of the shows coming each Friday…

4/11 Samantha Brown’s Disney Favorites
4/18 Disney Splurge
4/25 Disney: On a Dime
5/2 The Disney Royal Treatment
5/9 Disney Cruise Line

It is always good to see the parks on the Travel Channel.  Some of these shows can be a bit over-the-top and certainly appear very staged, but the footage is certainly fun to see.  Enjoy.

The Orlando Sentinental is reporting the following

“E-Brands, the multi-concept Orlando based restaurant group, will launch its newest location and concept at Walt Disney World in 2009. The eatery will feature authentic Central and South American cuisine, specialty tequilas, premium wines and live music.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to build upon our portfolio of 15 successful restaurants across the country — including such brands as Timpano and Samba Room — and our 25-year relationship with Walt Disney World Resort,” said Rashid Choufani, CEO/Owner of E-Brands Restaurants and operator of Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion. “We look forward to sharing our unique dining experience with Walt Disney World guests from around the globe.

E-Brands Restaurants newest concept will come to life with a boldly colored hacienda-style interior featuring rustic beams that contrast against modern fixtures, stone floors and windows that open to create an open-air environment. The 5,000-square-foot, two-story facility will have a tequila bar and outdoor seating along Village Lake.”

Disney has not announced where this is going exactly other than to say it will be on Village Lake. I can guess that it may be part of the Pleasure Island overhaul. I can also assume it will much be like Raglan Road in that there is no cover charge. Frankly, Disney is going to the chain restaurant well a little too much recently with, in my opinion, mixed results. Having said that, South American cuisine is notably absent from Walt Disney World and this is a place I will definately try. We’ll see if it works out.

Today’s article is by Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Disney has recently announced a huge increase in the rental prices for strollers. Single passenger strollers now cost $15 per day while double strollers cost $31 per day. For those guests who want to rent the strollers for the length of their stay, it costs $13 and $27 per day respectively. If you rent a stroller at Downtown Disney, you need to fork over a $100 credit card deposit. This represents a massive increase in the price of renting strollers. For example, prior to Sunday, a double stroller cost $18 per day to rent. In other words, Disney has issued a 42% increase in the cost. A family with 2 children staying 7 days will now pay $189 to rent the double stroller.

The question is why is Disney jacking up the prices so much overnight. The official Disney word is that prices have not increased in three years and so this is an appropriate adjustment in pricing. Others theorize (me included) that Disney very well may be sick of being in the stroller renting business and might be trying to force people to not use strollers. Those folks with kids on the cusp of not needing a stroller now may just forget the idea. Of course, this hurts people who really need the things and don’t want to bring their own from home (not that big of a deal) or who find bringing their own on the Disney bus system difficult and inconvinent (which it very much is).

It seems to me that if this was just another way of milking the consumer for all they have, the increases would have been much smaller but more frequent - like a $3 increase now, another $2 in 6 months, another $3 6 months after that, so on and so forth. Plus, Disney obviously wants to phase out the double stroller since it now for the first time costs more to get a double stroller than 2 single strollers. Anyway, those folks going to the World need to be aware of this in order to make an appopriate choice for their budget.

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

Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel is reporting this morning that Disney World officials are making changes to Primeval Whirl in response to the tragic death of a cast member late last year.   Karen Price fell and died of head injuries after being hit by one of the rides cars while working on the attraction.

On the off-limits area of the ride platform beyond the passenger loading and unloading zones, Disney is installing sensor mats that will shut down the ride if someone sets foot there, Prunty said. Also, bold striping is being added to delineate the loading and unloading zones.

This doesn’t affect the guest experience to any noticeable degree.  But it is the proper response to a terrible tragedy.  Disney has received a lot of bad press from other fatal incidents in the past few years and has come under considerable fire for what appears to be a declining commitment to safety.  I can not say for sure if that is the case, but I do have to question the timing.  Why did it take over three months to make these simple changes?

I don’t mean to sound like a cynic here, but this is starting to concern me.  Back in December, a guest died on Expedition Everest of a heart attack and people questioned whether Disney had properly placed defibrillators in case of such an emergency on such an intense ride.  Is Disney dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s like they should?  It’s hard to make a negligence claim without really investigating the evidence, and I can not do that.  But we all know that perception in the biggest judge in these matters and Disney seems to be letting it slip more and more.