Changes and Goodbyes Recently Announced for Walt Disney World

We all knew it was coming with Walt Disney World being closed for over 100 days the budget was being cut on multiple projects that were announced just last year at the D23 Expo. We also received word of saying goodbye to 2 attractions officially and a surprise cut of a nighttime show. Over the last few days it was announced that both the Spaceship Earth refurbishment and the addition of the Mary Poppins attraction in the United Kingdom are officially postponed and major changes are being made to World Celebration. 

With Spaceship Earth we recently had the announcement the the refurbishment was delayed it is now postponed. The closure that was supposed to begin May 26 but with the extended park closure due to Covid-19 which has caused massive budget cuts across the parks it has now been indefinitely postponed. If the refurbishment ever gets back on the table it is expected to take 2 and half years with the reimagining including a new show building and exit attraction that was announced at last years D23 Expo.

The re-imagination of Spaceship Earth is not the only thing postponed in Epcot as the Cherry Tree Lane addition to the United Kingdom was also removed from the Walt Disney World projects due to budget cuts. With no expected completion date ever announced it was feared that this would be cut as construction never began for the addition.

With the removal/postponements of these two exciting additions to Epcot major changes are also coming to the new area in Epcot World Celebration also announced recently at last years D23 Expo in August. 

This will include changes to the Festival Center in World Celebration. While Disney stated the work is expected to resume on the new area soon it announced they will be making changes to the originally planned Festival Center, however what those changes are were not announced. So stay tuned for future updates on World Celebration and the Festival Center in Epcot.

With all that news coming on Wednesday, it was announced yesterday in a Cast Member memo that we would be officially saying goodbye to 2 attractions and surprisingly an nighttime show. At Magic Kingdom it was finally officially announced that Stitch's Great Escape is officially not reopening. This is after going seasonal a few years ago and last year when it was discovered that the Stitch animatronic was burned and destroyed. 

This has been rumored for a while to be replaced by a Wreck-it-Ralph attraction however that is now tabled for the unseeable future due to Covid-19 and the budget cuts. Also being cut over at Disney's Animal Kingdom is Primeval Whirl over in Dinoland, USA. The ride was recently put in seasonal operation just a few months ago and was operating during peak season. When Animal Kingdom opened up on July 11 the ride had been removed from maps in the park. 

The most shocking news from yesterday's memo though was the removal and permanent closure of Rivers of Light. The nighttime spectacular which debuted in 2017 had already seen one update just last year. There was no reason stated as to why they were ending the show's run as it was rumored to receive a major update within the next year or so although as there is no set return for any fireworks or nighttime shows due to the current of any major crowding at the parks due to the pandemic. 

Details on all these changes seem to be ever changing but as always stay tuned for any future updates right here on It All Started With a Mouse.

Disney World Discontinuing Complimentary Luggage Service for Hotel Resort Guests on Magical Express

Disney World Discontinuing Complimentary Luggage Service on Magical Express:

Effective July 16,2020, Guests using Walt Disney World's Magical Express will no longer be able to rely on the complimentary luggage service allowing luggage to delivered straight to their room when arriving or delivered back to Orlando International Airport when departing. Here is what Disney released on their website:

Disney’s Magical Express® Service

Complimentary airport transportation via Disney’s Magical Express service for Guests arriving and departing from Orlando International Airport is continuing to operate during this period, with some modifications. Beginning July 16, 2020 Disney’s Magical Express service will not be providing luggage delivery service for those arriving to and departing from the airport.

Guests who choose to use Disney’s Magical Express service will be responsible for picking up any of their checked luggage from the airport’s baggage claim area, so that it can be loaded onto the motorcoach to their Disney Resort hotel. Please know that your luggage will travel with you to your Disney Resort hotel.

Luggage assistance will be available at the front of your Disney Resort hotel, including luggage storage and/or transport to the room.

Upon your departure, please ensure your luggage is with you and is loaded onto the motorcoach, so you can check it in with your airline once you reach the airport. The resort airline check-in service will not be offered at this time.

Many airlines have modified their flight schedules, so please confirm your flight information. If you plan to use Disney’s Magical Express service, contact your room reservation booking agent, or call (407) 939-1936 to make any updates to your flight information on file.

Stay tuned to see if this is a permanent change or temporary.

Breaking: Say Goodbye to Splash Mountain at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Ride will be Re-Themed to Princess and the Frog

 

Concept Art of Re-Themed Splash Mountain

Disney dropped a bombshell on us this morning with the announcement of Splash Mountain at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World being re-themed to Princess and the Frog to set new adventures with Princess Tiana. A few weeks ago after it was rumored that Disney should re-theme the classic ride from its controversial theming from Disney's animated film "Song of the South". Disney has reportedly been working on the reimagination of the ride for over a year according to Disney Imagineer, Bob Weis.

The ride will pickup shortly after the film's final kiss where guests will join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure featuring some of the films powerful music as they prepare for their first ever Mardi Gras performance. Charita Carter, the senior creative producer leading the project at Walt Disney Imagineering shared this quote with the announcement, “Like Princess Tiana, I believe that courage and love are the key ingredients for wonderful adventures. I am delighted to be a part of bringing this fun-filled experience to our guests.”

For Imagineers, change is rooted in a tradition set by Walt Disney who encouraged new innovations, new ideas, new scenes and current storytelling. And the experiences they create can be enjoyed by guests who visit our parks from all over the world.

As part of the creative development process, conceptual design work is well underway and Imagineers will soon be able to conduct preliminary reviews and develop a timeline for when the transformation can start to take shape. As of now there is no timeline for when the reimagination will take place. It was announced the both attractions on both coast will open back up when Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom opens on July 11 and when Disneyland opens back up with its current theming. 

Stay tune for more information as we learn about the future of Splash Mountain. 

Disney Parks Pass Reservation System is Live, Struggles with IT to Start

New Rose Gold Castle Loading Screen this morning when the Disney Park Pass Reservation System went
 live.

We are just 3 weeks away from Walt Disney World re-opening after the devastating effects to our country due to Covid-19. This morning the new Disney Parks Pass Reservation system went live, but struggled with multiple IT issues due to overwhelming traffic on the site. Guests who already have a resort reservation and tickets from now until September 26, 2021.

The system which was supposed to go live at 7 a.m. EST/4 a.m. PST, however initial reports from Disney were that system was not live. After almost 2 hours of waiting guests attempting to make reservations on the new system, guests were finally able to make reservations at almost 9 a.m. EST. Once live it seems guests were able to make reservations with ease however there were still reports of loading trouble again that was most likely due to traffic on the site.

Disney should not have dumped everyone who had reservations already from now until September 2021 all into one phase of reservations as if it was phased into say 90 day time slots the system probably would have handled it better. Other issues were guests finding reservations to be sold out when reservations were actually still available on days as well as some guests reporting they were only able to get reservations for a certain amount of days on their trip as they were getting capped on the amount of days they can reserve in the park.

The next set of dates where guests can make reservations is June 26 where Annual Passholders without resort reservations can begin to make reservations. On June 28, any existing ticket holders without resort stays can make reservation requests.

Stay tuned for future updates on Disney's new reservation system, Disney Parks Pass, as well as Disney news right here on It All Started With a Mouse. 

Note: To my readers, its been a while I know. Since my last post almost 2 years ago, I have gotten married last September and now my first child is about to be born in the coming weeks. I am going to try and keep up with however there is no telling with a newborn coming in how I will be able to blog as much as I used to. This will not be a daily blog like it used to be. I do thank you all in advance for reading and of course you can always listen to me on the MouseLife podcast. 

Thank You,

John