R.A. Pedersen's Blog, page 22
January 25, 2012
DCA Concept Art Bonanza!
There's really not much we can add to the discussion of the upcoming Carsland (Cars-Land? CARSLand? Cars Land?) at Disney's California Adventure. We don't live on the west coast anymore so we can't get photos of the construction and there's really not much more to say beyond what everyone else has said: This is John Lasseter's own personal addition to the park, and while it may bring crowds in the short term it's an awfully large amount of space to dedicate to a single franchise. One that...
Epcot Seas Pavilion to Add FASTPASS
The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion at Epcot is in the process of adding Fastpass to its exiting queue setup – or so we've been told. This does jive well with comments made previously by Epcot staff that the park will bring another Fastpass attraction online over the summer to accommodate for the closure of Test Track April-September this year. Here's a lovely photo of the new refurbishment walls for your viewing pleasure:
January 24, 2012
Behind the Scenes of Obama at the Magic Kingdom
With the recent visit of President Obama to the Magic Kingdom it's worth pointing out it's not all fun and games, even for the reporters invited to the event. ABC News' Jake Trapper fills us in on what it's like to cover such an event. Special guest appearances by the Epcot New Years Eve port-o-potties, the Grand Floridian lobby, Backstage Main Street USA, and that grassy knoll in the park everyone loves to use for live shots.
January 23, 2012
Splash Mountain Show Quality Failure
Kevin Yee provided this video from over the weekend showing the Splash Mountain showboat scene at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park almost entirely inoperable and nonfunctional.
The problem is, this wasn't a freak occurrence. The ride operated most of the day with the scene in the current state of disrepair and we've heard reports that there's no urgency to fix it anytime soon. "The maitenance staff is waiting for parts" is the standard reply.
The BIGGER problem is that this is not how th ...
January 21, 2012
Details & Concept Art of VISION House in Innoventions in Epcot
Details of the forthcoming VISION House at Innoventions in Epcot are starting to filter in as the design team itself seems pretty fond of social media. Here's the basic concept art for the venue:
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As you can see, the new VISION House goes for a more realistic design than the previous House of the Innoventions and also goes higher by adding a second floor to the building.
The concept art also seems to depict multiple entrances and exits – suggesting it wont simply have the predefined tour route w...
January 19, 2012
President Obama's Executive Order for Speech at Walt Disney World
The White House has released the executive order that President Obama will be talking about in his speech today at the Walt Disney World resort.
The short form is this: increased visa access and shortened turn-around time in both China and Brazil. Also, a task force to focus on tourism to the US, with an emphasis on China, Brazil, and India. The emphasis on Brazil is likely why Disney is interested in this whole process. The full executive order is posted below for your reading pleasure:
Execut...January 18, 2012
Historic B-Roll of Presidential visits to Walt Disney World Resort
Disney tossed us this bone, since we're not invited to the speech President Obama is giving tomorrow at the Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. If you're curious about the closures related to the speech and the impact on the parks we've been blogging over at TouringPlans.com to keep the Unofficial Guide readers abreast of possible changes to their vacation plans. If you want to watch the speech itself live tomorrow you can do so at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
President Richard Nixon –...
January 13, 2012
Press Release: New Sorcerer Mickey Topiary at 19th Epcot Flower & Garden Fest
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A little gardening magic will go a long way when an eight-foot-tall floral Sorcerer Mickey topiary holds court at the entrance to the 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 7-May 20 at Walt Disney World Resort. Standing atop a 12-foot-tall floral mountain cliff and towering above the park's front-entrance topiary bed, the commanding Sorcerer Mickey will direct a riot of color in the manicured shapes of dancing broomsticks, buckets, mushrooms...
January 12, 2012
Grand Floridian DVC and Wedding Pavilion Tarp Photos
If you wanted to know how Disney was going to cope with the new Grand Floridian DVC blocking the views from the wedding pavilion then this photo update will answer many questions.
It will also introduce new questions like "What were they thinking making a giant tarp wall that looks like the Grand Floridian in-the-distance and placing it right against the wedding pavilion's walkway bridge?"
And in our case – why on earth did Disney leave the wedding pavilion wide open, unlocked and ungated for u...
Magic Kingdom Park Refurb Update and Photos
A bevy of photos from the Magic Kingdom taken this week showing off many of the construction walls. We're not anti-refurb-wall,but there is a point where it really does begin to make the park look less-than-magical. Oh well, it's January.
We've also got some random flotsam-jetsam thrown in that we ran across. In our Fantasyland update yesterday we mentioned that they cleared the carts and kiosks from the walkways but we failed to mention that they've added guidelines to the pavement for...
