Category — p. News and Changes

Disney’s operating calendars now show the 2012 winter ride closure for Big Thunder Mountain extending to April 30, 2012.

AVATAR AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

Disney announced in September its intent to develop an Avatar-themed area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

There’s a subset of Disney fans who are generally positive and optimistic but who do get quite annoyed by just a couple of things:

1. Things Disney does, and
2. Things Disney doesn’t do

The Avatar announcement left plenty of scope for annoyance on both fronts. 

Objections to Disney World doing Avatar at Animal Kingdom include resistance to the simple-minded politics of the film, frustration with its overlap with Pocahontas, concerns about its absence of compelling characters, and the fact that by the time the land opens–2015 at the earliest, more likely later–Avatar memories may be thin (despite James Cameron’s Avatar sequel plans, as the sequels may be late and/or unsuccessful).

Preferences for what Disney should do instead often focus on the Beastly Kingdom, a planned but never-built part of the Animal Kingdom featuring Disney villains. 

Avatar is resented specifically for perhaps forever closing off the Beastly Kingdom from getting built, and more generally for being a frail reed on which to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.

I don’t buy either set of objections–the objections to what Disney is doing, or the objections to what it isn’t doing.

My guess is that not only will Avatar-land be terrific, but also, as Jim Hill speculated coyly at the end of this article, that Disney World will open a whole new park sometime near its 50th anniversary in 2021, one with plenty of scope for Disney villains.

AVATAR AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM IS A GOOD IDEA [Read more →]

CHANGES IN ANIMAL KINGDOM HOURS

The operating hours of the Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World during the less busy parts of the winter months used to be quite straightforward.

The park would be open from 9-5 every day, with morning and evening Extra Magic Hours once a week.

Early this year, without explanation, Disney stopped offering evening Extra Magic Hours at the Animal Kingdom, and added a second weekly morning session.  The net effect was a reduction of two operating hours per week, and some speculated that this was for cost reduction.

Last month, the other shoe dropped.

Disney began revising its Animal Kingdom park calendars with later park closings. 

It is now offering 6 and 7p closing on many nights that it the past it would close this park at 5p.  Midweek 5p closings are still common, but many weeks there’s as many or more later closings.

What gives?

A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD WINTER RIDE CLOSURES IN 2012

The list of attractions closed at Disney World for repair or refurbishment in the winter of 2012 is beginning to emerge.

Rides so far known to be closed some or all of this period include

• Fantasmic, closed 1/9/2012 to 2/12/2012
• Big Thunder Mountain, closed 1/9/12 to 5/27/2012
• Dumbo, closed 1/9/12 to 3/31/2012
• The Liberty Belle, closed 1/28 to 5/20
• Kali River Rapids, closed 1/24 through 2/9
• The Main Street Electrical Parade, closed 1/20 to 2/12
• the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, closed 2/26 to 3/10
• The Studio Backlot Tour, closed 2/13 to 3/9
• The Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, closed 2/13 to 3/10

Many weeks in this time period are great for returning visitors, but because winter ride closures are typical, I don’t recommend January and early February
for first-time visitors who may never return. 

See this for more.

See Steven Ford’s wonderful appreciation of Steve Jobs and Walt Disney here.

WALT DISNEY WORLD OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2011 ROOM DEAL

Disney World has announced a new room rate discount for 2011 dates 10/30 to 11/18 (or 11/21–see below), and 11/26 to 12/23/2011.

To get this deal, you need to book by November 19.

Discounts off of standard rates include

• 15% off of All-Star Movies, and 20 percent off of the rest of the value resorts
• 15% off of Port Orleans French Quarter Resort and 20 percent off the rest of the moderate resorts
• 25% off of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Polynesian Resort, and 30 percent off the rest of the deluxe and DVC resorts

For the values and most moderates, the first discount period ends 11/18.  For the rest–the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, the deluxes, and the DVC resorts–this first discount period ends 11/21.

For the official Disney World page on this deal, click here. For other discounts, see this.