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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: AUGUST 29 TO SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

Things are … a little different… as Disney World re-opens.  See this for park previews and key insights.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/29-9/6/20

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-7p every day

Epcot will be open from 11a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 10a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-6p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/29-9/6/20

There will be no Extra Magic Hours until further notice.

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/29-9/6/20

There will be no parades until further notice.

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/29-9/6/20

There will be no evening shows until further notice.

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/29-9/6/20

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

YOUR PERSONAL DISNEY LIBRARY (31)

By Jim Korkis

• The Complete Walt Disney World Fun Finds & Hidden Mickeys by Julie and Mike Neal

I have always been a huge fan of the nooks and crannies of Walt Disney World and have attempted to document many of them in my books. I also realize that the rich detail is so immersive that I don’t always spot something, so I am always interested in books that claim they will reveal some of those things that I may have missed.However, I am used to many such books simply “cut and pasting” things that already appear on multiple websites or in other books without citing the source. Knowing how difficult it is to do so, I am especially appreciative of original onsite research. This book definitely shows that the Neal family spent thoughtful time exploring Walt Disney World and uncovered some true gems.

In addition, I found the material accurate although there were occasions where the entire story was not shared either because of space limitations or simply not being aware of the rest of the story.

With hundreds and hundreds of short “fun finds”, I found myself continually surprised and delighted. My only disappointment is that not every fun find was accompanied by a photograph reference although many were. Almost every page is filled with multiple color pictures, so it is hard to complain.

The Neals describe a “fun find” as “little details – in-jokes, props, sight gags, story elements and tributes that appear right in front of you but that you’re not really supposed to see” because it blends in so seamlessly to the environment or your attentions is diverted elsewhere.

I am assuming that the Neals also included Hidden Mickeys in an attempt to help sell more books since the hunt for such things is a huge obsession for some Disney fans. While they do a good job documenting many of these sightings, if you are deeply interested in Hidden Mickeys, you should be buying Steve Barrett’s fine books.

Some have complained that a large portion of the book is devoted solely to the Haunted Mansion (roughly 40 of the book’s 250 pages) while other things may have been ignored, but I did not feel that was a disadvantage. I am a fan of the attraction and enjoyed seeing the newer items that had been added to the queue documented very well. However, I can understand why some readers might only have a casual interest in the attraction and feel disappointed that so much space was devoted to it.

Julie was a former WDW concierge supervisor and focuses on the text which is clear and concise. Her husband Mike is a professional photographer with a good eye for capturing not only a nice composition but also the valuable information of the item being photographed (rather than some “artsy” interpretation that obscured the information). In this book, they were helped by their daughter Micaela, who apparently helped with the Haunted Mansion section in particular.

I don’t believe that Julie and Mike Neal have published a new edition of The Complete Walt Disney World travel guide since their tenth anniversary edition that was released in 2016 to cover 2017. What made their guidebook particularly stand out for me were all the outstanding full color photographs by Mike.

As I have pointed out before, if you are interested in Disney history rather than current planning for a trip, picking up copies of older guidebooks will supply a wealth of valuable information. In this particular case, older editions of the work of the Neals will also supply a plethora of beautiful reference photos as well.

Although published in 2015, much of the Fun Finds & Hidden Mickeys remain current and I am glad to have a copy in my collection.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Disney Never Lands, and about planned but unbuilt concepts, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: AUGUST 22  TO AUGUST 30, 2020

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

Things are … a little different… as Disney World re-opens.  See this for park previews and key insights.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/22-8/30/20

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-7p every day

Epcot will be open from 11a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 10a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-6p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/22-8/30/20

There will be no Extra Magic Hours until further notice.

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/22-8/30/20

There will be no parades until further notice.

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/22-8/30/20

There will be no evening shows until further notice.

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/22-8/30/20

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

EXTRATERRORESTRIAL ALIEN ENCOUNTER

By Jim Korkis

ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter opened in Tomorrowland in June 1995, replacing the Mission to Mars attraction. It was originally intended as an attraction for the never produced Tomorrowland 2055 make-over at Disneyland, and would have been based on the Alien movie franchise that began in 1979.

Filmmaker George Lucas was brought in to work on the concept and abandoned any connection to the Alien movie franchise because it was determined to be too traumatic and intense for Disney guests.

Despite the word “terror” being in all capital letters as the name of the attraction and the many warning signs that stated that it was “ a frightening theatrical experience in a confined setting with loud noises and moments of total darkness (that) may be too intense for children and some adults,” many guests were still unprepared for the experience that was presented, and there were complaints.

Guests entered the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center to witness a demonstration of the alien corporation X-S Tech’s latest technological innovation. The lobby show music consisted of twelve original musical selections composed specifically for the attraction by George Wilkins, as well as posters and videos that humorously referenced Disney related science-fiction efforts including “Lunar Disneyland. The Happiest Place Off Earth.”

Chairman L.C. Clench (played by actor Jeffrey Jones) was excited to find a new world to sell his products, and told the guests, “If something can’t be done with X-S [Excess], then it shouldn’t be done at all!”

In the pre-show, the amoral robot S.I.R. (Simulated Intelligence Robotics), voiced by Tim Curry, gave a disturbing demonstration of the newest Series 1000 teleportation device as he transported the adorable alien Skippy across the room where he reappeared burned, in pain, scared, and confused.

Guests proceeded to an amphitheater Testing Center of concentric circles of seating surrounding a large cylindrical teleportation tube similar to the one they had just seen in the pre-show. For “safety reasons,” each seat included gigantic over the shoulder harnesses that locked down on each guest.

Binaural audio like the breathing of the alien would be pumped through two special speakers located next to each ear along with warm, moist water (to simulate the creature’s drool and the blood of a killed technician and exploded alien) and hot air effects (to simulate the creature’s tongue licking the guest’s head). The feeling of being restrained added to the anxiety of being in the dark.

Clench decides to use the device to teleport himself to the audience but something in the signal path intercepts the transmission. What appears in the tube is not Clench but an extraterrestrial that is tall with spider-like legs, gnashing fangs, glowing red eyes and transparent wings. It is determined to be carnivorous.

It crashes through the tube and the theater goes dark and the audience imagines this creature right behind them. The alien is lured back into the tube and exploded.

The attraction closed in 2003 and was replaced by a similar but more comical and family-friendly attraction called Stitch’s Great Escape in 2004. The Interplanetary Convention Center was recast as the Galactic Federation Prisoner Transport Center, with guests recruited as trainees in the cosmic government’s justice system and witnessing the arrival of a Level 3 prisoner, Stitch, who escapes into the Walt Disney World park.

Stitch attraction went to seasonal only operation in 2016 and it was announced in July that it would be closed permanently. Papers have already been filed for its demolition. There has been no formal announcement of what might replace it.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Disney Never Lands, and about planned but unbuilt concepts, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: AUGUST 15  TO AUGUST 23, 2020

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

Things are … a little different… as Disney World re-opens.  See this for park previews and key insights.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/15-8/23/20

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-7p every day

Epcot will be open from 11a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 10a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-6p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/15-8/23/20

There will be no Extra Magic Hours until further notice.

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/15-8/23/20

There will be no parades until further notice.

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/15-8/23/20

There will be no evening shows until further notice.

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 8/15-8/23/20

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

MAGIC KINGDOM SKYWAY

By Jim Korkis

While Walt Disney World guests have been enjoying the gondola lift system called the Disney Skyliner since it opened in September 2019, Disney fans like myself who are older than they would like to admit clearly remember another such system that operated in the Magic Kingdom.

The Magic Kingdom Skyway was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World in 1971 that closed in 1999.

Built by Von Roll of Bern, Switzerland, who had provided similar sky rides for over 100 amusement venues, it offered one-way transportation to Fantasyland or Tomorrowland so it was billed as two separate attractions. No round trips were allowed.

Each colorful, open-aired gondola could hold four adults or roughly 700 pounds. Two guests faced forward and two faced backward as the gondolas lifted up and rocked back and forth on overhead cables for less than five minutes.

The gondolas traveled above the main area of Fantasyland and the crystal clear 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction lagoon while providing a wonderful photo opportunity before the vehicles made a sharp right turn near the Tomorrowland Speedway. The journey continued with the gondolas passing Space Mountain before touching down at the Tomorrowland Station.

Guests could even enjoy distant views of the Contemporary Resort, Splash Mountain, and the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Pinocchio’s Village Haus was designed so that the view looking down from the gondolas mimicked the opening overhead shot of Gepetto’s village from the animated feature.

In February 1999, a park custodian at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom was killed when the skyway started up expectedly while he was cleaning one of its platforms. Raymond Barlow, 65, was sweeping off a narrow skyway platform inaccessible to park guests an hour after the park’s 9:00 A.M. opening when other cast members, unaware of his presence, started up the ride.

Barlow, startled by the approaching gondola, grabbed onto it and tried to climb inside and fell forty feet into a flower bed, hitting a tree on the way down, and died. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later ruled that the area in which Barlow had been working violated federal safety codes and fined Walt Disney World $4,500 for a “serious” violation of safety standards

The last day of operation for the attraction was in November 1999, because the cost of operating and maintaining the attraction was high in relation to its hourly capacity as well as the need to upgrade it for disabled access and structural repairs. There were also increasing concerns about liability with guests rocking the gondolas, spitting and throwing things out of them onto the guests walking below.

“It’s part of our ongoing efforts to phase out some of the older attractions and introduce new things to keep our parks exciting for our new and repeat visitors,” Walt Disney World spokesman Diane Ledder told the media. “It’s just something whose time has come.”

When the Fantasyland Station closed, the pylons and wires were removed from the park, but some of the equipment remained in the building. The Bavarian-style Alpine building that featured a large clock still reflected the village theme of the area. The front area was used for stroller parking.

The station was eventually removed and replaced by the Tangled Restrooms as well as a wider path to Liberty Square.

The Tomorrowland Station was two stories high with a waterfall on one side. When it closed, the top half of the building and the waterfall were eventually removed and a bathroom was installed on the ground floor.

The DisneyStyle store at Disney Springs has a blue Skyway gondola hanging from the ceiling just above the Mad Tea Party teacup photo-op.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Disney Never Lands, and about planned but unbuilt concepts, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!