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

EDDIE SOTTO: FROM HORIZONS TO MISSION: SPACE

By Jim Korkis

Eddie Sotto is a former Disney Imagineer who worked for the Walt Disney Company for 13 years, from 1986 to 1999. I interviewed him in June 2019 about how Horizons evolved into Mission: SPACE.

Sotto:  Horizons had very low guest satisfaction ratings, to the point where people didn’t even remember which show it was. I think the topic of Horizons is great, and that retro-future attraction should be there in some form, but the economics of running unpopular shows was not an option, so we jumped in and filled the “need” with a different attraction. GE had left and there was no one to pay for Horizons. Walt Disney World wanted it gone. Sad but true.  They wanted a thrill ride.

To lose Horizons is to gut the dream, or storytelling of what the whole park means and that’s powerful. Replacing Horizons with the Mission: SPACE attraction does not really fill the gap left by the hole made in the story or mission statement of the park. I think Mission: SPACE is a great pavilion and is the “science fact” challenging story of the real journey to space, not the Disneyland “Moon Ride” version we’ve all experienced.

I reviewed the Horizons numbers and listened to their concerns and what they thought would help Epcot’s image. In response, I pitched to Marty Sklar a very intense, claustrophobic “science fact” Space Capsule type attraction that was more about the heroism of the journey versus the destination. The real challenge of going to Space, a la The Right Stuff feature film.

He approved doing a mock-up of the capsule for Eisner, based on my pretending to be in the capsule pressing buttons, etc. Embarrassing, but it got us $100,000. We rented all the interior switch panels used in the movie Apollo 13, housed them in a capsule mock-up out of plywood, and put the six foot plus Michael Eisner in it, lights flashing and space footage playing outside the capsule window. He got the idea, loved it right on the spot. Florida was thrilled as well.

We developed with the ride engineers a track-based roller coaster type ride to fit the existing Horizons building, but for lots of good engineering and other reasons, it eventually evolved into the spinning centrifuge design we have today. Believe me, centrifuges are not cheap, and an entirely new ride system. That was considered a breakthrough as it generated sustained G-forces, something coasters do not do, but lift-off does.

The ride really reflected those forces of liftoff in a realistic way. That meant a lot to me. We had all ridden the military centrifuges and even flown the NASA Shuttle simulator in Houston. We tried to make it very “science fact” and Epcot, leveraging the fact that eventually the public will be able to go to space.

One thing I miss that was changed after I left was the story itself. The original treatment called for a moment to pause and look back at the Earth, and a rescue in space. The current version, as good as it is, was more about the continual thrill and G Forces racing around Mars, etc. and all that extra spinning may have contributed to motion sickness for some guests. Can’t know that for sure.

Maybe my first treatment was too boring, but I do like having pauses and rests in an experience (love how your banshee in Pandora pauses so you can take in that “world” before leaping off the cliff, stuff like that) to make them a bit more episodic.  The unbuilt pavilion concepts never suffer budget cuts and always have the unfair advantage of being flawless in our imagination!

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Thanks, Jim! and come back next Friday for more from Jim KorAis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, The Vault of Walt Volume 8: Outer Space Edition, his recent  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.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 9 TO NOVEMBER 17, 2019

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

For more on November 2019 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/9-11/17/19

The Magic Kingdom will be open 9a-11p 11/9, 9a-10p 11/10, 9a-6p 11/11 and 11/12, 9a-10p 11/13, 9a-6p 11/14 and 11/15, 9a-11p 11/16, and 9a-6p 11/17

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 11/9, 9a-9p 11/10 through 11/14, 9a-10p 11/15 and 11/16, and 9a-9p 11/17

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-8p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/9-11/17/19

• Saturday 11/9 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none
• Sunday 11/10  Morning: Hollywood Studios  Evening: none
• Monday 11/11 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none
• Tuesday 11/12 Morning: none Evening: Epcot
• Wednesday 11/13 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom
• Thursday 11/14 Morning: Epcot Evening: none
• Friday 11/15 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none
• Saturday 11/16 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none
• Sunday 11/17 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/9-11/17/19

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/9-11/17/19

Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom:  9p 11/9, 11/10, 11/13, and 11/16

Epcot Forever at Epcot: 10p 11/9, 9p 11/10 through 11/14; 10p 11/15 and 11/16; 9p 11/17

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks replaced for holidays by next item

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 6.30 and 7.45p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/9-11/17/19

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

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

DISNEY’S ALL-STAR SPORTS RESORT

By Jim Korkis

Twenty-five years ago, Walt Disney World introduced in its All-Star resorts a value-level resort experience, less expensive than the moderate and deluxe priced accommodations already available at other Walt Disney World resort hotels, to compete with nearby non-WDW hotels around the perimeter of the property.

Even though these value resorts are less expensive than other Disney-owned options, they still feature a number of Disney amenities and advantages including proximity to the theme parks.

The first WDW value resort was the All Star Sports resort that opened April 29, 1994 and was divided into five sections devoted to competitive sports: Touchdown (football), Center Court (tennis), Home Run Hotel (baseball), Surfs Up (surfing) and Hoops Hotel (basketball).

Surf’s Up! buildings opened first on April 29, 1994 followed by Hoops Hotel (May 13, 1994), Touchdown (June 26, 1994), Home Run Hotel (July 22, 1994), and Center Court (August 11, 1994).

The design, by Miami company Architectonica with the Disney Development Company, was the model for the two subsequent All-Star resorts (Movies and Music) that also featured outsized icons highlighted by neon and fiber optics to bring the themes to life.

When the resort opened, Don Robinson, general manager of the All Star Resorts, said, “The theming, architecture and landscaping all work together to make this a ‘fan’- tastic setting.”

Some of these design elements include:

• The 55-foot-tall gold star in front of Stadium Hall weighs over 55,000 pounds. The 46-foot silver star by Surfboard Bay weighs 33,000 pounds.
• At the Hoops Hotel court, there are five Washingtonia Palms “playing” a team of five Sabal Palms. The palms are arranged as if the game is about to “tip off”. Forty five foot tall megaphones house the stairwells and giant whistles mark the buildings’ entrances.
• The whistles measure 60 feet long and 20 feet high. The pea inside the whistle is approximately 9 feet in diameter. Pennants from college teams (Blue Devils, Tigers, Boilermakers, Gators) and over 70 giant basketballs roughly five feet in diameter line the railings.
• At Surf’s Up, it would take six surf dudes standing on each other’s shoulders to carry one of the oversized 38 foot tall surfboards to the beach. Approximately 950 colorful Red Snapper and Dolphin fish appear to be swimming along a “wavy” balcony. The 38 feet high shark fins that mark the buildings’ main entrances would belong to a 300 foot long Great White Shark.
• At Center Court, it would take 9,474,609 regulation-sized tennis balls to fill one of the ball cans that decorate the stairwells at Center Court. Those balls placed end to end would stretch from WDW to Key West. The tennis racquets that line the railing are approximately 51 feet tall. The “tennis” balls attached to the balconies at Center Court are almost five feet in diameter.
• At Touchdown, a football player would have to be more than 200 feet tall to be able to wear one of these giant football helmets. The football field is even decorated with giant Xs and Os, while poles and numbers on the buildings show the 40 yard line, 30 yard line, and so on.
• At the Home Run Hotel, a 40-foot tall White Ash tree would be needed to make a baseball bat the size of the ones located on the railings. It would take more than 20 million 12-ounce cans of Coke to fill just one of the large Coke cup containers.

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Thanks, Jim! My complete review of All-Star Sports begins here. And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, The Vault of Walt Volume 8: Outer Space Edition, his recent  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: NOVEMBER 2 TO NOVEMBER 10, 2019

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

For more on November 2019 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/2-11/10/19

The Magic Kingdom will be open 8a-11p 11/2, 9a-9p 11/3 through 11/7, 9a-6p 11/8, 9a-11p 11/9, and 9a-10p 11/10

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 11/2, 9a-9p 11/3 through 11/7, 9a-10p 11/8 and 11/9, and 9a-9p 11/10

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-10p 11/2, and 9a-9p 11/3 through 11/10

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-9p 11/2, and 9a-8p 11/3 through 11/10

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/2-11/10/19

• Saturday 11/2 Morning: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios (6-9a) Evening: none
• Sunday 11/3  Morning: Hollywood Studios  Evening: none
• Monday 11/4 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none
• Tuesday 11/5 Morning: none Evening: Epcot
• Wednesday 11/6 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom
• Thursday 11/7 Morning: Epcot Evening: none
• Friday 11/8 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none
• Saturday 11/9 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none
• Sunday 11/10 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/2-11/10/19

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/2-11/10/19

Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom:  9p 11/2 through 11/7 and 11/9 and 11/10

Epcot Forever at Epcot: 10p 11/2, 9p 11/3 through 11/7; 10p 11/8 and 11/9; 9p 11/10

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 10p 11/2; 9p 11/3 through 11/7

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p 11/8 through 11/10

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 7.30 and 8.45p  11/2; 6.30 and 7.45p 11/3 through 11/10

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/2-11/10/19

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

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

OVERVIEW: CHRISTMAS 2019 AT DISNEY WORLD

The Christmas season at Walt Disney World includes both the best and the worst times to visit, with both prices and crowds at both lower and very high levels over the period.

Decorations, special Christmas shows, programs, and events, and Christmas trees are everywhere, making Disney World as special a place to celebrate the holidays as you can find.

THE CHRISTMAS SEASON AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

December crowds at Walt Disney World begin at lower levels. In 2019, they will begin to build the week of 12/14 and by 12/23 will hit their highest levels of the year, where they will stay until about January 1, 2020. Crowds will still be high–though not at the holiday levels–through January 4, 2020.

Walt Disney World resort hotel December prices at the beginning of the month are at one of the lower levels of the year. Prices increase 12/8, again 12/13, and again 12/20, reaching then the highest levels of the year.

Walt Disney World ticket prices begin the month at average levels. By 12/13 all but the shortest are high, and ticket prices hit their peak levels of the year shortly after.

December weather is cooler and variable. While the average daily high is 73, this masks tremendous variability.

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Each of the parks has wonderful Christmas decorations, and each has special Christmas events, which will begin in early November at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios, and the Friday after Thanksgiving at Epcot.

• At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—a special event that requires its own ticket—runs on many nights from November 8 through December 22nd. Later in December, its signature events—a special Christmas parade, and special Christmas fireworks—are available to all guests. Christmas decor is in place by the night of the first party–in 2019, November 8.
• At the Studios, in 2019 the Christmas projection and fireworks show Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! returns on November 8 and a projection show on Tower of Terror, Sunset Seasons Greetings, begins that same day.  These two shows, other business, and the Christmas Tree at Echo Lake make Hollywood Studios the second best Christmas park at Disney World, after Magic Kingdom.
• At Epcot, the evening fireworks show Epcot Forever has special Christmas additions. In addition, beginning November 29 Christmas carols are sung by massed choirs in the Candlelight Processional. Many of the countries in Epcot’s World Showcase have special Christmas events as part of Epcot’s Epcot International Festival of the Holidays which begins in 2019 on November 29
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a broader set of Christmas activities and events in 2019 than it has for a while.  See this for more.

[Read more →]

Walt Disney World is closed until further notice.  The earliest date I can imagine a partial, limited re-opening is Monday May 4. A later opening is more likely…

WHAT IS MAY LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

Earlier May is a great time to visit Walt Disney World, with low crowds, moderate prices, and good weather.

The weather typically gets hotter and more humid over the month, and the end of the month sees higher crowds and higher prices from Memorial Day weekend on.

[Read more →]