Gabe

A preview (of sorts) of the new Disney movie Tomorrowland will run from mid April through May 22 at the current home of that beloved (or not) 80s sfx masterpiece known as Captain EO. The extended preview will utilize the built-in sfx in the theater to give guests a "plus" experience as it were. The movie comes out on May 22 right as the preview ends. While Disney says MJ and Co. will return once the previews are over, this could be the impetus to continue with the changes at Epcot. Innoventions West (East has been closed for some time) will close on May 1 for an extended time in order to bring guests something new. No word on where the Disney Character Spot (a special character meet and greet available only to those holding a Disney-branded Visa) will relocate to (I vote for the former Odyssey-it's been used as special event space before and has the space to handle the crowds).

Given chicken's recent surge in popularity at fast food chains, combined with the price of this commodity dropping sharply, I would think that KI would allow it to remain on the dining plan. Both beef and pork are rising in price dramatically, so don't be shocked to see that burger or brat costing a bit more this year. Look on the bright side, though-summer gas prices are predicted to be the lowest in 5 summers, so that trip to and from the park won't put as big a dent in your wallet this season

The park indicated in a recent post on Facebook (and which was mentioned a bit earlier in this thread) that the gliders will indeed snap: Kings Island on Facebook : "The construction of Woodstock Gliders, a classic flying scooters ride from Larson International, is underway in Planet Snoopy. The ride features eight two-person planes that glide 28 feet above the ground. Each plane has a stationary rear wing and a movable front wing which allows the rider to control the flight and alter their ride experience from mild to wild. Be among the first to experience Woodstock Gliders when the park opens for the 2015 season April 18."

It was a legit listing. There was an article in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday describing the owner as a bit of an eccentric. Apparently he is a co-founding member of Burning Man, so he indicated that the car may make an appearance there. Or, he said, it may just tour the country. He was interviewed as saying he really had no real intent to sell the car; he simply put it out there to generate a bit of publicity, which it did.

A certain grocer in Fairfield comes to mind who loves such baubles to display out front and who probably has the means to buy it.

Usually the reservations open at 6 AM ET, but I know that oftentimes, one can get into the system just past midnight. I already have a lunch reservation while I'm there, but would consider getting one for breakfast if the rest of my party is on board. The menu def has a French theme and at $19.99/$11.99 has a price to match. Breakfast includes a pastry basket, entrée and beverage, so prob not such a bad deal (but if you're going to pay $20 for waffles or French toast sticks there are places in the MK to get those for half the price.)

It was a great attraction, but when it first opened, was found to be way too scary for the younger set, so Eisner ordered it neutered on a site visit not too long after it first opened. I'm not a fan of Stitch. As for Illuminations, it too isn't going anywhere or being updated. From a production standpoint, it is an expensive nightly show for Disney, and with other priorities in WDW, I wouldn't hold your breath for any updates.

If the floats, costumes and other set pieces weren't in such miserable shape, Disney could bring back what in my mind anyway was a far far superior nighttime parade in SpectroMagic with a relatively nominal investment. Nostalgia aside, the MSEP is so outdated, it makes Epcot look futuristic!

It wasn't an accident. One would think the CEO of a huge media company would be in the know on such things (and Iger is). He was pandering to the shareholders in attendance during the Q & A portion of the annual meeting (esp. the doe-eyed kid who asked the question). It's been known for some time that once the Star Wars overlay is complete (2017 is the latest), Disney will drop 'Studios' from the name. Fantasmic has no plans to go anywhere. The Rivers of Light show debuting this summer at AK will be Florida's answer to Worlds of Color. Following that, Disney will then work on a new nighttime parade for MK so that the MSEP can be permanently put out to pasture.

The article mentioned above is listed as premium content, so you need a subscription to view it. Boycott pay walls! . What was free to view-MK will once again be open 24 hours straight to kick off the summer season, from 6a-6a May 22-23.

In an ongoing effort to ease the always-long lines at two of its signature attractions, Disney has announced the construction of both a 3rd track for Toy Story Midway Mania at the Studios and a 3rd theater for Soarin' at Epcot. As part of the upgrade, a new, digital print, screens and projection system used to deliver the movie will also debut in all 3 theatres. Completion is set for Fall 2016.

I've stayed there a couple of times. It really isn't any more elitist than the other Deluxe resorts. Given that the Poly, Contemporary, Yacht/Beach and WL are all roughly the same price, I'd opt for GF every time. I still can't believe Disney charges almost $500 a night (rack rate) for the Contemporary and Poly (esp. the Poly), given the age of those hotels. When I last stayed at the Poly, I found the rooms to be adequate and in places, aging. I've personally found Yacht to be pretty snobby in terms of guests.

Disney does; they're called Busses

Victoria and Albert's at the GF is the only Disney restaurant which strictly enforces a semi-formal dress code. No suit, no dress, no service. On an unrelated note, I was finally able this morning to grab a time for the Frozen princess meet and greet for the final member of our foursome that overlaps with everyone else. We're all now holding times with entrances within 20 minutes of each other, so we can all enter together at the start of the latest of the 4 times. Persistence pays and also now frees up that last FP 2 hours earlier, which in the MK is like gold.

For my money, the best preshows for those rides (and I hate preshows...no matter if its at Disney or Universal) is the Simpsons. I only wished I could have seen the whole preshow but what I saw was pretty funny.

But the monorails and trams do get you relatively quickly into the park, where you can begin to spend that money that the transportation modes aren't making. Perhaps once the racetrack is removed and extended parking established near the southern end of the TTC, Disney will decide to freshen up the actual station.

Or, they can employ a next gen technology used at Test Track/Radiator Springs. A number of Disney Imagineers have jumped to Universal in the past few years, taking the concepts they gleaned with them. I loved Kong there in the 90s. The huge ape animatronic was simply awesome when it worked. I was sad to see it go but am happy to see its return. When I'm sans kiddos on my trips to Orlando, I usually carve out a day into night for Universal and IOE.

On very crowded days, even the busses destined for the MK dump you at the TTC and force you to either use the trams, monorail or ferry. The boats have good capacity, but they are slow and its a long wait at peak times. The monorails run more quickly and can carry a lot more people. Disney could take down part of the system for several months to do a rehab and they wouldn't suffer too badly. After the accident a few years back, plans for any extensions were quietly scrapped. At one time, a line from EPCOT to the Studios parking lot and AK was discussed, but at a cost upwards of $1,000,000 a mile just to prep the land, it's simply not feasible. Personally, I think Disney should totally refurbish the TTC as a new northern hub (Disney Springs being considered the southern hub). The TTC was very bland when constructed, and despite the addition of pastel paint, isn't much better than it was in 1971. Lots and lots of guests travel through there on a daily basis and it wouldn't take much to come up with a fun theme (perhaps the famous Paris train station or Paddington station in London?)

When I last ate there for lunch, I found it to be better than dinner. The choices seemed better and of course less expensive. Dinner was certainly an event with The Beast making the rounds. I'm hearing that once they get the breakfast logistics up and running, a character breakfast could be added there hopefully by years' end. Even at $50 per adult and $35 per kid, reservations would be gone in a flash. I will say that the pics of the new Hub area look fantastic. Disney did a great job expanding a once barren (and cramped) area into something that is nice and enjoyable (fountains, grass; although some kind of artificial turf was installed in two of the quadrants and will serve as FP+ viewing areas for Wishes). I'll be excited to see the transformation in about 45 days!

The Pirates refurb has been bumped to May running through the end of November. I'm told by my CM friends the ride as it is experiences a lot of issues daily and extended downtime happens more often than not. They're figuratively holding things together with duct tape until they can open er up and start rehabbing. The monorails are also showing their age. WDW can't use the DL Mark V monorail cars (track is wider at WDW), so they have to keep patching together the Mark IVs. Investing in new Mark VI cars isn't on the horizon. Tweaking the bus system definitely is and I've seen the improved results thus far. Even as a kid, the monorail was a fav of mine and still is.

How do the agreements with the companies that bring in the rides work? Who pays who for them to be there? How do the profits get divided up? Every agreement is different. Speaking for Indiana, those contracts are public documents, so you may make a request to the Indiana State Fair Commission here in Indy and ask to have a copy of the contract between the fair and midway operator sent or emailed to you if you're curious.

That picture in front of City Hall outside the entrance is great! Of course, Disney had to go and ruin it by putting up a 3 ft high iron fence in front of the planter in the past week or so, allegedly to keep the masses off the pretty flower display. As people here have said often, this is why we can't have nice things! I woke up early this morning to nab a lunch reservation at BOG for one of our MK days. I was actually able to get into the system 5 min early before it went live and secure the spot. When I just checked a few hours ago to see what availability was on other days, I saw that every lunch reservation is taken from now until late August. I can't stress enough that if anyone wants to get into BOG for either lunch or dinner, an ADR at 180 days (190 if staying on property) is pretty much required. Given the popularity, I would expect them to begin serving breakfast in the not too distant future. Its size alone could make for a second character dining experience in the MK.

I'm sure the Fair Board could simply expand the fairgrounds if the park went away. Here in Indy, our fairgrounds are landlocked, so to speak, so any expansion must be done around the edges. Given the upsurge in popularity of regional and state fairs (given their good value for the $), I'm sure Looie could benefit from having the extra land and could even incorporate some of the rides into an expanded midway if the park goes away. Mr. Hart doesn't hold nearly the leverage he did a few years ago.

I agree. I have been there w/o the kids 2x since the new FL opened (the last trip being a week before the open of 7DMT), but I still do check the crowd calendars at the other sites. As with any WDW plan when you have ADRs as I do, our plans revolve around the park where we have an ADR. (Mama Melrose, Teppan Edo and Tonys Town Sq in that order for dinner for the first 3 nights). I was really sad to see Disney do away with the no-expiration tickets. I had tickets from the 90s lying around my house I was able to use on my two previous trips, so that will be missed.

I'm a seasoned Disney vet, so I basically know what's crowded at what time. We're doing 2 full days at MK and a last half day there on our departure day. Spending the first 2 days hitting the highlights of the other 3 parks. Even on crowded days, between FP and getting there at park open, I've been able to hit just about every ride with not much of a wait. I know that getting us all together on the last day prob would have been doable from the get go, but of course my little ones want to meet them FIRST THING haha. With 3 of us together, I'm highly certain that getting a wildcard FP won't be difficult. I know they give them out for lesser reasons than mine. Also, BOG becomes a lunch reservation as of tomorrow midnight, so I plan on logging in again shortly before to snag a lunch spot while we're there. We're going at the tail end of Disney's Spring Break season, so crowds should be about a 6 or so, but when we last took kiddos (well daughter; son was too young) Mem Day wknd 3 years ago, it was absolute bonkers. Both the weather and the crowds should be better this time out (and having the FP+ as well helps immensely).