(More) Changes at The World

Disney has just announced:

     The Studio Backlot Tour at DHS will be closing as of September 27th in the name of "future enhancements".

 Disney's Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour Closing

 Ooooh. I am ever so hopeful that a new Cars Land is in the works!!!

It’s all in the name of progress, or as a Disney representative told us, “future enhancements”. The Studio Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studio will give its final tour on Sept. 27, 2014. - See more at: http://attractionsmagazine.com/studio-backlot-tour-attraction-closing-later-month-disneys-hollywood-studios/#sthash.2tdLCcgj.dpuf

It’s all in the name of progress, or as a Disney representative told us, “future enhancements”. The Studio Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studio will give its final tour on Sept. 27, 2014. - See more at: http://attractionsmagazine.com/studio-backlot-tour-attraction-closing-later-month-disneys-hollywood-studios/#sthash.2tdLCcgj.dpuf

And ....
     The Maelstrom ride at Epcot's World Showcase Norway Pavilion will be replaced by a new attraction based on "Frozen".   

 Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom

Some folks are not happy with this.

 new Frozen-attraction stirs up controversy

Two things:
  I hope it's better Imagineered than the 'Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid'  over in Fantasyland.


  I wonder if the movie at the end of the ride will remain. (probably not)

The movies at Norway, China, France, and Canada are some of favorite Epcot things. And yes, I do wish that ALL of the countries would have one.

So many changes!!

Bye, Bye Kim Possible

 The 'Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure' at Epcot will be closing this summer to make way for Agent P (aka Perry the Platypus) and Dr.Doofenshmirtz, characters from the Disney Channel series "Phineas and Ferb".

 

 

The new interactive experience will be 'Phineas & Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure'.

Epcot guests will become secret agents using clues provided by a 'high tech device' and travel throughout the World Showcase (Mexico, France, Germany, Norway, Japan, China and The UK) to help Agent P thwart the evil Doctor.

'Bye Little Red

WDW has announced a change coming to the Kilimanjaro Safari at DAK.

The 'poacher' storyline will be changed with no more Little Red (baby elephant animatronic).

More live animals - the zebras return (yay!) - on a new savannah space (with watering hole) will take its place.

The refurbishment will begin this spring.

The attraction will remain operating.

Good! I never much liked the whole "catch the poacher" storyline.

Star Tours 2011

Finally had a ride on the improved "Star Tours" attraction over at the Studios.


The wait time was shown as 5 minutes (even though the end of the line was right at the entance). Nuh-uh. Although the line moved fairly steadily, it was quite a bit more than 5 minutes.

A high point of the line-wait: we were at the spot just opposite the door where the Storm Troopers emerge for the Jedi Training Academy session ... when they emerged!  They 'played' to the line, who loved it (yes, me too!), while waiting for their entrance cue.

The ride itself was much improved! No more herky-jerky. But if you don't like Mission:Space (even the green, less intense, side), don't bother. It's a lot like that.

Darth Vader Does Disneyland

Hilarious Disney ad for the new and vastly improved Star Tours:

Darth Vader does Disneyland

I love the heavy sigh (listen for it).

Captain EO Returns

 
On July 2nd, Captain EO, the 17-minute 3-D space-fantasy film featuring Michael Jackson (and directed by Francis Ford Coppolla), is returning to WDW after 17 years.

It will replace "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" at the theatre in the Journey Into Imagination building (EPCOT).

Confession # 10: I Miss Food Rocks

Food Rocks (previously known as the Kitchen Kabaret) closed in January, 2004, to make room for Soarin'.

We never missed this 12-minute, er, concert when we were at Epcot. And if the Boy was with us, we might see it twice.

And I should mention two things: 1) the Boy was much older than you might think, and 2) this was the only animatronic attraction that Hubby never slept through.

Although Soarin' is absolutely worth the wait in line, I DO miss those hokey little characters singing those familiar, yet different, tunes:

Füd Wrapper (the host),

The Utensils - a collection of kitchen gadgets based on the band Queen ("Give Us Junk"),

The Refrigerator Police ("Every Egg You Break"),

the Peach Boys ("Good Nutrition"),

Pita Gabriel ("High Fiber"),

Chubby Cheddar ("Let's Exercise"),

Neil Moussaka ("Vegetables Are Good For You"),

The Sole of Rock 'n' Roll, a fish that strongly resembles the singer Cher,

a piano-playing "Little Richard" pineapple ("Tutti Frutti"),

and The Get-To-The-Point Sisters (a new version of "Respect")

Maybe these guys could be relocated, like over in the Wonders of Life building?