Walt Disney World Park Update

Update for April 17 – April 23, 2006

Go directly to: News & Views | Coming Soon | Trivia of the Week | Refurbishment/Attraction Closures | Park Events | Discounts/Promotions | Park Hours | Events/Entertainment Schedule

News and Views

Woman dies of stroke after riding Mission: Space

A 49-year-old German woman died last Wednesday afternoon, a day after falling ill while riding Epcot's Mission: Space attraction. Hiltrud Blümel of Schmitten, Germany, became dizzy and nauseated after a ride on Disney's simulated space flight Tuesday afternoon.

In a 911 call from a ride worker, she was described as conscious but had lost color in her face and "she seems pretty bad." An ambulance was on site within 12 minutes and she arrived at Florida Hospital Celebration Health 45 minutes from the start of the 911 call. Blmel died about 24 hours from her arrival at the hospital.

Disney officials shut the ride down late Wednesday after they were advised of her condition. After a full inspection that night, conducted in conjunction of the Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection, the ride reopened with the rest of the park on Thursday morning. Disney, like the other mega-theme park operators in the state, is responsible for its own ride safety with no official state oversight; however, they recently have invited the state's Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection to look over rides after major incidents.

After an autopsy on Friday, Orange-Osceola County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia indicated in a statement that there were no signs of trauma, and that there was a "hypertensive bleed within the brain," showing that Blmel had "severe, long standing high blood pressure."

The attraction has 13 warning signs at the attraction. Eight of those signs warn that those with high blood pressure should not ride. The park's guidemaps also indicate (in various languages) that the attraction should not be ridden by anyone with a whole host of conditions.

In a statement late Wednesday, Walt Disney World indicated that the attraction had been shut down pending an inspection, "first and foremost, our concern is for the Guest's family. We offer them our deepest sympathies and assistance during this difficult time."

Join the ongoing discussion of this topic on our MousePad discussion forums here.

DVD players sold in parks and elsewhere recalled for burn hazard

A recall was announced last week for the battery packs that came with about 102,000 Disney-branded DVD players sold between April 2005 and March 2006 in the Disney theme parks, through the Disney Catalog and DisneyShopping.com and at discount and electronics stores nationwide. The DVD players, which come in five themes—Princess, Fairy Flowers, Mickey Classic, Mickey Mouse and Power Rangers—are about 6.5 inches by 5.5 inches and have a 3-inch display, and were recalled because the battery packs sold with the players can overheat and possibly burst when recharging, posing a risk of burns.

The battery packs included with these DVD players were voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer due to a burn hazard.

Those with the DVD players should stop using the battery pack supplied with the players immediately and contact the manufacturer for a replacement rechargeable battery pack. The manufacturer, Memcorp Inc. of Weston, Fla., can be reached by phone at 800-326-0315 between 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET weekdays and 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET Saturdays ; an online form is also available at their web site (link).

"We'll see your globe and raise you three"

In an effort to keep visitors at Universal Studios later into the evening (and apparently to compete with Epcot's Illuminations: Reflections of Earth), the park will be introducing a nighttime show on the park's lagoon that will feature four three-story globes serving as screens for scenes from Universal Pictures films. According to a story in the Orlando Sentinel (link), "Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular" will start July 1 and will feature fireworks, lasers and a 300-speaker sound system in addition to the globes.

Universal will also debut a new attraction at Islands of Adventure, as the Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines (which was originally built for the park's grand opening seven years ago) will finally open after being redesigned and rethemed under the new name The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, or the Seuss Sky Trolley for short. The attraction, aimed at smal children, is set to open June 1.

Univeral CityWalk is not being neglected either, as the nighttime entertainment district will gain a 1970s-themed nightclub called The Red Coconut, scheduled to open in late May, and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant, scheduled to open July 1.

MouseFest to try split-Friday schedule for 2006

The park schedule for MouseFest 2006 has been set, and we're going to try a split-Friday schedule this year to try to accommodate those who will not be able to stay around through Monday but would like some time at the Disney-MGM Studios. The park schedule resembles the standard Thursday-through-Monday schedule of the past years where the cruise came before the last portion, but Disney's Animal Kingdom will be sharing Friday with the Disney-MGM Studios. Here is this year's park schedule:

• Thursday, December 7 – Magic Kingdom, including MVMCP meet
• Friday, December 8 – Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney-MGM Studios
• Saturday, December 9 – Epcot, plus Mega Mouse Meet
• Sunday, December 10 – Magic Kingdom
• Monday, December 11 – Disney-MGM Studios

This schedule is for this year only, and its success will be reevaluate when before planning begins for MouseFest 2007. Individual meets have not yet been scheduled, and that information will start to become available over the summer. In the meantime, please visit our MouseFest planning thread on our discussion forums (link), where we will be looking for your input on what sort of meets you'd like to see us hold this year.

Disney stamps to be unveiled at Flower & Garden Festival opening

The first day of issue of the new 39-cent Art of Disney: Romance stamps will take place at the opening of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. The ceremony will be presided over by Jo Ann Feindt, Vice President of Great Lakes Area Operations for the U.S. Postal Service, Walt Disney World President (and President of Worldwide Operations for Disney Park & Resorts) Al Weiss and Brad Rex, Vice President of Epcot. The ceremony will also be attended by the characters appearing on this year's stamps, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp and – of course – Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse.

The new Art of Disney: Romance stamps will be officially released at the opening of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival. Image © U.S. Postal Service.

This year, the stamps will also be recreated in larger-than-life topiaries. The 7-foot displays will be unveiled live on stage in an elaborate ceremony directly behind Spaceship Earth, in Innoventions Plaza. Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. on April 21.

Parks & Resorts present talk on technology in tourism

Last Tuesday night, the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company gave a presentation at the 6th Annual Global Travel and Tourism Summit to offer a vision of technology's impact on travel and tourism. Among the technologies touted were a video-on-demand channel for Comcast cable customers, original concert footage of shows recorded at Walt Disney World being broadcast on Comcast, Virtual Magic Kingdom, podcasts from both domestic resorts, Buzz Lightyear Online at the Disneyland Resort and Pal Mickey at Walt Disney World.

Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Disney Parks & Resorts, said "We're at the dawn of a whole new era, and increasingly sophisticated mobile devices will usher in an entirely new kind of vacation experience. Wherever you might be, you'll be able to plan out every last detail of your vacation—hotel and restaurant reservations, park tickets, perhaps even choice of menus—right from the handset."

"As travel barriers melt away, those who market an ever- increasing list of destinations around the world will use sophisticated technologies like these to make vacation experiences more convenient and more rewarding," Rasulo continued. "Like Walt Disney himself, we aim to take full advantage of the new technology opportunities available to us to enhance our storytelling and the overall Disney vacation experience in every way possible."

At the event, Disney announced a $1 million donation to UNICEF to aid the organization in child protection, immunization, early childhood support, fighting HIV/AIDS and girls' education around the globe. As Disney's relationship with the United Nations-run group goes back to construction of the "it's a small world" attraction for the organization, the presentation of the donation was highlighted by a performance of the attraction's theme song by Disney ambassador Julie Andrews and the World Children's Choir, made up of children from backgrounds spanning the globe.

A personal request

I've decided to finally get off of my fat butt and do a public, fitness-related activity. It took a fund-raising event to do it. On April 30, I am participating in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica event. I'm walking three miles and hoping to raise a bunch of money for a good cause. The cause is very personal to me, because it was therapies funded and developed by the March of Dimes that enabled my son to survive after he was born twelve weeks prematurely.

I'm really not good at asking for things, because I don't like to do it, but I'd really like to ask you to consider giving what you can to this worthy cause. Please go to my fundraising page at for more information or to donate. We raised a good bit of money from readers last week, and I'd like to continue the trend. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Don't forget the other fundraisers in the Disney Internet community, Deb Wills (of AllEarsNet.com) for the Avon Foundation Walk for Breast Cancer (link) and Lou Mongello (of DisneyWorldTrivia.com) for the Starlight Starbright Foundation (link).

Quick takes …

…El Pirata y El Perico Restaurante was open for Easter crowds, though it apparently didn't pull in a proportionally large number of patrons compared to other locations. One new twist that they put into place for this period was that, with the tacos and taco salad, you are given the shell and meat at the counter, and you fill in the rest at a fixings bar. This change got a thumbs-up from those that sent in this information.

…Rumors have started circling the Internet regarding a possible Monsters, Inc.-themed attraction for the former home of The Timekeeper. The attraction is reportedly called The Laugh Floor. No further information (including whether or not this rumor is accurate) is available at this time.

…The final group of special guests has been announced for Star Wars Weekends at the Disney-MGM Studios. For weekend 2, Jake Lloyd (young Anakin Skywalker) and Matthew Wood (sound editor, voice of General Grievous) will join event host Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok). For weekend 2, Bonnie Maree Piesse (young Beru) will join the previously-annouced Jay Laga'aia (Captain Typho) and Davis.

…Last week, I mentioned that it appeared that Pleasure Island would be opening a new stage in the plaza area that they're creating by the old Hub Stage, because Stormbringer was scheduled to perform on something called the 'Water Front Stage." I now stand corrected. The Water Front Stage is apparently a little-used stage between the parking lot and the rear of Mannequins and 8-Trax. In fact, demolition in the Hub area is apparently going much more slowly and is nowhere near done. Thanks to MousePlanet readers Bill and Alan, who both sent me corrections on this.

…Vehicles modified to look like Lightning McQueen and Mater the tow truck from the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie Cars will be joining the Stars and Motor Cars parade at the Disney-MGM Studios on April 28.

Coming soon

• April 21 – June 11, Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
  • Flower Power Concert Series
    • April 21–24, The Nelsons
    • April 25–27, The Buckinghams
    • April 28–May 1, Gary Puckett
    • May 2–4, The Grass Roots starring Rob Grill
    • May 5–8, Paul Revere & The Raiders
    • May 9–11, The Association
    • May 12–15, Davy Jones
    • May 16–18, The Tokens
    • May 19–22, B.J. Thomas
    • May 23–25, Felix Cavaliere's Rascals
    • May 26–29, The Guess Who
    • May 30–June 1, Tony Orlando
    • June 2–5, Arlo Guthrie
    • June 6–7, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
    • June 8–11, Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone
  • Themed weekends
    • April 21–23, Premiere Weekend
    • April 28–30, Party in the Garden
    • May 5–7, Art In The Garden
    • May 12–14, Mother's Day
    • May 19–21, Characters in Bloom
    • May 21, Teddy Bears and Dolls, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
    • May 27–29, Memorial Day
    • June 2–4, I Dig Bugs
    • June 9–11, Festival Farewell Weekend
• April 28–29, May 5–6. Grad Nite
  • April 28–29, Fall Out Boy, Marcos Hernandez, Omarion, Teddy Geiger, Fefe Dobson
  • May 5–6, Simple Plan, Frankie J, Omarion, Teddy Geiger, Fefe Dobson
• May 19 – June 11, Star Wars Weekends
  • May 19–21, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Rick McCallum (producer), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok)
  • May 26–28, Jake Lloyd (young Anakin Skywalker), Matthew Wood (sound editor, voice of General Grievous), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok)
  • June 2–4, Jay Laga'aia (Captain Typho), Bonnie Maree Piesse (young Beru), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok)
  • June 9–11, Jeremy Bulloch (Bobba Fett), Temura Morrison (Jango Fett), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok)
• May 26–29, DVC members may not pool-hop on these dates

Trivia question of the week

What is the highest point inside any of the Disney theme parks?

(Answer will be posted next week.)

Answer to last week's question: The chemical formulas on the pipes running through the queue area of the Dinosaur attraction represent the formulas for ketchup (red pipes), mustard (yellow pipes) and mayonnaise (white pipes). The attraction is, after all, sponsored by McDonald's.

Don't keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments. Email Mark here.

Talk about these stories and more on our Walt Disney World discussion forum here.

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

• Liberty Square Riverboat – is not operating due to refurbishment, and will return to service on July 1.
• Pirates of the Caribbean – has completed the first part of its refurbishment and is currently open through April 30 for the peak Easter crowds. The attraction will close again on May 1 through July 1 for the addition of characters from the movie that was inspired by the ride.
• Timekeeper – is closed for good.
• Cinderella's Surprise Celebration – reportedly returns after the 18-month “Happiest Celebration on Earth” festivities end.

Epcot

• Ellen's Energy Adventure – will close for refurbishment May 1–14.
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – will open this fall in The Living Seas.
• The Wonders of Life pavilion – is closed for good.

Disney–MGM Studios

• No current refurbishments.

Animal Kingdom

• Finding Nemo – The Musical – will open in the Theater in the Wild late this year.

Resorts

• Polynesian Resort – Work is now underway on the complete refurbishment and upgrading of rooms and hallways in all buildings, which is expected to be completed this summer.
• Contemporary Resort – Work is now underway on the complete refurbishment and upgrading of rooms and hallways in the tower building and both garden wings, and is now expected to be completed this summer.
• Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa – Phase I's four buildings and Phase II's eight units are complete, Construction on Phase III is underway, with the six units expected to be completed in 2007.

Water Parks

• Typhoon Lagoon – Will close for annual refurbishment October 29, and will reopen some time in December.
• Blizzard Beach – Will close for annual refurbishment when work on Typhoon Lagoon is complete, and will reopen some time in Feburary or March.

Elsewhere

• Cirque du Soleil – La Nouba – performs Tuesdays – Saturdays.

Park Events

April 2006

• Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. April 21 – June 11. Epcot comes alive with topiaries, other floral displays, gardening demonstrations and the “Flower Power” concert series (link).
• Grad Nite. April 28-29, May 5-6. High school seniors take over the Magic Kingdom after an early closing and party all night (link).

May 2006

• Disney's Minnie Marathon Weekend 5K and 1 Mile (link). May 6. The short runs of the ladies-only running weekend take place at and near Downtown Disney. Registration is now open (link).
• Women Run the World 15 K (link). May 7. The course starts at Animal Kingdom, goes through the Studios and ends at Epcot. Registration is now open (link).
• Danskin Women's Triathlon. May 13-14. Athletes compete in a 400 yard swim, a 9 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run (link).
• Epcot Teddy Bear and Doll Weekend. May 18–21. Collectible bears and dolls at Epcot (link).
• Star Wars Weekends. May 19-21 and 26-28, and June 2-4 and 9-11. The popular event is slated to return to the Studios in 2006 (link).
• Gay Days 2006. May 31 - June 4. The 16th annual gathering of the GLBT community at Walt Disney World (link1 | link2).

July 2006

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex (link). July 29 – August 17. The NFC South champions prepare for the 2006 campaign, with practices open to the public.

September 2006

• Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Sept. 1–4. The radio host's annual gathering returns for another year (link).
• Night of Joy. Sept. 8–9. Disney's annual Christian music festival (link).
• Disney's Pin Celebration. Sept. 8–10. This year's event is themed as "It All Started With … Walt" (link).
• Walt Disney World Triathlon. Sept. 24. Athletes compete in a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike ride, and a 10K run (link).
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Sept. 29, Oct. 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31. Get your costumes ready. The Disney characters will certainly be wearing theirs. (link).
• Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Sept. 29 – Nov. 12. The annual celebration of things gustatory, plus the Eat to the Beat concert series (link).

October 2006

• Disney's Race for the Taste 10K. Oct. 8. The annual Disney 10K race continues its association with the Epcot Food & Wine Festival (link).
• Funai Classic at Walt Disney World. Oct. 16–22. Lucas Glover will try to defend his title at the 36th annual fall golf classic on the Palm and Magnolia courses (link).
• Disney Pin Cruise. Oct. 29 – Nov. 2. This year's cruise is themed as "Cruisin' Through Time" (link).

November-December 2006

• Festival of the Masters. Nov. 10–12. Disney's annual arts festival at Downtown Disney's West Side, now sponsored by Sharpie! (link).
• ABC Super Soap Weekend. Nov. 11–12. Your favorite ABC soap opera stars converge on the Disney-MGM Studios (link).
• Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Dates TBA. Jennings Osborne's amazing display returns to the Studios (link).
• Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade. Dates TBA. The Animal Kingdom Parade trades its Jammin' for Jingle in this holiday makeover (link).
• Holidays Around the World. Dates TBA. Epcot's World Showcase gets storytellers, special entertainment and crafts for kids, the Lights of Winter and a spectacular Christmas tree (link).
• Festival of the Seasons. Dates TBA. Downtown Disney gets a holiday makeover (link).
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Dates TBA. Snow on Main Street, free hot cocoa and cookies. What's not to like? (link).

December 2006

• MouseFest 2006. Dec. 3–11. The annual gathering of the Disney Internet community takes place at sea from Dec. 3–7 and on land from Dec. 7–11 (link).
• Pleasure Island New Year's Eve. Dec. 31. Pleasure Island celebrates the actual New Year (link).
• New Year's Eve at Cirque du Soleil. Dec. 31. Cirque puts on special New Year's performances (link).
• Atlantic Dance Hall New Year's Eve. Dec. 31. Ring in the New Year at the BoardWalk's own dance club (link).

January 2007

• Walt Disney World Half-Marathon. Jan. 6. Registration now open (link). [Read our WDW Marathon Guide.]
• Walt Disney World Marathon. Jan. 7. Registration now open (link).

Current Discounts & Promotions

Free dining plan back, for a limited time

Perhaps the best-received package in recent Disney history, the "Stay, Play and Dine" free dining plan is back. Packages purchased by June 4 for stays from August 13 – September 30 will receive the Disney Dining Plan for free. Essentially, it's the Magic Your Way Plus Dining package for the price of a standard Magic Your Way package. That's a savings of $37.99 per night per adult (ages 10 and up) and $10.99 per night for children (ages 3-9). Add it up and a family of four with kids ages 3-9 will save $97.96 per night, and a family of four with kids over age 9 will save a whopping $151.96 per night.

Disney Visa cardholders can use request code YWL when booking, while the general public should use code YWX.

Passholder discounts now available through June 3

Passholders discounts are now available on the passholder web site for vacations from April 23 through June 3. When calling by phone, use booking code EZN or EZO. Florida resident discounts for the same dates are available on the resident web site, using booking code BOR. Passholder rates start at $74 per night for value resorts, resident rates start at $79 per night for the values.

Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration releases rates through the end of 2006

The Radisson Resort Parkway is now the Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration! The resort, a MousePlanet sponsor, has announced their standard rates through the end of 2006. Note that the nightly rates do not include a $7 per night resort fee.

Click here for more information, or here to make reservations now.

Magic Your Way ticket price guide

Walt Disney World's entire ticket price structure changed as of January 2, 2005, to the new “Magic Your Way” passes, and prices increased on January 1, 2006.. Advance purchase discounts are only available on tickets above the base ticket of at least 4 days, with higher discounts on those tickets with both options.

Park Hours

Hours and entertainment schedules are currently available through October 2006.

Entertainment Schedule

Hours and entertainment schedules are currently available through October 2006.

Theme Park Events

Fort Wilderness movie schedule for April 2006

Movies begin at 8:40. Movies are preceded by a campfire at 7:30 and a singalong at 8:00.

Downtown Disney Entertainment

(Separate admission required)