I went to the Magic Kingdom last night and noticed quite a few new-ish things (at least, new to me). I apologize if these have been posted before, as I haven't been keeping a very close eye on the forums as of late. Also, unfortunately, I left my camera at my apartment, so no pictures.
--Pirates is, indeed, closed for its refurb until next week. Signs are up at the entrance, and a CM is stationed there.
--The animation on the Zanzibar Trading Company sign is working (honestly, I didn't even know that it even had animation!). It's the shop closest to the spitting camel in Adventureland. The sign has a little group of sailboats on it, and now they sail around in a circle. Neat.
--The Main Street Cinema now has a version of Art on Demand. It's not printed out immediately, but is instead shipped to your home address within 2-3 weeks. There are also some additions to the catalog, including a copy of the 1971 WDW property map that used to hang in the Magic Kingdom resorts. They are also selling a copy of the needlepoint "Tomb Sweet Tomb" from the corridor of doors in the Haunted Mansion.
--Some refurb work is being done at one of the entrances to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.
--I rode Big Thunder Mountain for the first time since its recent refurb, and it looks great! New effects include more bats during the first lift, a much more impressive waterfall with fog at the end of the first lift, and a gunfight (I think--it was dark) during the flooded town scene. Also, steam was coming out of one of the smokestacks on the load station building, which I hadn't seen before.
--I swear that there are a few new lighting effects during Mickey's Phillharmagic, though it could have just been a product of having a nearly-empty theater, as I saw it towards the end of the night. Lumiere's flames were enhanced by in-theater lighting, and I think there were lots more vortex gobos going on during the first and last scenes than I remember. New or not, they're neat effects.
--Pirates is, indeed, closed for its refurb until next week. Signs are up at the entrance, and a CM is stationed there.
--The animation on the Zanzibar Trading Company sign is working (honestly, I didn't even know that it even had animation!). It's the shop closest to the spitting camel in Adventureland. The sign has a little group of sailboats on it, and now they sail around in a circle. Neat.
--The Main Street Cinema now has a version of Art on Demand. It's not printed out immediately, but is instead shipped to your home address within 2-3 weeks. There are also some additions to the catalog, including a copy of the 1971 WDW property map that used to hang in the Magic Kingdom resorts. They are also selling a copy of the needlepoint "Tomb Sweet Tomb" from the corridor of doors in the Haunted Mansion.
--Some refurb work is being done at one of the entrances to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.
--I rode Big Thunder Mountain for the first time since its recent refurb, and it looks great! New effects include more bats during the first lift, a much more impressive waterfall with fog at the end of the first lift, and a gunfight (I think--it was dark) during the flooded town scene. Also, steam was coming out of one of the smokestacks on the load station building, which I hadn't seen before.
--I swear that there are a few new lighting effects during Mickey's Phillharmagic, though it could have just been a product of having a nearly-empty theater, as I saw it towards the end of the night. Lumiere's flames were enhanced by in-theater lighting, and I think there were lots more vortex gobos going on during the first and last scenes than I remember. New or not, they're neat effects.
