Disneyland
It seems that Disneyland may be somewhere to avoid this winter. Just like last winter, apparently a lot of the park's attractions will be closed. The Matterhorn apparently will not re-open until at least February. Fantasmic will apparently not come back until Summer 2003. Then there are the closings of the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World to de-holiday them. Who knows when the Carrousel will be done. And Pooh MIGHT open in time for Easter break.
As for the big 2005 anniversary, Space Mountain is still having rumors about the trains launching from the Rocket Rods loading pad INTO the SM building. Inversions would also be included. This may be too much of a logistical nightmare, but if Disney is going to gut this popular ride, they should go ALL OUT if they want to quell the whiners.
Disney's California Adventure
Even though Playhouse Disney isn't expected to open until April (just like Pooh) DCA WILL get something new before then. Aladdin is expected to open in December.
After that, don't expect much until the Tower of Terror (with the new Tower4 sequences!) opens around April 2004. Nothing is scheduled after that until 2006, and then all that is out there is yet another Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (but with better theming apparently) and a new lagoon show. Sigh.
Magic Kingdom
Nothing of note here beyond PhilharMagic news. Still no opening date more specific than mid-2003. But I am sure WDW is doing all they can to open it by that all-important Easter week.
This isn't a rumor but the park has been opening with several characters arriving on the train and exiting to welcome guests around the station. Now on nights that don't feature Spectromagic or fireworks, 20 to 40 characters have a Main Street "dance party" with the exiting guests. Frankly, these are great ideas that are both cheap and fun. They should have original opening ceremonies at ALL their parks and closing ceremonies at parks without nighttime shows, like AK or DCA (yes, they have that parade, but they still need it!)
Animal Kingdom
Speaking of AK, there is a bit more info out there about Forbidden Mountain. Fears of the ride being a Matterhorn clone are lessening. It seems the ride will travel AROUND the mountain before actually entering it. It seems there will also only be one track, which also quiets any clone worries. Still, it seems there won't be any inversions and there will be many Yeti inside, so don't expect the Incredible Hulk inside a mountain. Unbelievably, this apparently won't open until 2005, which means more than two years of this park continuing to have problems.
Well, something excellent seems to be coming soon: AK will be building a bridge near the Tarzan Rocks theater across the river to Asia. FINALLY! Now Camp Minnie/Mickey will be the only dead-end land. (Not counting Dinorama. NO ONE counts Dinorama!)
Disney/MGM Studios
With Epcot and AK needing such desperate attention right now, the Studios has little in the way of rumors. Nothing on what will replace Hunchback. Nothing on what will replace Doug Live. (Not that those need as much planning as E-Tickets do.) Nothing on a Great Movie Ride upgrade either. And still nothing from the Lucas camp about new Star Tours movies. But there is a minor rumor about the park getting ANOTHER 3-D attraction. Rumors have the attraction, which may be based on Pixar's upcoming "Finding Nemo," possibly replacing Voyage of the Little Mermaid. But I would place bets on it replacing MuppetVision instead. Voyage is original and a Disney product. MuppetVision is on both coasts and ISN'T a Disney product.
Epcot
All the juicy stuff seems to be coming out of Epcot. And deservedly so. Disney's most original park has been ailing for years and apparently Disney has taken the money planned for a fifth WDW park and is wisely putting it into Epcot instead.
Mission: Space is first up, obviously, and it looks good for an Easter 2003 opening. Unless it has major problems, which happens frequently in this park.
The new Spain half-pavilion was supposedly built only for the Food and Wine Festival, but it could be the first phase of a more extensive pavilion down the road. Disney was in talks recently with the Spanish government about a pavilion and I doubt this was what all that fuss was about.
More rumors keep surfacing about a Soarin'-type ride dropping into the Land pavilion. They are apparently trying out different loading techniques at DCA so the ride won't back up as badly as the original.
That project is one that has been recently added to Project Gemini, a codename given to a short-term plan for Epcot. While we may not learn much about PG until after the unveiling of Mission: Space, one of the wildest rumors involves Spaceship Earth. Rumor has the ride closing down in 2005 and being replaced with a ride called Spaceship Earth: Time Racers. One rumor I read made it sound like a clone of Tokyo DisneySea's StormRider would go in here. Screamscape says a roller coaster that would start outside the geosphere and launch INTO it is on the boards. Personally, I don't see how a coaster track could be supported in that weird thing. But then I don't know how the current ride can be supported either, so who knows? Considering the StormRider rumor has been around for a long time, though not for Spaceship Earth, my money's on that cheaper and easier alternative. Plus, the names, StormRider and Time Racers, are a bit similar. Time Racers doesn't sound very coastery either.
It seems that Disneyland may be somewhere to avoid this winter. Just like last winter, apparently a lot of the park's attractions will be closed. The Matterhorn apparently will not re-open until at least February. Fantasmic will apparently not come back until Summer 2003. Then there are the closings of the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World to de-holiday them. Who knows when the Carrousel will be done. And Pooh MIGHT open in time for Easter break.
As for the big 2005 anniversary, Space Mountain is still having rumors about the trains launching from the Rocket Rods loading pad INTO the SM building. Inversions would also be included. This may be too much of a logistical nightmare, but if Disney is going to gut this popular ride, they should go ALL OUT if they want to quell the whiners.
Disney's California Adventure
Even though Playhouse Disney isn't expected to open until April (just like Pooh) DCA WILL get something new before then. Aladdin is expected to open in December.
After that, don't expect much until the Tower of Terror (with the new Tower4 sequences!) opens around April 2004. Nothing is scheduled after that until 2006, and then all that is out there is yet another Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (but with better theming apparently) and a new lagoon show. Sigh.
Magic Kingdom
Nothing of note here beyond PhilharMagic news. Still no opening date more specific than mid-2003. But I am sure WDW is doing all they can to open it by that all-important Easter week.
This isn't a rumor but the park has been opening with several characters arriving on the train and exiting to welcome guests around the station. Now on nights that don't feature Spectromagic or fireworks, 20 to 40 characters have a Main Street "dance party" with the exiting guests. Frankly, these are great ideas that are both cheap and fun. They should have original opening ceremonies at ALL their parks and closing ceremonies at parks without nighttime shows, like AK or DCA (yes, they have that parade, but they still need it!)
Animal Kingdom
Speaking of AK, there is a bit more info out there about Forbidden Mountain. Fears of the ride being a Matterhorn clone are lessening. It seems the ride will travel AROUND the mountain before actually entering it. It seems there will also only be one track, which also quiets any clone worries. Still, it seems there won't be any inversions and there will be many Yeti inside, so don't expect the Incredible Hulk inside a mountain. Unbelievably, this apparently won't open until 2005, which means more than two years of this park continuing to have problems.
Well, something excellent seems to be coming soon: AK will be building a bridge near the Tarzan Rocks theater across the river to Asia. FINALLY! Now Camp Minnie/Mickey will be the only dead-end land. (Not counting Dinorama. NO ONE counts Dinorama!)
Disney/MGM Studios
With Epcot and AK needing such desperate attention right now, the Studios has little in the way of rumors. Nothing on what will replace Hunchback. Nothing on what will replace Doug Live. (Not that those need as much planning as E-Tickets do.) Nothing on a Great Movie Ride upgrade either. And still nothing from the Lucas camp about new Star Tours movies. But there is a minor rumor about the park getting ANOTHER 3-D attraction. Rumors have the attraction, which may be based on Pixar's upcoming "Finding Nemo," possibly replacing Voyage of the Little Mermaid. But I would place bets on it replacing MuppetVision instead. Voyage is original and a Disney product. MuppetVision is on both coasts and ISN'T a Disney product.
Epcot
All the juicy stuff seems to be coming out of Epcot. And deservedly so. Disney's most original park has been ailing for years and apparently Disney has taken the money planned for a fifth WDW park and is wisely putting it into Epcot instead.
Mission: Space is first up, obviously, and it looks good for an Easter 2003 opening. Unless it has major problems, which happens frequently in this park.
The new Spain half-pavilion was supposedly built only for the Food and Wine Festival, but it could be the first phase of a more extensive pavilion down the road. Disney was in talks recently with the Spanish government about a pavilion and I doubt this was what all that fuss was about.
More rumors keep surfacing about a Soarin'-type ride dropping into the Land pavilion. They are apparently trying out different loading techniques at DCA so the ride won't back up as badly as the original.
That project is one that has been recently added to Project Gemini, a codename given to a short-term plan for Epcot. While we may not learn much about PG until after the unveiling of Mission: Space, one of the wildest rumors involves Spaceship Earth. Rumor has the ride closing down in 2005 and being replaced with a ride called Spaceship Earth: Time Racers. One rumor I read made it sound like a clone of Tokyo DisneySea's StormRider would go in here. Screamscape says a roller coaster that would start outside the geosphere and launch INTO it is on the boards. Personally, I don't see how a coaster track could be supported in that weird thing. But then I don't know how the current ride can be supported either, so who knows? Considering the StormRider rumor has been around for a long time, though not for Spaceship Earth, my money's on that cheaper and easier alternative. Plus, the names, StormRider and Time Racers, are a bit similar. Time Racers doesn't sound very coastery either.
