Monsters Inc. Sequel and Attraction in Development

WDWNT Author on August 6, 2008

It appears that Pete Docter and the people at Pixar are keeping busy working on some Monsters Inc. projects, according to IGN:

The collective clever clogs over at Pixar are hinting that one of their most successful flicks —Monsters Inc. — could soon receive the sequel treatment.

Speaking to MTV, Pete Docter, the director of the original, said, “We’ve thought about it. We’ve got a couple of ideas.”

He failed to elaborate further, instead saying that much of his team’s resources are currently being poured into the forthcoming Monsters Inc.ride at Walt Disney Resorts.

If you recall, we talked about a rumored Monsters Inc. themed roller coaster to be built for Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in the not-so-distant future. A number of Disney cast members also reported that a preview video of this proposed attraction was available on the Cast Member Hub website for a few hours about two weeks ago. With these two apparent leaks of confidential information about a future Walt Disney World attraction, we could expect an official announcement on the project very soon. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this rumored project as it becomes available.

One Monster Coaster

WDWNT Author on July 21, 2008

Just as we briefly mentioned at the end of last week, rumors are swirling that an inverted roller coaster themed to Disney Pixar’s Monsters Inc. will be the next major new attraction for the Walt Disney World Resort after the opening of the American Idol Experience this January. Our good friend Jim Hill over at Jim Hill Media had a lengthy article about the proposed Hollywood Studios roller coaster today, although he did go into more detail on some other upcoming projects as well.

Jim also mentioned two new attractions that were first rumored to the public right here on WDW News Today over the course of the last year. First mentioned was that the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure will be themed to “A Bug’s Life” (probably in the very-near future), and next was the Little Mermaid dark ride that will most likely be heading over to Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom in October of 2011. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today for updates on all of these very strong rumors, and be sure to read Jim Hill’s article HERE.

Time To Turn Back Tiki-Time???

WDWNT Author on July 15, 2008

After months of hearing rumors that the Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management will be closing sometime in the near future to make way for a Stitch-involved makeover, a new wild rumor has hit the streets of the Magic Kingdom and has cast members in De-Nile (Attempt at a Jungle Cruise joke). Strong rumors now indicate that the original budget for the postponed major Jungle Cruise attraction refurbishment maybe heading across the way to fund the restoration of the talking audio-animatronics bird show to its original splendor. In short, the original Tropical Serenade show may return to the Magic Kingdom as part of a huge marketing campaign for the 40th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort in 2011.

The planned campaign is going to promote the idea of guests experiencing renewed classic attractions and entertainment inspired by the resort’s past. Among the planned updates for the celebration are updates to Space Mountain, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, The Hall of Presidents, and the Enchanted Tiki Room at the Magic Kingdom; Journey Into Imagination and Illuminations at Epcot; and The Great Movie Ride and Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Also rumored at this time are a new firework show and updated Spectromagic parade at the Magic Kingdom.

While most of these changes are likely to not take place (as is the nature with rumors), a few of them will make the line-up in time for October 1, 2011. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as more info on these rumored changes becomes available.

Jim Hill Goes Off the Wall-E

WDWNT Author on July 14, 2008

Our good friend Jim Hill over at Jim Hill Media has a great article up today about the rooms currently being re-decorated to Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Nemo over at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. While the new movie themed rooms are very news-worthy, there is something towards the end of the article that is far more interesting and exciting.

When mentioning tomorrow’s article for the site, Jim brought up the rumor that plans for Shanghai Disneyland’s Tomorrowland area have it completely themed to Disney-Pixar’s Wall-E film. I found this pretty exciting since I had been told about a month ago that the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland may be getting the same treatment. Current plans include having the fictional “Buy N Large” corporation from the film Wall-E taking over tomorrowland, in order to give the land a cohesive storyline after years of mass-confusion. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Space Mountain, and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress would most likely only be touched up to reflect the new theme, but major changes would be happening to the remainder of Tomorrowlandunder the current plan. A Wall-E themed show is currently in the works in Imagineering and would most likely replace Stitch’s Great Escape (while Stitch moves over to the Enchanted Tiki Room), although there is also talk of the show replacing The Laugh Floor. Other plans include major refurbishments of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and the Astro Orbiter. While all of this is still rumor for now, there is a very strong possibility that most of the changes in this plan will take shape by 2012. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information on the future of Tomorrowland becomes available.

Character Dining Changes

WDWNT Author on June 28, 2008

Some interesting rumors about dining changes to Walt Disney World are making the rounds this weekend, claiming that the Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Tree Tavern restaurant will be removing its character dinner as an option in January 2009 and that Epcot’s Garden Grill Restaurant inside The Land pavilion will remove the lunch option and only offer a character dinner starting this October. While we can-not deny or verify these rumors at this time, we will keep you informed on the subject as information becomes available.

Details on The American Idol Experience

WDWNT Author on June 23, 2008

Our good friend Jim Hill over at jimhilllmedia.com has put up a great article today giving away some of the details on how the new American Idol Experience attraction will run once it opens officially at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in January 2009. Jim goes through most of he details for this attraction in the article, giving us a good idea of just how many Disney Cast Members it will take to operate this “huge” attraction everyday. While Jim spills most of the beans on this long-awaited replacement to Superstar Television and Doug Live, there are still many details that Disney has still not even straightened out yet. While we wait for details direct from Disney, you can read through and enjoy Jim’s report HERE.

Plenty of SPACE for Change

WDWNT Author on June 4, 2008

As we have been reporting here at WDW News Today for almost a year, Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom is scheduled to go down for an extensive refurbishment beginning in January of 2009. The number one priority for Disney during this refurbishment will be to bring in new, more comfortable ride vehicles and loading gates for added safety to the attraction. However, Imagineering has a few other ideas in store for the attraction. Among those ideas are new lighting effects, a completely new queue and exit, and a unique music track to play through the new on-board speakers that each vehicle will have. We are still 6 months away from what should be the beginning of a lengthy refurbishment, but stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available.

Lights, Camera, Rumor Control!!!

WDWNT Author on May 30, 2008

Just wanted to take a moment to clear up two rumors about the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

-The space next to Toy Story Midway Mania (known as sound-stage 1) is not being prepared for Pixar Place area expansion at this time. As we reported in April, the space will be the merchandise location for Star Wars Weekends at the Studios beginning in June. I even took a peek inside the studio this week to be sure, and all that I saw were boxes and shelves full of merchandise.

-Of course there has been another leak about the new Star Tours attraction in development (as if there was any doubt this was happening) this week. From what I have been told, the attraction will either close later this year or right after the conclusion of the 2009 Star Wars Weekends at the Studios. Either way, the current feeling is that the attraction can not miss a Star Wars Weekend event during this lengthy refurbishment, so It can only be closed for a year at the most.

Predicting The Future With a Doctor and a Prince

WDWNT Author on May 16, 2008

The next two weeks of business at your local box office may be determining the future of your favorite Disney Parks and your future vacations. Disney management will be closely watching the performance of two summer blockbusters over the next two weeks, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

For the Narnia series, everything is riding on this weekend and the latest film’s success. If the film doesn’t perform as well as the Walt Disney Company is hoping, we may have seen the last or next-to-last Narnia film. Whether or not that takes place, a decision will be made soon on the now-in-developement Narnia 3-D attraction being planned for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s California Adventure. If the film shows strong results, then expect the new Narnia 3-D show to debut at both parks around Summer 2010.

As far as Dr. Jones is concerned, Disney is dying to know if Indy can still swing some good box office numbers after 19 years of script battles between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. If Indiana Jones does as well as many are expecting it to do, I would expect a green light for the long in development Indiana Jones Adventure (same name as Disneyland attraction, but extremely different beyond that), an updated Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectatular, or both. Be sure to keep an eye on box office results the next two weeks, because the newest attractions at Walt Disney World are riding on it.

Details Emerging on Toy Story Mania

WDWNT Author on March 17, 2008

Here are some details emerging on Toy Story Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, opening soon:

-The vehicles for the attraction will be called “Toy Story Trams” and will be equipped with “Spring Action Shooters”.

-Each vehicle will feature the name and picture of a different Toy Story film character.

-The inside queue will reportedly carry on the theme of the real-life Pixar Studios.

-A new Pixar Studio Store will be located on Pixar Place, selling a lot of merchandise from the new attraction and other Disney-Pixar films.

While none of the previous notes are confirmed, they are all highly likely. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information on Toy Story Mania becomes available.