WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel scoured the entire Walt Disney World Resort on Wednesday to cover just about every construction project in progress and he has hundreds of newsworthy photos to share with us in this photo report:
Work continues on Pollo Campero at Downtown Disney Marketplace
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been a hotbed of changes, refurbishments, and improvements over the last few days, so WDWNT Reporter Banks Lee headed out to the park to take photos of all of this activity:
There’s a lot closed
Read More about Banks Lee’s 9/11/10 Hollywood Studios Photo Report
From an article about “What’s Next?” at Disneyland Resort on Disney’s D23 website, here’s more on Star Tours II and Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid:
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
A couple sen-sea-tional reveals were made about this mega-attraction sprouting up now along the side of Paradise Bay.
- As guests descend into the water, a cool blast of air will give them the sensation of headed under the sea.
- Scuttle the seagull will be the first character guests will meet once they have loaded into their “clam-mobiles.” And there will be several places you will see him along you way as he helps weave Ariel’s story together.
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
While it may not open until the fall of 2011, a few exciting elements of the reimagined Star Tours were announced.
- The enhanced attraction — featuring multiple destinations — takes place in between the two Star Wars trilogies, which will enable Imagineers to utilize characters from both sets of films.
- While the planet of Tatooine was unveiled as a destination at last year’s D23 Expo, Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Show Producer Kathy Rogers announced that the bustling urban environment of Coruscant will be another.
- There will be several points during each journey where the audience will be able to change where the story is going. “There’s an incredible number of different variations,” explains Al Weiss, president, Worldwide Operations, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “You will rarely, if ever, see the same show twice. And it’s all in 3D.
Looks like we may be waiting until Fall 2011 for Star Tours at Disneyland Resort and we imagine it will be a similar wait for the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more details on these two upcoming attractions as they become available.
At the media festivities last week at Disneyland Resort, we got a closer look and a few more details about both “Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid” and “Star Tours II” (note that Disney has dropped the II from the name, but we’ll be using it just to differentiate it from the current version of the attraction). While the previews are meant for Disneyland, both attractions will be almost identical at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.
First looking at the Little Mermaid dark ride, the clam vehicles are actually different from the Seas with Nemo and Friends
Read More about New Star Tours and Little Mermaid Attraction Details
WDWNT Network Community Forum user FreakOuter84 provided us with the following photos of the construction walls in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom:
The walls now have large landscapes and descriptions of what’s to come
Note that this isn’t concept art, but artwork from the films
Preview of “Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid”
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Prince Eric’s castle from The Little Mermaid
Maurice’s Cottage
To discuss this update, click this link.
While the presentation about the Fantasyland Expansion during the D23 First Anniversary party did not allow photography of any kind, there were ten pieces of artwork on display at Ariel’s Grotto during the party, some new, some you may have seen before:
The overall view, nothing new here
Old concept art of Dumbo’s Circus area and the “Dueling Dumbos”
The exterior of “Dreams Come True with Cinderella”
Old concept art of “Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid”. A new version of this artwork was shown during the presentation, however, photography was not allowed. The ride will use omnimover vehicles very much like those found at the Seas with Nemo and Friends
Old concept art of “A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty”
Old concept art of “Dreams Come True with Cinderella”
Old concept art of Gaston’s Tavern
New concept art of the cottage that will hold the magic mirror transporting guests into “Enchanted Tales with Belle”
Older concept art of “Be Our Guest” Restaurant, but take note of the “living character” Lumiere being wheeled around, along with the stained glass windows featuring Beauty and the Beast characters towards the back of the room
New concept art showing the entrance to the Beast’s Castle and the “Be Our Guest” Restaurant
