Posts Tagged ‘Rehabs’

Big Changes Afoot at Disney’s Kilimanjaro Safaris; Potential Refurb in January

This post has officially been dumbed down due to massive complaints about the direction of it previously, so here it is short and sweet.

Strong rumors indicate  that early next year, in either January or February, KJS will be closing for an extensive refurbishment and when it re-opens, it may very well contain no remnants of the storyline it once held.

Currently, guests are set to embark on a two week safari through the savanna aboard SIMBA-1, only to have their trip cut short when other touring vehicles come across signs of poachers.

This is not the first time the story has been minused, however. In the original, version of the attraction, ‘Big Red’ was physically represented as the fallen victim of the poachers. Determined to be too family unfriendly, the faux corpse was removed from the attraction and ‘Big Red’ turned out okay (so they tell us) before the attraction opened to the public. A few years ago, the storyline was thinned out even further.

So what provoked these rumored changes? Sources have given us several rationales, but none of them really seem to make sense from an operations perspective. The only other change we know to be occurring is the new tour that will be offered to guests  as first announced on the Disney Parks blog. Although that tour was said to be launching later this year, we have been assured that its success depends on the changes in the attraction so it’s not actually likely to begin until early next year. From what we understand, the tour does stand to benefit from the proposed changes to the attraction.

Update #1 – 9/1/10: Stitch Kingdom reader Tonya offered the following on our Facebook page:

‘We were there the end of August. I was asked to take a short survey. They asked questions about the length of the ride, how many animals did we see and if our children enjoyed it. All they would tell me is that they are thinking about changing the ride like making it longer.’

Update #2 – 9/1/10: This is 130% speculation on my part, but I just want to say it for the sake of it being said. If this pans out, I believe it’s a good chance the safari will go in the way of automated spiels that will be triggered as the vehicle passes through certain areas, just like Living with the Land and the Backlot Tour have done and the Planet Watch Wildlife Express attempted to do.

WDW Refurb Update: Mad Tea Party, Gift Shop Join Pooh; ‘Ohana Closure in January

When The Many Adventures Winnie-the-Pooh closes in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in October as we previously announced, it will now be joined by Pooh’s Thotful Shop which will also close on October 25, but will re-open on November 8, full a week earlier than the attraction.

In addition, Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland will close on September 26 and is scheduled to re-open on November 11.

Over at the Polynesian, ‘Ohana will be closed from January 17 through January 20, 2011, although it will be open for dinner on the 20th.

We have also been alerted that One Man’s Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is now scheduled to re-open a day later, on November 4.

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be the first to know when changes that potentially affect your trip occur by signing up with ReSearch!

WDW Refurb Update: Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh Closure in October thru Mid-November

The official Walt Disney World website has updated its operational calendar to include a closure for The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom from October 25 through November 14.

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WDW Refurb Update: Water Parks Seasonal Closures

The Walt Disney World Resort has confirmed the dates of the seasonal closures for the Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks for the 2010-2011 season.

Typhoon Lagoon will be closing first on October 31, 2010 and is scheduled to re-open on January 9, 2011. Keep in mind that — especially as temperatures get cooler — the park may close earlier for its refurb depending on weather conditions.

On January 9, 2011, Blizzard Beach will close for its seasonal refurbishment and is scheduled to re-open on March 20, 2011.

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be the first to know when changes that potentially affect your trip occur by signing up with ReSearch!

WDW Refurb Update: Star Tours II Officially Granted Re-opening Date

Star Tours II has been cleared for take-off.

On the official web site, Walt Disney World has announced a scheduled re-opening date for Star Tours of May 17, 2011, which reflects a minor change in dates we originally announced back in March. The attraction is still expected to close on September 8.

At the Disneyland Resort, Star Tours, which closes on July 27 for its refurb, is expected to re-open exactly one week prior, on May 10, 2011.

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WDW Refurb Update: Liberty Belle Riverboat Closure in August

The Liberty Square Riverboat, the Liberty Belle, in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom will be closed from August 16 through August 25.

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WDW Refurb Update: Toy Story Mania Date Change, One Man’s Dream to Take a Nap

A couple of brief refurbishment updates for Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World.

First, we realize we caused some shockwaves when we first announced way back in March that Toy Story Mania would be closing for a refurb in mid-August. Many confused this with the recent TS3 additions that have already taken place, but the refurb is something completely different (reportedly something to do with unloading gates). And while Disney Parks has yet to confirm it, a recent tweet from DHS cast member @PaulChadkin confirms our announcement with a minor date change. According to Paul, the new dates for the refurb are August 16 through August 28 (opening on the 29th). Given this new announcement from another source we consider to be extremely credible, we will be updating ReSearch with these new dates.

Paul also announces the temporary closure of Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream which is scheduled to close on August 16 as well, but won’t re-open until November 3.

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UPDATE: 06/02/10 – Updated with official correct dates as per Disney

WDW Refurb Update: Blizzard Beach’s Teamboat Springs Refurb Extended

Initially scheduled to re-open this weekend, we have been advised that the extended refurb at Teamboat Springs at Walt Disney World’s Blizzard Beach has now been extended with an anticipated re-opening date of June 1, 2010.

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WDW Refurb Update: Extended Closure for ‘it’s a small world’ — Are Disney Characters Being Added?

Thanks to a tip, we have learned that ‘it’s a small world’ at the Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom has been scheduled for an extended refurbishment beginning August 1 and ending October 22. The refurbishment is listed on the official Walt Disney World website daily view for those dates and a call to the Resort did confirm the closure.

We’re sure in time that more about the details of the refurbishment will come to light, but until then, one can only speculate. With the addition of Disney characters at first Hong Kong Disneyland and then Disneyland in 2009, could the Magic Kingdom be far behind?

Below is a video released from Disney Parks which highlights the changes made to the Disneyland version last year:

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Update: According to the LA Times Fun Blog, both Disney Parks and WDI have denied that there will be characters added to the attraction, which still leaves one to wonder why the attraction will be closed for such a long time when it just experienced an extensive refurbishment about five years ago.

Disney Parks Confirms Closure Dates for Star Tours

With Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios rapidly approaching, Star Wars news on all fronts is pouring in.

In addition to announcing the personal appearance of R2-MK at Star Wars Weekends this year, Disney Parks has also confirmed closure dates for the Star Tours attraction at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.

As we already advised back in March, the attraction is scheduled to close on September 8 with an expected re-opening date of May 20, 2011 in Orlando while the Anaheim version will close much earlier than originally anticipated on July 27 with an expected re-opening  date of May 10, 2011.