Category: Attractions

  • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Opening Date RUMOR

    Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Opening Date RUMOR

    The mouse house has so many new attractions and lands coming up that it’s hard to keep track of all of the opening dates, but we may have just gotten another one.  Set to replace The Great Movie Ride, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and we may have a date to look forward to.

    Imagineering is planning to complete the new attraction’s development and turn it over to the operations side of Disney in April, 2019 according to a report by WDWNT, and the attraction could then open in April or May.

    On this new attraction, guests step through the movie screen and join Mickey and friends on a railway adventure as they take part in the wacky and unpredictable world of a Mickey Mouse Cartoon Short.

    Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

    Walt Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty came on stage during the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts panel during the D23 Expo and described Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway as a zany, out-of-control adventure with unpredictable twists and turns, dazzling visual effects, and mind-boggling transformations that happen during the scenes.

    Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is inspired by the Mickey Shorts on the Disney Channel, with a visual style matching those cartoons. Imagineering has partnered with Disney Television Animation to help bring the attraction to life.  Though nothing is official yet this is still great news for those looking forward to the first attraction to ever feature Mickey himself.

  • Lunar New Year Festival Returns to Disney California Adventure Park

    Lunar New Year Festival Returns to Disney California Adventure Park

    Kick off the Year of the Dog with the return of the popular Lunar New Year festival at Disney California Adventure park! From January 26 through February 18, this spectacular festival will feature live entertainment, delicious food and more. Take a look at the favorite experiences returning for this year’s celebration:

    • Hurry Home — Lunar New Year Celebration, a nighttime water show on Paradise Bay
    • Disney characters such as Mulan and her friend Mushu, along with Mickey Mouse and his pals, all dressed up for the occasion — including Goofy dressed as the God of Good Fortune
    • Specialty Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese foods at marketplaces and Paradise Garden Grill
    • Commemorative merchandise featuring designs inspired by the different cultures of East Asia
    • Lucky Wishing Wall, where you can add your own wish
    • The festive Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession, traditional crafts and more!

    Lunar New Year Festival

    Visit Disneyland.com/LunarNewYear for more information, and celebrate the Year of the Dog with us during the Lunar New Year festival at Disney California Adventure park, January 26 through February 18!

  • New Tron Coaster Permits at Disney’s Magic Kingdom

    New Tron Coaster Permits at Disney’s Magic Kingdom

    Walt Disney World is always moving forward and recently filed permit applications show they are doing just that with their Tron Coaster plans for the Magic Kingdom. The Park will get its version of the “Tron” ride next to Space Mountain, said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, during D23, the official Disney fan club, in July in Anaheim, Calif.

    Days after filing permits for a Ratatouille ride, Disney has some more attraction plans on the books. New permit documents filed Nov. 20 show the location of a planned Tron coaster in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.

    A concept map for MK2 — the working title for Walt Disney World’s Tron coaster — shows it will be adjacent Space Mountain on its north side.

    The coaster will be modeled after Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland. The coaster-style attraction invites guests to board a train of two-wheeled Lightcycles for a ride through Tron’s high-tech universe.

    Tron Lightcycle Power Run

    Orlando-based design firm Heery International Inc. is listed on the designs. Illinois-based engineering firm Professional Service Industries Inc. is conducting geotechnical work on the site.

    In a letter to Walt Disney Imagineering, an engineer from Professional Service Industries noted,

    “At this time, we have no information on the building size and column/foundation loads. Additionally, there is no information on the finished grades of the floor slab. We would expect foundation loads to be moderately heavy and similar to other attractions in the area.”

    The permit for the Tron coaster is bundled into a permit for The Main Street Theater (labeled “MK1”) that will occupy most of what is now a parking lot southwest of the Carousel of Progress and behind the shuttered Galaxy Palace Theater.

    This falls in with Walt Disney Co.’s plans to invest in more projects around its Orlando theme parks in the coming year.

  • Frozen, Avatar attractions win Thea Awards

    Frozen, Avatar attractions win Thea Awards

    Three Walt Disney World attractions inspired by the films “Avatar” and “Frozen” have won TEA Thea Awards.

    Pandora — The World of Avatar, which opened in May at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, was recognized for outstanding achievement in “theme-park area development” and the Pandora ride called Flight of Passage was also recognized for its achievement.

    Frozen, Avatar attractions win Thea Awards

    Frozen Ever After, an Epcot ride in the Norway pavilion, won for outstanding achievement in “attraction reimagining.” The water ride, featuring the latest in animatronics, is a refurbishment of the old Maelstrom ride.

    The announcement, made Tuesday by the Themed Entertainment Association, called Pandora “a tour de force in placemaking” and said that Flight was “flawlessly executed.”

    Guardians of the Galaxy Ride

    Disney also had a winner out west. Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout, a revamp of Disney California Adventure’s Tower of Terror ride, also was recognized in the “attraction reimagining” category.