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Disneyland Small World Fire Aftermath

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Last week a small portion of It’s A Small World’s beautiful facade was charred by an off-stage fire caused when fireworks malfunctioned and lit a tree and construction tarp on fire.

If you missed the video you can see it here

It’s A Small World caught on fire #Disney #smallworld #disneyland

A video posted by Mundo (@mundocious) on

It’s a small world’s facade has been under renovation, which is periodically required to keep the complicated structure looking show ready (especially with all the abuse it takes each Christmas season). Here is a show of the construction taken on February 6th, a few weeks before the fire.

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That there is the occasional fire from Fireworks fallout is to be expected. Consider how many shells Disney launches each night and then multiply that by a year’s worth of fireworks shows. A small fire or two is bound to happen.

By all accounts Disney cast members acted swiftly and correctly that night. Guests were evacuated from the danger zone and the firefighters who are on hand every night for the fireworks display had the fire extinguished in less than 20 minutes.

In the photos below you can see that some of the trees took a minor beating in the fire and that some of the gold spires are now charred by the fire.Read More »Disneyland Small World Fire Aftermath

Planet Hollywood begins its Disney Springs Transformation

It’s long been one of the most popular and iconic elements of Downtown Disney, but the giant Planet Hollywood globe will soon be transformed into an elegant looking observatory that harkens back to the golden age of Hollywood with its classic forms. Concept art for… Read More »Planet Hollywood begins its Disney Springs Transformation

Downtown Disney transforming into Disney Springs – February 2015 update

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We’re back with our latest update from Downtown Disney as it transforms into Disney Springs. There are 30 photos and a great video in this mega-update.

New stores including: Chapel (hats), Apex (sunglasses), the Art of Shaving, and a few signs for as yet unopened stores are now on most of the store fronts in The Landing area. I’m not sure any shave is worth $55. But if you want one, The Art if Shaving will be glad to service you.

We recently profiled the newly activated parking garage spot finder system. Work on the second garage is just getting started. There are also three new dining locations in progress, The Boat House is looking nearly finished (outside at least), The Hangar is finally being enclosed, and serious remodeling is underway at the future Morimoto ASIA location.

Not clearly on the video is the progress on the parking garage, the work they’re doing to add off-ramps from Lake Buena Vista drive directly into the parking garage, and work going on in a few areas currently off-limits to guests that will be brand new shopping and dining areas added to Downtown Disney.

Can’t watch the video, I have 30 photos from my recent walk around Downtown Disney are below:

Read More »Downtown Disney transforming into Disney Springs – February 2015 update

Disney’s Animal Kingdom construction continues to reshape the park

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Walt Disney’s Imagineers are busy remaking large swaths of one of the world’s most beautiful theme parks – Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Not only is James Cameron’s Avatar project coming to the park, but Africa’s Harambe Village is expanding, the Discovery Island hub is getting a variety of improvements (and a new Starbucks), and the river between Asia and Dino-land is becoming a stage for “Rivers of Light.”

Can’t watch the video? More photos below:

Read More »Disney’s Animal Kingdom construction continues to reshape the park

Magic Kingdom Plaza / Hub Construction picks up pace – January 2015 Update

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The Plaza (or Hub) at the Magic Kingdom is undergoing a major renovation. When it’s down you’ll experience a more garden-like setting with much better crowd control opportunities. Early signals from Disney indicated work on the hub to be done in phases, but they’ve started working on the center of the plaza and show areas in the front of the castle while the new viewing garden areas are not yet complete. That’s good news as it means the project will probably be finished earlier.

In the meantime, we have Walt Disney’s Partner Statue in a box and temporary structures all over the place. That’s in addition to the walls and construction that was already making the hub a bit of an eyesore. Judge for yourself, but it’s definitely on the shy side of magical right now.

The end result of this construction will be a wider area leading from Main Street to the Hub. There will be two garden areas that can be used for fireworks viewing parties, expanded outside seating for Casey’s Jr and some much needed seating for the Ice Cream Palace and Starbucks. Plus the performance area in front of the castle will get a much needed tech upgrade.

Can’t watch the video? We’ve got photos below the jump:

Read More »Magic Kingdom Plaza / Hub Construction picks up pace – January 2015 Update

Downtown Disney becoming Disney Springs – Construction Update for November

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We have a really big update from Downtown Disney for you today. There’s a whole raft of updates to report as the popular shopping, dining, and entertainment district prepares to become Disney Springs.

In a previous update we explored the newly open Exposition Park Food Truck lot and we had our first peek inside the new parking structure.

The entrance to Downtown Disney is forever changed as a giant parking structure now occupies the former main parking lot for the westside. There’s still plenty of working going on, even on the parking garage itself. Eventually two walk-ways will connect the garage with Disney Springs. For now, there’s some extra construction walls to help corral pedestrian traffic into the West Side.

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The biggest change is the re-opening of the walk-way through the former Pleasure Island area. This area will soon be known as “The Landing.” But for now, it’s still a mess of walls and storefronts that aren’t quite ready to open. You’ll note that they added some fake trolley tracks to the ground at the top of the hill and some concept art to show what that area will look like when finished.

There’s also been quite a lot of work on The Hanger and The Boathouse, two of the first dining experiences expected to open in The Landing.

Behind the Landing is “The Springs” and work is going on there too, with what looks like some of the first vertical structures being erected already.

More photos below the jump:
Read More »Downtown Disney becoming Disney Springs – Construction Update for November

Harambe to expand with Africa Marketplace at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The keen folks over at WDW Magic have gotten their hands on a piece of concept art for a new expansion coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Africa Marketplace will open in Spring of 2015 in the Harambe area of the park. It will be part… Read More »Harambe to expand with Africa Marketplace at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Plaza Improvement – November 2014 Construction Update

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The Plaza (or Hub) at the Magic Kingdom is undergoing a major renovation in order to improve guest flow during the busy show and parade times. We’re back with another look at the progress made so far. We had two updates in September, but we actually skipped October. So there’s been quite a bit of progress since we last checked in.

The side closer to Crystal Palace is closer to completion. You can start to see where the viewing area/garden area will take shape as well a the new path that will lead from near Crystal Palace into the hub. The Tomorrowland Terrace side is a bit further behind, and there’s more work to be done as they also have to build a new seating area in front of the Plaza Restaurant.

The end result of this construction will be a wider area leading from Main Street to the Hub. There will be two garden areas that can be used for fireworks viewing parties, expanded outside seating for Casey’s Jr and some much needed seating for the Ice Cream Palace and Starbucks.

Continue the tour below:Read More »Magic Kingdom Plaza Improvement – November 2014 Construction Update