There are multiple projects in the Walt Disney World production, and executives recently shared updates during a “Behind the Magic” session with media members.
The newest bit was the upgrade to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Ride at Magic Kingdom, and the ticket offer for Kids Pay-Half priced this summer.
Other updates on the relationship have previously announced development.
“Every time I turn around and walk somewhere, it looks like we’re digging somewhere new, and it’s amazing everything that comes out of the ground,” said Jeff Varr, president of Walt Disney World.
He noted that he was there for a decade at Disney, a period of expansion planned under then CEO Michael Eisner in the 1990s.
“This is bigger than what we’re doing, what we’re imagining, what we’ve made announcements, what we’re not making announcements,” Valle said. “I have never been more positive about the future we have than ever.”
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At Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, visible works began about transforming from Dinoland in the US into a region known as Tropical America. This includes the “encanto” attraction and dinosaurs appearing in the appeal of “Indiana Jones.”
“This new story we say is brand new. It’s unique to Animal Kingdom. It’s unique to this part of the world,” says Michael Hangen, creative portfolio executive producer at Walt Disney Iggilling.
He said they work with Mayan culture experts and former Imaginer Joe Rode, one of the masterminds of the Animal Kingdom.
“What we know is an opportunity to take what we know is a great ride system, great attractions, great buildings. To be totally frank, we’re adding a whole new show and something that works in conjunction with what we’re doing within the content next to us,” says Hundgen.
Tropical America is scheduled to open in 2027.
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Another renovation at Animal Kingdom is scheduled to debut later this year. “Zootopia: Better Zoogether” has moved to The Tree of Life Theater, which has the book “It’s Hard to Be a Bug” from the first day of 1998 until it closed from March 16th.
“We’ve just heard some of the stars of the film and some of the new ‘Zootopia show’ recordings coming out,” Hundgen said. He said that the animation is gathering and “we continue to use some effects in that field as well.”
Epcot is set to open a new version of the Test Track this summer.
“I think we’ve put a lot more focus on those areas, the previous incarnations of the test track, the post-show shows, the pre-shows, and we’ve really focused on those areas. This time, we’re really looking at the show shows, the center of the building,” Hangen said.
“That whole part of the space has really been cleaned up… focusing on the interior storytelling of that classical architecture,” he said.
A slow pace to Epcot is the GEO-82, a lounge that requires an adult-only reservation.
“Think about going to a Manhattan ultra-exclusive lounge on the top floor overlooking the city,” said Brian Piersecchi, director of cooking and concept development.
“It’s a small lounge so it’s going to be a small part of the park,” he said. “It’s really amazing that they’re trying to see there, and if you’re a Walt Disney fan, it’s going to be really, really special.”
According to Piasecki, there is a drink exclusively for the Geo-82.
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Meanwhile, Magic Kingdom’s upcoming pirate-themed “Izakaya” for Adventure Land offers adult fares and children’s drinks.
The space hasn’t released a name, but it will be “a cool, super themed experience for people of all ages,” Piersecki said.
No new details were shared about the two major Magic Kingdom projects.
“When talking about adding villain lands and adding a ‘car’ area to the frontier lands, it’s about adding new things and adding new things to ensure that guests can continue to have a great experience.” “But at the same time, when you refresh existing assets, existing attractions are very important.”
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