Image copyright Disney.
Walt Disney World has a volunteer-inspired day and plans an electrifying summer.
By Blake
Originally posted February 13, 2009.
Walt Disney World has been quite the place to be during the past week. On Monday, February 8, 2010, New Orleans Saints player Drew Brees paraded through the Magic Kingdom to celebrate his team’s Super Bowl win. On Wednesday, February 10, the on-property ESPN Wide World of Sports complex was home to the 2010 What’s New and What’s Next press event, where several very exciting new projects were announced for the Floridian vacation kingdom. Then on Thursday, February 11, Epcot hosted an event to celebrate the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign which included the likes of Kermit the Frog, Ty Pennington, Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, and more. In the midst of all this, from Wednesday to Friday, Disney held its first-ever Social Media Moms Celebration, a conference for mom bloggers.
You may read more after the jump.
Starting with the What’s New and What’s Next presentation, the “Twitterverse” once again delivered a thrilling evening of buzz as Disney fans who were unable to attend the event stayed glued to their computers, frantically refreshing Twitter as many informative reporters relayed the night’s announcements.
In addition to recapping the achievements the resort has made in the last year, Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President for Worldwide Operations Al Weiss were on hand to speak about several points of interest. They summarized the upcoming Fantasyland Forest expansion and stated official names of several previously-unnamed attractions that will debut as part of the expansion—Dream Come True with Cinderella and A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty.
The biggest announcement that came out of the presentation was the news that Summer Nightastic!, a season of exciting attraction enhancements and new entertainment that was first implemented at Disneyland in 2009, will be making its way to Walt Disney World this June. This three-month spectacle will transform the resort’s nighttime atmosphere—which is already magical to begin with—into an even more enchanting paradise.
As part of Nightastic!, the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade will make a triumphant return to the Magic Kingdom. It had previously moved to Disney’s California Adventure in 2001 when Magic Kingdom rolled in SpectroMagic, but is now returning to Florida so that California Adventure can make way for another nighttime spectacular, World of Color, to debut this spring.
Making the move along with the Electrical Parade are several floats that were added just last year to the procession’s lineup that feature Tinker Bell, Snow White, and Pinocchio. Right now it is expected that the Electrical Parade will only be shown during Nightastic!, meaning that SpectroMagic should return in the fall.
The favorite SpectroMagic parade will take a temporary break while the Main Street Electrical Parade performs this summer. Image copyright Disney.
Also coming to the Magic Kingdom is a new fireworks show that will temporarily replace Wishes. As of yet this new show is unnamed. Disneyland debuted a new fireworks show for Nightastic! in 2009 called Magical, though it has been said that the new Magic Kingdom show will indeed be different. Speculation is also currently up in the air as to whether this new (?) show will involve an altered (or, for that matter, same) version of Magic, Music, & Mayhem, which was a highly popular fireworks presentation that debuted with the short-lived Pirate & Princess Parties in 2007.
Magic Kingdom is debuting a new fireworks spectacular this summer as part of Nightastic! Image copyright Disney.
Lastly, Nightastic! will introduce new special effects to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It has not yet been announced what those effects specifically include, though whatever they are, they’re sure to bring chilling new enhancements for guests that experience the ride at nighttime. Riding Tower of Terror after dark is understandably more frightening than during the day as it is, so new effects are sure to bring an extra sense of spookiness to this Studios classic.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is introducing new special effects. Image copyright Disney.
Moving on to February 11, there was a LOT of action taking place at Epcot. In the morning, Disney (with the help of Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) unveiled a Guinness-approved world record for largest structure of canned foods, assembled in the shape of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Kermit the Frog was also present to encourage volunteering through the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program, which has already inspired 600,000 people to volunteer in their communities in exchange for a one-day ticket to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park. Disney has nicely posted a replay of the ceremony (featuring a performance by the Jammitors and appearances by Walt Disney World Ambassador Clay Shoemaker, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, and Points of Light Institute CEO Michelle Nunn) at CelebrateVolunteers.com.
The world-record canned food structur of Pluto, Donald, Mickey, and Goofy. Image copyright Disney.
Throughout the day at Epcot, several Disney Channel and Disney XD personalities (including Daniel Curtis Lee, Alyson Stoner, and Roshon Fegan) helped guests in volunteer projects. Additionally, Tom Bergeron was spotted filming segments for America’s Funniest Home Videos. Also taking place was an extended version of the Honorary VoluntEARS Cavalcade featuring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Sweetums, and volunteers, though this time it included truckloads of the cans that were used for the world-record structure. The cans were later shipped to those in need.
Capping off the jam-packed day was a private dinner that was run by Food Network's Dinner Impossible series. The event included performances by Allstar Weekend, as well as Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas. The duo from Camp Rock performed “Make a Wave,” the new theme song for Disney’s Friends For Change, a program that encourages environmentally-friendly activities and “green” projects to Disney Channel and Disney XD viewers.
Needless to say, it was certainly exciting to see all of these events unravel, even when viewing them from home. The Epcot event was a success for the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” initiative, the What’s New & What’s Next presentation gave reason for plenty of cheering, and hopefully many mom bloggers were able to benefit from the Social Media conference.
It will be exciting to see what other details emerge in the coming months concerning Nightastic! It would be nice to see a Fantasmic! refurbishment, as the show hasn’t been significantly changed since its premiere in 1997. Additionally, last year’s Nightastic! events at Disneyland included enhancements to the park’s outdoor Pixie Hollow meet & greet area. Although Magic Kingdom’s Pixie Hollow meet & greet is indoors, it’s getting ready to be demolished as part of the Fantasyland expansion. Although a larger Pixie Hollow is planned to be unveiled in 2013 at Magic Kingdom, in the meantime a temporary outdoor replacement might be suitable, and would fit right in with the Nightastic! additions (which could mirror the enhancements made for Disneyland’s Pixie Hollow). Perhaps an appropriate location for this could be the former Fantasyland Skyway station, an area near it’s a small world that is now home to a quaint backdrop for stroller parking.
Nevertheless, whatever else Disney announces as part of their Nightastic! lineup, it’s sure to be a fun summer at Walt Disney World.
Related BlakeOnline articles:
- Theme Park Headlines - Celebration Central (posted June 16, 2009)
- Theme Park Headlines - Commuppety Service (posted October 3, 2009)
By Blake; posted February 13, 2010. All images copyright Disney.
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