From: ethan@news.cs.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) Subject: Expansion Projects at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort Date: 3 Oct 1994 19:14:47 -0400 (Note: I got this from EPCOT Outreach on October 1. The Subject line is the title) A viariety of exciting plans are taking shape throughout the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort! Here are just a few of the things you can look forward to.... (Please note: All projects and opening dates are subject to change without notice.) MAGIC KINGDOM Park ------------------ Tomorrowland. A whole new Tomorrowland will take shape over the next two years as the area becomes a fanatasy future city like the machine-age dreams of science-fiction writers and movie-makers of the 1920s and '30s. The land will harken back to the time when the jet age, space age, and computer age seemed to be only fantastic dreams. Disney artists and architects are creating new facades to give this future-town a friendly neighborhood atmosphere like other Magic Kingdom lands. The new design shows a strong sense of humor and fun, as seen in such locations as Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies, Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Merchant of Venus, and The Lunching Pad at Rockettower Plaxa. "The future that never was" will arrive when the new Tomorrowland is completed in 1995. Extra"terror"estrial Alien Encounter. The quintessential show in New Tomorrowland, the Extra"terror"estrial Alien Encounter, is planned as the most frightening thriller of all Magic Kingdom adventures. Playing on the "future city" theme, "Encounter" takes place in the city's Convention Center. Manufacturer's representatives for XS-Tech Company have come from their home planet to market their latest product to Earthlings. Their "Teletransporter," they claim, transforms a being into a collection of electrons so that he can be beamed through space from one planet to another. After canvassing the audience for volunteers, the salesmen first decide to use their own chief executive for the teletransportation demonstration from their planet to Earth. The test suddenly becomes catastrophic when the space signal is lost. Electronics go wild, lights go out, and the most frightening alien creature imaginable comes crashing out of the glass chamber in the center of the audience. The show, which replaces Mission to Mars, breaks new ground with special audio and visual effects playing on the audience's own fears and imaginings to reach a chaotic, emotional experience. (Opening February 1995.) Metropolis Science Centre. Because time-travel was such a prominent part of early science-fiction writers' visions, Walt Disney "Imagineers" are using Circle-Vision 360 combined with Audio-Animatronics(R) figures and special in-theater effects to create the illusion that Disney guests are traveling back to centuries past and ahead to those yet-to-come in a new fourth-dimension adventure. In the Transportarium, today's travelers will meet famous inventors and visionaries of the machine age while they travel through time. (Opening February 1995.) Epcot ----- Major plans moving Epcot into the 21st century are underway. Beginning in 1994, Epcot will become an ever-evolving showplace with changes instituted each year. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. This 3-D adventure will take its cue from futuristic technologies "demonstrated" in two hit Disney films; this time, however, it's the audience that will "shrink" instead of the kids. Spectacular in-theater effects, including moving seats, will enhance the three-dimensional film technology developed by The Walt Disney Studios in this entertaining film, presented by Kodak in the Magic Eye Theater at Journey into Imagination. (Opening late 1994.) Spaceship Earth. In a dazzling new finale, the audience will be placed in the heart of a communications revolution amid interactive global networks that tie all the peoples of the world together. Magical special effects, animated sets, and audience-enclosing laser beams are used to create an exciting experience. In the "Global Neighborhood" at the end of the journey through Spaceship Earth, guests will enjoy new shows that envelop the participant, demonstrating such emerging technologies as voice recognition, video telephony, and the future information highway. Spaceship Earth is presented by AT&T. (Completion late 1994.) Plans are also being developed for new enhancements in World of Motion. Fourth Theme Park ----------------- The Company is still formulating plans for a fourth entertainment theme park at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort, which would open by the end of the decade. Resort Area ----------- Disney's All-Star Resorts. Imagine entering your hotel around a large shark fin, huge whistle, or three-story cowboy boots... or walking up a stairway shaped like a football, megaphone, or conga drum. That's exactly what guests can expect at Disney's All-Star Resorts, under construction at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. The economy-priced resort will be developed in phases, each with a central theme, using oversized sports and music icons on the resort's exterior. Miami-based Arquitectonica designed the resort in conjunction with Disney Development Co. on a 246-acre site at the northwest quadrant of the World Drive and Highway 192 interchange. Phase One, Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, is now open. For those who prefer song to sport, Phase Two -- Disney's All-Star Music Resort -- will offer an al-"tune"-ative. Scheduled to open in early 1995, the All-Star Music Resort will entertain with a variety of song and dance delights. The music score of "When You Wish Upon a Star" adorns the interior curtains, while matching bedspread and wallpaper patterns highlight musical memories. * The "Country Fair" entrance feature huge cowboy boots; fiddles and banjos decorate the front facade topped with rolling hills of the great Western plains. * Saxophones, trombones, and trumpets adorn the "Jazz Inn" entrance while a unique music note design accompanies aficionados down the exterior walkways. * A walk-through neon-lit juke box welcomes "Rock Inn" guests. * "Broadway" boasts railings bedecked in bow ties, gloves, and canes, and a giant Broadway theater marquee at the entrance. * For the music of the island, "Calypso," with its magnificent maracas, is a tropical treat. A Spanish guitar-shaped pool invites guests for a relaxing dip in island water and further complements this music theme with a nearby Caribbean-style residence that houses the guest laundry. The "All-Star" theme is evident throughout the Resorts with its glimmering shapes appearing in each room and both commercial building. A food court in each offers a variety of dining options, providing sports and music lovers with choices of pizza, barbecue, bakery treats, hamburgers and hot dogs, and general edibles. Guests will have the opportunity to pay for their meal selections at a central cash register, enabling them to experience a variety of dining options without the inconvenience of paying at each specific location. A retail shop will offer Disney gifts, sundries, fashion items, and themed merchandise. As an added amenity, an outdoor pool bar accompanies each food court for the benefit of guests enjoying the resort's unique poolside atmosphere. With 3,840 rooms projected through Phase Two, Disney's All-Star resorts will become the largest resort in the WALT DISNEY WORLD Vacation Kingdom, surpassing the 2,112 rooms of Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and the 3,056 of Disney's Port Orlean and Dixie Landings Resorts. An additional 1,900 rooms are planned in phase three of the All-Star Resorts, schedules to be completed in 1998, bringing the total to 5,740 rooms. Disney's All-Star Sports and Music Resorts will be surrounded by pristine forests and natural three-quarters of a mile east of Disney's All-Star Resorts. A short bus ride transports guests from the unique environment to the magic of the WALT DISNEY WORLD theme parks. Planet Hollywood. Internationally famous Planet Hollywood will open a glamorous 400-seat entertainment restaurant at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort in late 1994. Renowned Hollywood personalities are among the fans of this modern movie-memorabilia Mecca. Just outside the gated area of Pleasure Island adjacent to AMC Theatres, Planet Hollywood will add a dynamic new dimensions to the nightclubs, shops, and dining experiences of the nearby entertainment complex and a complement to the Disney-MGM Studios and other parts of the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. With Robert Earl and Keith Barish at the head of the company, its owners include Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Demi Moore, who are expected to be on hand for a gala premiere. Blizzard Beach. As legend has it... Blizzard Beach was created by a freak winter storm which dropped snow over the western side of the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort and Florida's first snow-ski resort was planned immediately. However, the plan was short-lived. Temperatures soared and the ice and snow rapidly began to melt. Dismayed ski-resort operators, ready to close, spotted a playful alligator sliding down the "liquid ice" slopes and realized that the melting snow created the most exhilarating water-filled ski and toboggan runs in the world. As a result, the ski resort/water-adventure park was born. It was a natural. Former ski-slalom courses and bobsled and sledding runs became downhill water slides. The chair lift could still carry swimmers to the top of the slides. The ski jump became the world's tallest and fastest water slide. The melting snow revealed welcoming beaches, two children's play areas, and many other activities. Blizzard Beach was born! The most eye-catching attractions at Blizzard Beach can be found on the slopes of Mt. Gushmore. As guests enter the park, they are greeted by the busy view of "skiers" sliding down the face of the 90-foot snow-capped mountain. Mt. Gushmore geatures moguls, slalom courses, toboggan and water sled runs, and the awesome, 120-foot-high Summit Plummet, the world's tallest and fastest free-fall speed slide, visible from almost anywhere in the park. >From the top of the "ski jump" tower, it's a breathtaking 60mph plunge straight bown to a splash landing at the base of the mountain. Next to Summit Plummet is Slush Gusher, a speed slide that drops guests through a snow-banked mountain gully. Although shorter and a bit less severe than its neighbor, Slush Gusher is taller than any other slide of its kind to date. Mt. Gushmore's other attractions include: * Teamboat Springs -- the world's longest family white-water raft ride that takes six-passenger rafts down a twisting 1,200-foot series of rushing waterfalls. * Toboggan Racer -- an eight-lane water slide that sends guests racing over exhilarating dips as they descent the "snowy" slope. * Snow Stormers -- three flumes which descend from the top of the mountain and follow a switchback course through ski-type slalom gates. * Sled Doggers -- a doggedly steep sled ride that eventually sends guests hydroplaning, like skipping stones, across the surface of a long catch pool. * Runoff Rapids -- an inner-tube run, where guests careen down twisting, turning flumes, passing through corrugated steel pipes until falling into complete darkness. * Chair Lift -- wooden-bench chair lifts sporting colorful overhead beach umbrellas and snow skis on the underside, converted from ski-resort to beach-resort use. These functional chairs carry guests over the craggy face of Mt. Gushmore, from its base at the beach to its summit. The sandy beach below Mt. Gushmore offers a large wave pool, a lazy river, two snack bars, and preteen and children's play areas. Among its adventures: * Tike's Peak -- a kid-size version of Blizzard Beach, including scaled-down elements of Mt. Gushmore. In addition, this area features a snow-castle-founction play area. * Melt-Away Bay -- a one-acre pool, nestled against the base of Mt. Gushmore, that is constantly fed by "melting snow" waterfalls. * Cross Country Creek -- a lazy creek circling the entire park, carrying floating guests through a bone-chilling ice cave. Once insde the mysterious cave, guests will be splashed with the "melting" ice from overhead. * Blizzard Beach Ski Patrol Training Camp -- designed for preteens with bungie cord slides, a rope swing, a T-bar drop, culvert slides, and a challenging ice-floe walk along slippery, floating icebergs. * Mogul Mania -- a wide-open slide area created by rapidly "melting moguls," which is the first of its kind for water parks. * Avalunch and The Warming Hut -- snack bars The Village is at the east end of the beach and houses guest services such as tube and towel rental, lockers, first aid, merchandise, and a restaurant. Within the Village is the Beach Haus, a specialty shop offering souvenirs, towels, bathing suits, sunglasses, and other essentials for a day on the slopes or in the water. Ski equipment and cold-weather furnishings such as potbelly stoves are used to display merchandise. Nearby, Lottawatta Lodge, a North American ski lodge with Caribbean accents, stands ready to serve guests with an appetite. The counter-service restaurant affords diners a view of Mt. Gushmore and Melt-Away Bay beach. Blizzard Beach will be located just north of the new Disney's All-Star Resorts. (Opening Spring 1995.) Disney Village Marketplace. When the Disney Village Marketplace turns 20 in 1995, there will be much more to celebrate than a major birthday milestone. A new look, with more shops, easier access, and added amenities is sure to enhance this popular neighborhood shopping and dining experience. Plans call for improving traffic flow within the facility; adding a number of character topiaries; introducing new signage and graphics; and including a main fountain and several secondary fountains, as well as new artisan kiosks where sidewalk vendors will display handcrafted wares. Other added amenities include a new 300-seat restaurant near the Empress Lily, an expansion of Guest Services and Mickey's Character Shop, and the potential for future merchandise shops to complement the balance of the current retail offerings. There's also some old-fashioned fun in store. Kids will delight in additional play areas and the chance to create chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Disney Institute. Disney Development Company is currently working on the Disney Institute, an innovative resort experience offering participative programs and activities which encourage fun and discovery. Nestled in a scenic lakeside setting adjacent to the Disney Village Marketplace, a typical Disney Institute vacation will involve three, four, or seven days of creative learning experiences, noted speakers, music and theatrical performances, health and fitness functions, and recreational activities. Creative learning experiences integrate a variety of programs and workshops, including: * Disney Discovery -- where guests explore many facets of the Disney organization, including animation, culinary arts, storytelling, landscape, and interior design. * Performing Arts -- where guests experience the creative processes of artists and performers in music, dance, film and theater. * Sports and Fitness -- where guests can focus on personal as well as environmental health while experiencing unique recreational programs. * Lifestyles -- where guests can learn more about themselves, their families, their communities and cultures, and their world. Fitness and sports enthusiasts will delight in the Human Performance Center. In addition to a full range of fitness and aerobic training classes, Disney Institute instructors will offer evaluation and assistance in nutrition and lifestyle enhancement. All ages can participate in unique sport camps and personalized golf and tennis instruction. The evening mealtimes, served family-style, will be themed to a culture, style or special event. During dinner, video collages will highlight the day's activities, providing an ideal opportunity to catch a glimpse of family members and friends participating in their own exciting Institute activities. After dinner, the Disney Institute Performing Arts Hall, an outdoor amphitheater, will come to life with an eminent guest speaker or stimulating cultural performance. Guests can meet and converse with noted speakers who visit the Disney Institute to share their expertise on a variety of topics. (Replacing Disney's Village Resort in Summer 1995.) Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The sunny spirit of the U.S. Southwest will shine brightly on Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, opening in the summer of 1996 as the first Walt Disney World moderately priced convention hotel. Guests will find palm-shaded courtyards and elegant haciendas that provide a romantic escape from the working world. More than 1,900 themed rooms and suites, designed in four- and five-story structures complete with Spanish-style roofs and sand walls, surround guests with traditional beauty of the American Southwest. Ninety-five of these rooms are easily accessible to the physically challenged. Meeting space abounds in the hotel's 95,000-square-foot convention center, which includes a 60,214-square-foot ballroom, the largest hotel ballroom in the Southeast. Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is ideal for groups with trade show and exhibit requirements. More than 370 exhibit booths and 46 break-out rooms can support conventions of varied size. And nine loading docks provide trucks with direct access to ballroom areas. Disney's Coronado Springs Resort guests can have fun in the "southwest" sun relaxing on the white sand beach, renting watercraft, swimming in one of four themed pools, or playing on one of Disney's gold courses. Other amenities include a health club, specialty shops, dining court, lounge, and full-service restaurant. The new resort will be located on 136 acres on the west side of World Drive, just north of the Disney-MGM Studios interchange. Rates are expected to be comparable to Disney's Dixie Landings Resort. Disney's International Sports Center. Plans are being completed for a multimillion-dollar international amateur sports center covering nearly 100 acres at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. The new center will include a 5,000-seat main-event stadium, giant multipurpose field house, tennis arena, multi-sport practice fields, running tracks, fitness center, and training facilities. It will provide professional-caliber training and competition sites and vacation-fitness facilities for at least 25 individual and team sports in its initial phase. College, high school, and youth-league teams; amateur and senior athletic groups; and individual professional and leisure-time athletes will be invited to share in training, games, sports camps, and athletic events as participants and spectators. The center will server as headquarters for the WALT DISNEY WORLD Marathon and the many other sports events taking place throughout the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. Major components will include: * Multi-Purpose Stadium -- adaptable for soccer, football, baseball, and other field sports with 5,000 permanent covered seats, plus additional temporary seating, night lighting, clubhouses, and broadcast facilities. * Multi-Sports Field House -- contains space for six basketball courts (2,000 permanent seats at the main court); is adaptable for volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, etc.; includes a state-of-the-art fitness center, weight rooms, racquetball courts, an indoor running track, classrooms, and broadcast facilities. * Center Court Tennis Area -- a professional-level tennis clay court with 2,000 permanent seats and expandable temporary seating, plus broadcast facilities. * Sports Camps/Practice & Playing Fields -- four baseball diamonds; five fields for football/soccer/field hockey; four outdoor beach-volleyball courts; outdoor tracks for running and in-line skating, plus trails for jogging/walking/distance running/cycling; and concession and first-aid facilities. Later phases of the project are expected to add a hockey rink, an Olympic-size pool for swimming and diving competitions, multiple tennis courts, a sports dormitory, a cycling track, a miniature golf course, bowling lanes, and more. Coaches, counselors, and trainers will be among the staff or more than 100 full-time and part-time Cast Members. The exact site for the new sports center will be determined as a part of the architectural design process. Construction is expected to begin in 1994 and be completed in 1996. Disney's Boardwalk Resort. Combining a seashore entertainment center with shopping, dining, villas, hotel accommodations, and convention facilities, the Boardwalk will capture the atmosphere of turn-of-the-century Atlantic City. Nightclubs include a sports bar, game room, dance club, and piano bar, plus two waterside restaurants and festive food carts. The project includes a 15,000-square-foot convention center, 375 hotel guest rooms, and 535 Disney Vacation Club villas. Hotel room rates are schedules to be about $200 per night. (Opening 1996.) Disney's Wilderness Junction Resort. A companion to Wilderness Lodge, this rustic log-sided hotel will be located well into the woods of Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground at the end of a nature trail. Its 575 guest rooms, priced comparably to those in Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort, are tentatively scheduled for opening in the spring of 1997. Disney's Mediterranean Resort. Long visualized as a new jewel in the crown of resorts surrounding the Seven Seas Lagoon, the Mediterranean Resort will occupy a prime location on the monorail line between Disney's Contemporary Resort and the Transportation and Ticket Center. Its 1,000 deluxe rooms and suites will capture the romance of the sunny resorts of the Greek Islands. It will also provide a luxurious new convention facility with more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space and outstanding recreational facilities including a marina. Hotel room rates will be comparable to the other "monorail hotels." (No opening date announced.) Whew!! That's it! My hand is killing me! -- Ethan -- R.A.D. Host "Oh no! They've all become giant Swiss lederhosen-clad dancing yodelers!" The Brain