Tidbits
March 2007




Meet (and Greet) The Robinsons

3/27/07 As Carol reported in the Characters forum, the "Robinsons" Meet & Greet officially debuted a little later than originally planned. The location started normal operation March 23, 2007 at the Magic of Disney Animation. Despite their movie launching March 30th, the Meet & Greet's tenure in this location will likely end prior to the Summer Season kicking into gear . Character Cast are already reporting that the "Robinsons" Meet & Greet is slated to be replaced by a "Ratatouille" Meet & Greet in the Late May to Mid June time frame. It is currently unknown if Lewis, Wilbur Robinson and Bowler Hat Guy will be displaced to another location or if their appearances will end for the near term due to the replacement.

3/3/07 Character Cast are reporting that the “Robinsons” Meet & Greet is tentatively scheduled to begin March 11, 2007 at the Disney-MGM Studios park. Bowler Hat Guy, Lewis, and Wilbur Robinson will reportedly greet Guests daily at the Magic of Disney Animation. It is still reported that the Incredibles Meet and Greet will continue to operate at the Magic of Disney Animation along with this new addition

12/20/06 Characters from Disney Feature Animation's next film “Meet the Robinsons” will reportedly be descending upon the Studios next year. According to Character Cast, lead characters from “Meet the Robinsons” will start regular Meet ‘n Greets at the Magic of Disney Animation in Early 2007. The addition of these characters will reportedly not replace the current Incredibles Meet ‘n Greet and rather be in-addition-to.

Rehab Round-Up [info Central's rehabs ]

3/26/07 A "new" exhibit opened in the former Turtle Talk theater on March 22, 2007. The exhibit features cylindrical tanks that were reportedly transposed from the exhibit formerly occupying the space of the new Turtle Talk theater. The old Turtle Talk screen has been left on the back wall of the exhibit. The screen is still operational, but now only runs through a cycle of a sea scene and some occasional fish.

The Port Orleans Riverside Resort's Riverside Mill Food court finished its renovations about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. The location scheduled to re-open "Mid-April", surprised Guests of the resort by returning to full operation March 23, 2007.

A less unexpected re-opening on March 23, 2007 was that of the Electric Umbrella, which was scheduled to open that day. Despite opening from the rehab for normal operation, the full rehab has not been finished. While the new condiment bar is complete, the new self-serve beverage station is still reportedly behind rehab walls.

3/21/07 If you haven't checked the rehab section lately, you'll find that a few restaurant and pool related rehabs have been announced for the remainder of the year.

Due to elevator renovations April 15 - 18, 2007, Guests of Cinderella's Royal Table will need to be capable of climbing stairs in order to dine at the restaurant during this time. If Guests with mobility issues have reservations at the restaurant during this time period they should contact Walt Disney World Dining to see if alternate arrangements can be made.

Gulliver's Grill at the Garden Grove will be closed for refurbishment April 16 - June 7, 2007. The Pluto/Goofy and Timon/Rafiki Character Dinners will be held at the FRESH Mediterranean Market during this time period. It is unknown how this renovation will affect the Garden Grove, considering they are essentially the same location. At this time, there has been no announcement regarding an effect on the "Garden Grove" location or its meals.

The All-Star resorts will be undergoing pool refurbishments from late April through Mid September, 2007. The Calypso Pool and Kiddie Pool at Disney's All-Star Music resort will closed for refurbishment from April 24 - May 10, 2007; The Duck Pond Pool at Disney's All-Star Movies resort will be closed for refurbishment from May 14 - 31, 2007; and The Surfboard Pool and Kiddie Pool at Disney's All-Star Sports resort will be closed for refurbishment from August 27 - September 13, 2007. During the rehabs, Guests of the effected resort can use the pools of the other two All-Star Resorts if the additional pools at the resort do not suffice.

3/5/07 The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse will be closed for refurbishment April 30 - May 18, 2007.

The conversion of the Main Street Market House to a glass shop was reportedly completed February 25, 2007. The new seating area of the Main Street Bakery is scheduled to be complete March 16, 2007.

Dinosaur Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction is scheduled to be closed for refurbishment March 12 – 13, 2007. Also at the Studios, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular will be dark March 10 - 11, 2007

Double Mania

3/12/07Potential details have leaked regarding the ride layout of the forthcoming Disney-MGM Studios attraction--Toy Story Mania. Reports from those close to the project hold that the ride is planned to be in 4 sections. After the initial "practice area" the ride path reportedly will split into a "space" path and a "farm" path, each with separately themed games. The two paths will reportedly re-join prior to entering a single finale section. At the time of the report, it was not indicated how cars would be designated to each path (ie if Guests or the ride would designate which car goes where).

A Sign of Innovation

3/21/07 Guests of Epcot's Future World, may find the landscape a bit different and its central technology exhibit a bit harder to find. Over the last several weeks crews have dismantled and removed the Marquee Towers that have stood outside Innoventions's entrances since it opened. The Towers have been replaced by smaller, less ornate marquee signs mounted on the wall above each of the entrances.

Tee Shirt Time Warp

3/12/07After an approximate 3 year hiatus, Epcot has revived its “retro” line of merchandise. This incarnation is comprised of tee-shirts paying homage to the park’s EPCOT Center past.

The line is comprised of two men’s tees priced at $20.00 each and two ladies’ tees priced at $22.00 each. The men’s tees feature World Showcases and EPCOT Center designs, while the ladies tees feature EPCOT and EPCOT ’82 designs.

The first men’s tee is dark grey and features an artistic rending of a fleet of ships on the sea at night. Each of the ships feature Mickey shaped sails representative of each country in World Showcase. The sails are in full color while the rest image is in a light grey. The scene is completed with a Spaceship Earth melded moon and the “Epcot” moniker (circa 1996) below the scene.

The second men’s tee is black and features a patterned “EPCOT Center” moniker in front of the original EPCOT Center logo.

The first ladies’ tee is black and features a sketch spaceship earth in its original form. The sketch of the icon is prismatic (shades of blue to red, bottom to top) and features the “EPCOT” moniker below the sketch.

The second ladies’ tee is lavender and features an “82” shaped painted image of Spaceship Earth in its original form at twilight. The painted image is in full color and the “EPCOT” moniker appears above the image.

For those in the parks in the near future, this line can currently be found at MouseGears. For those not traveling to Epcot any time soon, these items can be ordered through Walt Disney World Merchandising via 407-363-6200 or [email protected]. For those using the latter method the sku numbers for the four shirts are as follows:

Men’s Grey: #19980068, Men’s Black: #19980074, Ladies’ Black: #19980059 and Ladies’ Lavender: #19980063.

More Power to the Rangers

3/12/07 According to Character Cast, the “Operation Overdrive” Yellow Power Ranger is scheduled to start appearances with the rest of the Power Ranger character troupe this week. At this time, all reports indicate that this is an addition to the group and not a replacement of an existing Power Ranger. Currently, the Power Ranger character troupe is appearing at the Disney-MGM Studios’ Streets of America six times daily.