Year of a Million Dreams Extended into 2008
You never know exactly where in Disney World the pixie dust will be sprinkled, but wherever it falls guests will be surprised with special surprises. Some surprises will be small souvenir trinkets, but others will be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to stay overnight in Cinderella's castle, enjoy a hot air balloon flight above Epcot or be a special guest at a myriad of special Disney events.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom will be serving up two new dining experiences in 2008. The new Yak & Yeti Restaurant in the land of Asia features a 250-seat dining room inspired by the architecture of the western Himalayan foothills and filled with eclectic antiques and artifacts. Menu items will range from $5 for appetizers to $23 for Shaoxing steak and shrimp. The full-service bar includes five varieties of chilled sake; beers from India, Thailand, Singapore, China and Japan; and, wines. The restaurant's specialty, the Yak Attack, is a blend of frozen mango, rum and berries.The adjacent quick-service restaurant, featuring outdoor seating for 350, will offer a limited menu that includes sweet-and-sour pork, crispy honey chicken, fried rice, egg rolls and other Asian favorites to guests that are in a hurry.
Disney's Hollywood Studios
A new name adorns the Hollywood-themed park — Disney's Hollywood Studios. Renamed from Disney-MGM Studios, the new title better represents all that today's Hollywood has to offer... in movies, music, theater and television.In February, a new edition of "Playhouse Disney—Live on Stage!" became the first of several major entertainment offerings at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. Already one of the park's hit shows, the "re-debut" offers a new cast of characters and a whole new storyline.
"Block Party Bash," a new traveling show featuring favorite Disney-Pixas characters (Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Flik and Atta from A Bug's Life, among others) is performing daily at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The musical "block party" is a fun-filled interactive street spectacular that entices guests to dance, play and party.
Also coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008 is "Toy Story Mania!" Taking the ride-game experience to exciting new heights, guests will don 3-D glasses and shrink to the size of a toy, hop into ride vehicles that travel along a colorful midway-themed route. Upon arriving at each game booth, guests will aim for animated targets using their own special on-board spring-action shooter. Score points and get cheered on by favorite Toy Story friends. The experience is intended for all ages and skills and provides an ever-changing variety of targets and surprises — you'll want to ride again and again!
Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island
In a move to make Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island more family-friendly, this fall Disney will be closing the doors of six nightclubs on Disney's Wild Side... err, West Side and unleashing a giant tethered balloon, a dinosaur-themed eatery and more. >Read more from About.com's Orlando Guide, Theresa Johnston.
Epcot
America Gardens Theatre in Epcot's World Showcase will be alive with "Sounds Like Summer" concerts from tribute bands nightly beginning June 9 and continuing through April 10. The concerts will feature a lineup of bands covering timeless tunes from Elton John, The Eagles, The Supremes, Bon Jovi, U2, the Bee Gees and many more. Concerts are included in regular Epcot admission.Epcot's Speaceship Earth attraction has relaunched after nine months of refurbishing. New scenes, new costumes and set decorations, new lighting and special effects, a new musical score and narration, plus a totally re-themed interactive post-show now greets guests. Even the exterior has been restored to what greeted Epcot's visitors when the attraction first opened a quarter century ago.
It's a Wide World of Sports... after all!
The latest expansion project at Disney's Wide World of Sports is the Jostens Center, a multi-sport fieldhouse that includes 45,000 square feet of competition space that will accommodate basketball, volleyball, wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading and dance, team handball, roller hockey and more. The facility is expected to open in the summer, 2008.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be back for another training camp from late July to mid-August. Tampa Bay's daily practices are free and open to the public.
No Kids Allowed? ... No Kidding!
Parents with young children please make a note to reserve a babysitter when making these dinner reservations! It was recently announced that Victoria & Albert's at Disney's most upscale resort, Grand Floridian, will no longer serve children under age 10. No doubt this is an effort for the signature restaurant to cater to those wishing an adult-only romantic dining experience.
New Dates Announced
New dates for some of Disney World's most popular events have been announced. Why not make plans now to attend?- Night of Joy - September 5-6, 2008
- Epcot International Food and Wine Festival - September 26-November 9, 2008
- Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - Select nights in Magic Kingdom during September & October, 2008
- ABC Super Soap Weekend - November 15 & 16, 2008
- Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Select nights in Magic Kingdom during November & December, 2008
