Okay a few other rumors to fill out this bombshell
.
First, the goal is to find a day-ending spectacular to keep people in the park until the last moment. Its identical to the purpose Illuminations serves at Epcot. The real question will be does the day end at night or at sundown.
The easy to produce shows for the Magic Kingdom are the existing fireworks show and the parade (notice you will not get both). The problem is that both are nighttime events and the word has come down to close MK as earlier as possible to save money. Most people in Florida despise the entire idea and they are seeing the damage the policy is causing to attendance. The experiment mentioned is WDWs attempt to prove that longer hours can generate enough profits to keep Drew Carey well fed*. Another whisper mentioned you shouldn't expect everything in the park running during these "extra" hours either. The goal is increased profits, not increased guest satisfaction.
The Character show mentioned is rumored not be a meet-n-greet. The key phrase is interaction with music. The rumors/whispers/rumblings/whimpering I heard was basically a stage show with a sing-a-long and/or dance-a-along segment(s). Similar versions of these mini-shows have been tried out at California Adventure; this is supposed to take the concept to the next level.
I should also mention that there have been long standing rumors that
Disneylands failed Light Magic street show (it aint a parade) would be shipped east. The original version of that show featured lots of characters, lots of interaction (characters dancing with guests) and only had four moving stages. It also featured a storyline with all the characters going to bed for the night which would be a perfect tie-in for the parks closing for the evening. I can honestly see a case where WDW could get Twilight Magic performed in front of the castle at 5:45pm.
P.S. Rumors are that pin trading characters have made test runs at Disneyland.
* - NOTHING at Walt Disney World these days is done for the benefits of the parks. The goal is to support overall corporate performance, and that really means offsetting the mounting losses from ABC and the studio. If WDW and Disneyland were run as their own businesses, youd see a lot better behavior.