New Al Lutz: Tons of Cars Land and BVS Updates - Soft Openings & Magic Mornings

[HydroGuy]

Al Lutz of MiceAge has a whole bunch of "informed rumors" in his update today. Here is a link:
http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al040312a.htm

Highlights include:

o Cars Land soft openings not going to happen for public
o CL and BVS fences to stay up until June 14 media day
o Soft opening to start June 2-3 for Disney WDI and Pixar staff
o CM previews thru June 8
o June 9-10 AP previews as a fundraiser
o Pixar Play Parade to run twice daily
o June 15 is to be called "Grand Re-Opening Day" - never done at a Disney theme park before
o Overnight parking at M&F for 10,000 on June 14-15
o DL Magic Mornings (MM) to stay the same
o DCA MM on opposite days as DL to be for DLR hotel guests only (3 days a week) at 7AM
o On days that DL has MM, DCA will have MM at 7AM for AP holders only
o No DCA MM for regular guests unless they stay at DLR hotels
o DCA hours to be 8AM-11PM all summer - maybe until midnight
o Soft openings for Mad T party on Memorial weekend in May
o LM to close early May for some updates and new Ariel
o Cars Land to get big Christmas push and overlay
o Matterhorn height requirement to increase to 42 inches


Note: Al Lutz does not work for Disney. His posts are not Disney announcements. He has solid contacts inside Disney and is helpful in giving an indication of what Disney is planning and considering. People planning vacations should be very cautious about making plans based on Al's articles. That is not what they are intended for. Rather, Al tries to give an insider view of what Disney is thinking and planning for those interested in what the future may hold. This can and does change over time.

Here is the disclaimer that Al has at the end of his article.

Keep in mind updates only get posted when there is something to report on, and not before. It takes time to confirm things, and even then we can only offer a snapshot of a continually evolving story. (People do change their minds you know.) Just like the happiest place on earth, patience is a virtue; the queue may take a while before you can enjoy the attraction.

 

[lulubelle]

Interesting as always. Thanks, Trey!

 

[ShaunaM]

Interesting read...thanks for posting.
I wonder what kind of closure / when there will be for a holiday overlay there will be in Carsland?

 

[GrandBob]

Yes, very interesting read. Thanks Trey!

Very disappointing that they're raising the minimum height for Matterhorn. I'm glad that DGD got to ride it with the old requirements; it's one of her favorite rides now. And now she's well over the 42" requirement. But it has to be very disappointing for parents and grandparents of little ones. As Al said, it's traditionally the first big-kid ride that a kid gets to experience. Sad that that tradition is going away.

-Bob

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Do you think the MM for DCA will only be for summer or will the last into fall/holiday season? (of course, only asking for guesses). And they won't start until June 15th, if I understood correctly?

 

[mouseymommy]

Sounds so exciting! I am bummed about the Matterhorn though. It's always my kids first roller coaster.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It will be very interesting this summer. Thanks Trey

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Glad to hear Little Mermaid is getting a makeover.

 

[HydroGuy]

Do you think the MM for DCA will only be for summer or will the last into fall/holiday season? (of course, only asking for guesses). And they won't start until June 15th, if I understood correctly?

Well, the AP-type MMs will goaway sooner rather than later, but since the SoCal AP's will be blocked this summer I would not be surprised if the AP MMs last into Fall and maybe Christmas. The hotel guest MMs, if I had to guess, will be longer term until Disney gets a handle on how the whole DCA park attendance responds and what kind of hours they might have after summer.

All educated guesses - or maybe un-educated, depending on who you ask.

 

[DLR29]

Great article! I love the idea of AP MM! I'm hoping to camp out or at least be there in the craziness on June 15th!

 

[jacobsmommy]

So, if I was planning on going to DCA on June 21st and most AP's are blocked, would the fact that AP's will get a Magic Morning affect regular park opening much? I was contemplating spending another almost $800 just to stay at Paradise Pier so that we could have a head start at DCA!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

So, if I was planning on going to DCA on June 21st and most AP's are blocked, would the fact that AP's will get a Magic Morning affect regular park opening much? I was contemplating spending another almost $800 just to stay at Paradise Pier so that we could have a head start at DCA!

The article mentions a lot of AP holders are Premium APs *no block outs* I'll agree with that statement; we visited DLR the last 2 Thanksgiving weekends *Thur-Sat* 2010 was much less crowded than 2011 - I think this has to do with AP annual payment plans being available to all of CA *if I could have a monthly payment plan I'd go with the AP that had no or very limited block outs.

 

[bakerudall]

One more topic from the article that I found interesting is the plans for Blue Sky Cellar to feature "displays on the new Fantasy Faire meet n’ greet pavilion and the plans for an upgraded Fantasyland Theater hosting a full-scale stage show starring Disney’s Fab Five characters in 2013."

The FT has always seemed like such a waste of prime real estate. I am glad they are considering doing something productive with it.

 

[pixiewings71]

Interesting read...thanks for posting.
I wonder what kind of closure / when there will be for a holiday overlay there will be in Carsland?

I don't think they will do anything really. I think it will be like when they decorate DL for Christmas, they don't close the whole they just decorate over time. Unless they decide to decorate a ride, but I think that can be done without closing the ride, unless they want to do a whole overlay like HM or IASW.

Do you think the MM for DCA will only be for summer or will the last into fall/holiday season? (of course, only asking for guesses). And they won't start until June 15th, if I understood correctly?

I hope they keep it forever! lol What I'd like to see them do is 2 MM per 4 day hopper or more, then you can do 1 at DL and 1 at DCA. I'm excited to hear about the AP MM, even tho our AP's are expired as of tomorrow.....this makes me consider getting DD15 and I both APs if we do a trip in July for her birthday.......

Glad to hear Little Mermaid is getting a makeover.

Me too, I won't be sad to see the ice cream hair go away.

One more topic from the article that I found interesting is the plans for Blue Sky Cellar to feature "displays on the new Fantasy Faire meet n’ greet pavilion and the plans for an upgraded Fantasyland Theater hosting a full-scale stage show starring Disney’s Fab Five characters in 2013."

The FT has always seemed like such a waste of prime real estate. I am glad they are considering doing something productive with it.

Thanks for the share Hydro!

 

[GrandBob]

Glad to hear Little Mermaid is getting a makeover.

Didn't they pretty much have to do this because of the flooding?

 

[bakerudall]

Didn't they pretty much have to do this because of the flooding?

Nice!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

So, on the MM's... maybe I didn't read close enough... or maybe it just doesn't say... if we stay on site does that mean we can have MM every day of the week now? One park on some days, the other on the rest?

 

[bakerudall]

So, on the MM's... maybe I didn't read close enough... or maybe it just doesn't say... if we stay on site does that mean we can have MM every day of the week now? One park on some days, the other on the rest?

Yep, according to the speculation of Mr. Lutz, this would begin June 15th.

 

[soaringirl]

LM closing on the first week of May? my dates exactly!!
But... I just saw the Park Hours and it's not mentioned, will it be added then in a very near future?
I know it's a slow ride, but I enjoy Nemo in the Living Seas at WDW, and I was hopping for something similar.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Yes Nemo (WDW) is just like LM at DL. I've never experienced a line at LM ever, even on the busiest days. It is usually a walk up.

While my family enjoys it, it needs some tweaking. I think the lighting is too bright. A dark ride should feel dark. The rooms are too bright. I don't want to see painted walls under the sea.

The ride is surprisingly short. The story is chopped to bits, but many scenes are pretty.

I can't wait to see the new version.


Now they just need to fix my other pet peeve...the standing situation at WOC.