Spanish Mini-Pavilion Lingers
(Orlando Sentinel) -- Spain is very much in evidence this month at Epcot even though the theme park's annual International Food & Wine Festival -- which the capital of bull fighting and Flamenco dancing set up shop for in the first place -- ended Nov. 17. So why is the Spanish mini-pavilion, with its impressive walk-through display of the country's Andalusia region, still operating? Could it have anything to do with the current talks going on between Disney World executives and officials in Spain about the possibility of a permanent pavilion, which would become the 11th foreign attraction in Epcot's World Showcase? No, says Jacquee Polak, a Disney World spokeswoman. "The Andalusia booth is separate from the discussions about a Spanish pavilion," she said. Spain's current display is still temporary, she said. "It's particularly popular with guests, so it will remain open until the end of this year," she said. Still, the Andalusia display offers more than the wine and food that were the heart of the festival it was set up to serve. The attraction, on a smaller scale than the permanent international pavilions such as England, France and Mexico, also provides information about Spain's culture and heritage. If Spain built a permanent attraction, it would be the first new one in the World Showcase since Norway debuted in 1988.
8 Theme Park Eateries Make Top 20 Listing
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- The latest edition of the Zagat Survey's best American restaurants has rated eight theme park eateries among Orlando's top 20. In no particular order, Victoria & Albert's at Disney World's Grand Floridian won a nod from Zagat, as did the resort's Citrico, which features French food. Other Disney World restaurants to make the grade included: The Flying Fish, a seafood place on the Boardwalk; the Contemporary Resort's California Grill; the Yacht Club Resort's Yachtsman Steakhouse and Le Cellier Steakhouse at Epcot's Canadian pavilion. Universal Orlando landed a spot on the top 20 with Emeril's at CityWalk.
Universal to Unwrap Mummy as New Ride
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- An indoor roller coaster based on the hit film The Mummy will replace Kongfrontation as the next major ride at Universal Studios, sources inside Universal Orlando say. Kong closed in September to make way for a new attraction. Officially, Kong's replacement is still a secret. Universal President Bob Gault, appointed during the post-Sept. 11 terrorism travel slowdown to run the Studios and Universal's other park, Islands of Adventure, has publicly vowed to introduce several major refurbishments in 2003. He would not comment on Kong's replacement. He has previously said only that it will be a "mega-attraction." But employees say that some supervisors have been privately telling new hires for several days that the Mummy is coming. Peter Stapp, an Orlando theme park consultant and former Universal Studios executive, said he recently learned of the forthcoming ride, based on The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. Both movies feature lots of chase scenes with adventurer Rick O'Connell, played by Brendan Fraser, being pursued by an evil, 3,000-year-old mummy. Universal employees and theme park consultants predict that the ride will be influenced by a scene from The Mummy Returns in which the hero races through the streets of London in a double-decker bus with the main mummy's skeletal assistants attacking through the windows. The 71,000-square-foot soundstage building that housed the 30-foot audio-animatron version of Kong has enough space for a coaster track that has narrow corkscrews and tight loops similar to the indoor rides at Disney World, such as Space Mountain and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. A Mummy attraction such as this would bring Universal its first roller coaster. Universal Studios is planning a third Mummy movie, possibly for 2004.
Pretty much everything at the Studios will be open by next Summer except for Kong's replacement. Monsters Cafe may or not be open depending on how attendance is, but since you mentioned summer as your planned vacation time I would imagine that it would be open.
