Epcot – In a park that is a little short on rides and has an overabundance of restaurants, who is also feeling the neglect as all of its local sister parks get (or are at least theorized to be getting) a large new land, one might consider the prospect of construction starting to be a very good thing. Except it is not for a ride. Nor is it for fixing up an existing ride. Nor is it for reopening an abandoned pavilion or part of a pavilion that was quietly closed years ago. It is for a restaurant. A Moroccan restaurant with indoor and outdoor waterfront seating. Excuse me if I don’t sound that excited about it. I wonder how long it would take, considering two meals a day, to eat at each restaurant in the World Showcase? A year? Six months? Longer than it took for Universal to construct Transformers? Is my point clear yet? Okay, moving on…
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – More fencing is going up and they are starting to move dirt around to build the Festival of the Lion King a new home. I do have to wonder if they are going to make it better than the more or less temporary facility that they had for the original show? You can plus quite a few things if you build an entire theater for a specific show. Maybe more animatronics…maybe some indoor waiting areas…maybe a larger seating area…maybe more intricate acts that use special features of the new building (flying harnesses and trap doors)…maybe…maybe…
Paramount Park London – This park, that is boasting to be the third largest park in the world after they get finished with it, has suddenly been stalled because of a rare breed of jumping spider. While the company has, of course, talked about how they are going to loving move the spider colony away and relocated into a wildlife preserve, I have a different answer.
Wait, what?
Obits - On a more somber note, we have lost two people this week that have had real impact in the entertainment world and directly related to themed park properties. Richard Griffiths died over the last week due to complications with heart surgery. To this crowd, he is probably best known as the actor who played Vernon Dursley, Harry Potter’s uncle. We also lost Jane Henson, Jim Henson’s widow, and Jim’s biggest early collaborator and one of the main reasons why the Muppets took off in the first place.
Universal Studios Florida – Just in time to allow everyone to reschedule their vacations for next year, we finally have the rough date the London side of Harry Potter will open: July 2014. This goes to show that Comcast would much rather have more people in their parks enjoying their rides than saving a little bit of money by not working the construction crews to death. I almost feel bad that I cancelled my cable subscription years ago to stick it to Comcast…something that I certainly don’t suggest that anyone else does, because SOMEONE needs to pay for all of these expensive ride additions.
Disney Infinity – In the same week that Disney shut down LucasArts, the Star Wars gaming division, we get a new look at Disney Infinity.
@ Daniel - I think you hit the nail right on the head...and I wouldn't be surprised at all if most of the nations made some sort of move like this in the near to mid future. But we are starting to hear some gurglings that a ride may be on its way into the World Showcase. But, of course, we have heard that before...many times...
From what I hear, they are going to release 8-10 of these more or less weekly like a regular TV program. I am going to try and stay up with their release schedule and post them in here, but you know I have the attention span of a gnat sometimes...
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