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November 20, 2009

Disney World's Space Mountain Re-Opens

After six months of refurbishment, Walt Disney World's Space Mountain has re-opened in soft-launch, and officially goes live on the 22nd.

The project wasn't a total rebuild (and reboot) of the attraction (ala Anaheim in 2005); rather, it was more of a "dusting, cleaning, and new coat of paint" sort of thing. From the Disney Parks Blog:

As you know, the classic Space Mountain experience still exists — it’s just being updated with new technology and 21st century gadgetry. Inside the attraction, there’s new lighting as well as special “darkening” effects. And you’ll see updated color schemes for rocket capsules, line and load areas.

This is a bit of a missed opportunity. Disney World has the original Space Mountain - which, unfortunately, is also the weakest. Anaheim and Paris both have unique, distinct and modern takes on the attraction, which has just made Orlando feel farther and farther behind. A few video games in the queue and some new neon effects are unlikely to change that.

As usual, Disney fans have gone in checked it out - you can read the report, see the photos, and view the video here.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 20, 2009 9:33 AM.
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November 14, 2009

Link's Airport Station Opens Dec. 19

The final stage of the initial Link system - the airport station - opens Saturday, December 19. As of 10 AM, you'll be able to ride from Westlake to Sea-Tac in 36 minutes - no bus transfer, no waiting.

Can't wait. Who's up for an inaugural ride?

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 14, 2009 12:10 PM.
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November 4, 2009

Shanghai Disneyland Approved By Chinese Government

The worst-kept secret in Disney history is officially out of the bag (and moving forward):

After a courtship of about 20 years, the Walt Disney Company has won approval from the central government of China to build a Disneyland-style theme park in Shanghai, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said Tuesday.

The initial resort, with a mix of shopping areas, hotels and a Magic Kingdom-style theme park, will sprawl across 1,000 acres of the city’s Pudong district — with the theme park occupying about 100 of those acres. It would be a little bigger than Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and on par with the parks in Paris and Tokyo. It is expected to open in five or six years.

They're spending $3.5Bn on this puppy - nearly what was spent on DisneySea. I can't wait to see some of the concept art.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 4, 2009 7:07 AM.
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