Disney News Roundup - Dumpster Fires, Detachable Blasters, and Delayed Projects
It's been a while, perhaps because it's been difficult to keep up with Disney World news when everyday news has been so noisy. The stuff coming from Disney seems minor in comparison most days. But here are a few stories that caught our eye recently.
Dumpster Fires
Ok, it turned out it wasn't actually a dumpster fire, though it was originally reported as such. On Saturday evening, a fire broke out at EPCOT's France pavilion, resulting in the dramatic sight of smoke and flames bursting forth near the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure ride. Guests riding the skyliner got an especially alarming view.
Guests on Remy's Ratatouille Adventure were evacuated. Initial speculation was that it was one of the Flower & Garden Fest kitchens, one of the restaurant kitchens, or, when it was confirmed the actual fire was backstage, a dumpster fire. But the final verdict was it was a walk in cooler backstage that caught fire.
No injuries were reported, and the fire was extinguished by the District Fire Department (formerly the Reedy Creek Fire Department) quickly. There is no damage to guest areas, though we have to wonder exactly how much hassle has been added to the food service locations that relied on that cooler. They are probably operating out of another cooler location while they figure out what to do with this one.
Side note: We're amused that when it was discovered the fire was backstage, the assumption was it was a dumpster. There is so much more than dumpsters backstage, and these walk-in coolers are really quite common. But you'll also find garages, barns, break rooms, banks, cafeterias, gyms, parking lots, ice machines, golf carts, and sometimes even a barbecue happening backstage.
Detachable Blasters
This is a good news/ bad news type of story because a great improvement is coming alongside an extended downtime for refurbishment of a pretty popular ride. You may have guessed by "blasters" that we're talking about Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It's been announced that Buzz is going down in August for an extended refurbishment that will add more interactive targets and detachable blasters to the ride. The ride won't open again until next year. That's the bad news, especially with so many other rides and locations going down later this year.
Buzz has always been one of our favorite rides at Walt Disney World, but it was when we got to ride Buzz at Disneyland that we realized how much better it could be, and a big part of that is because Disneyland already has the detachable blasters. Disneyland got the refurb in 2005 that World is only just getting now. So we can't lie, we're really looking forward to it. It's so much more comfortable, and challenging, to hold and point that blaster on your own.
Delayed Projects
Despite the headline, this is a good news story, and a fairly dated one, though we're not sure how much attention is being paid to it. Back in 2018, Disney had announced the development of another DVC resort, Reflections. Then, as we know, the pandemic came in early 2020, and most of Disney's ambitious plans were either dashed or severely delayed. Among those dashed, the Play pavilion that was to be part of EPCOT's World Celebration and the redo of Spaceship Earth. And among those delayed, which included the EPCOT re-imagining that has now happened, were the Reflections resort.
Recently, Disney has re-filed familiar permits to build in the space where Reflections was intended. The name of the resort has also changed to Disney Lakeshore Lodge. It will be a 10-story resort featuring 900 rooms, and much like the Riviera, it will be dedicated to DVC guests with the opportunity for other guests to stay depending on availability. The resort will celebrate the influence of nature on Disney Artists. There are currently 12 cranes operating at the construction site, so not only is work underway, but it's moving at a feverish pace.
So, what do we know about Disney Lakeshore Lodge? We know it's being built on the site of the former River Country waterpark, which has been closed now for decades. This puts it in a low-lying area along Bay Lake between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds. Concept art hasn't changed since 2018, and this art shows a variety of accommodations, including lakeside A-frames and treehouses, in addition to those aforementioned 10-story towers. There will be a lakeside restaurant, and a feature pool that is rumored to include a lazy river, making it only the second lazy river owned by a Disney resort, the other being at Stormalong Bay which is shared by the Disney Yacht Cub Resort and Disney Beach Club Resort. It's also rumored to include a zero entry pool, water play area, and waterslides, which certainly puts this pool complex on the level of Stormalong Bay. And while this pool complex is currently a rumor, we think there's a strong probability of it happening. Every DVC resort has some sort of selling point, from the monorail at Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian Tower, and Villas at Grand Floridian, to the dining at the Riviera (not to mention the skyliner), and the savannah at Kidani Village. Neither the monorail nor the skyliner runs to this part of the property, so a feature pool to rival the most popular feature pool currently at Walt Disney World seems appropriate, and is a nod to the land on which the resort is built.
That's our news roundup. Are you the person who is more excited about the new DVC resort or the detachable blasters? Are you concerned that more tower-style resorts are going to ruin the atmosphere? Were you hoping we were talking about some OTHER dumpster fire? Come on over to our Facebook page where you can comment on this article's post and follow us to see when new articles are posted. Until next time...
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