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Ears the News with Richard


Walt Disney World will once again have special fireworks for the 4th of July. Magic Kingdom’s “Disney's Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky" on July 3 7/3/2012 and 7/4/2012 at 9:00 PM. Disney’s Hollywood Studios will present "Rockin' 4th of July Celebration", with live rock and roll from Mulch, Sweat and Shears at 9:45 PM on 7/4/2012 and  Fantasmic! at 9:00 PM.  "The Heartbeat of Freedom" finale to Illuminations at Epcot will go off at 10:00 PM. There will be no fireworks at Downtown Disney or Animal Kingdom.


Agent P's World Showcase Adventure is now in soft opening with limited guest testing.  There has been no word on the full official opening date yet, but if you are in Epcot and want to try it, keep an eye out at the sign-up locations for any testing. This is replacing the Kim Possible Adventure that closed on 5/17/2012. Guests will find that the equipment as well as many of the effects to be the same but there has also been a few additions.  Here’s a video preview from Wdwmagic.com.

Casey Jr. Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Magic Kingdom has extended operating hours for most days in July. Additional performances of the Main St Electrical parade have been added as well as longer Extra Magic Hours.


Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station is now open in the new Storybook Circus at the Magic Kingdom. The circus-themed water play area features Casey Jr., the locomotive from the movie “Dumbo,” who has pulled into New Fantasyland with wagons carrying monkeys, camels, elephants and more.  Here’s another video from Wdwmagic.com.


President Barack Obama and current Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be visiting Disney's Contemporary Resort on 6/22/2012 as part of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.  Expect traffic restrictions in the area from 6/21/2012 to 6/23/2012, and closures of parking lots to resort guests only.


Winnie the Pooh and Friends now have their own dedicated meet and greet area at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction.  It will be located where the short lived Tigger bouncing pads were. The new meet and greet set features a wait time board, queue, and backdrop.

The walls came down over the weekend on the second Dumbo in the new Storybook Circus in the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland.  Dumbo is still undergoing test flights and has yet to open to guests, but is expected to be completed very soon.  Currently, guests are using the indoor queue area, and passing through to the 1st Dumbo which opened a few months ago.

Once the second Dumbo opens in July, FASTPASS will be enabled for Dumbo, with tickets being dispensed at the entrance to Mickey's Philharmagic.  Dumbo 1 will be for standby guests, and Dumbo 2 will be for FASTPASS guests. FASTPASS for Dumbo is expected to ultimately be part of the NextGen Experience, meaning that traditional ticket machines have not been built as part of the new Dumbo; hence the need to use existing machines at Philharmagic until NextGen FASTPASS is rolled out.




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