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| Image courtesy Disney Parks Blog |
The new Starbucks at Disney's Animal Kingdom has been under
construction for the past few months at the former Creature Comforts store on
the Discovery Island walkway to Africa.
Disney has also shared a piece of concept art of the
interior, which remains very faithful to the theme of the area.
Peter Pan's Flight at the Magic Kingdom will be closed for a
short, 2 day refurbishment in early March 2015. The Fantasyland ride will close
on March 5 through to March 6.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom is
also scheduled to be closed for a short 2 day refurbishment in March 2015. The
closure begins on March 4 through to March 5.
Tomorrowland Arcade, the Magic Kingdom's video game
attraction, has now permanently closed.
Located at the exit of Space Mountain, February 9 2015 was
the final day of operation for the Tomorrowland Arcade, with no indication of
what may replace it.
Changes in Florida laws regarding bans on Internet Cafes
that may potentially be applied to video game arcades that dispense prizes are
speculated to be behind the decision to close. Disney has not made any official
comment on the issue.
It is also expected that Disney will also close similar prize
counters and games involving clawing for prizes at the resort hotels.
It has been the source of constant speculation for the last
several years and it now seems that finally the Adventureland Veranda will once
again become a restaurant as construction permits have now been filed.
Located just across from the Tree House, it originally
operated as a fast food restaurant with a tropical theme from opening day Oct 1
1971, but ceased operating in 1994. The Veranda has since been home to
character meet and greets.
Various restaurant concepts ranging from the Jungle Cruise,
Pirates of the Caribbean to an Adventurers Club theme have been mentioned in
connection with the location over the years.
Related to this project seems to be the extended 6 month
refurbishment of the nearby Liberty Tree Tavern beginning his summer. There has
been some suggestion that kitchen space and other facilities may be shared
between the two restaurants, which explains the rather unusual extended
downtime of the Liberty Tree Tavern.
It is not yet clear what the final plans are, but this
construction permit certainly puts the Verandah back in the spotlight and we
should expect some official announcement of the plans soon.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience and the Exotic Driving
Experience will permanently close later this year.
The driving experience attraction that gives guests the
chance to drive a race track either on their own, or with a race car driver,
will close in late June 2015. Those guests who already have a reservation will
be able to move their drive to another Richard Petty course, with the closest
being the Daytona Beach location.
“Our main focus at this moment is taking care of our staff
and preparing them for the upcoming transition,” said Petty Holdings Vice
President Bill Scott. “Any reserved guests prior to July 1 will have the same
fantastic experience that we have delivered since 1997 at Walt Disney World
Speedway.”
The Richard Petty Driving Experience is located on the
outskirts of the Ticket and Transportation Center parking lot. Disney has said
that it expects to use the land for future transportation improvements, but has
not elaborated on what those are.
With the addition of New Fantasyland, and the parks
increased capacity, parking capacity at the TTC has become an issue, with that
reaching capacity before the park itself reaches capacity. If Disney sees
parking as a limiting factor to attendance at the Magic Kingdom, it may well be
the case that more parking is being planned.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience expanded its offerings
in 2012 with the addition of the Exotic Driving Experience where guests can
drive super cars.
Petty Holdings currently has plans in process for exotics
and stock car programs in Orlando.
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