MickeyBlog News for February 26, 2019!
We’re only a few months away from the debut of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. With the launch approaching quickly, Disney doled out a bit more information about the themed land you’re obsessed with. Oh, and they revealed an unprecedented change at Epcot. It was a huge week for Disney news. Let’s get you all caught up!
Stop What You’re Doing! We Have Star Wars Land News!
Specifically, we have two Star Wars news items to pass along to you! Some enterprising person caught a glimpse of a sign for the upcoming Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. In a few words, it tells quite the story. Here’s the sign’s text:
“Join us on an exhilarating mission to stop The First Order! This mission includes rapid motion, sudden stops, sharp turns, and a swift drop as you evade capture from The First Order.”
Yes, we now know that The First Order attraction is somehow trackless but has a sudden drop at the end. Disney’s the world’s foremost expert on trackless ride technology, but even they haven’t developed anything with a huge drop before. That’s a groundbreaking change.
The signage contains information about the ride’s height requirement as well. Younglings must be 40” or taller to join The Resistance. According to Disney’s official site, this height requirement is the same as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Soarin’ Around the World, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, Star Tours, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and DINOSAUR.
So, that’s the baseline for ride comparisons. As an FYI, according to KidsHealth.org, the average 4-year-old is 40”.
We learned one other thing about Disneyland. Much has been made of how Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will change the park. Specifically, it’ll become the first part of the park to sell alcohol, Club 33 not included. Not everyone’s crazy about this change, but that’s a side discussion. What’s relevant this week is that Disney tweeted some new information.
According to their Passholder account, Oga’s Cantina will be the only place where alcohol is allowed. In addition, guests can only drink alcoholic beverages while at the restaurant/lounge. They will not be able to carry these drinks into other parts of the park.
The Play Pavilion Is Coming!
A dozen years ago, one of Epcot’s most recent pavilions closed. Wonders of Life lasted from 1989 until 2007, an ironically short lifespan. In the years that have followed, this pavilion has largely gone unused. A couple of years ago, a rumor popped up that suggested it might receive new life. Then, Disney watchers noticed a bit of work occurring on the roof and at other parts of the building. We now know why.
Disney is repurposing the Wonders of Life space as the Play Pavilion. The Parks Blog makes several grandiose promises about this new pavilion. It says, “The pavilion’s city will be bursting with interactive experiences, your favorite Disney characters, hands-on activities and engaging entertainment…” And then a Disney executive adds:
““This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot,” said Zach Riddley, portfolio executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Built on the power of play, it introduces an immersive and interactive ‘city’ where you can explore, create, and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters. This is an experience worthy of our bold vision for Epcot – and another signature element of our transformation.””
I can’t help but picture the Disney section of Ralph Breaks the Internet. Perhaps this movie scene is the inspiration for the concept. Whatever the explanation, Disney could easily fill the Play Pavilion with many wondrous tech toys. Their Innovations page is loaded with patent-worthy projects that could entertain park guests of all ages. Here’s an example of something Disney invented that doesn’t have a current park presence but could/should.
The new pavilion could conceivably feature dozens of ideas like this one, some of which are permanent while others are short-term distractions. To a larger point, a Play Pavilion changes Epcot into a more family-friendly park, something it’s lacked since Innoventions went into decline.
More Epcot Changes
MickeyBlog has chronicled potential changes at Epcot in our rumors articles over the past few months. A couple of those rumors became a reality this week. In addition to the Play Pavilion conversion, Disney has acknowledged that the front entrance of the park will change. The Parks Blog suggests that the updates will include “new pathways, sweeping green spaces and a newly reimagined fountain.”
More importantly, the new design at the front will hearken back to the original version at Epcot. Disney’s going back to the future with a comfortably modern but retro look. All of your “Look, I’m at Epcot!” social media images will have a decidedly new look in a couple of years.
Disney’s not done, either. They confirmed that the Experience Center is coming to the Odyssey Events Pavilion. This space is regularly used as a Festival center of sorts, but it’ll soon become a showcase for the upcoming Epcot changes. You can visit this space to get a taste of what Epcot will look like in 2021, the expected finishing date for all of these changes. Not coincidentally, that’s the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.
Disney Prefers Solar to Nuclear Power
Earlier this month, MickeyBlog discussed the weird power Disney has in Florida. They can literally build a nuclear power plant if so inclined. Thankfully, Disney uses their powers for good, not evil. Specifically, they’ve chosen to employ solar rather than nuclear power at the parks.
The Walt Disney Company had already constructed and activated multiple solar farms in the greater Orlando area. Their most recent one came online last week. The 50-megawatt facility is located State Road 429 in the Disney’s Animal Kingdom portion of the Walt Disney World campus. This solar farm is a massive 270 acres in size, twice the space of Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
The scale of this project borders on incomprehensible. Have you seen the famous Mickey Mouse solar farm near Epcot? It’s the one that looks like mouse ears in pictures taken from the sky. Well, the new energy source is literally 10 times the size of that one.
The new facility consists of 518,000 solar panels, enough to power 10,000 homes for a year. Park officials project that it can power 25 percent of the Disney campus. Putting it a different way, bringing this solar farm online means that Disney can power two different theme parks just from this facility.
The solar farm will quickly pay for itself while reducing Disney’s emissions as much as 50 percent from 2012 levels. Oh, and Disney will consume less water thanks to this solar farm, too. It’s a huge technological advance for Walt Disney World.