Animal Kingdom Lodge - Things I'm Excited About

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is an African lodge-style resort amidst a 43-acre wildlife preserve. The Resort offers authentic African-inspired architecture and the kraal African-village landscape design—a semi-circle design popular in Africa which offers expansive views of the surrounding savanna and its many animal inhabitants. Thatched ceilings, large beams, hand-carved golden-tone furnishings, real African artifacts and a vast mud fireplace in the main lobby surround you in the inimitable spirit of Africa.

Just outside the main lobby, an elevated rock platform—Arusha Rock—offers up-close glimpses of the animals and a panoramic view of the sprawling grounds. In addition to animals, thousands of indigenous African shrubs and grasses—including the most recognized canopy tree of Africa, the copperpod—paint a picture reminiscent of the unspoiled African grasslands.

Savor authentic African cuisine at the Resort's 2 award-winning restaurants, Jiko - The Cooking Place and Boma - Flavors of Africa. Take a guided tour of the savanna led by African wildlife specialists and relax in the Uzima pool, an 11,000-square-foot zero-depth entry pool that offers a 67-foot-long slide. Offering all this and more, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is a wonderful choice for your Walt Disney World vacation.


Boma
Boma – Flavors of Africa – is a family-friendly buffet-style restaurant serving breakfast and dinner in Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Designed to resemble an African marketplace, the exotic restaurant serves dishes inspired by the varied flavors and seasonal dishes of over 50 African countries, from the coast of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. Watch as Boma's chefs prepare dishes in an open kitchen with a wood-fire rotisserie grill. Morning offerings may include fresh fruit, African pastries, omelets, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, carved ham, breakfast potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs and corn beef bobotie—a type of quiche.


Jiko
Jiko – The Cooking Place fuses the bold flavors of traditional African, Indian and Mediterranean cuisine at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Twin wood-burning ovens roar and the soothing, warm colors of an African sunset bring energy to this remarkable restaurant. The menu includes vegan, vegetarian and meat-based dishes that change seasonally, such as berbere Grilled lamb, Durban shrimp curry and chermoula roasted chicken, along with conventional favorites. Imaginative appetizers include curried potato and corn samosas, and brick oven-fired flatbreads.

The wine list features one of the largest selections of South African vintages in North America, and promises Guests 21 years of age or older a bouquet to please varied palates. This list has won multiple awards, including the Orlando Sentinel Foodie Best Wine List Award and the Wine Spectator Excellence Award for Most Outstanding Wine List. Watch the chefs prepare each meal in The Cooking Place, a show kitchen with a rich atmosphere befitting the beauty of this unique restaurant.

This is definitely one of the high points on our trip is being able to visit Animal Kingdom Lodge and enjoy it's two wonderful restaurants. We've never been to the resort itself so that will be a first as well as our two dining experiences. We have a breakfast lined up for Boma, and then my girlfriend Jenea and I will be visiting Jiko later in the week to enjoy dinner for just us two. Should be wonderful and I can't wait to visit, and photograph, this beautiful resort!

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2011 Flower and Garden Festival

The heroes of "Toy Story 3" have left the toy box. Woody and Buzz Lightyear meet arch-enemy Lotso the teddy bear on the Future World playground for the 18th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 2 through May 15, 2011, at Walt Disney World Resort.

The popular Disney-Pixar characters hit the sandbox as seven- and eight-foot-tall topiaries at the Epcot front entrance flower bed featuring a sand castle, strawberry-scented field and playground toys. Created by Disney gardeners and topiary experts with bold strokes of seasonal color, the topiary display marks the first time that "Toy Story" characters have been featured at the festival. It's also the first time in seven years that the front-entrance floral spectacle showcases all-new topiary characters, says festival horticulture manager Eric Darden.

"It created unique challenges," Darden says, "and it's meticulous work. Woody is skinny, and it was a challenge to create his legs. The detail on Buzz is pretty daunting." And the buzz on the pink-floral Lotso (a.k.a. Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear) is that he will smell like strawberries, just like his big-screen character, when guests stroll by.

This year's festival showcases more than 100 expertly crafted topiaries, and another show- stopper will be the brand-new "Cars 2" display at the World Showcase plaza, Darden says. Large floral topiaries of "Cars" characters Mater and Lightning McQueen will park their colorful chassis beneath a black-and-white checkered arch. To complete the scene, gardeners will create floral flags representing Japan, France, Italy and the United Kingdom – destinations of the car characters in the sequel due in theaters June 24.

And Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and pals appear in topiary splendor among a Hundred Acre Wood wildflower display between Future World and World Showcase. They're just in time to spread the happy news about the "Winnie the Pooh Movie" debuting summer 2011.

New this Year

An expanded Bambi's Butterfly House, a new Healthy Living Garden, special gardener appearances on a new Festival Center stage and first-time Flower Power performers add fresh twists to the 18th annual festival:

* A roomier-than-ever Bambi's Butterfly House grows three-fold this year in its new location along Imagination Walkway by Innoventions West in Future World. It's the first time the popular garden has expanded since its 2005 debut, and guests will see more butterflies than ever, Darden says.

* The Healthy Living Garden invites park guests to join in fun activities designed for improving their health and well being. Areas of the garden, presented by Syngenta, focus on healthful eating, fitness, relaxation and meditation. An adjacent children's play area keeps it all in the family.

* A new Festival Center stage brings nationally recognized garden personalities to the festival twice daily.

* Rapunzel lets down her hair at Rapunzel's Tower in the Tangled Magical Garden inspired by Walt Disney Pictures' animated film, "Tangled," located between the Germany and Italy pavilions.

* Flower Power grows with new-to-the- festival pop acts. Melissa Manchester, March 25-27 (Don't Cry Out Loud), Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., April 8-10 (You Don't Have to Be a Star) and Juice Newton April 15-17 (Playing with the Queen of Hearts) are set to light up America Gardens Theatre with their timeless tunes.

* A new Festival Special Weekend is slated for May when Disney?Pixar presents a Pixar Animation Studios celebration in conjunction with the upcoming "Cars 2" big-screen debut set for June 24.

Throughout the festival, elaborate floral beds and entertaining exhibits will decorate the park landscape and showcase the extraordinary talents of Disney gardeners. A blooming Guerlain Fragrance Garden at the France pavilion returns with its never-ending "love story" of the relationship between plants and perfume. At the Japan showcase, the art of bonsai will mesmerize guests who stop at the pavilion's vermilion torii gate.

This is something that I've really been excited about since we first started planning this trip. Our dates our February 26 through March 5. This is actually our first trip outside of June ever! So that I'm excited about because I won't have to deal with the heat or the summer crowds. I've been into plants and gardening for several years now and have always wanted to see this festival. I cannot wait for this among other things that I will share in the coming weeks as we get closer to the trip!

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Ode to Horizons - A True Classic of EPCOT Center

The Attraction
Horizons began with a section entitled "Looking Back at Tomorrow," showcasing visions of the future as perceived from the era of Jules Verne through the 1950s. The ride then moved past two immense OMNIMAX screens (groundbreaking technology at the time the ride was built), showing modern technologies and ideas that could be used to build the world of tomorrow. Afterward came the main part of the ride: visions of futuristic life in cities, deserts, undersea, and even in space. The only Disney attraction with multiple endings, Horizons then allowed riders to select which path they wanted to take back to the FuturePort: from the space station Brava Centauri (depicting space colonization), from the desert farm of Mesa Verde (depicting arid-zone agriculture), or from the Sea Castle research base (depicting ocean colonization).
As the final part of the ride, guests in their 'omnimover' would push a button to select amongst the three choices and would be presented with a 31-second video sequence. A film would then be displayed to riders in each individual car. The videos showed a simulated flyover of an outdoor scene. To create the effect, scale models were built and a camera swept across the futuristic terrain. The models were some of the largest ever created at the time.
The model for the desert sequence, for example, was 32 feet (9.8 m) by 75 feet (23 m) long. The visual effects were filmed in a hangar at the Burbank airport. Produced in 1983 by 30 model makers, it took over a year to build and shoot the three segments. The exit corridor of the ride originally featured the mural The Prologue and the Promise by renowned space artist Robert T. McCall.

History
Horizons, in its concept phase, was named Century 3 (or Century III), to recognize the third century of American existence (1776-2076). The name was changed to Futureprobe to help appeal the attraction toward international guests who wouldn't understand or appreciate Century 3. In the end, the Futureprobe name was scrapped due to the medical connotation of the word "probe". After much debate, GE and Disney officials settled on the name Horizons. Prior to the start of construction, the project's budget was slashed by $10 million (USD). The building size was reduced and the length of the ride was shrunk by 35%, shortening the ride length by 600 feet (180 m).
Horizons opened exactly one year after Epcot opened and was located between World of Motion and Universe of Energy. Wonders of Life became Horizons' new neighbor in 1989, and World of Motion closed in 1996. Horizons remained operational until World of Motion's successor, Test Track, was ready to open to the public in early 1999.
It was proposed that Horizons would be the sequel to the Carousel of Progress (located in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom), Disney's ride from the General Electric Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. As the Carousel of Progress followed the changes in lifestyle that faced a family as they lived through the 20th century, Horizons continued their story, showing how they might live in the 21st century. The Carousel's theme song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was part of the Looking Back at Tomorrow portion of Horizons. The version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" that could be heard in Horizons coming from a television in the Art Deco scene is the exact version that can still be heard on a radio during the first act of the Carousel of Progress today.
The original ride concept came from Reginald Jones (then CEO of GE) and Jack Welch (future CEO of GE). The concept was to focus on Thomas Edison and his body of work along with the origin of General Electric; it was changed to focus on the future of America, a theme that changed yet again to respect that Epcot was to appeal to a global audience. The building which housed Horizons was designed to resemble a spaceship, while accentuating the third dimension and giving the impression of an infinite horizon.
During the early 90s, after GE had dropped sponsorship, some ideas were tossed around about the pavilion being turned into a space-themed pavilion. The building would have been upgraded and rethemed. The ride system would be changed drastically, in which the guest would be in an individual space harness while viewing space stations and space in general and would control the pitch and yaw of the vehicle.

On January 9, 1999, Horizons was closed.

No reason was publicly given, but the lack of corporate sponsorship probably played a large part in the decision. It is also claimed that one of the reasons for the attraction closing was major structural problems (that being a large sink-hole underneath the structure which emerged in 1998), along with problems with the roof. The building was claimed to have been close to collapsing under its own weight.
The building stood unoccupied for well over a year as Disney decided between either relaunching the attraction (which would have required a new storyline and major building renovation and upgrades) or demolishing the building and creating a new attraction in its place. It was decided to build a new cutting-edge outer space-themed attraction, so the Horizons building was slowly torn down in July 2000. The demolition of the building marked the first time in Disney history that an entire ride building had to be demolished in preparation for a new attraction. Construction on Mission: SPACE began in late 2000 and the new attraction opened in 2003.
Various props from Horizons have been displayed around Walt Disney World and even in Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. A display that features the butler robot animatronic was set up in EPCOT: Creating the World of Tomorrow for Epcot's 25th anniversary. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, a few of the props from the underwater city scene are displayed in one of the studio warehouses. And one of the Desert ships has made its way to Disney's Hollywood Studios, hanging from the ceiling of a restaurant.

Large photo leaked of tabletop model for Fantasyland’s makeover (found at AttractionsMagazine.com)

Click on the photo to see the full size version.

This photo of a large model of the expanded part of Fantasyland has been appearing around the Internet this past week. It’s a bit different from the originally released blueprints of the redone Fantasyland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Pixie Hollow area has been moved back a bit and the Dumbo ride has been moved to just before the current Barnstormer ride. The blueprint also shows a pooh meet and greet area, which isn’t clearly marked in the model.

Neither the blueprint or this photo of the model were officially released by Disney, so there’s no way to tell which is the newer design, but logic says it’s the model. The model also fits along with the officially released concept art, which can be seen in the video below.

Living with the Land

Living with the Land (originally Listen to the Land) is a ride located within The Land pavilion which is part of Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is a boat ride, which is part dark ride and part greenhouse tour. The focus of the ride is on agriculture, especially new technology to make agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride. The dark-ride portion of the attraction opens with a scene of a deciduous forest in the middle of a thunderstorm, illustrating how the forces that shape the land can appear destructive to us. The boat then sails through artificial biomes representing a tropical rainforest, a desert and the American prairie. Some of the audio-animatronic figures in this section were originally created for the never-built Magic Kingdom attraction, Western River Expedition. The biomes feature sound and lighting effects, in addition to heat, wind and mist, to simulate real conditions. The boats float through a small theater that illustrates the relationship between humans and the environment, and the ways that we have been modifying the land to better serve our purposes.

The second part of the attraction takes place in The Land's "Living Laboratory," which showcases ideas about the future of agriculture. All of the plants in this section are grown through various methods of hydroponics. Plants are grown in sand, perlite, coconut coir and rockwool.

There are five distinct areas of the "living laboratory," which are:

* Tropics Greenhouse - This greenhouse features crops from the tropical areas of the world, including both familiar and exotic foods. Plants on display include banana, cacao, jackfruit, peach palm, dragonfruit, vanilla, cleome, pineapple, java apple and papaya.

* Aquacell - This section focuses on aquaculture, or "fish farming." It includes several high-density tanks and a few low-density display tanks and tubes. Animals on display include Tilapia, Sturgeon, Bass, American Alligator, and shrimp. Some of the fish harvested from the Aquacell are served in the Coral Reef Restaurant in The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion.

* Temperate Greenhouse (formerly the Desert Greenhouse) - A greenhouse featuring crops from temperate climates. Currently, the Temperate house showcases large-sized crops, such as Prizewinner and Atlantic Giant pumpkins, winter melon, pomelo, and "Nine-pound Lemon." Other crops include sunflower, beets, turnip, cotton, millet and cassabanana.

* String Greenhouse (formerly the Production Greenhouse) - This greenhouse focuses on innovative high-density techniques, such as Nutrient Film Technique. It also shows off "vertical growing techniques," in which plants are grown on specialized trellises which cause the herbaceous plants to approximate the shape and structure of trees. One of the most famous examples of these trees is The Land's "tomato tree," which produced over 32,000 tomatoes in a 16-month period. It was recognized by Guiness World Records as both the largest and most productive tomato plant in the world. Other crops include eggplant, peppers, winged bean, lettuce and snake gourd. Furthermore, cucumbers and pumpkins are grown in the shape of Mickey Mouse through the use of special molds. Much of the produce grown in the String Greenhouse is used in The Garden Grill and Sunshine Seasons, both restaurants in The Land pavilion. In total, over 30 tons of produce are harvested from The Land each year.

* Creative Greenhouse - The final greenhouse in the attraction shows some unusual ideas about the future of agriculture. Most of the plants in Creative House are grown via Aeroponics, in which a fine mist of water and nutrients is sprayed directly onto the roots of the plants. The roots dangle freely in the air, and are not hindered by any growing medium. Some of the plants' roots in Creative House are enclosed within rotating columns and A-frame structures, while others are completely exposed to the open air, at least temporarily, so the entire plant may be viewed by the Guests on the boat ride. Creative House also features a small exhibit of NASA hydroponic growing units, which were developed for use on extended-length space journeys. Crops on display include tomato, squash, lettuce, basil, rosemary, cabbage, super-dwarf wheat, swiss chard, marigold and snapdragon.

Additionally, the Living Laboratory contains:

* Biotechnology Lab - Attached to the Creative Greenhouse, the Biotechnology Lab is a sterile research environment. Several USDA scientists are on-site at The Land, performing research on crop improvement. The Land also produces a product called "Mickey's Mini Gardens" in the Biotechnology Lab, which are available for purchase in several locations in Epcot.

* Integrated Pest Management Lab - An Entomology laboratory that raises beneficial insects for use in The Land and all over Walt Disney World property. It is not visible on the Living with the Land boat ride, but is visited during the Behind the Seeds backstage tour. Insects raised here include tiny, stingless parasitoid wasps and ladybugs.

The ride concludes with a lighted collage of people and produce from all over the world, along with a projection of Earth as seen from space.

Listen to the Land

Living with the Land is an updated version of a previous attraction, Listen to the Land. Very little was changed between the two versions of the attraction. The opening scene, the "Symphony of the Seed," which provided a stylized look at the growth of a plant, was replaced by the opening storm scene. Also, the Biotechnology lab was relocated from the exit tunnel to the Creative Greenhouse. The Integrated Pest Management Lab is now housed in the space formerly occupied by the Biotechnology Lab.

Also, the theme song "Listen to the Land" is no longer used in the attraction, though instrumental version can still be heard in The Land's exterior background music loop as well the music loop played inside the Garden Grill.

Fantasyland Expansion Confirmed at D23 Expo

The leaked plans for the Magic Kingdom Fantasyland expansion appear to be mostly, if not totally, true. This based on announcements from Jay Rasulo at the D23 Expo today. Now we also have some gorgeous concept art to go with it.

This concept art shows the expanded area from the POV of above Cinderella Castle. In the front left you see the ‘castle walls’ from which you will travel through into the various Princess Realms. Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel all have their own castles (aka meet and greet areas). The Beauty and the Beast realm will also have a new dinner show.

Ariel’s castle will contain the Little Mermaid attraction that’s also being installed at California Adventure.

At this point the Fantasyland Expansion concept art differs a bit from the blue prints we saw. Tinker Bell and the fairies still get their Pixie Hollow (which will be phase two of the expansion), but the Dumbo attraction is moved to the other side where Goofy’s Barstormer and Donald’s boat is now. There is also a coaster in the back that is not on the blue prints. I’ll be curious to see how this all turns out in the final version.

The new Dumbo attraction will have two spinners and, apparently, more of a circus theme. The blue prints specify an ‘interactive queue’ which, based on this art, would appear to be more living character initiative animatronics. Think Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story Midway Mania queue.

All this, Jay says, will be open in 2012. A year late for the 40th Anniversay of the MK. But not too shabby a schedule. I would like to have seen another solid ‘ride’ type attraction, something aimed at the whole family instead of another meet and greet/mini-show. But the dinner show and the themeing look pretty outstanding.

Follow below the jump for the full press release related to all of Jay’s park announcements:

Re-Imagined “Star Tours” Coming to California and Florida in 2011 and Major Fantasyland Expansion at Walt Disney World Scheduled for 2013

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo detailed plans for future lands, attractions and adventures that will be delighting Disney guests for years to come, at the first D23 Expo. Most notable among the announcements were the confirmation of an all-new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

“Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we’re always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places,” Rasulo told a crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California before taking them on a “behind-the-magic” tour of their favorite Disney destinations.

Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular “Star Tours” attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011. Based on the iconic Lucasfilm “Star Wars” films, the attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy.

For Walt Disney World in Florida, Rasulo outlined plans for the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to:

* Visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty’s birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast’s castle library.
* Be Our Guest and dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast’s castle.
* Fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.
* Journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction – also opening at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011.
* Meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow.

Rasulo provided updates on the multi-year expansion of Disney’s California Adventure including the new “World of Color” attraction slated to open in the spring of 2010 and the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests will literally step into the town of Radiator Springs and its six acres of hand-carved rockwork.

Rasulo noted the progress of several other recently-announced projects including the three new lands coming to Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014; the Disney Dream, the new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line; the many diverse itineraries being offered by Adventures by Disney that take guests on 19 unique, once-in-a-lifetime guided vacation experiences; and Disney’s first family destination resort on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Rasulo’s keynote presentation was only part of the D23 EXPO experience. Guests were able to discover:

* Never-before-seen models of upcoming Disney attractions.
* Up close and personal visits with Lucky the Dinosaur and Wall-E.
* A preview of the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figures ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
* Displays showcasing cutting-edge effects technologies that are being developed for Disney attractions, shows and venues.

Skyway

The Skyway, one of the original Walt Disney World attractions, present when the park first opened in 1971, was an aerial tram (cable car) type ride, which took guests between the Fantasyland and TomorrowLand parts of the Magic Kingdom, on a ride that lasted for around 5 minutes.
On the way the Skyway passed over the striped tented Cinderella's Golden Carousel, and also over the Grand Prix Speedway.
Due to the nature of the ride, it was difficult at times to acommodate guests with some disabilities, particularly from the Fantasyland boarding platform, however, providing it was possible for wheel-chair bound guests to leave their wheelchairs for a time, they could take a round trip from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland and back.
In Feb 1999 the Skyway was in the news when a part-time Disney employee who had been working in the loading area of the ride fell to his death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later fined Walt Disney World $4,500 for what it termed a "serious" violation of safety standards. OSHA said the employee lacked protective equipment, such as a safety harness. Two days later, Disney installed safety signs and enhanced safety procedures around the Skyway, a Disney spokesman said at the time. The ride's closing is not a result of any concerns about its safety.
However in keeping with a general wish to remove older attractions, and replace them with updated ones the Skyway was finally closed on 10th November 1999, joining it's Californian cousin at Disneyland in Anaheim, which closed in 1994, and the Disneyland Tokyo Skyway which was closed in November 1998.
The ride was known as Skyway to Tomorrowland from the Fantasyland terminus, and as the Skyway to Fantasyland from the Tomorrowland terminus.

Officially Announced - New lands at Hong Kong Disneyland

This is it, the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion plan is unveiled, three "lands" were announced today and you will see great artwork for each of them! Basically, the three new lands are located on the left side of the park , stick to the west of Adventureland as you can see on the expansion map above. No giant Pirates of Caribbean land, no snow-covered mountain, but a small Frontierland with a mine ride, a Haunted Mansion with a different theme, and a Toy Story Playland exactly like the one we will have at the WDS next year.

Also, you will notice that they still have a big space available for a future expansion on the left of the new Frontierland/Grizzly Trail.

Here are all the details with the official press release and click on each picture to see them in full size.

With the addition of more than 30 new attractions, play and entertainment experiences, Hong Kong Disneyland’s total number of rides and attractions will increase by almost 50 percent and top one hundred. When completed, the expansion will increase HKDL’s physical footprint by approximately 23 percent; broaden the park’s appeal by adding more experiences for young adults; and place increased focus on universally-understood stories. Using Guest feedback as a guide, these three new themed areas will create memorable guest experiences, drive strong word of mouth and repeat visitation, and offer many unique only-available-in-Hong-Kong attractions that feature Disney’s immersive storytelling and innovative technology.
Grizzly Trail
Grizzly Gulch, Frontier Gold-Mining Town

The path along Grizzly Trail offers high-spirited frontier fun in an abandoned mining town called Grizzly Gulch, set amidst mountains and woods. The town was founded August 8, 1888 – the luckiest day of the luckiest month of the luckiest year – by prospectors looking to discover gold. Bears have now started causing havoc at the Big Grizzly Mountain Mining Company.

Key Technology and Creative Elements
• Guests visiting Grizzly Gulch are part of the action, experiencing hands-on water features, massive geysers and various leaking structures in the abandoned town.
• Life-size Audio-Animatronic® bears set the story in motion on Big Grizzly Mountain Coaster, an adventure aboard a runaway mine train through town. Guests careen backward down an incline that propels them through twists and turns, before a launch sequence “blasts” the mine train out of the mountain.
• A Wild West stagecoach, an old time Jail House, and the world’s largest nugget of gold provide fun photo opportunities.
• Guests can relax with a Wild West refreshment at the old Saloon or shop for mining supplies and souvenirs at the Bear Necessities merchandise stand.
Mystic Point

Mystic Point is the site of mysterious forces and supernatural events in the heart of a dense, uncharted rain forest.

In Mystic Manor, home to an eccentric world traveler and adventurer and his collection of exotic international artifacts, strange things are afoot as an enchanted music box releases its magical powers, thanks to a mischievous monkey.

Key Technology and Creative Elements
• Inside Mystic Manor, a trackless ride system enables vehicles to move “freely” about the attraction as the story unfolds. Audio-Animatronic® figures and special visual and audio effects help tell the story of mystical phenomena.
• Within Mystic Point lies a beautiful garden full of relics and mythological figures, where guests discover a hidden world of illusions and mysteries that trick the eye.
• Guests can dine at the Adventurer’s Club amid a vast collection of unusual artifacts from around the world or purchase exclusive curiosities and collectibles at the Archive Shop.

Toy Story Land
Disney·Pixar-themed Play Area for Kids of All Ages

Andy, the young boy from the Disney·Pixar Toy Story films, has left his toys unattended in this immersive and highly themed environment, based on one of Disney·Pixar’s most popular film series. While Andy is away, the toys come to life and play...and Guests are invited to join!

Key Technology and Creative Elements
• Oversized outdoor rides and photo opportunities allow Guests to experience the different perceptions of scale, and shrink to the size of a toy.
• One attraction includes a shuttle coaster which propels Guests along a U-shaped style track.
• A drop-style parachute attraction lets Guests join a “training mission,” plunging from a 25m tall tower.
• Guests will enjoy fun, immersive and interactive environments with life-size toys.
• A themed food kiosk provides a barrel of fun snacks and refreshments and Guests can shop for Toy Story inspired collectibles at the merchandise location.

Tapestry of Nations

The Tapestry of Nations was a parade at the Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World, Florida, USA, that ran around the World Showcase Lagoon from 1999 to 2001, after which it was rethemed as Tapestry of Dreams. The parade had a unity and world peace theme and featured a variety of large puppets and massive rotating drum units. The puppets were designed by Michael Curry who also designed the puppets for The Lion King on Broadway and a variety of Disney theme park shows. The leader of the parade was the Sage of Time, who was represented as a stilt walker in an elaborate costume featuring alchemy symbols, gold trim on a white robe, a staff, and a headpiece resembling a sun with a face.

The Puppets included:

• Reverse Marionette, a large multicolored puppet with a little marionette being held in its arms.
• Disc Man, a large character with discs within the body and dreadlocks. This was the heaviest and tallest of all the puppets.
• Hammer Man, a humanoid character made of pieces of sheet metal.
• The Sprite, a winged character with a three tiered tail.
• Angel Girl, a feminine figure with a massive wingspan and human face.
• Wiggle Girl, similar to Angel Girl, but had a smaller wingspan and lacked a face, also had movement in the hips.
• Bird Man, with a large wingspan and a crane-like face. This puppet was the hardest to control.
• Aztec Man, with an Aztec-style head, small wingspan and several flaps at its end, similar to kite tails.

The parade (or a variant of this) was also the theme for the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. Both the parade and the halftime show were directed by Gary Paben.

Tapestry of Dreams

In 2001, the parade became Tapestry of Dreams. Wishes from children around the world were heard throughout the parade's soundtrack. The middle of the parade had a tribute to Walt Disney, "...the greatest and most wonderful dreamer of all!". In this version, the Sage of Time was replaced with the Dreamseekers, a trio of elf like characters that would open and close the parade and collect Dreamtale coins that children would receive at the Epcot Kidcot stations. These three included:

• Leonardo Columbus, who represented discovery, invention and genius
• Elfin, who represented nature, magic and emotion
• Cosmo, who represented space and the unknown

It ran nightly, although in a reduced fashion compared to Tapestry of Nations and was canceled in March 2003 as a result of its waning popularity.

Variations

Besides the Tapestry of Dreams version, there were three versions of Tapestry of Nations, each having differences in audio. The original version, with a much more serious sounding Sage of Time, ran from the parade's debut in October 1999 to the middle of December 1999.

The narration was changed as to give the Sage a more gentle tone in his voice, this version running to the Millennium Celebration's conclusion in the spring of 2001.

After this, changes to the script brought in the theme of human dreams, which would carry on to the Tapestry of Dreams version, though still retaining the character of the Sage of Time. This version ran to the middle of the summer of 2001 when the Tapestry of Dreams version finally debuted.

Outside of Epcot, Tapestry of Nations served as the theme of the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show and featured a massive sized Sage of Time as a backdrop in addition to an appearance by the parade's walkaround version.

DisHippy's Tribute to The TTA

The WEDWay PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975, based on the first prototype PeopleMover at Disneyland in California. Because it did not utilize the propulsion system of rotating Goodyear tires used in the original, (instead using linear synchronous motors), Goodyear opted not to sponsor the east coast version. The Edison Electric Institute was the original sponsor of the ride. The original narration track was provided by longtime Disney voice, Jack Wagner. In June 1985, his narration was replaced by the voice of ORAC One - "The Commuter Computer".

In the spring of 1994, Tomorrowland underwent a massive refurbishment to re-theme the area as a working city of the future. The WEDway PeopleMover received new physical theming as the track was updated from smooth Googie-esque white forms to boldly colored metallic structures. It was during this refurbishment that the attraction's name changed to "Tomorrowland Transit Authority". The current spiel (with only minor alteration since) was also added at this time, your tour now lead by Pete Renaday broadcasting from TTA Central. The two-way track section at entrance of Space Mountain. An induction motor is visible in front of the oncoming train.

The line is a one-way loop, with a brief stretch at the entrance to Space Mountain operating with two-way traffic. At this point, the trains pass so close to one another that it is possible to reach out and touch hands with people in the oncoming train, though a tongue-in-cheek safety spiel warns guests (specifically those from Galaxy M-31) from doing so. The only switches are at Space Mountain, where the main track passes through the attraction and storage tracks run around the perimeter. The design of the station platform has guests boarding and disembarking the cars onto a moving walkway. This allows the vehicles to remain in motion at all times.

Blue, Red, and Green Lines - The TTA's backstory makes reference to the Transit Authority's three different "lines": the Blue Line, the Red Line, and the Green Line. The Blue Line, which constitutes the actual ride, is Tomorrowland's intra-city elevated train system. The Red Line takes riders 'off-planet' to other destinations in the galaxy, while the Green Line provides local transportation to Tomorrowland's "Hover-Burbs." There is a diorama of a hub station where all three lines intersect located on the second floor of the Convention Center. Other services provided by the Transit Authority (interstate highway maintenance and long distance space travel) are alluded to in the ride's narration. 1970s Attraction Poster for the WEDway Peoplemover.

Blue Line Stations - Though only one actually exists, other destinations are announced while riding:

* Rockettower Plaza (the only real station)
* Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center
* Mickey's Star Traders & Red Line/Green Line Transfer Station
* Space Mountain
* Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
* Star Command Headquarters
* Metropolis Science Centre

Other locations mentioned in passing, but not as stations on the line include:

* The Metro-Retro Historical Society Display
* The Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
* The League of Planets Astro Orbiter
* Perfect Park Acres
* The Interstellar Hair Salon

Onride Viewing Windows & Dioramas - After entering the Convention Center building, the Metroliners pass a large diorama containing a portion of the architectural model of EPCOT as envisioned by Walt Disney. Originally intended to be a working city instead of a theme park, the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow never came to fruition. The model in its complete form was created by WED Enterprises as the city was being planned and displayed on the second floor of the Carousel of Progress when it was in Disneyland. Both the Carousel and the model moved to Walt Disney World in 1975. According to the ride narration, the display is sponsored by the Tomorrowland Metro-Retro Historical Society.

Space Mountain - Since the roller coaster's addition in 1975, the TTA track has offered riders a restricted look down into the two largest of Space Mountain's post-show dioramas. Currently these feature the vignettes of an alien dig site, and radio beaming of packages back to the "home planet".

CircleVision Building Windows - Originally the tunnel through the south show building (now home to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin) had three windows; one and two on the trains' right, three to the trains' left. This building first housed If You Had Wings, and the windows were carefully placed to look down into the Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad show scenes in such a way as to hide all projectors, lights and other show support equipment.

When If You Had Wings (renamed If You Could Fly) was closed in January 1989 and remodeled into Delta Dreamflight, the windows no longer lined up correctly with show scenes. The first window was replaced with backlit panels depicting the ride's barnstormer scene. Window two looked into the Parisian Excursion scene, from a viewpoint which heavily distorted the tableau's forced perspective. The third window would have had riders looking directly into an extremely bright light and so was completely obscured with plywood and black fabric.

When the ride transitioned yet again into Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in 1998, the first window was fitted with the diorama of the hair salon, and the second left open to look into the new attraction, though concern was expressed over the fact that this view allows TTA riders to look directly into banks of high-powered blacklights.

Attraction Scenes

* Rockettower Plaza Station
* Rockettower Plaza
* Avenue of the Planets
* EPCOT model
* Transfer Station/Star Traders
* Indy Speedway Overpass
* Space Mountain
* Around the Arcade
* Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
* Buzz Lightyear's SRS show building
* Interstellar Salon
* Avenue of the Planets (again)
* Return to Rockettower Plaza

2009 Refurbishment - The Tomorrowland Transit Authority closed on Sunday, April 19, 2009, in line with the refurbishment of Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom), and is scheduled to re-open on Monday, August 24, 2009. The closure is necessary due to the large portion of the attraction that travels through Space Mountain. There have been no official announcements regarding changes that the TTA may undergo, if any, during this time.

DisHippy's Tribute to Space Mountain

Introduction - The Orlando Space Mountain was the first one to open, and for many fans it remains the standard. It is unique among the Space Mountains because of its twisting layout and its single-rider seating configuration.

History - Located in central Florida, Disney World receives too much annual rainfall to justify outdoor roller coasters. Thus, the Florida needed a rollercoaster which would have to be indoors and away from the weather, so designers melded the idea of Disneyland's Matterhorn with the "Spaceport" concept described below.

The Space Mountain concept actually dates back to Walt's time; in the mid 1960's the plan was to create a new corner of Tomorrowland at Disneyland, with a "SpacePort" theme. However, the plans never took hold at Disneyland, and the Space Mountain ride would first see its application in Florida (who needed an indoor ride). The Spaceport idea involved part of the ride outdoors atop the mountain, then diving into the blackness within. However, possibly due to the weather conditions in Orlando, this idea never materialized.

There are two sides to Space Mountain, of course. They are identical to each other, mirror images really, except that one side is 10 feet longer to allow it to cross over the other side.

Originally, Space Mountain was sponsored by RCA. When exiting, you walked past dioramas of "homes of tomorrow" in which people were using "advanced technology" such as videodisc players and videophones. It was a classic 70's version of "the future." Over time, RCA replaced the videodisc player with whatever they were trying to sell at the time. (Remember, when Disney World first opened, almost every ride had a commercial sponsor, with some type of advertising segment of the ride). Their show was called the Home of Future Living.

After Orlando's success, Disney obviously didn't want to tinker with a working concept so all other Space Mountains remained largely indoors. After 1995, Federal Express became the sponsor to Space Mountain, and they installed a lobby for use by Fed-Ex employees who were visitors to WDW -- you can come in here, relax, and jump to the head of the line if you work for Fed-Ex.

The Orlando Space Mountain was the world's first completely dark indoors coaster.

Walk Through the Queue - You enter the queue in a airy, roomy chamber that has spires in the middle, around which the line doubles back near the entrance to the room. On one side is a large wall art of space-type artwork, and on the floor are odd, futuristic-looking dark glass spheres. You pass from that room into the first passage, which is a long straight tunnel inclined downward and lit by red lights. After hitting the low point, the tunnel angles back upward, this time illuminated by blue lights. Finally, you turn a corner - after noticing the warning signs that this is a roller-coaster and thus not for everyone - and enter the zigzag section, where the corridor widens and zigs back and forth, amid colorful holograms inset into the walls of such things as stars and planets. As this sections ends, you can view an Omega-side rocket ready for launch on your right side, while on your left is the safety video. Finally, then, you enter the main ride building.

As you enter the building, the lights are dimmer because this is the actual giant room that also houses the ride overhead, and you can hear it. You head toward the control tower, which is directly in front of you and in the middle of the line so to speak, and then you choose which side of the ride you wish to ride on. To the left is the Alpha side, to the right is the Omega side, and they split right at the control tower, currently labeled "FX-1 Control Station." As you choose your side, you enter into the "outer space" area itself - the loading area is part of the black, starry region that cars pass. The queue in this area is fairly boring - the PeopleMover (Tomorrowland Transportation Authority) passes through overhead, and you can view the dreadful preshow video via several monitors.

This preshow, called the Space Mountain TV (SMTV), is an ostensible broadcast from the future, mainly a news program interspersed with comical commercials. Some of these commercials are for actual products, such as the space-themed Fed-Ex ones - they are the sponsor after all. Three notable things about the video: Charles Fleischer - the voice of Roger Rabbitt - is a used satellite dealer in one commercial (Crazy Larry); there is a hidden Mickey-shape in a different satellite commercial (mouse ears on satellite provide for communication with earth); and the liftoff sequence on one video is pulled directly from the liftoff video seen in the former Disney attraction "Mission to Mars." Watch also for the video scenes lifted from Disney's movie "The Black Hole" and from the movie "Tron."

Finally you reach the boarding zone, and you climb into rockets with 1-1-1 seating, with two rockets attached for a total of six riders at a time. It is no accident that the seating resembles Anaheim's Matterhorn bobsleds - remember this was to be Orlando's version of the Matterhorn!

Mock Ride-Through - As you know, there are two sides to Space Mountain. If you choose to go left at the fork in the queue, you'll ride the "Alpha" side. The "Omega" side - obviously the other one - is an identical but mirror image of the alpha side, with ten extra straight feet added at one point to make the layout work. You proceed to a couple of waiting areas once seated so they can check seatbelts, then you launch downward and into a long straight tunnel, where you accelerate. The tunnel pulses with strobe lights and rotating blue lights, simulating a launch into space, then you emerge and begin to climb the lifthill. You go up the same time as another rocket, and as you climb you pass underneath the giant rocket ship that is a sister to the one at the Anaheim loading dock. This one, however, was previously named XL-2000 and has been renamed FX-2000 to honor the sponsor FedEx. There are a couple of (nonmoving) astronauts in spacesuits walking along the underside of the ship, so they are upside down!

At the top of the lifthill, the rockets from either side make a sharp turn away from each other as the ride begins. The ride building here has more "Space Cookies" than the Anaheim version, simulating meteor showers, and there is no giant orange globe or orb at the top. In contrast with the Anaheim version, which is many turns and most of them right-hand turns, the Orlando version mixes up the direction of travel frequently. There are fewer turns, but they are sharp ones, and there are four or five drops of twenty feet, many of them rather steep. There are only a few sharp turns at the base of the ride, unlike Anaheim's.

The end of the ride is a letdown in my book. You go through a brief "explosion" tunnel, where you travel through a rotating barrel lit by pulsing red lights, and then inexplicably return out to the darkness of "space!" to slow down. You then enter the unload room, and after disembarking you return to the park via a moving sidewalk. During this standup "ride" you travel past several scenes. You go past scenes of robots delivering fanciful cargoes to other robots on exotic planets, all courtesy of the FedEx sponsor of course. The moving sidewalk ends after an uphill section, during which you can see yourself captured by wall-mounted cameras. Smile!

Fun Facts

- first roller-coaster ride to occur in perpetual darkness
- originally called SpacePort, going to be the anchor of 1967 Tomorrowland at Disneyland
- John Hench and resident Disney sculptor Mitsu came up with dramatic styling for SpacePort
- in June of 1966 became known as Space Mounntain, put on indefinite hold
- constructed 15 feet under ground
- 2 tracks of WDW reduced to one to conserve space in 200-foot wide building at Anaheim
- 31 Rocket Trains that run in Orlando 1-16 (no Train 13) that run on A side (That's to the left as you pass the tower) and 17-31 on B side. The drop on both sides is a 35 ft drop.

Pictures of the Newly Refurbished It's A Small World

So what do you guys think? I would like to get peoples' opinion on this refurb since there was so much fuss about it. Personally from looking at these pictures I can't wait to get to Disneyland and ride this attraction (never thought I'd say that about Small World).

The Haunted Mansion Time of Year

A Bit of History

The attraction's roots date back to even before Disneyland was built, when Walt had just hired the first of his Imagineers. The first known illustration of the park showed a main street setting, green fields, western village, and a carnival. Disney Legend Harper Goff developed a beautiful black and white sketch of a crooked street leading away from main street leading by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street.

While not part of the original attractions when Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt assigned Imagineer Ken Anderson, to make a story around the Harper Goff idea, and design of his new 'grim grinning' adventure. Plans were made to build a New Orleans themed land in the small transition area between Frontierland and Adventureland. Weeks later New Orleans Square appeared on the souvenir map and promised a thieves' market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through. After being assigned his project, Ken studied New Orleans and old plantations to come up with a dirty drawing of an antebellum manor overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats, and boarded doors and windows topped by a screeching cat as a weathervane.

Despite praise from other Imagineers, Walt wasn't too thrilled with this drawing, hence his well known saying, "We'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside." Despite this, Walt journeyed out to the Winchester Mystery House and became deeply captivated with the massive mansion with its stairs to nowhere, doors that open to walls and holes, and elevators. Ken came up with stories for the mansion including tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with previous Disney villains and spooks like Captain Hook, lonesome ghosts, and the headless horseman. Some of the Universal Monsters were even planned to appear.

Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey, two Imagineers put in charge of the spectral effects, recreated many of Ken Anderson's stories. Walt gave them a large studio at WED enterprises; they studied reports of hauntings and Greek myths and monster movies, eventually making quite a show in their private studio. Some of these effects frightened the cleaning crews that came in at night to the extent that management eventually asked the crew to leave on the lights and to turn off the effects after hours. Defying this, Crump and Gracey connected all the effects to a motion-sensitive switch that, when passed, would turn everything on. The next day when the two returned to work, all the effects were running with a broom in the middle of the floor. Management told them that they would have to clean the studio themselves, because the cleaning crew was never coming back.

The duo made a scene where a ghostly sea captain appeared from nowhere. Suddenly a wretched bride emerged from a brick wall and chased the ghost around in circles. The frightened pirate melted into a puddle and flooded the entire scene only for the water to mysteriously vanish with the bride. "A ghost haunted by a ghost!" Rolly told Walt between chuckles. Walt and the Imagineers were amazed, but Walt still didn't like how the project was coming out. That put the mansion on hold for quite some time.

So, the decision was made to place it in the New Orleans Square section of the park, and thus the attraction was themed as a haunted antebellum mansion. In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance. Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963. The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but the attraction itself would not open until 1969. The six-year delay owed heavily to Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964–1965 and to an attraction redesign after Walt's death in 1966.

Many Imagineers such as Marc Davis, X Atencio, and Claude Coats contributed ideas after the fair and after Ken left the project. Rolly Crump showed Walt some designs for his version showing bizarre things like coffin clocks, candle men, talking chairs, man eating plants, tiki like busts, living gypsy wagons, and a faced mirror. Walt liked this and wanted to make the proclaimed "Museum of the Weird" a restaurant side to the now named Haunted Mansion, similar to the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean. Although the idea died off, most of it lived on in the final attraction.

Marc Davis and Claude Coats, two of the mansion's main designers, were in a constant argument over whether the ride should be scary or funny. Claude, who had a life of a background artist, made moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridors of doors, and characterless environments, wanted to make a scary adventure. Marc, who designed most of the characters and zany spooks, thought that the ride should be classic Disney silly and full of gags. In the end both got their way when X. put all the scenes together.

After Walt's death in December 1966, the project evolved significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned, and the walkthrough idea was replaced by the Omnimover system used in Adventure Thru Inner Space, renamed the Doom Buggy, a promising solution to the problem of capacity. Imagineers had been fighting the low-capacity nature of a walkthrough attraction for years, even going so far as suggesting building two identical attractions to get double the number of guests through.

On August 9, 1969, the Disneyland version of the attraction was completed, and remained essentially unchanged for years. The opening brought in record crowds and helped Disney recover from Walt's untimely death. In the early 1970s, the Imagineers gave some semi-serious thought to resurrecting many of the creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion's pre-show as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery, which was "... a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder". This was to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area.

In 1999, a retrospective of the art of the Haunted Mansion was featured at The Disney Gallery above the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. When the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion was released, a retrospective of its art was featured in the gallery as well.

In October 2005, Slave Labor Graphics began publishing a bimonthly Haunted Mansion comic book anthology giving the Disneyland Mansion a backstory, with the main recurring story of Master Gracey recalling the old sea captain storyline.

    

Other Incarnations of The Haunted Mansion

The attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris as Phantom Manor in 1992. For each of these parks, the Haunted Mansion is an original attraction.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, opening in 1971. This attraction was developed at the same time as the Disneyland version, resulting in a very similar experience to the Disneyland version, though the slightly larger show building allowed the addition of several new scenes. The attraction was placed in Liberty Square, a small land that was a tribute to colonial America, as the Magic Kingdom did not have a New Orleans Square. Thus, the Mansion was given a Dutch Gothic Revival style based on older northeastern mansions, particularly those in older areas of Pennsylvania and in the Hudson River Valley region of New York.

At Tokyo Disneyland the Mansion was placed in Fantasyland and was a near complete clone of the Magic Kingdom version. The only exterior differences from the Magic Kingdom are two bronze griffin statues guarding the main gates, as well as the left bottom and top windows being both smashed open, and the top having some velvet curtains hanging out. The narration is in Japanese.

At Disneyland Paris the attraction goes by a different name, Phantom Manor.

When The Haunted Mansion was transplanted to other Disney parks, space management was much less of a problem. For example, in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the entire show building is located within the park boundaries. Luckily, the placement of the show building has no bearing on the quality of the experience. Most guests give little thought to whether they are actually inside the mansion they saw while in line.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Since 2001, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday during Christmas, based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Haunted Mansion is closed in September for a few weeks as they revamp the attraction, replacing many of the props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from the movie. The attraction is closed again in January when it is returned to the regular Haunted Mansion.

In 2004 a similar overlay was installed for Tokyo Disneyland as "Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare". To date, neither the Walt Disney World nor Disneyland Paris attractions have been fitted with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay, though the exterior of Phantom Manor is decorated for Halloween along with the rest of Disneyland Paris.