Walt Disney World News

Temporary ADR Booking Window Changes
During a system upgrade (which will include the addition of on-line Advanced Dining Reservation booking), the reservation system windows for booking dining, recreation and tours will be altered. Beginning July 31, reservations for dining, recreation and tours can only be made through January 25, 2009. Beginning October 24, reservations will once again be accepted for the normal 180-day window. Please note that reservations for Victoria & Albert's, Cinderella's Royal Table, and Chef Mickey's will retain their 180-day booking window throughout this period, even after July 31.

Disney World Restaurants Holiday Hours Extended
The following restaurants have extended holiday hours from December 20 though January 3, 2009:

• Cape May Café — Breakfast 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Dinner 5:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Christmas Day Dinner 2:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
• Chef Mickey's — Breakfast 7:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Dinner 4:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Christmas Day Brunch 7:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Christmas Day Dinner 3:45 p.m.-9:30 p.m., New Year's Day Brunch 7:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• 'Ohana — Breakfast 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Dinner 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
• Whispering Canyon Cafe — Dinner 4:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m., Christmas Day Dinner 12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
• Boma — Dinner 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
• Spoodles — Dinner 4:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
• Mickey's Backyard BBQ — Additional Dinner Shows on Tuesday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 30.

More Disney Dining News
Citricos and Citricos Chef's Domain at the Grand Floridian Resort are now open daily through September 27, 2008. Epcot's Garden Grill will stop serving lunch on October 5, 2008. The character dinner will still be offered. Magic Kingdom's Liberty Tree Tavern's last character dinner will be on January 4, 2009.

Golf Has Been Added to Magic Your Way Options
Walt Disney World has added a golf option to its "Water Park Fun & More" add-on to Magic Your Way tickets. The golf option is also being added as a free benefit to Disney World Premium Annual Passes. This new golf option can be used to play nine holes on the par 36 Oak Trail walking course. Reserved tee times are required and subject to availability. Call 407-WDW-GOLF or visit www.disneyworldgolf.com. This addition followed the announcement of the closing of Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island club admission is a "More" option until Pleasure Island closes on September 27.

Kindani Village Opening Set
The Disney Vacation Club has announced that Animal Kingdom Villa's Kindani Village, the new DVC building adjacent to the Animal Kingdom Lodge's Jambo House, will open on May 1, 2009. DVC members who have Animal Kingdom Villa points may call for reservations at Kindani Village starting August 10.

Surfing Classes Suspended at Typhoon Lagoon
Surfing classes and special surf events at Typhoon Lagoon have been suspended until at least after the Typhoon Lagoon refurbishment this coming winter. The maintenance needed to maintain the larger waves used for surf experiences cannot be done between normal daily operations. The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon will continue to operate, as usual.

Moms Panel "How-To" Videos
The Walt Disney World Moms Panelists have found a fun way to share quick tips and vacation planning advice with a series of step-by-step how-to videos. Videos currently available include How to Use Fast Pass, Disney for All Ages, Rider Switch, Character Greeting Etiquette and more. According to Bret Caldwell, the sole dad on the Mom's Panel, "The idea of the videos is to supplement the info we share on the Moms Panel forum. Some videos were made with professional camera crews at the parks, but many of them have been made at our houses with home video cameras. We each selected our own topics, and got to write, direct and produce them all on our own. It's been a blast." To view the videos, visit disneyworldmoms.com.

New Archery Experience at Fort Wilderness
Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground now offers a new Archery Experience which includes a training session and target practice. The program is offered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 2:45-4:15 p.m. The cost is $25 plus tax per person, for ages 6 and up. Reservations are required — call 407-WDW-PLAY.

"My Favorite Disney Parks Memory Contest"
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts has launched The Disney Parks Channel on YouTube.com. Enter to win a Disney dream vacation, including a night in the Disneyland Dream Suite, by submitting a creative video that captures your all-time favorite memory of visiting Disney parks. The deadline for submissions is August 5. Ten finalists will be chosen by Disney by August 12, then YouTube visitors will vote until September 9 for the grand prize winner. The other nine finalists will receive an annual pass to the Disney park of their choice. Winners will be announced on September 20. The Disney Parks Channel and contest rules are available on YouTube at youtube.com/disneyparks.

Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends Closes
After ten years, the Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends show at the Animal Kingdom is closing, on September 27. There has been no replacement show announced for the show's venue. Guests will still be able to see the Pocahontas character in meet-and-greet locations.

New Baby Elephant at Animal Kingdom
Twenty-six-year-old Moyo gave birth to a 327-pound male elephant June 28, after a 21-month gestation. This newest addition, the fourth elephant born at Animal Kingdom, is yet to be named. He is the heaviest elephant calf ever born at Animal Kingdom. Tufani, who is Moyo's first male calf, was born in 2003; Kianga, a female, was born in 2004; and Nadirah, the youngest female, joined the herd in 2005. All remain on the savannah at Animal Kingdom.

Swan and Dolphin Drawing to Win Back Gas Money
Florida residents staying at the Swan or Dolphin resorts are getting an opportunity to recoup their gas expenses in a new weekly giveaway at these Epcot-area hotels. Through Labor Day, Florida guests who drive to WDW can enter to win a dollar for every mile (round trip) that they travel from home to the Swolphin. Guests who drive a hybrid will automatically be rewarded with complimentary valet parking and undisclosed "extra pampering" for their cars.

U.K. Walt Disney World Dining Package: Shades of the Future?
A major United Kingdom tour operator is offering Disney packages with a new quick service Disney Dining plan, which is available to U.K. customers for trips beginning January 11, 2009. This casual dining plan includes two quick service meals and two snacks a day, as well as one refillable resort mug. The price for the new package is £18 per adult and £7 per child, which roughly converts to $35.81 for adults and $13.93 for children. These prices are no deal, compared to the regular Disney Dining Plan ($37.99 for adults, $9.99 for kids), but often prices through tour operators are higher than those purchased here through travel agents or from Disney. We'll hope for a better "exchange rate" if the offering crosses the Pond in 2009.

Disney Announces Pleasure Island Closure
Disney has officially announced that the six nightclubs of Pleasure Island will shut down on September 28, 2008. For more details, see the article below.

Candlelight Processional Package Bookings and Narrators
The popular Candlelight Processional Dining Package is available for 2008 reservations, and is still a Disney Dining Plan option (one table service credit). Like last year, package guests will dine before watching the Candlelight Processional. For complete details on prices, restaurants, and the narrator schedule (definitely subject to change), visit our Candlelight Processional page on TheMouseForLess.com. For reservations, call 407-WDW-DINE.

Walt Disney World Closures and Rehabs

Magic Kingdom

• Spectromagic parade will not run from August 15 through 29, while the Liberty Square Bridge is refurbished. During this time, the Dreams Come True parade will run twice daily, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Country Bear Jamboree will be closed September 28 through October 31.

• Environmentality Corner in Innoventions East is closed through July 31.
• Morocco Gallery of Arts and History in the World Showcase is closed through September 24.
• Nine Dragons in the China pavilion officially is closed through November 27, although an earlier reopening is expected.

• Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey is closed through August 5.
• Golden Age Souvenirs is closed through August 5.
• High School Musical 2 will close on September 13, in preparation for HSM3.
• American Idol is scheduled to open in January 2009.

• Primeval Whirl will be closed September 2 through November 15.
• Pocahontas and her Forest Friends will close permanently on September 27.

• Typhoon Lagoon will be closed November 1 through at least the first days of January, 2009. Blizzard Beach will close when Typhoon Lagoon reopens.
• La Nouba will be dark on the following dates in 2008: July 29, September 23-27, and November 18.
• Pleasure Island will close permanently on September 27.
• Pop Century's lobby bar, Classic Concoctions, officially closed on May 6. It is scheduled to reopen on July 26 as Package Pickup area for guests.
• Caribbean Beach Resort's Old Port Royale pool, as well as the Cabana Banana pool bar, is closed through September 15. Children's water slides will be added to the pools at the Barbados and Jamaica village pools during this refurbishment.
• Contemporary Resort: The Concourse Steakhouse closed May 31, and a new counter-service restaurant will open in its location in August. A temporary quick-service location, Tempo Grab and Go, is currently open on the 4th floor of the hotel. The resort's tennis courts and playground are closed.
• Saratoga Springs' High Rock Spring pool slide will be closed September 8 through September 26. The pool will remain open.
• Old Key West's Village pool slide will be closed January 5 through January 23, 2009. The pool will remain open.
• The Animal Kingdom Villas Kindani Village construction is on-going through May 1, 2009. The Sunset Savanna may not have animals between January and April 15, 2009.

Upcoming Events at Walt Disney World

• T-Rex restaurant opens in Downtown Disney in late 2008.
• Sounds Like Summer Concert Series at America Gardens Theater at Epcot, through August 10. More information here.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, late July through mid-August.
• Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party September 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 28, 30; October 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31.
  
• Night of Joy, September 5 and 6, hard-ticket event at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
• A Celebration of Precious Dreams Precious Moments collectibles event, September 12-13 at the Contemporary Resort. For more information and to register, click here.
• 13th Annual Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, September 26 through November 9.
• Expedition Everest Challenge at Animal Kingdom, September 27.
• High School Musical 3 will open on October 24 at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
• Race for the Taste 10K, October 12.
• The Tower of Terror 13K Race at Disney's Hollywood Studios on October 25, 2008 at 10:00 p.m.
• 33rd Annual Festival of the Masters, November 7-9, at Downtown Disney. For more information visit Disneyworld.com/artfestival.
• 13th Annual ABC Super Soap Weekend, November 15-16 at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party November 10, 11, 14, 16, 20, 21, 30; December 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19.
• 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon, Half Marathon and Goofy's Race-and-a-Half Challenge, January 8 through 11, 2009.
• Inaugural 2009 Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend March 6-8, 2009