Walt Disney World News and Rumors 1/6/14 - 1/12/14

Well, sorry for the delay this week, but I was in Walt Disney World this weekend, so hopefully that gives me a bit of a pass.  Without further adieu, here's the latest News and Rumors!


News and Rumors are gathered from various different sources. All rumors are rumors and are to be taken as such.

News


Magic Kingdom

• While work goes on at the Agrabah Bazar, Aladdin and Jasmine are now meeting guests at the Adventureland Veranda porch though Feb. 13th. 
• The Main Street Confectionary will see a facade rennovation from Jan. 13th - April 11th.  The shop will remain open during this time. 
• The construction crane will be behind Cinderella Castle from Jan. 13th - March 27th. 

Epcot

• Spice Road Table, the new small plates restaurant found at the Morocco Pavilion in World Showcase opened on Saturday.  It serves dishes like Cod Croquettes, Fried Calamari, Chicken Roll, Lamb Slider, Hummus and Imported Olives, and Spicy Shrimp.  The restaurant has seating both indoors and outdoors and includes a view of Illuminations each night.  (I ate there this weekend and thought it was pretty good.  There were some dishes that exceeded my expectations and some that did not. Also, thought the view for Illuminations was just ok.  It's better in other places around the Lagoon.)

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• Avatarland officially broke ground this week.  The new land is expected to be finished by 2017 in the former location of Camp Minnie-Mickey.

General WDW News

• FastPass+ testing for both onsite, as well as off-site guests, will begin taking place at the Magic Kingdom.  This test begins on January 14.  It's similar to the test that’s currently taking place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Off-site guests may make FastPass+ reservations via the MyMagic+ kiosks that are found throughout the park.  (They will not be able to make reservations via the My Disney Experience app at this time.) Resort guests will continue to be able to use My Disney Experience to book FastPass+ choices in advance at all four parks.  Legacy FASTPASS will cease to exist at the Magic Kingdom.  Off-site guests will however, still be able to obtain Legacy FASTPASS tickets at both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (These two parks are expected to get rid of Legacy FASTPASS by the end of the month.)

Download the DFB Guide to Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios!