Disney World Rumors: Brazil in Epcot, Tomorrowland Overhaul, Artist Point with Characters
Brazil pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot? Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge becoming a character meal? A reinvention of Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom? V.I.Passholder Nights at Walt Disney World…for free?! We’re back covering these news and rumors from Walt Disney World in this update.
We’ll start with Artist Point, the underrated Signature Restaurant at Wilderness Lodge. If we had to, we’d bet that Artist Point is the least popular Signature Restaurant at Walt Disney World. You really don’t hear a ton about it, and this is despite our opinion that it’s a strong option in terms of cuisine. Unfortunately, unlike its counterparts like California Grill or Flying Fish, it doesn’t have an iconic feature or convenient location that gives it a high profile and draws guests.
It has been known for a couple of months now that something is up with Artist Point. When the ADR window opened for November 2018, Artist Point surprisingly had no availability. If you try to book something now for the restaurant beyond October 28, 2018, you won’t find anything. To say this is ‘uncommon’ with Artist Point so far in advance would be an understatement. Something is up…
At this point, what exactly happens with Artist Point is anyone’s guess. Our suspicion is that there is backstage (kitchen) work slated to happen, along with a re-imagining of the dining room. This would be consistent with both the California Grill and Flying Fish refurbishments of the last few years, and would take around 6 months to complete.
We’d say at least that much is pretty close to a sure thing. With Wilderness Lodge now having more Disney Vacation Club units, it stands to reason that increasing the appeal and popularity of Artist Point makes sense. There’s also a persistent rumor, originating on the Disboards, that Artist Point will convert to character dining.
That’s definitely a possibility. It’s also possible that character dining will be added for breakfast, with the other meals remaining character-free. Even though it might seem odd to have a character meal at a Signature Restaurant, there’s no reason the two couldn’t co-exist. Artist Point used to have a “Pocahontas and Friends Breakfast” in the mid-1990s, so this isn’t exactly unprecedented.
It’s also possible that Artist Point will lose its Signature status, while adding character dining for breakfast and retaining “normal” table service dining for lunch and dinner. As a Deluxe Resort, it seems unlikely that Wilderness Lodge wouldn’t have a “normal” (character and gimmick-free) table service restaurant.
Next, the upcoming overhaul of Tomorrowland. This is a rumor (or rather, slew of rumors) that has been making the rounds since even before TRON Lightcycle Power Run was announced. It’s a foregone conclusion that something is going to happen between now and Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, it’s really just a matter of what.
As we shared in our recent Summer 2018 Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland Update, there have been new rumors of adding show scenes and a permanent Incredibles narration to the PeopleMover. Other rumors have been floating around for a while: a Wreck-It Ralph VR racer replacing Stitch’s Great Escape (which seems less likely for the moment), a new scene for Carousel of Progress, and an aesthetic refresh to Tomorrowland Speedway and the land at-large.
Late last month, Orlando Weekly published a round-up of these rumors. From what we’ve heard, most of what’s reported there is highly unlikely–but not all of it. The PeopleMover is overdue for an extended refurbishment, but that’s to fix persistent issues with the ride system and its reliability.
Given the attraction’s ridership numbers–and future increases that are sure to come with more foot traffic in Tomorrowland–adding show scenes would be a savvy investment. At a minimum, a few more vignettes or Audio Animatronics (there are a few sitting around in Stitch’s Great Escape!) to avoid complaints from families that it’s a boring transportation “ride to nowhere” might be a good move.
Aside from that article, we’ve heard absolutely nothing about moving the load/unload and queue areas for the PeopleMover, and that seems highly unlikely to us. Stranger things have happened, but that would be a huge project that would consume other valuable real estate in Tomorrowland. We’d be shocked if that occurs.
Brazil in Epcot is another rumor we’ve reported on numerous times, and we ranked it the #2 rumor for Epcot ahead of last year’s D23 Expo (behind only Ratatouille: Kitchen Kalamity, which already had permits filed at that point). Even after it was not announced, we received indication that it would still be happening, and that a lot that would be coming to Epcot was not revealed at the event.
Since last summer, we’ve continued to hear a flurry of Epcot rumors, some of which contradict one another. As we noted in our Epcot Summer 2018 Update, we’ve heard that those plans for Epcot that were not announced–or not greenlit–are in flux. Throughout all of that, the one constant has been the Brazil pavilion. Despite an official announcement, we have yet to hear anything suggesting that it’s not happening.
The latest reliable rumor comes from WDWMagic, where it’s being reported that the Brazil pavilion will have a $450 million budget, with the country’s government picking up $250 million of that cost. The information comes from a financial breakdown of upcoming additions and changes to Epcot.
Per this poster, the breakdown also includes Journey into Imagination 4.0. While we haven’t seen this financial breakdown ourselves, we have spoken with someone else who mentioned a line-item cost breakdown for Epcot’s re-imagining that listed some staggering amounts…the basis for this rumor would seem consistent with that line-item breakdown.
(As for Journey into Imagination, we haven’t heard anything reliable about it since Frozen Ever After stole its overhaul budget a few years ago. We’re more than ready for Journey into Imagination to receive an overhaul, but it’s highly unlikely that’ll occur by Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.)
Back to Brazil. If you want a look at what was pitched to Brazil for the pavilion, there’s some Brazil concept art here. There have been some rumblings that a competing concept (or two) exists or existed for the pavilion, but we have not heard anything firsthand about what these other proposals might entail.
The Brazil pavilion would be located behind the miniature train set at the Germany pavilion. The first sign of the pavilion’s existence would be backstage land clearing, and there are several structures that would need to be relocated before construction of the Brazil pavilion could begin.
Even without a sponsor, a Brazil pavilion seems like a foregone conclusion. Funding from Brazil’s government likely only ensures an attraction for the pavilion, and greater opportunities to promote tourism to Brazil. We’re frankly a bit shocked that an attraction-less pavilion has not already been built solely at Disney’s expense.
As we’ve said before, a Brazil pavilion makes perfect sense and could be quite lucrative for Walt Disney World. Brazilian visitors are a significant demographic for Disney, with the country being the #3 foreign market in terms of visitors to Orlando–both #1 and #2 are already represented in World Showcase.
A Brazil pavilion would have popular dining offerings, as Brazilian guests would seek out familiar cuisine–just as American guests do. Walt Disney World already sells Brazil merchandise even without having the pavilion, but having dedicated retail space for Brazil-themed items would also be beneficial.
Finally, V.I.Passholder Nights are coming to Walt Disney World this fall for Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Passholders. On select evenings in August, September, and October, Magic Kingdom and Epcot will be open for two extra hours, with certain attractions, restaurants, and shops open.
While these events are free to valid Annual Passholders, attendance will require advance registration…via email link.(DUN DUN DUN!) For those of us APs who don’t receive Walt Disney World emails (for unbeknownst reasons…perhaps we simply are not the chosen ones via the Email Claw), that could pose a problem.
We’re expecting these events to be a somewhere between evening Extra Magic Hours and Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic events in terms of quality and “specialness.” Expect there to be special photo ops and perhaps a few rare characters, but probably not free food, exclusive fireworks, or ultra-low crowds. A nice perk for those already in town, but nothing around which we’d plan a trip to Florida.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about this Walt Disney World news? Any of these rumors you hope do or don’t come to fruition? Any questions? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi Tom and Sarah!
We have reservations at Coronado Springs from October 27th thru November 3rd. I’m concerned. I’ve tried to switch over to Port Orleans, but no availability. What should I do? We usually rope drop and don’t return to the resort until late. Do you think its possible that the construction won’t bother us since we will essentially only be sleeping there?
Many Thanks!
Britt
I think you’ll be fine if you’re rope dropping and staying late in the parks daily–I wouldn’t sweat it.
We are staying there from September 22 thru 29th. We are staying in a preferred room. We usually have late starts in the morning and stay late in the parks. We are concerned about construction as well….any advice?
Hi Tom love the blog! It’s the perfect balance of Disney reverence and ground truth that keeps me reading on. I have a rumor related question: We are doing an adult Disney trip in early October. And the only in park dessert parties are the alcohol free Magic Kingdom versions. Any thoughts on what might replace the Star Wars party at HS or the Frozen party at Epcot? It’s leaving a big hole in our agenda.
Star Wars party is back! Booked it yesterday. Yay!
You really need to address it with Disney if you are not getting AP holder emails. The perks are few and far between so all the more reason you need to know about them. It is not right. They are usually great about correcting any issue I have. Best wishes.
No matter what Disney does I would like. To see some more 100 % handicapped attractions. We recently lost 2 more.
It’s important we all are aware of and advocate for equity and accessibility, so this is a great point. I certainly hope any new rides (and when possible, renovations to current rides) are 100% handicap accessible! Can you tell me which 2 were recently lost?
$250 million does like seem a lot to come from Brazil given that the only ROI will from be from tourists who are inspired to travel to (and spend money in) Brazil based on their experience in this pavilion. And outside of the Olympics and World Cup, Brazil is typically pretty thrifty with its tourism budget. Per this article the total yearly budget for Brazil’s tourism was recently only $16 million a year. https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-travel-riches-few-tourists/3865312.html
Also I believe that, despite Disney’s original intentions for these Epcot pavilions, none of the original World Showcase pavilions were directly funded in any way by those countries’ governments, with only later addition Morocco getting some funding and operational support from the kingdom itself. I’m not sure what the budget for the Morocco buildout was in today’s dollars, but I’m not sure it would have been at the level we’re looking at the Brazilian government laying on the table per these rumors. I’m 100% supportive of this new pavilion being built but this financial arrangement would seem to be fairly unprecedented.
I’d put ‘World Showcase pavilion’ in the same category as the Olympics and World Cup as a vanity project that wouldn’t possibly have the ROI to justify the investment, but happens anyway because politicians feel it’ll help cement their legacy (or in the case of those sporting events, be a conduit for grift).
As for funding, I know at least a couple of World Showcase pavilions had funding from corporations in their respective countries. I don’t know what degree of funding, if any, came from the nations themselves.
Is there an easy way to see when is the date that a post is posted on the blog? There’s a calendar icon but it’s unclickable
No – there is no date on teh posts. generally, you can look at the date of the first comment and that’s when the post was made. If Tom comes back and updates a post later he’ll have a red section with “Updated XX/XX/XX”.
Given Brazil’s economic condition, one has. To question where they would come up with $250 million.
Brazil’s government pumped billions into the Rio Olympics, so investing $250 million in this hardly surprises me.
You made it into a pretty popular vloggers YouTube video! I always read your blogs and watch this guys vlogs! Check it out! Starts around the 2 minute mark. https://youtu.be/nzVRUCrlOug
I love watching The Trackers! So cool to see one of my favorite blogs featured in their videos.
Thanks for the heads up!
I thought that was pretty cool too.
The “First Couple” of Disney You-Tubing referencing the “First Couple” of Disney Blogging’s website.
Thanks for all the great information. Tomorrowland is long overdue. The destruction of Disneyland’s People Mover is their greatest mistake. Changes are fine as long as they keep its running.
FYI – The AP VIP event registrations have opened.
Very disappointed. Tried to register during the very first hour and magic kingdom was already sold out.
Artist point going to character dining is like Pleasure Island going to Disney Springs… at first, you miss what was special, but then you realize how popular the new one is and you end up seeing the change was for the better.
Artist point is one of my favorite places and I call it my best kept secret. Problem is that no one goes there. Change is going to happen, especially with the recent guest complaints and changes with Whispering Canyon next door, that is far far busier. I would look for a buffet like Ohana without the characters and interactive waiters and like Whispering Canyon WAS. (still kinda is, but you have a choice now and it’s not the same)
Also, there is no doubt about something going into the flight to moon/mars/alien encounter/Stich space in Tomorrowland soon. Something using Disney IP for sure. There are several concept overlays going around who know what it will end up.
Imagineering has been given a mission statement of using more IP in everything. Unless there is a movie like Rio coming out by Disney, don’t look for a Brazil pavilion before the 50th anniversary, if ever. Look for a Coco overlay for Mexico before that.
“Imagineering has been given a mission statement of using more IP in everything.”
I think the Brazil pavilion would be an exception to this “rule” in that they have sponsorship money lined up and the potential in food, beverage, and merchandising are all significant even without an IP connection.
From what I’ve heard, the Coco plans were put on ice due to insufficient synergy for the investment of the overlay. That’s not to say it couldn’t still happen, but it sounds pretty unlikely.
Makes sense for Coco. The movie was not anywhere close to as popular as they would have hoped and think they planed it thinking the movie was a smash. It didn’t do well in video release either.
From what I last heard, the sponsorship for Brazil was waffling and it’s something WDI isn’t willing to pay for. But if the Brazian government signs on the dotted line to pay for a lot of it, I’m sure that pavilion will go up Lickety-split! lol
It’s sad if box office revenue is the only measure of a film’s success. Coco was beautiful .
And even if box office success is what we’re measuring, 800MM worldwide is a pretty impressive haul. (That’s double Tron, and we’re getting a Tron ride.)
I hoped for Greece or Australia in World Showcase.
Not receiving ap emails myself. Have inquired about it.
Me neither! We never got one for Toy Story Land previews. I wrote an email but I’m sure they’ll never get back to me.
Really? An Incredibles narration? If that happens, may never ride the Peoplenover again. They’ve already ruined California Adventure.
No way. That coaster is amazing! It’s so well done, it makes me chuckle every time I ride it.
Ruined California Adventure??
Wow!
Overreact much?????
Why does silver and weekday pass holders get skipped on the special event nights?
My guess would be because they spend less money and these events are limited capacity, so Disney’s first priority is accommodating the more expensive APs first.
Of course, Disney could just schedule more nights to accommodate everyone, so there’s that. I’m just thankful they’re doing this in the first place–Walt Disney World APs normally are taken for granted as compared to Disneyland APs.
That makes sense, but I wish these were just regular park hours for regular and AP guests alike. Operational hours in general seem to have gotten shorter over the years.
That said, this is a nice perk for (non-silver) AP holders.
Bluntly, its a way for Disney to make AP silver and under want to upgrade there passes for zero cost to them. They are taking hours that were resort guests only and changing them to AP gold and up only. It’s very smart on their part. Gold members and up feel like they are getting something for free and Silver and below want to upgrade to go.
Artist Point had a Winnie the Pooh character breakfast – 1999-2001?
So much great stuff to look forward to in the coming years! My favorite rumor of everything you just said?
“a new scene for Carousel of Progress”
Yes!!!
Absolutely agree. Let’s hope it all comes together.
Excited about the Brazilian pavillion however there was no mention of any kind of ride and frankly after you pass frozen in Norway, all there is to do is walk and spend money. Rides attract more people and then the wait times would be more equally balances with rides spread out all around the showcase.
As for the extra hours, I am beyond excited however I didn’t receive an email so I am hoping I don’t get forgotten. I would love to stay late especially since there are some rides I still haven’t been able to enjoy.
The last I heard, Brazil would be receiving a non-IP boat ride. However, that was almost a year ago, so the plan could’ve changed since. With that budget, I’d expect a ride, plus a couple of restaurants, multiple shops, and perhaps even a show or walk-through attraction.
Thanks for the roundup. I haven’t followed these closely. Tomorrowland rumors seem to have been around forever,i hope something comes of them.
The one thing that jumps out is the huge number you reported for Brazil. That seems like a ton of money for the small footprint next to Germany. I certainly hope it means we get a great attraction (at least Frozen/Rattatouille quality of not more.)
That budget sounds high to me, too, but Imagineering has proved itself capable of blowing large budgets on reality modest projects in recent years, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
Having heard some of the other line-item totals for Epcot, the Brazil pavilion seems high, but not totally ridiculous. (Looking at you, Guardians…)
True. Even the budget for the Frozen overlay itself was staggering.
But I really hope this one comes true. Partly because it’s “new” instead of “overlay/refurb” and part because it seems like something original epcot Would have had (which Ratatouille cannot lay claim to.)
We received an email regarding the AP Extra Hours. It stated there will be stations throughout the two parks for refreshments and some ‘food for purchase’ venues will be open for those desiring more than light snacks.
Deeply disappointed if Artist’s Point changes from a signature dining experience. There is already one ‘normal’ table service restaurant at WL – Whispering Canyon Cafe and it has all the entertainment value of a chuck wagon except with a slightly better menu. Perfect for families already. Artist’s Point captures the serenity and charm of dining rooms in authentic US Park Service lodges like Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone (among others). Except Artist’s Point offers a far better menu exhalting America’s freshest and finest fare from the Pacific NW including some of our favorite wines from the region. Who could dine at WL without a glass of one of Argyle’s fine wines? The service has always been attentive and personable. Let us hope it is a continuing refurbishment of the magnificent lodge and not a step down
I’ll disagree with you on only one point, and this is perhaps nit-picky, but it’s important to me: “Artist’s Point offers a far better menu [than U.S. National Park Lodge dining rooms.]”
I have had some absolutely fantastic and inventive meals with locally sourced ingredients at the flagship National Park dining rooms. Even in remote locations like Volcano House in Hawaii and Furnace Creek at Death Valley, there are some exceptional chefs and menus. (Yeah, there is plenty of awful NPS dining, but I wouldn’t undersell the top tier dining rooms!) 🙂
Thanks, totally agree about the top tiers in some lodges at the NPs. But on the whole, although the dining tends to be freshly prepared it is not particularly adventuresome; which is in keeping with a more general appeal to their visitors. Artist Point is the closest thing to ‘being there’ for us South Floridians. When we are at our home in Northern California, the field is wide open. Always enjoy your posts and comments.