6/24/14 Walt Disney World Photo Report (Polynesian Resort, Magic Kingdom, & Animal Kingdom)

WDWNT Reporters Joe Hogarty and John Corigliano visited Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s animal kingdom over the last few days and have plenty of exciting pictures to share with us, so let’s take a look:

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Concept art for the changes at the Polynesian are decorating the walls that cover up the work in the lobby

The entrance to what will be the Disney Vacation Club wing

TRADER SAM’S!!!

Another look at the DVC building

The new look lobby in the Great Ceremonial House

Captain Cook’s new look

Seating area by the outside pool bar

More Trader Sam’s

Captain Cook’s is still closed

Work outside the arrival area at the Great Ceremonial House

A look at the bungalows

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, Anna and Elsa now meet on one side of Fairytale Hall alone, they are also no longer posing with each other

Plenty of Frozen merchandise inside Sir Mickey’s

If you’re afraid of your children going deaf from loud music, buy these

This store really needs a name change… Sir Mickey’s has nothing but female character merchandise

A long line to buy Frozen merchandise…

The Astro Orbiter and the TTA are both closed for refurbishment

The entire Astro Orbiter has been dismantled

Work continues on the massive hub overhaul at the Magic Kingdom

The Gaston fountain is starting to look a little funky… not sure if they’ll leave it for the more realistic look

Aurora now greeting guests next door to City Hall

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Moving over to Animal Kingdom, there are walls up all over the park

The KODAK sign is still up…

Walls near Flame Tree Barbecue

The gate along the path from Asia to Africa, has been demolished…

Maybe a new pathway?

Walls up on Discovery Island

Walls up in Africa where the new pathway should lead

The construction area for the path goes very close to the Wildlife Express Train tracks

The path would go around Tamu Tamu Refreshments and the adjacent seating area

Thanks for the report John and Joe!

Princess Fairytale Hall Line-Up Altered Yet Again; Aurora & Snow White Removed, Anna & Elsa From Frozen All-Alone

Changes have been made to the meet and greet line-up at Princess Fairytale Hall once again. The two available meet and greets are now either Anna and Elsa from Frozen (they are still together, just separated from any other princesses now) or Rapunzel & Cinderella. The changes are in response to the over-300 minute waits there have been at the location since Anna & Elsa moved in. Removing another princess from the equation should help with the line… at least Walt Disney World thinks so…

055-L

In the process, Snow White and Aurora have been removed from the Princess Fairytale Hall line-up. Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty can now be found daily next to City Hall in the Tour Guide Gardens on Main Street U.S.A.. Snow White is meeting guests on Center Street near Uptown Jewelers.

PHOTOS, VIDEO: Anna & Elsa from Frozen Move to Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom

Starting Sunday, April 20, 2014, Anna and Elsa from Disney’s hit animated film Frozen began greeting guests at Princess Fairytale Hall at the Magic Kingdom. The pair was greeting guests in Norway at Epcot, with with the Summer months approaching and no interior queue for guests to keep cool, Disney decided it would be best to move the sisters to the fairly new Princess Fairytale Hall, which opened as part of New Fantasyland last year.

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

210 minutes will be a pretty average wait time to meet Anna and Elsa, we suggest booking FastPass+ as soon as you can for your trip if you want to see them

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Anna and Elsa posing inside Princess Fairytale Hall

We also have a short video of the experience to share:

Frozen Meet and Greet with Anna and Elsa Moving to Magic Kingdom April 20

It’s no secret that the meant-to-be-temporary Frozen meet and greet in the Norway pavilion at Epcot ended up a huge success with lines ranging anywhere up to 4 or 5 hours in length sometimes, so with the hotter months in central Florida coming up fast and the lengthy queue being outdoors, Disney seems to have decided a move to the Magic Kingdom is the best solution to the problem…

Screen Shot 2014-03-12 at 8.56.57 PM

Starting April 20th, Walt Disney World’s website has listed that you can meet Anna and Elsa as well as a visiting princess at Magic Kingdom’s Princess Fairytale Hall.

Screen Shot 2014-03-12 at 8.57.17 PMIt appears Rapunzel and Cinderella will be paired off in the second meet and greet inside the hall. Obviously, Disney has not entered any more information on the meet and greet as there are not even pictures or a description of the attraction on the site yet, but it seems they are getting ready by adding it to the entertainment schedule.

Now, whether or not this is a permanent addition remains to be seen. Rumors indicate further modifications could be on the way to Norway to make room for a larger Frozen meet and greet with an indoor queue (as well as a Frozen attraction somewhere down the line). So, for just how long Anna and Elsa take over a room at Fairytale Hall remains to be seen.

It’s also worth noting that Princess Fairytale Hall features nods to all 11 Disney princesses that existed prior to its opening in 2013. There are currently no references to Frozen’s 2 princesses anywhere in the building. I’m curious to see if some decorative shields or portraits of the sisters end up there sometime soon…

Until any announcement from Disney, this meet and greet is purely speculation, but this slip by the official site makes it highly likely.

UPDATE: Disney has confirmed these changes will be taking place starting April 20th, 2014. The Norway meet and greet will be discontinued at that time, but it is unclear what will come of the shop space that was converted for the meet and greet.