Priority Medium - 3/97 - TouringPlans.com Blog

A quick note, Disney is bumping Fantasmic at the Studios up to 3 nights of showings per week – up from the 2 nights a week they’ve been trying since the New Year. Guest complaints are apparently getting pretty bad.

A portion of a much larger overall IBM exhibit has opened in Innoventions West. The new offering is not really advertised or explained as it seems to be part of a bigger area that is yet to be revealed – but it is fun.

Guests enter an station with a backdrop and are asked to perform various movements to be captured on video by a nearby camera. Guests are asked to run, jump, and do a celebration dance.

They can then choose to accept their videos or have them retaken. Once confirmed, guests videos are uploaded and guests move to another station to see what they’ve created.

At the next station, guests get to play a video game with themself as the main character. They run through worlds that resemble retro side-scroller games such as Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog. Each level moves forward in the history of computer technology and features nods to Epcot and it’s technological savvy.

So here’s the stitch: A group of our researchers recently explored the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure to give you low down on how to save the world in 90mins or less.

Recruits typically begin their adventure at either Innoventions East or West where they scan a park ticket, give their party size, and choose the number of communicators they’ll want to use. The sign-up process is guided by a friendly field agent.

The recruited agents then receive a FastPass telling them where to go and find a secret agent at an outpost at a specified country and time.

This country does not have to be the country which you play the game in. You can request to be sent to another country from that point if you want to explore a new location. These outposts can also begin the game for any walk ups if you didn’t hit the recruitment center in Innoventions or on the bridge to World Showcase. These stations are at nearly every country in World Showcase and all look alike.

At the field station, you’ll be signed up, given a phone, and told to wander away from the station to receive your instructions from Wade (to stay discreet).

We do have some comments and complaints. We were recommended a single phone for a party of four. Realistically, two people per phone is far more functional. Second, the Norway adventure isn’t very good. It requires racing around roughly the same small location from spot to spot (near the restrooms and quick service seating area) rather then involving the whole pavilion. You do cause some neat interactions with the pavilion, but it is just too closely confined to make it any fun. You run into other players constantly and can hear or see one effect mere feet from another. Thankfully, not all of the adventures are like this. We recommend Japan. Here’s a few highlights from the Norway adventure including puffs of smoke, raising flags, and talking statues.

To be honest, we don’t know how to Norway adventure ends. The finale was broken and the field agents seemed shocked to discover it was out of order. We think someone should be checking the effects on a regular basis. Here you can see two of our agent examining their own reflections in a broken screen:

This gave us some trepidation in recommending the Kim Possible World showcase Adventure to guests. A second attempt, Japan, made it clear why this will be a hit with Epcot guests.

The Japan adventure, reportedly the best according to CM’s who run the attraction, features summoning the elements from flowing water, wind chimes, glowing kanji, and flaming lanterns.

Did we mention the magical trees?

Or the evil baby robots?

Overall, the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure offers a good diversion in the park. The challenges are simple but engaging. We just don’t recommend the Norway Adventure until they rethink its logistics. We would like to see some sort of prize for completing the quest – like the posters given out for getting all of the passport stamps. Tossing your phone away in a secret bin is a bit anti-climactic.

The American Idol Experience will have a “world premiere” this Thursday and a grand opening on Valentine’s day. To tide everyone over until that happens – here’s a time lapse of the construction within the theater.

The newly rethought parade has now opened at the Magic Kingdom. The parade uses the same floats as previous daytime parades but features new music, new dancers, and enw choreography.

The Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure goes live January 28th.

Episode 511 of the WDWToday podcast is available. This episode features the return of Disney cookbook author Pam Brandon, who discusses wine drinking at Disney’s resort and theme park restaurants. Pam also has some great tips if you’ve not yet tried wine with dinner in WDW.Click here to download the episode.

The WDWToday podcast team includes the Unofficial Guide’s Len Testa, who provides crowd calendar, touring plan and restaurant advice (along with the occasional smart remark). Blogger Mike Scopa from AllEars.Net provides attraction and touring advice; Host Matt Hochberg runs StudiosCentral.com and focuses on what’s happening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios; and Mouse World Radio’s Mike Newell answers Disney Vacation Club and other travel questions.

One-click subscriptions to WDW Today:

The Pagoda at the Japan pavilion in Epcot will be refurbished in the near future. A plan for relocation of the Taiko Drummers who perform at the base of the structure is unknown currently – there may simply be no shows at all during the refurbishment. We will keep you updated as we learn more.

We don’t have any dates, but the Electric Umbrella restaurant in Epcot now has permits for a kitchen rebuild including walls, service stations, and electrical. We suspect the venue would need to close during such work. More details as they become available.

Two interesting bits have come up regarding Fort Wilderness. First, the 600 loop will be expanded – to what extent we really don’t know, but we expect it to be minor. Second, there has been a filing to place several trailers (13) on the property to house some sort of “visual display.” Is it a DVC preview center?