by Don Myers

As we ring in the New Year and bid 2012 a fond farewell, it’s time to take a look ahead at some exciting events on tap at the Florida Project for 2013. There’s plenty of tidbits to report out of all four parks, so let’s get to it…. It’s time for the latest edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…….

Let’s kickoff 2013 inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where the dates for this year’s Star Wars Weekends have just been announced! Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance forces will begin the invasion of the Studios on Friday May 17th, with events scheduled to conclude on Sunday June 9th. As in years past, there will be four weekends of exciting adventures on tap. Here’s a look at the dates:

. Fri May 17th-Sun May 19th

. Fri May 24th-Sun May 26th

. Fri May 31st-Sun June 2nd

. Fri June 7th-Sun June 9th

Over the course of the four weekends, aspiring Jedi and Sith alike can experience Q&A sessions with the actors, actresses, and writers of the movies and cartoon series, and there will also be opportunities to collect limited edition merchandise,  celebrity autographs, and much more. Star Wars Weekends has been quite a successful endeavor in years past, and 2013 will certainly be no exception.

For more news out of Hollywood Studios, let’s make our way down Sunset Blvd and stop by Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage. The show will take a short hiatus later this month, as there will be no performances taking place from Monday January 7th through Saturday January 12th.

Time to park-hop over to Epcot now, where there’s some news to report on another special event later this year. I’m referring to the 2013 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. The dates for this year’s extravaganza were announced a few weeks ago, and it looks like festivities will be getting underway on Wednesday March 6th. The conclusion date is set for Sunday May 19th, which will give this year’s festival a run of just under eleven weeks. 2013 will be a milestone year for Flower and Garden, as this will mark the 20th Anniversary for the popular event.

Let’s board the Monorail and make our way over to Magic Kingdom now, where there’s some news to report on an upcoming attraction closure. There will be no un-birthday’s to celebrate over in Fantasyland for a few weeks this winter, as the Mad Tea Party will be closing for refurbishment on Monday January 7th. The tea cups are expected to be back in commission on Tuesday February 19th, which would put the total estimated downtime at just about six weeks.

There’s one more stop to make on today’s adventure, and for this one we venture over to Animal Kingdom. Asia will be without one of its star attractions later this month, as Kali River Rapids will be shutting down for its annual refurb on Sunday January 6th. Similar to the annual closure that takes place over at Splash Mountain, Kali will have its water chute drained and then refilled with a fresh batch of H2O. Other minor repairs will also be made at this time, and the attraction will be back in action on Friday February 15th, putting the total closure time at just under six weeks.

Well, that’s gonna do it for today’s update. But before we call it a wrap, let’s take a look at the results of our last poll. The question was:

What is your favorite World Showcase pavilion?

. Mexico

. Norway

. China

. Germany

. Italy

. The American Adventure

. Japan

. Morocco

. France

. United Kingdom

. Canada

And the winner is…..

Mexico with 23% of the total vote! This was a real close one, as the pavilion narrowly edged out Norway, which finished second with 20% of the votes. Germany rounded out the Top 3 with 13% of the total vote, and Morocco and Canada split fourth place honors with 10% each. The fifth spot was also a tie between the United Kingdom and Japan, as they both brought in 7% of the votes. Once again, a big thank you to everyone that took the time to vote, and now on to this week’s question:

The post WDW Radio Newswire: Dates Announced For 2013 Star Wars Weekends And Disneyland Attractions POLL appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Reminder About Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and More!

by Don Myers

First I’d like to wish all the mom’s out there, especially my Mom, Kim, a very Happy Mother’s Day! And now, it’s time for the latest edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…

Thursday, May 31st. That’s when Walt Disney World’s newest Resort, Art of Animation, opens up its doors along the shores of Hourglass Lake. And according to the White Rabbit’s trusty watch, the very important date is just over two weeks away! However, only one of the four wings, Finding Nemo, will be opening on that date. The other three wings will be welcoming in their first Guests later this Summer. The Cars section is slated for a June 18th opening, and the Lion King is scheduled to follow suit on August 10th. Little Mermaid will round out the quartet, with an opening date of September 15th on tap. And for you aquatic lovers, there are going to be not one, not two, but three swimming pools featured at the Resort! The Main Feature Pool is located in the Finding Nemo section, and has been appropriately titled the Big Blue Pool. The other two swimming pools are smaller. One can be found in the Cars area, while the other is located in the Little Mermaid wing. They have also received clever names, as they have been dubbed the Cozy Cone Pool (Cars) and the Flippin’ Fins Pool (Mermaid), respectfully.

Now let’s head into the Parks. Our first stop is the Magic Kingdom. More specifically, Fantasyland, where tarps have just popped up at it’s a small world. It doesn’t appear as if the attraction will be experiencing any downtime as a result of this construction however, as all indications point to this simply being the latest in a long line of exterior refurbishment projects around the Park

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for one of Fantasyland’s other attractions, Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The opening day dark ride is scheduled to drift into the realm of extinction in just over two weeks time, so if you plan on experiencing the ride one more time before it’s gone forever, you’ve got until Wednesday May 30th to do so. On Thursday May 31st, the attraction closes its doors for good to make room for Princess Fairytale Hall, an all-new meet and greet experience scheduled to open up in 2014.

Now let’s Park Hop from the Magic Kingdom over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where there is a small bit of news to report on the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Indy will be going on a two-day hiatus later this month, as there will be no performances of the stunt show on Wednesday May 16th or Thursday May 17th. But fear not; as Dr. Jones will be back in action on Friday May 18th, just in time for the kickoff of the 2012 edition of Star Wars Weekends!

Speaking of Star Wars Weekends, the final celebrity spot for the third weekend has finally been confirmed. The spot now belongs to Catherine Taber, the voice behind Anakin’s one true love, Padme Amidala, in the Clone Wars series. Back in the April 19th edition of the Newswire, I detailed the complete list of Celebrity Guests for all four weekends, which can be viewed at:

http://www.wdwradio.com/2012/04/wdw-radio-newswire-avenge-o-rail-coming-to-a-monorail-station-near-you/

Well, that’s gonna do it for today’s update. But I’ll be back again soon with another edition of the WDW Radio Newswire

The post WDW Radio Newswire: Art of Animation Ready For Its Big Debut appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.