Warning.....closures ahead

As I have mentioned in the past, we always travel in the offseason. Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful time to visit Disney World. The crowds are light, the weather is usually pretty mild, and we get to experience the wonderful Halloween decorations. There is however, one downside to offseason touring. Disney often takes advantage of the lower crowds and uses this time of year to update or clean up their attractions. Of course it makes sense that they can't do this while people are enjoying the attractions, so they have to close them. Luckily it is usually only for a week or two, but since trips usually average a week, there is a good chance you will miss the ride entirely while they do their updates and will have to wait until the next trip to enjoy your favorite ride. Most years we get pretty lucky and only miss one or two of our favorites, but this year we have several of our favorites that we will unfortunately have to miss :( So, my advise to you is to check Disneyworld.com or mouseplanet.com (read the weekly Walt Disney World Resort update) before you leave for closure updates to prepare your kids just in case any of their favorite rides will be closed during your trip.

Let's start at Hollywood Studios. They are doing a major renovation of the Star Tours ride. They are closing it for months as they change the whole story line of the ride. Don't get me wrong, it will be awesome when it is done, but sadly we will not be able to experience it this year. One other small closure comes with the High School Musical pep rally. This isn't a huge deal, but we still enjoyed watching it last year. The really sad part for us is that they are starting a new show to replace High School Musical that is based on Disney Channel music. Why is that sad? Well, because it doesn't start until a week after we leave so we will miss the new show! We are so close to seeing it, but hopefully it will still be going next year.

As far as I know, there are not any significant closures at either Epcot or Animal Kingdom while we are there. YAY!!! However, the closures are Magic Kingdom are biggies (for our family). The first closure is it's a small world. This ride is one of our faves so it will be weird not to ride it this year. The second closure is one of my daughter's faves, The Mad Tea Party. The third closure is Storytime with Belle. Although we have never seen this show, we were hoping to catch it this year. However, the rumor is that it will resume in the new Beast Castle when the Fantasyland expansion is complete, so I am crossing my fingers for that one. They are going to start a new show (again a few weeks after we are there) based on the new movie Tangled (about Repunzel). I guess we will see that one next year as well. The final two closures are sad for us, as they will never return. As I mentioned they are in the middle of a huge expansion of Fantasyland. When it is done, it will be amazing. They are adding a new Beast Castle and an area that is based on the forest of Sleeping Beauty. These two areas alone are going to be great. However, in order to do this expansion, they are having to close some of the current attractions. Unfortunately, this means that they have already closed two faves, Ariels Grotto and Pooh's Playground. My daughter's favorite Princess is Ariel, and she always loves visiting the Grotto. It always seemed like you were being transformed to under the sea as you waited to meet Ariel. We loved it. The good news is that there is a new area to meet Ariel (and I think Prince Eric) in Magic Kingdom. However, she is in her dress, and not her fins so it won't be as fun for my daughter. Hopefully they will find a way to get her sea legs back on her when the expansion is finished. The final permanent closure is Poohs playground. They have saved the tree from the playground and moved it beside the Winnie the Pooh ride, but the playground itself is gone. Although my daughter is now almost seven and too big for the playground anyway, this playground has a special place in my heart. They opened it up during my daughter's first trip ever when she was almost two and she was able to play on it the very first day it opened. So to see this one go, it tears at my heart a little. Oh well, it will all be worth it in the end and we will find some new favorites when the new Fantasyland expansion is complete!!!