Star Tours will close July 27 at Disneyland and on Sept. 7 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Disney World, with a reopening at both parks tentatively scheduled for May 2011. Screamscape suggests a May 4th opening date — as in “May the fourth be with you.”

Disney’s Hollywood Studios plans a “Last Tour to Endor” celebration on Aug. 14 with a Death Star disco, “Star Wars” -themed fireworks and a final flight to the forest moon.

Thanks for the information Pixie Vacations

The Jungle Cruise is an attraction at the following Disney theme parks: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (under the name Jungle River Cruise). It is located in Adventureland. Disneyland Paris is the only Magic Kingdom-style Disney theme park that does not have the Jungle Cruise in its attraction roster, though an indoor jeep ride called Jungle Expedition was originally planned instead.

The attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Park guests board replica tramp steamers and are taken on a voyage past many different animatronic jungle animals. The tour is led by a live Disney Cast Member delivering a humorous preset narration.

When plans began to develop, Bill Evans, the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland (DL) and most of Walt Disney World (WDW), faced the daunting task of foresting an entire jungle on a limited budget. Aside from importing many actual tropical plants, he made wide use of “character plants” which while not necessarily exotic could give the appearance of exoticism in context. In a particularly well-known trick, he uprooted local orange trees and “replanted” them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The clean water was dyed brown to prevent visitors from seeing the bottom of the “river”, which varies between three and eight feet deep.

In a popular story recounted by Jeff Lange, a writer for weblogging site Jim Hill Media, an experience at the Jungle Cruise helped bolster Walt Disney’s obsession with the concept of ‘plussing’, or continuous improvement. The story claims that Walt overheard a mother visiting Disneyland telling her child that since they had been on the ride the last time they visited the park, they didn’t need to ride it again. In horror, he put his Imagineers to work designing upgrades to the ride.

Magic Kingdom

The WDW Jungle Cruise is set as a depression era British outpost on the Amazon river, operated by the fictional company, The Jungle Navigation Co., whose advertisement poster is painted on the wall near the exit of the attraction. Albert Awol’s broadcast is different than that of Disneyland’s, being ride specific. Also unlike Disneyland, the queue no longer extends to a second level. The skippers at the Magic Kingdom don’t carry revolvers with blanks in them anymore. The real guns have been replaced with realistic looking props that the skipper waves to scare away animals that get in the way (used to get hippos to not attack the boat).

Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline. This is the back half of the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior that can be seen in Casablanca scene on The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Each variety of plant throughout the attraction was carefully selected by landscape architect Bill Evans to ensure that the foliage would be able to endure Florida’s unique climate: hot summers and relatively cool winters. The toughest part was making sure these plants had the appropriate look and feel of traditional tropical plants in the equatorial jungle.

Current Boats

* Amazon Annie

* Bomokandi Bertha (Wheelchair lift equipped)

* Congo Connie

* Ganges Gertie

* Irrawaddy Irma

* Mongala Millie

* Nile Nellie

* Orinoco Ida

* Rutshuru Ruby

* Sankuru Sadie

* Senegal Sal

* Ucyali Lolly

* Volta Val

* Wamba Wanda (Wheelchair lift equipped)

* Zambesi Zelda

Booking and Travel Window:

• Booking Window: May 3 – Aug. 14, 2010
• Travel Window: Valid for stays most nights Aug. 15 – Oct. 7, 2010, Oct. 22 – Oct. 28, 2010, Nov. 12 – Nov. 18, 2010, Nov. 27 – Dec. 2, 2010 and
  Dec. 10 – Dec. 21, 2010

Buy this Walt Disney World Resort vacation package with hotel and Theme Park tickets and get a Disney Dining Plan FREE!

Are you hungry for some fun? At this affordable price, you can enjoy meals included for every night of your visit! What a delicious way to enjoy their Walt Disney World® Resort vacation.

Offer Details:

When you purchase a 5-night, 6-day Walt Disney package that includes accommodations for five nights at a select Disney Moderate Resort and a 6-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket, they’ll get the Disney Dining Plan free**.

Those who purchase a 5-night, 6-day Magic Your Way Package with accommodations at a select Disney Value Resort get a free Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan.

Sample Pricing:

$1,843 for a family of four*, staying in a standard room at a select Disney Moderate Resort. That’s like paying $77 per person, per day!

$1,440 for a family of four*, staying in a standard room at a select Disney Value Resort. That’s like paying $60 per person, per day!

Ask about packages for other lengths of stay and accommodations at other select Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.

Booking Information:

When calling or email Pixie Vacations, please ask for package code WG7 for FREE Dine or NF3 for FREE Quick Dine.

* Price based on 2 Adults, 1 Junior and 1 Child. The number of packages available at these rates is limited. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same package. Tickets are for 1 theme park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. No group rates or other discounts apply. Offer is nontransferable. Advance reservations required.

** Excludes gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Children ages 3-9 must order from the children’s menu if available. Some table-service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase.

Special Thanks To Pixie Vacations for this promotion update.
www.PixieVacations.com
email: Lisa@PixieVacations.com
phone: 678-815-1584

That high pitched humming sound you hear is the big lady laying her oversized fingers on the cart horn.  SO HUNGRY!   MOVE!!

I have a popular video of the ride at my web site http://cooldisneytrips.com and on Youtube, and have had numerous questions about the ride.  I thought I would write an article to answer all these questions and perhaps serve as a nice reference for interested parties.

Is the ride scary?

A difficult question to answer, as one’s level of scared is different from another’s.  That being said, I would say that anyone who has ridden on Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, could handle Expedition Everest.  It is slightly scarier, and certainly faster, than either of those other roller coasters, due to the Yeti and significant theming of the ride.  But one must conquer their fears, and if you handled Space Mountain, for example, you can handle this.

Does it go upside down?

No, Expedition Everest does not go upside down.  It does go backwards at fast speeds and has a significant drop at one portion of the ride.

Where is the ride located?

It is in Orlando, Florida, at the Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, in the section or continent of “Asia”.

When was I there?

I visited in February 2007 and January 2010.  Both trips experienced some cool weather, actually January 2010 rarely reached above freezing!  It is true, look up the almanac if you must, pack a jacket or check the Weather Channel before visiting in January or February.

Do you get that feeling in your stomach?

Absolutely!

Does the ride go fast when going backwards?

The answer to this is pretty much yes.

Does the ride offer FastPass and did you use FastPass?

It does offer FastPass and we used it for both rides, which we waited approximately 90 seconds.  The wait line was often over 60 minutes, but I also understand the queue (waiting area) is quite nice.

How high does it go?

At the top of the ride you are 112 feet up.  This is roughly equivalent to an 11 story building, but I will say that it feels like you are even higher than that.

Does the ride smell?

I recall no strange or bad smells on this ride at all.

Do you head backwards the same way you went up?

No, if you check the video, at one point you can see the track switch using night vision on my camera. Very cool.

I hope these questions and answers will assist you in making plans to ride or not ride Expedition Everest on your next trip to Walt Disney World.

You may reproduce this article or portions of this article as long as the following reference is included in its entirety:

Submitted by Jim Ranieri, a Disney enthusiast, who manages http://cooldisneytrips.com which includes a video of the ride Expedition Everest.