Disney Confirms Soarin' and Toy Story Mania Expansions


Just a few hours ago, the Walt Disney World Resort officially confirmed rumors regarding two of the Resort's most popular attractions. While these rumors have been floating for months now, it is exciting to see an official announcement.
Both Soarin' (located inside The Land pavilion at Epcot) and Toy Story Midway Mania (located inside Pixar Place at Disney's Hollywood Studios) will indeed be expanded, drastically reducing the attractions' notorious long wait times.


Here's the official announcement, posted on the Disney Parks Blog:

"Here at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, we’re always making investments to exceed your expectations – whether it’s creating new attractions and entertainment or making existing experiences even better.

One of the things we’ve heard from our guests is that a visit to Walt Disney World Resort just isn’t complete without enjoying the spectacular views at Soarin’ in Epcot or a spin through Toy Story Mania! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Well, I’m excited to share that we are expanding both attractions by adding another theater at Soarin’ and more midway track at Toy Story Mania! We’ll also be updating the screens and projection system at Soarin,’ bringing a visually enhanced experience.


These expansions are expected to be complete by late 2016, offering even more opportunities for you to enjoy these beloved attractions during your Walt Disney World Resort vacation."

For additional information (and rumors) regarding Soarin's expansion, be sure to check this post.

PHOTOS: ©2015 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

7 comments:

  1. I know we all want new attractions, but the wait times for both of these is almost always outrageous!

    So I think it's definitely money well spent.

    In the bigger context...
    The New Fantasyland was a big expansion, and is certainly beautiful. It's not geared towards most of us, but if you have younger children, it's amazing.

    Pandora/Avatar Land in DAC could be amazing. We just don't know enough yet, and it's still a few years away.

    Star Wars Land could FINALLY be the investment in DHS that has been needed for a long time, even if again it's not for everybody.

    And that leaves Epcot. I'm neutral on the whole Maelstrom-to-Frozen thing. I've been on Maelstrom a bazillion times, so I'm fine with it becoming something new, but I'm 44 years old...not exactly the target audience for Frozen. Beyond that, Epcot needs some serious investment. New countries. More ride attractions in the countries (France?). A return to better entertainment (don't get me started on this one).

    The bottom line is Disney is making some very big investments, and they'll never make enough for us all to happy. Even if they did, then we'd complain about all the walls. Just wish they could do some major improvements at Epcot.

    Any how about another park? Disney Sea Florida anyone? ;-)

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  2. Late 2016?!?! Wow....Disney needs to hire new contractors

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  3. I agree with Jason 100%! But, then again, I'm 43, so same age. Hopefully EPCOT will be their next big investment

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  4. It is incredibly sad that it is going to take that long to upgrade those rides to handle a larger capacity. With the ticket price hikes, it tends to make one question how truly dedicated Disney is to their guests. I honestly hope it is a typo and they meant late 2015. Hopefully some of the management at Universal Orlando will offer to help them figure things out. Fingers crossed.

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  5. All the whining about how fast or slow Disney builds something has become quite boring.

    New contractors?? Can you give us some actual examples, you know, objective evidence, that the current contractors are no good? Do you seriously think Disney, or any other company, would knowingly pay for poor performance? Disney? With its supposedly fanatical focus on all things price and profit, deliberating using 'bad' contractors??

    "Take that long" So, can you provide YOUR detailed construction schedule, obviously compiled because you are the project manager and know all the details, for these projects, and show us "fanboys" just how quickly this can all be done??

    Much of what will be new out in the 2020 time frame I would have enjoyed about 8 or 10 years ago when my kids were much younger, or more so in 1977 when Star Wars first came out. That darn Disney, how come they've waited so long!! Dang they're slow!!

    Disneyland's Tomorrowland in 1969 would have been so much better with a 2001 Space Odyssey attraction! Dang Disney management, pinching pennies and not giving us what we wanted instantly!!!

    Have a magical day!

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  6. I'm sure that's not the point these people are referring to. If it took Universal 2 years to open the new Harry Potter land (which is even better then Disney had done, ex. New Fantasy Land), why can't Disney move things along a little quicker is what I'm sure they are saying. Nobody said anything about bad contractors, just about the amount of time it takes them to complete their awesome attractions. If it takes 2 years (end of 2016) to add one track to Toy Story Mania and 2 years to add a new theater to Soarin, that does seem a little long, especially since they have already been working on things for a couple of months. Yes, Disney always does awesome attractions, it just seems like it takes them a lot longer to complete them than the rest of the parks. Maybe they have themselves spread to thin, but either way, it is much longer.

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  7. I have to agree some on the time frame. I work for an engineer and we built a 5 story hospital in 18 months. That is from ground breaking to opening. Granted, that was a very aggressive schedule and the contractors were paid a premium to get it opened quickly, but these are much smaller projects in comparison and it's not like that have to develop the ride itself. Disney is cheap when it comes to construction though. Not in the quality, but they look for the lowest bidder and they constantly make changes during construction. That is where the contractor makes up for the low bid... with change orders and overtime to stay on schedule.

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