This is the weekly news, rumors and refurbishments update for Walt Disney World for the week of December 14, 2014.
Here are the three biggest updates from around the resort for the past seven days…
1. Trattoria al Forno opens at Disney’s Boardwalk
Trattoria al Forno is a new Italian restaurant at Disney’s Boardwalk. It replaces Kouzzina by Cat Cora which closed several months ago. The breakfast menu can be found here. The dinner menu can be found here.
Trattoria al Forno is open for breakfast from 7:30am – 11am and for dinner from 5pm – 10pm. The restaurant does accept the Disney Dining Plan.
2. A major step in the Polynesian Village Resort refurbishment is complete
Over the past few weeks, we mentioned that the Great Ceremonial House refurbishment was nearing completion. The lobby has now been completed with all walls and curtains removed. Of course now that the center of the Great Ceremonial House is complete, work may begin on the shops and restaurants, although there is no timeline as of yet. Images below are from WDW News Today.
I know the Polynesian waterfall was nostalgic, but I enjoy the new look. It’s open and bright, and the new light fixtures fill the space nicely. The tiki icon that will sit atop of the miniature waterfall is not yet complete and will be installed at a later date. A new and much more impressive waterfall is being built by the entrance of the resort. That is “supposed” to be the replacement of the old waterfall.
There are also rumors that Disney will announce pricing and begin sales for the Polynesian Disney Vacation Club in January with bookings starting in April.
3. Creature Comforts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be home to a new Starbucks
Following in the footsteps of the Fountain View at Epcot, the Main Street Bakery at Magic Kingdom, and Trolley Car Cafe at Hollywood Studios, Creature Comforts will make way for a new Starbucks.
Expected to close on January 5, 2015, Creature Comforts is a merchandise location that specializes in plush toys and also serves as a MyMagic+ station. It will converted to a Starbucks during a 5 month refurbishment and is expected to open sometime in June.
This will complete the addition of a Starbucks at all four Walt Disney World theme parks.
