Disney Dish: Riviera Resort's Hidden Room, Epcot's Communicore History & Hollywood Studios FastPass Changes

Hollywood Studios FastPass+ Updates

• 🎯 Hollywood Studios is implementing changes to its FastPass+ tiers, with Slinky Dog Dash and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run now classified as Tier 1.
• 💡 Guests can now only select one Tier 1 FastPass, forcing a choice between these two popular attractions.
• 🚀 A strategy is suggested for maximizing attraction access: secure a Tier 1 FastPass for one of the headliners, then arrive early to queue for the other, while simultaneously attempting to secure a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance.
• ⚠️ Rise of the Resistance experienced significant operational delays, with some days seeing it open only in the afternoon or not at all, prompting speculation about ongoing work or unforeseen issues.
• 📈 Disneyland's Rise of the Resistance initially operated at a much lower capacity (700 people/hour) but has since increased to around 1,000 people/hour, with a goal of reaching 1,700.

Epcot's Festival of the Arts and New Music

• 🎶 The Festival of the Arts at Epcot features culinary arts and live performances, including the German rock band Libendig.
• ✨ Libendig is highlighted as a must-see new band in World Showcase, offering high-energy music that draws a dancing crowd.
• 🥨 Culinary highlights at the German pavilion included beef short ribs, a fish dish, and a standout caramel custard tart.

The Mystery of Riviera Resort's Room 8347

• 🔍 A listener identified a discrepancy between Touring Plans' hotel room data and Disney's official filings for Disney's Riviera Resort.
• 🔑 This discrepancy pointed to a room, 8347, which did not appear on Disney's inventory but was physically present.
• 🏨 Upon investigation, room 8347 was confirmed to exist and is a standard view deluxe studio, despite not being listed in the resort's system, leading to speculation about how guests are assigned to it.

Epcot's Communicore and Future World Development

• 🏗️ Communicore, the central area of Epcot's Future World, is being demolished, with its history rooted in Walt Disney's vision of an 'Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow'.
• 💰 The development of Epcot relied heavily on corporate sponsorships, with major companies like AT&T, Exxon, and General Electric contributing significant funding.
• ⏳ Many sponsors committed to 10-year contracts requiring costly renovations, leading some to opt for sponsoring exhibits within Communicore instead of full pavilions.
• 💡 Communicore featured innovative exhibits like AT&T's Futurecom and Exxon's Energy Exchange, showcasing technologies like email and voicemail.
• 🕹️ Interactive elements like the Network Control game and a finger-painting terminal were popular attractions.
• 📊 Early reports indicated significant budget shortfalls and delays for Communicore's construction, with costs escalating dramatically.
• 🧩 The closure of Communicore in 1994 and its replacement by Innoventions addressed many of the structural and operational issues that arose from its rushed construction.

Disney's Approach to Canon and Storytelling

• 🎬 A discussion arose regarding Disney's perceived disregard for narrative canon, citing examples like the Beauty and the Beast sing-along and the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
• 🗣️ The response from Disney Media Relations that the Beauty and the Beast sing-along is