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Obama: I’m going to Disney World
January 17, 2012
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President Obama to visit Walt Disney World Thursday
UPDATE 1/18 (3:45pm): The President
Obama speech from the Magic Kingdom will be streamed live online and on resort
TV. Coverage is starting at 12:15pm, with the actual speech expected to begin at
12:30pm.
The live stream will be
www.whitehouse.gov/live
UPDATE 1/18 (1:45pm): The Magic
Kingdom's Main Street USA will be closed for much of Thursday to host President
Obama's official visit. It is expected that Main Street will be closed from park
opening, through to the conclusion of Obama's visit, which should allow the
normal parade route to operate at 3:30pm. Guests will be directed to other lands
in the Magic Kingdom via backstage areas.
The event is White House invitation only, so if you are planning to attend, it
would seem unlikely that you will be able to see the President or the event
itself.
UPDATE 1/17 (3pm): Obama’s speech is
said to take place inside the Magic Kingdom theme park some time between noon
and 2 p.m., using Cinderella Castle and Main Street USA as a backdrop. He will
introduce a “strategy” to improve tourism and travel, leaving Central Florida
immediately afterward.
The Orlando Sentinel
has confirmed with a White House aide
that President Obama will be visiting the Walt Disney World resort on Thursday
to make an announcement about travel and tourism. There, he will “unveil a
strategy that will significantly help boost tourism and travel,” the aide added.
This explains the sudden change in park hours and the additional fireworks at
Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Disney’s Hollywood Studios will feature a new
fireworks show called “Rock the Night” at 7 p.m., just as regular park hours end
and Extra Magic Hours begin. Likewise, Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will
also have Extra Magic Hours, leaving Magic Kingdom as the only Walt Disney World
park operating only with only regular hours that day.
For any park guests this will also mean road closures, extra security, and
delays delays delays. Roads will be shut down for the motorcade and resort buses
will go into delayed service to try and avoid the times when the President is
traveling through the resort. Also travel between the resort and the Orlando
International airport should see delays as well.
In short, give yourself extra time to travel anywhere within the resort that
day. Also, do not expect to park at any of the monorail resorts without a
reservation – internal documents suggest the Contemporary Resort is the most
likely candidate for where the President’s announcement will take place. If this
turns out to be the case, that will subsequently shut down resort bus access to
the Magic Kingdom for a period – as has happened with previous VP, VIP, and
Presidential visits.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more details
about the President’s confirmed visit to Walt Disney World.
Check
back here for more details
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