Disney's Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Park will stay open for 24 hours on leap day

In a 1965 presentation titled "Total Image," legend Walt Disney said, "We keep moving forward — opening up new doors and doing new things — because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

Fast forward several decades and Walt Disney World has striven to follow the words of its famous founder through its multitude of changes over the years, from the creation of Disney's Animal Kingdom Park in April 1998 to the recently updated Star Tours attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios last winter. The company has unveiled several new aspects for its different parks to be featured this year, including its New Year's Eve announcement that on leap day, Feb. 29, both Disney's Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park will be open for 24 hours — a first in Disney history.

Junior Andie Temkin, a hospitality management major who works at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park, has hopes for this new event.

"It's a celebration for all of us," Temkin said. "I think a lot of people are going to want to come for it because it's such a special event."

Both parks will be open for 24 hours beginning at 6 a.m. on Leap Day. In addition, Disney.com will be releasing a free vacation package every day until Feb. 29, including its offer of a free night's stay at any Disney property hotel with the purchase of a room for three nights and three days. Florida resident discounts for parkgoers have also increased, with the current offer of Disney's "Wild for 3" pass, a $99 three-day, three-park ticket.

Junior Robert Biederstadt, a hospitality management major who works at the Magic Kingdom Park, has reservations about this brand new concept.

"I'm just really curious how popular it's going to be; it's so up in the air [that] I wonder who's really going to do it," Biederstadt said. "Disney's taking risks, and they should, but none of these seem like really, really safe bets. People are complaining that they have been stagnant for so long, and they actually sort of have. I think they're really feeling competition from Universal now because of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, [and] they're finally getting some heat under their heels to actually start thinking of changes."

Rumors are circulating that with leap day's potential success, there are possibilities that Magic Kingdom will continue its 24-hour days in the future. Temkin doesn't think that this is practical for Disney, due to ride maintenance.

"No, definitely not. I think this is a one-time event," Temkin said. "The beauty of Disney is that every time you come, you're reliving your childhood experience, so we want it to look the same for someone who came when [the ride] first opened [for] when they come back with their grandchildren. It's necessary to close the park, at least for a few hours, so that we can get it revamped up for the next day."

But Leap Day isn't the only new update Disney is integrating. Several more plans are in the works for 2012 alone, such as the expansion of Fantasyland to include Belle's castle, the dwarves' roller coaster mine attraction and the "Journey of the Little Mermaid" attraction, all to be available in late 2013 to early 2014. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be opening in May 2012, a new resort hotel inspired by Disney-animated classics such as Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Cars and The Little Mermaid.

New "royal guest rooms" will also be available in spring 2012 for Disney's Port Orleans—Riverside hotel resort, where guests will have the opportunity to live in rooms where famous royal characters, such as Princess Jasmine and Aladdin, have left their own Disney touch. Furthermore, Disney will be officially launching its latest cruise ship, the Disney Fantasy, in late March 2012 from Port Canaveral for its first week-long cruise.

Finally, in September 2011, Disney announced it would be opening an Avatar-themed land to Disney's Animal Kingdom, with construction expected to begin in 2013.

"Avatar created a world which audiences can discover again and again and now, through this incredible partnership with Disney, we'll be able to bring Pandora to life like never before," Director James Cameron said in a September Disney news release. "With two new Avatar films currently in development, we'll have even more locations, characters and stories to explore. I'm chomping at the bit to start work with Disney's legendary Imagineers to bring our Avatar universe to life. Our goal is to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and give parkgoers the chance to see, hear, and touch the world of Avatar with an unprecedented sense of reality."

However, junior Paige Clark, an advertising/public relations major who works as a face character at Walt Disney World, doesn't feel that Avatar and Disney mix.