I popped in for a few hours after work yesterday to do the Halloween stuff again. The Iron Man shop is now open, and all of the construction boards have been taken down.
Still no indication of opening dates, but I reckon they’ll announce something very soon, probably after the Halloween stuff is finished.
The “Tech Showcase” is a new for me though. I knew, obviously, about the main ride, but hadn’t heard about this other thing, or maybe I had and forgot. The space doesn’t look like it can be too big, and there’s what looks to be a timing board outside it. I’m guessing some kind of crappy exhibition, or something lame like that Asimo s**te in Florida. Or was it California? Can’t remember now.
Interestingly, it seems that Autopia is closed for good. All signage and the entrance have been removed and it’s not on the park map anymore. There’s also nothing on the website about maintenance. It does seem strange that it just disappeared though, with no kind of announcement. I guess it’s the first time a major attraction has closed here, but even when they changed The Golden Mickeys to the Wondrous Book show, they made a big deal out of it and had “Goodbye” events and stuff.
It was easily the best of the Autopia rides thanks to the landscaping, but it took up a huge space in a relatively small park. Having said that, they still have plenty of empty space for development yet, so who knows? It’s looking like a Tomorrowland/Marvel expansion though I guess. It would make sense to do something there than go into the totally undeveloped land. Pure speculation on my part, but something to keep an eye on anyway.