Wetzel's Pretzels to Open at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort

Wetzel's Pretzels today announced that a new flagship company store is scheduled to open March 28, 2003 in the DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Area of the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort near Orlando, Fla.

Co-founder Rick Wetzel said: "We're excited to expand our involvement with the Walt Disney Company which began when I was a Cast Member on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland® Park in 1987 and continued with the opening of our Wetzel's Pretzels store at the Disneyland® Resort in 2001."

The new Wetzel's Pretzels store will be located at the DOWNTOWN DISNEY® West Side with an additional satellite kiosk located at the DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Marketplace. Both the store and the kiosk will feature fresh hand-rolled soft pretzels in a variety of popular flavors.

In addition to hand-rolled pretzels, the store will feature fresh baked pretzel dogs, fresh squeezed lemonade and frozen fruit drinks. The new store will occupy more than 3,000 square feet of retail space including an outdoor patio area with seating for 36 guests.

"Based on the popularity of our store at the Disneyland® Resort, we expect this store to be among the highest volume stores in our chain," Wetzel said.

Wetzel's Pretzels LLC is a privately held company operating more than 200 company, Franchise and licensed units throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The brand's commitment to offering unique pretzel flavors with a "30-minute freshness guarantee" has positioned Wetzel's Pretzels as the unparalleled leader of the super-premium soft pretzel category.

Operating predominately in enclosed malls and other high-traffic venues, Wetzel's Pretzels competes with other "grab-n-go" snack food operators including Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, Mrs. Fields and Orange Julius. The WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort store opening is one of 20 new Wetzel's Pretzels stores projected to open this year.