For those of us who like to plan far, far in advance, Dave Shute of Your First Visit has posted his projections for Disney World’s 2017 pricing “seasons”. If you’ve been following Walt Disney World pricing for any length of time, you know that Disney World’s seasons don’t really parallel the traditional “spring, summer, fall, winter” calendar. Thankfully, Dave’s post gives us some early indications about when prices at Disney World might be at their highest and lowest.
This information might be especially interesting if there is a Mighty Men of Mouse Listener Vacation in October 2017. According to Dave’s analysis, the end of October (starting with October 15th) might end up having Deluxe Resort prices only 6% higher than the lowest prices of the year.
Earlier today, Disney released a press release that goes into some of the details about the Wilderness Lodge DVC expansion. As someone who loves staying at the Wilderness Lodge (John & Elyssa’s Favorites article preview?), I have been interested in seeing how Disney positioned this expansion.
Based on the press release, it appears that Disney is going to create an entirely new condo association for this expansion. My immediate reaction to that news was “shoot, that means they might not extend the contracts for the original Wilderness Lodge villas” (which are currently set to expire in 2042.) This post from DVC News, however, suggests some other potential issues:
Points Charts could be different;
Annual Dues could be different; and
The 11-month “home resort” booking window might not be good for the original Wilderness Lodge Villas if you buy a contract for the “new” ones.
At this point, that is a lot of speculation (and things with Disney are always subject to change), but even the possibility of those things happening is making me hesitate about buying an original Wilderness Lodge contract on the DVC resale market in an effort to take advantage of the new construction. With so much in flux, I think I’m going to spend a little more time observing before I make any moves.
Josh at easyWDW has posted updates to Disney World’s operating schedule for October, December, and January. The December update is especially important since it includes a number of new Extra Magic Hour mornings around Christmas.
As a general note, I always check easyWDW for schedule updates before any trip. I know that I could pull the information directly from Disney but Josh’s layout and information is way more convenient. (I even prefer it to using MyDisney Experience to look for future park hours.)
Sometimes, your heroes are wrong. In Episode 226 of the Mighty Men of Mouse podcast, our friends Dutch, Kip, and Russ attempted to rank the various lands at Walt Disney World. They did pretty well – see their rankings here: Russ’s, Kip’s, Dutch’s – but they also got some things wrong. Put on some potholders, because here are my takes/rankings.
Celebrate the Magic
1. Fantasyland. I knew my top 3 lands without a doubt, but determining the order among the 3 was tough. Ultimately, the first place position came down to the number of offerings. The magic I felt flying on Peter Pan as a child is still present in Fantasyland. The expansion has only made it more amazing. There is just so much to take in and enjoy in Fantasyland; the fact that Kip can say Mexico is better with a straight face proves that he is a cyborg.
2. Main Street, USA. I, for one, CAN feed my family on nostalgia. (And corndog nuggets). A trip to WDW does not feel complete for me without going to the Magic Kingdom, even if it’s just for a brief walk up and down Main Street. Seeing Town Square the first time each trip still brings tears to my eyes. This is my favorite place to watch parades. Also, I like shopping and Meet & Greets (more about that below).
3. Adventureland. Jungle Cruise, people. Don’t take it for granite, it’s my favorite. I really like the Swiss Family Treehouse too, which is often overlooked. Finally, it’s like I have ESPN or something and I believe that Skipper’s Cantina will serve booze and will be my new favorite restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. That was not a typo. You better believe there will be Mean Girls references on this site.
4. Africa. The perfection of this theming has been discussed thoroughly, so I’ll just preface some other rankings by taking this opportunity to point out that I really love animals.
5. Echo Lake. This is probably where takes start to get a bit warm. I still love Hollywood Studios. Quite a bit. Echo Lake and Pixar Place are in the order they are in because, at the moment of writing, I like Star Tours a little more than Toy Story Midway Mania. Also, Echo Lake is not just about Star Tours. I think Jedi Training Academy is one of the most adorable things in the universe and my love for Harrison Ford obviously extends to Indiana Jones. Last but not least, I am not ashamed to admit I sang my heart out at the Frozen Sing Along and loved it.
6. Pixar Place. Having Pixar Place so high when it’s basically just one ride, a coffee cart, and some Meet & Greets is probably crazy. But Toy Story Midway Mania is so so so fun.
7. Future World. East and West have been lumped together because I can’t remember the difference and they would have been right next to each other anyway. Soarin’ is my favorite part of Future World, so whichever has Soarin’ is 7(a) and the other is 7(b).
8. Tomorrowland. I agree that the theming could be better, but the attractions are still great, especially Buzz Lightyear. One thing that killed me the whole MMOM episode was that none of you mentioned Meet & Greets. These are a crucial part of my WDW experience, and Tomorrowland has one of the most unique. #IncrediblesSuperDanceParty
9. Liberty Square. Rounding out my top ten are the other two Magic Kingdom lands. It is by far my favorite park and I am quite content to just walk around without even experiencing any attractions. Liberty Square edges out Frontierland because I like the stocks.
10. Frontierland. Splash Mountain is scary.
11. Asia. I don’t even ride Expedition Everest because it’s scarier that Splash Mountain, but there are tigers in Asia. Enough said.
12. Sunset Boulevard. I hold John’s bag when he rides Tower of Terror and Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. While I hold his bag, I delight in the Citizens of Hollywood Cast Members surprising and entertaining while dressed in their Old Hollywood garb. I also can’t ignore the Beauty and the Beast show, because Belle was my favorite Disney princess when I was little. She’s second to Leia now.
13. Hollywood Boulevard. I mentioned that I like shopping right? I also like movies and the Great Movie Ride will always have a spot in my heart.
Okay, be careful, because the takes are about to get HOT.
14. Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Hey MMOM fellas, your ranking of Rafiki’s Planet Watch was NOT COOL. There are animals, some of them BABIES, and you can PET them. YOU CAN PET THE ANIMALS. It’s also educational.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch petting zoo
15. Animation Courtyard. This would have been in my top ten before they closed the Animation Academy and the character Meet & Greets there. The only reason it’s as high as it is now is because One Man’s Dream is still hanging on by a finger. It will break my heart if this does not come back somewhere. I like museums almost as much as I like theme parks, so this is the best of both worlds for me.
16. Mexico Pavilion. What the MMOM said. This pavilion is just phenomenally done. You can also meet Donald, in a sombrero. (For the record, Donald’s in the sombrero.I guess you could be too, if you wanted.)
17. Italy Pavillon. After Mexico, I ranked the Epcot countries based primarily on food, shopping, and Meet & Greets. Italy has my favorite food. I also think the theming at the lake edge is done better in Italy than it is some of the other pavilions.
Beers of unusual size
18. Germany Pavillon.I like Biergarten for the experience. And the beer. I like beer. And caramel. And animals. You know who else likes animals? Snow White. Germany is the best place for you to meet Snow White outside of a meal. She gets swarmed at Town Square.
20. France Pavillon. I think we all recognize by now that L’Artisan des Glaces does really, really good work. France also has good lakeside theming, Aurora, and Belle in her adorable peasant dress.
21. United Kingdom Pavillon. I like pub atmospheres. In terms of Meet & Greets, you’ve got Tigger & Pooh, Alice, and Mary Poppins. They also sell Her Universe merchandise in the UK Pavillon which is awesome. (Instead of Patreon sponsoring, you guys can just buy me Alex & Ani bracelets and things from Her Universe).
22. Morocco Pavilion. Very well themed. You can meet Aladdin and Jasmine.
23. China Pavillon. This would be the lowest ranked country for me except for the fact that the China pavilion is the only place you can meet Mulan outside of ameal. Mulan is a badass.
China at night
24. Discovery Island. There are several Wilderness Explorer Badges to be earned on Discovery Island. The Tree of Life needs to be looked at up close. And you can meet Pocahontas, and several other characters (like Dug).
25. DinoLand, USA. These rides are my speed. And the boneyard is quite fun. Even for “grownups.”
Boneyard slide!
26. Streets of America. I think the Streets of America are pretty meh. I obviously love the Osborne Lights, and that puts this land above the next three, but the lights are all that Streets of America really has for me. Lights, Motor, Action is just hot and loud, and I’ve never really been a Muppets fan outside of Muppet Babies.
27. Japan Pavillon. Shopping! With swords! And pearls! I also like the Koi.
28. America Pavillon. Full disclosure: I’ve seen the movie thing like once. I’m also a bit of a contrarian. But really, the food is terrible, and our country has a lot more interesting time periods than the colonial days.
29. Canada Pavillon. Oh Canada. You’re a very nice hat. And Buffalo Plaid is nice. Sorry for ranking you so low, I’m sure you’ll understand.
30. Oasis. I thought about putting the Oasis above America because animals, but that would have just been mean.
Josh over at easyWDW has put together one of his epic “Merchandise Updates”. If you are the kind of person who wants to know all of the new merchandise that’s available at Disney World, take a look at his update (which comes in 3 parts):
Mike Ellis has an excellent look back at the Magic Kindom Skyway that brings back memories of riding this attraction with my dad. I remember the first time I went to WDW after the Skyway had stopped operating and I was devastated. I imagine I’ll watch this video recap of the ride more than once:
One of Elyssa’s and my favorite restaurants, Narcoossee’s has opened up reservation for a new Sunday brunch that will be starting on November 22. Though that initially sounded like great news, the $69 per adult price point seems a little rich for my taste.
Now that TouringPlans has come out with its crowd reports for the beginning and end of labor Day weekend, it is clear that Elyssa’s and my impression that TouringPlans completely missed the mark on crowd levels was correctly. Instead of 3s and 4s, the crowds were 6s and 7s.
WDW Magic is reporting that artwork on the building that will be the future home of the Star Wars Launch Bay indicates that the new “attraction” will open in December of this year. Personally, I was hoping they would get it open by early November, but I really had no doubt that they’d have it ready before the Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in mid-December.
News has broken that Morimoto Asia, a new Italian restaurant at Disney Springs (I’m kidding, obviously the cuisine will be Asian themed). Reservations will be available via OpenTable starting on September 15, 2015.
Tom Bricker recently posted a review he titled Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (though the review is actually of studio room in the Polynesian Villas, with mention of the Bungalows and how much they cost.) As you would expect, Tom’s review has excellent pictures showing the layout of the room and a good rundown about the various amenities the room provides. There is nothing particularly Earth-shattering in his write-up, but it’s definitely worth taking a look for the photography.
The rumors about a new entry to the Magic Kingdom resort area (I believe I first saw the rumor on WDW News Today are pretty interesting. As someone who enjoys both visiting and staying at these resorts, I would love an excuse to be able to skip the (minor) hassle of the toll plaza. That said, I don’t understand why articles like the WDW News Today one only mention “guests going to the Polynesian or Contemporary.” Why would this allow guests going to the Floridian and/or Wilderness Lodge to bypass the plaza too? That part just seems weird to me.
Brew attraction specific beers (A nice, dark, stout from Tower of Terror could really have potential); and
A craft beer bar at the American Adventure Pavillon in Epcot (this became a “no-brainer” idea the second I read it.)
This year will be my first year at the Food & Wine festival since I got more into craft beer, so I am really looking forward to trying a couple of the different beer options. Thankfully, Josh from easy WDW usually does a nice preview that tells you which beers are worth your time.
Earlier today, Disney announced a new Twitter account, @WDWToday, that will allow guests to connect with Disney Guest Relations during their trips. It’s kind of a neat idea–assuming that the account is actually responsive to the guest’s tweets–since so many people turn to social media these days to try and get their problems solved.
(For those of you visiting Disneyland, you can use @DisneylandToday instead.)
