First, Star Yours – The Adventure Continues has already received a new sequence based on Star Wars – The Force Awakens. Disney released a teaser of the new sequence (which I refuse to watch since I’m trying to go into the new Star Wars movie as “blind” as possible to what might happen):
(If you really want spoilers about the new sequence, WDW News Todayhas a write-up (which I have not read)).
tak[ing] guests into the Star Wars saga and the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with special exhibits and peeks behind-the-scenes, special merchandise and opportunities to encounter Chewbacca and Darth Vader.
Also opening in December, will be the new Jedi Training – Trials of the Temple, which Disney describes as:
This reimagined Jedi Training experience will take younglings to the secret site of an ancient Jedi temple where they will face Darth Vader along with the Seventh Sister – a new villain from the Disney XD series “Star Wars Rebels.
WDW News Today also recently broke the news that the Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks show will run nightly starting on January 5, 2016, as well as describing the new dessert party and First Order Stormtrooper patrols that will be part of the new Star Wars-related entertainment.
Of course, all of this new Star Wars entertainment comes at a price, as Disney officially announced the end of Star Wars Weekends. It’s a bummer that we are seeing the end of another yearly event at The Studios (I already miss you Osborne Lights), but, hopefully, the new Star Wars land will fill some of that void before too long.
At this early stage of the merger, it’s hard to know exactly what Marriott will do with a hotel that is actually on Disney property. One would hope that–at a minimum–it could reach an agreement with Disney that would allow guests at the Dolphin to continue to the receive certain benefits (e.g., extra magic hours, the 60-days Fastpass+ booking window) that aren’t available to other non-Disney owned hotels.
On the Marriott side, I wonder if Marriott would be tempted to re-do some of the rooms in the Dolphin to be part of its Marriott Vacation Club (i.e., timeshare) program (they recently did such a makeover at the Mayflower Hotel in D.C.). Having a Marriott timeshare presence right on Disney property might be a good way for Marriott to position itself as a strong Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) alternative for frequent Disney travelers.
It will be interesting to see how this whole deal plays out.
NOTE: The title of this post originally said the stream was on Thursday (since I can’t read a calendar).
Disney has announced that it will be live streaming the Osborne Lights at 10:30pm on Thursday, November 18, 2015 at 10:30pm. For people who won’t have a chance to get down to Disney World in next few weeks to see the last performance of the Osborne Lights, this stream is almost a can’t miss opportunity (though I hope Disney is going to do it at least 1 more time before the lights go away.)
Elyssa and I were recently at Disney World and went to the Osborne Lights a couple of times (including running through them during our “quarter” marathon.) I didn’t get the best pictures of them, however, since I intentionally didn’t bring my camera the last time we visited. I wanted to just take in a really special experience, that, sadly, we won’t have the opportunity to enjoy again.
Neither Elyssa nor I would ever claim to be sophisticated connoisseurs of Asian cuisine. (Elyssa would probably be classified as “not a fan”, which means I might end up getting pad thai from a local place once or twice a year or I might occasionally stop by a certain well-known franchise.) That said, we were looking for a place to have dinner with Elyssa’s father (who did not have any park admission) and we’d already eaten at The BOATHOUSE, so we figured we’d give it a shot.
Ambiance
View from 2nd Floor
As you’ve probably read 15 times by now, Morimoto Asia is housed inside the same building as the former Mannequins Dance Palace (one of Pleasure Island’s dance clubs.) This means, if though the restaurant is nicely laid out, that it can feel a bit like (as Elyssa’s father pointed out) you’re eating in a warehouse.
We were seated upstairs in a section of reconfigurable, glassed-in hallways and mini-rooms. It’s kind of an interesting layout (it allows them to re-arrange the way doors are opened or closed to allow for some level of privacy between certain tables or groups), but I wonder if having nearly the entire “second floor” limited to an extra-wide walkway around the perimeter might have created an unnecessary limit on the restaurant’s capacity.
Personally, I enjoyed the privacy provided by restaurant layout. It is a welcome change from those places at Disney World where you are seated so close to the party next to you that you feel like you could reach over and grab an item off one of their plates. (NOTE: Josh from easyWDW did find the downstairs a little more chaotic.)
Meal
Being non-adventurous eaters, Elyssa and I wound up sticking with some fairly basic items from Morimoto’s expansive menu (which we’ll get to them in a second.) To start of things, Elyssa’s father ordered a cup of miso soup and an order of the pork dumplings. He said they were quite good, but, though I tried one of the dumplings and enjoyed it, I have no particular comparison with which to make.
For dinner itself, we decided to share the black pepper steak, the kung pao chicken, and the spicy thai basil fried rice. (Since Elyssa is not a fan of mushrooms, we told the waiter “just treat our entire order as if it’s for someone who’s allergic to mushrooms.”) On a whim, Elyssa also added the spicy king crab to the order at the last minute.
Black Pepper Steak
The black pepper steak consisted of a nice, tender meat that came with a flavorful sauce that added just a bit of spice. The kung pao chicken (not pictured, unfortunately) was our favorite item, and again had nice bit of spicy kick to complement the flavor from the cashews. Finally, the spicy thai basil rice actually had a pleasant, almost sweet flavor to it that paired well with the other dishes. I could see us ordering all 3 of these dishes again.
Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice
(NOTE: My tolerance / preference for spicy food is not particularly high. If I thought the food had a nice kick, I would assume some people would think it was not spicy enough. )
After sampling the above listed items, the spicy king crab was a disappointment. The sauce was more tangy than spicy and it overpowered any meat we were able to extract from the crab legs (this was exacerbated by the large amount of sauce they added). I doubt we would ever order this again.
Spicy King Crab
Conclusion
Morimoto Asia continues the trend of solid, new dining experiences at Disney Springs that was started by The BOATHOUSE. I would recommend again giving it a shot, even if you’re not particularly a fan of Asian cuisine.
You can make reservations via Disney’s ADR system or OpenTable (though the OpenTable method allows for easier cancellations and no $10-per-person cancellation fee.)
Other Resources
If you want to read more about Morimoto Asia, I suggest checking out Josh’s 2 reviews at easyWDWhere and here, and this review from Len Testa at TouringPlans.
Probably should have gotten the Peking Duck instead of the crab
If you follow Elyssa and Me on Instagram, you probably know that we just spent the last week visiting Disney World for the (shortened) Wine & Dine half marathon. This was our first big trip since we started Rope Drop [dot] Net, and, frankly, I anticipated posting a little on the site while we were on vacation. My apologies that didn’t happen, but we’ll try to make up for it over the next few weeks as we talk about some of the things we did on the trip, including:
Visiting Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival (Liquid Nitro truffles…mmmm….)
Dinner at The BOATHOUSE (including having a Baked Alaska)
8am Breakfast at Be Our Guest (Pre-park-opening Mine Train, baby!)
Dinner at Tutto Italia
Running the Wine & Dine (our first (half-ish) Half Marathon)
Dinner at Morimoto Asia
Our last viewing of the Osborne Lights (we’re going to miss those)
Attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (It really was beginning to look at a lot like Christmas)
We also stopped by Diagon Alley, and (if you ask her really nicely) there’s a chance that Elyssa might do a write-up about that (after she catches up on Kivus & Camera related photo editing).
We also have some really great interviews coming up (including our first ever 3-part interview with the always great Ken Storey), and some interesting thoughts about some of the “News Nuggets” that happened over the past week (SPOILER ALERT: We are bummed about no more Star Wars Weekends, even though we kind of knew it was going to happen).
Before we get into the nuggets, two items of note: First, the Disney Podcast Directory has been up on the site for about a week now. I haven’t heard anything in the past few days about missing shows, so I think the list is looking pretty solid. Please feel free to check it out if you have an interest in listening to Disney podcasts.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Starts Later this Week Some notes from the Disney Parks Blog post: “A Frozen Holiday Wish” is returning; a cappella group VoicePlay is going to be at the Tomorrowland stage; and Cosmic’s Rays becomes “Club Tinsel”, featuring Phineas and Ferb.
1900 Park Fare holiday brunch It’s a non-character meal from 12:45pm to 3pm on November 22 – 28 2015 and December 20 2015 – January 2 2016. The cost is $24 per adult, $13 per person, “[m]enu items include Carved Herb-roasted New York Strip Loin, Made-to-Order Omelets and Eggs, Carved Floribbean Jerk Turkey Breast, Breakfast Burrito Bar, Vanilla French Toast, Peel-n-Eat Shrimp, Mickey Waffles, Bread Pudding.”
A Rumored Open Date for Star Wars Launch Bay – Tom Corless at WDW News Today has reported the rumor that, if things go according to plan, the new Star Wars Launch Bay may start “soft-opening” on November 27.
Earlier this year, Elyssa and I agreed that we would not visit the Osborne Lights until we ran through them during the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Since I’ve extended that “moratorium” to also include reading coverage of the event, I can’t point you to the “best” coverage of this year’s spectacle. Instead, I’ll finish this post with all the coverage I have found: WDW Magic – “What’s new?”;
* The Disney Blog – An early preview;
* All Ears – 2015 Photos;
* The DIS – Why you need to see the Osborne Lights this year;
* Inside the Magic – Write-up and videos; and
* DaMouse – A 4K video of this year’s spectacle.
If you have had trouble getting a reservation for an upcoming trip, I’d encourage you to give these new channels a shot, since it appears they have also opened up a bunch more availability for days that previously had none (including this Friday night.)
Podcasts were my gateway into online Disney fandom. The influx of quality new shows over the past couple of years, however, has has made the space hard for even me to keep up with. Thankfully, Brian Perkins, along with James Francis, created the Disney Podcast Awards to help recognize excellence in Disney podcasting, and to provide potential podcast listeners with a place to find new shows.
Brian and his Family in Norway (Pavilion)
I recently reached out to Brian to do an interview for the site about Disney podcasts, and he graciously accepted. (As always, my questions are bolded and Brian’s answers immediately follow. Minor edits were made for readability, but all efforts were made to keep the content of the questions and answer as is.)
How did you first get into listening to Disney podcasts?
I think I first got into Disney podcasts back in 2013 when I was at a job where I was commuting a lot, up to 16 hours a week, and I had been listening to audio books. My family had a Disney Vacation scheduled and I started to do some searching on the internet about what had been changed since the last time I was there. I began to notice the large internet community that was out there for Walt Disney World fans, but the blogs and message boards weren’t really working for me. So, I decided to try out podcasts for the first time. I hadn’t listened to any podcasts before at all, and I had a Windows phone at the time, so I had a limited availability to what was out there. The big ones were there though. I am pretty sure that WDW Radio was the first show I ever had the pleasure to listen to. With all of that travel time I had to make use of, I quickly started filling up my feed with others that I could find. I got onto some other shows pretty early into their existence, and it was great to watch them develop. Then I started to find some podcast catching apps and found more and more shows.
What are some of the shows that you got in on the “ground floor” with (so to speak)? Have you noticed any difference in the way new shows debut now as opposed to back in 2013?
A couple of the shows that were just coming out as I started listening were the WDW Happy Place podcast and the Resortloop.com podcast. I connected with those shows and still listen to them constantly. There were some other shows that I picked up from their first show and followed along as they developed, but there really have been so many of those lately that it wouldn’t be fair to name just a few. One thing I have noticed lately is that there seems to be more shows starting from people who see it as a business opportunity. I think you can just feel it when someone has an angle. They are pushing merchandise and a bunch of links or commercials. I am more of a fan of shows that are done by people who are just fans and want to connect with other fans. Don’t get me wrong, I know it can’t be cheap to get the podcasting equipment and there are internet fees and things involved, but if it feels like you are trying too hard to make money off of your show, you probably lost me. Shows by travel agents are fine, get your name out there, I am good with that. But, make them feel natural.
In 2014, you launched the Disney Podcast Awards. What motivated you to start something like that?
‘Ohana means Family
Towards the end of 2013 I had tried to do a few little awards on twitter, but I didn’t have a whole lot of followers to my account yet and they really didn’t go anywhere. Then in the spring of 2014 I heard about the podcast awards, the big ones that encompass all of the podcasts that are out there on all subjects. I got to thinking that there really needed to be something specifically for the Disney podcasts, because there were so many great shows out there that didn’t crack the list for travel podcasts in the big awards. I still didn’t really have a plan on how I was going to make it happen, but luckily I got some help when James, who goes by @travel2disneyme, contacted me on twitter and asked if I had thought about doing awards and if we wanted to work together to get them going. So, after a few emails back and forth about what the categories were going to be, we launched surveys to people we knew listened to podcasts and asked them to be our panel for selecting nominees. We tried to make several categories to get as much recognition for different shows as possible. They seemed to be received well, and we did it again this year and got some more responses. Its really just meant to be a fun thing for some shows to get bragging rights and for all other shows to get some more exposure. Even my list of shows, which I think is pretty comprehensive, gets some added to it when we go through the process.
What changes did you notice between the 2014 and 2015 awards?
I think I definitely noticed some changes in the awards from our first year to this year. In 2014, there was definitely some more representation from the longer running, more established, podcasts. This year’s awards had a larger number of unique nominees, and winners. I think the reasoning for this is kind of two fold. One reason is definitely that the quality of the newer shows just keeps getting better and with them gaining some more exposure and traction in the online Disney communities, they were getting more votes. The other reason for this type of increase I think has to do with the participants of the awards process. We had more members on our panel this year and they are the more of the social media participatory type people. These type of people, I feel, tend to favor the newer shows and have their favorites that fit what they look for in a podcast. I have noticed that there does seem to be a shifting landscape of sorts in the Disney podcasts. Fans are looking for specific types of shows that talk about what they are interested in. For instance, I listen to the informational shows to make sure I know what’s going on, and some of them present it better than others. But I look forward to my favorite shows that don’t just report what is going on, they give a perspective on what it means that lines up with what is important to me. What’s important to me though, may not be important to someone else. So, they are going to want to listen to some other type of show. The good news is, that other show is out there, they will just need to find it.
How do you see Disney podcasts continuing to evolve? Are there any areas or Disney-related topics that you think aren’t currently being covered by the existing shows?
I think the era of Disney podcasts that just report the news is coming to an end. I have noticed more and more shows that bring a focus to a particular area, or look at it through a specific lens. The Disney Hipsters were some of the forerunners in this movement with their views and then Radio Harambe launching with their focus on Disney’s Animal Kingdom pushed things along even more. There are plenty of areas out there to be targeted. There are shows out there already focusing on families, or bringing an adult view, and shows that bring their regionalized views to the forefront. I am predicting that those trends will continue, although there will still be a need for news shows. The shows that help people find someone who thinks like them feel like they are at the park, and/or help them plan their next trip are the shows that I see being successful in the future. Some of the bigger named shows are starting to step back a little bit, and this will allow more room for someone to come in with the next great idea, or one of the existing shows to take over the lead. I am looking forward to see what type of show could be next. Until then, I will keep my earbuds in and searching my Stitcher feed for anything new.
Wrap Up
A huge thank you to Brian for sharing his insights on Disney podcasts. I always think it’s beneficial to get opinions about a particular area from someone who is an expert in that area (and Brian clearly fits that description.) If you want to hear more from Brian, you can find him on Twitter @WDWPodReview and on the Disney Podcast Awards site.
On a related note, I also wanted to do something to help recognize all the great Disney podcasts out there. So, contemporaneously with this interview, I am launching the Rope Drop [dot] Net Disney Podcast Directory. I’ve spent some time over the past couple of weeks putting together a list of Disney podcasts (including getting input from Rope Drop [dot] Net readers on what shows I’m missing) and have now added a Disney Podcasts link to the top bar of this website to allow easy access to it. Long term, I have some additional plans for how this directory might evolve, but this first iteration is designed to make sure people are aware of wide range of Disney-related shows available to them. I’d encourage everyone reading this to take a look at the directory, pick a show you’ve never listened to, and give it a shot. Who knows, it might end up being one of your new favorites.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again: Josh at easyWDW is almost always one of the first people to post information about Disney World Schedule changes.
It’s another week, and it’s another round of News Nuggets. As with last week, I’m including a “stock” image from Disney World until Elyssa and I can build up our catalog of corndog nugget imagery. (Trust me, she’s looking forward to that part of our trip.)
New Minnie “Seasonal Dining” Experience at Hollywood & Wine It makes sense to add some more character dining to The Studios, and Hollywood & Vine is the logical choice for where to put it (especially since its the go-to spot for various “special” character dining events.) The addition of this experience as “year long”, however, seems to be another indication of the lack of a Star Wars-specific special dining experiences coming up. (And, relatedly, lack of a Star Wars Weekend?)
Custom Magic Bands now Available in TomorrowLand I know I’m sucker for it, but I really want one. I have no idea what characters, color, etc… that I’ll pick out, but it seems inevitable that I pick one of these up during my next trip.
Enhancements to Shop Disney Parks App allow for resort and front of the park delivery It’s kind of an interesting concept. You see something in a store while you’re roaming around the park, but—instead of having to buy it right then—you head off to your ADR and buy it while you’re sitting down for dinner. Then, your item is then waiting for you at your resort the next day.
New Musical Group Debuts in Morocco Here’s the blurb from the Disney Parks Blog: “Ribab Fusion, a popular band from northern Africa, celebrates Morocco’s Amazigh culture with everything from smooth grooves to high-energy funk, fusing the traditional sound of the single-stringed ribab with a contemporary, Afropop style.” It seems like an interesting choice, but I’ll reserve judgment until I see them in person. If you prefer to see watch a video now, however, you can find one here.
Epcot’s Holidays Around the World to Start November 27 I always enjoy these little experiences, so I’m glad to see they’ll be back before too long. It’s the little touches like this (and the fabulous decorations at the resorts) that really make the low-crowd period in early December a great time to visit Disney World.
Though not exactly “news”, the construction of the Magic Kingdom Hub has reached another milestone. If you want to see a great set of pictures of what the Hub looks like now, I suggest this post from Da Mouse.
Thank you to everyone for the positive reaction to our first round of “News Nuggets.” Though I think Elyssa and I really enjoyed the comments, I believe that Elyssa’s most excited about ordering copious amount of corn dog nuggets during our next trip to photograph for use in this feature. Until then, however, you’ll have to make due with various other stock Disney images we have.
With the housekeeping out of the way, here is the latest round of nuggets:
Candlelight Processional Narrators Announced. I’ve seen Gary Sinise and Edward James Olmos before. Sinise was great, but Olmos is on another level. I would highly recommend going to see him if you can.
Soarin’ to be Down for Six Months in early 2016 This report for easyWDW is based, in part, on the official Disney World Soarin’ page. What causes me to link to Josh’s report, however, is his breakdown of how this might impact Epcot touring. As you might expect, this could really send the demand for Test Track off the charts. I encourage you to read his take.
Special “Force Awakens” Preview Event For $95, you can attend a party at Star Wars Launch Bar at the Studios, see the Star Wars fireworks, ride star tours, and then see the Star Wars movie at Disney Springs, all 1 day before the movie is released to the public. I’m a big Star Wars fan, but this might be a little much for me.
Video of the I–4 “Direct to Disney Springs” Off Ramp This is taking “ride walk through videos” to a whole other level. I’m posting this more because I’m glad this new I–4 exit exists, but feel free to watch the video if you want.
Earlier today, Josh from easyWDW (with a major credit given to Steve Milz) published the 2015 Version of the easyWDW Epcot Food & Wine Festival Review PDF. As I’ve said before, I always start my Food & Wine planning with easyWDW‘s food reviews. Therefore, it seems like a no-brainer to download this PDF to your phone, so you can reference it at the festival. (Though, I would love to see people walking around the festival with any of these guides in printed and bound form. Full color, of course.)
I sometimes prefer my corn dog nuggets with a side of beignets.
Since there has been a lot of news coming out of Disney World recently, it seemed like the appropriate time to debut Rope Drop [dot] Net’s “News Nuggets” feature (inspired by one of Elyssa’s favorite Disney Food items: the corn dog nuggets from Casey’s Corner). As you would expect, these are small, bite-sized “nuggets” of news that you may find delicious useful.
Before we get to the actual nuggets, I do want to point out that Josh at easyWDW has started posting his 2015 Epcot Food & Wine Festival “booth by booth” reviews of all of this year’s food and drink options. (As I’ve mentioned before, I always start my Food & Wine Festival planning with Josh’s reviews. They are top notch.) You can already find Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 on his site, and I would imagine the rest of the booths will be up shortly.
Now, with that out of the way, it’s time for the nuggets:
New BBQ Menu at Tortuga Tavern. Coming from North Carolina, I doubt I’m going to get my BBQ at Disney World. That said, when is Tortuga Tavern even open?
New “special event venue” at The Studios to host “Club Disney”, starting on December 4. Eventually, the Sunset Showcase (Theater) will be home to things like the Frozen Sing-a-long (if it comes back next year.) For now, though, it’s going to host Club Disney, “[y]ou can join Mickey and the gang and take to the dance floor in this electric club environment, where a DJ Club Host spins the perfect playlist mix of your favorite Radio Disney Top 40 songs.” Though my initial reaction is that Elyssa and I won’t get a lot of use out of this, I would imagine that we’d at least check it out. (Though I can’t imagine it’ll top the \#INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty. I mean, the Incredibles party has “hashtag” as part of the name.)
That’s all the news for now. If you want more to read about Disney World, I suggest taking a look at the interview we posted yesterday with Casey Liss. It has gotten some really good responses so far, and I think you’ll enjoy it.
Casey Liss is a developer, podcaster, and writer who lives in the suburbs of Richmond, VA. Though his name might not be immediately recognizable to those in the Disney World fan community, people in the tech community might recognize him from his widely popular podcasts, ATP and Analog(ue). In fact, it was Casey’s description of a trip to Disney on a recent episode of Analog(ue) that led me to reach out to him for a Rope Drop [dot] Net interview. Casey is not someone who visits Disney World every year, so I thought he could bring a unique, thoughtful perspective about planning and then experiencing Disney World. Thankfully, he graciously agreed to the interview:
(As always, my questions are bolded and Casey’s answers immediately follow. Minor edits were made for readability, but all efforts were made to keep the content of the questions and answer as is.)
What do you remember about the first time you went to Disney World?
The first time I remember going to Disney World is very vague memories of being in a treehouse in Fort Wilderness. I don’t believe they’re there anymore, but you could rent some sort of cabin-like treehouse. I vividly remember, despite being only around 4 at the time, that it had a spiral staircase in it. I was mesmerized.
I remember always reflecting on the trip fondly, but I remember so little else about the trip.
The first visit I remember in more detail is when I had just finished my freshman year of college. My whole family went – at this point I had two younger brothers – and loved it. It was in the summer of 2001, and I believe Rock ’n’ Rollercoaster had just opened. I hated the feeling of negative G’s – drops – and loved Rock ’n’ Rollercoaster because it was a “launcher” rollercoaster – no drop required.
I also rode Splash Mountain on that trip; I enjoyed that… quite a bit less.
NOTE FROM JOHN: When Casey mentions that spiral staircase, I think he is talking about the original Treehouse Villas the operated from 1975 through 2002. You can read about the villas and see pictures of the staircase in this post from 2719 Hyperion.
If you still aren’t a fan of “negative G’s”, then I assume you probably don’t get super excited about some of Disney World’s signature attractions (Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, etc…). What are your “must do” attractions when you visit Disney World?
I wasn’t a fan of negative G’s. Not too long after Erin and I started dating, we had started only-sorta-jokingly talking about getting married and honeymooning. I confided in her that I’d always dreamed of honeymooning in Disney World. As a lifelong Disney fan, who had never visited Disney World before, Erin was all-in from the get go.
Except.
Except that she knew I didn’t care for roller coasters, and she knew that there were at least a handful of roller coasters at Disney World. In a very rare case of Erin… explaining… something to me, she explained to me that if we are going to honeymoon in Disney, then darnit I’m going to go on rollercoasters with her.
We started with launch coasters at our two local theme parks – Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens – and eventually moved up to negative Gs, one step at a time. By the time we went to Disney for our honeymoon, I was able to do everything except Tower of Terror. I drew the line there.
When Erin turned 30, I surprised her with a trip to Disney World. She didn’t know where we were going until we checked in at the airport. That trip, we did ride Tower of Terror once. I was more than a bit nervous about it. I’d ride it again, but I was extremely nervous until it was all over.
—
Casey, Declan and the TTA (Photo courtesy of Casey)
When we travel to Disney, there are definitely some must-sees. Number one on that list is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover. Honestly, I’m not sure why I love that ride so much, but I do. Maybe it’s my proclivity for lazy rivers at water parks. Maybe it’s that the ride rarely has a line and generally has a nice breeze. Maybe it’s because my mother has always loved it. No matter the reason, it’s always been my favorite.
Outside of the People Mover, I also love the Rock ’n’ Rollercoaster and, as a huge car nut, the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. In fact, I have long thought that MGM Hollywood Studios gets a bad rep, and is far better than most give it credit for. Though I’m told that quite a lot of it is under construction now, so perhaps now it really does live up to its crummy reputation!
Outside of Hollywood Studios, though not an attraction, I always loved the dancing water in Epcot, ever since I was a toddler. I could sit there and watch it for hours. I don’t know why. Also in Epcot, and again appealing to my inner car nut, I love Test Track. Erin loves Soarin’ and Living with the Land; that has endeared both of those to me quite a bit. Living With the Land is in many ways my Epcot equivalent of the People Mover.
I loved Expedition Everest the first time I rode it, because I didn’t know what to expect at the apex of the ride. I still quite love it, but I’d kill to be able to ride it again, not knowing what to expect.
On a final note, I will forever miss Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Such a fun one to sit through. I’ll also miss Maelstrom, but I’m curious to see how the new Frozen Ever After turns out.
Knowing that you have certain rides that you and Erin want to go on, how do you go about planning your trips to make sure you get to do the things you most want to do?
We’ve done all flavors of planning. We’ve done last-minute and far-out. We’ve done with-agent and by ourselves.
Our most recent trip was for three nights, two days, when we happened to be near-ish Orlando for a wedding. We hemmed and hawed about going in the first place, since our son was only 8 months old at the time. We finally decided to just go for it about a month before our arrival – we finally booked on 18 May for an arrival on 23 June. We weren’t able to get some of the dining nor FastPass+ reservations we wanted, but we didn’t expect the trip to go as planned, thanks to our delightful little baby. 🙂 At least during his first year, he’s the boss of us. We did all the booking ourselves using Disney’s site.
Erin and Declan (Photo Courtesy of Casey)
The time before that I also procrastinated a bit. For Erin’s 30th we booked at the end of June for a mid-August trip. We did better that time, though we didn’t get a chance to dine in Be Our Guest, which I suspect we’d really love. I did all the booking in concert with a AAA travel agent.
For our honeymoon, we booked in February and March for a late-June arrival. We did the booking via a AAA agent.
In general, we’ve been enough times now that we generally know what we like. For the two-day trip, I definitely referred heavily to Disney’s website, as well as allears.net for some menus that either weren’t available or weren’t up to date on the Disney site. I also had a bear of a time trying to get information about the Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. We were really trying to figure out what the room layout would be in advance, to plan appropriately for our baby’s crib/etc. We eventually found the floor plan on yourfirstvisit.net, though of course I can’t find the specific link again now.
Were we to do it again, I would definitely prefer to be far more deliberate about the whole experience. I would likely be the one waking up early, 180 days out, to book dining. The last couple of trips have just been decided so late in the game that I just had to roll with what options were left.
Once we’ve decided on which days to go, I typically start with dinner reservations and work backwards from there. Every time we go, excepting the last time, we try to hit at least Coral Reef and the 50’s PrimeTime Cafe. The dinner reservation will define what park we want to be in that evening. We try to be in different parks each night. I’ll then back into FastPass+ reservations based around our dinner time. Pre-baby, we would usually do two parks in one day, and visit each park two or three times per week-long trip. With the baby, all bets are off.
We have now stayed in all three monorail resorts, and though the call of the Wilderness Lodge is strong, we’ve been extremely spoiled by being on the monorail. Our favorite for just the two of us was far and away the Contemporary, but for the family, the Polynesian did work out really well.
What are your thoughts on the changes that have been made to certain aspects of Disney World vacations over the past few years? What, if any, of the upcoming changes to Disney World are you most excited about?
I don’t keep up with Disney in the “off season” like many do. Generally I get my news about the parks by way of friends or family who have recently visited.
That said, having visited in 2013 and again in 2015 we have seen the “beta” and then adoption of the Magic Bands and FastPass+.
The Magic Bands I really like, from start to finish. Picking them out in advance gets you excited way before your vacation begins. Receiving them in the mail gets you excited about your imminent vacation. Using them is so much nicer and easier than worrying about a key card. It’s slightly awkward bending your wrist so that they can be read, but that’s a small price to pay to be able to travel without a thing in your pockets if you so choose. (Being able to travel without anything in your pockets is particularly useful at Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.)
Casey, Erin, and Declan (Photo Courtesy of Casey)
FastPass+ I’m less of a fan of. I understand the motivations behind it, but I feel like it’s a net loss for guests. Even as someone who loves to plan things in advance, for me, it just creates even more anxiety up front. This is compounded by the “packages” that they compel you to use. I’d probably like it more if it was a complete free-for-all based solely on availability, but it seems like you’re always limited to only one “top tier” attraction per park per day. Again, I understand the motivations behind this, but it’s still a tough pill to swallow.
I do like being able to change them by way of the My Disney Experience app. But inevitably I end up getting frustrated because of the aforementioned “packages” that don’t fit my needs.
I did like the FastPass+ far more when we went in 2013. We stayed in the Contemporary, which was one of the “beta test” resorts. It was pretty neat, and made us feel special, to walk around with the bands on. About halfway through our trip, we befriended a couple at the 50’s PrimeTime Cafe. They asked us if we still had our traditional hotel key cards. We did, and they then enlightened us that we could still get traditional FastPass tickets with the keycards, while still holding FastPass+ via the bands. That was magical. Unfortunately, that loophole has since closed.
It’s funny; I write software for a living, and have written apps in the past. However, in this case, I think that having FastPasses managed by way of an app, in advance, is worse for guests. The app in general, however, is very useful, especially to see where you are in the parks.
With regard to changes I’m excited about, I can take or leave Star Wars and am not a huge Avatar fan. I always loved Maelstrom and enjoyed Frozen so I’m curious to see what’s going to come of the Norway pavilion. I wasn’t aware of pending updates to Soarin’ until this interview; I’m cautiously optimistic about those changes. The fact that Soarin’ was all about California I couldn’t care less about, but the ride is one of my favorites, and is my wife’s favorite. If they stick with the same general idea, as I assume they will, I’m sure I’ll love it.
Though it’s old now, I didn’t have a chance to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train when we were there in the summertime; I’m anxious to see that. I’d also love to visit Radiator Springs in Disney Land; we were there in 2012 when it was being constructed, if memory serves.
Wrap Up
A huge thank you to Casey for agreeing to be interviewed for the site. As I alluded to in the introduction, I think it is beneficial and intriguing to get thoughtful opinions about Disney World from outside of the standard Disney fan community. Casey clearly delivered on that front.
Though I will give a more general “where to find Casey” in a second, I do want to encourage you to listen to Episode 47 of Casey’s Analog(ue) podcast or read this entry on Casey’s site. In them, Casey describes taking his son, Declan, to see the Leave a Legacy block that his family purchased many years prior. It’s a heartfelt story about what that attraction can actually mean to people (even though some dismiss it as simply an eyesore in front of Spaceship Earth). Again, I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to or read the story.
Finally, if you want to hear more from Casey, you can listen to him on the Accidental Tech Podcast with Marco Arment and John Siracusa, or on Analog(ue) with Myke Hurley. You can also find more about Casey on his website caseyliss.com or follow him on Twitter, @caseyliss
Casey and Declan in Epcot (Photo courtesy of Casey)
I know John wants this blog to give you Disney news and really good insight, so I’m going to help with that, by telling you to take this quiz to determine what Disney princess you are!
I found this quiz on Oh My Disney, which is like Buzzfeed for the Disney crowd. This particular quiz purports to determine which Princess you are based on your zodiac sign. Drumroll please…..
I’m Merida. Which, let’s face it, I already knew:
Which princess are you? What other Disney quizzes should I waste time on? Who wants to know which princess John is?
It’s less than a month until Elyssa and I head down to Disney World to visit the Food & Wine festival (and run a race, or something….). That means it’s time to really start figuring out which booths I might want to visit at this year’s festival.
My process is simple: start with Josh of easyWDW’s reviews of the new (one and two) and the returning food items, and supplement with other reviews, as necessary. (As you’d probably guess, I would encourage you to check out Josh’s posts for the full description and photos of all the items.)
After going through the various reviews, here are five items that I know I want to try. I’m sure I’ll add to this list as I read more coverage, go back over reviews, etc…, but this is my starting point:
Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans and Tomato (Brazil)
Several large bites of tender, slow cooked beef top a freshly pressed waffle. It’s basically beef stew over a waffle with a little bit of an onion-y kick from the leeks
[A] baked enchilada kind of thing with some corn chips that are no longer particularly crunchy. But it’s piled high with seasoned shredded chicken, melted cheese, and the other ingredients to make a flavorful dish that probably doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but tastes better than anything currently served at the Mexico quick service.
Battered shrimp, pico de gallo, pickled onions, and chipotle mayonnaise is a slightly different take on Mexico’s usual shrimp taco. This is the best version yet, with four lightly fried shrimp sitting underneath a creamy, spicy chipotle mayo and the piquant onions adding a little crunch along with the pico.
It is made right in-front of you using liquid nitrogen to rapidly cool the truffle mix. It is all topped in a warm whiskey caramel to make a delicious sweet treat
Images of the Jeffro Bodeen waffle – Google Image Search and Flickr (I thought I had one of my own, but I apparently do not. I guess I have to go back…)
As always, thank you to the Mighty Men of Mouse guys for having me on the show. Please don’t blame them when I bring the overall quality of the show down.
It looks like Elyssa and I will have to decide whether we’re going to do the Princess Half Marathon over Feb. 23-26, 2017 (which we did last year and are doing this year), or the Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side April 20-23, 2017. In a vacuum, we’d probably go for the Star Wars half (since we love Star Wars), but April 20-23 falls right in prime wedding season for Kivus & Camera, so that could be an issue.
Elyssa at this year’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend
On an upcoming episode of the Mighty Men of Mouse podcast, I briefly discuss my thoughts on the price increase of Disney World annual passes. I frame those thoughts on the idea that they impact “people in Florida” at a much higher level than they impact Disney World guests at large. Thinking things through a bit more, I think my explanation on the podcast lacked some of the nuance that I intended to convey.
When people listen to my reasoning tomorrow, I would anticipate that one major criticism of my opinion is that I fail to account for the impact the price increase has on DVC members. Ultimately, I think is more a failure in my word choice than an actual point against my position. I should have said that the changes in annual pass pricing impact “people in Florida AND DVC MEMBERS” at a different level than it impacts other people who may purchase annual passes. My thoughts are the same for both groups.
There’s a not of text on this page. I just kind of wanted to break it up. This is a picture of the Lighthouse at the Yacht Club.
My position (which I share with various other theme park commentators) is that Disney World has a certain, definitive capacity that, at peak times, is actually reached. Disney, therefore, has determined that if people who have the “option” of attending the park other times during the year (such as Florida residents and DVC members) want to attend at peak times, those people will pay a premium to do so. Basically, Disney is saying “if you want to take the spots that could go to a family making their only Disney World trip in 2 or 3 years, then you’re going to have to compensate us for that privilege.” I’m not saying thats “right” or “fair”, but it’s the decision that Disney appears to have made. (And it shouldn’t really be a surprise to DVC members who sometimes have to spend almost twice as many points to stay during Christmas as during September.)
A common attack on this pricing approach by Disney has been the idea that “Disney World is punishing its best customers.” I understand that position (and frankly, I would much rather pay the previous $535 to renew my annual pass than the new $635 (before tax)), but Disney has determined that attempting to funnel these “best” customers into non-peak seasons is a better economic strategy than trying to preserve the “loyalty” of certain repeat guests. Only time will tell if this strategy pays off, but I think it’s clear that the strategy is in place.
Lastly, I want to show some of the math that fueled my position that these prices had a disproportional impact on Florida residents and DVC members. As a non-Florida resident, non-DC member, it will cost me $676.28 (including tax) to renew my annual pass next year. Here are a couple of possible trip plans that Elyssa and I have for 2016, along with their combined prices for a Park Hopper pass:
Five Day Trip ($367.50) + 2 Two Day Trips ($257.30 * 2) = $882.10
Five Day Trip ($367.50) + Three Day Trip ($325) + Two Day Trip ($257.30) = $949.80
Five Day Trip ($367.50) + Four Day Trip ($367.50) = $735.00
Buying individual tickets for these trips still comes out to be more expensive than buying an annual pass, even without including the benefits like free parking, photopass downloads, and restaurant discounts that an annual pass provides. (Also, these ticket prices are almost surely going to go up next year, probably in February. At that point, these numbers will look even better.)
NOTE: All ticket prices were found using the lowest price available from the TouringPlans Ticket Calculator (And, yes, the 4 day and 5 day passes do cost the same according to that calculator)
In other words, as someone who is purchasing an annual pass as a way make multiple trips a year, I am still saving money versus buying individual trip tickets. (And also getting some benefits I’ve questioned the value of in the past.) That said, there’s a good chance that I “make up” some of the difference in my annual pass renewal price by having an extra meal or two offsite during those visits (Always feel free to let me know if you want to meet up with Elyssa and me for some G-Mac and Cheese).
In summary, I stand by my position that the annual price increase impacts certain types of guests (Floridian residents and DVC members) more than it impacts regular Disney World travelers, but I wanted to “show my work” a little more than I did when I made those statements on the (soon to be released) podcast.
With the recent increase in price for Tables in Wonderland, I bet I’m not the only one trying to figure out if it is going to be worth it to renew that card. One part of that cost-value analysis involves comparing the Tables in Wonderland discounts to those discounts that I already get as an annual pass holder. Though I am still working through my own analysis, here is a list of AP discounts compared to what you receive via Tables in Wonderland (“TiW”). These discounts appear to be good as of today (and, presumably, through the end of the 2015): NOTE: TiW Discounts do include alcoholic beverages
20% off Regularly Priced Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages During Lunch, and 10% off during Dinner:
The above mentioned blackout days are what you would probably expect: New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve.
NOTE: The Annual Pass does offer a 20% discount off the House of Blues Gospel Brunch, but the discount not available on the following dates: April 5, May 10, June 21, December 20 and December 27, 2015.
Hopefully, this listing helps you a little as you try to decide if continuing with Tables in Wonderland is the right idea for you.
My latest TouringPlans article, Paying Your Way – Managing Disney Gift Cards is now up. It’s not as “high concept” as some of my other posts, but contains some practical advice on how to manage your Disney gift cards. Here’s the intro:
With Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival underway, you are almost guaranteed to see various articles and message board threads suggesting you buy a Disney gift card to purchase your items (Food & Wine even offers special, smaller gift cards that come with an elastic wristlet so the card is always available for easy payment). That makes now the perfect time to discuss how to best manage your Disney gift cards and add a bit of an update to Laurel’s write-up about gift cards from last year.
For Non-Florida residents, the Annual Passes now come in two options: “Platinum Plus” and “Platinum”. Both passes include admission to all 4 parks (with park hopper privileges), free parking (which has been raised from $17 to $20 per day) and photopass downloads (a new addition this year). The Platinum Plus option also includes admission to Disney’s waterparks, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and the Oak Trail golf course. There are also a number of changes to the Florida resident pass options ,which can be seen at WDW News Today and TouringPlans. These changes include new “Gold” and “Silver” options that include certain blackout dates, and could possibly point to the tiered pricing structure that we have seen hints of over the past couple of months.
Looking at the numbers, renewing my annual pass as a new “Platinum Pass” is going to cost $102.24 more this year than it did last year (including tax). I had assumed that the amount would be closer to a $50 increase, but I can (kind of) stomach the larger increase because of the inclusion of Photopass downloads as part of the pass (especially since I have previously said that I don’t think Memory Maker is worth its cost.)
In a related move, Disney has increased the cost of Tables in Wonderland by $50 for annual pass and DVC members. Translated, this means that you have to spend $750 in food at Disney World in a given year to break even on your Tables in Wonderland purchase (up from $500 a year.) Based on Elyssa’s and my eating habits on our Disney World visits, this price increase might mean we will no longer be purchasing Tables in Wonderland.
Ever since the Magic of Disney Animation closed and Walt’s office was removed, Elyssa and I have been waiting for (and fearing) the announcement that One Man’s Dream would be closing its doors at The Studios. Today, it feels like we are another step closer to that annoucement, as the Disney Parks Blog announced that previews of The Good Dinosaur would take place in the One Man’s Dream theater. Though there are not a lot of details (maybe part of the day will be the traditional One Man’s Dream film, and the rest of the day will movie preview? I doubt it.), this feels like more of an indication that One Man’s Dream will be on the way out of the parks soon (If I had to guess, I’d say it’s closed about the same time as the Osborne Lights come down.)
Though I undertand that One Man’s Dream might not fit with the more “Hollywood Adventure” approach to The Studios that’s on the way, I do hope they find somewhere to add more of the history of Walt Disney to the resort. In fact, I don’t even care if it’s in one of the parks. I just want somewhere on Disney World property to get that “look back” we won’t have when One Man’s Dream finally closes its doors.
