News Nuggets from Around Disney World

by John Disney Springs, Epcot, Hotels, The Studios, Walt Disney World

With 2015 coming to a close, I figured we could sneak in one last edition of Rope Drop [dot] Net News Nuggests. After the big edition last week, this will feel like a little bit of a down week:

Pixar Short Films Festival Now Open – I was hoping this was just a temporary, holiday attraction, but the amount of work they did to update the theming makes me think it will be there for a while.
New Menu at Jock Lindsey’s – Great rundown of the menu changes from Josh over at easyWDW. I’m bummed that I never got to try the calamari flatbread, though (it’s just regular calamari now.)
Disney Testing Paid Parking at Walt Disney World Resort Hotels – I think I prefer this to the blanket “no parking at the resort without an ADR” policy. I hope it’s something they only implement during busier times, however (and they have special exceptions like late night trips to Trader Sam’s.)
Pizza Planet closing for major refurbishment lasting from January 19 through November 7, 2016 – With all the construction taking places for Star Wars land (and Toy Story land being a whole different part of the park), I think we might have seen the end of Pizza Planet.
Permits for Disney Springs show details about Edison and (possibly) Neverland Lounge – I really have high hopes for the Edison. I hand’t heard about “Walt’s” before, but it sounds like the exact type of place I want to see more of (at Disney Springs or otherwise.)
Saratoga Springs might become a higher value DVC – This is an interesting look at how the DVC point charts for 2017 might make Saratoga Springs a more desirable destination. Combine this with its location near Disney Springs and it seems like a pretty good option for DVC members.

Let’s end things with a link to a video of this year’s holiday Illuminations and a link to Corey Disbrow’s 2015 Disney World photo recap. (And don’t forget that Disney is live streaming it’s New Year’s Eve fireworks from the Magic Kingdom tonight!)

The original news nugget picture for the last nuggets of 2015

News Nuggets from Around Disney World

by John Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, Epcot, Events, Holidays, Magic Kingdom, The Studios, Walt Disney World

There has been a lot of Disney World news over these last few weeks of 2015. So, let’s not waste any time and get right to this edition of the Rope Drop [dot] Net News Nuggets:

The Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen is now open! First, I’m glad they went with straight table service, instead of a mix. The menu options and the lack of ADRs are interesting choices. I look forward to seeing some of the reviews about the quality of the food.
Comedy Warehouse to be at The Studios from December 19 through 25. – I used to love the Comedy Warehouse. My family and I would go almost every night of our trips and I was devastated to see it close. I hope I’ll get to see the Christmas version one of these years. (NOTE: It’s a Tier-2 Fastpass+ attraction.)
Nighttime Torch Lighting Ceremony Returns to the Poly. – This is pretty cool. I’d like to check it out some day. (The only question is whether or not I wait until I stay at the Poly first or not.)
Audio-Animatronic Three Caballeros return to the end of the Gran Fiesta Tour. – What a neat little upgrade. Much like Disney repurposing part of the Magic Kingdom’s old Snow White ride into the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, this addition brings a nice little bit of nostalgia to Gran Fiesta Tour. You can see a video at WDW Magic.
Previewing the Chocolates Available at the New Ganachery at Disney Springs. – These look pretty awesome. I have a feeling that Elyssa is going to be asking to go to Disney Springs more and more because of places like this. This is also coverage of the opening and a Disney Food Blog review available.
Here’s a line-up of all the holiday entertainment that’s available at the Magic Kingdom this week.
A Review of the Different Levels of Walt Disney World Park Capacity Closures – With the the busiest weeks of the year approaching, it’s a good time to review the various levels of closure that might occur at Disney World.
Tiana, Lady Tremaine, Step Sisters, and Fairy Godmother return to their original Meet-and-Greet Locations – As construction wraps up, it makes sense that some of these characters are moving to their original meet-and-great locations.
Memory Maker gets lower pricing. – I’m glad to see Memory Maker get a price decrease, but it makes the Annual Pass price increase earlier this year a little tougher to swallow. That said, the ability to get photos via the My Disney Experience app for easy social media posting makes Memory Maker a better value than it used to be.
‘Brunch at the Top’ Debuts February 7th, 2016 at California Grill. – Eating brunch at the California Grill would be cool, but $80 a person is pretty steep. Personally, the menu is probably a little too fancy for Elyssa and me. We’ll stick to Whispering Canyon.
New pirate “invasion” comes to Adventureland. – This is…ahhh…interesting? Are they really going to do this all year long? I kind of think this is a holidays only thing.
Disney World makes some security changes, including metal detectors and bans on adult costumes. – It’s kind of a bummer that we’re at a place where Disney World has to do this. I hope this is a temporary step until they can install some additional security that’s more transparent to the guests. I guess only time will tell.
Pizzafari now has handmade pizzas! I thought Josh had lost his mind when he said the new pizzas at Pizzafari aren’t that bad. Looking at the pictures in his post, however, I am optimistic about this change.
Baymax Meet-and-great now open at Epcot. This is great news. I’m really glad to have Baymax back.
Thirsty River Bar and Trek opens at Animal Kingdom. – It’s a small addition, but it seems like a nice one. Disney Hipsters and Disney Food Blog also have coverage.
New Wine Bar coming to Disney Springs – With each new announcement, Disney Springs is becoming more and more of a place you are going to want to visit during your trip.
Christmas Day religious services at Disney’s Contemporary Resort – I think it’s good that Disney gives people an easy option for this while they’re on vacation.

That’s it for this edition of the New Nuggets. Let’s finish off this post with a link to some pictures of some of the great Christmas trees found at Disney World And a video of the new Symphony in the Stars, Star Wars-based Fireworks at The Studios

News Nuggets from Around Disney World

by John Epcot, Events, Magic Kingdom, The Studios, Walt Disney World

So many nuggets, they don't even fit in the cup. — So many nuggets, they don’t even fit in the cup.

It’s about time for a hearty helping of news nuggets. As you are probably aware, new Star Wars offerings opened at The Studios this week, but since Star Wars is so important (both to Disney, and to Elyssa and me), I will be saving a recap of that coverage for another post.

On to the nuggets!

The Lumberjack Show won’t be returning to the Canadian Pavilion. – Off Kilter was so popular, that I think whatever replaced them had to be a home run. Though I didn’t mind this show, I don’t think it was as outstanding as it needed to be. I assume the next act will have a bit of an easier time.
International holiday food items available at World Showcase – The Food & Wine festival might be over, but there are still some special treats available at Epcot this holiday season as part of Holidays Around the World at Epcot.
Acoustic Group “Quickstep” Debuts in the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot – Huh. This seems like something you’d find in Portland or Austin, not Epcot. It’ll be interesting to see what people think. (Here’s a video from WDW Magic if you don’t want to wait to see them live.)
Clown slide at the Boardwalk closed. – The big reason I’m posting this is so that people staying at the Boardwalk while the slide is closed know that they might be able to use Stormalong Bay.
New “Grab-n-Go” Food and Beverage Option coming to Animal Kingdom “Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks” should open on or about December 12, and is located in former Expedition Everest Fastpass location.
Enchanted Tales with Belle no longer part of evening extra magic hours. This makes sense. They only do a show if there’s a certain number of people, and I imagine that number is hardly ever reached late at night.
Sum of All Thrills closed for Refurbishment until December 5 It’s a quick closure, but it helpful to know if you’re visiting Disney World this week.

We’ll close out with some links to the various Christmas decorations that are up around Disney World, including gingerbread sculptures at Contemporary, Mickey’s Village at the Yacht Club, and the famous gingerbread house at the Floridian.

News Nuggets from Around Disney World

by John Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Resorts, The Studios

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.
Rick Bayless to open Frontera Fresco at Disney Springs I think they’re doing a good job of rolling out these restaurants at a pace that allows each announcement some room to breath. Hopefully, Frontera Fresco will get the same positive reaction that we are seeing from The BOATHOUSE and Morimoto Asia.
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.
Sorcerer Mickey Meet-and-Greet now in the Old Studio Backlot Area This is an “interesting” place to put Sorcerer Mickey, but you have to have this meet-and-greet somewhere. It’s too classic of a Mickey look to not have a place where you can see it.
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.

News Nuggets from Around Walt Disney World

by John Events, Holidays, Magic Kingdom, The Studios

I also like my corn dog nuggets with a side of beignets. — 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:

Flying Fish Cafe to be closed for lengthy “reimagining” starting on January 31, 2016,. Though Elyssa and I have never eaten there, we do have reservations for a trip in November. We kind of want to see what this place looks like before they change it up.
There will be an early “sneak peak” of the Osborne Lights from November 1–5. If the lights are already up (and close to functioning?) it seems to make sense to extend their last “performance” as much as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lights stay up a little later in January, either. (If you want an even earlier preview of this year’s lights, you can check out this post from Denise at Mouse Steps.)
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?
Duffy’s (Girl?)Friend, ShellieMae, is Coming to Disney World. This is something that Elyssa has been waiting for since ShellieMae was announced in 2010. I have a feeling that you’re going to see ShellieMae and Fenway in some of those “couples” costumes on Elyssa’s Instagram before too long.
Mulch, Sweat and Shears had their last Disney World performance this past weekend. I never was a huge “Mulch” fan, but, based on the outcry online, it seems like they will be missed.
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.