On just four days of 2014, the Magic Kingdom’s Festival of Fantasy parade kicked off at 5:00 p.m., when the Winter sunlight was starting to dim and the Christmas lights came on. It created a really gorgeous environment for an already awesome parade, so we thought we’d give you a look at Festival of Fantasy, evening edition.
Continue reading Festival Of Fantasy Night Run – a Pictorial Post
It seems like a long time since the Magic Kingdom was free of walls and cranes and in fact, it has been a good while. People visiting the Kingdom over the past couple of weeks may have noticed even more green walls, cardboard cutouts, and latticework has gone up. What exactly is going on? We’re detailing the construction and what you can expect on your vacation in the Magic Kingdom.
Continue reading Magic Kingdom Construction: What’s up in the hub?
Disney and Starbucks have created a co-branded beverage ware line and given the buzz on the internet, it’s the next big thing in must-have merchandise. Starting today, the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Starbucks locations will carry a selection of Disney branded Starbucks cups and mugs including parks-only versions from the Starbucks “You Are Here Collection”.
Currently at Walt Disney World, Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom and Fountain View at Epcot have their park-specific mugs as well as 24-ounce cold cups out for purchase.
While the cold cups look the same in all the parks, the mugs are park-specific and can only be purchased in-park. The graphics and colors are great.
Ceramic travel mugs with a design similar to the cold cup’s are said to be on their way, but have not arrived yet. Mugs are $14.95 each and cold cups are $19.95 each. Beverage ware is not eligible for passholder discounts, but is discounted for cast members.
Downtown Disney’s Starbucks will not have You are Here mugs, but will likely carry tumblers and travel cups at some point.
This week’s construction update is all lobby all the time. The Polynesian lobby is officially open after a major remodel and removal of the water feature that the resort was known for. Let’s get started with the new look.
Most immediately noticeable about the new space is, well, the space. The water feature that took up most of the cavernous room previously has been removed and the stonework flooring expanded throughout the first floor.
A great deal of seating has been added around new planters and in arrangements of themed furniture. Â Notice that the flooring in the former footprint of the removed water feature is tinted blue to represent water.
While there is a small water feature that remains, it’s a somewhat confusing pile of rocks and only one side of it is dedicated to fountain flow. A tiki statue will be placed atop the new fountain when the resort reopens officially, likely in April.
The skylights have been refreshed and the light fixtures that hang from them are representative of polynesian fishing floats.
The fishing and water theme is echoed in unique places throughout the resort including the light fixtures in the elevators and the float decorations in the revamped shops.
The check-in and bell services desks have been remodeled, though their footprint hasn’t changed much.
Upstairs, the seating area at ‘Ohana is finally finished with refreshed flooring and furniture.
And around the hotel, new art by Mary Blair has appeared.
Stay tuned to the blog and our Facebook and Twitter accounts for details on Trader Sam’s, the new long houses, the bungalows, and the new pool as it all opens in 2015.
Several days ago, Walt Disney World took the construction walls down from Peter Pan’s Flight to reveal a newly refurbished queue. And while the theming is great, the change to a climate controlled line space is the real winner in this process. Let’s take a look at the changes.
Continue reading A new look at Peter Pan’s Flight and the queue refurbishment.
Lots of concepts are taking shape at the Polynesian (now called the Polynesian Village Resort) so let’s get started on the update. This week, Disney released more information on the renovations taking place in the 3 long houses being converted to Disney Vacation Club rooms and the bungalows being built in the Seven Seas Lagoon. 360 rooms are being converted to Disney Vacation Club “Deluxe Studios” that sleep up to five people – two in the queen bed, two on the pullout sofa, and one small person on the sleeper that pulls out of the t.v. stand.
For reference, the foldout bed sleeps a small person probably less than 5 feet tall. It’s like a trundle rather than a twin and folds out of the t.v. stand that you can see a piece of to the right of the bed in the above photo. It will be exactly like those now in place at the Villas at the Grand Floridian (photo below) and Villas at Wilderness Lodge and those going in during the refurbishment at Villas at Beach Club.
In an interesting move, the Polynesian will not have any 1 or 2 bedroom suites in the long houses as they do in all the other DVC resorts. Instead, guests will be able to open doors between the studios to connect them if they wish. Why do DVC rooms matter to non-DVC owners? DVC rooms are available to cash guests at all resorts and these won’t be any different.
As for the bungalows, it has been announced that they will be cottage-type setups that sleep up to eight people. No definite information has been released about the number of bedrooms in each, but it’s predicted they will have two bedrooms. Again, even though these are technically Disney Vacation Club properties, DVC rooms become available to book for cash when DVC members use their points to purchase cruises or other non-Disney World/Disneyland entities and revenue needs to be recouped in order to pay for those exchanges. In short, these rooms will be available to cash guests.
The current structures have a way to go, but plunge pools are in place and railings are up. The color scheme is currently much different than the concept art, so hopefully there’s some painting left to do.
Basket swings are up on the porches on the sides of the buildings.
The fronts of the buildings are coming together as well, with some odd decisions made as to the front doors. Some have round windows, some square.
Construction fencing was open for a while as trucks took materials in and out. There seems to be a bit of a reconstruction of Paradise Point, though of course it won’t have the same view as it used to. The new hill has been planted with palms and walkways surround it.
Inside the resort, the lobby is taking shape. The center of the lobby is still draped with curtains, but it’s rumored that those are coming down before Christmas  and the lobby will look like this:
On the right of the lobby a new bench has been installed.
The glass ceiling is finished/refurbished and is out from under cover.
Down the hall and around the corner, the hallways are prepped and the opening to the space that will be Trader Sam’s is temporarily filled.
Outside, the pool is still under heavy construction as the volcano is remodeled. There’s trench work going on to the right of the deluxe cabana that looks to just be pipes going in.
In front, the porte chochere is finally finished and Christmas decorations are up.
The fountains in the front of the hotel remain walled off, but Christmas decorations are here too.
Stay tuned for more information as it develops on this resort.
With major construction at every single park and entertainment property (and some of the resorts) at Walt Disney World right now, it can be difficult to figure out what’s going on where. Today we’re taking a walk through Animal Kingdom to let you know what’s going on and how you can expect it to affect your time in the park.
There’s a ton of information to get to about Downtown Disney’s transformation into Disney Springs, so we’ll jump right in. In case you’ve missed the news, Downtown Disney is undergoing a major remodel to become a multi-“neighborhood” shopping district called Disney Springs. New restaurants, shops, and entertainment are all on their way and the district is slated to be finished in 2016. There are tons of changes already, and we’re going to walk you through them and how they may change your trip.
Continue reading Disney Springs Update: Downtown Disney is changing quickly
Holidays at the 
Walt Disney World resort are packed with special experiences designed to make your season merry and bright, so much so that finding out about everything that’s going on can be difficult. If there’s a park that takes the holidays to heart more than any other, it’s Epcot. With its World Showcase Holidays Around the World and Candlelight Processional, the park is brimming with cheer – and crowds. We’ll show you how to get the most out of both offerings and fill you in on all the need-to-know details to make experiencing Epcot’s holiday festivities as easy and enjoyable as possible.
Continue reading Epcot Christmas: Candlelight Processional and Holidays Around the World
Dates for 2015’s Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios were announced late last night (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from May 14 to June 15, 2015) and early this morning, Disney snuck in the opening of reservations for Star Wars Weekends dining.  Offered daily May 4, 2014, through June 15, 2015, the meals include the Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, and Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine Dinner at Hollywood & Vine. Here’s what you need to know about these experiences to book a great meal.
Continue reading Star Wars Weekends Dining at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and Hollywood & Vine 2015
