The Disney World Blog

Walt Disney World Tidbits

Despite all of the negative news coming out of Walt Disney World lately, there are some great new developments there. Here is a summary of a few of the things going on.

Luxo Jr. is at the Studios - the new Audio Animatronic made his debut in June. He is interesting to watch although he doesn't really do a whole lot. I hope this is the beginning of many new things at Pixar Place (I'm still hoping for the Monsters Inc. ride).

Hall of Presidents re-opened - the new AA of Obama as well as advances in the Lincoln and Washington AA have all been well received.  The new show is said to run together a little better and is much less "boring" than the previous version. Morgan Freeman is now the narrator as well which is definitely a bonus in my opinion. .

Diana Exhibit at Downtown Disney - the new exhibit showcasing the life if Diana is now open in the old Virgin Megastore at Downtown Disney.  It includes dresses, photographs and memorabalia from Diana and is open until November 30, 2009. This is not really my thing but it is nice to see they are doing something with the location instead of leaving it empty.

The Yeti is back! - word is that the Yeti is close to being back to his old self. I have heard that it is not in full A mode but whatever repairs have been made have improved it to the point that it is hard to tell the difference. This is great news as the Yeti is such a great AA and to see it standing still the last few times I was there was very disappointing. I can't wait to ride again now.

Monorail Crash at Walt Disney World

I heard the news of this a few days ago and I hesitated even including it here but decided to in the end. My sympathies go out to the family of the monorail driver. This is truly a shame as nothing like this should happen at the Happiest Place on Earth.

To me, Disney has always had a very good safety record, and in the public eye, this may change all of that. I am including a video that summarizes the incident and it is being portrayed as a number of mistakes that all seemed to compound into this tragedy. I am a little disturbed about the comment in relation to management stepping away from safety in order to get guests around the track more quickly. I really hope that is not the case.

HK Disneyland News

Interesting news on Hong Kong Disneyland. I hope this doesn't affect spending at Walt Disney World.

The Walt Disney Co. will spend HK$3.5 billion ($449 million) to fund an expansion of the Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong, as part of a strategy to attract more visitors and counter criticism of the park's small size and lack of appeal to the growing number of mainland tourists to the city.

Negotiations to expand the park, underway for two years, had been bogged down by the Hong Kong government's reluctance to inject new funds into the project.

According to details of the agreement unveiled Tuesday, the Hong Kong government will remain a majority shareholder in the venture, with a 52% stake, but will convert HK$2.7 billion worth of existing loans to the park into equity, according to a report by Dow Jones Newswires.

Disney's stake in the park will rise to 48% from 43% while the government's will fall from 57%.

Total government loans to the park will shrink to around HK$1 billion, the government said in a statement.

The theme park, currently the smallest of Disney's global offerings, will get three new land additions, expanding the park area by 23%. The expansion is due to completed in phases over five years and involve about 30 new attractions.

Expansion of the park is seen as crucial in staving off competition from Shanghai, where a much larger Disney park is due to completed in 2014.

Construction works in Hong Kong could get underway later this year, pending approval for the plan which will be presented to legislators July 10.

The park opened in 2005 at a cost of about $3.5 billion, most of which was borne by the Hong Kong government.

The park has largely been viewed as a disappointment, attracting fewer-than-expected crowds in its first two years of operations, although visitor numbers picked up 8% in its third year.

Attendance in 2007 totaled just over 4 million visitors.

 

 

My thoughts on my first experience booking Disney Dining online

I had my first experience with booking Disney Dining online this weekend and I thought I would share my thoughts.

I am heading to Florida in August for our family’s first Disney cruise. We arrive in Orlando early on Friday so have a day open before boarding the ship on Friday. I thought I would take the time to hit Downtown Disney and try the new T-Rex restaurant. I have not heard stellar reviews but want to try it for myself.

I found it a little tricky to get to the booking engine through the main Disney.com website which was my mistake. I recommend hitting Disneyworld.com and clicking on the dining link down at the bottom left. It doesn’t really stand out so you have to peek around a bit.

I clicked on the restaurant link and it took me to a page where you could drill down by location. I clicked the Downtown Disney option and was taken to a page listing all of the restaurants at DTD. The site did list counter service options but only with a small blurb and no option to click for more details. I found T-Rex and clicked on the "Book a reservation" option.

I then clicked the date and time (I was trying for Aug 21 at 12:15pm) and the number of people in my party (5) and clicked "Check Availability". It turned out my time was not available and I was given two options, 12 noon or 12:30pm. It also suggested three alternative DTD restaurants at around the same time which I thought was a nice feature. One other thing I liked was that there was a price range beside each option to give you some idea of what you could expect to spend. I picked the 12:30 time and after filling in a few words in the security box, I clicked "Add to cart".

You are then given the option to continue booking, or check out. It will hold your time for 2 hours as long as you are actively using the site so you have plenty of time to book more dining.

I hit check out, filled in my name and a phone number and that was it. I was emailed a copy of my reservation and my experience was complete.

I must say that I am definitely impressed with the new booking engine. I was a little worried about speed but the site performed fine. I did like the navigation and the fact that alternatives were provided when the time I was looking for was not available. I do wish that I could have put in a time range (12- 1pm for example) and seen all of the available times during that range so I could pick one. I realize that is probably too complicated given all of the different family size combinations and tables.

All in all, I was happy with my experience and will definitely use this when I book my ADR’s for my January 2010 trip.

“DIANA–The People’s Princess” Is One-of-a-Kind Experience Coming to Downtown Disney

The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation, Inc. (PPCF) is bringing “DIANA–The People’s Princess” – a major new exhibit of royal artifacts – to Walt Disney World Resort. Opening in early July 2009, this limited-time experience showcases the life and story of Princess Diana, one of the most iconic and inspirational figures in recent history, including a sampling of the royal dresses Diana chose to auction for charity and hundreds of authentic artifacts relating to her life.
 
“DIANA–The People’s Princess” exhibit will be held in a 17,500-square-foot setting at Downtown Disney West Side adjacent to DisneyQuest. This unique exhibition is one of the largest collections of royal dresses and rare artifacts ever assembled for an American audience which provides an in-depth historical perspective of her life. The exhibit includes five rarely seen royal dresses worn by Princess Diana.

As part of this unique experience, guests will come to understand:

The stories of Diana’s own childhood and ancestry and how that lineage was influential in her selection as the future bride of HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales, the future King of England.

Her magical royal wedding which was viewed by over 750 million people from around the globe; her favorite role as “mum” to princes William and Harry.

Kensington Palace, the royal residence where Diana lived from the moment she became the Princess of Wales until her death and which today plays an active role in preserving her charitable legacy.

The historical significance of her role as Princess of Wales and the impact she had through that role on the fashion industry and charitable landscape.

How at the Christie’s “Sale of The Century,” 79 of Diana’s royal dresses were sold to benefit charities which helped position her as an astute philanthropist.

Her untimely passing and the massive media and public interest in the tragedy.

The charitable impact still being recognized through her gowns and personal effects.

A hint at some of the items on display:

Royal  Doulton figurine of Diana in her wedding dress –  Made in 1981 at the time of the royal wedding, the doll is wearing an exact  replica of the famous wedding dress.

The  Black Velvet “V” Neck – Designed  by Bruce Oldfield and worn by Diana for her official royal portrait in 1985.

Wedding Breakfast  booklet – Contains guest  names and two tickets to observe the bride and bridegroom before and  following the wedding ceremony in the quadrangle at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

Three-foot doll of  Diana as a young girl –  Released by the Great American Doll Company in 1998 as a tribute to Diana,  Princess of Wales.

“The late Princess used her globally renowned platform brilliantly,” commented Maureen Rorech Dunkel, founder of PPCF. “She understood that the many different experiences she had in her life, both positive and negative, made her more relatable to the public.  She used this quality to connect to the common masses and in doing so became known as ‘The People’s Princess.’ She used her compassion to bring support to all those in need and is still to this date, almost 12 years after her tragic passing, regarded as one of the most influential humanitarians of all time."

“We look forward to The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation bringing this unique experience to our Downtown Disney guests,” said Kevin Lansberry, vice president of Downtown Disney. “We remain committed to offering guests new and exciting experiences they can only have at the Walt Disney World Resort.”
 

Tickets may be purchased at the exhibit – $14.50 (ages 10 and above), $5 (ages 3-9). The exhibition will be through Nov. 30, 2009.  Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily.

Stitch's Supersonic Celebration is short lived

The Orlando Business Journal has reported that the party is over for Stitch.

Stitch’s Supersonic Adventure, an interactive stage show that opened May 5 (Actually, it was May 3rd) at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, will close on June 27.

Disney officials wouldn’t say why the show, which opened with much fanfare just six weeks ago, is on the way out. Postings on blog sites by Disney fans suggest that park patrons complained about having to form queues in the late spring heat without shelter or seating.

A Disney spokeswoman didn’t say what is planned next for the Stitch site.

This truly does not surprise me given what I have been reading about the show. I have read a lot of positive comments but far too many negative ones to ignore. I am surprised it is over so quickly but I believe the issue with the lack of shelter and heat may be playing a larger role. I am thinking they will have to reconsider the stage area and perhaps install some shelter to protect people from the Florida sun.

For those, like me, who wil never get a chance to see it, here is a clip from Youtube.

Walt Disney World Online ADR Booking System is LIVE

According to TouringPlans.com -

Walt Disney World has quietly launched the new online booking system for Advance Dining Reservations through the disneyworld.com website.  There you can find the bookings via their restaurant section…no, it hasn’t been integrated into their “book” section.

See the example below for booking an ADR for Boma:

According to Touring plans,

The system allows you to choose a specific night (or range of nights up to five days), a time, number of adults / children. If you don’t get availability for your dates/times, Disney will suggest alternate availabilities

For example…after picking a restaurant, you will choose the dates/times/number of people:

The system then searches and apparently will will return with availability.  If you get in or not, it will suggest similar restaurants:

You then add the reservation to a “shopping cart”.  I’m hoping that this will essentially “hold” the ADR for you until you’ve added them all to your cart, then you proceed to the check out:

 

Check out their FAQ and updated article here.

Who is Mama Melrose?

I was listening to the WDW Radio Show last week and Lou did a review of one of my favorite Hollywood Studios restaurants, Mama Melrose's. Mama Melrose had been on my list to do a "Who is..." segment and, what do you know, Lou did an interview on his segment that provided me with the information to answer the question. So.......for those of you who did not hear the show, here is the story on Mama Melrose.

She grew up in Italy and often cooked with her Dad who shared his recipes with her. As she grew up, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. She picked up and moved to California and came to the Hollywoood Studios. She made friends with some of the actors, started collecting memorabalia from them and stored it away to preserve the memories.

Eventually, she started inviting her actor friends over for dinner and her food was a hit with them. They loved it so much, they convinced her to open her own restaurant to share her great recipes with everyone. She pulled all of her memorabalia out of storage and decorated her restaurant with it. She did this as a tribute to everyone who helped her over the years and to let everyone know how she got started.

So the next time you are in the Hollywood Studios, drop into Mama Melrose's, have a bite to eat, and take a look around. As with everything Disney creates, the back story here really adds to the magic of this often-overlooked eatery.

Get your Disney PhotoPass CD before price goes up

If you're considering buying a Disney World  PhotoPass CD for an upcoming vacation, you'll save if you pre-order it before Tuesday. The price goes up $20 to $149.95 on June 16.

 

Also, you can save an additional 20 percent if you order the CD here or at PhotoPass centers on Disney property. 

 

Disney has stationed its photographers throughout the parks -- and even the water parks -- and it's free to have your photo taken. Just ask the photographer. Afterward, he will give you plastic card; the numbers on the card are what you will use at either a PhotoPass station on Disney property or online to view your photos.

 

My family has purchased many professional photos from our Disney World outings through the years and by far the best deal if you plan to purchase more than 10 photos is a PhotoPass CD. The price of the CD is for an unlimited number of photos from your vacation -- even if the photos won't actually fit on one CD. So, if you plan to buy the CD, take photos everywhere and anywhere! 

 

You can duplicate photos by doing a "save as copy" in the edit mode on disneyphotopass.com. This will allow you to save versions of the same image with different borders, signatures and crops because the images cannot be manipulated with Disney tools once they are burned on the CD.

 

Remember -- the CD price is for as many photos as you have in your account.

Space Mountain Update

 

Walt Disney World is now more than a month into the seven-month rehab of Space Mountain, and details are trickling out about the changes in store for the venerable roller coaster.

The resort last week filed a construction notice thought to be tied to the Magic Kingdom's indoor coaster; it calls for the installation of an "interactive queue" and audio-visual upgrades. The notice has touched off speculation that Space Mountain could be in line for an electronic-game-filled queue similar to the one Disney installed at Epcot's Soarin' in 2007.

Disney officials, who have been relatively tight-lipped about the Space Mountain changes, previously had said only that the 34-year-old attraction would get a new queue enclosure. They also have said the renovations will include new track — though the layout will remain the same — and a new ceiling.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District puts the rehab's value at $12.3 million. The ride is scheduled to reopen Nov. 21.