The D23 Expo was recently held in California. During the event there were multiple WOW announcements made that will have mixed reactions from the fans of Walt Disney World. There are major changes coming to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios.
Anyone can just walk into Disney Hollywood Studios and realize "change is a coming" and the expo shed some more light on the changes. The much anticipated Star Wars land will be named Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at DHS. There was a scaled model of the land at D23 and a tentative date was given for the opening. Disneyland's version of the Star Wars area will be opening sometime in 2019 before WDW's (how much before is not known). Another change coming to DHS will be the closing of the Great Movie Ride and the opening of an immersive Mickey and Minnie attraction. The attraction will be a train ride into a Mickey Mouse cartoon. For those of you Great Movie Ride fans (myself included) the attraction will close for good on August 13, 2017 in order to begin work on the Mickey Minnie's Runaway Railway. This will leave DHS pretty bare for the time being BUT, Toy Story Land is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018.
As we leave DHS we head to EPCOT where the Guardians of the Galaxy will take up shop where Ellen's Energy Adventure was/is housed. There will also be a new Ratatouille ride (like the one in Disneyland Paris) coming in the area between the French and Morocco pavilions. Opening soon will be a milder level of the Mission Space attraction. There will also be some cosmetic changes coming to the entrance area of EPCOT. It is anticipated that the changes to EPCOT will be complete by 2021 in time for the 50th anniversary. Two rumored announcement that didn't come to fruition were changes to the Imagination with Figment attraction as well as the expected addition to at least one more World Showcase pavilion (Brazil...).
Two big changes will be coming to the Magic Kingdom. There will be a live entertainment theatre modeled after the historic Willis Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. Another thrill ride will be making its way to MK as TRON Light Cycles will squeeze into the park apparently in Tomorrowland.
Along with these changes in the parks there will be two new resorts built (one being an interactive Star Wars themed and the other a new Disney Vacation Club) plus a new restaurant in EPCOT that will be space themed. On the transportation side of things two big announcements were made one being a Sky-Line connecting EPCOT, DHS, Caribbean Beach Resort, Art of Animation and the two new resorts. The other is a UBER like service for WDW which will utilize a "Minnie" Van (a van with Minnie Mouse polka dots and a bow).
With the announcements made at the D23 Expo it only intensifies my desire to return to WDW. Here is hoping you a Magical Day today and everyday...
Monday, July 24, 2017
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Walt Disney World 2017
It is the Fifth of July and I am two weeks back from our family's annual trip to WDW. The trip was awesome as always. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort in the midst of a major renovation. Despite the construction (which is a common thread at Disney) we enjoyed the resort. The two things we look for in a resort are the ability to house the five of us and proximity to our van because our Magical Express is our own transportation. Our resort took care of those two things, not a whole lot more but then again we were there to put our head on a pillow at night and not a whole lot more.
Because of the construction and disrepair of the resort it offered a gift card of $75 a night as an incentive. This was not known to us at the time of our booking but was discovered by our travel agent, Nicole. This gave us an extra $375 that helped us out. It was used basically on souvenirs and clothing. We went sans dining plan this trip and we ate a LOT of quick service meals, which was the plan from the time we began our planning. I can truthfully say no dining plan has its benefits in the up front cost savings BUT, for me and my family we will go back to the dining plan for our next trip. Yes, Virginia there will be other trips (when has not been planned yet BUT there will be more...)
We visited all four parks in five days (two days at EPCOT) and visited the new Pandora at Animal Kingdom (more on that in another blog post) as well as viewing the new Happily Ever After (which I will talk about later on). Highlights of the trip for me had to be some of the photos I got this trip.
When you go to Walt Disney World you never expect to see people you know but on three separate occasions we had the fortune of running into friends from North Carolina this trip. On Sunday June 18 we saw friends from church and spent some time talking at Sleepy Hollow before we were to get on our first Fast Pass of the day the Haunted Mansion. We also came upon them later in the day as we were coming out of the Tiki Room. On the next day as we were in the World of Disney Store in Disney Springs we came across friends from my work. I can say those three instances were also highlights.
I said I would talk about Happily Ever After later, well it is later. For those of you wondering what I am talking about Happily Ever After is the new Magic Kingdom fireworks/castle projection show. Let me tell you it is a MUST SEE. The show is combined where the projections on the castle and music are synced with the fireworks. This is really cool and no matter how many words I use I cannot explain it so I won't try to spoil it. As awesome as the show is there are drawbacks in my opinion. To get the whole effect it seems to me that you must have a good view of not only the skies but the castle as well, and not only that you must be positioned to see the front of the castle. This was not the case with the previous fireworks show. So, you have thousands of people trying to watch the new show all bunched up trying to get the best view. This was a small problem with Wishes but with Happily Ever After it becomes a HUGE problem. There are no Fast Pass options and you find yourself crammed into an area that should have been roped off for limited seating with little help from Cast Members. Another problem is that there are inconsiderate people who visit WDW and feel that they are entitled to get a good spot despite showing up ten minutes before the show where others had their spots at least an hour before the show began. These people also seemed to be amateur videographers with their iPads held high in the air as they stood up once the show started with no regard for the people behind them sitting. My oldest and I stood up next to a railing making sure no one was being blocked by us. Of course the problem did not cease once the show was over as the mass of humanity that had been crammed from the castle all the way down Main Street USA decided to leave the park as the ah from the last firework was still floating down to the ground. My wife and I agree that there could be a major problem if this continues with a trample incident waiting to happen. We ducked into the Emporium gift shop to wait out the mass exit.
Despite the crowd however, our vacation was great. Here are a few of the shots I mentioned earlier.
Because of the construction and disrepair of the resort it offered a gift card of $75 a night as an incentive. This was not known to us at the time of our booking but was discovered by our travel agent, Nicole. This gave us an extra $375 that helped us out. It was used basically on souvenirs and clothing. We went sans dining plan this trip and we ate a LOT of quick service meals, which was the plan from the time we began our planning. I can truthfully say no dining plan has its benefits in the up front cost savings BUT, for me and my family we will go back to the dining plan for our next trip. Yes, Virginia there will be other trips (when has not been planned yet BUT there will be more...)
We visited all four parks in five days (two days at EPCOT) and visited the new Pandora at Animal Kingdom (more on that in another blog post) as well as viewing the new Happily Ever After (which I will talk about later on). Highlights of the trip for me had to be some of the photos I got this trip.
When you go to Walt Disney World you never expect to see people you know but on three separate occasions we had the fortune of running into friends from North Carolina this trip. On Sunday June 18 we saw friends from church and spent some time talking at Sleepy Hollow before we were to get on our first Fast Pass of the day the Haunted Mansion. We also came upon them later in the day as we were coming out of the Tiki Room. On the next day as we were in the World of Disney Store in Disney Springs we came across friends from my work. I can say those three instances were also highlights.
I said I would talk about Happily Ever After later, well it is later. For those of you wondering what I am talking about Happily Ever After is the new Magic Kingdom fireworks/castle projection show. Let me tell you it is a MUST SEE. The show is combined where the projections on the castle and music are synced with the fireworks. This is really cool and no matter how many words I use I cannot explain it so I won't try to spoil it. As awesome as the show is there are drawbacks in my opinion. To get the whole effect it seems to me that you must have a good view of not only the skies but the castle as well, and not only that you must be positioned to see the front of the castle. This was not the case with the previous fireworks show. So, you have thousands of people trying to watch the new show all bunched up trying to get the best view. This was a small problem with Wishes but with Happily Ever After it becomes a HUGE problem. There are no Fast Pass options and you find yourself crammed into an area that should have been roped off for limited seating with little help from Cast Members. Another problem is that there are inconsiderate people who visit WDW and feel that they are entitled to get a good spot despite showing up ten minutes before the show where others had their spots at least an hour before the show began. These people also seemed to be amateur videographers with their iPads held high in the air as they stood up once the show started with no regard for the people behind them sitting. My oldest and I stood up next to a railing making sure no one was being blocked by us. Of course the problem did not cease once the show was over as the mass of humanity that had been crammed from the castle all the way down Main Street USA decided to leave the park as the ah from the last firework was still floating down to the ground. My wife and I agree that there could be a major problem if this continues with a trample incident waiting to happen. We ducked into the Emporium gift shop to wait out the mass exit.
Despite the crowd however, our vacation was great. Here are a few of the shots I mentioned earlier.
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