Bob Sehlinger's Blog, page 1233
May 2, 2014
Live from the Disney Dream – Menus
Welcome back to Day 2 of the 3 night cruise. On a three night cruise, you are scheduled for one dinner each of the main dining rooms. Each location has a set menu – because it’s a 3-night cruise, there are no special menus such as the Pirate menu, even though tonight is Pirates IN the Caribbean.
Here are photos of the menus (click for full size):
Enchanted Garden
Animator’s Palate
Royal Palace Menu
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In Case You Missed It: Disney News and Rumors – Week of May 2, 2014
In Case You Missed It!
Happy 25th Anniversary to Disney’s Hollywood Studios!!! Let’s see…what’s the silver anniversary gift?
It’s been a crazy week, so let’s just dive right into the fun!
In Case You Missed It – Disney News and Rumors
If you live near or will be visiting the Chicago area soon, you’ll still have a chance to see the “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. According to reports, It has been extended until August 3, 2014. It’s a neat exhibit with lots of great history and artifacts.
Did you know that Steve Martin used to work at Disneyland? Check out this awesome retro photo of Steve clearly performing a card trick at Merlin’s Magic Shop.
TIME reports that “It’s a Small World” is the most played song in history. Find out how they got to that conclusion. TIME also attempted to figure out which was the most popular Disney Princess. Take a wild guess at who was number one. (I think the rest of the list may be a bit of a surprise though. I’m not sure how I feel about this list, because I’d always thought that Ariel was much more popular.)
Are you a fan of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort? It has once again, for the 15th year in a row, received the AAA Five-Star Diamond Award. Congrats to them!
Walt Disney World beat out many other theme parks to take the honors, as it was voted the National Amusement Park Historical Association’s favorite theme park for the 11th year in a row.
A lot of changes seem to be occurring within the Walt Disney Company. Just this past week a few notable ones took place. First, /Film reports that Scott Trowbridge, VP of creative for WDI Research & Development, will be dedicating his time to something relating to Star Wars for the parks. Also, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald will be taking on what appears to be a project for Epcot. I’m curious to see what comes from both of these appointments. It would appear something’s brewing.
Disney has been working to get the Florida legislature to pass a law to allow wristbands be included as protected ticket media, like paper tickets previously were. It appears, according to the Orlando Sentinel that will become true, finally.
For those keeping track of what’s going on with the construction of Shanghai Disneyland, Disney is increasing its investment by another 800 million. Find out more details from Bloomberg.
In news that makes you go what?, it appears that Disney was at one point considering Buzzfeed but the merger fell through. Wait…what? It’s true.
I’m sure you’ve seen. It seemed to be all that anyone could talk about earlier this week, but the cast of the next installment in the Star Wars saga has been announced. Check out the cast. What are your thoughts?
Who is excited for the next installment of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Want to see Diagon Alley in a unique light? Check out these photos from WESH who gives us a birds-eye view of the new area at Universal Studios Florida. It’s looking incredible.
In Case We Missed It
What did we miss? Send your idea attached to a Disney’s Hollywood Studios 25th Anniversary Polo and send both to blog@touringplans.com with the words “In Case You Missed It” in the subject line.
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TouringPlans Everywhere – I’m Going to Disneyland!
Photo by Seth Kubersky. Modifications by me.
A little while ago we announced that Touring Plans would be spending a weekend this October at every Disney-operated destination. Well, I managed to draw the California-shaped straw, which my family and I could not possibly be more excited about. To hopefully help any of you who are, or would like to be, planning a Disneyland Resort trip, I will be writing a few posts over the next few months explaining our planning strategy.
Since I’m sure many of you are wondering how we at Touring Plans decided who would be going where, I’m going to let you in on a secret: I don’t know. I honestly have no idea how it was determined, and frankly, I don’t care because I’m going to Disneyland! (Ed. – it was based on sending people places they’d never been before plus trying to keep transportation and lodging prices down. That’s why all the FL based people are cruising or going to Vero Beach.)
I have been visiting Walt Disney World in Florida since 1984, but have never once been to Walt’s first park on the west coast. In fact, despite much travel, I have only been to California one time and that was a long weekend for a wedding. My wife and children (girl who will be almost 6 and boy who will be 3) have also never been to Disneyland, making this a very special experience for us.
Photo by Guy Selga, Jr
Since having my first child 5 ½ years ago (well, technically my wife did a large portion of the ‘having’ part), I have noticed that many of our experiences with the kids have been introducing them to things that we are already familiar with. For me, Disneyland represents a wonderfully rare opportunity for all four of us to experience something new and monumental together as a family. Sounds like something Disneyland was built for.
As I mentioned, our California exposure has also been fairly limited. Because of that, we decided to take advantage of our cross-country flight and see some of the other Southern California sites. A little beach time sounds like just the right thing prior to going super-Disney-fanboy-crazy in the parks. Besides that, I hear that California…knows how to party, although I’m unsure of what time a West Coast party stops.
Our Timeline
As I mentioned, we wanted to see some other things in California besides Disneyland. Before making any concrete plans we needed to figure out how long we could go for. As with many of you, work and school commitments complicate our plans in addition to the regular old money concerns. There are also logistical concerns as California is a large state and we would have to miss quite a bit of work and school to go all the way up to Oakland and Sac-town, the Bay Area and back down (I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure I’m the first one to quote Tupac on this blog…gimme love!). (Ed., I would have gone with “California Über Alles,” but that’s just me.)
Once we sat down and chose a few things we wanted to do such as the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and several different beaches (gotta show off the pasty white belly) (Ed., ew.), we determined that we wanted to spend 6 days in California in addition to Disneyland. Next came the parks themselves, just how much time does one need in Disneyland?
Look how small the castle is! (Photo by Guy Selga, Jr)
What I read from sources such as the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, the two parks, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure, can be seen in two days, one for each park. To do that however, requires either a busy schedule or skipping some stuff. Since my children are small, pushing them to the limit is usually a bad choice. And of course, skipping stuff is not something I want to willingly do.
We really wanted time to a) see all available attractions, b) see our favorites again, and c) be able to enjoy all the little atmospheric touches that made Disneyland such a revolutionary park. What we settled on was 5 full days at Disneyland, which should enable us to go slow and see it all. I may even have time to stop into Trader Sam’s!
Lodging
As with Walt Disney World, the first choice that needs to be made is onsite vs. offsite. One of the big difference out west is that there are way, way more offsite hotels than onsite, as there are only 3 Disney hotels. The other huge difference is that “offsite” could mean literally across the street from the park entrance. Unlike Florida, where there is a ginormous buffer of land around the parks, the California version is abutted by dozens of hotels.
Here are the things that we decided are important to us in a Disneyland hotel: it has to be clean, it has to be safe, and it has to be close. We wanted to fully take advantage of the walkability of Disneyland and have no need of any sort of shuttle once we are at the resort. While staying in one of the Disney hotels, the Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier, and the Grand Californian, would be nice, we decided it was not necessary.
After examining the prices (hint: Disney hotels are more expensive, like pawning your silverware expensive), reading lots of reviews, and talking to some friends and colleagues who are familiar with the parks, we decided to stay offsite. The specific hotel we decided on is the Camelot Inn and Suites, it is simple, but seems to be well run and the location can’t be beat. When I told my wife it was a 5 minute walk, she assumed I was exaggerating. No, Google Maps says it’s a 5 minute walk…to the entrance gate! All that and we can stay for 5 nights cheaper than 2 nights in the Disneyland Hotel would have been.
I cannot wait to see this. (Photo by Guy Selga, Jr)
What Else Am I Going to Write About
I won’t continue to bore you with things like choosing my airfare, although please ask any questions below or by emailing me at Brian at TouringPlans.com. Instead I will bore you in the future with other long-winded moderately amusing posts about my trip.
At some point in the next few months I will be writing a story about my expectations for Disneyland. As a Walt Disney World veteran who has heard stories about the original theme park for years, I have imagined some scenarios in my head. My goal with my next post will be to unleash those ideas so you can all tell me how wrong I am (and so I can revisit them afterwards).
Around late July or early August, there will also be an article about dining at Disneyland much like this one, where I explain our thought process with places we want to eat. Since I am unfamiliar with Disneyland food options I will be looking for plenty of help making my dining reservations.
There will also be a post highlighting my Touring Plans for the parks and everything we hope to see and how we are organizing our trip. Of course there will also be at least one follow-up with how all of this turned out for us.
I am also taking requests. Since many of you are more familiar with Walt Disney World like I am, please let me know if there is anything you would like to hear about from a planning or traveling perspective. Nothing is off limits (well, some things are, but not much).
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Parts of Disney Springs to Debut Officially in 2015
©Disney
If you’ve been to Downtown Disney lately, you’ll know that it’s a complete construction zone. There are walls up everywhere as the park coverts itself to the revitalized Disney Springs.
Today, it was announced that the update will debut in two parts. The first part, known as The Landing, will open officially in early 2015. At that point, Downtown Disney will be re-branded as Disney Springs. The second part of the refurbishment will debut sometime in 2016, which will include an updated Marketplace and West Side, as well as the all new Town Center.
When completed, Disney Springs will be doubled in size and will feature around 150 different restaurants and shops, as well as fun entertainment experiences. Disney Springs draws its inspiration from Florida’s waterfront towns and its natural beauty.
Currently, some changes are slated to debut this summer at Downtown Disney.
Two new Starbucks locations, one on the Marketplace side, near World of Disney, which will be a kiosk set up and the second on the West Side. The West Side Starbucks will includes a covered patio overlooking the waterfront, as well as a fireplace. The location will also feature the new Clover Bar, which will serve special reserve coffees brewed to order. This location will be very similar to what recently opened at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney, with a high-tech screen behind the Clover Bar that will show images from coffee regions around the globe, and a new Human Connection Wall- large touch-screen monitors that allows guests to use their finger to draw images.
Also debuting this summer will be the new Marketplace Co-op. This unique boutique shop will house six different retail concepts. They include:
Beautifully Disney – A beauty destination for woman featuring make-up, fragrance and beauty accessories
Cherry Tree Lane – Accessories such as scarves, shoes, bags and jewelry
D-Tech on Demand – A place to personalize and customize your own electronic accessories
The Trophy Room – Vintage-inspired sports apparel and collectibles
Disney Centerpiece – Home products including in room furnishings, textiles and everyday ware
Zoey and Pickles – A girls’ destination with the latest trends
For those who are excited about the World Cup, a brand new store called United World of Soccer will open in late May, on the West Side. The shop will offer favorite team jerseys, sports gear, cleats, World Cup apparel and accessories.
Finally, Disney will unveil Food Truck Park which will serve as a permanent home to the four Disney Food Trucks. The park will be situated between Bongos Cuban Café and the new Starbucks at Downtown Disney West Side.
Roadwork construction has also started taking place, as Buena Vista Drive will expand from seven to 10 lanes, including a dedicated bus lane. In addition, two parking garages and two pedestrian bridges also will be added, as well as an I-4 Interchange that will offer direct access to and from Disney Springs.
Disney Springs is an exciting revitalization project that I cannot wait to see when it officially opens. It will certainly change the Downtown Disney experience.
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Rivers of Light Nighttime Spectacular Coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
©Disney
For the first time ever, a brand new nighttime spectacular is set to debut at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Rivers of Light is slated to be a fantastic, innovative show featuring swirling animal imagery, floating lanterns, and water screens. The show will be performed on the Discovery River, between Discovery Island and Expedition Everest.
If the concept art is any indication, this show will be absolutely majestic and extremely colorful. A wonderful and welcome addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Rivers of Light will be the park’s first official good night to its guests.
As a reminder, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is working on revitalizing its nighttime experience. It was previously announced that live performers, as well as a nighttime version of Kilimanjaro Safaris, are also in the works.
In addition, the park is currently constructing Avatarland, which will be debuting sometime in 2017.
No official date has been announced as to when Rivers of Light will officially debut to guests, but Disney has indicated that the nighttime events will debut before Avatarland is completed. Again, I’ll make sure to keep you posted.
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Festival of the Lion King To Debut in New Theater in June at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
©Disney
Festival of the Lion King has been under refurbishment for the past few months. The previous show was located in the now closed Camp Minnie-Mickey section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom (which is now the location of construction for Avatarland). A brand new theater is being built in the Africa section of the park.
I previously suspected that the fantastic theatrical attraction telling the story of The Lion King via song, dancing, and acrobatics, would reopen in June, thanks to the yesterday’s news about Harambe Nights.
Today, Disney confirmed that Festival of the Lion King will indeed reopen in its new home in June! An exact date was not given, but given that the first Harambe Nights party is on June 7, I expect it to reopen sometime around then. (My conjecture…not official.)
This new section of the park looks fabulous! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on an exact opening date as soon as it is announced!
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Trader Sam’s is Coming to Disney’s Polynesian Resort and More
©Disney
We know that currently, there is a massive renovation occurring at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, with new Disney Vacation Club rooms, an updated Captain Cook’s, and more.
Well, now it’s official that Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto will be making its debut at the resort. The unique experience has been so popular at Disneyland, that they decided to bring it to Florida. I will be very curious what aspects of Trader Sam’s get brought over from Disneyland’s version and what they will do to possibly enhance the experience. (Personally, I would love a few more nods to the former Adventurer’s Club…as I deeply miss that place which was previously found in Pleasure Island.)
In addition, Disney is going to be renaming the Polynesian. It will now be called Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, as a nod back to when the resort first opened back in 1971.
Finally, it does appear that via this new concept art, the lobby will still include the lush plant life and Polynesian flare that it is famous for. The large fountain does appear to be going away, but there does appear to be a much smaller fountain in the middle.
Keep in mind that this is only the beginning of the refurbishment information for this resort. I’ll make sure to keep you updated as more details get released.
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Live from the Disney Dream – Day 2
Welcome back to our live blogging from the Disney Dream. Today is the first full day on board, the 2nd night of a 3-night cruise. The ship docks in Nassau today. It’s hot, but we’re already gotten a run in on deck 4!
Yesterday was a typical first day. We arrived at Port Canaveral around 11 AM and after we checked in with the other Castaway Club members, we were able to board as we had signed up for an earlier boarding group during online check in. We grabbed a quiet breakfast/lunch at Enchanted Garden, which is our preference to going up to Cabana’s buffet. After that, we headed to the Spa to purchase our Rainforest Passes. At 1:30 we were able to drop our day bags off in the room. My Remy reservation confirmation was on the cabin door, which is good because I’d forgotten I’d made that for the 3rd night. We hung out in the cabin (deck 8 forward, with nice easy access to the spa) until the life boat drill, which is from 3:45 to about 4:10. You start gathering at 3:45, and it starts at 4PM. After that we headed back to the room to change for the spa.
The spa was a little hectic at first because people were still showing up for the tour. And then there were the people who didn’t know how to use their inside voices in a spa, but eventually things cleared out and it was nice. Because of the time of year, it was still daylight when we left at 6:30 to change for dinner and a drink. I really like the rainforest when it’s dark out, may skip dinner tonight for it.
We dressed and headed down to Pink for a before dinner drink and met Myra from the Philippines, who is on her 2nd week with Disney after 10 years with Holland America. Lots of people were checking out the bar, but we were the only ones who stayed for a drink.
Then it was a stop at Guest Services to cancel the forgotten Remy reservation – I love Remy but we haven’t hit all the main dining rooms on the Dream in a while. At Enchanted Garden, we were seated with 2 other couples, all traveling without children. Everyone was in the same age group, so you can tell there is a method to how Disney matches you up. As a vegan, I’m getting pretty weary of my dining choices at the main dining room, because I end up eating the same things every cruise. We were pretty tired after dinner and went to bed instead of going back to the District.
Today we’re going out on our own in Nassau to research some things guests can see and do on their own instead of doing port adventures, which we think are mediocre, expensive, or both for this port. We are going to see if we can entertain ourselves on foot.
Let us know if you have any questions about our cruise and we’ll try to answer them.
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Seven Dwarfs Mine Train To Open May 28 at the Magic Kingdom
©Disney
This morning was the dedication of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in New Fantasyland, and we FINALLY have the information we have all been waiting for! The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will officially open in the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
The attraction may see some soft opening any time now; however, do keep in mind that soft openings are not guaranteed and that even if the attraction does open, it may only be open for part of the day.
During the cute ceremony, which was live streamed via the Disney Parks Blog, Snow White joined her friends, the Seven Dwarfs, along with Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts Chairman, Tom Staggs, as they used a golden pickax to officially dedicate the attraction, which is the final piece in the New Fantasyland project.
According to Mr. Staggs, “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is both literally and figuratively the centerpiece of New Fantasyland, so we knew it had to be something special,” Tom said. “The attraction appeals to everyone in the family and provides just the right blend of heart, humor, and thrill while keeping with the charm of this special land.”
It is exciting that we finally have an official opening date for this brand new attraction. Who’s ready to ride?
©Disney
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May 1, 2014
New All-Inclusive Event Introduced for Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Harambe Nights
©Disney
A brand new hard ticket event is being introduced to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Called Harambe Nights, this party will take place on Saturday nights from June 7 through August 9 in the Harambe Village section of the park.
During this event, guests will be able to take in theatrical entertainment, culinary delights, and help to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The Lion King. (It’s been 20 YEARS?!)
The celebration will kick off at 7:00 p.m. with a welcome reception. Then guests will move to a new Harambe Theater, where they will be able to enjoy a private performance of the new show, The Lion King: Concert in the Wild. What makes this performance even more special is that celebrity narrators will be on hand, in addition to a live orchestra. During the show, guests will see the iconic scenes from the film, theatrically recreated for a never before seen take on The Lion King tale.
Celebrity narrators will include (Do keep in mind that celebrity narrators are subject to change.):
June 7: Viola Davis
June 21: Montego Glover
June 28: David Alan Grier
July 5: Michael Beach
July 12: Harry Lennix
July 19: Joe Morton
July 26: Alfre Woodard
August 2: Brian Stokes Mitchell
August 9: Patina Miller
After the show, guests will then be able to head to the streets of Harambe, where they will be able to purchase exclusive merchandise, meet Disney characters, and participate in artist signings. In addition, a band will be on hand to get the party rocking. Since this is an all-inclusive party, unique dining opportunities are available, including African beers and wines.
The evening will conclude with a fond farewell.
Tickets can be purchased for $119 for adults and $79 for kids, ages 3-9. If you would prefer, you can choose to purchase Premium Admission, which provides guests with premium seating for the show. The cost of the Premium Admission tickets are $134 for adults and $94 for kids, ages 3-9.
Another nice perk is that parking will be included beginning at 4:00 p.m. for those participating in the event.
To purchase tickets, visit Disney’s website or call (407) 939-1319.
Harambe Nights seems like another fascinating new option being rolled out for exciting summer fun at Walt Disney World.
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