July 2016 Disney World Update

By Dave Shute

I got back last Wednesday from a whirlwind visit to Walt Disney World that covered almost all the new stuff that’s opened this summer, plus some older new stuff that I had not gotten around to in my January or April visits, plus some revisits to various resorts.

It’ll take me a while to write everything up in detail, so I thought I’d give you capsule overviews of the most salient things I did. As I expand these into full posts, or update old posts, I’ll add links on this page to the more detailed discussions.

(My co-author Josh of easyWDW.com and I did some of these together, so where it makes more sense I will link to his posts instead.)

SARATOGA SPRINGS (STUDIO)

I hadn’t stayed in Saratoga Springs since 2013–a while by the standards of this site–so the first thing I did was check in and take new photos of my room, a studio.

I requested and got my favorite section, The Paddock (my favorite because it combines a quiet and laid back feel with a great pool and pool grill–though each is small). The Springs area, however, is a better choice for most–an even better pool and bar, closer to the main shops and dining.

I’ll post updated room photos and floor plans soon.  The changes since 2013 are minor, though, mostly bed linen.

PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER

Then it was off to visit Port Orleans French Quarter, where my photos aren’t so hot. I’ve been updating them on various drop-bys, and noted before this trip lousy pool shots, so I took a bunch.

POFQ frankly needs a fresh stay, which I can’t fit into my late August/early September visit, so will do in my November visit.

FORT WILDERNESS LOOP 2100

Next, it was off to Fort Wilderness, where I found active construction in Loop 2100 (which had its Cabins removed in April), even though it was a Saturday.

Fences with dark fabric make it hard to tell exactly what is going on, but from lifting my camera above them, these sure do look like Premium loops.

WILDERNESS LODGE REFURB UPDATE

The Wilderness Lodge refurb continues.  The most interesting new thing was that interior walls have been removed from the closed southeastern wing.

It’s hard to tell from the photos (the left is from the Villas side, the right from the Courtyard side), but the red circles indicate where you can see windows on the far side from windows on the near side–that is, the hallway walls between them are gone.

This may answer the question of how Disney is fitting DVC rooms into the small footprints of the old Wilderness Lodge rooms–I am guessing that they aren’t, but rather are using old hallway space to add around 60 square feet to each bay on one side.  What will be going on on the other side I can’t tell you, but do have some guesses, which I’ll publish later.

Rumor is that all Villa types will be available in this wing.

SOARIN AROUND THE WORLD AT EPCOT

I was fully prepared to hate the new film Soarin’ Around the World, with my public reasons being the strange curvatures (the left-curving image of the Eiffel Tower above is from one of the more central seats–it’s even more comic from side seats) and the degree of artificiality in many of the scenes.

My private reason would be that I spent my Cub Scout years as a Navy brat in California, so every bit of the old film called out my inner eight year old boy, never very far from the surface…

In fact I loved the new show, and consider it a must see.

The sights are well-chosen, the scene transitions are bang-bang, the added animated (but fairly realistic except for their unlikelihood) bits are great, and the ride has an added sense of urgency, speed, and even danger (from feeling like you are so high) that makes it veer a bit towards a thrill ride, especially for those with even the slightest fear of heights.

There’s a full review of Soarin’ Around the World here.

TURTLE TALK WITH CRUSH AT EPCOT

Bits of Finding Dory have been added to Turtle Talk with Crush–Hank is in, as well as Destiny (above).

The additions work great in what was already a wonderful show.

FROZEN EVER AFTER AT EPCOT

Frozen Ever After replaced the Maelstrom ride in Norway, using the same track but showing characters from Frozen and Frozen shorts in a variety of settings.

There’s no real story here, and not much happening other than very well-done animatronics and a nice integration of the old ride system to “Let it Go.”  For Frozen fans it’s a must see, but not worth a long wait for those not fans of the movie.

A meet and greet has also opened next door. I’ll do it on my August visit, trying not to tremble from my huge crush on Anna.

There’s a full review of Frozen Ever After here.

DISNEY & PIXAR SHORT FILM FESTIVAL AT EPCOT

The Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival opened in the 4D theater in the Imagination Pavilion in December 2015, replacing, thank God, Captain EO.

It combines three great short films (Get a Horse, For the Birds, and La Luna) with theater effects that work especially well in the Mickey Mouse-featuring Get a Horse.

Both in the pre-show and during the show itself there’s commentary on the history of Disney and Pixar animation, and overall this is a nice, light entertainment, and is the best thing in the Animation Pavilion for years.

STAR WARS: A GALACTIC SPECTACULAR AT DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

The new Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular replaced the prior Star Wars fireworks show in late June 2016.

The key to this show is that while it does indeed have fireworks…

… it is best thought of as a projection show. The fireworks add emphasis and punctuation to the projections, rather than being of great merit on their own.

This is important, as you can’t see the projections well unless you are near where they are displayed, the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater that contains The Great Movie Ride.

You need to be between the projection towers on the right side of the photo and the theater, and ideally on the left side (while facing the theater) as some of the fireworks are only on the right.

The thousands of people further down on Hollywood Boulevard won’t have nearly as good an experience.

The latest schedules make it impossible to both see the first Fantasmic and then wander over and see this show too.  That’s just fine, as there aren’t adequate good spots for the 10,000 people that Fantasmic will hold.  I need to revise my itineraries to divide these shows over two nights.

There’s a full review of Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular here.

STAR WARS: A GALACTIC SPECTACULAR DESSERT PARTY

I don’t normally recommend the various Disney World dessert parties, but if you have shorter Star Wars fan-children, a need for some drinks and snacks, and some money to burn, you might want to consider this one.

Your $69 for those ten and over and $39 for those 3-9 gets you a lot of fun desserts, some savory snacks, and as many alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) drinks as you’d like.

More importantly, the reserved viewing area is behind a roped-off walkway, and has an area for those using wheelchairs or scooters at the front.

If there’s room–and there almost always will be–kids are welcomed into this scooter/chair area, and with no adults in front of them until across the walkway, they will get better views of the show than from any other place in the Studios.

Josh has much more on this party here, including my curious encounter with a bartender…(I saw it with Josh and Tom Corless of WDW News Today. Not like it was a date or anything.)

SARATOGA SPRINGS (ONE BEDROOM)

Then it was out of my Studio and into a One-Bedroom Villa at Saratoga Springs, for the same reason–I hadn’t stayed in one since 2013, and there are some minor decorating changes that I need to document.

This was in the Congress Park area, most convenient to Disney Springs, where I had planned to visit this night, but later decided to go to the dessert party instead.

SANAA AT KIDANI VILLAGE AND SPOKESKITTIES

Monday Josh and I had a long lunch at the great Sanaa with a reporter who would probably rather remain anonymous and almost certainly is wishing for a bit of amnesia too.

So instead of Sanaa shots here’s a selfie of us in my Polynesian Village room, with leis.

My lei ended up on my MagicBand lamp in my home office, which is also the nursery of the site’s new SpokesKitties. Above, calico Henry is grabbing at it, with gray tubby tabby Edward about to pounce.

Here’s the SpokesKitties in a rare moment of repose.

But I digress.

KILIMANJARO SUNSET SAFARI AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

Three evening attractions have recently opened at the Animal Kingdom, which is open two to three hours later than it used to be to accommodate them–until 11p (rather than 8p) in the summer, then til 8 or 7.30p in September after Labor Day, rather than 5p. (Sunset in Orlando in September starts at 7.46p and makes its way to  7.12p.)

One is that Kilimanjaro Safaris now runs after dark. Various lighting effects–including a “sunset savanna” effect that lights my weak photo above–let you see how the animals behave after dark.

It’s interesting to those who find animals interesting (I loved it), but not a substitute for seeing the same ride in daylight.

There’s a full review of Sunset Kilimanjaro Safaris here.

TREE OF LIFE AWAKENINGS AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

Another new night feature is projections on the Tree of Life. Animated interludes (whose start is signaled by music) are separated by longer periods with brief moments of motion, easy to miss but fun to catch.

I spent an hour delighted by this, but most people likely will spend less time.

There’s a full review of Tree of Life Awakenings here.

THE JUNGLE BOOK: ALIVE WITH MAGIC AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

The third new offering at Animal Kingdom is the Jungle Book show, a (hopefully) temporary replacement for Rivers of Light, the major show expected in this spot in April which has not yet opened.

The show occurs in a wonderful new setting in the park’s Asia area.

I can’t think of a major new Disney World offering that has been savaged more than this Jungle Book show. I found it sort of OK (Josh tells me that it is much improved–especially the projections–since its opening week). But it certainly needs some salt, hot sauce, and bacon.

The three new elements don’t offer enough either singly or collectively for you to bend your trip around to be able to see them.  But if you can easily fit them into your Disney Word plans, do so.

And most of the rest of the park is now open late as well.  The Animal Kingdom has always been special after dark, but with no evening extra magic hours here the past few years, that has been hard to see. Not anymore.

There’s a full review of Jungle Book: Alive With Magic here.

POLYNESIAN RESORT CLUB ROOM

I stayed in one of the new Studios at the Polynesian Village last year when they opened, but had not stayed in a regular room since all the construction here was completed in April.

I had meant to book two nights in a standard view room, but none was available for two nights by the time I got to booking, so I ended up with a theme park view booked for one night and a club theme park view room the second.  Expensive, but this is the Value 2 price season, and I got a good passholder discount too.

When I got my “room ready” text, I discovered that the Poly had upgraded me into a club room for both nights, which was cool–it’s always nice to not be homeless between check out and check-in times, especially as hot as July can be (and was).

“Club rooms” are what Disney calls what others call “concierge rooms.” There’s an area with staff to help you with plans (they also email you before the trip to see if they can help) and also a lounge that offers a light Continental breakfast, snacks around lunch and dinner, and drinks and dessert in the evening.

Many swear by these. I’ve never seen the value for money, but if you are stuck booking one, it’s certainly not a bad thing!

THE OASIS POOL AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

New since I’d stayed here last is the Oasis Pool, which replaces the old East Pool and opened in April 2016. It’s a better pool on almost any measure than the old pool…

…and it also adds a bar and grill, as a much-needed alternative to the offerings available in the Great Ceremonial House and by the main pool.

The grill has narrow hours–9 to 5 on my visit–but has an interesting menu (click it to enlarge it), and the bar stays open longer.

Also open part of the day is a refillable mug station. This was closed by mid-afternoon, but I did not note exactly when.

MICKEY’S ROYAL FRIENDSHIP FAIRE AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM

Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire is a new show staged in front of Cinderella’s Castle multiple times a day.

Featuring Mickey’s crew and the lead couples from The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen, it’s a fun confection of song and dance, with some ruffians from Tangled tempting Mickey to club them.

It’s not worth an intentional visit, but if it is starting while you are in the area, it’s worth checking out.

THE BUNGALOWS AT THE POLYNESIAN

Those staying in Club rooms were offered the opportunity to tour the new Bungalows at the Polynesian.  I’ll never set foot in one otherwise, so Josh and I took the tour.

Ignoring the around $2000 a night price, these are fine spaces for eight. Factor the price in and I don’t get it.

Nice view from the deck, though…

WISHES FROM A THEME PARK VIEW ROOM AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

Theme park view rooms at the Polynesian Village let you watch Wishes from your balcony.

While not a replacement for seeing this fireworks show from within the Magic Kingdom…it’s certainly fun!

OK, that’s it for my update on my short trip.  I’ll be filling out many of these observations in more detail soon!

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