Category — p. News and Changes

Josh of easyWDW and I, co-authors of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit and sometimes stars of Hoop-Dee-Doo, will be meeting and greeting and signing copies of our books (or someone else’s book, or your back, we’re easy) Saturday January 27.

We’ll be at Epcot, on and outside of the Mexico pyramid to the right, Saturday 1/27/2018 from roughly 4p to 5p.

Our book combines…

• the un-matched insights of Josh into the parks and dining (he’s in the parks several days a week) with
• my un-matched insights into the Disney hotels (by the time of our meet-up, I’ll have stayed in 154 different Disney World-owned rooms, suites, studios, villas, cabins and campsites)

…into the best-rated Disney World guidebook series ever published (our Disney World guidebooks have had almost 300 reviews on Amazon, of which 91% have been 5 stars).

There’s not a better way to spend an afternoon hour on Saturday than reading our book. But if you are at Epcot instead, come on by–we’d love to meet you and thank you!

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THE 4th OF JULY IN 2018 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Disney World celebrates the 4th of July at several parks–and on July 3rd as well!

Hours may change a bit later, but here’s the current scoop:

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, the Magic Kingdom has a special fireworks show “Fantasy in the Sky” at 9.15p.

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018

• The Magic Kingdom has the same show at the same time–“Fantasy in the Sky” at 9.15p
• Epcot’s IllumiNations will likely have a special holiday ending added, and likely will be shifted from its normal 9p time to 10p, and

Moreover, the normal Wednesday evening Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom will happen Tuesday the 3rd instead.

Those following this site’s Higher Crowd Itinerary for Walt Disney World will be at Magic Kingdom the 3rd, and Hollywood Studios the 4th. If you want to see the fireworks, see them on the 3rd but change your Hoop-Dee-Doo reservations from Tuesday night to Thursday night. If you want to avoid the fireworks crowds entirely, swap First Sunday and Tuesday.

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The Pro Bowl returns to Orlando in 2019. The game itself is Sunday January 27, and various related festivities will occur at Disney World the week before, mostly at ESPN Wide World of Sports, but also—if the 2017 and 2018 program is followed—at Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs.

The actual game is even more lame in person than on TV, and to be avoided—its sole virtue is that it’s largely a Browns-free zone, so someone will actually win it.

Also weak—if it follows the 2017 pattern—is the Pro Bowl Parade at Magic Kingdom, which in 2017 had as it heart only this:

And this:

Much more fun is what’s going on at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

There’s essentially three things of interest at ESPN.

First there’s lots of interactive and play areas (including both physical stuff to do and Madden) that kids will get a kick out of.

Second are the team practices, which are pretty casual and fun to watch.

Third is the “Skills Showdown,” a made-for-TV event that will be taped on Wednesday the 24th. This was surprisingly fun in 2017.

The practices and Skills Showdown have free tickets available. You may not actually get a seat—the reservation system is mean to limit the attendance to what the various venues at ESPN Wide World of Sports can actually hold. You request your tickets via 1iota.com. Right now, I can only find requests available for the showdown, at https://1iota.com/Show/723/2018-Pro-Bowl-Skills-Showdown. Note that everyone who requests tickets goes on the waitlist, and closer to the event date those who are eligible for tickets will get an email including instructions for by when to arrive and where to go.

In 2017 there was also some standby capacity for both the practices and skills showdown, but I would not count on it.

Also worth noting is that parking at ESPN Wide World of Sports is limited, and the roads into the area can be a bit if a zoo.

In 2017, because they were preferred hotels for various amateur and semi-pro football games that were also going on during the week, buses ran to ESPN from the All-Stars, Caribbean Beach, and Pop Century. If these buses are available in 2018 (and you are staying in one of the served hotels) they are a much better alternative than driving. (The general WDW bus system does not serve ESPN Wide World of Sports.)

Here’s roughly where the various venues were last year—the practices were in a couple of spots.

In 2017 various ESPN shows—e.g. Mike and Mike–also broadcast live from Disney Springs. I did not attend any of these last year, but did see a few on TV and they looked like fun for hardcore fans, such as the driver of the above car.

The 2017 version of the Pro Bowl did not have any material impact on crowds elsewhere in Disney World—and may in fact have reduced them, as ESPN during the week kind of served as an alternative minor park. You also saw very little marketing of the Pro Bowl festivities at ESPN in the rest of Disney World—perhaps because of the capacity limits of the parking and venues.

The Pro Bowl is back in Orlando in the second year of a three year deal—next year is an option to be picked up. Many, many more people can get to Orlando for it than to its more common past venue in Hawaii, which is an argument (along with the ESPN/Disney World synergy, which is otherwise pretty limited) for it to continue here.

I did, however, talk to one of the player’s wives last year, and she noted that while the kids loved Disney World and Universal, the wives and players maintained a preference for Hawaii. Not only is Hawaii more fun for the plus ones, but she also said it yielded more of a communal experience among the players. So many of them have their off-season homes in Florida (for tax reasons) that many were going back to their homes in the evenings, especially early in the week, rather than hanging out with their peers in Orlando.

So we’ll see if it’s back in 2019 or not…but in the meantime, if you are an NFL fan and are, or can be, around later in January 2018, check the fan festivities out–they are fun! (But get tickets and be aware of the roads and parking issues).

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The latest edition of WDW Magazine, which focuses on weather at Disney World, is out!

The magazine is available on iTunes, for Android, and on the web.

From my friends at the magazine, here’s the scoop on this month’s issue:

This month we explore how to make the most of your magical vacation – no matter the weather! If it’s hot, cold, humid, or stormy, we’ve got info on how to prepare, what to know, and even what to pack!

Plus we have a special look at Star Wars: Galactic Nights, The Last Jedi, and a new Star Tours scene featuring Crait. We also look at the Polynesian Village Resort, Tiffins, the Backstage Magic Tour, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and we share some fun facts about Weddings at Walt Disney World.

WDW Magazine is dedicated to bringing you in-depth coverage and stunning photos every month. Since 2013 it has been the leading digital magazine for Walt Disney World fans. Subscribe today for less than $4 a month to get instant access to this issue and over 50 more.

I write the WDW Magazine column for first-timers (because who else would??). In this edition, I focus on what first timers should think about weather and when to go. There’s more on weather at Walt DIsney World here.

Curious? Of course you are! Subscribe via iTunes, Android, or on the web.

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“I’ve long said that Dave has the absolute best Disney resort room information I have found!” –Didi Marie, DIStherapy

In November, when I checked out of my Studio at Bay Lake Tower, I completed my 150th different stay in (and review of) a Disney World owned room, studio, villa, suite, cabin, or campsite.

Anyone can ride all the rides. But most who write about Disney World have not stayed in all the hotels–not even close.  I’ve stayed in them all, and in every major room variant, multiple times–and recently.

This includes

• 30 value resort rooms and family suites, with Art of Animation and Pop Century in the lead with 8 and 10 stays respectively
• 35 rooms at the moderates, led by 10 stays at Port Orleans Riverside and 9 at Caribbean Beach
• 35 rooms at the deluxe resorts, led by 7 stays at the Contemporary and 5 at the Polynesian
• 46 different DVC studios and villas, led by Boulder Ridge Villas at the Wilderness Lodge and Kidani Village with 6 stays each
• Stays at 4 campsites at Fort Wilderness (my 5 stays in the Cabins are counted among the moderates.)

From my 2017 Pop Century stays.

In 2017 I stayed in (and published updated reviews of) twelve different Disney-owned rooms:

• Art of Animation
• Pop Century (twice)
• All-Star Sports
• Caribbean Beach
• Port Orleans Riverside
• Yacht Club (twice)
• Copper Creek Villas (twice)
• Kidani Village
• Bay Lake Tower

From my 2017 Yacht Club stays.

(In 2017 I also stayed in and published updated reviews of two on-site but non-Disney resorts–Four Seasons Resort Orlando and The Disney World Dolphin. In 2016 I stayed in 17 different Disney World-owned rooms, and in 2015 14 Disney World-owned rooms and 6 non-Disney on-site rooms.)

This experience matters because universally the weakest part of most Disney World guidebooks and websites is their material on where to stay, and that weakness what I am trying to avoid.

From my 2017 Copper Creek stays.

One person staying repeatedly in all the rooms and in all their major variants (e.g. at Port Orleans Riverside not only standard rooms, but also five-person rooms, and Royal rooms) is the only way to develop a complete, consistent, up-to-date and accurate picture of the hotel options and their strong and weak points.

Reading and copying other people’s experiences just won’t cut it, and those whose approach depends on this routinely publish howlers and generally get too many facts or judgements wrong. I can think of one site (whose owner has very little actual Disney World experience) that claimed that Fort Wilderness is a monorail resort, and that the Contemporary is one of the least expensive deluxe resorts!

From my 2017 Caribbean Beach stay.

Even having your own team of reviewers doesn’t work well, as they can’t compare across their own direct experiences the way a single reviewer can, leading them to miss comparative floor plan nuances or even major differences. Careful readers of a well-known 840 page guidebook will discover that Port Orleans Riverside has trundle beds, that Pepper Market uses stamped tickets, and a dozen other claims that just haven’t been true for years–or were never true. (My guide book, while not perfect, is much better.)

Consistently good and up to date material on the Disney hotel options is sadly rare, because it takes major, multi-year commitments of time and money.

Luckily, I have been able to create the time, and you, because of your support of the book, your patronage of the site’s various sponsors (like Kelly B and The Official Ticket Center), and your interest in the ads on this site, create the money that in turn I spend trying to keep this hotel material great and up to date.

For links to my reviews of all the Disney World-owned hotels, see this.

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Update: these benefits have been extended into 2020.

Today I received a press release noting that the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels will be gaining access to Extra Magic Hours beginning January 1, 2018, and, those “who have booked a Walt Disney Travel Company package including a stay at one of [these] hotels, and theme park admission” with a linked, valid theme park ticket, can make FastPass+ bookings at 60 days beginning January 10, 2018.

While never called an experiment in the press release, the Extra Magic Hours benefit is explicitly referred to as lasting through December 31, 2018, and is noted as being “subject to change without notice.” The FastPass+ at 60 days discussion the press release does not contain such limiting language. But one rumor I’ve heard is that “these benefits are going to be temporary to help during all the Disney resort closures for construction.”

The seven Disney Springs hotels are all on the far (eastern) side of Disney World, to the east of Disney Springs itself. They have on the order of 3,700 rooms in total. They include (descriptions from the press release):

• B Resort & Spa – the stylish resort opened in June 2014 with 394 newly renovated guest rooms, the full-service B Indulged AVEDA Spa, and features American Kitchen Bar & Grill
• Best Western Lake Buena Vista – the 18-story, 325-room resort overlooks scenic Lake Buena Vista and the Walt Disney World Resort, and offers two restaurants, a lounge, and wireless internet
• DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando – the luxurious resort hotel features 229 spacious suites, and is the only all-suite resort hotel in the Disney Springs Resort Area
• Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace –the 27-acre, newly renovated hotel features a beautifully redesigned pool area with four pools, seven restaurants and lounges, spa, and a Character Breakfast every Sunday
• Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista – the closest hotel to Disney Springs, the resort offers two pools, a Disney Character Breakfast each Sunday, seven restaurants and lounges (including Benihana Steakhouse), and 24-hour fitness center
• Holiday Inn Orlando – offers the ideal setting to stay and play, featuring modern Florida décor, a beach entry swimming pool, and complimentary Wi-Fi in all guest rooms and public areas
• Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista –  featuring a Disney Character Breakfast 3 days a week, 394 guest rooms, six dining options, and the Oasis Aquatic Pool Playground with interactive water features

While there has already been much concern–even panic–about the impact of these ~3,700 rooms gaining access to these Disney World perks, the overall increase in rooms with access to these benefits is only about 15%.

Not everyone in them is there for a Disney World vacation (most of the times I’ve stayed at the Disney Springs Hilton, it’s been for conferences). Moreover, on the 60 day FastPass+ issue, not even all those in these hotels aiming to go to Disney World will have booked their stays with a “Walt Disney Travel Company package.”

Note that in addition Steve Bell has reported on MilitaryDisneyTips.com that Shades of Green guests also now have access to FastPass+ at 60 days, and so do guests at the Four Seasons.

So what I expect is that what was already hard—for example getting FastPass+ for Flight of Passage or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train—will get a bit harder, and what was already crowded—evening Extra Magic hours and morning EMH at Animal Kingdom—will get a bit more crowded. But I don’t expect a huge change from the expansion of these perks.

I speculated a month ago about this possibility and what might be the thinking behind it. What we’ve seen—so far—is just a subset of the hotels that were rumored to possibly be part of this plan.

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at a Disney Springs Resort Area hotel or anywhere else–contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

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