Category — p. News and Changes

STAR WARS: A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY

Star Wars: A Galaxy Far Far Away is a stage show that occurs multiple times a day on an overly short stage in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater/The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Debuting in April 2016, the show combines movie clips, characters from the Star Wars saga—tons of characters—and some minor pyrotechnics.

There’s no real plot to the show—it’s kinda like an extended curtain call.

First, old good guys show up….

…then bad guys, who tend to get the best pyrotechnics and light effects….

…then new good guys…

…then almost everybody.

The viewing area is small, but even so it’s hard to see (especially BB-8) if you aren’t close to the stage, as it is a bit low.

For Star Wars fans, it’s a chance to see the characters, if the fans get close enough to the stage. It’s not of much interest to others.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

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STAR WARS PATH OF THE JEDI

Star Wars Path of the Jedi is a brief film in the old “Sounds Dangerous” building on the way to Star Tours and the Jedi Training Academy.

It covers the Star Wars saga, and is a great first step for those planning to enjoy the various Star Wars attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, especially if it’s been a while since they saw the earlier installments in the saga.

It begins in a familiar way…

…and briefly covers the “greatest hits” of the various key Star Wars characters…

And their destinies.

For those without much interest in Star Wars there’s not much to it, but it is short and air-conditioned. For Star Wars fans, though, it’s a great way to begin a Star Wars-centered visit to the Studios.

There’s more on the Path to the Jedi in my co-author Josh’s post here.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

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STAR WAR LAUNCH BAY

Star Wars Launch Bay opened in December 2015 in the old Animation Building in the Animation Courtyard area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

It includes meet and greet opportunities with both Chewbacca and a Stars Wars villain—currently the wuss Kylo Ren, but at the time of my visit universe-class villain Darth Vader…

…A video that’s in the categories of “Making Of” and “Universal Significance” of Star Wars, particularly The Force Awakens, although this will likely shift to the next story in the saga to be released, 2016’s Rogue Wars

…and lots of fun objects to look at.

You also may run into Storm Troopers, Ewoks, and such.

The payoff here is principally for Star Wars fans, and the bigger the fan you are, the more you will likely enjoy it.

You don’t have to have seen The Force Awakens to understand the Launch Bay, but if you are not the sort to have already seen it, you may not have enough interest in Star Wars for there to be much value here.

There’s more on the Launch Bay in my co-author Josh’s post here.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

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The Cabins in Fort Wilderness are being refurbed–I believe all loops but 2800 and 2100 are done. (A photo tour of the refurbed cabins begins here.)

Earlier in the refurb there was ambiguity about what would happen to the Cabins in Loop 2100.  That ambiguity is over–they are gone.

Wednesday the 20th I saw some 2100 Cabins being un-skirted but still on blocks…

…and others on wheels.

Well, they were all gone by the 22nd, and on the 23rd Josh of easyWDW got this shot from the passenger seat of my rental car of them on the old STOL strip that’s now used for construction storage and staging.

There’s no official word on what will happen to Loop 2100, but the smart money is on premium campsites for big RV rigs.

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Update: Disney After Hours is returning for the summer of 2018.

The Disney After Hours event gives you exclusive, almost no-wait access to almost all of the Magic Kingdom’s attractions for a three hour period after park close for five remaining nights this spring

• April 28
• May 5
• May 8
• May 12
• May 19

The event begins at park close—10p some nights, 11p others. Those who purchase tickets for it–$150 each for the general public, and $75 for annual passholders and DVC owners—can enter as early as 4p.

It’s hard to communicate how low the crowds and waits are—even with twice as many in the park who came, they still would have averaged zero. So I’ll place various shots throughout this post to illuminate the lines at various points.

Let’s start with the same area of Fantasyland, during the day…

…and during the After Hours event.

I tested the After Hours event on April 21st, and had a ball. Between 6.30p and 2a I saw 29 attractions and shows, including every single headliner and almost every FastPass+ ride.

If you want to see a lot of Magic Kingdom rides with low or no waits, it is well worth it. The challenge is fitting it into your already existing plans, as the late start—especially for the events that start at 11p—really blows up the next day.

Space Mountain at the After Hours Event

Since most careful Disney World visitors have their plans and their budgets set months ahead, and this event arrived with short notice, it has been really hard for many to fit it into their wallet and put it into their schedules.

If it becomes an ongoing part of Disney World offerings—now is too soon to tell, despite the fact that many have already written it off from lower than hoped-for sales—the ability to plan for it in advance will be a key prerequisite.

I can see it being very successful during many stretches from September through January on days Magic Kingdom closes at 10p or earlier, so long as people have sufficient advance notice to put it into their budgets and plans. Without the ability to plan and budget for it in advance, though, I doubt it will fly.

Peter Pan at the After Hours Event

Like most things at Disney World, a successful visit to the event comes from careful planning.

My basic strategy was to do what Josh and I call in our book “Anytime Rides” (that is, rides that typically have low waits) until near the time of the event, “First or Last Hour Rides” (that is, rides that typically have low waits at the beginning and end of the day, but high waits in between) just before the event, and rides that are typically high-wait during the event itself.

Pirates of The Caribbean at the After Hours Event

Moreover, during the event itself, I targeted the west side of the park first, then Tomorrowland, then Fantasyland. I targeted this way for a couple of reasons

• I figured most people’s first targets would be Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, so thought I’d see lower crowds by starting in Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square
• The only ride where other people are essential is the Jungle Cruise, giving another reason to put Adventureland early
• I figured that whatever small children were at the event would be sinking as the night grew later, so put Fantasyland last

Jungle Cruise at the After Hours Event

In general this worked out great, although I did get trapped by the 11p parade away from Adventureland, so ended up doing Tomorrowland earlier and the Jungle Cruise later than I had planned to.

I arrived at 6.30, and here’s the sequence of my visit, with some rough timing:

1. Tinkerbell meet & greet 6.30p
2. Enchanted Tiki Birds
3. Liberty Belle steamboat 7.30p
4. Country Bears
5. Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse
6. Hall of Presidents 8.30p
7. Evening Parade 9p
8. Carousel of Progress
9. Wishes 10p
10. Mickey’s Philharmagic
11. Tomorrowland Speedway
12. Peoplemover
13. Astro Orbiter 11p (Actual event start)
14. Buzz Lightyear
15. Space Mountain 11.40p
16. Magic Carpets of Aladdin
17. Jungle Cruise
18. Pirates of the Caribbean 12MN
19. Splash Mountain
20. Big Thunder Mountain
21. Haunted Mansion 12.30a
22. Peter Pan
23. Winnie the Pooh 1a
24. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
25. Mad Tea Party
26. Dumbo
27. Barnstormer
28. Under the Sea 1.30a
29. it’s a small world

Of what was offered during the event, I missed Meet Mickey Mouse, Princess Fairytale Hall–Anna and Elsa, Princess Fairytale Hall–Cinderella and Rapunzel, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, and Stitch’s Great Escape.

it’s a small world at the After Hours Event

Of what’s offered at Magic Kingdom but not during the event, I missed Enchanted Tales with Belle, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, the Afternoon Parade, Meet Ariel in Ariel’s Grotto, Walt Disney World Railroad, Pete’s Silly Sideshow: Goofy and Donald, Pete’s Silly Sideshow: Minnie and Daisy, and Celebrate the Magic.

With a 4p arrival, I could easily have added to my visit several of the meet and greets, and many of the Carrousel, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Stitch, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Celebrate the Magic.

In other words, if I’d arrived at 4p, I would have rides left only for a short afternoon either the same or another day to see the Afternoon Parade and a few other rides–three with FastPass+–and would have seen all of the Magic Kingdom over the course of the event and an afternoon.

(A 10p park close cuts an hour out of the time available to you between 4p and park close. You could shift this hour to the “extra” afternoon, or save an hour by skipping some of your lower priority rides–e.g. skipping the Hall of Presidents and the Liberty Belle would give you back that hour.  However, with this year’s primaries, the Hall of Presidents is approaching thrill ride status…)

Contrast this with the typical approach to the Magic Kingdom, which allocates either two days with rope drops or 3+ days, some with rope drops. Instead of spending two consecutive full days at Magic Kingdom, building an itinerary around the After Hours event can give you back at least a day—e.g. the morning of the event day, and the afternoon and evening of the next day.

Depending on how you value your time and money and design your visit, that will either save a hotel night and day of eating (if you are at a deluxe, that itself will pay the extra cost of full price tickets), give you an extra day at another park, or give you an extra day off.

However, this requires advance planning, which most have been unable to do for the April and May events.

The After Hours event, besides requiring advance planning and budgeting, is also not for the faint of heart.

Unless the park closes early (which it is not in April and May), you will be up really late—at the park til 1 or 2a, and add another hour to hour and a half to get back to your hotel, settle in, and fall asleep.

Magic Kingdom Parking Lot 2.15a at the After Hours Event

(Finding your car and getting out of the parking lot will not be an issue.)

Taking full advantage of the minuscule waits requires the ability to stay up late, a good plan, sound knowledge of Magic Kingdom, and brisk movement.

For these reasons I can’t recommend it to first timers.

But if it is continued in the fall, with sufficient advance notice that you can plan around it and budget for it, then the After Hours event can be a very good idea for returning visitors who know the Magic Kingdom well and want to grab an extra day out of their trip.

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I had a whirlwind trip to Disney World last week and have lots of news to share from it.

Almost everything noted below will later result in its own post, or in a major revision to an already existing post.

However, I know my track record for the pace with which I get such material written, so thought I’d better get the key news out now.

One bit of news is missing–my whole trip was planned around seeing  Rivers of Light, which got delayed…oh well that gives me an excuse to return to Disney World soon!

NO REFURB FOR LOOP 2100

When last we spoke about the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, I’d noted that Disney’s plans about Loop 2100 were unclear.

I’d seen a rumor on disboards that the Cabins on this loop were being unbound and hauled off, and confirmed that on a visit to the campground as soon as I arrived.

Josh of easyWDW.com took this shot from the passenger side of my rental car as we were low-riding near the Magic Kingdom.

What will happen to this loop is still not clear–but we can rule out that the cabins that were on it will be refurbed…

There’s more on the lost Cabins here.

SCAFFOLDING IS DOWN AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE

Next I rolled over to the Wilderness Lodge to see the state of the refurb there.

The lobby is still marred by construction walls…

…but the scaffolding is down around the south-east wing, making the Wilderness Lodge not as bad a choice as last I’d suggested.

COOL NEW KIDS WATER PLAY AREA AT PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER

Port Orleans French Quarter replaced its old lame kiddie pool with a great new kids’ water play area, which I saw next.

This new feature is huge–you have to see it to appreciate it–and it greatly enhances the appeal of the pool here to younger kids.

NEW STAR WARS STAGE SHOW OF HUGE APPEAL TO REALLY TALL STAR WARS FANS

Next it was off to the Studios, where I saw the new Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away stage show.

This show–kinda an extended curtain call for Star Wars characters, interspersed with movie clips–is of appeal to Star Wars fans who arrive early, or are really tall, as the stage is far too short for good sight lines to it.

REFURBED JAMBO HOUSE STUDIO

The Jambo House Villas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge are being refurbed.

Wednesday night I stayed in and photographed a refurbed Studio.

The refurb is really light–new carpet, cushions, TV, and more power points.

REFURBED STANDARD ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE ROOMS

Thursday, for reasons that will become apparent, I mostly slept, but in the middle of the day shifted from my Studio to a standard Animal Kingdom Lodge room.

These rooms had been refurbed since my last visit to the Animal Kingdom Lodge in 2014, so I took new photos to post in my review of this hotel.

125 DISNEY OWNED ROOMS

Incidentally, this room was the 125th different Disney World-owned room, studio, villa, suite, campsite or cabin I’ve stayed in.

I’ve always had the quaint notion that Disney World bloggers should write about things they actually have experienced. Most have stayed in just a few room types, and for the rest simply write words about others’ words.

THE OASIS POOL AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

The Oasis Pool, the last component of Disney’s multi-year refurb of the Polynesian Village, opened in early April.

I stopped by on my way to the Magic Kingdom–it’s a much more expansive pool and set of amenities than I had thought, and worth a visit, soon…

DISNEY AFTER HOURS

Next I tested the Disney After Hours party…

…beginning with a little dalliance with Tink. Note how much she’s into me. Most can’t really blame her.

The short version is that I saw 29 attractions and shows, including every single headliner. A full report on the After Hours event is here.

Here’s who else was in my ride vehicle on Pirates of the Caribbean.

STORYMAKER

StoryMaker is the personalization system that’s being rolled out across Disney World.

Disney World pulls data from its databases as cued by your MagicBand, and StoryMaker uses the data to present personalized messages and also charge your credit card for Shanghai overtime.

In the Haunted Mansion, the hitchhiking ghost knew what state I had traveled from, and held up a sign saying “Back to Ohio.”

On it’s a small world, I got a personalized goodbye.

I knew this was coming, and expected to be weirded out by it.  In fact, I found it charming.

CAPA AT THE FOUR SEASONS

Friday morning I got up earlier than I wanted to (I’d gotten back to the Lodge about 3a after the After Hours event) and raced down to Mara to fill my refillable mug with coffee.

There I ran into my imaginary internet friend Tami (of Colorado Mountain Mom) and her family, but since I had not yet ummm brushed my teeth we agreed to act like it never happened.

Lovely wife Amy Girl (below) flew in later Friday morning (hence Tink on Thursday).

I’d planned for us to be at the Animal Kingdom Friday, perhaps to do the Joe Rohde meet and greet, but instead we lazed at one of my favorite spots at Disney World, Uzima Pool at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. (We did walk behind Joe’s ear later at the Lodge.)

From there we had a really nice dinner at Capa at the Four Seasons (which had not yet been open during my earlier stays at this hotel).  Amy had not been there before, and given her delight in relaxing at pools, I wanted to show the hotel and its pools to her to entice her to stay at the Four Seasons on our next visit.

We enjoyed Capa and she loved the pools, but I forgot to take photos of our entrees so it’s like we were never even there.

MEET AND GREET WITH JOSH AT EPCOT

Saturday Josh and I did a meet and greet and book signing at Epcot.

We’ve done a lot of these, but this one was my favorite.  We met some really neat people, and made some children happy.

Josh is on the right, I’m on the left with my new hat (I left my cap behind on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), and Allison from Destinations in Florida is next to me.  Between her and Josh is a really sweet couple we met and whose book we signed.

Another family had a son who had just turned ten, and as a birthday present got his own copy of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, which Josh and I autographed.

A later photo from his mom indicates his satisfaction with our signatures…

REFURBED ONE BEDROOM VILLA

We then moved into a refurbed One Bedroom Villa at Jambo House.

Like the Studio, the changes in the refurbed Villa were very subtle–carpet, cushions, TV, power.

EPCOT FLOWER AND GARDEN FESTIVAL

Amy had only seen the Flower and Garden show in early March, not late April, so we took a spin around Word Showcase Saturday evening and ate in Morocco.

Lotsa fun pictures…we have a soft spot for Lady and the Tramp, as our first family dog, Molly, looked just like Lady.

COWRILLAS

I had trouble falling asleep Saturday night, so hung out on our balcony and watched the animals go to sleep.

Three giraffes fell asleep in front of me–here’s them about to get up the next morning:

Above the trees behind them, I could see the fireworks from the Studios. Later, while drinking some Orange Blossom Pilsner that Josh got for me, thanks to a trick of the wind I could hear the Electrical Water Pageant all the way from Seven Seas Lagoon.

The giraffes were eventually joined by cowrillas.  I’d noted cowrillas a coupla times on my Facebook page, but never explained them.

Cowrillas are cattle with horns as big as gorillas would have, if only gorilla had horns…

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