Category — p. News and Changes

Disney World yesterday raised prices on its adult (10 and older) multi-day tickets from 5% to almost 10.5%. Child (3-9 years old) tickets went up even more, from 6% to more than 11%.

The higher price increases were on the five day and longer multi-day tickets that make for the best first visit for those who may not be able to return, and are also the most common tickets for returning visitors.

Price increases by length of ticket (except for one day tickets) for adult tickets are in the chart:

In addition, while it is still relatively inexpensive to add days to a ticket at least four days long, there’s now two prices for adding days to such tickets. For shorter tickets, it costs around $16/day, and for longer tickets, $10.65.

The full data on the new ticket prices is here.

At the same time, Disney changed the form of its one day tickets.

• One day tickets still have different prices for adults and children, and (unlike any other ticket lengths) still have different prices for the Magic Kingdom vs the other three parks.
• Now, in addition, one day tickets (but not any multi-day tickets) have different prices at different times of the year, creating more than 70 bazillion different possible ticket prices for these largely irrelevant one day tickets.

WHY THE BIG PRICE INCREASE AND MINOR SEASONAL PRICING ADD?

My speculation is that both of the curious features of the new prices are strategic–that is, they are about the future, not about 2016.

The high increase in ticket prices  for 2016 follows a high increase in 2016 resort prices that came out last summer. Both are trading off an increasing US willingness to spend on vacations now that we are years out of the recession with major exchange-rate issues for overseas visitors, in the context of the Disney hotels being for all practical purposes full, Magic Kingdom capacity a constraint to growth many weeks of the year, and a whole sequence of new attraction investments coming on line this spring, this summer, and next year.

I see this year’s minor stab towards seasonal ticket pricing as simply being the first shot at this seasonal pricing model.

That is, I believe that next year–or sooner, or a little later–seasonal ticket pricing will become more general across Disney World ticket types, as Disney tries to get people into the parks more in the lower-demand periods of the year. Until something relieves pressure on the Magic Kingdom during busier times, and additional hotels get built, that’s where volume growth has to come from.

The high increase this year lets the increases next year in the lower-priced seasons of the year be less, zero, or even a cut, while still showing a good two-year average growth, allowing for a wider band between the lowest and highest cost ticket dates.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

While Halloween itself is October 31st of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Halloween celebration at the Magic Kingdom many evenings in September and October 2016.

This celebration is called “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party,” or “MNSSHP” for short.

At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open, and trick or treating, special events, and different parades and fireworks are offered.

The official Disney World page and prices for this event can be found here.

Click the images below for the 2016 offerings (from early September).

And you can find a review of the 2016 MNSSHP party here.

MORE ON MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY IN 2016

[Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD’S 2016 INTERNATIONAL FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL AT EPCOT

Every year from late September through mid-November, Walt Disney World presents the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

In 2016, the Festival will run from September 14th through November 14th.

There are two components to the festival, one available to all Epcot visitors, and another made up of a bunch of events which have limited capacity and require reservations.

Neither has an extra ticket admission cost–you get to participate by virtue of your theme park ticket–but there are cash costs for the food, wine, and for entry to some special shows and events. [Read more →]

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, click here.)

THE BATH AND BACK BEDROOM IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

This page continues the photo tour of a Cabins at Fort Wilderness that began on this page that covers the kitchen, living room, and dining area.

THE BACK HALL AND BATH IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

On the other side of the kitchen there’s a hall leading to the bath and back bedroom (see the floor plan at the top of the page).

On the right you will see what used to be a half closet, with mechanicals below. This was locked on my visit in March 2020, and that, the absence of the old hot water heater on the back outside wall, and the much better hot water supply in the Cabin, together make me think that a replacement hot water system is in here now.

On the right is the bath.

The toilet is in the back…

…with a tub shower combo on the other side.

Tub toiletries are on the back wall.

The shower head is lesser than what you will find in more recently renovated rooms at Disney World–even in value resorts.

The bath is adequately sized, but unlike those at the other Disney World moderate resorts, is not divided into two spaces, and also has only one sink, not the two you’ll find at the other moderates.

While it does have a nice set of drawers, the lack of a divided bath and second sink makes it less handy for even four-person families than the baths at the other moderates. (The second sink in the kitchen is some help on this matter.)

The hair dryer and a bit more storage.

In the past, the biggest issue with the bath in the Cabins at Fort Wilderness was not enough hot water. This, however, is much improved, and I no longer view hot water supply as a negative to these cabins.

THE BACK BEDROOM IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The back bedroom has one queen sized bed, and a couple of bunk beds.

The queen bed has one side tight against the wall, meaning that if two are sleeping here, one has to exit over the other, or via the foot of the bed.

There’s space under the bed where smaller suitcases might fit.

The bunk beds have mattresses 66 inches long by 39 inches wide, but, because of the railings, sleep shorter than that.

Note the small bedside table…

…with two available drawers between the beds.

Other storage in this room is along the entry wall–note the small TV.

Under the TV you’ll find four smallish-drawers…

…and next to the TV you’ll find a small closet, with a safe in the back.

The safe is quite large–my book is 6 inches by nine inches.

Above the safe, on a shelf above the closet rod, are more linens.

Left of the closet, what looks like another cabinet is actually an enclosure around utilities. The counter-top is usable, and on the short wall above it there’s a mirror. There’s also another mirror behind the door from the hall.

An oddity to these back bedrooms that always troubles me a bit is the second door to the porch you’ll find in this space.

This door–in this outside view, the door on the left–is secured by a deadbolt, which makes it easy to leave unlocked. If kids are in this bedroom, and the hall door to the bedroom is closed, there’s some potential for the kids to get outside without the parents knowing…

Overall, I love these cabins. But they have an awkward bath set up for large families, this egress issue, and the kitchen is not quite as fully configured as it could be.

REVIEW: THE CAMPSITES AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

This review continues here!

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS

• Overview of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Amenities at Fort Wilderness: The Outpost and The Meadow
• Amenities at Fort Wilderness: The Settlement
• The Pools at Fort Wilderness

• Overview: The Cabins at Fort Wilderness
  • Photo Tour of a Fort Wilderness Cabin: Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room
  • Photo Tour of a Fort Wilderness Cabin: Bath and Back Bedroom
• Overview: The Campsites at Fort Wilderness
  • Hints for Tent Camping at Fort Wilderness: Gear and Weather
  • Photo Tour of a Tent Campsite at Fort Wilderness
  • The Comfort Stations at Fort Wilderness

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, click here.)

PHOTO TOUR OF THE LIVING/DINING/KITCHEN AREA OF A CABIN AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The Cabins at Fort Wilderness were refurbed in 2016. Besides changes to color schemes, the key features of the refurb were:

• The full sized Murphy bed in the living room is replaced with a queen sized-sofa bed
• The kitchen is  simplified, losing two of the old four burners, and seeing the old separate oven and microwave converted into a single combined object that based on my tests largely works fine as an oven but can’t broil and won’t deliver oven heat greater than 450 degrees, and
• The old full bed in the back bedroom is changed to a queen.

Since the refurb, the picnic table has been converted to an unsightly metal, and the hot water situation has been much improved.

The first thing to note on approaching The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is that you can park right outside…

…and that your cabin comes with its own grill. Nothing else at Disney World offers both these amenities except the Treehouse Villas.

The cabin includes an outdoor deck, quite large, with a picnic table that seats six.

THE DINING/LIVING/SOFA BED SPACE IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

When you enter your Cabin, the kitchen–which I’ll come back to later on this page–is dead ahead, and it shares space with the combined living and dining area at the right.

The dining table includes three full-sized chairs and a bench, and easily seats five, and six if three can fit along the bench.

It has these fun lights above…

…and this image of the old Fort Wilderness railroad behind it.

Across the room from the dining table is a couch that seats two or three…

…and folds out into a queen-sized bed. I measured the cushion as 5 inches deep, and slept on this sofa bed just fine. The queen sofa-bed fits the room much better than the old full Murphy bed ever did…and of course a queen is better than a full.

But compared to the old layout, it does come at the cost of a younger child sleeping on the couch, and as Julie notes here, these mattresses have compressed over the years.

When the sofa bed is unfolded, things get cramped around the foot of the bed.

Note that in front of the couch there’s a padded object that can serve as either a footstool or a seat.

Across from the couch is this easy chair that replaces what used to be a darling set of kid-sized table and chairs.

The back wall replaces what used to be a Murphy bed with a TV above and storage below.

The TV has a 54″ diagonal.

These cabins used to suffer from not having enough storage space for the six people they hold.

The conversion of the lower part of the old Murphy bed slot into six drawers of storage totally fixes that.

The storage cabinets on either side remain, with one holding linens…

…and the one on the right containing electronic gear.

THE KITCHEN IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The main door of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness opens directly into the kitchen.

This kitchen has some limits, but is largely functional for prepping, cooking, and serving meals.

The main limits are having just a two burner stove…

…and a combined microwave-convection oven that can’t broil or even go above 450 degrees…

…but is otherwise fully functional as a microwave, and largely functional as an oven. A full report on this new oven in the Cabins at Fort Wilderness is here.

There’s also a refrigerator…

…a coffee pot–note also the cutting board behind it….

…and at the other side of the sink, a toaster. Not shown is the dishwasher which is below the toaster. Note the dish-washing supplies to the left of the toaster.

Besides having these appliances, the kitchen comes supplied with the basics you need to prep, cook, and serve meals for a family of six:

…Eating utensils. Steak knives are at the back left, and at the back right a bottle-opener and corkscrew.

…Cooking and serving implements, including metal ones you can use on the outdoor grill.

…although tools are limited–no knives other than steak knives, a plastic spatula and spoon, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew.

…Bake-ware, coffee cups, and drinking mugs

…Plates and bowls.

…Pots, pans, a colander, and tools to make the microwave function as an oven.

…A pitcher, with a measuring cup above.

Besides the exciting cleaning supplies we’ve already seen, there’s more, plus some hot pads, in a drawer.

There’s also several open cabinets and drawers you can use for storage…

…and it would be easy to create more by consolidating some of the other gear.

You can stock your fridge from one of the two stores at Fort Wilderness (this photo shows all the brands of my childhood), by calling in an order, and having the campsite staff deliver it; or, least expensively, by driving to one of the many grocery stores within 20-30 minutes or so of the Cabins.

Counter space here is thin–you really need to use the dining table to prepare any substantive recipe. But overall it is a largely adequate kitchen, if you plan your meals to use at most two burners, and expect to be able to use a microwave, or an oven, but not both at the same time.

THE BATH AND BACK BEDROOM OF A CABIN AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

This review continues here!

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS

• Overview of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Amenities at Fort Wilderness: The Outpost and The Meadow
• Amenities at Fort Wilderness: The Settlement
• The Pools at Fort Wilderness

• Overview: The Cabins at Fort Wilderness
  • Photo Tour of a Fort Wilderness Cabin: Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room
  • Photo Tour of a Fort Wilderness Cabin: Bath and Back Bedroom
• Overview: The Campsites at Fort Wilderness
  • Hints for Tent Camping at Fort Wilderness: Gear and Weather
  • Photo Tour of a Tent Campsite at Fort Wilderness
  • The Comfort Stations at Fort Wilderness

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

John Tishman, who built the expansion at the Polynesian that is now its Disney Vacation Club offering, the Hilton in Disney Springs, and Epcot, died on Saturday.

Tishman also once sued Michael Eisner, then CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and the company itself under the RICO statute (thereby probably blowing his chance to ever be named as a “Disney Legend“) to enforce rights he had acquired to build a convention hotel in return for agreeing to build Epcot.

Disney’s settlement of this suit led to what we now know as the Swan and Dolphin, which he also built.

Tuesday of last week I had more than 12 hours of travel to get from Monterrey Mexico (where I was helping one of my clients with the quarterly meeting of its worldwide team, as part of my day job as a strategist) back to home in Cleveland.

I wasn’t in the mood to spend all that time working, so I dug deeply into my archived Kindle books.

I started with James Stewart’s classic DisneyWar, which I re-read every five years or so, it’s so much fun. (On re-reads I do skip the Katzenberg fight and the whole Ovitz chapter–remember them?)

That reminded me how much I had enjoyed Tishman’s autobiography Building Tall: My Life and the Invention of Construction Management, which in turn reminded me of how much fun Alan Lapidus’s biography Everything by Design: My Life as an Architect was. (Lapidus was the hotel architect at the Hilton and Swan and Dolphin.)

So on my Tuesday travels I re-read all of these, with Tishman being a central figure in one and a key figure in the two others. It was a fun and interesting Disney World day, and it’s sad to see it bookended by Tishman’s death.

On a side note, anyone who claims expertise on hotels–which I kinda do–needs to read Lapidus’s book, as he was the premiere hotel architect of his generation.

Moreover, in another interesting coincidence, Lapidus worked a lot with Donald Trump, and has a number of interesting things to say about him that I’d simply glossed over the first time I read his autobiography–as they didn’t matter then.

On the re-read last Tuesday, I learned a lot about Trump that is not covered by today’s press, and, somewhat to my astonishment, came away from Lapidus’s stories with a certain measured degree of admiration for Trump.

Now I still can’t imagine voting for the dude…but I also would never have guessed as I sorted through my Kindle offerings last week how much the past is still present…and how quickly the present becomes the past…so RIP, John Tishman.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!