Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

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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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

MEET THE WORLD, PLANNED FOR EPCOT’S JAPAN PAVILION

The huge show building in the Japan pavilion at the back of the Mitsukoshi store was meant to house an audio-animatronics attractions called “Meet the World,” and although the attraction isn’t, the building is still there (in red in the image—Dave).

Imagineer Tony Baxter stated that “It’s now the place where we store all the paint that’s used at Epcot and is also used for carpentry and some storage for the park.”

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, had a strong interest in Japanese history and a fondness for WDW’s Hall of Presidents audio-animatronics in re-creating real historical figures. When he was approached in the late 1970s to sponsor a pavilion at the forthcoming Tokyo Disneyland, he agreed if there was an attraction that matched his interests.

Imagineer Claude Coats had been working on a theater attraction for Epcot’s Japan pavilion called “The Winds of Change” that would incorporate the history of Japan and use audio-animatronics of important figures of the past.

Certain politically sensitive issues like Japan’s participation in World War II were carefully sidestepped as they were in the show at the American Adventure. That time was alluded to in the show as the “dark days”.

As a cost saving measure since the attraction was already built, it was sent to Tokyo Disneyland which was being created at the same time as Epcot, along with the Magic Kingdom’s Mickey Mouse Revue and the new Dumbo attraction built for Walt Disney World. So doing helped lower the budget and the time necessary to open Tokyo Disneyland.

“Meet the World” opened at Tokyo Disneyland as one of that park’s initial attractions on April 15, 1983, and closed on June 30, 2002. It was advertised as “Explore Japan’s heritage on an incredible time-travel adventure!”

Matsushita Electric subsidized the attraction so it was one of the few free ones when the park still used attraction tickets. Japan Airlines later took over sponsorship.

It was only one of two attractions that focused on Japan since the Oriental Land Company wanted to present an American version of a Disney theme park and had cherry-picked attractions from both Disneyland and Walt Disney World to create the ultimate American experience.

“Meet the World” was a roughly eighteen minute four-act show that showcased Japan’s history of trade and interaction with other countries. The island nation’s volcanic beginnings were discussed along with early trading with other nations, isolationism, the reopening of the country, and its promising future.

The theater was similar but in away opposite to that of the Carousel of Progress. In the Carousel, the audience rotated around the various stages. In “Meet the World”, after each scene the seating area would slowly rotate 90 degrees to point the audience in the direction of the next stage. The rotating inner core with the stages in the outer ring allowed for larger stages but limited the overall seating capacity. In addition, each stage had a large movie screen in the background to help tell the story with the figures interacting with the images.

An audio-animatronics talking crane led a young boy and girl from Yokohama on a time travel journey that featured audio-animatronics representations of prominent Japanese and Western figures to re-create a particular event. The dialog was in Japanese with characters from other countries speaking in their native languages. Headphones were available in the back row for translated dialog.

The attraction had over thirty audio-animatronics figures. The figures were sculpted by Blaine Gibson, except for three Meiji figures who were done by a Japanese sculptor from Tokyo’s Toho Studios.

The “Meet the World” song was written by the Sherman Brothers and played as the theater rotated each time to its new position.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Call Me Walt, and his Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 6 TO JANUARY 14, 2018

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on January 2018 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/6-1/14/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 1/6, 9a-8p 1/7 through 1/11, 9a-11p 1/12, and 8a-12MN 1/13 and 1/14

Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9p 1/6 and 1/7, and 9a-8p 1/8 through 1/14

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-8p 1/6, 9a-8p 1/7 through 1/12, and 8a-8p 1/13 and 1/14

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/6-1/14/18

Saturday 1/6 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 1/7  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 1/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 1/9 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 1/10 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 1/11 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 1/12 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 1/13 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 1/14  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/6-1/14/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/6-1/14/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 9p 1/6; 8p 1/7 through 1/14

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  7p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 6.30 and 7.45p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/6-1/14/18

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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DISNEY WORLD DEALS FOR EARLY 2018

Today a Disney World room rate deal covering most nights from February 18 through June 10 2018 came out.

Discounts can vary by booking date, stay date, resort and resort class, and are not available in all booking categories. The deal structure in some instance is complicated, with as many as three different savings rates for the same room depending on when you book and when you stay.

Overall savings are so-so, ranging from 10% to 20%, but at the deluxe hotels in particular that range from $500 to almost $1000 a night, 20% is not a bad thing!

Other, more complicated, deals came out today as well.  The best way to sort through your savings and choose the best is to work with my travel agent, Kelly B–she will do all the math for you.

Kelly B. has been the travel agent partner of this site for years. To book your vacation through her, contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499. (She may take a bit to get back to you, as she’s busy this morning trying to get the best deal for the clients she’s already serving!)

VALUE RESORT SAVINGS

At the Disney World values resorts, Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded. The other value resort options are 10% off, and there’s no difference in savings by when you book or stay.

At the values, the week before Easter is excluded from the eligible dates.

MODERATE RESORT SAVINGS

At the moderates, Port Orleans French Quarter is not in the deal.  Other moderate options offer savings of 10% to 20%, depending on when you book and when you stay.

DELUXE RESORT SAVINGS

At the deluxes, the Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and Wilderness Lodge are 10% off, and the rest are 20% off.

DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORT SAVINGS

At the DVC resorts, Bay Lake Tower, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bungalows at the Polynesian, and Cascade Cabins at Copper Creek are excluded. Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the BoardWalk Villas are 20% off. The other DVC resorts are 10% off. Note the typo–Copper Creek is listed twice…

The deal needs to be booked by either March 7 or April 7. Reviews of all these resorts are linked to on this page.

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499, or use the quote form below.

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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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OVERVIEW: JUNE 2018 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews June 2018 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

If you must go to Disney World in the summer, the beginning of June is your best choice for a first visit.

Crowds, while not good, are lower then than most of the rest of the summer, prices are OK–except at the value resorts–and the full weight of summer weather is not yet in place.

(The end of August is the next best choice.  Prices and crowds are much better, but you are not only in peak summer then, but also the peak of the hurricane season.)

Note however, that the last two summers have been unusually good at Disney World in terms of crowds. If this trend continues, thewn June will be better than I’ve noted!

[Read more →]