Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

I thought, as we come up on six months after Pandora: World of Avatar opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, that it would be fun to take a step back and revisit the slew of changes at the Disney’s Animal Kingdom over the past few years.

The total transformation at the park has been remarkable. At the cost of the former Pocahontas meet and greet, we got among other things the best theme park fine dining restaurant in Orlando with Tiffins, the most completely-imagined themed area in the world in Pandora, and the best theme park ride in the U.S. in Flight of Passage.

Add to this Sunset Safaris in Africa, Tree of Life Awakenings, the evening show Rivers of Light, the single big miss of Na’vi River Journey, and the fact that broad swathes of the park can now be enjoyed after dark (most notably Expedition Everest, but don’t forget Chester and Hester’s Dinorama, which has always been its best after dark), and it’s hard not to be impressed.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened with a focus on animals. Most major additions after it opened did not—with the signature addition being the roller coaster Expedition Everest about a decade ago. While in its early years the park did have after-dark opportunities, in this decade they were narrowed to just evening Extra Magic Hours and late closes during the holiday season—and in the last few years the evening Extra Magic Hours went away, largely leaving Animal Kingdom at night only to those who visited in the holiday season.

The transformation was meant to broaden the appeal of the park, widen the parts of the day during which it could be enjoyed, anchor it in some well-known intellectual property (the worlds of James Cameron’s Pandora from Avatar, whose sequels are expected well before the Second Coming), and—frankly—to show Universal Orlando that Disney was willing to compete at the high level of theming and ride quality that it showed in its Harry Potter offerings.

The re-imagining began with the closure of the old Camp Minnie Mickey area, and the rebuilding of a new home for Festival of the Lion King in Africa, where it had always belonged anyway.

Next—and as significant to me personally as anything other than Flight of Passage—was the opening of Harambe Market, a new quick service venue in Africa, my go-to place for what I think of as an Indian-inspired corn dog but which Disney insists on calling a “beef and pork sausage” on its menu.

Then April 22, 2016 came and went, noted principally by those who booked vacations on Disney’s promise that this was the date that the new evening show River of Light would open. In the biggest schedule miss in recent memory, it didn’t open then, not debuting until almost a year later, but lovely wife Amy Girl and I still had fun during our visit that weekend, including walking behind Joe Rhode’s earring down one of the long hallways of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

In May 2016 the other parts of Disney’s evening program at Animal Kingdom opened, as did Tiffins—the best theme park fine dining restaurant in Orlando, accompanied by a great bar, and probably the most likely place after Raglan Road (and the drunk tank) to find Disney World bloggers and guidebook writers.

The new evening program included the short-lived and best-forgotten Jungle Book show in the Rivers of Light area, and the still-extant Tree of Life Awakenings—likely the most charming minor entertainment in any Disney Park, which I view as a don’t miss—and the Sunset Safari at Kilimanjaro Safaris.

It’s best to think of Sunset Safari as two additional offerings, on around sunset and one after dark. The one around sunset is a terrific supplement to or replacement of a daylight visit to Kilimanjaro Safaris, as certain animals–especially the cats—are much more active at this time of day. The after-dark version is different, worth doing, but much less compelling than a daytime or sunset visit, and should be viewed as an addition to one of those visits, and not be your sole visit to Kilimanjaro Safaris.

The sunset safaris also expended the vocabulary of most of us, adding “crepuscular,” “civil twilight,” “nautical twilight,” and “astronomical twilight” as we tried to advise people on what to see when, and why, while acting like we knew these words all along.

In February 2017 the evening show Rivers of Light finally opened. While diminished compared to its aspirations (this mismatch, and trying to resolve it, was the main reason it took so long to go live), and the only evening show at Disney World that is hardly anyone’s favorite, it has great charm, musicality, and visual delight, and I view it as a four-star don’t miss.

Then in May 2017 Pandora: World of Avatar opened in the old Camp Minnie Mickey area, bringing two new rides, Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey, dining in Satu’li Canteen and shopping at the Windtraders gift shop.

Pandora is the most completely realized themed area ever built, with remnants of the Resources Development Administration base from the first Avatar movie underpinning a stunning depiction of the shapes, colors and life of the moon Pandora.

The land is set ~20 years after the first movie, which both frees it from that specific movie and any sequels that come out while taking advantage of the astonishing visually lush setting. James Cameron is at his best in visualizing worlds (and worst in creating plots).

You don’t need to have seen the movie to enjoy the land, but it helps—particularly helping with the lesser of the two rides here, Na’vi River Journey, a gentle homage to the animals and plants of Pandora, and the religion of the Na’vi, which frankly needs all the help it can get.

If you do watch Avatar again (or for the first time), be patient. The beginning is dull, the avatar science makes no sense, and the middle, with its long stretches of workout routines and self-regard, is hard to be captivated by. The story (whose borrowings are much debated—I see it as a mix of The Dragonriders of Pern, Pocahontas, Jurassic Park, and a Jane Fonda workout video) really works only from beginning to end (and, far, far better on a 3D big screen than at home), so you need to begin at the beginning on the biggest TV you own, and give it time to unfold. (As an aside, I’ve always thought it too bad that the two movies Cameron is most famous for—Titanic and Avatar—are among his worst. Much better are Terminator 2, Aliens, True Lies, and The Abyss, which is particularly under-appreciated.)

Flight of Passage (the full name, that no one uses, is Avatar Flight of Passage) is the headliner, and the best theme park ride to come out in years—and the best at Disney World. You will see folk comparing it to Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot—a comparison that is not false, but adds as much value to understanding Flight of Passage as the claim that hamburger and Kobe beef are based on the same cow system adds to dining.

Flight of Passage simulates riding the back of a flying banshee through sublime, beautiful, gentle, tumultuous and dramatic scenes from Pandora. It is the culmination of a lengthy queue that begins outdoors among the flying mountains of the Valley of Mo’ara (actually, all too commonly it begins way back on the bridge between Discovery Island and Pandora…) then makes its way inside through scenes from abandoned industrial facilities and an active scientific research lab, culminating in a couple of pre-shows.

You will see some advocate skipping even trying for FastPass+ in order to see all the details of the Flight of Passage queue. For big fans of abandoned industrial buildings and biology labs, good advice. Everyone else should try for a FastPass+, although the mismatch between ride capacity and demand for it means that FastPass+ for Flight of Passage is quite hard to get, even for those booking right at 60 days.

Na’vi River Journey is much the lesser ride and easier to get as a FastPass+. So if you can’t get a FastPass+ for Flight of Passage, get one for Na’vi and show up at Animal Kingdom at least 75 minutes prior to the official opening, and once you are in, head straight for the Flight of Passage queue. After this morning visit, you should return to Pandora in one of the later sunset periods—perhaps at civil twilight?—to see the delicacy with which the bioluminescent plants in Pandora shift from day to night.

Speaking of queues, Flight of Passage has at least one too many pre-shows. Having gone through them multiple times since its May opening (although not remotely as many as Tom Corless has…), I kinda miss the days when Disney would build rides like Space Mountain where you went straight from the line to deepest space without any intervening explanation whatsoever.

I’d noted earlier in this post that

The transformation was meant to broaden the appeal of the park, widen the parts of the day during which it could be enjoyed, anchor it in some well-known intellectual property (the worlds of James Cameron’s Pandora from Avatar, whose sequels are expected well before the Second Coming), and—frankly—to show Universal Orlando that Disney was willing to compete at the high level of theming and ride quality that it showed in its Harry Potter offerings.

In my judgement, even though Rivers of Light and Na’vi River Journey each could have been better, overall the transformation has spectacularly succeeded on all these fronts.

Think of what you can now do in an evening at Animal Kingdom

• Ride late in the afternoon via FastPass+ the best ride at Disney World, Flight of Passage
• Have dinner at Tiffin’s, the best theme park restaurant in Orlando, towards the end of daylight
• Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris at the beginning of sunset
• Return to Pandora to see Pandora shift to its night colors
• See a scene or two from Tree of Life Awakenings on the way to Rivers of Light
• See Rivers of Light
• Ride Expedition Everest after dark
• See more from Tree of Life Awakenings on your way out of the park

A transformation, indeed.

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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.

MARIACHI COBRE IN MEXICO AT EPCOT’S WORLD SHOWCASE

By Jim Korkis
The television commercial has a family returning to visit Walt Disney World and an excited mariachi band happily declaring “You’re back!” and bursting into song. That band is Mariachi Cobre.

For the October 1, 2017 event marking the 35th anniversary of Epcot, George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort, was joined onstage by the patriotic Voices of Liberty ensemble and the Mariachi Cobre from the Mexico pavilion – two acts that debuted when that theme park originally opened in 1982.

(c) Disney

Mariachi Cobre is a band of internationally acclaimed mariachi musicians. The group was formed in 1971 with Randy Carillo on guitar, his brother Stephen on trumpet, Mack Ruiz on violin, and Francisco Grijalva as the arranger who also played in the group.

Over the years the company of players has expanded to include Chris Figueroa (violin), Pablo Hector Gama (violin), Miguel Angel Molina (trumpet), Israel Galvez Molina (violin), Roberto Juan Martinez (vihuela), Antonio Hernandez Ruiz (violin and viola), Javier Trujillo (guitarra de Golpe), Mario Trujillo (violin), and Adolfo Roman Garcia. Many of the members have played together since they were teenagers in Arizona.

Mariachi Cobre was founded in Tucson, Arizona, and evolved out of the mariachi youth group Mariachi Juvenil Los Chanquitos Feos De Tucson, which was formed in 1964. It was the first youth mariachi group to be formed in the United States.

Randy admitted he wasn’t very excited when his parents suggested he try out as a guitarist for the group. At the time, he was more interested in rock ‘n’ roll. But once he was introduced to the mariachi sound, he said he was hooked.

“At fifteen years old, to be playing in Anaheim at Disneyland for Cinco de Mayo, I would have never thought that at 63 I would still be so invested in the Walt Disney Company,” said Randy in October 2017.

Eventually, he and some of the members of the group formed Mariachi Cobre, taking their name from the Spanish word for “copper.” Randy explained that Arizona is known as “the Copper State” and that copper was a semiprecious metal to Mexican Indians.

“When we arrived here before the opening of Epcot, I couldn’t believe it. It was like a fairytale land,” said Randy. “The architecture, the lighting, the detail, it was all incredible.”

Since opening Epcot in 1982, Mariachi Cobre still performs seven shows a day, five days a week.

“It’s not the easiest job, but it’s a lot of fun,” Randy said. “You have to develop a certain discipline to accomplish all of those sets and to keep a good attitude and to keep yourself physically and musically healthy.”

In addition to that schedule, the Disney company allows the group to take breaks that have let it over the years perform with more than 44 orchestras in the United States and Mexico, including the Boston Pops and the orchestras of Minnesota, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Utah, Houston and Guadalajara, as well as record CDs.

Mariachi Cobre’s recordings include Mariachi Cobre, Este es Mi Mariachi, XXV Anniversary and The Latin Album with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. The group has accompanied a wide range of mariachi and non-mariachi artists including Linda Ronstadt, Lucha Villa, Lola Betran, Ana Gabriel, Guadalupe Pineda, Carlos Santana, Julio Iglesias, and Vikki Carr.

Since their founding in 1971, Mariachi Cobre has played a major role in the preservation and appreciation of one of the most respected cultural music folk forms of Mexico and delighted millions of guests, often giving them their first taste of this type of music. The mariachi musicians speak in both English and Spanish and encourage the audience to relax and have fun by clapping and cheering.

“We are all like brothers and we are all a family,” said Stephen in October 2017. “Day in and day out we get to meet people from all over the world and we get to share our culture and our music with them. It’s truly special and I really enjoy that.”

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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, Secret Stories of Disneyland, 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: NOVEMBER 4 TO NOVEMBER 12, 2017

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

For more on November 2017 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/4-11/12/17

The Magic Kingdom will be open 9a-11p 11/4 and 11/5, 8a-11p 11/6 through 11/8, 8a-6p 11/9 and 11/10, 8a-12MN 11/11, and 8a-6p 11/12

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 11/4, 9a-9p 11/5 through 11/9. 9a-10p 11/10 and 11/11, and 9a-9p 11/12

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/4-11/12/17

Saturday 11/4 Morning:  Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/5  Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 11/6 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Tuesday 11/7 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 11/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Thursday 11/9 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 11/10 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 11/11 Morning: none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Sunday 11/12  Morning: Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/4-11/12/17

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/4-11/12/17

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 9p 11/4 through 11/8, 11/11

IllumiNations at Epcot:  10p 11/4, 9p 11/5 through 11/9, 10p 11/10 and 11/11, and 9p 11/12

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7.30p 11/4; 8.30p 11/5 through 11/12

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  8p 11/4; 6.45p 11/5 through 11/8

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p 11/9 through 11/12

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7.30p 11/4; 6.30 and 7.45p 11/5 through 11/12

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/4-11/12/17

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

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The latest edition of WDW Magazine, which focuses on the holiday season 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:

From the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party to the Christmas Tree Trail and beyond – we’re spreading holiday cheer!

Find out why it’s the most wonderful time of the year at the most magical place on earth in our November issue!

Plus, get a behind the scenes look at BaseLine Tap House, Walt Disney Presents and the future of DHS in our Countdown to 2021!  We also explore Biergarten, Karemell-Kuche, and the Port Orleans – Riverside resort; learn about the assistance available for guests with special auditory needs; and share a recipe for the best peppermint cupcakes ever!

WDW Magazine is dedicated to bringing you in-depth coverage and stunning photos every month.  For 4 years they have been the leading digital magazine for Walt Disney World fans.

I write the WDW Magazine column for first-timers (because who else would??). In this edition, I focus on the Christmas season for first-timers–and in particular on the four different periods of the season, and best and worst times to go within them.

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

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THE FOUR SEASONS AT DISNEY WORLD

Over the past few days I’ve updated my review of Four Seasons Orlando, the only five star resort in Walt Disney World, based on my July stay here–my third stay at Four Seasons.

The  update includes additions and corrections for things that have changed since my last stays, more than 50 new pictures, and a reorganization of the material to match how I’ve been doing these reviews lately.

The first page of the review is the overview and summary, and that’s the place to start.  In total the review has six pages:

• Overview and Summary Four Seasons Orlando
• A photo tour of a king bed room at Four Seasons Orlando
• A photo tour of a full bed room at Four Seasons Orlando
• Amenities at Four Seasons Orlando
• Dining at Four Seasons Orlando
• The pools at Four Seasons Resort Orlando

Have you stayed at Four Seasons? Let me know what you thought, using the comment form below!

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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.

THE BOOKS OF SKIPPER CANTEEN

By Jim Korkis

Several companies sell books by the foot or the yard to fill book shelves on stage sets for television series, movies, and stage plays. Many sell to interior decorators trying to create a particular look for the room of a house. Collections can be generic or made-to-order including not just content but binding, size and color.

The tomes in the book case in the Meridian on the Disney Cruise Line ships are specifically filled with vintage nautical volumes.

(c) Disney

However, sometimes Imagineers get creative, as in the garage of Mickey Mouse’s house at WDW’s former Mickey’s Toontown Fair, where the shelves had titles like Repairing Electrical and Bermuda Shorts, How to Toon Up Your Car, Replace Your Wheels Without Tiring and The Auto-biography of Susie the Blue Coupe (a reference to a 1952 Disney short cartoon).

At the Skipper Canteen, the table service restaurant in Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland, the shelves are filled with books that reference Disney parks (The Eyes of Mara by Jones, obviously a reference to Indiana Jones and the Disneyland attraction); Imagineers (Crooning Flowers by Sherman and Sherman referring to the Disney composers the Sherman Brothers and their songs for the Enchanted Tiki Room); in-jokes (Friends for Dinner by T. Sam, a reference to Trader Sam the cannibal from the Jungle Cruise attraction); as well as some books that are just silly wordplay (Spotted Tigers by G. Rowl) or punny amusement (Fleas Navidad and Other Winter Insects). Some books have neither title nor author.

The secret meeting room of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) is behind the bookcase and is accessed by pulling on a volume of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

Here are a handful of the many delightful titles here:

• In Search of the Yeti by Harrison Hightower III. Hightower is not only a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) but was based on Imagineer Joe Rohde, who was responsible for much of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, including Expedition Everest. Hightower has several different books on the shelves including Treasures of the Animal Kingdom.
• A Manor of Fact by Mystic is a reference to Henry Mystic and Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland. He is also represented by other books including Treasures from the Manor and Primates as Shipmates referring to his pet mischievous monkey Albert who causes trouble in that attraction.
• Captain Mary Oceaneer wrote Parrots as Pets referring to her diving companion parrot Salty. She also wrote Charting Course since she is an ocean traveler.
• Leaders Throughout History by Professor G. Kalogridis. This is George Kalogridis, the President of WDW.
• Songs of the Tiki Bird by Professor Boag honors performer Wally Boag, who helped write and voiced the parrot Jose in The Enchanted Tiki Room.
• Universus Arboribus by B.M. Evans is a tribute to Imagineer Morgan “Bill” Evans, who loved putting Latin names on the Disney park horticulture.
• A Journey to the Stars by Kimball references Imagineer Ward Kimball who wrote and directed the three Disneyland television Tomorrowland episodes about outer space.
• Hamlet: A Lion’s Tale by Shakes Speare acknowledges that the Disney’s animated feature film Lion King was inspired by the classic Shakespeare play.
• Native Orange Birds of the Southeastern United States by Dr. Sidd Truss, (pronounced Citrus) is a nod to the Florida Orange Bird of the Florida Citrus Commission that was prominent in the first decade of Walt Disney World.
• Banjos and Baboons, by Goff, is a reference to Imagineer Harper Goff who was a banjo player but also the designer of the Jungle Cruise attraction.
• Primates of the Caribbean by Coats, references Imagineer Claude Coats, who did set design for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
• A View from Above by S. W. Buckets recalls the former Skyway attraction.
• Mission to the Red Planet  by Tom Morrow is a reference to the former Mission to Mars attraction.

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Thanks, Jim! There’s more from Jim Korkis on Skipper Canteen here. And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Secret Stories of Disneyland, 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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