Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Update: the Festival of the Arts is returning for 2018, and unlike 2017, many of its offerings will be available all week long! It will run 1/12 through 2/19/18, with the Broadway offerings (and perhaps others) limited to Fridays through Mondays.

Epcot’s International Festival of The Arts is a new-for-2017 event happening in Epcot’s World Showcase Fridays through Mondays until February 20, 2017.

The Festival kicked off on January 13, and I had a chance to see it this past weekend.

The Festival combines

• Great, albeit pricey, dining
• Dozens of kiosks with art to view and buy
• Interactive opportunities to paint, be photographed into great art, and play with silly living statues
• Seminars and other sessions
• Music–some casual, some distinctive presentations from the Disney on Broadway team

Disney calls it a mix of “visual, culinary and performing arts inspired by cultures from all around the world…a global masterpiece.”

That’s a stretch, but with better food than past Food and Wine festivals, and better visual appeal than past Flower and Garden festivals, it is, by far, my favorite among all the Epcot festivals I’ve attended, and I highly recommend it for returning visitors.

First-timers will enjoy it as well, but will find that it adds crowds to Epcot’s World Showcase on the days it is open.

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS DINING

Dining opportunities are particularly concentrated at the entrance to the World Showcase, but are also found in the Odyssey Festival Showplace (between Test Track and Mexico—the Showplace is the centerpiece of the Festival) and scattered through the rest of World Showcase.

The Festival of the Arts offers the best dining ever seen at an Epcot Festival. Waits are long as much food is prepared while you wait, and prices are also high. The value for money is also very high, and with many $7+ items available for a snack credit, the festival provides the single best argument in years for you to buy the Disney Dining Plan.

I had a chance to try the Charcuterie Palette from the Masterpiece Kitchen…

…the Savory Doughnuts and darling Mary Blair Chocolate from The Painter’s Palate…

…and half of co-author Josh’s deconstructed BLT from E=AT^2 (that’s not, I think, a typo). Because nothing says deconstructed BLT better than a poached egg…

Detailed reviews of the dining options are on Josh’s site easyWDW.com:

• Pop Eats! 
• Decadent Delights 
• The Masterpiece Kitchen 
• The Artist’s Table 
• Cuisine Classique 
• El Arista Hambriento 
• E=AT^2 
• The Painter’s Palate 

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS SHOWS AND GALLERIES

Art, fittingly, is everywhere at the Festival of the Arts.

Begin in the Odyssey Festival Showplace, which includes brief exhibitions of the work of Herbert Ryman and Mary Blair.

The Ryman work is stunning. For more on Ryman, see this.

The Blair material is focused on her early South American work.

While mildly fun and historically very important in the life of the Walt Disney Company–and suiting the Festival’s international theme–it is much less interesting than her later work, which you can find here  or, even better, here.

All over World Showcase are tented kiosks offering mostly Disney-related art to browse through and buy:

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS INTERACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES

There’s lots of opportunities for simple play.

In front of the Future World stage you can find living statues that will mess with you and your kids (check the Times Guide for showings)…

There’s an opportunity to play with a paint-by numbers canvas on the way to Canada…

Scattered through World Showcase are opportunities for you to join famous works…

These folks in France are from the “toxic employee” list.

There’s also some Figment thingy that I paid no attention to, but is a bit of a variant on the Kidcot concept—buy a map and stickers, find Figment-themed picture frames and Figment within them, add the appropriate sticker to the map, and turn the map in for a prize.

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS SEMINARS AND SESSIONS

Formal seminars happen at the Odyssey Festival Center at 1.30p and 4.30, and less formal sessions happen there during the day–check your Times Guide.

Over in Innoventions East you’ll find The Animation Academy, an animation drawing class, where you learn to draw a Disney character under the tutelage of a real animator.

Some have reported that all will end up with a great drawing, but irl your results will vary.

My Winnie the Pooh is above…

…and above is Josh’s Winnie the Pooh. No, he was not trying to add Darth Vader elements; this was just the best he could do.

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS MUSIC

Music at the Festival includes both performances at the Future World stage (see your Times Guide for show times)…

…and a more interesting set of brief Broadway concerts in the evenings at the American Gardens Theater, at 5.30, 6.45 and 8p.

Presented by the Disney on Broadway team, the concerts showcase songs from Disney Broadway productions sung by Broadway stars.

I saw Kerry Butler (who was Belle in Beauty and the Beast) and Kevin Massey (Tarzan) singing songs from Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, and The Little Mermaid.

These two will be returning next weekend, and then the rest of the February dates will see Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White doing songs from The Lion King, Aida, Aladdin, and the Little Mermaid.

Passholders and DVC owners can get priority seating, which you are supposed to do ahead of time, but we had no trouble grabbing day of. Your mileage may vary.

The area to do so and/or pick up your reserved badges is in Innoventions East.

Those with priority badges line up on the Japan side of the pavilion. There’s a stand-by line as well, on the Germany side.

As you can probably tell, I love this Festival…and hope it returns next year!

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

SEVEN DWARFS MINE TRAIN

By Jim Korkis

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened at the Magic Kingdom on May 28, 2014 as the centerpiece of the New Fantasyland expansion. It is a steel roller coaster designed to resemble handmade wooden mine carts that sway and tip back and forth as they wind their way through the landscape of the world of Snow White at up to thirty miles per hour.

The innovative, patented ride system was designed by Disney Imagineering and manufactured by Vekoma to take the place of Snow White’s Scary Adventures dark ride that closed on May 31, 2012.

Unlike that attraction, this version tells the story through the perspective of the dwarfs with Snow White only making a short cameo experience in the cottage at the end of the attraction. Outside the cottage, the Old Hag Wicked Witch peers menancingly through a window watching Snow White and the dwarfs happily dancing inside.

It was designed as a family friendly experience with tame 31-foot and 41-foot drops, no upside-down turns, and the elimination of the familiar clacking sound that usually signals an upcoming massive drop during its span of roughly 2,000 linear feet of track.

The rustic looking ride vehicles are mounted in cradle-like pivots and sway independently as they swing around the track with each twist and turn. During its journey, the cars rock to the left and right, but the G-forces go right down through the seat making it a smooth ride.

The journey winds its way through the countryside and then into the mine where the dwarfs are working and singing. The fabricated rocks were put together in six foot pieces that precisely correspond to the film.

The dwarfs are a new generation of audio-animatronics figures. The faces contain an internal rear projection system that enables Disney to better replicate the faces and expressions more realistically.

The jewels seen throughout the mine come in four different sizes and six different colors: red, green, amber, purple, blue and clear.

Next to Doc’s workstation is a carved wooden clock with the figures of two miners striking an anvil that’s an exact replica of the one seen in the film and also signals the start of the song Heigh-Ho.

The shadows of the dwarfs marching homeward were painstakingly rotoscoped (traced from the original film footage frame by frame) from the movie.

At the top of the second lift, guests can clearly see Maurice’s Cottage and Beast’s Castle. Then as the track drops, the mine cart passes under a trestle and loops around the mountain crossing. At the foot of the mountain, the train goes back to cross a pool at the bottom of a waterfall.

The ride ends at the famous cottage in the woods. The cottage’s exterior is a meticulously detailed representation from the actual film, right down to the wisteria vine and the birdhouse at the front door.

The film was carefully studied to get just the right color combinations for the roof shingles, the slope of the roof’s eaves, the shape of the lanterns and the etched woodland creatures that decorate the house’s architecture. The walkway features impressions left by forest creatures, acorns and sticks.

Scattered throughout the attraction are at least 450 props, including picks, shovels, barrels and hoists. There are even places where the dwarfs have carved their names into the wood.

The figures of Grumpy, Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, and Happy, seen in the cottage near the end of the attraction, originally appeared in Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The two vultures perched on the jib crane near the mine entrance originally appeared in that attraction as well.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! My review of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is here. And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 28 TO FEBRUARY 5, 2017

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

For more on January 2017 at Disney World, see this, and for more on February, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/28/-2/5/17

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 1/28, 9a-11p 1/29, 9a-9p 1/30, 9a-80 1/31 to 2/2, 9a-10p 2/3, 9a-11p 2/4, and 9a-10p 2/5

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

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

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-7.30p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/28-2/5/17

Saturday 1/28 Morning:  Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 1/29  Morning:  Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 1/30 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 1/31 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 2/1 Morning: none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 2/2 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 2/3 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 2/4 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 2/5  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/28-2/5/17

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/28-2/5/17

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom:  9p 1/28; 10p 1/29; 8p 1/30 through 2/3; 9p 2/4; 8p 2/5

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: 7.45p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/28-2/5/17

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

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As noted here, Josh and I will be signing copies of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit Saturday January 28 from ~1-2p at Mexico in Epcot.

However, you don’t need to actually be there to get a signed copy. For the first time in a while, Josh and will each be giving away and mailing copies signed by both of us of this best-reviewed Disney World guidebook, ever, to one lucky winner from each of our sites—this one and easyWDW.com.

Josh’s giveaway is here. You can enter both.

In the meantime, though, to enter my giveaway, all you need to do is page down and enter a comment about how either this site OR easyWDW.com OR one of our guidebooks has helped you with your Disney World visit.

The way it will work is that

• I’ll subjectively pick my favorite comments (for the kind of comments I like, see the winners from my most recent giveaway), and then
• From that group randomly pick the winner!

I’ll the use the email you entered in the comment form (only I can see your email address) to notify the lucky winner, and get his or her mailing address.

Want your own signed copy without the awkward pauses and lingering regret that comes from meeting us in person? Then add your comment now!!

• To get a quote on your trip from my travel agent partners Destinations in Florida, you can either call the toll-free line dedicated to readers of this site, or fill out the form below.

• To speak directly to an agent, call 877-918-8941 Monday-Saturday between 9a-4p (Eastern). (Toll-free if dialed from within the USA.)

• (Hint: Check out What to Budget first, as there can be some real sticker shock!)

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Josh of easyWDW and I, the co-authors of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, will be meeting and greeting and signing copies of our books (or someone else’s book, we’re easy) next Saturday.

(c) easyWDW, used without permission

We’ll be at Epcot, on and outside of the Mexico pyramid to the right, Saturday 1/28 from roughly 1p to 2p. See the arrow in Josh’s image, which I stole.

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 140 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 92% 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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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

SHADES OF GREEN

By Jim Korkis

Shades of Green originally opened as a Disney-owned resort known simply as the Golf Resort in December 1973 with 151 rooms. The Golf Resort was located in the middle of the Palm and Magnolia golf courses and was meant as an amenity for golfers using the courses.

It was designed to look like a two story country clubhouse and originally did not have any guest rooms. Guest wings were added in 1973 as part of Walt Disney World’s Phase 2 expansion that was also meant to include three other Magic Kingdom resorts that were never built.

The resort was generally known for its dessert of French Fried Ice Cream served in the Magnolia Room restaurant (later the Trophy Room) that also included live entertainment. In addition to golf, the resort had two lighted tennis courts for night time play and a pool.

Unfortunately, Disney guests did not consider it a resort since it was off the monorail loop so it suffered low occupancy. In February 1986, Disney expanded the resort and renamed it The Disney Inn in hopes of attracting more than golfers, promoting it as having the intimate and rustic charm of a quiet country inn.

In 1988, it was re-themed to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in hopes of reinforcing the Disney connection. The snack bar was called “The Diamond Mine” to make the connection with the dwarfs. There was also a Diamond Mine Arcade. However, the resort still could not match the popularity or attendance of the other WDW resorts.

A that time, the U.S. military was looking for a continental America location to build an Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) and surveys showed that Orlando, Florida was the highest ranking location for its service members.

On February 1, 1994, the US Department of Defense to Disney’s delight at declining attendance leased the resort and the land it sits on with a 100-year lease to use for the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) program and limited the resort to eligible guests.

Eligible guests active and retired members of the U.S. military, National Guard and Department of Defense as well as their families. Others who are on vacation with an eligible sponsor are also allowed. Room rates are based on rank and pay grade.

In 1996, the resort was purchased outright, for $43 million, due to the high success of the resort, although Disney still owns the land on which the resort sits.

In the process the resort was renamed Shades of Green referring to the colors of the different uniforms. At the time, all war-fighting uniforms had some shade of green.

The resort was completely remodeled and expanded during 2002-2004. Those renovations by KBJ Architects included a new five story wing featuring an additional 299 rooms, a 500 seat Magnolia Ballroom, a fitness center, pools, tennis courts, new restaurants and dining areas and a new lobby featuring a vaulted ceiling, fireplace and veranda.

The front entrance overlooks a large, natural pool with plants, rockwork and five waterfalls, with each flume representing a branch of the U.S. military.

The architects designed the new building and surrounding area to blend with the existing resort to create the feel of a Floridian lodge. Its new five story parking garage was a first at a WDW resort.

The U.S. military funded the expansion project, coordinating its efforts with Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney World leaders.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! I’ve stayed at Shades of Green multiple times (thanks Dad!), and a complete review is here. Steve Bell, military moderator of this site, is the master of Shades of Green.  His web-based material is here. His book for military visitors is here.

And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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