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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.

By Jim Korkis

The show Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight” debuted in the Discovery Island area near the Tree of Life at DAK during the summer of 2014.

The show features all six shades of macaws: hyacinth, green-winged, blue and gold, scarlet, blue-throated and military. Each macaw features a wingspan of up to sixty inches as it soars over the area in a kaleidoscope of color as avian experts talk about conservation.

(c) Disney

The show is handled by the same team that does “Flights of Wonder” (which also features macaws) in association with Disney Creative Entertainment. The macaws fly together from backstage past the Tree of Life and land on the bridge at DinoLand U.S.A.  In addition to the impressive flying, there are also up-close encounters for the guests in four ten-minute shows each day.

Since the park opened in 1998, the Oasis has been the home for macaws and cockatoos. The purpose of the Oasis and its winding paths with different animal exhibits on the left and right side is to establish that DAK is a park that is to be explored.

Due to their intelligence and curious nature, the birds looked for ways to jump from their tree perches to explore their surroundings. Unfortunately, some of the trees were close to where the guests would walk so there was always the possibility that a bird might end up on an unsuspecting guest’s shoulder.

Macaws are just the largest type of parrot and come from the tropical rainforests of Brazil as well as Central America. Both the military and hyacinth macaws are on the endangered species list. Since the military macaw has an olive green body that resembles a sergeant’s uniform, it got its interesting nickname.

While the feathers on the Hyacinth Macaw can appear to be blue, there is no blue pigment in the feathers. It is just the structure of the feather that makes it appear blue.

The challenge faced by the Imagineers was to re-design the area so that the birds would have shelter during inclement weather and still provide interactive components to keep the inquistive nature of the birds satisfied. So the Imagineers came up with a faux tree with those specific elements but still made it look naturalistic to the guests.

The birds dine on seeds, palm fruits, berries and nuts. However, when the park first opened, Imagineer Joe Rohde on a walk-through discovered a guest trying to feed the birds French fries. Rohde tried to explain that all the animals at DAK, including the birds have specific diets and feeding them fries might negatively impact their health. He also pointed out that the bird’s beak was designed for cracking nuts with two hundred pounds of pressure per square inch and that the bird would see no difference between some fingers and some fries.

As an accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, DAK is responsible for providing the best care for the animals and that includes what they eat.

With all the animal habitat designs at DAK, Imagineers had to take into account two important factors. The first was to design a habitat that has interesting elements to encourage natural behavior while also providing appropriate shelter. Second, the habitat needed to give the guests an experience to see easily and clearly animals responding in their environment and demonstrating those natural behaviors.

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Thanks, Jim! 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 7 TO JANUARY 15, 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.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/7/-1/15/17

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-10p 1/7, 9a-8p 1/8 through 1/12, and 9a-11p 1/13 through 1/5

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-7p 1/7, and 9a-7.30p 1/8 through 1/15

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/7-1/15/17

Saturday 1/7 Morning:  Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 1/8  Morning:  none  Evening: Epcot

Monday 1/9 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 1/10 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

Wednesday 1/11 Morning: none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 1/12 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 1/13 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 1/14 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 1/15  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/7-1/15/17

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/7-1/15/17

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 9p 1/7: 8p 1/8 through 1/12; 10p 1/13; 9p 1/14; 10p 1/15

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 1/7-1/15/17

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

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, see this.)

ACCOMMODATIONS AND THEMING AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT

Port Orleans French Quarter is one of 5 moderate resorts at Walt Disney World:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, the first Disney World hotel to be designated a moderate, which opened in 1988
• Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort (opened in 1991 as Disney’s Port Orleans Resort)
• Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort (opened in 1992 as Disney’s Dixie Landing Resort)
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (opened 1997) and
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, officially classed as moderate in 2008, but opened (as the Wilderness Homes) in 1986. (Fort Wilderness Campground opened much earlier, but precursors to the Cabins did not arrive until 1986.)

The moderates have much more room than the value resorts, more amenities, and (except for Fort Wilderness) much better landscaping. See this for what you get by Disney World price class.

Although the typical moderate rooms, at 314 square feet (the cabins have 508 square feet), look much smaller than the rooms available at the deluxe resorts, differences in hall/entry layout make the living space of the typical moderates much more comparable to many Walt Disney World deluxes than raw square footage would imply. See this for more on square footage and livability.

Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort is officially “inspired by the romance and pageantry of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans…” where you can “…stroll cobblestone walkways and gaze down ornate wrought-iron railings as you listen to the smooth jazz backdrop and breathe in the sweet smell of magnolia blossoms in the air.”

Port Orleans French Quarter has 1008 rooms in seven buildings. These buildings are divided into a “North Quarter” and “South Quarter,” but, unlike other separately named sections of moderate resorts, have no difference in theming between them.

Rather, all share the same graceful New Orleans theming, and lovely walkways, gardens  and intimate courtyards.

The three story buildings have vertical sections divided by color, ironwork patters, and roof lines to create a bit of a townhouse feel.

This is successful in some treatments…

…but is mostly too low-contrast to be of much notice.

Most of the landscaping of the North Quarter is more intimate and romantic, with more of a street-scape and private garden feel, while the South Quarter is more open with more of a park-like feel. But this will vary by your room location.

Most rooms sleep four two queen beds, but rooms  that sleep two on one king bed are also available. According to Andre Willey’s invaluable PortOrleans.org,

“French Quarter rooms come in five category options: Standard (mostly parking lot views), Garden View, Pool View, River View, and King Bed (which are all corner rooms and could have any of the previous view types).”

The river view.

Connecting rooms and and accessible rooms are also available. To the room capacities of four and two you can add one additional child who will be younger than three at your visit and who will sleep in a crib.

Prices for these bed and view categories vary. Search “Mousesavers.com Port Orleans French Quarter Room Rates” for the latest.

Rooms here were all refurbed in 2018.

The floor plan of a refurbed standard two-queen room is above…

…and here’s a image of the room I stayed in in July 2018.

These two images come from a detailed photo tour of a refurbed two-queen room at Port Orleans French Quarter here.

Among the moderates, Port Orleans French Quarter’s strength for first time visitors is its compactness and ease of getting around. Its biggest negative is its lack of visual kid appeal.

Returning visitors often find Port Orleans French Quarter to be a favorite, particularly if they have stayed before in one of the enormous moderates and therefore appreciate its relatively compact area all the more, and/or fall in love with the romantic setting. It’s my personal favorite among the moderates, and also the most romantic of the moderates.

See this for more on distinctions among the moderates.

PHOTO TOUR OF A STANDARD ROOM AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT

This review continues here.

MATERIAL IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT

• Overview and summary of Port Orleans French Quarter
• Port Orleans French Quarter theming and accommodations
• A photo tour of a refurbed standard room at Port Orleans French Quarter
• Amenities at Port Orleans French Quarter
• Dining at Port Orleans French Quarter
• The pool at Port Orleans French Quarter

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

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, see this.)

DINING AT PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER

Port Orleans French Quarter has one main dining option, the refurbed-in-2016 Sassagoula Float Works food court, and two minor options–the inside and pool bars.

Across from the main entry hall of Port Orleans Square you’ll find the bar, Scat Cat’s Club…

…with entertainment many evenings, and, more to the point, bar food–important as there is no sit-down restaurant here. (Mardi Gras Fritters are the specialty of the house.)

Scat Cat’s moved in 2019 to this space, the old tables service restaurant here that was shut down long ago.  I don’t think much of the new space–it has a temporary feel too it–but it is larger than the old space.

The old Scat Cat’s is now where you get beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter–and also function as a coffee shop in the morning.

The main food court, the Sassagoula Float Works and Food Factory, was refurbed in 2016 and lost much of its prior distinctive Mardi Gras decorations.

Above is what it used to look like.

And here’s what it looks like now…

It looks better at night.

It retains only the lightest of Mardi Gras theming here…

…and there.

You order and pay for your food in a small area that not only did not get larger in the refurb (above is the old area)…

…but actually lost some space due to a larger central shelving point.

The food quality–most of what matters–improved after the refurb. Josh really liked his catfish rice bowl.

Josh’s post also has images of the menus that were up the night we went there, and you can also see them online here.

I marveled at the new drink dispensers. (Josh’s discussion of them noted that his dad would be confused…but his picture of a confused person trying them was actually of me–it was a kindness of his to not out my ineptness…but I eventually figured them out.)

Peach Sprite, who knew it would be so good?

Port Orleans French Quarter is the only moderate without a table-service restaurant. It used to have one–Bonfamille’s Cafe–but it was shut down in at the turn of the century as a cost-saving move, and has never been re-opened (it’s now used as a test kitchen).

Even so despite the cramped size and long lines I do like the food court at Port Orleans French Quarter quite a bit–especially the beignets, made while you wait, and the barbecued ribs with sides of corn bread, collard greens and mashed potatoes! If I am staying at Riverside I’ll usually make my way here for beignets and greens.

If you want a table service meal, Boatwrights at Port Orleans French Quarter is about a half mile walk or boat ride away. The increasingly great restaurants of Disney Springs are also accessible by boat.

Outside, the pool bar also offers a few snacks:

The online pool bar menu is here.

And speaking of the pool…

THE POOL AT PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER

This review continues here.

MATERIAL IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT

• Overview and summary of Port Orleans French Quarter
• Port Orleans French Quarter theming and accommodations
• A photo tour of a refurbed standard room at Port Orleans French Quarter
• Amenities at Port Orleans French Quarter
• Dining at Port Orleans French Quarter
• The pool at Port Orleans French Quarter

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!!

Here are the winners of the giveaway of the free signed copies of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2017–the best reviewed Disney World guidebook ever:

• Random winners: Marilyn and Tanya
• Picked winners: Aimee, Isobel, Staci, Jeff, Leanne, and Carla G

I had planned to pick only three winners on the merits, but the comments were so great is was hard for me to stop at even six!

And if you didn’t win, don’t despair.

• First, if you book your trip using Kelly B as your travel agent, you get a free copy–plus her terrific and sweet help in making all your arrangements
• Second, co-author Josh and I will be doing another giveaway later this month, this time of books signed by BOTH of us, thus either doubling or halving their value! Stay tuned, more details to come.

The actual winning comments:

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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.

By Jim Korkis

THINGS THAT ALMOST WERE AT DISNEY WORLD

The Excavator. The area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom now occupied by Chester and Hester’s Dino-rama featuring such carnival rides like TriceraTop Spin and Primeval Whirl was initially earmarked for a much more impressive thrill ride attraction.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom was intended to compete and outdo Busch Gardens Tampa with its live exotic animals and roller coasters. The original DAK Imagineers proposed a roller coaster similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It would be in an area that was supposedly a former sand and gravel pit with an enormous piece of leftover machinery called the Excavator.

The area had been abandoned when the Dino Institute bought the property after dinosaur bones were discovered and transformed the field offices of the former business into a dormitory and cafeteria for students.

Chester and Hester could no longer sell gas to the trucks and the workmen who operated at the site so they converted their business into a souvenir shop for tourists who were coming to see the dinosaur dig site.

The Excavator was meant to look like a series of ore cars used to haul up the sand and gravel from the bottom of the pit to dump trucks. The paleontology students who were working in the area had reconfigured the unsafe device that had fallen into disrepair to transport the dinosaur fossils they were finding.

The marketing publicity described it as “a rollicking coaster ride through a section of the dig supposedly too dangerous to enter”. At one point, the ride would have zoomed through the inside of a dinosaur skeleton.

It had been planned as an opening day attraction until budget cuts eliminated it but it appeared clearly on the original concept painting of the area. It was felt that the Countdown to Extinction (now DINOSAUR) attraction (since it re-used existing technology) would be easier and less expensive to build, yet still attract guests wanting a thrill ride.

Lagoon Islands at World Showcase. “There just wasn’t enough things for kids to do at World Showcase (when it first opened),” said Tony Baxter, former Senior Vice President, Creative Development, for Walt Disney Imagineering. “So one of the proposals was to use the islands in the middle of World Showcase’s lagoon as kind of a kids’ play area,” much like the Tom Sawyer Island in the Magic Kingdom but with an international theme.

That idea was scrapped when concerns about safety, transportation, capacity and budget were reviewed. An alternative concept of making the islands an exclusive “adults only” party area was considered and “which was very much the start of [Downtown Disney’s] Pleasure Island concept,” Baxter said, but was also rejected.

Dark Kingdom. The opening of Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida in 1999 and its appeal to an older teenage demographic prompted Disney to consider adding an “edgier” addition to its WDW parks. In the 1990s, Disney began formalizing a Disney Villains franchise that proved its popularity with the Villains in Vogue merchandise shop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

So it was proposed to add a new land at the back of the Magic Kingdom to be called the Dark Kingdom or Shadowlands. The icon for this new land would have been Maleficent’s castle.

Bald Mountain, a massive roller coaster ride inspired by Chernabog’s lair in the Disney’s animated feature film Fantasia (1940), was developed as well as a spinner ride similar to the Dumbo attraction that would have had Ursula the sea witch as the centerpiece and each of her octopus arms holding a ride vehicle. The concept was so intriguing that at one point Disney even considered expanding it into a fifth theme park.

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Thanks, Jim! My own thoughts on a fifth Disney World theme park are here, sorta. 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.

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