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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.

ROSIE’S ALL AMERICAN CAFE

By Jim Korkis

During World War II, the term “Rosie the Riveter” was created by the government to represent the many patriotic women who took temporary jobs “making history working for victory” on the assembly lines of various industries to free up men needed in the military.

That image and distinctive name was portrayed in posters, magazine covers and even a popular 1942 song recorded by multiple artists.

Rosie’s All American Café is an homage to this well-known feminist icon. Part of the Sunset Ranch Market area in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Rosie is depicted in the Café on the sign as a smiling redheaded welder heating up a frying pan which is meant to imply that she has experience handling flames and is a good cook.

The interior of the quick serve location is decorated with some authentic World War II memorabilia alongside some “Imagineered” items relating to the fictional life of the woman owner.

Several signs including “Keep ‘Em Flying”, “V for Victory” and “Stay True to the Red, White and Blue” adorn the outside. Even the outside condiment bar is topped by a glass enclosed case featuring metal toy soldiers and other authentic artifacts from the 1940s.

Since it is “All American”, it offers the traditional American food offerings of hamburgers, fries and a Coke.

On the side of the building is a large colorful item that is not only a reference to World War II but to the Disney Studio participation during the conflict. Over the course of the war, the Disney Studio designed roughly twelve hundred different military insignia free of charge for all branches of the United States armed forces.

Under the supervision of artist Hank Porter who did most of the designs, a team of five artists did the work. In October 1941, the Disney Studio created the famous insignia for General Chennault’s legendary American Volunteer Group, Chinese Air Force, better known as the Flying Tigers.

The original rough design was done by Roy “Big Mooseketeer” Williams and finished by Porter. It featured a winged tiger springing upward against a background letter “V” standing for “Victory”. That early insignia is displayed on the side wall.

Additional Disney created insignia including those featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and a Gremlin are on the interior of the café.

Nearby is Rosie’s Victory Garden, a familiar site during the war years when growing vegetables, fruits and herbs in a private garden for home use helped free up supplies so that the government could send more of these items from farms to feed men in the military.

Rosie uses her garden to supply some of the food for her service counter. Real items like cabbage, mustard, beans, peppers and corn grow in the garden and change out over the different seasons.

Imagineering was faced with the sensitive challenge of how to create an accurate depiction but avoid any derogatory references to specific nationalities that were involved in the war just as they did in the American Adventure attraction at Epcot.

The scarecrow wears an old U.S. flight suit including goggles, helmet, oxygen mask and inflatable yellow life vest from Rosie’s boyfriend who is still serving his country as a pilot overseas according to memorabilia inside the café. This figure was meant to scare off unpatriotic birds who might pillage the small garden of its bounty.

The sign proclaims “Victory With Vegetables” and above it are three dots and a dash, which were the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Five in Roman numerals is “V”. At the bottom it declares “Rosie’s Victory Garden”.

In addition, there is an Uncle Sam wind spinner whose unpredictable movement is also meant to scare away pests. Rosie’s garden tools are hanging along the side of the Catalina Eddie building right next to the garden.

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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: NOVEMBER 5 TO NOVEMBER 13, 2016

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

For more on November 2016 at Disney World, this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/5-11/13/2016

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 11/5 and 11/6, 8a-7p 11/7, 9a-7p 11/8, 8a-11p 11/9, 8a-7p 11/10 and 11/11, 8a-12MN 11/12, and 8a-7p 11/13

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 11/5, 9a-9p 11/6 through 11/10, 9a-10p 11/11 and 11/12, and 9a-9p 11/13,

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p 11/5, 9a-7p 11/6 through 11/10, 9a-8p 11/11 and 11/12, and 9a-7p 11/13

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8.30p 11/5 and 9a-7p 11/6 through 11/13

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/5-11/13/2016

Saturday 11/5 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Sunday 11/6 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 11/7 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 11/8 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 11/9 Morning: none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 11/10 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 11/11 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 11/12 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/13  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/5-11/13/2016

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p 11/5 through 11/9; 5p 11/10 through 11/12; 3p 11/13

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/5-11/13/2016

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p 11/5 and 11/6; 9p 11/9; 10p 11/12

IllumiNations at Epcot: 10p 10/11/5; 9p 11/6 through 11/10; 10p 11/11 and 11/12; 9p 11/13

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7.30p 11/5; 7p 11/6 through 11/13

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  8p 11/5; 6.45p 11/7 and 11/9;  8p 11/11 and 11/12

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/5-11/13/2016

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

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WALT DISNEY WORLD IN 2018

I’ve published several key planning tools for selecting when to go to Walt Disney World in 2018:

• 2018 Disney World Price Seasons
• 2018 Disney World Crowd Calendar
• 2018 Disney World Week Rankings

Prices can vary by 50% over the year, crowds by even more, and the best weeks to visit–for first timers, or for others–are also affected by weather, special events, and ride closures.So these are key tools for you to use in planning your 2018 Disney World vacation.

For more on when to go to Disney World, see this.

2018 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS

My calendar of Disney World price seasons in 2018 shows changes in Disney World resort hotel prices over the dates of 2018.

2018 DISNEY WORLD CROWD CALENDAR

My  2018 Disney World crowd calendar indicates lower, moderate, and higher crowd weeks to visit.

It’s based on recent trends–especially lower summer crowds and higher crowds in the first half of October–and the impacts of moving holidays, particularly Easter, and the actual day of Christmas in 2018 (which effects the start of an enormous number of school breaks).

2018 DISNEY WORLD WEEK RANKINGS

My  week rankings for 2018 are based on the above price seasons and crowd forecast, and also are influenced by weather, seasonal events, and ride closures.

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OVERVIEW: THE BEST TIMES IN 2018 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

This site recommends arriving at Walt Disney World one of the first three Saturdays after Thanksgiving.

If you can’t go then, presented below are my rankings of the weeks of 2018 in order of best to worst times to visit Disney World.

These rankings are designed for first time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

For visitors on a return trip, less concerned about ride closures or the peak of the hurricane season, the later January, early February, and September weeks would be ranked much higher.

These week rankings are based on my updated  2018 Disney World Crowd Calendar and on the final Walt Disney World 2018 price seasons.

Other factors are key as well–the Christmas season, ride closure season and hurricane season in particular.

(For 2019 rankings, see this. For more how I build these rankings, see this.)

RECOMMENDED 2018 WEEKS AT DISNEY WORLD, RANKED IN ORDER

The fourteen recommended weeks that follow are wonderful weeks to visit Walt Disney World in 2018

Week number one has it all–lower crowds, lower prices and wonderful Christmas programs and decorations. The first Saturday of this week overlaps with Thanksgiving crowds, but the rest of it will be marvelous:

• 1: 11/24/18

Weeks 2 and 3 have many, but not all, of the strengths of week 1:

• 2: 12/8/18. A week as good as week 1 on crowds and holiday programs. More expensive, however, than weeks 1 or 3
• 3: 12/1/18. Largely a terrific week with low crowds, low prices and wonderful holiday programs. However, this is a week that, because of Pop Warner football demand for resort rooms, is rarely discounted beyond its already low prices. Those intending to stay at a value resort, Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs should consider avoiding this week and target week 1 or 2 instead, as Pop Warner guests may make these resorts boisterous this week

Week 4 is a very strong week. It has low crowds and prices, and Disney World’s holiday program at the Magic Kingdom will be in place

• 4: 11/10/18

Week 5 has lower prices and crowds, and offers in its first few days Disney World’s Halloween program

• 5: 10/27/18

Week 6 is your best 2018 Spring Break bet, with low crowds and moderate prices

• 6: 3/3/18

Week 7 is similar to week 5 but projected at slightly higher crowds.

• 7: 10/20/18

Weeks 8 to 12 are all in the same 2018 post-Easter stretch, and share low crowds, moderate prices, and nice spring weather. They are in calendar order, as the weather is better earlier in this period

• 8: 4/14/18
• 9: 4/21/18
• 10: 4/28/18
• 11: 5/5/18
• 12: 5/12/18

Week 13 is the second-best 2018 Spring Break week, with low crowds and moderate prices

• 13: 2/24/18

Week 14 is similar to weeks 8-11, but has higher prices in the deluxes

• 14: 4/7/18

This completes the weeks in 2018 that are recommended for first-time visitors who may never return.

2018 WEEKS I’M NOT SO KEEN ON

Weeks 15-19 all have moderate crowd levels, with different prices and weather. I don’t particularly recommend moderate-crowd weeks for first time visitors, but they are quite manageable, and I would go myself such weeks with no hesitation.

They are in order of least to most crowded, and within crowd groups are sorted by price.

• 15: 11/3/18. “Jersey Week”—teacher meetings in New Jersey, leading to a massive temporary immigration of New Jersey families to Orlando. Crowds moderate-minus, prices low to moderate, almost never with major discounts.
• 16: 10/13/18. A week with moderate crowds, moderate prices, and great weather that has become more crowded in recent years
• 17: 5/19/18. Similar to week 12, slightly more heat and humidity and crowds.
• 18: 12/15/18. The same Christmas program as weeks 1-3, but higher crowds–especially later in the week–and much higher prices
• 19: 6/2/18.  Beginning of summer, with traditionally the lowest crowds until late August

Weeks 20-27 have one thing in common: they occur during the peak of the hurricane season. Hurricanes are rare and even more rarely affect a Disney World vacation, but for first-timers who may never return, why not just avoid the risk? For returning visitors, though, the low-crowd weeks among this group can be wonderful times to visit.

They are ranked in order of first crowd levels, and within the same crowd level prices.

Weeks 20 and 21 have some of the lowest crowds of the year

• 20: 9/1/18
• 21: 9/15/18

Weeks 22, 23 and 24 have slightly higher crowds, and Week 24, higher prices

• 22: 9/8/18
• 23: 8/25/18
• 24: 9/22/18

Weeks 25 to 27 are the moderate-crowd weeks in this hurricane group

• 25: 9/29/18
• 26: 8/18/18
• 27: 8/11/18

2018 WEEKS TO AVOID AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

There’s two groups of weeks to avoid: high crowd weeks and weeks when rides are often closed.

The first group, ranked 28-47, should be avoided because of crowds that traditionally range from high to unbelievable.

This group includes all of later June, July and early August (traditionally massive crowds, although I do need t0 note that the summers of 2016 and 2017 were much more manageable than I’d thought).

It also includes the busy March spring break weeks beginning 3/10/2018, and the holiday weeks—President’s Day week, the weeks before and after Easter, Columbus Day week, Thanksgiving week, and the weeks around Christmas.

Click the table for exact rankings within these lousy weeks.

The next group includes the January and early February weeks when rides are often closed for repair or refurbishment—weeks 48-53.

Some of these weeks have the lowest crowds and lowest prices of the year.

(But not all--click the table above.)

However, this is the peak time for ride closures at Walt Disney World, especially the January weeks.

If this may be your only family visit, why go when you know some of the best of Disney World will be closed?

If you must go during this period, avoid the first days of January (massive crowds), and the Martin Luther King Day (1/13/18 arrival date) holiday weekend,.

The Marathon Weekend (affecting the weekend of a 1/6/18 arrival date) complicates Disney World as well, although it has little impact on park crowds beyond the effects of leftover holiday visitors.

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2018 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

The chart lower on the page shows my forecasts for 2018 crowds by week at Walt Disney World.

Dates in it are the beginning of the week, and the forecast covers the recommended Saturday-Sunday 9 day stays.

(For 2019 crowds at Disney World, see this. )

[Read more →]

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.

TALKING PRESIDENTS AND ONE TO COME

By Jim Korkis

Every U.S. President since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, has visited a Disney theme park. Of course, every president since George Washington is represented in the Hall of Presidents at the Magic Kingdom.

With the upcoming election and a new president in office soon, many Disney fans are wondering when that head of state will make its appearance in the attraction, especially since Disney now outsources all audio-animatronics to Garner Holt.

Beginning in 1993, an audio-animatronics representation of the current sitting President of the United States speaks as part of the finale. The actual presidents recorded their presentations at the White House under the supervision of WDW Imagineers. Amazingly, in almost twenty-five years, there has only been the need to do so three times. Here are those speeches:

Bill Clinton in The Hall of Presidents:

My fellow citizens, we are the heirs of the great American Revolution. As this millennium draws to a close and the 21st century approaches, let us pause to honor the very idea of America. America mirrors the world’s diversity, yet it remains united in the struggle to uphold fundamental freedoms. We believe our nation’s happiness still evolves from liberty, from opportunity and from the vision of equality set forth by our country’s Declaration of Independence. And today our nation stands as a symbol of freedom and inspiration to people all over the world.

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. And there is nothing wrong with the world that cannot be cured by the ideals that America represents. Those principles have no borders, and we look forward to a day when those principles, extended beyond our borders, will have circled the globe. The quest for democracy must continue until all of the people of the world enjoy the freedom we must always fight to preserve. The spirit of America is as bright and hopeful today as it was in July of 1776. And we are ready to carry our great national experiment forward into the next millennium.

George W. Bush in The Hall of Presidents:

My fellow Americans, when we look back on the history of this country, we see a record of almost unbelievable energy, sacrifice, hard work; of impossible dreams that our ancestors dreamed and made real. We see injustice, too, that weighs on our hearts even today. But for every injustice there has always been a voice crying out to right it. And America has always listened to those voices. We are listening today. And perhaps it falls to us, to this first generation of 21st century Americans, to say, once and for all, that no child, no race, no creed, no ethnic community will ever again be left out of the American dream.

Through education, through the opportunity to work and to enjoy the fruits of that work, we can open every closed door, expand the horizons of all Americans. Again and again, we return to the same simple principles: freedom, equality. The freedom to create, to prosper, to dream. Equality before the law, in the workplace, and a chance for a better life. And each time, in the process, America grows stronger. The beacon of democracy grows brighter. The world looks with new astonishment at what free people can do. We the people are just getting started.

Barack Obama in The Hall of Presidents:

The American dream is as old as our founding, but as timeless as our hopes. It is reborn every day in the heart of every child who wakes up in a land of limitless possibilities, in a country where “we, the people” means all the people. We may come from different places and believe different things, but what makes us American is a shared spirit; a spirit of courage and determination; of kindness and generosity. It is a spirit grounded in the wisdom of the generations that have gone before us, but open to the unimagined discoveries and possibilities on the horizon that lies ahead. Let us enjoy it, cherish it, defend it, and pass it on to our children as the bright and beautiful blessing it is: this enduring American dream.

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Thanks, Jim!

At least to me, it’s a bit interesting that with these candidates, The Hall of Presidents will become a scary ride!

And if–as is appropriate–you don’t care what I think about the election, then just 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!!