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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.

DISNEY SPRINGS

By Jim Korkis

Downtown Disney, which was three separate unconnected sections in terms of an overall story, has recently been re-imagined as a re-themed cohesive retail and entertainment venue now called Disney Springs that encompasses approximately 120 acres.

When the new plans were announced on March 14, 2013, Walt Disney World Imagineer Theron Skees, executive creative director of the project said, ” It’s kind of a unifying storyline that we felt would really reinvigorate the property and really give it an identity all of its own.”

With more than 900 springs, Florida has one of the largest concentrations of freshwater springs on Earth. A few springs gave birth to towns, including Silver Springs in Marion County, Green Cove Spring in Clay County, and De Leon Springs in Volusia County.

The Imagineering storyline is that Disney Springs also attracted its first settlers “more than a century ago” and, over the decades, the town continued to expand naturally into four distinct districts: Town Center, The Landing, Marketplace and West Side. The architecture of Disney Springs varies by district.

For instance, on the West Side there are remnants of overhead train tracks that were supposedly built for the fictional 1950 Springs Centennial Expo that is shown on a poster in D-Luxe Burgers and Guest Relations. That Expo had hot air balloons and a big distinctive central structure like most World’s Fairs that later became Characters in Flight and the Cirque du Soleil building.

“The story is really of a small town that grew up around a natural spring,” Skees said. “It’s a story that’s really not unlike lots of small towns in Florida that grew up in the same kind of way. It has sort of a nod to the history of Florida as it developed and grew up over the years.”

As Briana Ricci, an Imagineer in charge of character paint and finishing, said about creating the actual springs, “We started with a base coat, followed by air compressor hoppers that poured out our accent colors which resulted in a color blend you would get in a nice water color painting. We only had a half hour or so before the cement dried completely and became as solid as a rock which made it all a challenge.

“We included colored glass, which was a very critical element because we have a limited palette, so we needed something to enhance and push our colors and depth, something bright and vibrant as well as long lasting with zero maintenance,” she said.

Natural elements that already existed in the area like oak trees, cypress trees and plants were saved and incorporated into the design. However, Imagineering also created some other elements like carving tree roots in the water so that the entire area felt integrated.

Disney Springs was inspired in part by Kismet, Florida, now a vanished town that was once located in the Ocala National Forest area. Before the early 1900s, it was a new community built around citrus groves near Alexander Springs. Kismet was where Walt and Roy Disney’s parents met and married, although they moved to Chicago not long afterward where Walt and Roy were born.

Skees stated: “When Walt came to Florida and bought the property to begin with, we love the idea that maybe his parents told him about the area and when it was purchased that this idea of Disney Springs was sort of central to it.”

The goal of the Imagineers was to capture the warmth and nostalgia of an old-fashioned small town neighborhood, in much the same spirit as Main Street U.S.A., from a simpler time but with an “upscale vibe” when it came to the stores and restaurants. They didn’t want just another shopping and dining location, but for guests to be immersed in an experience.

Tom Staggs, former Disney Chief Operating Officer and the former chair of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, stated: “That sense of welcome, that sense of embrace, especially with this great center around The Springs, is going to be instinctive and natural for our guests.”

“We get asked … why we spend so much time on the storytelling, even in a place that isn’t a theme park. It guides our development and keeps us rooted in a sense of place.”

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for even 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 First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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OVERVIEW: FEBRUARY 2017 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews February 2017 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Early February 2017 will have some of the lowest crowds and prices of the year, but also the risk of ride closures.

The end of the month brings slightly higher prices and crowds, but better weather and few closures.

In between–in 2017, the period from Thursday the 16th through Saturday the 25th–we will see high crowds and high prices.

[Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JULY 30 TO AUGUST 7, 2016

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

Note that typos happen, and schedules change! If something seems odd, or if you want to double check, use the calendar links near the bottom to get the latest official Disney World scoop.

For more on August 2016 at Walt Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-11p 7/30, 9a-11p 7/31, 8a-12MN 8/1, 9a-12MN 8/2, 8a-12MN 8/3, and 9a-11p 8/4 through 8/7

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9.30p 7/30, 9a-10p 7/31, and 9a-9.30p 8/1 through 8//7

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-11p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

Saturday 7/30 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 7/31 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 8/1 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 8/2 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 8/3 Morning: none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 8/4 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 8/5 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 8/6 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 8/7  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

The Magic Kingdom:

• Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p  every day
• Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 9 and 11p 7/30 and 7/31; 9p 8/1 through 8/3; 9a and 11p 8/4 though 8/7

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p every night

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p 7/30; 9 and 10.30p 7/31; 9p 8/1 through 8/7

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.30p every night

Jungle Book Evening Show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9 and 10.30p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

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

LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 7/30-8/7/2016

See this for forecasts.

DISCLAIMER

Everything is subject to change and typos! Check the Disney Calendars for updates and official schedules. These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

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JUNGLE BOOK: ALIVE WITH MAGIC

The evening show Jungle Book: Alive With Magic opened as a temporary (one hopes) replacement for the delayed Rivers of Light show in May 2016.

There’s no word on when Rivers of Light will open, nor on how the transition from Jungle Book to Rivers of Light will happen.

As I write this, it is scheduled for 9 and 10.30p every night between now and Labor Day, and then is not on the schedules afterward.

However, since Disney’s evening show calendars lately have played the role of sophisticated display front-ends  to databases with no data, I am not ready to say that the show will in fact end in early September–although there are rumors to that effect.

The show takes place in the waters in front of Expedition Everest in the Asia section of the park.  New construction has turned the banks of the waterfront into an amphitheater.

There is not much rise between the seat levels of the amphitheater, but since there are only about 5 inches on average between eye level and top of forehead (yes I looked it up) it actually takes less rise than many think to give a clear view to successive rows.

The setting designed for Rivers of Light includes three off-shore stages and three on-shore stages.

For Jungle Book, singers are delivered by raft to the middle one of the three off-shore stages…

…and dancers populate each of the three closer on-shore stages.

Basically, the singers and dancers take the audience through the story and songs of the Jungle Book, accompanied by simple projections on water screens–note above Ballou on the left-most screen, and Akela in the center.

The Jungle Book: Alive With Magic has been the most savaged major attraction opened at Disney World that I can recall. While I think the reaction has been a bit unfair–and Josh tells me that the projections are much improved since it first opened, when many of these negative reactions were first published–it remains true that even positive reactions are a bit muted.

Frankly, the show suffers terribly in comparison to the don’t-miss evening shows (Wishes, Fantasmic, and IllumiNations) at the other parks, and people who bring expectations based on those three will be quite disappointed–at least until Florida’s approach to legalized marijuana profoundly changes.

In particular, it is not worth profoundly bending your day or your visit to assure that you can see it.

That said, the setting is gorgeous, the show is OK, and the Animal Kingdom is lovely at night.  So if you can fit an evening visit to the Animal Kingdom into your plans, you should, and then you might as well check out this show. With expectations sufficiently low, you might well be pleasantly surprised.

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STAR WARS: A GALACTIC SPECTACULAR

A new evening show, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, debuted at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this summer.

The show replaces a Star Wars fireworks show that had been going on since December, and adds to fireworks stirring music, lasers, and projections.

Lasers:

Projections:

Fireworks:

The projections are shown on Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and can’t be seen well from anyplace not close to it.

Because the fireworks themselves more punctuate and add drama to the projections than carry their weight as a show in themselves, it’s best to think of this as a “projection show with fireworks” rather than as a “fireworks show with projections.”

This is important, as it means you have to be close to the theater to fully experience the show. Specifically, you should be between the projection towers (circled in red) and the theater (also with a red circle).

Those seeing the show from further away won’t have nearly as good an experience.

Recent schedules make it hard to see both the first Fantasmic and and to see this show as well.  That’s just fine, as that aren’t remotely enough good viewing spots for the 10,000 people that Fantasmic can hold to see this show at its best.

Those who can spend two evenings in Disney’s Hollywood Studios are can see both. But if you have to choose between the two, be guided by this: the fireworks show is all about Star Wars, and Fantasmic is all about Disney animation. Which will be more fun for your group?

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FROZEN EVER AFTER

The ride Frozen Ever After replaced Maelstrom at Epcot in June 2016.

Using essentially the same ride system as Maelstrom, it takes you into and out of a special Summer Snow Day Celebration in Arandelle, along the way revisiting all of the key characters from Frozen and from the short Frozen Fever.

(See this for Jim Korkis on the background to this ride and the Norway Pavilion, where it is located.)

You begin in a village that contains Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post…

…from which, curiously enough, you can see Hogsmeade in the distance.

Just kidding.  You then pass a sign that gives you the only hint of the story of the ride–that is a winter day in summer, and that you will be touring Arandelle during the celebration of it.

You board boats…

and visit with the key Frozen and Frozen Fever folk. The animatronics and setting are very well done–my pictures don’t really do them justice.

You will also, as you might imagine, hear some familiar tunes!

A must-see for those who love the movie and its songs, there’s not much to this ride for anyone else. A family trying to negotiate a minimum Frozen dose for their trip would be better served at the Frozen Sing Along at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where humor makes that show of broader appeal.

The use of the old ride system means that this ride has a relatively low hourly capacity of about a thousand people.

As a result, you should aim for FastPass+ or ride it at park close.  The low capacity, proportion of rides allocated to FastPass+, people coming from early breakfasts, etc., breakdown history, etc., means that counting on low waits by arriving early may be a bad bet.

For more on strategies for trying to see Frozen Ever After while avoiding long waits, see this from my co-author Josh.

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