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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 30 TO FEBRUARY 7, 2016

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

The same stuff is in the graphic, but organized by park, not by topic. For more on February 2016 at Walt Disney World, click here.

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.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

The Magic Kingdom will be open 8a-1a 1/30, 9a-11p 1/31 and 2/1, 9a-8p 2/2 and 2/3, 9a-9p 2/4, 9a-12<m 2/5, 8a-1a 2/6, and 9a-12MN 2/7

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8.30p 1/30, 9a-8p 1/31 through 2/4, 9a-8.30p 2/5, 9a-9p 2/6, and 9a-8.30p 2/7

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-6.30p 1/30 and 1/31, 9a-5p 2/1, 9a-5.30p 2/2, 9a-6p 2/3, 9a-5p 2/4, 9a-7.30p 2/5, 9a-8p 2/6, and 8a-8p 2/7

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

Saturday 1/30 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 1/31 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: None

Monday 2/1 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 2/2 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 2/3 Morning:  none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 2/4 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 2/5 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 2/6 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 2/7  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

The Magic Kingdom:

• Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day
• Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 9 and 11p 1/30; 8 and 10p 1/31; 7 and 9p 2/1; 7p 2/2 and 2/3; 7 and 9p 2/4; 9 and 11p 2/5 through 2/7

FIREWORKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p 1/30; 9p 1/31; 8p 2/1 through 2/4; 10p 2/5 through 2/7

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7 and 9p 1/30; 7p 1/31 through 2/4; 7 and 9p 2/5 through 2/7

Symphony in the Stars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

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

LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/30-2/7/2016

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

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

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.

THE TRI-CIRCLE D RANCH AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT & CAMPGROUND

By Jim Korkis

On Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom, on the side of the Car Barn is a window that honors “Owen Pope. Harness Maker”.

Pope and his wife Dolly lived at Disneyland where they trained and cared for the horses. Their house is still located in the park behind Big Thunder Ranch and will be moved before the building of Star Wars Land there.

It was in this house that Owen made the harnesses and riggings for the horses that would work at Walt Disney World. That’s why his window states “Harness Maker.”

The Popes relocated to Florida in January 1971, where they supervised the creation of the Tri-Circle D Ranch at Fort Wilderness. Tri-Circle refers to the three circles that make the famous Mickey Mouse head silhouette and, of course, “D” stands for “Disney.”

The Popes retired in 1975, but continued to visit at least once a year until their deaths. Owen died in 2000 at the age 96. Dolly died in 2003 at age 89.

The Tri-Circle-D Ranch has two sections that are located roughly a mile apart.

Horseback riding takes place at the Trail Blaze Corral located just inside the main entrance of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground next to the Outpost area. Guests can take the reins for a 45-minute guided trail ride through the resort.

The remaining Tri-Circle-D Ranch areas with the Draft Horse Barn, Blacksmith Shop, Carriage Rides and Pony Rides (the ponies are adults and weigh on average 500 pounds; pony riders have to weigh less than 80 pounds and be under 48 inches tall) are located at the Settlement area, next to Pioneer Hall at the rear of the Campground.

The Draft Horse Barn has a small one room museum named “Walt Disney Horses.” It is a tribute to Walt Disney’s love of horses. It is decorated with photos and memorabilia.

Across from it is the 1907 Dragon Calliope housed under protective glass. Besides being part of the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus parade at Disneyland in 1955, the calliope went on to appear at Disneyland parades until the park’s 25th anniversary. It was then repainted silver and blue and relocated to Florida for the Walt Disney World Tencennial Celebration in 1981 where it remained.

Generally, 80-90 horses are maintained at the ranch and roughly thirty of them are draft horses. The draft horses can get as large as 18 hands tall (72 inches). A hand is about four inches and was originally based on the breadth of a human hand as a measure. They weight approximately 2,000 pounds each.

The horses that pull the Main Street trolleys are fed and bathed in the morning. Around 8 a.m. they are loaded into a trailer and taken to the Magic Kingdom Car Barn where they are put in harness and hooked and ready to go by 9 a.m.

While the trolley is heavy, especially loaded with guests at about 4,000 pounds, it is so well balanced that once it gets moving, it takes only minimal effort to keep it moving. That’s one of the reasons that Disney has started to grease the track just outside the car barn to help it get started.

When Walt Disney World opened, there were four horse drawn trolleys and it cost a dime or an “A” ticket to go one way either up or down the street. Today only one trolley operates, and soon after the 1 p.m. trolley show, it is pulled off the street to avoid congestion because of the parades and crowds.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim. There’s much more on Fort Wilderness beginning here, and in particular more photos of the Tri-Circle D Ranch here.

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.

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

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 23 TO JANUARY 31, 2016

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

The same stuff is in the graphic, but organized by park, not by topic. For more on January 2016 at Walt Disney World, click here.

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.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

The Magic Kingdom will be open 9a-12MN 1/23, 9a-11p 1/24, 9a-9p 1/25, 9a-8p 1/26 through 1/28, 9a-11p 1/29, 8a-1a 1/30, and 9a-11p 1/31

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p 1/23, 9a-8.30p 1/24, 9a-8p 1/25 through 1/28, 9a-8.30p 1/29 and 1/30, and 9a-8p 1/31

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-7p 1/23, 9a-8p 1/24, 9a-5p 1/25 through 1/28, 9a-5.30p 1/29, and 8a-6.30p 1/30and 1/31

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

Saturday 1/23 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 1/24 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: None

Monday 1/25 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Tuesday 1/26 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 1/27 Morning:  none  Evening:  Magic Kingdom

Thursday 1/28 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 1/29 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios

Saturday 1/30 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 1/31  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

The Magic Kingdom:

• Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day
• Evening Main Street Electrical Parade:  8 and 10p 1/23 and 1/24; 7 and 9p 1/25; 7p 1/26 through 1/28; 9 and 11p 1/29 and 1/30; 8 and 10p 1/31

FIREWORKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 9p /24 and 1/24; 8p 1/25 through 1/28; 10p 1/29 and 1/30; 9p 1/31

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7p 1/23; 7 and 9p 1/24; 7p 1/25 through 1/28; 7 and 9p 1/29 and 1/30; 7p 1/31

Symphony in the Stars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

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

LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/23-1/31/2016

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

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

NEW DISNEY WORLD DEAL!

Disney World announced this morning a deal where, if you book at least three nights and two days of tickets per person in a value resort this summer, each person 3 and older will receive per night one free quick-service meal.

Eligible dates are May 29 through June 30, 2016 and July 5 through August 13, 2016.

The deal must be booked by February 29, Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation are excluded, and availability elsewhere may be thin.

Nightly savings will vary based on family size and structure, as meal prices vary  by age, and in general, the more and the older the people the more you will save.

A good travel agent (like Kelly B, contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com) can help you sort this out.

Here’s my estimated savings per night by family size and age (based 40% of the cost of the quick service dining plan).

Note that depending on your size and age structure, nightly savings will vary from around $17 to a little over $100.

I’d expect this deal to be accompanied by a room rate deal with savings of at least 15%, so the question is–do you do better than 15% in this deal??

As always this is complicated by the fact that while the savings are the same every night, room rates aren’t–they are higher Fridays and Saturdays.

Moreover, for families that can fit 4 person rooms, the All-Stars cost less per night than Pop Century, and for families that need a six-person family suite, those at All-Star Music are a lot less expensive than those at Art of Animation.

So I’ve calculated approximate percentage saving per night for families at All-Star Music for both weeknights and weekends.  Percentage savings will be the same for 4 person rooms in the other All-Stars, and less at more expensive Pop Century.  Savings will also be less in the more expensive Art of Animation family suites.

Here’s All-Star Music weeknight percentage savings. I’ve noted saving less than around 15% in red:

Note that families with just one person ten or older often do better or about the same on the room rate deal that I expect to come out for these same dates.

Families with an older age structure generally do better with the Free Meal deal announced today.

Weekends have a similar overall story, but with lower percentage savings:

Percentage savings will be not so high for those aimed at the more expensive 4 person rooms at Pop Century or Family Suites at Art of Animation. (Reviews of all these resorts are linked to from here–I’ve stayed in them all, and multiple times.)

And note that my savings are estimates.  You should work with a travel agent to see if this deal makes sense for you, as the agent will be able to get you exact savings.

I recommend Kelly B.  Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com –she can help you sort this out.

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OVERVIEW: AUGUST 2016 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews August 2016 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

There are no great times for first-timers who may never return to visit in August. Kids start going back to school in August, so crowds go down later in the month–but that’s also when the peak of the hurricane season kicks off.

Prices begin the month low at the deluxes, OK at the moderates, and high at the values. Moderate and value prices drop to among the lowest of the year August 19.

For first-timers who can’t return, the best week is that beginning 8/6–higher crowds and prices than later in the month, but lower hurricane risk.

For those who can return–or are returning–the later in the month, the better.

[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.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR

By Jim Korkis

“One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, and this time, it’s opening for you.” — Narration from The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

It was Halloween night, October 31, 1939, when a freakish thunder and lightning storm descended on the Hollywood Hills while the elite of the film community found sanctuary in the prestigious and popular Hollywood Tower Hotel’s elegant lobby. Outside the hotel is a plaque indicating that the hotel was built in 1917.

Among those checking in that night were young singer Carolyn Crosson and her boyfriend Gilbert London as well as a child actress Sally Shine in blond curls and frilly dress (reminiscent of actress Shirley Temple) with her stern governess Emeline Partridge. Sally clutches a Mickey Mouse doll. Over-worked bellman Dewey Todd assisted them into the elevator.

They stepped in, the doors closed, and seconds later the elevator, its passengers, and several sections of the upper stories of the hotel vanished when lightning struck the building, leaving a burnt scar and a gaping hole on the outside.

The hotel is frozen in a limbo of time and space, and while the exterior has fallen into disrepair over the years with overgrown vegetation, the interior remains frighteningly like it was that fateful 1939 Halloween night.

The directory in the lobby is an anagram that spells “evil Tower UR doomed”.

The mahjongg game in the lobby was set up by professional players.

What makes it spooky is that if the players had left the table, they would have pushed their chairs away from the table to get up. Their chairs are in the position as if people were sitting there playing the game… and then just disappeared.

On the wall in the lobby by the concierge’s desk is a “13 Diamond” award. (In actuality the award would only go up to five. Thirteen is an unlucky number.)

That video depicting that horrific evening was directed by Joe Dante, who also directed a segment of the 1983 movie version of The Twilight Zone. The set that they used to film those scenes for the attraction was built in Hollywood for the shooting and then dismantled and reassembled in the lobby of the actual attraction in Florida so it would look exactly as it was in the video.

Imagineers screened each of the 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone television series at least twice. The attraction is littered with references from the show.

Performer Mark Silverman was selected from hundreds of others to provide the voice of Rod Serling by Serling’s widow who made the final selection after listening to him on audio tape.

The design of the building was inspired by the Mission Inn in Riverside, the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles and especially the exterior façade of the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood built in 1927.

The attraction is only 199 feet tall because Federal regulations would have required a flashing red beacon to warn aircraft if it were 200 or more feet tall. It is composed of 1,500 tons of steel, 145,800 cubic feet of concrete, and 27,000 individual roof tiles.

It officially opened July 22, 1994 and quickly became the most popular attraction at the park, later superseded by Toy Story Midway Mania.

“A warm welcome back to those of you who made it, and a friendly word of warning, something you won’t find in any guide book. The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you’re filling. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident… of the Twilight Zone.”

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim. I’m gonna check with co-author Josh about adding “The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you’re filling” to the “Where to Stay” section of our guide book!

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.

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