Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Disney’s quarterly earnings release and analyst call (today at 5p) showed strong results in the parks and resorts in the last three months of 2013, and strong bookings for the first three months of 2014.

This suggests no changes in Disney’s core short term strategies for Walt Disney World.

That is, based on the solid economics from the last three months of 2013, and good 2014 trends so far, Disney will continue cutting back on discounts, and rolling out FastPass+ and the overall MyMagic+ program, pretty much along the lines we’ve seen so far.

The last three months of 2013 showed a 6% increase in revenues and 16% in operating income at the parks and resorts, largely from the domestic parks. There were no particular calendar comparability issues in the two years, although at the park level 2013 had a full three months of New Fantasyland, while 2012 had less than a month.

Walt Disney World set a new attendance record for the quarter, but, I infer, not by much, because while the record was referenced in the call, increased attendance was not mentioned in the quarterly earnings release as a driver of results.

Profitability at the parks and resorts was up strongly. Excluding implementation costs and some pension increases, it was up almost 360 basis points—that is, an additional 3.6% of revenues. This was largely driven by higher spending per day per visitor and higher realized hotel prices per night.

And bookings for the current quarter are strong, with hotel bookings so far for the current quarter up 7% compared to the same quarter last year. Since a week of the Easter crowds were in this quarter last year, but not this year, that’s pretty remarkable.

Disney is pleased with MyMagic+ and FastPass+. Improvements–other than a much higher per-capita use of FastPass+ than legacy Fastpass ever saw–remain still largely anecdotal, but the anecdotes make sense.

A couple of other comments I noted, and perhaps read too much into:

• In one of Iger’s responses to an analyst’s question, he implied that it would continue to be true that only Disney World resort guests would be able to book beginning 60+ days ahead of time, and not off site guests. That’s the status now, and widely expected to be what will continue in the future, but nothing has been officially announced. This comment supports the thought of the continuing major differences between FastPass+ for on and off-site guests.
• Jay Rasulo mentioned that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train would be opening in “a few” months. There’s no legal definition of “a few,” but this continues to make me hope it will be open for the Easter crowds in late April, and even better for the Spring Break crowds beginning in early March!

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, click here.

THE THEMING OF DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge opened in 1994, and its last renovation was completed in 2012.  It is officially described on Walt Disney World’s website as

“…inspired by the Great American Northwest National Park lodges from the turn of the 20th century…an architecturally grand Disney Deluxe Resort hotel honoring American craftsmanship and artistry, and celebrating the majesty of the unspoiled wilderness.

“The theme of being in harmony with nature winds through the lodge—inside and out. Authentic decor and genuine artifacts pay homage to ancient Native American cultures and the pioneering spirit of early American explorers.

“From its stunning 7-story lobby, built from 85 loads of Lodgepole Pine, to its 82-foot-tall lobby fireplace, the Resort is as beautiful as it is impressive. Its 727 Guest rooms offer themes of wildlife, nature and Native American designs, and include Honeymoon Suites featuring marble whirlpool tubs.

“On the Resort grounds, look for the bubbling spring that flows into a creek, tumbles over a sparkling waterfall and empties into the swimming pool. Catch the eruption of Fire Rock Geyser, fashioned after Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful, with its plume of water jetting 120 feet into the air.”

The description of the Wilderness Lodge as being “inspired by the great American Northwest,” though presented by Disney itself, and widely repeated in guidebooks and the internet, is a bit of a crock.

The Wilderness Lodge does have elements from the American Northwest–Washington and Oregon–ranging from the stunning totem poles in the main lobby to the menu provenance of its signature restaurant, Artist Point.

And it also celebrates other remarkable western areas, such as the Grand Canyon in the southwest.

That said, the Wilderness Lodge is in fact largely inspired by, and is in homage to, the Mountain West–the basic architecture, the look of the lobby, and the “Fire Rock Geyser” area are all based on Yellowstone, which is not part of America’s Northwest by a long shot.

Yellowstone is principally in Wyoming, but also in Montana and Idaho.  This area is best described as the “Mountain West,” not the Northwest.

The second most significant influence on Wilderness Lodge theming after Yellowstone is the art and artifacts of Native Americans.

Tribes represented in the Lodge cross the country from the southwest (the Navajo and Apache) to the northwest to the great plains to the southeast (Cherokee.)

The third most significant influence is the Grand Canyon in general, and in particular Mary Colter’s masterwork Bright Angel Lodge there, from which the lobby fireplace was adapted and expanded (to 82 feet!!).

(I have always thought that Colter’s work at the Grand Canyon made her the first Imagineer…years before Walt Disney ever thought of the term!)

Additional theme influences include the great vernacular styles associated with westward expansion and its later re-interpretations–ranging from Frank Lloyd Wright to Thomas Molesworth to the Mission style.

The simplest, but still largely accurate, description of the Wilderness Lodge’s theme would be that it honors the mountain west; a longer but more accurate description would be that it is based on the great National Park Lodges of the early 1900s, and honors the Native Americans who first lived in this land, as well as later explorers and their descendants–hunters, trappers, guides, woodsmen, cowboys, etc.

The Lodge greatly repays exploring.  In the upper floor spaces around the main lobby, you’ll find wonderful nooks and crannies.

On the part above the entrance, you’ll find several little fireplace nooks…

…and in the area facing the pool courtyard, there’s multiple levels of seating nooks.

There’s also a subtle theming to this courtyard itself, in that it is all unified by a stream that begins at a spring inside the Lodge itself…

…meanders down the center of the courtyard…

…goes over a waterfall down to the pool…

…and continues past the pool to Bay Lake.

Even the light fixtures are worth noting–from the spectacular teepee lights in the main lobby…

…to the darling lights illuminating the hallways that lead to the rooms.

The Wilderness Lodge was designed by Peter Dominick, who also designed the next-most stunning Disney resort, the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

In an obituary of Dominick (he died in 2009), it was noted that Dominick “understood the building traditions of the Rocky Mountain West…his specialty was wonderful buildings that celebrated the landscape he loved.”

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, click here.

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is one of 8 official Disney-owned deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World.

In the order I recommend them for first time family visitors, they are

1. Polynesian
2. Wilderness Lodge
3. Animal Kingdom Lodge
4. Contemporary
5. Grand Floridian
6. Beach Club
7. Yacht Club
8. BoardWalk Inn

(Many of these also offer Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) studios and villas, all for rent to the general public–see this for more on the Disney Vacation Club resorts. There are two DVC offerings at the Wilderness Lodge: Copper Creek Villas and Cabins, and Boulder Ridge Villas.)

You enter the Wilderness Lodge into its glorious, jaw-dropping lobby–none of my photos do justice to it…

On the right you’ll find the check-in and concierge area. At Disney World, “concierge” means help with tickets, dining reservations and such.

Just down the side and extending around the corner is the gift shop.

More gift shop images:

Back into the lobby, and then outside you’ll find the main Copper Creek Springs pool at the Wilderness Lodge, which nestles between the two main wings of the building–see the map (on it the Lodge is the green-roofed shape at the top). More on the main pool and the great second pool, the Boulder Ridge Cove pool, down and around the corner, is later in this review.

Close to Bay Lake is a depiction of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful, whose local name is “Fire Rock Geyser,” and which goes off on the hour.

At this end of the complex, if you go left, or north, you’ll come to the boat dock.

One set of boats from here takes you to the Magic Kingdom, and another set loops among the three Bay Lake resorts–the Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary Resort, and Fort Wilderness. This makes getting to the kid-pleasing Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary, and Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness, quite simple.

Boats to the Contemporary always start much earlier in the morning than the Magic Kingdom boats–at 6.45a the day I shot this–so if you are going to the Magic Kingdom early, get the Contemporary boat and walk from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom.

The bus stop–where you’ll find shared buses to all the parks–is at the other end of the resort, near the main entrance, between it and the nearby Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

The bus timing board. Note at the bottom that it also indicates watercraft transport to the Magic Kingdom.

Inside the Boulder Ridge Villas is the gym, Sturdy Branches.

A new spa, Salon by the Springs, took over the old pool bar–Geyser Point is the new pool bar.

Further down towards Bay Lake is the bike and boat barn.

Some more bikes…

…the marina.

What used to be a beach and a kids playground has largely been replaced by the new Cascade Cabins.  But there is still a trail to Fort Wilderness, and a pleasant walkway near the shore of Bay Lake outside of the new dining venue Geyser Point. (There’s more on dining at the Wilderness Lodge later in this review.)

The trail takes a different route than it used to (see the map)–the former trail is blocked off at the end of the eastern Cascade Cabins on this side.

But even so you can see plenty of deer behind the fences in this area at the right time of day–these were part of a group of nine deer who greeted us.

Also back here is a grill and sports court.

Back by Geyser Point is an outdoor fireplace for campfires.

And then there’s the main pool.

THE MAIN COPPER CREEK SPRINGS POOL AT DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE

This review continues here!

MATERIAL IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE

• Overview and summary of DIsney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Theming and accommodations at the Wilderness Lodge
• A photo tour of a standard room at the Wilderness Lodge
• Amenities at the Wilderness Lodge
• The main Copper Creek Springs pool at the Wilderness Lodge
• The new Boulder Ridge Cove pool at the Wilderness Lodge
• Dining at the Wilderness Lodge

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 160+ stays in them

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“Park Hopping” is going to more than one Walt Disney World theme park in a day.

This requires a “park hopper” add-on to base tickets—currently about $63 extra per person for a ticket of two to ten days. (And no–you can’t just use “two days” of one regular ticket…)

(There’s another way to do more than one park in a day, that I’ll come back to in a minute.)

Most longer visits by first-time visitors can be designed to avoid the need for this extra cost add-on, but for some it will make sense–especially those on shorter trips–and many returning visitors have enjoyed the flexibility that hoppers give them.

Park hoppers let you

• Have dinner or evening drinks in a different park than you began the day in—particularly in Epcot, and a particular boon for those staying in the Epcot resorts
• See the Magic Kingdom evening events while beginning the day in a less crowded park—a particularly good plan during the “party season,” the period from mid-September to mid-December when many nights the Magic Kingdom closes at 7p for the Halloween or Christmas Party—and as a result is mobbed during the days it is open late and has the full parade and fireworks program
• Start the day at a morning Extra Magic Hours Park, but head to a different park later in the morning or early afternoon as it becomes increasingly crowded

Until, that is, FastPass+.

As of now, and perhaps for all eternity, you are limited to three FastPass+ per ticket per day, and those in only one park. So while you can still hop, you can use your ticket to get FastPass+ in only the first or the second park—and not both.

PARK HOPPING WITH FASTPASS+ IN ONE PARK

This has caused a bit of a ruckus, but it’s still easy to hop if your purpose is dining or evening entertainment. Neither of these requires a FastPass+, and moreover, in the ancien regime of legacy FastPass, arriving at a park for dinner or the evening shows would usually mean that the Fastpasses for that day would all be gone anyway by then.

If your purpose in hopping was to go from one park’s morning Extra Magic Hours to see a less crowded park’s attractions later in the day—well, based on my experience with FastPass+ in four tests over the last 5 months, I think you can do just fine, especially if you are staying in a Disney owned and operated resort—and hence are eligible not only for Extra Magic Hours, but also for scheduling your FastPass+ ahead of time.

Book your three Fastpass+ in the second park, and your hopping will work well. You may see one fewer headliner, but you will have a more predictable—and peaceful-day.

In the olden days before late January 2014, you’d show up for morning Extra Magic Hours, see some headliners in the first hour, and typically pull a couple of more via fastpasses. At the second park, depending on crowds, Fastpasses still available for distribution at the time you arrived, and—most importantly—resilience for staying in the park for late return times, families would typically get two to three more Fastpasses.

With FastPass+, you will miss one or two headliners in the first park from not being able to get fastpasses there, but will see potentially one more at the second park. Moreover, your experience at the second park will often be much less nerve-wracking and much more humane than under the old system with its fully-distributed Fastpasses and late return times.

If you are flexible with times, you will be able to group your three FastPass+ more tightly than you ever could in a former hop (because you were then stuck with the return times offered), and so your time in the second park will be much more productive. Moreover, you will know before you go what your FastPass+ schedule will be, and know exactly what you will get—neither was possible in the old system.

For people who have been to Disney World a lot, it’s still a bit astonishing that under FastPass+ they can still see a ton of rides in Fantasyland during Magic Kingdom Morning Extra Magic Hours, and then be able to see Toy Story Mania or Soarin at a known time with an afternoon FastPass+ at the Studios or Epcot…

PARK HOPPING WITH FASTPASS+ IN BOTH PARKS

And there’s another way to make hopping go even better if you plan to do it only one or two days. Instead of buying a park hopper, buy a second ticket.

As explained here, the three FastPass+ per day limit is per ticket, not per person. With two tickets, you can get three FastPass+ in each park.

With two tickets, you’d use the one linked to your MagicBand to book three FastPass+ ahead of time in the second park. You’d use the other ticket to enter the morning park (not, though, on an Extra Magic Hours day—because you would then need your MagicBand to enter and then everything blows up…). Hit a headliner at park open, and then book the rest of your morning’s FastPass+!! When appropriate, head then to the second park for three more FastPass+!

This is very expensive—an extra one-day ticket for a typical family of four is around $400, and an extra two-day ticket more than $750. But you also save the hopper cost—around $250. So the net cost is around $150 (or about $13 for each extra FastPass+) if you’d planned to hop for just one day, and $600 (or about $21 for each extra FastPass+) for two days.

For many families this will be not of value. Others will sensibly balk at the cost, or simply not be able to afford it. But for some, buying two tickets even at this cost and then hopping with FastPass+ at each park will be well worth it!

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: FEBRUARY 1 TO FEBRUARY 9, 2014

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

For more on February 2014 at Walt Disney World, see this.

[Read more →]

As of last week, all “traditional” Fastpasses are gone and everyone will now be using FastPass+.

Those staying in Disney owned and operated hotels (and, shortly, select Annual Passholders who don’t yet have a MagicBand) can book their FastPass+ up to 60 days ahead of time.

Everyone else (those staying on-site at the Swan, Dolphin, and Shades of Green, and those staying off-site) is stuck with booking them for that day once they are in a park. (At least, for now…)

To test this, I bought a 4 day ticket and used it, instead of my MagicBand/Annual Pass combo, to see how this is working. That is, I acted like I was an off-site guest with only a ticket.

Well, here’s the short report. It was easy as pie and I had no trouble getting great FastPass+ even when I arrived late in the day at “non-recommended” parks.

On the other hand, I was there during one of the three or four lowest-crowd weeks of the year—and one that mostly had lousy weather (cold, rainy, or cold AND rainy, except for Tuesday at Epcot, which was lovely.

So possibly I only proved that everything is easy on low crowd days. Well, I’ll be back during a high-crowd week in mid-March, and will try this again then. But for now, here’s some do’s and don’ts

DO PLAN YOUR FASTPASS+ AHEAD OF TIME

Know which rides you plan to get FastPass+ for before you show up. That’ll speed up your process once you are booking. It’s fine to plan different ones for different members of your party.

DO STILL SHOW UP AT ROPE DROP, AND DO A HEADLINER OR TWO FIRST—NOT FASTPASS+

You still never go wrong with arriving before the park opens and knocking off first thing a ride or tow that’ll build long waits otherwise. For my recommendations on both what rides to see at rope drop, and what to use FastPass+ for, see this.

DON’T BOOK YOUR FASTPASS+ UNTIL YOU’VE HIT A HEADLINER OR TWO

So far, there’s no rush to book FastPass+, and crowds to book them are highest at park open. So wait a bit, hit a headliner first, and note as you walk to it the various booking stations and how long their lines are.

In general, the booking areas closest to the park entrance will have longer lines, but your results will vary.

I never had to wait for more than one or two other parties before I booked my FastPass+, but to do so often walked past other FastPass+ booking lines with 20 families in them.

If you can’t find the FastPass+ booking areas, just ask. The parks have printed material that tells you where some (but not all) of the FastPass+ booking locations are, but they are written for insiders—not first time visitors. (Example: at Epcot, they were described as being in the “East and West Breezeways, and by the Tip Board.”)

MY EXPERIENCE BOOKING FASTPASS+ AS AN “OFF-SITER”

Friday, January 24th at the Magic Kingdom. At about 3p, I walked past the long lines in the FastPass+ line in the Adventureland veranda and booked the rides above in the FastPass+ location near the Hall of Presidents. (As always on this site, click to enlarge)

Saturday, January 25th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. About noon on a morning Extra Magic Hour day I booked the above in a location between Echo Lake and Hollywood Boulevard.

(Sunday, January 26th—no parks this day—instead me and Josh schemed at his condo.)

Monday, January 27th, at the Magic Kingdom. On a night when the park closed at 8p, I showed up at 6.15p and still got Space Mountain! For late arrivals, you can get one FastPass+ for each full hour left. If I’d arrived 30 minutes earlier I could have gotten two FastPass+, and 90 minutes earlier all three allowed.

Tuesday, January 28th, at Epcot. I arrived around 1p on a day with morning Extra Magic Hours at Epcot, walked past long FastPass+ lines at the Tip Board, and got these in the breezeway on the way to Soarin.

Note that you can either take photos of your schedule, or have it emailed to you.

Things may be a bit different once the spring break crowds start showing up…and if so I’ll let you know. But for now, getting FastPass+ as an off-siter was easy and simple.

For the results of my earlier tests, see

• First Test of FastPass+–attractions
• Second Test of FastPass+– fireworks, parades, and character greetings
• Third test of FastPass+ — making plans on the day of use

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