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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 16, 2013 TO MARCH 24, 2013

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

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

(For more on March 2013, see this.)

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The weeks before and after Easter are two of the most wildly crowded weeks at Walt Disney World.

The common-sense approach to handling them is to run, screaming, back home.

But if that’s not an option for you, here’s some more common sense that might help.

HANDLING YOUR DAYS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD DURING EASTER WEEK

You need a good plan for each day.  I’ve already covered this here, but the basics are

• Arrive at the turnstiles well before the park is scheduled to open
• See the rides that build long lines quickly first
• Use Disney’s free FASTPASSES to manage the rest of the long-line rides, until they run out
• Consider buying your way out of the problem of all FASTPASSES being taken early

PICKING WHICH PARK TO VISIT WHICH DAY

Don’t let me mislead you–from March 23, 2013 through April 6, 2013 every day is gonna be just rotten.  But some days are better than others.

The trick to finding the best days to visit the parks is to figure out what everyone else will do, and do the opposite.  This is the “judo” of Walt Disney World.

I’ve done this for the two weeks around Easter, where days with more color, and especially more darker colors, are worse.  See the chart–click it to enlarge it.

The best days at a given park will have three characteristics:

1. They’ll have no color at all
2. Other parks will have lots of color
3. The day will be right after, right before, or ideally, sandwiched between, days at the same park with lots of color

Epcot on March 27 is a perfect example of this.

BUILDING THE DAILY CROWD FORECASTS

The chart is built on the five common sense items that drive crowds at Walt Disney World:

1. The basic patterning of visits: The most common full day is Sunday, and people tend to see the Magic Kingdom and Epcot the first few days of their trip, and Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom after
2. The effect of Extra Magic Hours: Extra Magic Hours draw people staying in the ~30,000 Disney World hotel rooms, and those without hoppers then stay all day. So crowds are higher than on on-EMH days.  Note that the Magic Kingdom has Extra Magic Hours every single day, which makes things rough for those staying off site.  I’ve given the Magic Kingdom the darkest color here only on days with both morning and evening Extra Magic Hours
3. The extra attractiveness  of days with longer operating hours–a big issue at some times of the year, not much of a factor these weeks, because operating hours and evening shows are pretty consistent.
4. The holiday effect–people are drawn to the Magic Kingdom in particular, and also to Epcot, on major family holidays
5. The weekend effect: both longer and shorter visits tend to include weekends, so Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are particularly crowded days.

Combine all these drivers, and you can see how some days will be worse, and some better.  The weeks overall will be horrible–but having a plan will help a lot, and picking your days carefully will help some too!

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort, see this.

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Port Orleans Riverside’s 230+ acres include an arrival building called the Sassagoula Steamboat Company, where you check in, find help with reservations and tickets, and discover shops, dining, food, etc. Most amenities are here, with the rest–except for a few pools–in the “Ol’ Man Island” area.

A lovely rotunda is the first area you will see.

Next to it is the delightful lobby with the check-in and concierge services to the right of this space. Note the “steamboat destinations” lining the beams above the columns.

There’s also an area here where kids can be entertained while waiting for their parents to complete transactions.

There was a special guest in the lobby during one of my check-ins.

You’ll also find in this building the gift shop…

…a sitting area with a fireplace, and further down a side hall a bar, table service restaurant, and a quick-service food court, all covered in great detail here.

Outside you’ll find one of the four bus stops here, though sometines buses are shared with sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter, adding a fifth stop to some trips.

As is generally the case at the Disney World resorts, bus stops include a message board indicates the expected time to the next bus.  Andre’s PortOrleans.org has more detail on Port Orleans Riverside bus routes here.

The riverboat-landing theming of the main building is a little clearer from the other side.

In this area you’ll find the dock for the boat to Port Orleans French Quarter and Disney Springs.

The boat in runs to both destinations from late morning to late afternoon, and after that just to Disney Springs. Boats run every 15-20 minutes, have a small capacity, and take about 20 minutes to make the trip.  There are also buses to Disney Springs.

Als0 here you’ll find a place to rent bikes…

…and running trail guidance.

You can also reserve and then later board a horse-drawn carriage ride here.

Movies are also shown down in Magnolia Bend.

They used to be reliably nightly, but now are more commonly shown several nights a week. Sometimes movies alternate between Riverside and French Quarter.

Most of Port Orleans Riverside’s other amenities are on the centrally-located Ol’ Man Island.

Most significant of these is the main pool at Port Orleans Riverside, covered in detail here.

Just outside the pool area proper there’s a spot for evening campfires and S’more cooking…

…a playground…

…a tetherball area…

…and a hammock!

Also here is a place to rent fishing gear…

…and a dock from which to fish.  Most resorts other than the values and Animal Kingdom Lodge have a fishing experience of some type available.  Those at Riverside and the Wilderness Lodge are among the most comprehensive.

For dining at Port Orleans Riverside, head back to the Sassagoula Steamboat Company.

DINING AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

This review continues here.

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

• Port Orleans Riverside: Overview and summary
• Theming and accommodations at Port Orleans Riverside
• A photo tour of a four person standard room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a four person Royal Room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a five person Murphy bed room Port Orleans Riverside’s Alligator Bayou section
• Amenities at Port Orleans Riverside
• Dining at Port Orleans Riverside
• The pools at Port Orleans Riverside
• The history of Port Orleans Riverside

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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LUNCH AT BE OUR GUEST IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM’S NEW FANTASYLAND

Update: Be Our Guest takes reservations for both breakfast and lunch, and reservations are highly recommended.

On our third trip to Walt Disney World after the restaurant opened, I finally had the courage to brave the lines and do counter service lunch at Be Our Guest.

Be Our Guest is the all-new Beauty and the Beast-themed restaurant that opened late last year as part of the Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland.

It’s the second best thing in New Fantasyland–Enchanted Tales with Belle is the best of what’s opened so far–but I remain concerned that menu limitations make it not a great choice for many first time family visitors with kids.

So I’ve chosen not to add counter service lunch at Be Our Guest to this site’s itineraries…though Be Our Guest for lunch has enough positives that I am still thinking about suggesting it as an option.  Putting it in as an option works because you don’t need–and can’t get–lunch reservations, so families can make the choice on the day of a visit.

REVIEW: BE OUR GUEST QUICK SERVICE LUNCH

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For the first page of this review of the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, see this.

A PHOTO TOUR OF THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

OUTSIDE THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The first thing to note on approaching The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is that you can park right outside, and that your cabin comes with its own grill. Nothing else at Disney World offers both these amenities except the Treehouse Villas.

Note also right behind the grill a shelf hanging off the deck–handy for landing food, tongs, seasonings, etc.

The deck itself is quite large, and includes a picnic table that seats six.

THE KITCHEN IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The main door of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness opens directly into the kitchen.

Besides having all the basic appliances, the kitchen comes supplied with tools…

…and all the basic serving and cooking gear for a family of six (more than the picture shows, as when I took it, we had a lot in the dishwasher).

It also comes with a standard fridge/freezer unit, with plenty of capacity.

You can stock your fridge from one of the two stores at Fort Wilderness…

…by calling in an order, and having the campsite staff deliver it; or, least expensively, by driving to one of the many grocery stores within 15 minutes or so of the Cabins.

Counter space here is thin, and you really need to use the dining table–which is pretty close–to prepare any substantive recipe.  Even another foot of counter space would help…

There’s plenty of food storage space.

You can consolidate the stuff in the kitchen cabinets and drawers to create space, and you’ll also find, to the right of the stove, a huge pantry–6 feet tall, 18 inches wide, and 24 inches deep.

But you might need some of this space for clothes…more on that later.

THE DINING/LIVING/MURPHY BED SPACE IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The kitchen shares space with the combined living and dining area.

The dining table includes three full-sized chairs and a bench, and easily seats six, if three can fit along the bench.

Next to the dining table is a couch that seats two or three, and also can serve as another sleeping spot for the shortest member of the family. If you use it as a bed, the two cushions are 22 inches wide and sum to 58 inches long.

On the other side of the room you’ll find a TV, and also a darling set of miniature chairs and a table that just begs to be used in a card game with the kids.

In the middle of the room there’s a padded object that can serve as either a footstool or a seat.  There’s no shortage of seating in these cabins!

Above this footstool you’ll see a wall with a Native-American inspired hanging. Behind this wall is the Murphy Bed.

The Murphy Bed, when deployed, is not quite as large as it looks–by my measurements the mattress is just a hair over six feet long, and it’s not quite 54 inches wide.  This makes it not quite a full bed.  It could be longer–there’s room both in the room and in the wall for more length.  Let’s hope we see that in the next renovation of the cabins.

But width is a problem too, and this bed is a tight fit on the width dimension.

See the floor plan at the top of the page, where the deployed Murphy Bed is indicated by dotted lines.  The Murphy Bed is so close to the couch that it’s actually easier to exit on this side over the foot of the bed, rather than inching along the tiny space between the couch and the bed.

Frankly, these cabins should be about a foot wider than they are.  If they were, then a queen Murphy Bed would fit here with still another 6 inches of egress space for larger feetsies by the couch…I’ll come back to this point in a minute.

There’s not a lot of storage space for those sleeping in this space.

There’s no closet–the only usable closet is in the back bedroom.

There are some storage cabinets.  Besides the pantry noted above in the discussion of the kitchen, there’s also storage space below the TV, and two small cabinets on either side of the Murphy Bed. The one behind the couch is hard to access with the bed down, and none of these options has drawers–also only available in the back bedroom, or from moving around the stuff in the kitchen drawers.

THE BACK HALL AND BATH IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

On the other side of the kitchen there’s a hall leading to the bath and back bedroom (see the floor plan at the top of the page).

The bath is adequately sized, but unlike those at the other Disney World moderate resorts, is not divided into two spaces, and also has only one sink, not the two you’ll find at most of the other moderates. This makes it less handy for even four-person families than the baths at the other moderates.

Another foot of width would make it just barely possible to wall off the toilet and tub–at the cost of a little counter space at the sink.  This would make this bath much more usable for large families.

The biggest issue with the bath is not enough hot water.  Six people will need to be pretty thoughtful about their use of the tub and shower. So will three.

THE BACK BEDROOM IN THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The back bedroom has one almost-full sized bed, and a couple of bunk beds.

The larger bed has one side tight against the wall, meaning that if two are sleeping here, one has to exit over the other, or via the foot of the bed.

Another foot of width would permit both some access space for feets here, and even a queen here instead of a full bed…

The bunk beds have mattresses 66 inches long by 39 inches wide, but, because of the railings, sleep shorter than that.

Note the small table with two available drawers between the beds.

Other storage in this room is along the entry wall.

Under the TV you’ll find four smallish-drawers…

…and next to the TV you’ll find a small closet–not really big enough for six people, especially given the already limited storage space in the cabins.

Another foot of width would enable making this closet much more appropriately sized…

Left of the closet, what looks like another cabinet is actually the enclosure around the hot water heater. The top is usable, and on the short wall above it there’s a mirror. There’s also another mirror behind the door from the hall.

An oddity to these back bedrooms that troubles me a bit is the second door to the porch you’ll find in this space.

This door is secured by a deadbolt, which makes it easy to leave unlocked.  If kids are in this bedroom, and the hall door is closed, there’s some potential for the kids to get outside without the parents knowing…

Overall, I love these cabins.  But they sleep short, are thin on storage–especially closet–space, have an awkward bath set up for large families, and have some bed egress issues.  Here’s hoping that on the next rehab, Disney World can cantilever the floor on the porch side, and expand these rooms by a foot.

Since these are pre-fab, this may be prohibitively expensive…but doing so, and as part of that adding counter space to the kitchen, a separated bath, more closet space, a queen or two, and some bed egress space, would make a huge difference to the livability of these rooms…

MORE ON THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

This review continues here!

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 9, 2013 TO MARCH 17, 2013

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

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

(For more on March 2013, see this.)

[Read more →]