Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow formally opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios last week (it’d been in soft opening for a couple of weeks before then) and I had a chance to see it the other night.

This is a great little divertissement for big fans of the Pirates movies, or for those interested in developments in theme park tech and implications for future rides.

If your family fits into one of these two groups, it’s definitely worth seeing. If not, give it a pass unless you’ve got time on your hands.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE LEGEND OF CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW

This attraction has been described everywhere as a “walk-through” attraction, which is true I suppose if you are used to short walks.

It includes an unthemed outdoor (but roofed) queue, and two interior spaces that you walk into and experience.

However, the second space and what happens there really is the show, so think of it as more like a theater show–queue, pre-show, and show–than a walk through, and you’ll get it.

The second space includes a richly detailed physical set and multiple video and image projection deployments.

The quality of the video and image projections is astonishing, and sets a new bar for theme park tech.  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow combines image projections like what you’ll see on Cinderella’s Castle during Celebrate the Magic with the kind of lifelike video of Harry, Hermione and Ron that you can see at Harry Potter.

But the character video (of Captain Jack, reprised by Johnny Depp)  is even better than at Harry Potter, with astonishing dimensionality and detail–I have never seen video so life-like.

My photo doesn’t come even close to doing it justice–no two-dimensional medium could. (And yes, it’s a lousy shot anyway…but click it to enlarge it and it gets a little better…)

That said, though, there’s not quite enough here for anyone other than a Captain Jack or a theme park tech fan.

So why is it here? A couple of possibilities.

First, while all the noise lately has been about New Fantasyland, the fact is that each of the other Disney World parks has also had a recent minor upgrade—zebras on Kilimanjaro Safaris, the re-done test Track at Epcot, and this at Hollywood Studios.  (More on all this later this month.)

Each of these adds a little marketing frisson to its respective park, takes a little pressure off the Magic Kingdom, and–perhaps–creates the talking points to justify an early 2013 ticket price increase.

Second, and I’m pretty sure I’m kidding here, this may simply be a bit of spite from DHS towards MK.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios has had a Little Mermaid show for a long time, so what’s up with Magic Kingdom getting all excited about a recycled D-Ticket Ariel ride?  If MK can tread on the Studio’s Little Mermaid turf, well then DHS can grab a little Pirates and call it its own.

And third, this may be a test bed for future ride technologies, especially for “Avatarland.”  Disney still plans on doing Avatar at the Animal Kingdom. I’d been wondering about how it will depict the incredible visual setting of that film.  But the combination of images, projections, and physical settings in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow shows just how well that could be done…

So if you are a fan of the Pirates movies or of theme park tech, or just have some time to spare while at the Studios, check out Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow!

NEXT BEST DATES FOR YOUR WALT DISNEY WORLD VISIT

This site recommends that you arrive in Walt Disney World one of the first three Saturdays after Thanksgiving.

If you can’t go then, there’s a number of tools to help you figure out the best dates that work for you.

EASY TOOLS FOR PICKING THE NEXT BEST DISNEY WORLD DATES

Easiest for first time family visitors who may never return is to work down this site’s lists of weeks to visit Disney World, ranked in order, so you can pick the highest-ranked option that works for your family.

• For 2014 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• And for the 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this

For families that can return or are returning, the Week Pickers are a better choice–as it opens up ride closure season and hurricane season weeks that are fine for most returning visitors.

• For the 2014 Week Picker, see this
• The 2015  week picker will come out in the summer of 2014

DO-IT-YOURSELF TOOLS FOR FIGURING OUT THE BEST DATES FOR YOUR DISNEY WORLD VISIT

You can do the work of the Week Pickers on your own, circling in on your preferred weeks based on any combination of crowds, prices, weather, and such.  Links for doing so are all below, or deeper within the pages below!

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2014 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2014 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For 2016 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2014 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2014 price seasons, see this
  • For 2015 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, click here.)

MORE ON DISNEY’S ART OF ANIMATION RESORT

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort officially

“invites you to become a part of your favorite animated films. At Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, [g]uests are immersed in the artistry and enchantment of Walt Disney and Disney•Pixar classics through imaginative design and themed rooms.”

The resort, built across Hourglass Lake from Pop Century, occupies land, foundations, and, in several cases, buildings meant to become the second half of the Pop Century project.

Instead, Disney decided to go with a new theme at Art of Animation, and in doing so came up with

• The most richly themed of all the value resorts
• The most Disney-themed hotel among all the Disney World resorts, and
• The best food court at any Disney World hotel [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: DECEMBER 8 TO DECEMBER 16, 2012

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 December 2012, see this.)

[Read more →]

PEAK 2012 CROWDS WILL BEGIN DECEMBER 22, UNLESS THE WORLD COMES TO AN END

In later December–beginning around December 20, but really rolling in on December 22–the 2012 holiday crowds will begin to slam Walt Disney World.

Unless of course the world comes to an end on December 21.

Multi-hour waits will be common on the best-loved rides (waits crossed 3 hours at times last year), senior managers will be bussing tables, and park closures are possible.

Yes, there will also be a wonderful Christmas program and fun stuff on New Years Eve, but all in, because of the crowds and waits, this is a lousy time for a Disney World vacation.

But for the hundreds of thousands of you who will be there then, here’s some thoughts on how to make the best of it!

DEALING WITH THE HOLIDAY CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD [Read more →]

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, click here.)

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time family visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience. Art of Animation has the most kid appeal of all the values, and as much convenience as any.

This makes Art of Animation my highest-ranked value resort at Walt Disney World. [Read more →]