Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

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

THE ALLIGATOR BAYOU ROOMS AT PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

Port Orleans Riverside has two areas and three distinct room types.

Its Magnolia Bend area has two room types, Royal Rooms and Standard Rooms, each sleeping four in two queen beds.

Its Alligator Bayou area rooms sleep five in two queen beds and one short (~66 inches long) Murphy bed.

These Alligator Bayou rooms are one of only two traditional moderate resort spaces that sleep 5 (non-Pirate rooms at Caribbean Beach are the other), and these rooms are as a result very important to families a little larger than average.

For families that don’t need the extra bed, these rooms have so-so theming, are kind of ugly in spots–although your taste may vary–and are thin on storage. Such families have better options.

REVIEW OF THE ALLIGATOR BAYOU ROOMS [Read more →]

OVERVIEW: JUNE 2013 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews June 2013 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, operating hours, adds a few other notes, and ends with week by week summaries.

[Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 17 TO NOVEMBER 25, 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 November 2012, see this.)

[Read more →]

POP WARNER WEEK AT DISNEY WORLD IN 2013

Pop Warner week is a real but largely trivial occurrence that traditionally happens at Walt Disney World in the first full week of December. (For more on both the real and the trivial issues associated with it, see this.)

In 2013, Pop Warner week will begin on December 7!  Ignore the below, which is now out of date.

For 2013 I’ve forecast (based on the last 11 years of actual Pop Warner dates) that it will happen again the first full week of December—that is, the week starting Sunday, December 1, 2013.
I’ve received lots of questions about this forecast.

The issue is that with the very late Thanksgiving in 2013 (it’s November 28, as late as it can be) my forecast implies that families going to Pop Warner would have to travel the weekend right after Thanksgiving, which strikes some as implausible.  They believe that Pop Warner starting the week of December 8th 2013 seems more likely.

In response, I’ve had contacts reach out to both Disney and Pop Warner, and here’s the scoop.

IT’S JUST A FORECAST, FOLKS…AND THAT MEANS BY DEFINITION IT COULD BE WRONG

Both Disney and Pop Warner have told my sources that there is as yet no contract for Pop Warner to be at Disney World in 2013, and that therefore there simply are no official dates for 2013.

Pop Warner went on to tell my source that “it is always that first week in December and it will probably be the same next year.”

So there you have it!  No official dates, but “probably” the first week of December.

This is not a ton of help, I know.  Based on the info so far, I’m going to leave my forecast dates for Pop Warner as is for now, but that doesn’t mean they will turn out to be right…only that they are consistent with the best available information that I have!

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2012 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2013 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2013 Week Picker, click here
  • For 2014 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2012 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2013 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2014 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2012 price seasons, see this
  • For 2013 price seasons, click here
  • For projected 2014 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Disney had its FY2012 earnings conference call late last week, and a couple of items were interesting.

MORE DETAILS ON NEXTGEN “EARLY NEXT YEAR,” BUT LAUNCH DATE UNCLEAR

Disney’s NextGen project was referred to several times in the call—although neither the words NextGen nor Fastpass+ came up.

The language used was variants of “guest experience enhancement project,” and the most detail that came out called it “pre-reserving…to make guests’ visit[s] more efficient and enjoyable while they’re there,” thus “giving guests the chance to plan their itineraries ahead of time, including access to their favorite, and often our most popular, attractions.”

This is consistent with prior Disney comments about NextGen, without giving any more specifics.

On the call, more detail was promised “early next year” when the program is “ready for primetime…but we’re getting close.”

The actual launch date was not announced.  While listening to the call, I had the distinct impression that launch would be in FY2013—that is, affect visits by the end of September 2013.  But reading the transcript of the call does not give nearly so sharp an impression.

My bet is still FY2013, and it’s interesting to speculate about when. [Read more →]

My friends at Destinations in Florida are the travel agent partners of this site.

Because so many of you turn to them for help in planning and booking your vacations, they’ve made a toll free number available just for readers of this site to get in touch with them.

When you are ready to book, to speak directly to an agent who specializes in the recommendations on this site, call 877-621-9826 Monday-Saturday between 9a-4p (Eastern). (Toll-free if dialed from within the USA.)

Moreover, to celebrate this toll free number, they are also offering for one week only (November 12-19) a special reservation transfer offer.  It’s a cool deal for those of you who already have reservations.  Here’s more:  [Read more →]