Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Walt Disney World will be offering an additional set of passholder previews of the Fantasyland expansion.

More passholder previews of New Fantasyland will be held November 6-9 and 12-18.  For the time slots, see this.  You can sign up to try for as many as fit your schedule, and Disney will fill the slots randomly.

Sign up needs to happen by the end of October, and Disney will email results around November 2.

To sign up, login on the passholder website and click through the links.

I’ve recently published the first draft of  the weeks of 2014 ranked in order of how good they are for a family on their first visit to Walt Disney World, and who may never return.

This page explains how they are built.

HOW THE 2014 DISNEY WORLD WEEK RANKINGS ARE BUILT–AND WHY THEY ARE A DRAFT

Basically, I chunk up the weeks of the year based on certain criteria, and then sort within each chunk based first on crowds, and then, within the same crowd level, prices.

Both the 2014 Disney World crowd calendar and the 2014 projected price seasons will be revised in the summer of 2013–when better information will be available for both.  Since the week rankings are built on them. this may result in week ranking changes as well.

“WEEKS TO AVOID” IN 2014 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD [Read more →]

RUMOR: BE OUR GUEST TO OPEN THIS SUNDAY

A trusted source tells me that a trusted source tells her that Disney World’s new restaurant, Be Our Guest, will begin offering counter service meals on October 28.

The quality of my sources suggests to me that this is a real intention   That doesn’t mean it will happen.  Operational challenges may delay the opening; if it does open, it could close at any time and not re-open until Disney thinks it is ready.

So I wouldn’t make a special trip to the Magic Kingdom Sunday based on this–but if you are there, check it out–and let me know if it’s open!

This is the third page of this review of the Little Mermaid rooms. For the first page, see this.

BEST AND WORST PLACES TO STAY IN THE LITTLE MERMAID AREA OF ART OF ANIMATION

The Little Mermaid Section of Art of Animation has three buildings, numbered 7, 8 and 9.

Seven is the best, and 8 the worst.  Specifically, ask for an Hourglass Lake view room in building 7 closer to the Lion King area.  This will give you the shortest walk, least pool noise, and best views.

DISTANCE, NOISE AND VIEWS IN THE LITTLE MERMAID AREA

Distance. All three Little Mermaid buildings are further away from the core Art of Animation services—the main pool, food court, gift shop, concierge desk, and bus stops—than any other buildings at this hotel.

See the map—where the Little Mermaid buildings are on the left, circled in orange.

For most, this distance will matter little, adding five minutes to ten minutes per round trip of walking.  Many more expensive Disney World resorts have even longer walks.

But anyone aimed at a standard-sized value resort room with a mobility issue ought to consider either renting a wheelchair or scooter, or getting a room closer to core services at another value resort.  (Pop Century is the next highest ranked value resort.)

Of the three buildings, rooms in 8 all have longer walks than rooms in 7 and 9. Seven and 9 are tied for distance, and in 7 and 9, rooms closer to the Lion King area will have a shorter walk.

Noise.  Unlike in the Family Suites at Art of Animation, corridor noise is not much of an issue in the Little Mermaid section. This is because there are twice as many corridors, none are walled on all sides, none are air conditioned, and thus none has a real draw as a pathway to  the resort’s central services.

Noise, to the extent it is an issue, comes from the pool.  One-third of rooms in building 8, and one-sixth of rooms in each of 7 and 9, face the pool.

Views. Two thirds of the rooms in both buildings 8 and 9 have parking lot views; there are no bad views in building 7, though as noted above the pool-view rooms in 7 can be noisy.

Art of Animation and Pop Century are the only value resorts on a lake—Hourglass Lake separates the two.  While there may be some obtuse views of Hourglass Lake from a few of the pool-facing rooms of building 8, a third of building 7 rooms have a view of the lake.

All in, building 7 is the best and 8 the worst of the Little Mermaid buildings.  So ask for a lake-facing building 7 room, as near the Lion King area as possible.  This will give you the shortest walk, least noise and best view!

The best rooms specifically are 7513-7524, 7613-7624, 7713-7724, and 7813 to 7824. The image above is taken from outside of 7813.

On the online check-in form, click “Lake View” and “Near Transportation.”

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MORE ON WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• For where to stay, see this
  • For your next best choices, in order, see this
  • For picking your resort based on appeal to kids, see this
  • For picking your resort based on convenience, see this
  • For where not to stay, see this

• For what you get in each resort price category, see this
  • For Walt Disney World resort price seasons, see this
  • For resort reviews, see this
  • For the value resorts, see this
  • For the moderate resorts, see this
  • For the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For suites at the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For the Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Resorts, see this

• For a (geeky) overview of comparative room size, see this

• Large families should look at this, and also at
  • Large Families Looking for Value Pricing at Walt Disney World
  • Large Families Looking for Deluxe Accommodations at Disney World
  • Beds and Sleeping Spaces at the Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
  • Suites at Walt Disney World

• Military/DOD families should look at this

• Tightwads should look at this

• Families seeking the most comfortable place to stay should see this

2014 WEEKS TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD, CONTINUED

This is the second page of these rankings. For the first page of 2014 weeks to visit Walt Disney World, ranked in order, click here.

2014 WORSE WEEKS

The remaining 2014 weeks are not recommended—but still presented in order: [Read more →]

SPLASH MOUNTAIN AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM CLOSED FOR REHAB IN EARLY 2013

Disney World rides can close for re-dos at any time, but the winter “ride closure season” from early January though mid-February is the most common for Disney World rides to close for rehab and refurbishment.

Splash Mountain is the major attraction that most commonly closes in this period, and Disney World’s website now has Splash Mountain as down for refurbishment from January 2 through March 19, 2013.

Neither the close, nor the length of the rehab, is a surprise.

First, Splash Mountain did not have its usual rehab this year, because Disney was concerned about losing so much capacity in Frontierland while Big Thunder Mountain was down for a multi-month refurbishment. And second, a number of effects at Splash Mountain have broken down or become unreliable, and need sustained attention.

With the added capacity coming in the Fantasyland expansion, it’s as good a time as any to shine Splash up!