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2019 NEW YEAR’S EVE AT DISNEY WORLD

New Year’s Eve festivities and fireworks will happen at Disney World on December 31, 2019 at all four of Disney World’s theme parks, and also at the Magic Kingdom on December 30.

The Animal Kingdom in the past has had no special New Years fireworks events–usually attributed to not troubling the animals. In 2019, it will have  a special midnight show at the Tree of Life, but still no fireworks. This makes it the best park to visit for those trying to avoid crowds. Everything will be wildly crowded, but the Animal Kingdom will be less so.

The schedule will look like this:

• Epcot and the Magic Kingdom will be open until at least 1a on New Year’s Eve; Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open until at least midnight
• The Magic Kingdom will have special New Year’s Eve fireworks at 6.30 and 11.50p
• Epcot will have its Epcot Forever fireworks show at 6.30 and 11.40p, plus DJs in various pavilions.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have Star Wars fireworks at midnight
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom will have a light and music show (but no fireworks) at the Tree of Life at midnight

Magic Kingdom will have the same fireworks at the same times on 12/30/19. This date will likely be a little less crowded than 12/31.

Note that alcohol is not available at the Magic Kingdom (other than at a few restaurants), but is available at the other three parks

DISNEY WORLD PARK CLOSURES ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

Disney closes parks due to crowding often on New Year’s Eve. “Closes” means closed to additional guests–those in the parks do not have to leave.

IF YOU ARE FOLLOWING MY HIGH-CROWD ITINERARY

My recommended itinerary puts you in Magic Kingdom on New Year’s Eve.  High crowd indeed. From a crowds point of view, the best park choice is Animal Kingdom, so you could swap First Sunday and Tuesday.

If you want to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, but on the (slightly) lower crowd 30th, swap instead Monday and Tuesday.

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This Walt Disney World itinerary is designed for the three weeks following Thanksgiving 2019.

If you aren’t going one of those weeks, see Other Itineraries for alternatives the rest of the year, which are published about six months ahead.

A detailed  To-Do List covers all the planning steps you need to undertake now. And you can find links to daily touring plans next.

DAILY TOURING PLANS

• Saturday
• Sunday
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

ITINERARY DESIGN GOALS

The basic December itinerary was designed to meet several goals: to ensure that you

1. See the best that Walt Disney World has to offer, including all of its special Christmas season offerings
2. See the parks in the order that works best for kids (essentially Epcot first, as it is potentially the most disappointing, and the Magic Kingdom last, as it is likely to be the best loved)
3. Avoid unnecessary waiting, by using FastPass+ and other tactics…
4. Given all the evening shows and late nights, have as few early mornings as practical

The 2019 version differs from previous ones in a couple of ways:

• It shifts the Christmas Party night from Tuesday to Thursday, to create an earlier bedtime on Tuesday
• The two Hollywood Studios days are re-shaped to account for Galaxy’s Edge, with an early morning plugged in both days–one optional
• It adds some time to Magic Kingdom, as I suspect that the projection-based new fireworks at the party will trap people in the hub for more of the early evening than past iterations–meaning folks will miss a ride or two that they could have seen during the Christmas Party in past years.

If you can’t do the dates required for the Basic Itinerary, see Other Itineraries for alternatives for both the December week and the rest of the year.

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

FLIGHT TO THE MOON AND MISSION TO MARS

By Jim Korkis

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing on July 20, 1969, but like many things, Disney was there first, not only with the Tomorrowland television episodes from the 1950s but also with attractions in the Disney theme parks.

Disneyland opened in July 1955 with an attraction called Rocket to the Moon that simulated a trip around the moon, and when the New Tomorrowland debuted there in 1967, the attraction was redesigned as Flight to the Moon. This revised version opened at Walt Disney World on December 24, 1971.

Inside were two “Lunar Transports” theaters meant to represent the passenger cabins in a space ship. The pre-show allowed guests to see pre-launch activity in Mission Control, “the nerve center of Disneyland’s spaceport”. Eight audio-animatronics male figures were seated along two banks of computers moving their heads and arms.

The one standing figure who talked to the audience was Control Center Director Mr. Tom Morrow. Screens behind Mr. Morrow showed some NASA footage, new projects that were being prepared, and the preparations for Flight 92 (that the guests would soon be boarding as their flight), as well as the famous footage from runway 12 where a clumsy albatross came in for an awkward landing that tripped security alarms.

Once in the theater, the upper ceiling and lower floor projection screens showed some of the same material from the original attraction with flares lighting up the dark side of the moon and being caught in a meteoroid shower on the return to the Earth. However, during the nine minute moon flight, two screens mounted on opposite sides of the cabin’s walls showed a new “live” telecast from the moon’s surface of astronauts gathering ore samples, demonstrating weightlessness and showing off the nearby moon base.

However, even as it was being installed at Walt Disney World, it was obsolete even though publicity stated “Disney called on NASA experts to provide data. The new show is as scientifically authentic, accurate and up-to-date as possible”. NASA had purposely withheld information including the actual design of the moon landing vehicle.

In March 1975, the new version entitled Mission to Mars, opened but it was not just a simple overlay at an existing location.

The entrance and holding areas were completely redone. More importantly, a female audio-animatronics character took over one of the seats in the Mission Control pre-show.

Mr. Tom Morrow was replaced by the audio-animatronics bespectacled Mr. Johnson (who was voiced by actor George Walsh, who had previously supplied the voice for Mr. Morrow) discussing space travel and the Mars vehicle. The new show included Mars footage shot by a NASA satellite.

Of course, there was no base on Mars for astronauts to transmit a “live” broadcast to the guests as was done on the “near-future” moon voyage. So that section was changed to images from probes launched from the rocket and narrated by Third Officer Collins voiced by Peter Renoudet. Those probes showed details of the surface of the planet including canyons and mountains.

Some things that had delighted guests in the previous show remained including the footage of the albatross tripping the security alarms and the danger from a meteoroid shower forcing the ship’s immediate return to earth.

(c) Disney

The theaters remained the same as the earlier incarnation with four tiers and screens on the top and bottom. However, when the moon came into view, the ship jumped into “hyper-space penetration” that brought Mars into range.

Some guests had lost interest in real space flights so weren’t as interested in this new destination adventure, and attendance quickly dwindled and it was closed in October 1993. The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter opened in the space June 1995 and was replaced by Stitch’s Great Escape on November 2004.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, The Unofficial Walt Disney World 1971 Companion: Stories of How the World Began, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JUNE 8 TO JUNE 16, 2019

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on June 2019 at Disney World see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/8-6/16/19

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-10p 6/8 and 6/9, 9a-11p 6/10, 9a-10p 6/11, 9a-11p 6/12, and 9a-10p 6/13 through 6/16

Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-10p 6/8 through 6/10, 8a-9p 6/11, and 9a-10p 6/12 through 6/16

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/8-6/16/19

Saturday 6/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 6/9  Morning:  Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 6/10 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 6/11 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 6/12 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 6/13 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 6/14 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 6/15 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 6/16 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/8-6/16/19

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon parade: 3p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/8-6/16/19

Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom 9.15p every night

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.30p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9 and 10p 6/8 through 6/10; 9p 6/11; 9 and 10p 6/12 through 6/16

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/8-6/16/19

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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(For the first page of this review of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, click here.)

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

The Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is deep in the Bonnet Creek Resort.

You access this area from Buena Vista Drive, just east of the old Caribbean Beach entrance, soon to become the Riviera entrance, then drive a while and turn right at the stop sign. The intersection of the access road–Chelonia Parkway–is marked in yellow, and the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is marked in red.

You will first see the port cochere where you can valet; keep going and you will find a multistory parking garage.

Most amenities except the pool are just inside on the first floor, including the check-in area.

There’s lots of seats in this open area…

…and a fun lobby bar (another bar is at the pool).

Parts of the bar seating area are outside in screened-in spaces.

Most dining is also on this level, including La Luce…

…and Zeta.

Downstairs on the way to the pool is the Harvest Bistro, and there’s more dining at the pool. The full scoop on dining at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is here.

Back upstairs, you’ll find a shop focused on coffee, snacks and drinks just off the lobby…

…and further back a Disney gift shop.

More from inside the Disney shop.

You won’t find a traditional resort-wear shop, but there’s one in the next-door Waldorf Astoria.

You’ll find this business center.

And a workout area.

Outside, near the port cochere, is a stop for theme park buses.

Buses here run too infrequently, and have too many stops, for me to be able to recommend them.

For example, in my May stay, Magic Kingdom buses left generally every thirty minutes (there were a few 60 minute intervals) and went next to the Waldorf Astoria.  From there half went on to Epcot, then to Hollywood Studios, and half went on to Animal Kingdom. Buses to the Studios could take 45 minutes. Moreover as is the case with all non-Disney buses, Magic Kingdom buses dropped off at TTC, not the park itself.

Having a rental car, or using cabs, Uber or Lyft is a better option.

Including the additional amenities in the next door sister resort Waldorf Astoria, the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek has as full a set of amenities as pretty much any non-Disney resort with similar perks. The pool complex and its lazy river is a highlight, and perhaps the biggest negatives for family visitors are the buses and the absence of any character meals.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard room
• Dining and amenities
• The pool complex

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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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

YOUR PERSONAL DISNEY LIBRARY (17)

By Jim Korkis

• Walt Disney’s Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon

While this book is a decade old, because of the material being covered in it, the information is timeless and still valuable today. It was the policy of the Disney Company that most people’s contributions to the magic remain anonymous in order to promote the Disney brand as well as the fact that many different talents may have collaborated on the final product.

When it came to the theme parks, it meant that the Imagineers were often not credited or their names might appear in an article but without any explanation of specifically what they did.

“Imagineer” is a Disney word coined by Harrison “Buzz” Price that combined the two words “imagination” and “engineer” indicating that it was equally important not just to dream up an idea but to find a way to make it a reality.

This book concentrates on the classic “first” Imagineers who worked directly with Walt Disney himself, including Harper Goff, Ken Anderson, Herb Ryman, Sam McKim, Richard Irvine, Bill Cottrell, Marvin Davis, Bill Martin, Marc Davis, Claude Coats, Bill Evans, Rolly Crump, Yale Gracey, Blaine Gibson, Fred Joeger, Harriet Burns, Wathel Rogers, Roger Broggie, Bob Gurr, the Sherman Brothers, Buddy Baker, George Bruns, X. Atencio, Ub Iwerks, Bill Walsh, James Algar, Ward Kimball, and, of course, John Hench.

Each person receives their own chapter covering their lives and identifying their projects. Photographs show these Imagineers at work, painting, sculpting and model-making among other things. The book is filled with their color concept art usually unseen by the general public.

The newer generation of Tony Baxter, Joe Rohde, Kim Irvine, Tom Fitzgerald and others do not appear, probably because a sequel was intended but never produced.

Author Jeff Kurtti has been a leading Disney authority for decades and is still very active in Disney scholarship with several new books scheduled for release this year.

The late Bruce Gordon who is the co-author (and regrettably passed away much too young, just before this book came out) was an Imagineer for roughly a quarter of a century and not only significantly contributed to many Disney attractions like Splash Mountain but authored many important books about the many worlds of Disney.

Both of them are noted for their accuracy in their writing and because of their direct acquaintance with these people, their ability to share information and anecdotes that appear nowhere, else from Imagineering yo-yo contests in the halls to the lawyer who won the handstand walking contest.

Their stated goal was to familiarize people with the core team of creative people who worked with Walt on the theme parks and related projects and in that, they succeeded.

In the process, the book covers not only these specific individuals but the history of Imagineering and how it operated under Walt’s supervision. It can certainly be argued that some people like Mary Blair and Alice Davis have been ignored because of the restrictions of space. However, for some of the others who have been included, this is the only information on them and their lives that exists in an easily accessible resource.

For me, one of the additional joys of the book are the people sharing their personal stories of working with Walt Disney giving great insight into a man who was really a boy who never grew up. This book is recommended for a much better understanding of the people behind Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, The Unofficial Walt Disney World 1971 Companion: Stories of How the World Began, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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