Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

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

EVERYONE COMES TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

By Jim Korkis

In 1965, Walt Disney told the press, “We love to entertain kings and queens but at Disneyland everyone is a V.I.P.”

Dignitaries, celebrities, royalty and more visited Walt Disney World with the same joy as when they previously visited Disneyland. Of course, there were many celebrities at the dedication weekend ceremonies October 23-25 in 1971, from Bob Hope to Julie Andrews, but during the next twenty years many others enjoyed being guests in the Disney vacation destination as well.

Here are just a very few that you might not remember who officially visited during the first two decades of Walt Disney World to show the wide variety who came to enjoy the Most Magical Place on Earth, as Walt Disney World was originally called.

1971: Mickey Rooney, Astronaut Eugene Cernan, Johnny Bench

1972: Senators Hubert Humphrey, Edmund Muskie and Henry Jackson. Sargent Shriver, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, Wernher von Braun

1973: President Richard Nixon, Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, George Wallace of Alabama, boxer Joe Frazier, Howard Cosell, Billie Jean King

1974: Texas Governor John Connally, Truman Capote, Ginger Rogers, John Lennon

1975: U.S. and Soviet crewmen of the Apollo-Soyuz Mission, King Hussein of Jordan, Michael Landon, Henry Kissinger, Susan Ford

1976: Jose Feliciano, Natalie Cole

1977: King Hussein of Jordan, Mrs. Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Senator George McGovern, Prime Minister Robert D. Muldoon of New Zealand

1978: U. N. Ambassador Andrew Young, Muhammad Ali, John Denver, Phyllis Diller, Empress of Iran, Amy Carter, Donny Osmond

1979: Former President Gerald Ford, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, the Russian Olympic swim team, Sophia Loren, Maureen McGovern, Marie Osmond

1980: Michael Jackson, Paul Lynde, the Osmond Family

1981: Burl Ives, Debby Boone, tennis star Yvonne Goolagong, Dick Van Dyke, Ricky Schroeder, Chubby Checker, Ray Stevens, Reba McIntire

1982: Former President Richard Nixon, Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow, Speaker “Tip” O’Neill, Mel Tillis

1983: President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George Bush, Crown Prince Harald of Norway, John Travolta, Red Skelton, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Billy Idol

1984: Medal winners of the U.S. Olympic team (including Mary Lou Retton), Julius Erving (Dr. J), Vincent Price, Michael Jackson again, Burt Bacharach, Billy Joel, Richard Carpenter, Toni Tenille, Marvin Hamlish

1985: Secretary General of the United Nations Javier Perez de Cuellar, Senator Albert Gore Jr., Kenny Rogers, Morey Amsterdam, the Dallas Cowboys, Chuck Norris, Ron Jaworski, Whitney Houston

1986: Robert Conrad, Alice Cooper, Johnny Unitas, George Plimpton, David and Harriet Nelson, Kurt Russell, twenty Soviet Junior Cosmonauts, Former Chief Justice Warren Burger, Buddy Rich

1987: Alan Thicke, Robert de Niro, Rob Lowe, Ron Howard, Bo Derek, June Carter Cash, Voyager pilots Jeanna Yeager and Dick Rutan, Gene Siskel, Rosemary Clooney, Roger Williams, Keith Hernandez and Daryl Strawberry

1988: Nancy Reagan, Burt Reynolds, Ray Parker Jr., Frankie Avalon

1989: Vice President Dan Quayle, Pee Wee Herman, Willie Nelson, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Allen, George Burns, Vanna White, Bob Denver, Jim Henson, George Lucas, Betty White, Harvey Korman, Buddy Hackett

1990: President George Bush, Prince Ranier of Monaco, Greg Louganis, Mark Hamill, Lou Ferrigno, Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, Liza Minnelli, the Harlem Globetrotters, Jerry Lewis, Sylvester Stallone, Arthur Ashe

1991: Bozo the Clown, Emmett Kelly Jr., Joe Namath, Crystal Gayle, David Cassidy, Cathy Rigby, Ben Vereen, Bob McGrath

*  *  *  *  *

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

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Secret Stories of Mickey Mouse, and his 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.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 17 TO NOVEMBER 25, 2018

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

For more on November at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/17-11/25/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 11/17 through 11/24, and 9a-6p 11/25

Epcot will be open from 9a-9p 11/17 through 11/21, and 9a-9.30p 11/22 through 11/25

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-8p 11/17, 9a-9p 11/18 through 11/24, and 9a-8p 11/25

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-8p 11/17, 8a-9p 11/18 through 11/24, and 9a-8p 11/25

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/17-11/25/18

Saturday 11/17 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/18  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 11/19  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 11/20 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 11/21 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 11/22 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 11/23 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 11/24 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/25 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/17-11/25/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/17-11/25/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 9p 11/17; 10p 11/18 through 11/24

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p 11/17 through 11/21; 9.30p 11/22 through 11/25

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p 11/17; 9p 11/18 through 11/24; 8p 11/25

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: not scheduled

Jingle Bell Jingle BAM at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.30p 11/17; 9.30p 11/18 through 11/24; 8.30p 11/25

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 6.30 and 7.45p 11/17; 6.30, 8 and 9.15p 11/18 through 11/24; 6.15 and 7.30p 11/25

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/17-11/25/18

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

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY: A REVIEW

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (“MVMCP”) is a special event that takes place during the Christmas season at Walt Disney World.

It requires its own ticket, which is entirely separate from regular Disney World tickets and is only shown on certain nights from early November through the first two thirds of December.

(For more on MVMCP tickets and show nights, see this.)

Even though it is expensive (tickets for a family of four will cost $400 or more) it’s been part of this site’s Basic December Itinerary since the site opened, for a couple of reasons:

Going to it lets people save a lot of time. 

Disney limits the amount of tickets it sells to each show of MVMCP.  As a result, waits for the rides are low–most typically 10 minutes, although you’ll find longer waits at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan, and Jingle Cruise.  Going to it and seeing some really popular rides with hardly a wait saves a ton of time that can instead be spent sleeping in or at the pool.

For example, above is the Space Mountain wait at a little after 9p.

Big Thunder around 8p.

Going to it guarantees seeing an evening parade and fireworks. 

The regular evening parade at the Magic Kingdom is now gone, and at the time of year the Basic Itinerary covers, the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom may happen just a couple of times a week on non-MVMCP nights.  Going to MVMCP guarantees your family will have the opportunity to see an evening parade and fireworks.

Moreover, the parade and fireworks are unique. The fireworks are tied with those of the Halloween party as best of the year, and the parade has a fun Christmas theme!

I recommend people go to Walt Disney World in the early part of the Christmas season…so how can I not send them to this show?

It’s silly and fun!

In November 2018 I had a chance to see it again, on Friday the 8th, my twelfth visit to this party. The rest of this entry is the review of that visit. (Note that some of the photos are from my earlier visits, where they turned out better than those I took that night…)

MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY

There’s a couple of components to MVMCP.

Noted already are the parade and fireworks, both in special Christmas versions.

The parade, called Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, happens twice each night, at 8.30 and 11p.

I strongly suggest you avoid the first parade.  Instead, go on rides until about 30 minutes before the fireworks, and watch them and then watch the second parade–crowds for the second parade will be much lower.

The parade begins with a bunch of characters…

…then Minnie and Mickey.

Frozen comes next with three floats, beginning with Anna and Elsa…

…then Olaf…

…and then Kristoff.

Next is Wreck-It Ralph…

…then Clarabelle Cow and Christmas cookies–I still wonder why no resort is themed to Clarabelle?

Next is Goofy and Christmas candy.

Next up is a sequence of princess-themed floats.

You might spot some dwarfs.

Snow White and Cinderella get their own floats.

A closer shot of Cinderella.

One large float is fronted by the Beast and holds a passel of princesses.

The parade then shifts to a toy theme, including Woody and Jess…

…and toy soldiers.

Santa Claus is on the last float.

The fireworks, called Holiday Wishes, happen between the parades at 10p.

More fireworks:

Also noted already are the rides.

• Not all rides are open, but all of the most popular ones are (there’s a list of what’s open on the brochure below).
• Because of the limit on tickets sold, most of the rides are pretty easy to get on to without major waits. The park will feel very crowded on Main Street and near the Castle, but this is because of all the people lining for the castle shows and the parade route.  Away from Main Street and Frontierland the park opens up and ride waits are quite short.

There’s some shows, some unique to this event.

A Frozen Holiday Wish is the same as on regular MK evenings. It’s OK but the 8.15 show will be mobbed and cut into your ride time.

Only shown during the party are the skippable A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas in Tomorrowland…

…and a skippable dance party in Cosmic Ray’s in Tomorrowland.

Also available is “The Edge,” showing on the same stage as A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas at 8.10, 9, 10.20 and 11.10p.  This will please you in direct proportion to the joy you take in boy band a Capella gestures towards Christmas songs.

Continuing from its 2016 debut is the Castle stage show “Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration.” Showing at 7.40, 9.25, 10.30p, and 11.55p, this utterly skippable show includes dancing and character appearances to (mostly) second rate Christmas standards and (mostly) third rate original songs (all powerfully sung, however).

Oddities include a song about texting and keeping your phone charged which also features Daisy’s rarely expressed longing for Donald, and a torch song by Clarabelle that will chill any potential target of her affections.

But wait, there’s less, as the Three Amigos also are a focal point.

In Storybook Circus you’ll find, most likely by mistake, a sparsely attended dance party with Disney Jr characters.

There’s some fun other business: free cookies, free hot chocolate or other drinks (locations on the map), and snow!

There’s also character encounters, some typical, and some rare.

You can spend a lot of time waiting in lines for characters–go for it if that’s your thing, but for most there’s much better ways to spend your time given the cost of this party…

More characters:

Both sides of the 2018 MVMCP brochure are below–as always, click them to enlarge them.

Even though the party starts at 7p, Disney traditionally lets people holding tickets for it through the turnstiles beginning at 4p. Show up early, see some of the lower wait rides, and have dinner.  If you show up around party time, Main Street will be mobbed.

FastPass+ is not available during the party–but it’s also not needed, as only Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan and the Jingle Cruise see major waits. If you want to see these at the party, do them as late as you can stay up.

New in 2018 is a dessert, drinks and appetizer offering at Tony’s, which also gives access to the area around the Christmas tree for viewing of the 11p run of the parade.  I don’t entirely get the logic of paying around $100 to got to the party, then another $100 to avoid it. I think Victoria & Alberts would be the better choice for about the same money. My co-author Josh has a more positive view of this offering here on easy WDW.com.

WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE NOT FOLLOWING THE BASIC ITINERARY?

As noted, this show is expensive, but worth considering if one or more of the following apply to you:

• You otherwise won’t see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom
• Your plans otherwise leave you short on Magic Kingdom time, and/or
• You are really a fan of Christmas

With kids old enough to be focused on rides, the right plan for MVMCP is to

• Show up early, and eat before the party
• Do rides until around 9.30p, and then
• Position yourselves near the Castle for Holiday Wishes, and the second showing of the evening parade.
• After the parade, do more rides or see the shows!

Some more shots from around Magic Kingdom during the party:

Around Main Street.

Shots of the Castle.

Some graphics.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

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

JOE ROHDE ON AFRICA IN EPCOT AND IN DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Jim Korkis

When Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1996, I asked Imagineer Joe Rohde if that meant that the proposed African pavilion at World Showcase would now never be built.

“You don’t understand the story,” replied Rohde. “World Showcase is the story of people. Animal Kingdom is the story of the animals. I hope there will be an African pavilion built at World Showcase. It will help complete the story.”

Recently, Rohde clarified that concept even further: “At Epcot’s World Showcase, you’re seeing replicas of famous buildings like the Temple of Heaven in China, the Doge’s Palace in Italy, or the Eiffel Tower in France. And you’re actively comparing those replicas to what you’ve seen in person or in media. You know they are just representations. Nobody looks up at the Eiffel Tower in Epcot and mistakes themselves for being in Paris.

“At Animal Kingdom, we didn’t want to theme the Lands around specific geopolitical places and their landmarks. That’s just asking for trouble with all the changing politics for one reason. The Africa section of the Park is not Nairobi, for example. Instead of capturing the actual architectural icons as in World Showcase and elements that relate to a very real specific place like Paris, in Animal Kingdom we are capturing the emotional feeling of these exotic lands.

“Harambe is a fictional town meant to be reminiscent of an East African port catering to tourists in modern Africa. The details are real but they are a combination from things we found in many different areas and we mashed them together. The history we created is very much based on the reality of the region.

“Harambe is themed around the sorts of things that you would expect to see if you were in Africa alongside the elephants, hippos, gorillas, and other animals that call that section their home. You really ‘feel’ like you’ve been transported to a new place where you actually could go on a two week African safari.”

On their six research trips to Africa, the Imagineering team kept being struck by how many elements of a typical theme park had been incorporated into the different tourist areas.

While in Kenya at Lake Nakuru, a popular safari park, this idea was starkly apparent. When word went out over the radios carried by the Land Rover drivers that a leopard had been sighted, the news created a traffic jam.

Nearly fifty vehicles converged on the tree where the leopard was perched. Dozens of tourists leaned out of windows to photograph the animal that was roughly three hundred feet away.

“That’s when we realized that the tourists’ Africa is already a theme park but just not a particularly well run one,” recalled senior concept designer Kevin Brown. “We knew the experience we could provide in Animal Kingdom would be as good or better than that.”

The research was intensive. The Imagineers took family-oriented package safari trips, from the lowest to the highest end, to get a full exposure of what a family might experience on such excursions.

They also created their own East African itinerary. They felt it was important to experience things as a group, just like theme park guests would. One discovery was that truly wild places were not accessible to the average tourist.

“The highlight of the trip was the hippos – big and strong and mean,” said Rohde. “One surged out of the water with a snort and chased our boat, mouth open. We boated slowly over stretches of water where tell-tale eddies betrayed hippos lurking beneath – lots of them.

“That evening was the first time I have felt the exhilaration I expected from Africa. Fifteen-foot crocodiles and massive hostile hippos crashed through the water. As sunset drew on, the animals became more aggressive. We wanted to capture that same feeling in the park.”

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! For more on Disney’s Animal Kingdom, see this.

And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Secret Stories of Mickey Mouse, and his 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.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 10 TO NOVEMBER 18, 2018

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

For more on November at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/10-11/18/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 11/10, 9a-10p 11/11, 9a-6p 11/12 and 11/13, 9a-10p 11/14;, 9a-6p 11/15 and 11/16, and 9a-11p 11/17 and 11/18

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 11/10, and 9a-9p 11/11 through 11/18

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-8p 11/10 through 11/17 and 9a-9p 11/18

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-8p 11/10 through 11/17 and 8a-9p 11/18

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/10-11/18/18

Saturday 11/10 Morning: none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Sunday 11/11  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 11/12  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 11/13 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 11/14 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 11/15 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 11/16 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 11/17 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/18 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/10-11/18/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/10-11/18/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 9p 11/10, 11/11, 11/14, and 11/17; 10p 11/18

IllumiNations at Epcot:  10p 11/10 9p 11/11 through 11/18

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p 11/10 through 11/17; 9p 11/18

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: not scheduled

Jingle Bell Jingle BAM at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.30p 11/10 through 11/17; 9.30p 11/18

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 6.30 and 7.45p 11/10 through 11/17; 6.30, 8 and 9.15p 11/18

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/10-11/18/18

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

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the Wyndham/Wyndham Garden, see this.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area except for their rooms are essentially the same resort, and share all the same amenities.

The name distinction comes from the two different room types you will find here, in the tower versus the wing buildings.  For simplicity, I will refer to both in the rest of this post as the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista.

The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area has both valet and self-parking.

If you are driving but self-parking, you may park in the port cochere until you have completed check-in, but if it is too crowded you’ll be given the code for the self parking and park there during check in.

This same front of the hotel area has the bus stop.

Details on transportation to the theme parks from the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are here.

Most of the Wyndham’s amenities are on the floor that comes off the port cochere, around the main lobby.

Back at the left is the check in area.

To its left are guest services and a rental car desk…

…and beyond it, in an area most guests except those staying in the east Garden wing won’t see, is a kids waiting area and a library.

Back in the lobby proper, there are many groups of comfortable chairs. I noted several guests napping in them, but am too kind to post those photos here.

Beyond this area is a Disney gift shop.

Inside the gift shop.

Diagonally across from this gift shop, near the entrance, is this much larger coffee shop and grab and go spot.

It includes a seating area, and offers various warm, shelf stable, and…

…cold drinks and snacks.

On the opposite side of the lobby space is this bar, which also serves food from the menu of the upstairs Lakeview restaurant. There’s another large bar and grill at the pool. I cover the pool at the Wyndham in detail in this post.

Upstairs is the Lakeview restaurant…

…which also serves character meals at a buffet breakfast Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Other days of the week see a breakfast with both buffet and a la carte options.

I dined on Lakeview food, but in the bar.

My wedge salad was fine…

…and my steak disappointing.

Links to menus for the Lakeview restaurant are here.

Downstairs at the lowest level you’ll find this gym…

…and outside flanking the pool you’ll find on one side these tennis courts…

…and these sports courts on the other side.

Overall, including the pools, the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista  in the Disney Springs Resort Area has a strong set of amenities.  Table service dining is undistinguished except by convenience–but there’s a ton of great options in nearby Disney Springs.

The Wyndham positions itself as the closest of these hotels to Disney Springs.  That may be true mathematically, but practically speaking, the Palace, Hilton, and Wyndham are all in easy walking distance. Disney Springs is also served by buses beginning in the late afternoon.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

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

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

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!