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(For the first page of this review of the Holiday Inn Orlando, see this.)

PHOTO TOUR OF A TOWER ROOM AT THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

The Holiday Inn Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area has several room types in two buildings–a fourteen story main tower and an adjacent six story building. Rooms with a king bed and rooms with two queens are available, most with balconies.  When booking, you can select your beds, choose balcony or not, and also choose your view.

This photo tour is of a tower two queen room. (I have a photo tour of a Pool view room at the Holiday Inn Orlando here.)

The entry has the bath on one side, and a closet on the other

The bath features a single sink, and no internal divisions, making it not in the least family-friendly.

Note the under-sink storage, which you may need to use, as these rooms are short on storage.

The tub-shower combo is a bit more family friendly than shower-only options you’ll find in some other hotel rooms.

Here’s the toiletries offered.

There’s a bit more storage in a cubby in the wall between the bath and the main living space.

On the other side of the entry, you’ll find a closet with on one side a hanging rod turned 90 degrees from the normal position…

…and on the other side, an ironing board, iron, and above them a safe.

The clothes hanging space is smaller than you might guess, as the rod is perpendicular to how you’d expect to find it.

The safe. I neglected to measure it, but my book is 6 inches by 9 inches.

Deeper in the room, you’ll find the beds on one side.

The bed side from the back of the room…

…and a closer view of one of the beds.

Between the beds you’ll find this bedside table with a drawer and an open cubby below.

The drawer is large enough for your important books.

The other side of the room has a luggage rack, a unit that combines storage and appliances, with the TV above, and a desk.

My dresser was topped by a 54 inch TV above–according to the hotel’s website, some rooms have 49 inch TVs.

The three small-ish drawers are probably not enough for the four people these rooms will sleep, and are comparable to the storage you’ll find in un-refurbed Disney value resort rooms.

Next to these you’ll find the mini-fridge with, interestingly, a microwave above–a rare amenity elsewhere.

The mini-fridge has a freezer compartment–also a rarity these days, and something that makes the microwave more useful.

Finally on this side you’ll find this desk, with a Keurig coffee service on it.

At the end of most rooms is a balcony, accessed in many Holiday Inn Orlando rooms from a set of curiously-offset windows, but in my latest room from a centered door. Views vary–you can see I-4 above…

…but you can also book pool, Disney Springs, and “Fireworks” views–the fireworks are quite distant.

Overall this room, other than the un-divided bath, it is adequately-appointed.  At around 345 square feet, its overall size is in the lower end of the Disney deluxe resort range.  At around ~235 square feet, the size of the living area is smaller than that of all Disney moderate resorts and smaller than all Disney deluxe resorts except for the Wilderness and Animal Kingdom Lodges. It could also use more seating for families–although I suppose you could pull in the chairs from the balcony.

The amenities of this Disney Springs Resort Area Holiday Inn room make it adequate for couples and probably also adequate for three person families. Four person families may be challenged by the lack of storage and the bath design.

PHOTO TOUR OF A POOL VIEW ROOM AT THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

• Summary and overview
• Photo tour of a standard tower room
• Photo tour of a pool view 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

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For the first page of this review of the B Resort & Spa, see this.

PHOTO TOUR OF A TOWER ROOM AT THE B RESORT & SPA

The B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area has several room types in two buildings–the main tower and the Lanai building. Rooms with a king bed, a king and a set of bunk beds, two queens, and two queens with a fold-out couch are available–as well as suites.

This photo tour is of a tower two queen and fold-out couch room. (I also have a photo tour of a Lanai room, here.)

The entry has the bath on one side. It features a single sink, no internal divisions, and a glassed-in shower area, making it not in the least family-friendly. Note the under-sink storage, which you may need to use, as these rooms are short on storage.

It is lovely, though, especially the sink area, with a spare simplicity that really sets off the flowers.

Here’s the toiletries offered.

Deeper in the room, you’ll find the beds and small couch on one side.

The bed side from the back of the room…

…and a closer view of one of the beds. The B Resort chain makes a point of marketing its beds, but there’s enough variety among what people want of their beds that I would not claim them to be better, or worse, for you than other types of beds.

To me the biggest distinction of these beds is their size. Positioned as queens, they are in fact ~56 inches by ~78 inches–both narrower and shorter than a true queen (which is 60 by 80 inches). They are clearly bigger than full beds, and so with some qualms I label them as queens in my floor plan, but if you are used to correctly-sized queens and need either full dimension (or both!) you might look elsewhere.

Between the beds you’ll find this bedside table with an open cubby below.

Beyond the beds is this small couch, or maybe because it is short (the usable width of the cushion is about four feet) it should be called a loveseat.

The couch folds out into a bed that I measured as 36 inches by 70 inches, with a 4 inch cushion, comfortable enough for a child. Curiously, when I tried to book a room for two adults and three children, this room type was not offered up by the website.  That may be a glitch–I will try to confirm whether or not these rooms are bookable for families of five (although the undivided bath with its glass and single sink would make such a group awkward).

The other side of the room has the TV, a desk, mini-fridge, storage cubbies, a wardrobe, and a couple of ottomans.

Here’s the TV side from the back.

Note the ironing board and iron, and bedding for the couch bed. The wardrobe has plentiful hanging space…

…but only three small drawers.  There are no other drawers in the room, although there are the storage cubbies already noted, and more to come.

There’s a good-sized safe above the dresser. Somehow I forgot to measure it, but my book is 6 inches by 9 inches.

Next on this side, working our way towards the entry, are more storage cubbies and the TV. The TV is a bit on the small side at 47 inches–refurbed Disney value resort rooms have 54 inch TVs.

Next is this desk, and next to it is the mini-fridge, with the coffee service above.

A closer look at the mini-fridge and coffee paraphernalia.

At the end of the room is an unusable balcony, which if it were open would have a maximum depth of a couple of feet.

It is locked off, and I found this oddly annoying. Were it not locked off–and were the room marketed as having a balcony, which it is not (many Lanai building rooms have balconies or patios)–I would find its small size even more annoying.  I’d suggest at the next renovation that the B Resort replace these doors with glass panes (and add a bigger TV and more drawers, and perhaps rethink the color scheme and carpets, although like bed comfort ymmv on those last two).

Perhaps needless to say given the B Resort’s location, while views vary, none are spectacular, but many are better than the view of I4 you can see from my non-balcony balcony.

Overall this is a spacious, and other than the bath, well-appointed room.  At around 355 square feet, the overall size is in the lower end of the Disney deluxe resort range. Moreover the small bath–and the shift of the closet to a wardrobe at the other end of the room–puts more of the room’s square footage into the living area of the room. At around ~260 square feet, the size of the living area is bigger than that in all Disney deluxe resorts except for the monorail resorts.

The amenities of this B Resort  room make it fine for couples who don’t need fully-dimensioned queens, and also probably fine for small families. Larger families will be challenged by the lack of storage (cubbies are not a great solution, and when used for storage add powerfully to visual clutter) and the bath design.

PHOTO TOUR OF A LANAI BUILDING ROOM AT THE B RESORT & SPA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE B RESORT & SPA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a B Resort standard tower room 
• Photo tour of a B Resort Lanai pool-view room
• Dining and amenities at the B Resort & Spa
• The pool at the B Resort & Spa

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!!

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

DUFFY THE BEAR

By Jim Korkis

A new best friend for Duffy the Bear, Cookie, had her global debut July 2018 at Hong Kong Disneyland. The Disney Company has been attempting to capitalize on the Duffy craze by introducing new characters, starting in 2016 with Shellie May and Gelatoni. Stella Lou joined in 2017 and this year a yellow female dog who is a “foodie” named Cookie has joined the squad.

Olu, a turtle, made his debut at the Aulani resort on July 27. As Mickey Mouse and Duffy were sailing the islands looking for a perfect birthday present for Shellie May, they heard the sounds of a ‘ukulele calling them over to a cove where a kindhearted turtle named ‘Olu played happy tunes. They decided he would be a perfect present to sing “a special song of friendship and love.”

Like many things, Duffy got his start at Walt Disney World. Beginning in 1988, WDW was home to the Disney Teddy Bear and Doll Weekend event that lasted for twenty years, ending in 2008. Disney noticed that Disney-themed bears were generating high prices so with the opening in August 2002 of Once Upon A Toy at Downtown Disney Marketplace, it was decided to introduce an exclusive Disney bear.

Dubbed the “Disney Bear”, it was risky because the introduction of the character would not be supported by any previous appearances in animation, comics, records or any other media. Basically, there was the hope that people’s love for teddy bears, and especially one with four “Hidden Mickeys” who was meant to be Mickey’s friend, would be enough to generate sales. He was only available at Walt Disney World.

Yet, despite all efforts to re-theme the bear, the product was considered a “dud” by the Disney Company, who cleared their shelves and sent the remaining stock to their outlet stores.

The Disney Bear was indeed cute, and the Japanese have always had an affection for things that have cuteness. The product was introduced to Tokyo DisneySea Resort as a special limited promotion for the Harborside Christmas celebration in 2004 in the American Waterfront area. It was still called the Disney Bear.

In December 2005, the bear was re-named Duffy because he was carried in Mickey’s duffel bag and marketed not just as a product to sell, but an experience to share. The character definitely fit in with the themes of Tokyo DisneySea including water exploration and adventure which is one of the reasons for Duffy’s sailor suit.

Duffy became established as a “photo and fashion” character. In Japan, costumes for Duffy expanded at a frightening rate including many limited editions.

Of course, the Disney Company saw that guests were buying multiple Duffys to carry around as well as all the costumes, so they decided to re-introduce the character in the Disney parks.

The official relaunch was October 14, 2010, at Epcot at Walt Disney World because Duffy was a world explorer, although he was also re-introduced that same day at Disney California Adventure in California.

Officially, the Disney Company maintains that Duffy is not a revised version of the “failed” Disney Bear. Rather, Duffy is a “cousin” of the Disney Bear.

In January 22, 2010, the Oriental Land Company—the owner of Tokyo DisneySea–introduced a “friend” for Duffy, a little girl bear in a soft shade of pink named Shellie May. Actually, at one point, they considered the girlfriend would be a pink cat with polka dots (to theme in with Minnie Mouse) and dark red Mickey head silhouette imprint on her behind. Some prototypes were made.

Duffy brings happiness and Shellie May’s slogan is that she brings joy. She especially brings joy to the financial bottom line because the Oriental Land Company launched sets of matching costumes for Duffy and Shellie May, including new matching set costumes for every season. There seems to be no limit to the number of costumes. Nor any limit to the number of new friends for the pair that interconnect with other available merchandise.

The marketing phrase for Duffy is “Where will you take Duffy next?” For the Disney Company the answer is “to the bank….every day.”

*  *  *  *  *

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

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, More Secret Stories of Disneyland, 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: SEPTEMBER 8 TO SEPTEMBER 16, 2018

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

For more on September at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/9-9/16/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 9/8, 9a-6p 9/9, 9a-9p 9/10, 9a-6p 9/11, 9a-9p 9/12 and 9/13, 9a-6p 9/14, 9a-10p 9/15, and 9a-6p 9/16

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 9/8, 9a-9p 9/9 through 9/13, 9a-10p 9/14 and 9/15, and 9a-9p 9/16

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-8.30p 9/8 through 9/14, and 9a-9p 9/15 and 9/16

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-8.30p 9/8 through 9/15, and 9a-9p 9/16

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/8-9/16/18

Saturday 9/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 9/9  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 9/10  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 9/11 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 9/12 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 9/13 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 9/14 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 9/15 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 9/16  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/8-9/16/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 8.30p 9/8, 9/10, 9/12, 9/13, and 9/15

IllumiNations at Epcot:  10p 9/8; 9p 9/9 through 9/13; 10p 9/14 and 9/15; 9p 9/16

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.30p 9/8 through 9/15; 8p 9/16

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p 9/8 through 9/15; 8.30p 9/16

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 8.45 9/8 through 9/15; 8.15 and 9.30p 9/16

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/8-9/16/18

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

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

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 (9)

By Jim Korkis

• The Art of Disneyland (2006) and
• The Art of Walt Disney World (2009),

both by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon

It is a sad fact of life that some of the best books about Walt Disney World go out of print quickly and become difficult to find and highly expensive once they are found. However, I look at this column as an opportunity to alert you not only to books you can immediately purchase but also a handful of those that you may want to put on your wish list.

I have found that with patience and persistence you can sometimes find one of these treasures at a reasonable price and still in good condition [see the links–Dave].

The Art of Disneyland by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon came out September 2006 from Disney Editions and was originally meant to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Disneyland. It was a huge book at 10.5 x 0.6 x 13.4 inches and weighing roughly two and a half pounds. It had to be turned sideways in order to see the artwork.

It was originally exclusively available at the theme parks and was 129 pages long. It had magnificently large pieces of color concept art including everything from John Hench’s 1954 design of the proposed Space Port in Tomorrowland to Marc Davis’ 1961 watercolor of the bathing elephants addition to the Jungle Cruise. In the back are four pages of short biographies and color photos of some of the Imagineers.

It was immensely popular so it was no surprise that in 2009, The Art of Walt Disney World was released, again exclusively available at the theme parks. Again, it is by Kurtti and Gordon who unquestionably know their stuff. It is the exact same format but runs 137 pages.

The artwork ranges from Mary Blair’s 1970 collage and acrylic for the new finale scene for WDW’s it’s a small world attraction to Herb Ryman’s 1980 acrylic piece showing the proposed Equatorial Africa Pavilion for Epcot to Paul Hartley’s famous 1971 “Fun Map” that once adorned the resorts when Walt Disney World opened in a clear, crisp reproduction.

The official description of the book is: “A showcase of the varied art and artists of Walt Disney Imagineering, The Art of Walt Disney World is a stunning collection highlighting the rich and vivid creative inspiration behind the development of the landmarks, attractions, architecture and shows that constitute this popular Vacation Kingdom.

“Selected from hundreds of thousands of conceptual materials, sketches, layout drawings and paintings in the collection of the Walt Disney Imagineering Library, this illustrated celebration of Walt Disney World features meticulously reproduced art with lavish production values in a beautiful large-format book that is destined to become a spectacular keepsake for fans of the resort, as well as art collectors and Disney fans everywhere.

“In addition, each illustration is presented with erudite and fascinating information about the projects, ideas, context and people involved in the creation of Walt Disney World that will further enrich the reader’s appreciation of the exceptional talent behind Walt Disney World’s creation – and perpetual evolution. With a personal introduction by Roy Edward Disney, The Art of Walt Disney World contains countless wonders to captivate, inform and entertain.”

I certainly can’t offer a better description than that one other than the fact that Jeff Kurtti and (the late) Bruce Gordon are two of my favorite Disney historians known for their accuracy, extensive original research and their wide range of knowledge.

So, in addition to artwork I personally had never ever seen before, there are a couple sentences of text for each piece to help better understand what is being shown. I am a huge fan of how things were created and developed and this book just whets my appetite for more.

If you are a fan of Walt Disney World and its history, this is a wonderful and out-of-the-ordinary book to include in your collection. It would be nice if Disney Editions considered updating and reprinting both editions. Until that time, happy hunting for this out-of-print treasure!

*  *  *  *  *

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

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, More Secret Stories of Disneyland, 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: SEPTEMBER 1 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

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

For more on September at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 9/1, 9a-11p 9/2, 9a-6p 9/3, 9a9p 9/4 through 9/6, 9a-6p 9/7, 9a-11p 9/8, and 9a-6p 9/9

Epcot will be open from 9a-10p 9/1, 9a-9p 9/2 through 9/6, 9a-10p 9/7 and 9/8, and 9a-9p 9/9

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-9p 9/1 amd 9/2, and from 9a-8.30p 9/3 through 9/9

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-8.30p 9/1, 8a-10p 9/2, 9a-9p 9/3, and 9a-8.30p 9/4 through 9/9

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

Saturday 9/1 Morning: Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Sunday 9/2  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 9/3  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 9/4 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 9/5 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 9/6 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 9/7 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 9/8 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 9/9  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 8.30p 9/1, 9/2, 9/4, 9/5, 9/6 and 9/8

IllumiNations at Epcot:  10p 9/1; 9p 9/2 through 9/6; 10p 9/7 and 9/8; 9p 9/9

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.30p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 8.45p 9/1; 8.45 and 10p 9/2; 8.45 9/3 through 9/9

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 9/1-9/9/18

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

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