Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JUNE 9 TO JUNE 17, 2018

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

For more on June 2018 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/9-6/17/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 6/9, 9a-10p 6/10, 8a-11p 6/11, 9a-11p 6/12, 8a-11p 6/13, 9a-11p 6/14 through 6/16, and 9a-10p 6/17

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 9a-10.30p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/9-6/17/18

Saturday 6/9 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 6/10  Morning: Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Monday 6/11  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 6/12 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 6/13 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 6/14 Morning: Epcot, Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Friday 6/15 Morning:  Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 6/16 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 6/17  Morning: Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/9-6/17/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/9-6/17/18

Happily Every 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: 9.15 and 10.15p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 6/9-6/17/18

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

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I published this morning a completely updated review of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

The review begins here, and in total includes the following pages:

• Overview and summary review of Coronado Springs
• The theming and accommodations areas of Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a not yet refurbed room at Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a refurbed room at Coronado Springs
• Amenities at Coronado Springs
• Dining at Coronado Springs
• The pools at Coronado Springs

The review is based on my six stays here–most recently in April–and while it covers everything, pays particular attention the the construction and refurb work going on at Coronado Springs.

Across the seven pages of the review there’s almost 7,000 words and nearly 150 images, but the first page is designed to be the summary of all my thoughts on Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort–the rest of the pages cover the details!

By the way, to keep up with changes at Coronado Springs, check out Mario’s Facebook group.

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, see this.)

DINING AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Note 8/4/2019: I am in the middle of updating this review to incorporate the changes at Coronado Springs that opened in July 2019. An overview of these changes is here, and a photo tour of a new room in the new Gran Destino tower is here.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has a wider range of dining options than any other Disney World moderate resort, with more to come in July 2019.

It has in its El Centro area two table service venues, a counter-service option, and a grab and go coffee shop.  It shares with Caribbean Beach the distinct position among the moderates of having hot food at the main pool and it has a more extensive room-service menu than any other moderate. There are also three bars, with more to come.

Coming in 2019 are two more venues–a rooftop restaurant and lounge on top of the 15 story tower that’s being built between El Centro and the Cabanas, and an over-the water bar and grill whose construction status as of late April 2018 is shown above.

In El Centro you’ll find a grab and go food shop…

…and El Mercado de Coronado, formerly Pepper Market, the “quick service” meal offering.

The food stations used to be overly complicated, but fresh and interesting, making Pepper Market then the best food court among the moderates, though admittedly convoluted.  Now El Mercado de Coronado is much more like any other Disney World food court, with a bit of an added garnish of southwestern offerings and flavors.

Checkout and payment used to have a mystifying multi-step approach that garnered the envy of former Warsaw Pact customer service staff, but now is utterly simple. El Mercado de Coronado is now comparable to other moderate quick service offerings, a loss on the food front but a gain on the service and simplicity dimension.

The El Mercado de Coronado menu is here.

There are two table service offerings at Coronado Springs.  Best known is the Maya Grill.

The Maya Grill review from The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2019:

The Maya Grill menu is here.

Also available is dining in Cafe Rix.

The main pool bar, Siestas Cantina, is unique among the moderates in offering a hot menu.

One of my lunches-Carnitas Tacos–from Siestas Cantina.

A perhaps more legible version of the menu is here.

On the lake side of El Centro, you’ll find the Laguna Bar–because of its setting, the best bar among the moderates.

Also here is lots of other outdoor seating.

Inside the main building you’ll find a third bar, the Rix Lounge.

Although the other moderates have caught up a lot the last few years, Coronado Springs still offers the best room service menu among them.

A larger version of the dinner side:

THE POOLS AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

This review continues here!

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

• Overview and summary review of Coronado Springs
• The theming and accommodations areas of Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a standard room at Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a Gran Destino Tower room at Coronado Springs
• Amenities at Coronado Springs
• Dining at Coronado Springs
• The pools at Coronado Springs

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 150+ stays in them

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The following items aren’t exactly news, as they’ve been known for a month or so now, but I have not yet posted about them, so maybe they are news to you!

• The main pool at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, the Lost City of Cibola pool, and its surrounding amenities at the Dig Site, will close for refurb from ~September 4, 2018 to mid-December 2018. The three smaller pools here will remain open.
• The main Uzima Springs pool at Jambo House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge will close for refurb from ~September 4, 2018 to early December 2018. The Samawati Springs pool at sister resort Kidani Village will remain open to all Animal Kingdom Lodge guests
• In a more positive development, guests at Four Seasons Resort Orlando have access to FastPass+ at 60 days for the balance of 2018.

THE CLOSURE OF THE DIG SITE AND LOST CITY OF CIBOLA POOL AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Most of the Disney World resorts have more than one pool, typically one main pool with the most amenities, which Disney calls the “feature pool,” and one or more smaller pools that create more capacity and limit walks that Disney calls “leisure pools” and which many others refer to as “quiet pools.”

The Lost City of Cibola pool, to close for refurb in September

At Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, the main feature pool is the Lost City of Cibola pool, and it and the set of amenities—ranging from a bar to a volleyball court—surrounding it are collectively called the Dig Site.

All of the Dig Site, including the Lost City of Cibola pool, will be closing for refurb in September 2018, and re-opening in December. The most reliable source suggests the dates of the closure will be 9/4/18 through 12/12/2018. (Take the re-open date with a grain of salt, as construction can be unpredictable.)

Coronado Springs includes three smaller, simpler leisure pools, one in each of its room areas, marked with green circles in the image (the Cibola pool is marked with a red “X”).

There is not remotely enough capacity in these three smaller pools for all the guests at Coronado Springs who might wish to use them, so if access to a pool is a key part of your vacation and you are traveling during the affected dates, I’d suggest not staying at Coronado Springs.

THE CLOSURE OF THE UZIMA SPRINGS POOL AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

The main feature pool at Jambo House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Uzima Springs pool, will also close for refurb later in 2018.

The Uzima Springs pool, to close in September

There’s not as definitive a source (yet) for the dates, but the assertions I’ve seen mark the close as from 9/4/18 through 12/4/2018. (Take the re-open date with a grain of salt, as construction can be unpredictable; you’ll find some claiming an earlier September 1 close date, but I find it unlikely that Disney would leave a pool open the Friday before a holiday weekend, and then close it the Saturday of that weekend.)

The Samawati Springs pool at Kidani Village

There are no leisure pools at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but sister resort Kidani Village has an equally nice option in its Samawati Springs pool, and (as always) Jambo House guests are welcome there.

It’s a bit of a hike—the two pools are about half a mile apart*—so the already-existing shuttle service between Kidani and Jambo House will be a good option. However, Samawati Springs may well be full when you get there, as both pools already commonly run near their lounging capacity.

On the other hand, a room refurb project is also reported to be kicking off at Jambo House in August 2018. Depending on how many rooms at a time are out of inventory for refurb, crowds at Samawati Springs may be less pressing. But my best guess (assuming a floor at a time is refurbed) is that Jambo capacity will be down at any moment no more than 25%.

So, like at Coronado Springs, if access to a pool is a key part of your vacation and you are traveling during the affected dates, I’d suggest not staying at either Jambo House or Kidani Village.

FOUR SEASONS RESORT ORLANDO NOW OFFERS FASTPASS+ BOOKING AT 60 DAYS

Between December and January all the on-property but not-Disney-owned resorts gained access to FastPass+ at 60 days except for Four Seasons Resort Orlando.

In mid-April 2018, Four Seasons joined this group, and guest staying there can now book their FastPass+ at 60 days. This removes the principal reason why before then I would have suggested that first-timers avoid Four Seasons Resort Orlando.

As is the case with the other resorts that gained 60 day FastPass+ access in late 2017 or earlier 2018, this perk is explicitly labeled as available through December 31, 2018, and “subject to change without notice.” And note that with just 443 rooms and suites, there aren’t enough folks at Four Seasons to make a material incremental difference for the ability of other folk to get FastPass+.

*To put this into context, the much-complained-about walk from the furthest Pirate rooms in Trinidad South at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to its feature pool is just a hundred yards shorter.

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WDW MAGAZINE

WDW Magazine is the best digital magazine about Disney World out there. Every month it brings articles about Disney World from a group of writers that my buddy, editor Carl Trent, calls his “dream team,” even though I am on it, and a gorgeous set of images from photographers that really are a dream team.

A digital subscription to WDW Magazine brings you not only the magazine itself every month, but also access to all its back issues and to its subscribers-only Facebook group, WDW101 live chats on Tuesdays at 9pm, and new digital wallpapers each month!

What could be better? Well, frankly, if you’ve ever seen the images in WDW Magazine, what could be better is a print edition—and a trial of a print edition is coming!

THE PRINT TRIAL OF WDW MAGAZINE

The WDW Magazine team is offering—in June only—the ability to buy three printed versions of WDW Magazine—the August, October and December issues—for only $30 (that is, $10 each, and your money will be refunded in full if, after you receive the August edition, you don’t think it is worth it).

When you purchase the WDW Magazine print trial you’ll receive three shiny new issues of WDW Magazine in print:

• The “New And Coming Soon” issue delivered in August
• The “Autumn Arrives” issue delivered in October
• The “Holly Jolly Holidays Are Here” issue delivered in December

Each issue contains 60 stunning pages.

To sign up for the trial, go here and click the central button I’ve circled above in red.

It’s called a trial because if enough people sign up for it, then WDW Magazine will offer further print issues after 2018. But you’ll get the August, October and December issues regardless of how many people sign up!

If you are a Disney World fan, I can think of only one better way to spend your money between visits, so strongly suggest you sign up for the WDW Magazine print edition trial! You have to sign up in June 2018 to be part of the trial.

Note that you can also still simply subscribe to the digital edition. If you subscribe only to the digital edition, you won’t get the print version, but you will still get a ton—you’ll get the digital version of the August, October and December issues, plus more news and other material that doesn’t fit into the print version. And you’ll also get the digital issues for the months that aren’t printing an issue (June, July, September, November, etc.). Plus you get the back issues and other perks I’d noted near the beginning of this post.

To subscribe to the digital edition, go here and click the button circled in red at the top right. That will open a page from which you can subscribe to either the digital edition or the print trial.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

Over the course of June, Carl will be doing four Facebook Live parties to celebrate the print trial.

There will be a bunch of giveaways in these shows, and at each show someone will win a signed copy of the top-rated Disney World guidebook I co-author with Josh of easyWDW.com, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit!

Already have a copy? Give it to a friend, and keep the signed copy for yourself!

MY NEW ROLE ON THE MAGAZINE

I’ve been writing for WDW Magazine for almost five years, continuously since its inaugural issue. I’ve written more than 50 instances of my column for first-time visitors, and also written articles on the Disney World resorts. Also, each year Carl and I co-write an overview of the best times to visit during the upcoming year. This overview is set up as a debate, and I believe that every time we’ve disagreed, I’ve been right (although I didn’t actually check…).

This set of topics makes perfect sense, since my expertise on first time visits, on when to go, and on where to stay is pretty well known.

But the WDW Magazine team did a survey—and discovered something we should have thought of years ago—that the audience of the magazine is almost entirely frequent returning visitors, not first-timers.

So my monthly column, beginning with the July issue, will be about the Disney World resorts—news, refurb updates, and every month a mini-review of a resort I’ve recently stayed in (I’ve stayed in more than 150 Disney-owned rooms, suites, studios, villas, cabins and campsites). The mini-reviews will be shorter versions of the resort reviews in The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, as the reviews on this site with their thousands of words and hundreds of images are too long!

So check out WDW Magazine—either the digital version, or the print trial, or both! Remember that you can only sign up for the print trial in June. And if you subscribe to either via a link from this page, Carl will sprinkle a little pixie dust on me in return! So thanks—and I predict you’ll love it…

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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.

SAFARI VILLAGE AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Jim Korkis

Safari Village was meant to be the thematic heart of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and serve as the central hub. Encircled by Discovery River, Safari Village  [renamed Discovery Island in December 2010–Dave] was a lush, green island that serves as a magical departure point for each of the different realms of the park.

As the original promotional material stated, Safari Village

“… is a mix of tropical and equatorial styles featuring references to the Caribbean but also Polynesian influences. Strong, bright colors dominate the landscape. Animal forms decorate every possible surface of the one-story structures smothered in many-hued tropical foliage.

“A unique vocabulary of animal images, inspired by folk art from around the world, gives the Village a playful look that celebrates the beauty and power of animals. Safari Village’s shops make it the natural center of the park. It’s also the ideal place to encounter a unique brand of live entertainment celebrating the special connection between humans and animals.”

Safari Village has folk art inspired forms on every available surface including walls, ceilings, windowsills, gable ends and more.

The buildings are not just ornamented with animals, but also each facility has its own theme. Island Mercantile features animals that migrate and work – whales and wildebeests, bees and beavers. Creature Comforts features animals with stripes and spots. Beastly Bazaar has animals from fresh and salt water cavorting throughout it.

The clever theme of the Flame Tree Barbecue restaurant is predator and prey – prey are painted on the tables and predators on the chairs. Pizzafari’s dining rooms each have different themes. One room is dedicated to animals that hide in their environment. Another room is dedicated to animals that carry their houses on their backs like turtles, snails and hermit crabs. One room is based on animals that hang upside down.

Pizzafari (c) Disney

For Safari Village, Imagineer Joe Rohde wanted to create a place no one had ever seen before. There are nine separate color schemes on Pizzafari alone.

“Jenna Goodman and I said, ‘You want it bright? We can do bright’.” said senior show designer Katie Olson. “When we did color design for Harambe we pored over books of photographs, trying to make sure we were rendering exact copies of a village in Kenya.

“Safari Village has a little bit of a tropical feelings but we just said, ‘I think lime green would look really good with this color’ and we tried it. At first, it was a little difficult breaking all the rules, but once we got into the rhythm of it, it became a really fun project.

“It didn’t have to be recognizable as anywhere in particular and that gives you a lot of freedom. But you have to still respect the form of the architecture. We used a lot of Caribbean color and references like Mexican wedding dresses and Oaxacan carved animals. If the color design successfully supports the overall story we are telling, the environment becomes that much more magical for our guests.”

Designers journeyed to Mexico to find basket weavers who could fashion wicker kangaroos to hold merchandise. In Oaxaca, Mexico, four hours down a dirt and boulder road, they found a family that carves and paints fantastically shaped animals. Imagineers ordered 300 bats, 120 bugs and 150 butterflies to hang in Pizzafari.

Principal production designer Ken Gomes actually relocated to Bali to oversee the production of more than one hundred hand-carved articles that were shipped to Florida for the Animal Kingdom each month. Gomes became part of village life, attending weddings and funerals and acquiring the native name of Wayan (“second-born”) Sin Ken Ken (“no problem”).

“The sense of community is refreshing,” said Gomes. “The talent and skill in Bali are incredible resources. They don’t realize how gifted they are.”

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! Safari Village was renamed Discovery Island in December 2000, obviously because of the Discovery River but perhaps partly in homage to the old area of this name between the Contemporary Resort and the Wilderness Lodge.

And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Call Me Walt, 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.

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