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DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY IN 2018

While Christmas itself is December 25 of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Christmas celebration at the Magic Kingdom many nights in November and December.

This celebration is called “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, or “MVMCP” for short.

At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open with really low waits, and cookies and hot chocolate, special events, a Christmas parade, special fireworks, and even snow (!) are offered.

The official Disney World page for this event (where you can also buy tickets) can be found here. For a review of the 2018 version of MVMCP, see this.

MORE ON MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY

This party occurs from 7p-12MN on certain evenings at the Magic Kingdom in November and December.

The 2018 dates for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are as follows:

• November 2018: 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 25, 27, 29, 30
• December 2018: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21

You need to buy a special ticket for this party. This ticket is different from regular Walt Disney World park admission tickets.

• The special party ticket does not allow you to enjoy the rides and attractions of the Magic Kingdom before the Party starts–you need a regular ticket for that (note that you can usually enter and enjoy the rides as early as 4p–although your ticket will say 7p. The 4p entry is unofficial, and not guaranteed, though it has happened that way for years)
• Regular tickets used to enter the park earlier the day of a Party do not give you access to the Party–you need to have the special Party ticket

The party tickets are expensive, so why would first-time visitors be interested? A couple of potential reasons

• Evening fireworks shows are rare this time of year, so going to one of the parties is a way to guarantee you can see them. There are rumors that the evening fireworks may be updated for 2018
• Operating hours at the Magic Kingdom are shorter this time of year, so the Party allows you more time there within the same visit
• Walt Disney World sells only a limited number of tickets to each party, so the evening can see much lower ride waits (except at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan), particularly compared to whenever the Magic Kingdom is open late that week. Note that the outdoor areas of the park, especially near the hub and along the parade routes, will be quite crowded.  Where you won’t see crowds is in the ride lines, other than the two noted above

Many families go the first time for one of these reasons…and then going becomes a tradition!

On the other hand, families following one of the standard 8-night itineraries on this site will see the fireworks and evening parade, and have plenty of time at the Magic Kingdom. For that reason, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is not designed into this site’s pre-Thanksgiving itineraries.

It is, however, built in to this site’s Christmas-oriented Basic Itinerary, which works for the three weeks beginning the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

For details on what the party offers, suggested approaches, etc., see this!

Here’s the 2018 party brochure–as always on this site, click to enlarge:

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WHAT IS SEPTEMBER 2018 LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

September at Disney World combines low crowds with low prices, and typically also has nice deals as well.

This makes it a great month for returning visitors.

But it has lousy weather, combining continuing summer heat and humidity with the peak of the hurricane season, making me not so keen on the month for first time visitors who may never return.

Note also that picking the right park to visit each day is critical at this time of the year.  See this, and use the comment form below to ask me about your specific dates!

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DISNEY WORLD’S 2018 INTERNATIONAL FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL AT EPCOT

Every year from late summer into mid-November Walt Disney World presents the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

In 2018, the Festival will run from August 30 through November 12th.

There are two components to the festival, one available to all Epcot visitors, and another made up of a bunch of events which have limited capacity and require reservations.

Neither has an extra ticket admission cost–you get to participate by virtue of your theme park ticket–but there are cash costs for the food, beer and wine, and for entry to some special shows and events.

[Read more →]

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

THE INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE OUTPOST

By Jim Korkis

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular opened on at what is now Disney’s Hollywood Studios on August 25, 1989, the same year the film Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade  was released to theaters. In 2004, Nazi swastikas were removed from costuming and props and were replaced by a stylized Greek Cross.

(c) Disney

At the exit of the attraction is a merchandise location called the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost. The plans for the stunt show always included some type of souvenir venue but originally it was going to be a re-creation of Indiana Jones’ pre-World War II suburban Chicago house filled with artifacts from his many expeditions.

Another proposal was to have a Ford tri-motor airplane as an eating area adjoining a small merchandise shop but that was also abandoned.

“We had to come up with an idea that thematically fit the left block building which meant that one side had to look like Hollywood buildings in the 1930s but the other side had to fit the Indiana Jones story,” said Imagineering concept architect Joe Kilanowski.

“So we came up with a house in Hollywood that has one side propped and dressed to look like it is being used for a movie that takes place in the Middle East. The front of the building looks like a normal house but the other side looks like an outpost.”

To tie-in with the film, the outpost was meant to be a location where Indiana’s crew sets out to find the Holy Grail. To aid in that illustion, Disney acquired from Lucasfilm the tank, two trucks and two cars from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The vehicles were meant to be part of a motor pool that were parked waiting for mechanics to work on them. To reinforce that concept, a fuel dump and machine gun nest (to protect the vehicles from being stolen or sabotaged) were added.

For the interior of the building, not just the Indiana Jones’ films served as inspiration. The Imagineers studied a number of films with a foreign legion theme like Beau Geste (1939) to achieve a sense of the appropriate time with period maps of the Middle East, old rifles, scimitars and barracks-type furniture.

The interior designer was Kate Zovich, who said “Instead of doing normal merchandise fixtures, we really wanted to accentuate the theme. Usually when an attraction has an annexed shop, the function of the shop takes precedence over the theming.

“But we wanted to go the whole nine yards with the Outpost and I think we succeeded. We put together old gun cases and hung shirts off of them. We actually modified half of a wing from a biplane in order to hang clothes.”

Imagineer Arden Ashley purchased many of the props that decorate the building. He noted of the exit from the attraction that “The landscaping and architecture work so well together. The exterior really draws your eye and the landscaping points you right into the shop.”

Senior concept designer Tim Kirk explained, “When people exit out of the stunt show, they go right past all this stuff. It’s a great way to sell merchandise because their blood is boiling after seeing the show and they want to buy something. The Outpost sells hats, videos, postcards, jewelry and leather jackets – some pretty nice stuff.”

Over the last two and half decades, the offerings expanded to pins, fedora hats and pith helmets, t-shirts, mugs, figures featuring Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones and much more. A Disneyland version of the merchandise shop opened in March 1995 but was removed in 2017 to be repurposed as a new indoor seating area attached to the nearby Bengal Barbecue.

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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, 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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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 24 TO APRIL 1, 2018

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

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

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/24-4/1/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-11p 3/24, 9a-10p 3/25, 8a-12MN 3/26 through 3/30, and 8a-11p 3/31 and 4/1

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

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

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-10p 3/24, 8a-11p 3/25 through 3/31, and 8a-10p 4/1

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/24-4/1/18

Saturday 3/24 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 3/25 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 3/26  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 3/27  Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 3/28 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 3/29 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 3/30 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 3/31 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 4/1  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/24–4/1/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p 3/24 through 3/27; noon and 3.30p 3/28 through 4/1

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/24-4/1/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 8.55p every night

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9p every night

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

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.15p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 8.45 and 10p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/24-4/1/18

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

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DISNEY WORLD DEALS FOR SUMMER 2018

Today a Disney World room rate deal covering most nights from June 11 through August 1 2018 came out.

Discounts vary by booking date, with generally better deals if booked before May 22, and by resort and resort class.

Overall savings range from 10% to 25%, with the most popular hotels seeing lower savings rates.

Other, more complicated, deals came out today as well.  The best way to sort through your savings and choose the best is to work with my travel agent, Kelly B–she will do all the math for you.

Kelly B. has been the travel agent partner of this site for years. To book your vacation through her, contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499. (Tell her  Dave sent you…and she may take a bit to get back to you, as she’s busy this morning trying to get the best deal for the clients she’s already serving!)

VALUE RESORT SAVINGS

At the Disney World values resorts, Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded. The other value resort options are 15% to 20%, depending on booking date.

MODERATE RESORT SAVINGS

At the moderates, Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside offer only 10% off.  Other moderate options offer savings of 15% to 20%, depending on when you book and where you stay.

DELUXE RESORT SAVINGS

At the deluxes, the Beach Club, Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and Wilderness Lodge have lower savings than the rest. Note that pre-discount deluxe prices are (for them) already low in the summer, and drop even lower on July 6.

DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORT SAVINGS

At the DVC resorts, Bay Lake Tower, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bungalows at the Polynesian, and Cascade Cabins at Copper Creek are excluded. Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, the Animal Kingdom Villas, and the BoardWalk Villas are 20% to 25% off. The other DVC resorts are 10% to 15% off.

The deal needs to be booked by either May 22 (for the best savings) or August 1. Reviews of all these resorts are linked to on this page.

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499, or by using the quote form below.

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