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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 10 TO MARCH 18, 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 3/10-3/18/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 3/10,  8a-11p 3/11, 8a-12MN 3/12 through 3/17, and 9a-10p 3/18

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-9p 3/10, 8a-10p 3/11 through 3/17, and 8a-9.30p 3/18

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/10-3/18/18

Saturday 3/10 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 3/11Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 3/12  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 3/13  Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 3/14 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 3/15 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 3/16 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 3/17 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 3/18  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/10–3/18/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/10-3/18/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 7.55p 3/10; 8.55p 3/11 through 3/18

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  7p 3/10; 8.30p 3/11 through 3/18

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.15pp 3/10; 9.15p 3/11 through 3/18

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7.15 and 8.30p 3/10; 8.45 and 10p 3/11 through 3/18

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/10-3/18/18

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

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

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

CORONADO SPRINGS: THE LEGEND OF JUAN FRANCISCO

By Jim Korkis

Spanish explorer Francisco de Coronado left Mexico in 1540 and headed north in search of the fabled seven golden cities of Cibola. Imagineers used that story as a springboard to create a resort that would reflect the textures, colors and art of both Mexico and the American Southwest.

When the moderate resort Coronado Springs opened at Disney World in August 1997, the Imagineers said that the back story was that “Coronado Springs was founded by the descendants of a Spanish explorer named Juan Francisco. Searching for gold in 1569, Francisco stumbled upon the ruins of a forty-six foot tall Mayan pyramid.

“Hundreds of years later, relatives found his charts and decided to mount an expedition of their own. The rugged group liked the place so much that they built houses and put down roots.”

Wing Chao, then senior vice president of Master Planning and Architecture, said “We looked at a map to see where people go on vacation. After determining that they like to go to Mexico and the Southwestern United States, we just blended the themes.”

The project was put on hold several times for a variety of reasons after it was first proposed in 1992. The original plans did not include a convention center, but new studies showed that Walt Disney World did not have enough convention space. Moreover, those Disney World resorts that already had convention space had room rates too high for some associations’ budgets.

With the adoption of tunnel form construction with poured concrete bays, it became economically feasible to provide convention space and moderately priced rooms. The Coronado ballroom is roughly 60,214-square-foot and is the largest ballroom in the southeastern United States.

The resort was designed to reflect three themes: Cabanas, Ranchos and Casitas. The two story Cabana buildings represent the coastal regions of the American Southwest and Gulf Coast villas. The Cabanas surround the rocky beach adjacent to the fifteen acre man-made lake, Lago Dorado.

The architecture and landscape of the Ranchos suggest the more arid, country-ranch or farmhouse parts of the region with a small stream or arroyo tumbling over a rocky stream bed. Project coordinator Mark Kohl said, “We made sure the vegetation selected would really grow next to a river in the same region of Mexico.”

The Casitas were inspired by the urban areas of Mexico and the American Southwest. The Casitas are interspersed with colorful plazas and fountains and palm-shaded courtyards.

“We had to find a balance between Mexico and the Southwest when it came to selecting colors and how they relate,” said Kohl. “It was a two year research process where team members went to look and bring back photos, art and books for inspiration. I have a Mexican stone calendar on my wall. The art we finally selected for the guest rooms provides a better fit for the theme of that particular area.”

Palacios are decorated in shades of desert sand and sunset pink. The red tile roofs, mosaic accents, shady courtyards and sunny patios recall the grand haciendas of the Spanish Colonial era.

Project coordinator Cindy MacKenzie returned from a research trip to Oaxaca with three foot tall frogs, lobsters and iguanas to take up residence in the 420 seat Pepper Market food court meant to suggest an old warehouse where individual food vendors have set up shop. The restaurant is divided into three areas: the fire temple near the exhibit cooking, the water temple and the sun temple.

A new 15-story tower overlooking Lago Dorado, the resort’s central lake, will add 500 rooms featuring suites and concierge level services, and a rooftop dining facility that will include panoramic views of nighttime fireworks shows at the Disney World parks. At the same time, a room refurb project is about half done, and there are also plans to transform some of Coronado Springs’ landscape.

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Thanks, Jim! There’s more on Coronado Springs here. 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.

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

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 3 TO MARCH 11, 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 3/3-3/11/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 3/3, 9a-10p 3/4, 9a-9p 3/5 through 3/8, 9a-11p 3/9, 8a-12MN 3/10, and 8a-11p 3/11

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p 3/3 through 3/9 and 9a-9p 3/10 and 3/11

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-9p 3/3 and 3/4, 8a-8.30p 3/5 through 3/9, 8a-9p 3/10, and 8a-10p 3/11

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/3-3/11/18

Saturday 3/3 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 3/4 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 3/5  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 3/6  Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 3/7 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 3/8 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 3/9 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 3/10 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 3/11  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/3–3/11/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/3-3/11/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 7.55p 3/3 through 3/10; 8.55p 3/11

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  7p 3/3 through 3/10; 8.30p 3/11

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.15p 3/3 through 3/10; 9.15p 3/11

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7.15 and 8.30p 3/3 through 3/10; 8.45 and 10p 3/11

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 3/3-3/11/18

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 DISNEY LIBRARY: THE WALT DISNEY WORLD THAT NEVER WAS

By Jim Korkis

• The Walt Disney World That Never Was: Stories Behind the Amazing Imagineering Dreams That Never Came True by Christopher E. Smith

I have always had a fascination with Walt Disney World projects that were announced, often with elaborate concept art and detailed descriptions, but for a variety of reasons, usually financial, were never built. Since Walt Disney World is so huge, it has been the home to many such abandoned concepts over the decades.

In 2010, Walt Disney World fans were teased with the prospects of Hyperion Wharf, “a nostalgic yet modern take on an early 20th century port city and amusement pier” that at night would be an “electrical wonderland”, taking over the old Disney Springs Pleasure Island location, and also a new Fantasyland concept at the Magic Kingdom presented at the D23 Expo in 2009 that would have had a variety of elaborate Disney Princess meet-and-greet opportunities located within individual princess cottages, including ones for Cinderella and Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty). Also included in that proposal was a large Disney Fairies area dubbed Pixie Hollow to be completed as the expansion’s last phase.

Neither of those Imagineering dreams appear in The Walt Disney World That Never Was, but they are indicative of how many similar proposals have been presented during the nearly half century since WDW has been open that Smith has been able to find more than enough interesting stories to fill roughly 170 pages of text.

Those stories include background information on Thunder Mesa, Fire Mountain, never-built World Showcase pavilions, David Copperfield’s Magic Underground, Beastly Kingdom, Buffalo Junction and many more.

When he published The Walt Disney World That Never Was, author Christopher E. Smith didn’t have any previous credentials in the world of Disney history, although he now writes articles for Celebrations magazine, a hidden treasure of a slick full-color magazine that focuses on WDW published by Tim Foster that just released its 57th issue. (Copies of that magazine should be in your personal Disney library as well. https://www.celebrationspress.com/)

Smith is a lawyer in Alabama. He first visited Walt Disney World in 1984 at the age of seven and was so enchanted by the place that he returned dozens of times over the next thirty some years.

Unlike someone who personally interviewed Imagineers or had access to proprietary material, Smith’s scholarship comes from previously existing printed sources including Disney Annual reports. He does owe a debt to those pioneering writers who earlier explored these topics in depth. However, it is nice to have all of this information, even if it is sometimes incomplete, compiled in one place.

The book is divided into the following sections: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Resorts. Each section has three to five chapters written in a breezy, anecdotal style so that the reader gets a nice sense of what the project might have been and why it was never pursued. In addition, at the end of some chapters are descriptions of some elements that might be found today that were inspired by these plans that were cast aside.

I think that most WDW fans, both those with some knowledge of these stories and especially those with none at all, will be intrigued by what “might have been” at the world’s premiere vacation destination. Like most Theme Park Press books, there are no visuals because of both financial and Disney approval reasons but a diligent reader with the information provided in the text should be able to locate plenty of artwork easily on an internet search.

I do recommend you including this book in your personal Disney library even if it doesn’t necessarily bring any new information or new perspective to this material because for many of you, it will be your first time ever hearing about these things.

*  *  *  *  *

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.

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

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: FEBRUARY 24 TO MARCH 4, 2018

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

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

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/24-3/4/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a to 11p 2/24, 9a-9p 2/25, 9a-10p 2/26 and 2/27, 9a-11p 2/28, 9a-9p 3/1, 9a-10p 3/2, 9a-11p 3/3, and 9a-10p 3/4

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9p 2/24, and 9a-8p 2/25 through 3/4

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-9p 2/24, and 9a-8.30p 2/25, 9a-8p 2/26, 8a-8p 2/27 through 3/2, and 8a-9p 3/3 and 3/4

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/24-3/4/18

Saturday 2/24 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 2/25 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 2/26  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 2/27  Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 2/28 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 3/1 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 3/2 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 3/3 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 3/4  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/24–3/4/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/24-3/4/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 7.55p every night

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  7p every night

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.15p every night

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7.15 and 8.30p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/24-3/4/18

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

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

OVERVIEW: AUGUST 2018 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews August 2018 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

There are no great times for first-timers who may never return to visit in August. Kids start going back to school in August, so crowds go down later in the month–but that’s also when the peak of the hurricane season kicks off.

Note, however, that the last two summers have been unusually good at Disney World in terms of crowds. If this trend continues, then early August will be better than I’ve noted!

Prices begin the month low at the deluxes and stay low all month long. Prices begin the month OK at the moderates, and high at the values. Values prices drop to moderate levels on 8/12, and on 8/26 prices drop to among the lowest of the year at the values. Moderate prices also change these dates, but stay within the general band of 10-20% higher than the lowest of the year.

[Read more →]