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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.

GARNER HOLT PRODUCTIONS

By Jim Korkis

In 2012, Garner Holt Productions in San Bernardino, California acquired the complete Disney animatronics parts inventory dating back more than forty years. The 500,000-part former MAPO inventory included components from Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and the Carousel of Progress. That means Garner Holt Productions now serves as the replacement parts lead for Disney audio-animatronics.

Garner Holt and his company was granted this unique honor because of its outstanding work on Disney theme park attractions as well as its commitment to innovation in building some of the most sophisticated animatronics figures ever created.

Garner Holt Productions has over five hundred audio- animatronics in attractions at nearly every Disney theme park around the globe, from the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage to Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, the latest Matterhorn Abominable Snowman and Radiator Springs Racers.

The forty-five foot tall Maleficient dragon in the finale for Disneyland’s Fantasmic! Nighttime show is the work of GHP.

“There were a few delays” creating that, Holt said. “You’re talking about arguably the largest and most complex figure ever built.”

In 1973 at the age of twelve, Holt visited Disneyland and decided he wanted to be an Imagineer. His racehorse-trainer father wanted him to become a veterinarian, but that vacation trip changed young Holt’s life.

“That sealed my fate for the rest of my life,” Holt said. “I still remember leaning over the front seat during the car ride home and saying, ‘I’m going to build theme park rides’. ”

The next day, Holt set up a card table in his father’s garage and started building his own animatronics robot. Soon the entire garage had expanded into a workshop. With limited resources, Holt tried to recreate some of the Disneyland ride attractions.

In 1974 for Halloween, Holt built his own Haunted Mansion in the backyard with talking skulls and flying bats that turned a tidy profit for the 14-year-old. The backyard maze was so impressive that the young entrepreneur was hired the following year to build haunted houses for a pair of area shopping malls.

All the while, Holt continued to return frequently to Disneyland as much to figure out how the rides worked as to ride them. In 1976, he built a crude Uncle Sam animatronic as a tribute to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Made out of fence posts and cobbled-together parts, the amateur animatronic moved in twenty-eight lifelike ways.

In 1977, the sixteen-year-old incorporated Garner Holt Productions, installing himself as president and chief executive. Executives at Walt Disney Imagineering had seen a video of the Uncle Sam figure and were impressed enough to visit. Among those visitors was Holt’s personal hero, Wathel Rogers, considered the father of audio-animatronics.

The Imagineers encouraged Holt to stay in school and go to college, but Holt decided to devote his time to his new company. The company evolved into providing animatronics, show action systems, special effects, and other creations for theme parks, museums, retail and dining experiences, and other attractions including Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Las Vegas resorts, Chuck E. Cheese restaurants and more.

By 1997 Garner Holt Productions was being invited to be one of the bidders that the Disneyland Purchasing Department called in for their periodic new project bidder’s conferences. In 2001, GHP produced animatronics including Jack Skellington for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. GHP was the first outside vendor to provide audio-animatronics for Disney.

“Guests don’t realize that ninety percent of what you see of that overlay is actually stored inside the ride during the rest of the year,” said GHP creative director Bill Butler. “If the lights were on and you could see around corners, it would be obvious. It’s a huge space with lots of places to hide.”

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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: FEBRUARY 10 TO FEBRUARY 18, 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.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/10-2/18/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 2/10, 9a-10p 2/11, 8a–6p 2/12, 9a-9p 2/13 through 2/15, 9a-12MN 2/16, and 8a-12MN 2/17 and 2/18

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p 2/10 through 2/16, and 9a-9p 2/17 and 2/18

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-8p 2/10 through 2/12, 9a-8p 2/13 through 2/25, and 8a-9p 2/16 through 2/18

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/10-2/18/18

Saturday 2/10 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 2/11  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 2/12  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 2/13  Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 2/14 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 2/15 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 2/16 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 2/17 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 2/18  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/10–2/18/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/10-2/18/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 7.55p 2/10, 2/11 and 2/13 through 2/18

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 2/10-2/18/18

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

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Last week I had the chance to check in on most of the resort refurb projects at Disney World, including Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, and French Quarter. Here’s the updates on what I found.

REFURB AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

Disney’s Pop Century Resort  is having its rooms transformed from two full bed rooms to two queen rooms, with coffee makers added!

These refurbs are now half done, complete in the 90s, 80s, and 70s sections—buildings 6 to 10.

Building 5 in the 60’s section is being refurbed.

For a photo tour of one of these new rooms, see this.

REFURB AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is seeing major changes. Its former Barbados Village, and half of its Martinique Village, are gone, and being replaced by a new Disney Vacation Club facility.

The indoor parts of the Old Port Royale area are closed, including the dining and shopping that used to be here, replaced—at least until late summer—with temporary alternatives.

The table service restaurant that used to be here is being moved to the waterfront, and is well-along in construction.

The expectation is that the check-in area will be moved into the Old Port Royal Building—a thought supported by the addition of a Port Cochere to the front of this building.

The main entrance, I believe, will be shifted to Victory Way, near Jamaica—a guard shack is being built here.

And what appears to me to be multiple bus stop shelters (three of them) are being built in a row just to the south of Old Port Royale, maybe a hundred yards from the current Trinidad North bus stop.

Given the scope of these new bus shelters, it is my fondest hope that these will completely replace the three bus stops that current serve the three accommodations buildings in Martinique, the former Old Port Royal bus stop, and the stop that serves the three accommodations buildings in Trinidad North.

There’s more on the construction at Caribbean Beach here.

REFURB AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is seeing both a room refurb project and the construction of a new bed tower on the site of the former Cabana 9b.

Building 1 (in the Casitas) is now done, and Buildings 2 and 4—also in the Casitas—are being worked on. So completed are Buildings 1 and 3 in the Casitas, Building 7a in the Ranchos, and Building 8a in the Cabanas.

The new tower now is about 6 stories high, and although I did not get a good photo of the entry to Coronado Springs from Buena Vista, it is now tall enough to make it clear how completely it will dominate the vista of the entry road to Coronado Springs—creating a very different first impression for, e.g. those scoping out the resort for a potential convention.

A waterside dining venue is also being added at Coronado Springs, and what I believe are the crane and pontoon barge for building it are being positioned between the Casitas and the Ranchos.

Signs and fencing are out that may at times close the path between these two areas, making the Ranchos even more inconvenient than they already were.

I have not stayed in one of the refurbed rooms here yet, but co-author Josh has a review of one of them here.

To keep up with the refurb here, check out Mario’s Coronado Springs facebook page.

REFURB AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT

Earlier in January 2018, a room refurb project kicked off at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, starting in Building 2.

There’s not much out there on what the new rooms will be like (we should start to get guest reports as early as later this week from Building 2, if the expected schedule is followed).

However, they are being completely emptied down to the carper, so based on recent refurb trends, expect more power points, bigger TVs, wooden floors, more structured storage, higher queen beds with luggage storage underneath, and a sliding door to the sink area.

That being said, surprises are always possible. I would swear that I saw workers unloading a stack of king beds in the construction staging area last week. I may have been wrong, or if I am right, they may simply be for the small number of king rooms that have always been here. But given what else is going on around the Disney resorts—and especially queens in Pop Century, a first for a value resort—I wouldn’t rule out entirely something very different, like a king bed and a queen sleeper sofa.

You’ll find more on this refurb as it unfolds and extends to Port Orleans Riverside on Andre’s site here.

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B, can help you find the best places to stay in these resorts–or anywhere else. Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com, or fill in the form below.

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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.

PANDORA: WORLD OF AVATAR DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Jim Korkis

Based on Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron’s record-breaking box-office hit movie, Avatar (2009), Pandora opened in May 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It welcomes guests to the lush world of the habitable moon in the Alpha Centauri system, set generations after the human conflict with the native Na’vi inhabitants of the movie has ended, and peace prevails. According to Imagineer Joe Rohde, the premise is that Avatar was not a movie, but rather a documentary.

Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) now allows eco-tourists to enjoy some of the legendary delights of the planet, including enormous floating mountains where waterfalls cascade down the mountainsides into meandering streams and pools, a bioluminescent forest with exotic plants that illuminates with a dreamlike quality in the evening, winged mountain banshees and more.

In partnership with ACE, visitors have the opportunity to explore the values and culture of this exotic place, and celebrate the striking beauty and overwhelming power of the natural world.

A Na’vi-built drum circle, Na’vi totems, and other cultural items are scattered through the area. Tour guides from Alpha Centauri Expeditions, scientists from the Pandora Conservation Initiative (PCI), and even an occasional eclectic expatriate interact with visitors and help them understand what they are encountering.

Pongu Pongu (meaning “Party Party” in the language of the Na’vi) is the center of the expat community, and offers various liquid libations and some snacks. It is located near the shop Windtraders where visitors can purchase Na’vi cultural items, toys, science kits and more.

The quick service dining venue Satu’li Canteen (pronounced “Sa-too-lee”), a Quonset-hut-style building, was once the main mess hall of the Resources Development Administration (RDA) base (the main antagonist in the film).

Now the canteen is owned and operated by the Alpha Centauri Expeditions tour company and has been redesigned into a beautiful museum-like dining room for visitors. The interior has been transformed with colorful Na’vi items filling the walls and hanging from the ceiling — hand-woven tapestries, natural Pandoran elements and even cooking tools decorate the restaurant.

Pandora is a creative collaboration of Walt Disney Imagineering, Lightstorm Entertainment, and James Cameron himself.

“We are taking our guests on a journey to this world in an experience that’s as realistic and immersive as possible,” says Rohde. “In the movie, the world of Pandora is a setting for the action and characters whose story we follow. Here, guests are the primary characters immersed in an extremely vivid, authentic experience.

“We’ve been welcomed into the culture because of our motives. We’re here to learn. We’re here to educate ourselves. We’re here to become better stewards of our planet. The world in which the Na’vi live is in order because they care about it. They care for it. It is not enough to care about the world. You have to care for it. You have to do things. Take action.”

AVATAR Flight of Passage is a simulator attraction that allows guests to climb atop a mountain banshee for a breathtaking, multi-sensory flight over the moon’s incredible landscape that mimics the memorable rite of passage bonding scene in the original film. The journey includes a face-off with the most feared predator of Pandora, the Great Leonopteryx.

Na’vi River Journey gives guests the chance to serenely travel down a sacred river in reed boats and a brief encounter with the Shaman of Songs.

Imagineer Rohde stated, “It is a ceremonial forest. We’re bringing to life everything from the largest creature you might encounter to the most microscopic. Animals will appear out of the underbrush – big Pandoran animals will appear at the edge of the forest and you’ll hear the very complicated calls they issue back and forth.”

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Thanks, Jim! There’s more on Pandora and the transformation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom 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: FEBRUARY 3 TO FEBRUARY 11, 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.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/3-2/11/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-12MN 2/3, 9a-9p 2/4 and 2/5, 9a-8p 2/6 through 2/8, 9a-10p 2/9, 8a-12MN 2/10, and 9a-10p 2/11

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

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9p 2/3, and 9a-8p 2/4 through 2/11

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8p 2/3 through 2/9, and 8a-8p 2/10 and 2/11

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/3-2/11/18

Saturday 2/3 Morning: Magic Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 2/4  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 2/5 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 2/6 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 2/7 Morning:  none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 2/8 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 2/9 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 2/10 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 2/11  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening:  none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/3–2/11/18

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

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/3-2/11/18

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 2/3 and 2/4; 7.15p 2/5 through 2/8; 7.15 and 8.30p  2/9 through 2/11

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 2/3-2/11/18

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

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Note: the Festival of the Arts will be returning in 2019, from January 18 through February 25.

Epcot’s International Festival of The Arts arrived in 2017 and returned for 2018. The 2018 Festival of the Arts is largely unchanged, except that most of its offerings (with the notable exception of the Broadway singers) happen all week long, rather than the Fridays through Mondays of 2017.

It began 1/12/18 and runs through 2/19/2018. I had the chance to see it last week, and here’s my report.

The Festival combines

• Great, albeit pricey, dining
• Dozens of kiosks with art to view and buy
• Interactive opportunities to paint, be photographed into great art, and play with silly living statues
• Seminars and other sessions
• Music–some casual, some distinctive presentations from the Disney on Broadway team

Disney calls it a mix of “visual, culinary and performing arts inspired by cultures from all around the world…a global masterpiece.”

That’s a stretch, but with better food than past Food and Wine festivals, and better visual appeal than past Flower and Garden festivals, it is, by far, my favorite among all the Epcot festivals, and I highly recommend it for returning visitors.

First-timers will enjoy it as well, but will find that it adds crowds to Epcot’s World Showcase, especially on weekends

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS DINING

Dining opportunities are particularly concentrated at the entrance to the World Showcase, but are also found in the Odyssey Festival Showplace (between Test Track and Mexico—the Showplace is the centerpiece of the Festival) and scattered through the rest of World Showcase.

The Festival of the Arts offers the best dining of any Epcot Festival. Waits can be long as much food is prepared while you wait, and prices are also high. The value for money is also very high, and with many $7+ items available for a snack credit, the festival provides the single best argument in years for you to buy the Disney Dining Plan.

In 2018 I had a chance to try the Charcuterie Palette from the Masterpiece Kitchen…

…the Roast Pork Roulade from the Artist’s Table…

…and the deconstructed Reuben from Deconstructed Dish. All were terrific, and detailed reviews and more specific recommendations of the best  dining of the Festival are on co-author Josh’s site easyWDW.com.

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS SHOWS AND GALLERIES

Art, fittingly, is everywhere at the Festival of the Arts.

In the Odyssey Festival Showplace, you’ll find Disney attraction posters from theme parks around the world.  This is a let-down from last year’s exhibitions of the work of Herbert Ryman and Mary Blair, but those two set a very high standard…

Some of the posters.

More of them.

The posters are on both sides. One side has a little shop with books…

…and the other side has a little shop with festival merchandise.

I needed a hat…

All over World Showcase are tented kiosks offering mostly Disney-related art to browse through and buy:

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS INTERACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES

There’s lots of opportunities for simple play.

In front of the Future World stage you can find living statues that will mess with you and your kids (check the Times Guide for showings)…

There’s an opportunity to play with a paint-by numbers canvas on the way to Canada…

…and scattered through World Showcase are opportunities for you to join famous works.

More of these.

There’s also some Figment thingy that I paid no attention to, but is a bit of a variant on the Kidcot concept—buy a map and stickers, find Figment-themed picture frames and Figment within them, add the appropriate sticker to the map, and turn the map in for a prize.

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS SEMINARS AND SESSIONS

Also in the Odyssey Festival Center is The Animation Academy, an animation drawing class, where you learn to draw a Disney character under the tutelage of a real animator.

Some have reported that all will end up with a great drawing, but irl your results will vary.

My Winnie the Pooh from last year is above…

EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS MUSIC

Music at the Festival includes both performances at the Future World stage (see your Times Guide for show times)…

…and a more interesting set of brief Broadway concerts in the evenings at the American Gardens Theater, at 5.30, 6.45 and 8p.

Presented by the Disney on Broadway team, the concerts showcase songs from Disney Broadway productions sung by Broadway stars.

I saw in 2017 Kerry Butler (who was Belle in Beauty and the Beast) and Kevin Massey (Tarzan) singing songs from Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, and The Little Mermaid.

The schedule for the rest of the Festival:

• February 2 to 5: Performers Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White doing songs from Tarzan, The Lion King, Aida, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid
• February 9 to 12: Performers Ashley Brown and Josh Strickland doing songs from Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Newsies and Frozen
• February 16 to 19: Performers Ashley Brown and Josh Strickland doing songs from Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Newsies and Frozen

Passholders and DVC owners can get priority seating, which you are supposed to do ahead of time. Pick up wristbands at the American Adventure.

Those with priority badges line up on the Japan side of the pavilion. There’s a stand-by line as well, on the Germany side.

As you can probably tell, I love this Festival!

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