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EPCOT DAY 2: FRIDAY AGENDA

Today you will complete Epcot, and have the evening off.

For today you should have FastPass+ for Test Track, Turtle Talk with Crush, and a third ride.

You have no reserved dining today..

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary, 7 Night Sunday Arrival Variant)

FIRST THINGS

Be at the park by 45 minutes before open. 

AT THE PARK: MORNING

• Enter the turnstiles when the park opens at about 8.45, grab a map and Times Schedule, and see Soarin
• See MISSION Space
• Head to Test Track. Ride it using FastPass+.
• Head to the other side of Future World and see the attractions in the Imagination Pavilion–Journey Into Imagination with Figment and the Disney & Pixar Short Films Festival
• Fit in The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land, and Circle of Life around your FastPass+ for Turtle Talk with Crush. If lines are too long for Living with the Land, get a fourth FastPass+ for it later. Note that as you ride each FastPass+ ride you can move the next to an earlier time, if available.
• Have lunch while you are in this area of the park at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion on the lower level
• Next is the rest of World Showcase, starting in Canada and progressing counter-clockwise. Tour as you did Saturday night, checking out the shows as you wander
• If the kids are bored by World Showcase, check out Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure
• And you are almost done!  Check out Innoventions on your way out of the park

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you complete your visit to the Magic Kingdom.

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MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 3: SECOND SATURDAY AGENDA

Today you will complete your visit to the Magic Kingdom, with Adventureland and Frontierland in the afternoon, and the nighttime shows in the evening. You will also pick up today anything you missed on your earlier visits, or want to see again.  You can arrive earlier if you wish to fit more in–if you want to revisit high-wait rides, then arrive before park open.

You should have FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  The other fixed points in your schedule are dinner at the Crystal Palace and the times of the evening shows.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary, 7 Night Sunday Arrival Variant)

FIRST THINGS

Be at the park by noon (or earlier, as noted above).

AT THE PARK

• Head to Big Thunder Mountain. Ride it using FastPass+
• See the Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• See Pirates of the Caribbean (FP+)
• See Splash Mountain (FP+)
• Re-visit any rides you want to do again or missed earlier in your visit, booking additional FastPass+
• Have dinner at the Crystal Palace
• Re-check the time of the fireworks tonight, then if you have time re-visit any rides you want to do again, booking additional FastPass+
• Watch Celebrate the Magic
• After Celebrate the Magic, move back closer to Main Street and see Wishes
• Head back to your hotel

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you finish the Animal Kingdom, and then return home

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ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY 2: SECOND SUNDAY AGENDA

Today you spend the morning completing your visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and then depart for home. You have no scheduled meals.

You should have FastPass+ for Festival of the Lion King, Kali River Rapids, and a third (pick from your favorite from your Wednesday visit).  Your goal today is to see Africa, complete Asia with Kali River Rapids if you did not see it Wednesday, and if you have time and interest, see Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

If you do plan Kali River Rapids for today, bring spare clothes and shoes to change into, as you will get soaked!

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary, 7 Night Sunday Arrival Variant)

MORNING

• Check out and note your instructions for Disney’s Magical Express if you are using it.  If you aren’t, for many domestic airlines you’ll be able to check bags and print boarding passes near the front desk.  This is a tip-based service.  You can also store your bags at the bell stand
• Arrive at Animal Kingdom by 45 minutes before open

AT THE PARK

• Enter the park, and go to Africa and ride Kilimanjaro Safaris
• See the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
• Use your FastPass+ for Festival of the Lion King, and anything else you have scheduled
• Revisit favorite rides.
• See Kali River Rapids
• Rafiki’s Planet Watch is a minor adventure accessed by the Wildlife Express Train. If interested, and you have time (including the train allow at least 45 minutes), see it
• Sadly return home

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Disney announced today the addition of a 14 acre Star Wars land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

(c) Disney/Lucasfilm

How big is 14 acres?  Well, an acre is 43,560 square feet, so 14 acres is about 610,000 square feet.

An acre can be any shape, of course, but to get a sense of scale I planted 14 acres as a square box (780 feet on a side) on top of a corner of the Studios just to get a sense of the scope of this expansion:

This is not a prediction in any sense–the Star Wars land is unlikely to be in this corner of the park, and will not be a perfect square. But it does give you as sense of how big 14 acres is.

The important takeaway? A good sized but not overwhelming expansion…and lots of room will still be left at the Studios for the rumored Pixar expansion, too.

Update: Disney has also announced the Pixar expansion, 11 acres.

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

TYPHOON LAGOON

By Jim Korkis

The Walt Disney World water park Typhoon Lagoon opened on June 1, 1989, just across the street from the newly built (and now demolished for Disney Springs) Pleasure Island.

Home to the world’s largest outdoor surf pool (not just a wave pool), it was part of the 1989 expansion of Walt Disney World that also saw the opening down the street of the Disney MGM Studios theme park, now Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Its creation was inspired by the success of the River Country water park located in Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground (closed a while ago). The popularity of that attraction was so great that it could not accommodate all of the guests who wanted to enjoy it.

According to the back story created by the Disney Imagineers for the new water park: “A furious storm once roared ‘cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon.”

That same fictitious storm from 1955, known as Hurricane Connie, inflicted near total destruction on the nearby island belonging to the descendants of Merriweather Adam Pleasure as well.

The typhoon drastically changed the small Placid Palms resort village and to make matters worse, a resultant earthquake and volcanic eruption left the community almost in complete ruins. Surfboards, fishing gear, boats and other nautical items were flung wildly throughout the area. Trees toppled not only onto some of the buildings but into them as well.

One old ship tanker was completely overturned but today guests can walk into it and through the portholes see sharks and nearly 2,000 fish swimming by in a man-made reef. Many species of marine life, not necessarily native to the area, were deposited in the surrounding waters by the wind and water.

Even a pair of jaws from the fictional Sharkus Gigantus (reminiscent of an actual prehistoric shark known as a Megalodon) washed up on the beach.

The plucky inhabitants used their ill fortune to transform Placid Palms resort into the Leaning Palms resort, referencing the fact that some of the remaining palm trees were almost completely uprooted and now lean.

The local residents resourcefully rebuilt their town as best they could with the flotsam and jetsam of “found” objects. The much beloved Walt Disney Imagineer, Randy Bright, summarized the effect back in the 1980s: “Upon entering Typhoon Lagoon, guests find themselves in a ramshackle, tin-roofed island village landscaped with cargo, surfboards and other marine wreckage left by the great storm.”

Guests immediately see one of the unfortunate boats stuck atop the entrance sign as they turn off Buena Vista Boulevard to go toward Typhoon Lagoon. A series of signs inspired by the famous “Burma Shave” advertising roadside signs of yore that told a story in rhyme on succeeding signs , tell the story of Typhoon Lagoon in rhymed snippets before the guests even get to the parking lot.

The main entrance to Typhoon Lagoon is a mixture of bits and pieces of ships damaged during the typhoon. Wheelhouses and cabins were reformatted into ticket booths with a mast and a sail creating the marquee. High above the booths is a row of nautical flags that spell out “Welcome to Typhoon Lagoon”.

On the right hand side is a sign that is a “key” to deciphering what letter of the alphabet each flag represents. Nearby is a line of flags that translate to “Piranha in pool”.

Besides, the non-stop water fun, guests can just stretch out and relax in the magnificently landscaped venue and enjoy some of the amusing storytelling details that surround them in this hidden oasis from the frantic theme park experience.

MORE DISNEY WORLD HISTORY POSTS FROM JIM KORKIS

• “Summer Magic” on Main Street
• Muppets and Mama Melrose
• Peter Dominick and the Wilderness Lodge
• Dixie Landing and Port Orleans Riverside
• The History of Splash Mountain
• The First Disney World Hotel
• The “Sharing the Magic” Statue
• The First Disney World Monorails
• The Water Park River Country
• The Epcot Fountain
• The Fireplace at the Wilderness Lodge
• Sid Cahuenga at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Spaceship Earth
• Downtown Disney
• The Missing Resorts
• Echo Park Homages
• Typhoon Lagoon

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On a day when I’m busting my butt trying to figure out the 2016 prices, while doing my real job too, it’s really nice to get emails like this one from Chris:

I know that yourfirstvisit.net is a vehicle for selling a book and advertising, but it is impossible to believe that it is not also done out of love and generosity of spirit.  And although the site does not cure cancer or male pattern baldness or bring world peace, it has made a huge difference in my family’s life.

I grew up in Florida and had been going to Disney world at least every couple years from the age of 5 -25.  But, moving far away, getting a busy job, having 3 kids in succession, I found almost 15 years had passed without a visit.  So, when a death in the family brought us to Orlando anyway, I took the whole family (two tiny tots and a pregnant wife) for an impromptu, unplanned visit to Disney World.  It was a disaster.  I had to cancel the character dinner on our second night there because the children refused to go back to the park after their nap at the hotel.  My wife swore she was never going back again.  It became my mission to repair the “damage” that trip had done.

I started researching how to have a better trip – and that is how I found your site.

You helped me appreciate the value in, and find a great deal on, a DVC villa on the monorail (through point rental).

You helped me go at a great time of the year with low crowds and cool weather.

You helped me learn and appreciate the need for planning and the timing for making dining and fastpass reservations.

We easily took afternoons off and had a much-needed rest day, we got to eat at every restaurant we wanted to go to, and see every single attraction we wanted, many 2, 3 or 4 times.  Maybe one ride a day did we have to wait more than 30 minutes in line.  We have great video, pictures and memories of a truly magical time.  It was the most wonderful time in the lives of my still young children.  Now they want to live at Disney World and my wife could not believe how much better this trip was.  She, like I, was thrilled by the joy and astonishment on our children’s faces moment after moment, day after day.

A number of websites and books and computer programs helped along the way, but it was yours that identified for me what needed to be done to get the vacation “right,” and pointed me in the right direction (and gave me lots of useful advice and tools).  Thank you, so much.

All the best to you and your site in the future,

Chris

Chris–thanks a million!

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