Anyone else super excited for Toy Story Land’s opening next week, on June 30, 2018, in Disney World’s Hollywood Studios? I know I am. Here’s a peek from INSIDE Disney Parks, as well as some previews of exciting news for Disneyland’s Pixar Pier as well.
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Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Paul Bettany.
Solo: A Star Wars Story opens in U.S. theaters on May 25, 2018.
We love the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, Happily Ever After, and we’re always looking for new and different ways to view the show … especially since that front-of-the-castle mob scene can be exhausting! We’ve tried watching from Fantasyland, from the deck of California Grill, from ‘Ohana at the Polynesian, and soon will be attending the dessert party at Magic Kingdom. This last trip, though, we tried something outside the box: we had dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table during the show.
To start with, some tips on how to watch Happily Ever After from the castle. Once you pick a day to go, find out what time Happily Ever After is scheduled for that night and then try to get a reservation for Cinderella’s Royal Table for dinner shortly before that time. This can be a tough-to-get reservation, so you have to make it a priority when you can make dining reservations 180 days before your trip. Once you get the reservation, make sure to re-check that timing of the fireworks show when it gets closer to your trip. Times can change, and you’d need to make adjustments.
Cast Members will start roping off access to the castle as much as an hour before the fireworks show, so leave yourself plenty of time to get to Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is located in the rear of the castle. We had been shopping on Main Street, for example, and at 8 PM started heading to the restaurant. Front and side entrance to the castle was already roped off, and we had to go around the long way either through Liberty Square or down by the tea cups, and for the most part, you’re going against the crowdflow. We had plenty of time to get to our 8:30 reservation, but were glad we’d left early. Even when you reach the back, you’ll need to let them know you have a dining reservation or you won’t be let into the roped-off area around the castle. At your reservation time you’ll be checked in and taken in to meet Cinderella, and then escorted up to your table. For an ideal view of the fireworks, you’d want to be seated at the windows.
Watching Happily Ever After from our table at Cinderella’s Royal Palace.
Unfortunately, Cinderella’s Royal Table does not take seating requests of this nature. As we and every other person who asked was very politely told, it’s simply not possible due to the fact that almost everyone would make this request. You’ll still be able to see from a great many tables in the restaurant, but the window spot is definitely best. You’ve just got to cross your fingers and hope for a little pixie dust on this one. Here’s a bit of information, though — there are a number of two-person-only tables at the windows. At least one or two four-tops as well, but because of the small, angled space, it seems like the restaurant tries to take advantage of every bit of space and sort of crams those tables in there. So if you’re just a party of two … you might stand a better chance. Still not a guarantee, though — we saw couples seated at four-tops elsewhere in the restaurant.
When Happily Ever After begins, the princesses leave the dining area and the music and voiceover from the show is piped in to the restaurant. The fireworks begin and you have a truly magical view.
Some of the fireworks are shot off behind Fantasyland and you have a perfect view of those here. Others shoot off from the castle itself, literally right above your head! It isn’t too loud but it can be dazzling.
Obviously, you miss the castle projections that are part of what tells the story of Happily Ever After — you’re in the castle they’re being projected on. I certainly don’t recommend skipping those entirely, so catch the show with a clear view of the projects another time. But if you’re looking for a different experience, I very much recommend this one.
A bit of video from the show — you’ll hear a lot of “Oh mys!” from a young lad seated nearby. We were all glued to the view.
Having Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian’s Garden View Tea Room has been on my Disney bucket list for some time. Since the tea room is relatively small, reservations can be a little hard to come by, and it’s also difficult sometimes to carve out time in a busy Disney Parks afternoon. I very highly recommend doing so, though, after our delightful experience there.
The cafe is small, light and airy, but the seating is comfortably intimate without being too tight. We were seated and offered ice water while we went over the tea options on the menu.
Having already had lunch that day, we opted for the simplest/smallest tea, the Bedfordshire Tea. I will end up saying this over and over, but it was far more food than you might think. Somehow even now it seems like a few finger sandwiches and desserts would not be enough to fill anyone up, especially if you’re Disney foodies like we are. But it was substantial. We noted another couple two tables over ordered the Cheshire Tea, which adds a fruit and cheese plate. The plates were enormous. Next time, we’ll skip lunch and order the Cheshire. Neither of us are fans of caviar so I don’t think we’ll ever go for that option, but it’s available for those who are, with the Berkshire Tea.
Then we made our dessert choice. The Bedfordshire Tea has these three courses. The first is finger sandwiches, the second is a scone, and then the final course is dessert. You each choose between one of three desserts: pastries, including a mousse-filled swan, macaroons, and a chocolate-covered strawberry; strawberries topped with whipped cream; or, an English trifle with custard, ladyfingers, fruit and cream. We decided to each choose something different and share. I got the trifle, and my husband got the pastries.
Next, we made our tea selections. There were a few that looked interesting, and I decided to go with the Rose Garden black tea. It was really good. My husband can’t have caffeine of any kind, so we were happy to see a very nice herbal tea selection on the menu. It’s nice when there’s more than just your basic chamomile. He chose Thoroughly Minted and liked it a lot, but wants to try Golden Caramel Rooibus next time.
Very soon, a pot of your chosen tea is brought to your table, complete with a tea cozy. This keeps the tea very warm — in fact, be careful when you remove the cozy and pour, the pot is hot. It holds a lot of tea, but if you run out, they’ll happily bring you more.
The first course of finger sandwiches arrived. This was the only disappointing part of the experience, with one notable exception. Starting clockwise from twelve o’clock, the sandwiches pictured below were chicken curry, goat cheese and fire-roasted tomato, cucumber, caramelized onion tart, and egg salad. I found the chicken curry, goat cheese, and cucumber sandwiches to be fine but bland, and the egg salad to be unpalatable because it contained celery (that might be just me, but I hate celery in egg salad). My husband, on the other hand, considered the onion tart to be one of the best things he’s ever eaten, so it saved the day.
Moving forward, though, things went back to being delectable. The scone (second and bottom tiers, below) was nicely made, not too dense; I think it was orange and golden raisin in flavor. I tried each of the accompanying gooey bits in turn. Loved the marmalade and clotted cream. The lemon curd was too tart for me, and overpowered the scone. The berry tart was a quick, enjoyable bite.
Finally, dessert. The macaroons were light and flavorful, and the strawberry dipped in chocolate certainly didn’t disappoint. The mousse-filled swan was beautiful to look at, airy, and a perfect bite. As for the trifle , I enjoyed every bite — and it’s a lot of bites! The trifle is seasonal, so mine was a lemon custard and blueberries. Not even two of my favorite flavors, but still delicious. And filling. The trifle alone, with tea, would have been a nice-sized dessert/snack. I recommend each getting different selections and sharing as we did.
The Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Tea Room of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is held seven days a week, on the following schedule:
Amorette’s Patisserie, a delightful bakery in Disney Springs, recently began offering an early-morning cake decorating class. While originally scheduled just for the summer, Disney and Amorette’s have extended this experience through the end of 2017, and recently my husband and I had a chance to attend.
The class is small — only 14 students at a time — and begins at 8:45 am, before most of the stores in Disney Springs are open. (If you’re driving, park in the Lime Garage, and Amorette’s is just a few steps away from the entrance.) You are greeted promptly and offered your choice of specialty coffee, water, juice, mimosas or bellinis, and refills are encouraged. You choose your station, fully stocked with the supplies you’ll need, and then the fun begins!
There are two instructors, both pastry chefs at Amorette’s, and they begin with a little bit of the history of Amorette’s and an overview of the cake making process, including descriptions of flavor profiles, ingredients, and their tools of the trade.
Here’s the best news: even though the gorgeous Mickey cake you’ll be decorating is a work of art, this isn’t an advanced class. Amorette’s does all the heavy lifting for you. When they started talking about frosting with the buttercream and the crumb coat and the second layer and showed us how to smooth out the knife strokes, I got pretty dubious we’d be able to pull this off. But they know that and aren’t expecting more than a novice can do, so the cake with its many layers has been crafted and baked and frozen and frosted in advance.
From here on out, Amorette’s walks you through the process step by step, bringing additional supplies (and even taking them away, to prevent mess and save space) as needed. The key to this instruction is learning how to pour glaçage and coat Mickey’s sculpted ears, tail, belt and buttons with edible paint.
There are actually three layers of glaçage on each cake! In between, your cake is whisked away to spend some time setting in the freezer. In the meantime, you paint Mickey’s ears, tail, and buttons. After the final layer is set, you add these elements to the cake, as well as Mickey’s belt. For the finishing touch, you step to the front to write your name, or anything else you like, on the back of the cake. I let my husband do this part — it looked really hard!
And voila! Your cake is finished, kept into the cooling case until you’re ready to leave. Amorette’s can hold the cake for you until the end of the day, if that suits your plans better. When you pick it up, either way, they pack it for you in a delightful hat box and send you on your way with a delicious treat to enjoy. The cakes do need to be refrigerated, so you do need to think about what you’re going to do with it ahead of time. If you’re dining at a Disney restaurant that evening (and can get to it easily), you might be able to call ahead and arrange for them to hold it in their fridge for you. Or, you can take it back to your resort. If you’re staying at a Disney resort, I can report that we were just able to fit it in our room fridge by taking it out of the box.
The 90-minute cake decorating class is currently offered Sunday through Thursday at 8:45 am. There are two different classes to choose from:
Classic Mickey Design: Featured in Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday classes
Artist’s Current Seasonal Mickey: Featured in Monday and Wednesday classes
The cost is $129 plus tax (there was no AP discount), which covers up to 2 guests (who must be age 10 and up) decorating one cake. The cost is really rather reasonable when you consider that the Mickey Cake itself retails for around $60. Once you consider the beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, that are included, the class fee itself, per person, is nominal.
We had a terrific time. The teachers are friendly and encouraging and ready to help in any way you need. We learned a lot without needing to do anything that required special skills. The small class size lent to a fun atmosphere and at the end of it all, you take home a really delicious cake. Was our cake perfect? No, but it looked pretty good considering we’re total amateurs. If you’re looking for a fun new experience to try at Disney, you’ll definitely enjoy the cake decorating class at Amorette’s Patisserie!
A new Dooney & Bourke Haunted Mansion collection is now available online and at Disney Parks!
The collection was first released as a Parks exclusive, alongside a Princess Tiana collection. As reported by the Disney Parks Blog, a release party was held on July 22 in the Marketplace Co-Op at Disney Springs.
The handbag artwork was created by Paola Gutierrez, Senior Graphic Designer with Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group, and comes in a rich purple hue with a repeating pattern featuring the Haunted Mansion’s Madame Leota. Three bags are available, a Shopper ($268), Letter carrier ($198), and Wristlet ($98).
The letter carrier was my favorite bag in this new collection, seen here at the Marketplace Co-op.
Important to note: pictures on the Disney Blog and elsewhere on the net made the bags, and the band, look more of a blue-violet than a true purple, but as you can see in the photo above, taken at the Marketplace Co-Op at the first weekend of release, the actual bag is a rich, vibrant color.
The Madame Leota design also appears on a limited release retail MagicBand, presented in a specially designed box. As with all MagicBand 2’s, guests can use their bands to enjoy their Disney vacation to the fullest, with “effortless theme-park entry, FastPass+ redemption and Disney PhotoPass , to skipping the front desk and going directly to your resort room.”
The new Dooney & Bourke Haunted Mansion collection can now be purchased at select merchandise locations at Disney Parks, on DisneyStore.com, or via the Shop Disney Parks app.
Frozen fans — there’s a new Frozen mini-movie coming your way this fall, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure!
This isn’t the first Frozen short to be released — Frozen Fever came out in 2015 and was a lot of fun. But while Frozen Fever clocked in at seven minutes long (typical for a Pixar short), Olaf’s Frozen Adventure will be a 21-minute featurette complete with four new original songs! Watch the trailer below:
From Walt Disney Studios:
BURBANK, Calif. (June 13, 2017) – Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) and Pixar Animation Studios are teaming up this holiday season when WDAS’ new featurette “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” opens in front of Disney•Pixar’s original feature film “Coco” on Nov. 22, 2017. The new trailer for the featurette will run in front of Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 3,” beginning this Friday, June 16, when Lightning McQueen’s new big-screen adventure opens in theaters nationwide.
“I’m thrilled that Disney Animation’s featurette ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ will be coming to theaters in November with Pixar’s ‘Coco,’” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “It’s a perfect pairing – they’re both beautiful, heartfelt films about families and how people carry traditions forward. I can’t wait for audiences to get to see both of these terrific projects together on the big screen.”
Featuring four new original songs, the 21-minute featurette welcomes the original cast and characters back to the big screen, including Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), who is on a mission to harness the best holiday traditions for Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) and Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff). Directed by Emmy®-winning filmmakers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (“Prep & Landing”), produced by Oscar® winner Roy Conli (“Big Hero 6”), with original songs by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (“Between the Lines”), “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” will be in theaters for a limited time beginning Nov. 22.
We had the opportunity to attend one of Walt Disney World’s Passholder Previews for Pandora, Animal Kingdom’s new land. Be warned: there are lots of photos ahead, showing off Pandora’s amazing visuals and delights., including new rides, food, and beautiful architecture.
As soon as you walk into Pandora, the landscape changes. There’s the lush foliage and flora you’re used to at Animal Kingdom, but it’s … different somehow. Alien. You’re in another world. The floating mountains loom in the distance and the sounds of birds are everywhere around you. All the strange and exotic blooms of Pandora are there for you to enjoy. From what the cast members told us, the nighttime views are even more spectacular, when Pandora’s bioluminescent plants come to life.
Our first stop, after taking in all the sights, was Pongu Pongu, where we each ordered a Night Blossom. This non-alcoholic frozen beverage (seen here in the souvenir cup) is a mix of limeade combined with apple and pear flavors topped off with passion fruit boba balls. It was very sweet, but I thought incredibly refreshing.
We enjoyed our drink in the outside seating area for Satu’li Canteen and then stepped inside for lunch. The quick service setup will look familiar to any Disney visitor — you place your order at the register, then pick it up at the counter. This restaurant, though, will be the first to offer mobile ordering through the My Disney Experience app, beginning May 27th. Make sure you’ve installed the latest update before you go.
The food at Satu’li Canteen? Pretty darn good. I got the Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl with wild grains and rice and the creamy herb dressing (seen here). My husband got steak with potatoes and the onion sauce and enjoyed his just as much. Both were tasty and filling. In fact, we were too full for dessert but the offerings looked delightful.
Now … the new rides.
First up, Avatar Flight of Passage. For the Passholder Preview, we were taken through the standby queues, though there were no lines at all given the limited attendance allowed. It gave us a chance to enjoy the scenery, and to appreciate all the work that went into designing this world.
I have a feeling this queue will never look so empty again! It was a long, long walk to get to the ride, and it gives you pause to think how many parkgoers will fit in it. Rumor has it that the queue can accommodate a 6 hour wait, but I would hope for anyone’s sake that’s overestimating.
After you reach the end of that very long hallway, you wait until a “link room” is available. At that point, you and fifteen other riders are ushered into a room where the link process is explained to you, as well as a brief history of the Avatar program.
At this point, we were asked to turn off cell phones and cameras, so I can’t give you pictures of the room where the ride takes place itself. My experience, though, was this: as I expected, I wasn’t able to ride. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Flight of Passage does not accommodate all body types, and this is true. In addition to being somewhat Pooh-sized, I’m a tall girl (over 5′ 10″) with long legs. No amount of scootching up or pointing my toes or sitting up straight or any of the tips you’ve heard were going to make a difference when my knees were already right up against the seat, with no room to move. Some tall people and some people more “Pooh” than I am have ridden, but it all depends on each person’s individual body shape. If you’re all leg and not tiny, you may run into the same problem I did. The Cast Member was super nice and helped me, and sounded absolutely miserable that I wasn’t able to ride (she was more upset than I was, but more on that later).
So, I stepped outside through the exit door and waited there on a bench while my husband rode. While I waited, I had a great time talking to Cast Member William, who told me that this is a frequent occurrence and one the CMs feel terrible about. He said, and I hope he doesn’t mind me paraphrasing him here, that as Flight of Passage Cast Members it’s their sole purpose to give us an excellent ride experience, and that they’re truly disappointed when they can’t accommodate a particular rider.
We also talked a bit about why I wasn’t upset at missing the ride — I never had any intention of doing it, even if I had fit (but wanted to see if I did) because I have a lower back fusion and continuing disc problems, and this ride seemed like it would easily aggravate that. (A cast member I spoke to indicated his own mother won’t ride for the same reasons.) Disney gives its usual health disclaimer for this ride, warning those with high blood pressure, motion sickness, and “other conditions that could be aggravated”. For me, because of the back restraint on this ride, as well as the banking and leaning that would take place, this was too big of a risk for my too-easily-aggravated back condition. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe for anyone else, but if you’re in my shoes, be careful.
My husband, however, did ride, and enjoyed it very much. You wear 3D glasses and the visuals are perfect and seamless. You truly feel as if you’re flying, and part of that is because of the sounds, smells, and feel of your banshee beneath you, as well as the wind in your face as you soar and dive through Pandora’s skies. Everyone’s thrill level is different, but many are describing Flight of Passage as “Soarin’ meets Star Tours meets Mission Space” — three great rides rolled into one and set in the exotic world of Pandora.
For a complete change of pace, we then went on the Na’vi River Journey, a beautiful boat ride through Pandora’s nighttime world. The ride is serene and lovely — we rode it twice — and the technology is stunning. The boats have two seats and legroom is ample for a comfortable ride.
Both rides will offer FastPass+, but Park visitors can only choose one of the two Pandora: World of Avatar rides in their first three selections. In other words, you can FastPass Flight of Passage, Kali River Run, and Dinosaur, and then if you like, try to get a same-day 4th FP for Na’vi River Journey. This may or may not be easy to do at first, so choose wisely (and use MDE to your best advantage).
Pandora is an exciting addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with a great deal to enjoy visually, two new rides, an excellent quick service dining option, and banshees of your own to buy at Windtraders gift shop. Face painting, a drum circle, and other activities can be found throughout the land. While some may have questioned adding Pandora to Animal Kingdom (due to the fact that, well, Pandora doesn’t exist, unlike DAK’s other inhabitants), its message of conservation and protection ties in closely with Disney’s commitment to environmentalism. I think visitors both young and old (and even those who’ve never seen “Avatar”) will enjoy this new land to explore.
Starting to make your summer plans, especially for the 4th of July? Independence Day can be an exciting but crowded day at Disney World. Guests from all over will be there celebrating and enjoying the Parks. If you aren’t up to braving the enormous crows at Cinderella’s Castle that night but still want to enjoy the fireworks in a beautiful and exclusive venue, you might be glad to hear that Disney’s Grand Floridan Resort & Spa will host a special limited ticket event to celebrate July 4th.
The entire event will be held at the marina at the resort. Dinner will include grilled steak and shrimp, other cookout favorites, dessert, and includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. After the meal, guests will have a terrific viewing location to watch the 4th of July fireworks show performed at the Magic Kingdom, including music piped into the area during the show for a full experience.
The tickets will be $120 (plus tax) for adults and $59 (plus tax) for children (ages 3-9). Reservations are already available for the event by calling (407) WDW-DINE. I would recommend making your reservation as soon as possible for this first-time event that is sure to be popular. You do not have to be staying at the Grand Floridian in order purchase tickets to the event.
