Tour of EPCOT - Part 2 (Future World-Thrill Rides)

Hi Disney friends,

In yesterday's post I started a tour of EPCOT. I focused on some basic introduction about how to get to the park and the two different areas and I began a discussion a Future World. In this post, I want to move to a discussion of the thrill rides found behind Innoventions East.

Right now this part of the park has 2 thrill rides (with changes coming in the future.) The first ride is Test Track which is sponsored by Chevrolet. In this ride, the queue allows for guests to design a car within certain specifications. Once on the ride you are able to test out your car creation and compare it to two other cars that the other guests that you're riding with created. Each car has six people and can reach speeds in excess of 65 miles per hour. This ride is a tier-1 fastpass so you may want to try to use this opportunity to skip part of the line. The nice thing about this fastpass is that you do not skip the queue. (The other options are Soarin', Frozen Ever After, and Illuminations. Just a little food for thought, the ride is built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour; However, the ride does have to close down during rain since part of the track is on the outside of the building.

Car Design Center in Test Track

The other thrill ride is Mission Space. This ride allows guests two different experiences. The Green Ride allows for guests to experience a much less intense ride. It is different from the orange experience in that crew members are on a space tour around the world. The orange side is a more intense ride and involves a trip to Mars along with flying through asteroids and a dicey landing on the planet's surface. This ride has one and disadvantage. If you are claustrophobic this may not be a ride for you. The ride was recently revamped and new screens put in and also Gary Sinise is no longer the host for this ride.

Updated Mission Space Screens

In this area you will also find the old Body Wars building which is currently used only for special events. Also for those who have been before Ellen's Universe of energy ride has been closed down and Walt Disney World is in the process of redeveloping the ride into a rollercoaster based upon the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

Food wise, this part of the park only offers a few cars vendors with snacks, but this is just past the Electric Umbrella and in all honesty, most people wait until World Showcase to eat.

Thank you for spending your time with me and I look forward to hearing from you with feedback and questions that you may have.

Pictures from Walt Disney World website--normally I try to use my own pictures, but I have too much fun in the rides to get quality pictures.

Tour of EPCOT - Part 1 (Introduction/Future World)

Hi Disney friends,

Yesterday, I finished off the tour of the Magic Kingdom and today I am going to move over to the second park at Walt Disney World. EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. The park is nothing like Walt Disney’s original view of what this would be. Walt originally viewed EPCOT as a city that was interconnected with ease of access to everything. In some ways Walt was a city planner of the future. If you looked at the Tour of Magic Kingdom – Part 6 (Tomorrowland,) you will see what Walt envisioned for this city of the future.

EPCOT is actually divided into 2 parts, Future World and World Showcase. Future World is the area you find when you first enter the park and pass under the large iconic geodesic dome (golf ball) that houses Spaceship Earth (The dome actually is a sphere within a sphere and when it is raining, the precipitation is moves between the 2 spheres and is used to water plants under the building.) The main entrance is accessible from the parking lot or the monorail station that is serves guests traveling to the Ticket and Transportation Center (connections for Magic Kingdom occur here.) The monorail is unique here in that it travels around Future World when coming from the Ticket and Transportation Center.

The second part of EPCOT is World Showcase house pavilions from 11 countries, including the United States. There is also a back entrance to the park in World Showcase between France and United Kingdom, but there is no parking in this area and most people who use this entrance are coming from either Hollywood Studios, Boardwalk Resort, Beach and Yacht Club Resort, or the Swan and Dolphin resort. You can get to EPCOT from either of these locations by either walking or by boat. In the future, there will be the Skyliner option that will expand non-bus options of getting to EPCOT to Riviera Resort (under construction,) Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century, and Art of Animation.

Future Skyliner Transportation for EPCOT

Boat from Hollywood Studios to EPCOT

I will break the discussion of Future World up into 4 posts. This first post will center on the main entrance and Innoventions. The first ride you come to is Spaceship Earth. This ride is generally crowded early in the day since most people come straight in and stop off there, but later in the day, there is a good opportunity to get some shorter lines. Spaceship Earth is a slow moving ride where you are given a tour through the history of communication. The ride allows for a nice break from rushing around the park and is quite relaxing (it is approximately 16 minutes long,) thus one of the reasons I like to hit this ride about midday. When you disembark the ride, you are able to play games and email yourself you plans for your future world.

 

Spaceship Earth at Night

Once you leave this ride, you are in Innoventions. As of now, Innoventions is going through major changes with . The only major attraction that is here is 3 different meet and greets with different Disney characters. One of the meet and greets allows guests to meet Baymax from Big Here 6. The second bring Joy and Sadness of Inside Out to EPCOT. The final meet and greet is with Mickey and friends (Minnie, Pluto and Goofy.)

When it comes to food options, there is the Electric Umbrella for a quick service meal and the Fountain View Café (at certain times of the day, the fountain goes off to classical music) where guest can savor some Starbucks coffee. Club Cool is also located in this part of the park. This area is sponsored by Coca-Cola and allows guests to sample Coke products from around the world. Innoventions also houses Mouse Gears which is one of the larger stores in Walt Disney World. You are able to find everything from toys to clothes to housewares to jewelry here.

I know that it may get redundant me thanking you for reading my posts, but I am grateful for you. I enjoy sharing Disney with people and you allow me that opportunity. If you have any questions about Walt Disney World (or any other Disney locations here in the states,) please let me know and I will do my best to answer your questions. If you need help booking a Disney vacation, I will also be glad to help you with that also, just email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 8 (Round Up)

Hi Disney friends,

I hope you have found the quick tour around the Magic Kingdom informative and entertaining. I just wanted to leave you with a few quick thoughts/insights.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but the imagineers used forced perspective in many areas of the park. Forced perspective is an optical illusion in which areas near the top of a piece of artwork/building are made intentionally smaller. This makes the object appear taller. This technique is found on Main Street USA, Cinderalla's castle, and Beast's Castle at the Be Our Guest Restaurant.

Beast's Castle

One of the things that Walt Disney found annoying when Disneyland was built was seeing characters from one land in another land. He felt it undermined the theming of the particular part of the park guests were in. Therefore, 2 things were incorporated in the design of Walt Disney World.

First, it is very difficult to see any of the lands from other lands. The areas between the different lands tend to be tall. Also, to keep from seeing cast members dressed inappropriately for the themed area, Walt Disney World is actually on a "raised" area. Under the Magic Kingdom is a series of utilidors (utility corridors) where cast members can move from one part of the park to another without being seen. These utilidors also allow for the movement of items around the park also.

Some of the more popular rides (hard to get fastpasses or long wait times) are Space Mountain, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. That does not mean other rides will not have long wait times, but these rides just seem to be the most sought after rides.

In terms of dining options, Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest, and Crystal Palace are definitely locations that you should take advantage of Advanced Dining Reservations very close to the 180 day mark.

Lastly, you do need to take in Happily Ever After--the nighttime fireworks show. People start lining up about 1 hour before the show, but it is well worth it. The technique of using Cinderella's Castle as a "screen" where some of the most iconic characters from Disney animated films appear (along with fireworks) is truly and incredible experience.

Cinderella's Castle at Night

If you need any help booking a Disney vacation, please let me know by emailing me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Disney Box Office Roundup - Feb 25

Hi Disney friends,

Another weekend has come and gone and Disney dominance continues. Black Panther pattern of raising expectations as time passes was on display again. When the weekend began, Deadline.com was projecting a $94 mil weekend, then on Saturday, the estimate was up to $101 mil and now it is standing at $108 mil, which gives this film the second highest second weekend of all time (Star Ward: The Force Awakens holds the record for the highest weekend.) Of course with this film, who knows the estimates could still be to low. To give some more context to this film.

It is already the 29th highest grossing domestic film of all time.

It is the highest grossing initial Marvel film of all time.

It is currently the 5th highest grossing film of Marvel films (The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: Civil War are the other 4 films that are higher.)

The film has grossed more than the next six films combined.

It is tied with Jurassic World for the second fastest to $400 mil.

The film has also crossed the $700 mil mark on a global scale.

Next up for the film will be the release of the film in Russia (limited release occurred today,) Japan and China. Next week, the House of Mouse release will face 2 new wide release films.

Thank you for spending time reading this and if you need any help planning a Disney vacation, please let me know.

Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 7 (Tomorrowland)

Hi Disney friends,

I hope that you have had a magical week and that you are going to have a relaxing weekend. This post will finish up Tomorrowland, which will also finish the different parts of the Magic Kingdom.
The next post (at least that is the plan) will give a few parting thoughts on the original park of Walt Disney World.

One of the more classic rides in this part of the Magic Kingdom is the Tomorrowland Speedway. This ride allows guests to steer cars for a leisurely ride through the park. Every few years rumors about the end of this ride appear, but so far none have come to pass.

View of Tomorrowland Speedway from Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover

You will also find in Tomorrowland Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. This attraction, like It's a Small World, was created for the World's Fair in 1964 and 65 and was created by Walt Disney himself. Yes the ride maybe a little dated but the tie to Disney history is amazing. Since it is a 21 minute show, it provides a nice area to rest on a hot summer day.

The area also has Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor where guests are part of the show that changes constantly. This is not a prepackaged show, but will always keep guests on the edge of their seat. This is next to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is a must do ride as you compete with your "car" mate to see who has the abilities to take on Zurg.

The last attraction in this area is Stitch's Great Escape. This ride is interesting in that it continually ranks low on rides guests enjoy. I will admit that on entrance the odor is pretty rough. As of today, the ride has been moved to a seasonal ride which means it is generally open during high volume times, and that has led to numerous rumors that the ride will soon be refurbished into a new ride.

The last thing I want to share about Tomorrowland is about the future. Coming in the year 2021 will be the 50th anniversary of opening of Walt Disney World. In honor of this event, the Magic Kingdom will be opening the Tron Lightcycle Coaster. This will be an incredible addition to the park.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to allow me to share some of my knowledge of Disney with you. I hope you have learned something new and that you are being lured to Walt Disney World.
If you need help planning a magical vacation, I would be honored to help you. Please contact me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 6 (Tomorrowland)

Hi Disney friends,

In yesterday's post I left off at the train station in Fantasyland which is right across from The Barnstormer. I want to pick up right there today because not many people know but there is a walkway that leads to Tomorrowland and comes behind Tomorrowland Speedway and out at Space Mountain. I do just want to warn you that if you are sensitive to cigarette smoke many people use this area as a smoking area. It is a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park though.

Tomorrowland has the third mountain in the Magic Kingdom mountain chain (the other two are Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.) Space Mountain is an indoor roller-coaster that has 2 separate lines. What is interesting about this ride is that it actually is the only ride that is outside of the tracks of the Walt Disney World Railway that runs the perimeter of the Magic Kingdom. This is why when you first enter the ride you descend stairs and then work your way back up to enter the ride. The queue for this ride keeps you occupied because there are games to play as you wait. A lot of people Fastpass this ride but the disadvantage is that you get to miss the games while you're waiting in line.

View of Space Mountain from "Secret" Walkway from Fantasyland

At the center of Tomorrowland you will find the entrance to two rides. The first is the Astro Orbiter. This ride, in which you taking elevator up allows you to board spacecraft, allows guests to fly around getting good views of Tomorrowland and Cinderella's Castle. Just a little tidbit of information on this ride, the orbiters travel approximately 1.2 million miles every year.

The other ride that you'll find here is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (they page Mr. Tom Morrow on this ride frequently.) This is a very nice relaxing ride that carries you through all the rides of Tomorrowland. One of the nice aspects of this right is that on part of the right you will actually find Walt Disney's view of what EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) was to be.

Walt Disney's Original Vision of EPCOT

There are numerous quick service restaurants in Tomorrowland. One is The Lunching Pad which is located below the Astro Orbiter. You can also grab quick service meals at Cosmic Rays (located between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) and Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant (this one is tends to open on a seasonal basis and is between Tomorrowland and Main Street USA.)

The next post will finish our tour through Tomorrowland and the Magic Kingdom. If you have never been, the park is a wonderful place filled with the nostalgia and Walt Disney himself and helps everyone to remember their inner child at heart. If you would like for me to help you plan a magical vacation, please email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com. And as always--thank you for sharing your time with me and allowing me to share my love and knowledge of Disney with you.

Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 5 (Fantasyland)

Hi Disney friends,

Yesterday, I left off in the discussions about Fantasyland just past 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. Today, I want to pick up there and finish off Fantasyland (this to me is where many people spend hours because of the large number of rides.)

As you continue moving through this portion of the park (I am working around the castle clockwise)
you will enter some of the rides that are designed mainly for kids and a couple of meet and greets. If you move around the front of 7 Dwarfs Mine Train you will come to the Mad Tea Party tea cups. This is also a great location to meet Alice for a meet and greet.

As you move around the backside of 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, you will come to Ariel's grotto. At this location, you can take a ride on a clam shell and become part of her world in Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid. This ride allows guests to move through some of the more iconic songs of the movie with animatronic dancing fish and other characters from the movie. There is also a place for a meet and greet with Ariel.

Dancing Fish from Under the Sea

As you leave the grotto, you will come to Dumbo the Flying Elephant. This actually has 2 mirror image rides of Dumbo where riders can determine the heights to which they will fly (within reason of course.) One ride is for fastpass riders and the other is for the standard queue. While waiting (with your pager that you receive when you enter the queue) kids are able to enjoy an air conditioned playground under the big tent.

Past Dumbo you will find The Barnstormer starring Goofy. This is a family centered short roller coaster that is a great adventure for small children. Also, you will find Casey's Splash N' Soak Station for a great place for little ones to cool off during the warm summer months. The last area of Fantasyland before the secret walk to Tomorrowland is the third train station in the park (the other locations are Main Street USA and Frontierland.) Here you can catch the train to the front entrance or back to the other side of the park.

Goofy's Cannon at The Barnstormer

I enjoy revisiting my trips to the parks through these short tours and they help bring back memories that I have from my time there with my family. If you need some help booking a Disney vacation to make your own memories, please let me know and I will be glad to help you. Just email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com or comment here. Walt Disney World (or any of the other Disney locations) are great places to develop memories.

Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 4 (Fantasyland)

Hi Disney friends, 

I wanted to continue with our tour of the Magic Kingdom by moving us into Fantasyland. This part of the park saw some major additions back in 2012 that was the largest addition to the park since it was built.

Some of the original rides found in the park include Peter Pan’s Flight, It’s a Small World, and the Prince Charming Royal Carrousel. Petre Pan’s Flight has a wonderful queue where you get to be part of the apartment where the children lived. This ride also tends to have one of the longer wait times in the park—it is one you should either fastpass or try to get to early in the day. 

Wendy's Room in queue at Peter Pan's Flight

The original It’s a Small World attraction was built for the 1964-5 New York City World’s Fair. Walt Disney personally oversaw the construction of the ride and when the fair was over, the ride was broken down and sent to Disneyland for inclusion in the Anaheim park. I know a lot people do make jokes about the ride (I probably have too,) but this is still one of my favorite rides due to its tie to the man who started it all.

For a chance to sit down and take in a show, Mickey’s PhilharMagic takes guests through a 3-D experience of some of Disney’s more iconic films from the 1990’s. The attraction is just across from Pinocchio Village Haus which is a counter service restaurant. What is nice about this establishment is that if you get a table near the back, you can wave at people as they sail into It’s a Small World.

As you continue to move through this section, you will come to Be Our Guest Restaurant which is located in Beast’s Castle. For breakfast and lunch, this location provides quick service meal credits for those on the Disney Dining Plan, but at dinner, it uses a table service credit. At dinner, you can even have a chance to meet Beast in one of the three rooms of the castle. Even though it is quick service at breakfast and lunch, reservations are highly suggested (if you make breakfast reservations early enough, you can get into the park early—no rides are open, but Main Street, USA has a lighter amount of traffic for pictures.)

Picture of Adam from Beast's Castle 

As you continue through Fantasyland, you will find yourself moving between The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which took over the Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (the deed is handed over to Owl from Mr. Toad in room 2—just look to your left as you enter,) and the very popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This was one of the main additions when the new Fantasyland opened.

The next post will finish off Fantasyland and move us into Tomorrowland. If you need any help planning a Disney vacation, please let me know and I will be happy to help you sprinkle a little pixie dust on a magical vacation. Just email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Last word on Black Panther until this weekend. The official numbers are in and here are 3 more insights into how big this film is.

It is now the second highest grossing 4 day opening film of all time (only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.)

It has the second highest Sunday of all time (again only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.)

It has the highest Monday of all time.

Now we will have to see what happens next weekend with this film—was it frontloaded and sees a major drop or is it going to keep breaking records?

A Tour of the Magic Kingdom - Part 3

Hi Disney friends,

My last two post was focused on touring of the Magic Kingdom and I started on Main Street USA and then moved to Adventureland. This post is going to move us into Frontierland and Liberty Square.

One way to move into Frontierland is to pass by Pecos Bill's Restaurant near the end of the two areas. Pecos Bill's Restaurant is a wonderful place to eat because it has one of the best toppings bar to add fixin's to a burger in the park. Also right across the road from Pecos Bill is a great place to stop and wait and watch the afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade. Frontierland has Splash Mountain which is a great ride for in the summer to cool down a little bit. You will also find the first of the mountains in Disney's mountain range - Big Thunder Mountain. The "wildest ride in the wilderness" is a great ride that takes guests through haunted mines and desert caverns. You can also take a raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island, which is a nice "wooded" area to cool down.

Maleficent from Festival of Fantasy Parade

When you leave Frontierland, you will enter Liberty Square, which is home to the Hall of Presidents and the new Muppets attraction show where the characters carry you through some "history of America." One of the interesting aspects of Liberty Square is that there are no restrooms in the area because there were no public restrooms during the founding of America. To also make it more realistic there are areas in the sidewalk that are brown to represent raw sewage flowing through the streets at the founding of our country. This is the area that part that also has the Haunted Mansion ride. With the advent of RF technology found in the magic bands, when you finish the ride the Grim Grinning Ghosts send you a personalized note for your enjoyment.

If you have any questions about these 2 areas, please let me know and I will be glad to help you plan a magical vacation. Just email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com and I will be glad to help you.

PS: I do want to add a quick update to this weekends box office update post. The numbers are continuing to climb for Black Panther. The 3 and 4 day weekend estimates are now officially over $200 mil. Tomorrow, when the actual box office grosses are released it could be even higher than is being currently projected.

Disney Weekend Box Office Numbers - History was Made

Hi Disney friends,

Disney had 4 films in the top 30 this weekend, but all eyes are focused on Black Panther. There are so many things that are amazing about this film's box office gross that are amazing. The official 3 day weekend estimate from the House of Mouse is $192 mil, but there are some estimates that put the film at over $195 mil. The estimates are also over $225 mil for the 4 day weekend. Now for some historical perspectives for the film.

This is highest grossing opening weekend for February.

This is the 5th highest opening 3 day weekend of all time.

This is the 2nd highest opening for Marvel films only behind the first Avengers film.

This is the highest opening for a Marvel single character film.

This is highest grossing film of 2018.

This is the 15th highest opening weekend for a film worldwide (the film did not open in Japan, China, nor Russia this weekend.)

The film was $175 mil ahead of the second film for the weekend.

 This film was projected to be big, but it grew quickly. When the film for started tracking about 1 month ago, there were questions about whether the film would be able to break Deadpool's February's largest opening weekend. (It broke the record on Saturday and still had Sunday to go.) However, the number kept growing, but even heading into the weekend, the numbers were not this big. Even with the weekend just getting started, projections were still growing. Deadline.com's projections Saturday morning were at $185 and just 24 hours later, they were at the $195 mil number. When weekend actual numbers come out later in the week, we will see if Disney's or Deadline.com's projections were correct. Another thing that is great for this film is that word of mouth is strong. Of Marvel films, the CinemaScore survey's rating for the film was an A+ rating which only The Avengers was able to match. Next weekend will be interesting for this film to see how well the numbers hold. 

All numbers were from boxofficemojo.com and deadline.com.

A Tour of Magic Kingdom - Part 2 (and a quick note on Black Panther and Toy Story Land)

Hi Disney friends,

My last post began a series of tours around the different Walt Disney World parks and today I am going to move to Andventureland.

Adventureland is home to some of the more iconic rides when you think about the Magic Kingdom. The Jungle Cruise & Pirates of the Caribbean are two rides that you will find in this area. When Walt Disney created the first Jungle Cruise in Disneyland he actually wanted it to be a serious ride. However when the tour guides started making jokes the ride gained popularity and now jokes are a common part of the ride. Also, staying with the jungle cruise the rumors are coming out that they will start making the Jungle Cruise movie starring The Rock this summer. For those of you who are Weird Al fans, I hope that the Rock's character is named Skipper Dan. (https://youtu.be/a0cCRRFi1aA)

Pirates of the Caribbean is just down from the Jungle Cruise. After the success of the movies, the ride actually closed down and remade to have Jack Sparrow characters look more like Johnny Depp.

For the kids, there are the Magic Carpets of Aladdin but be careful heading that way you'll need to keep an eye out for the spitting camel.

In terms of food, there are numerous quick service/counter service locations here.

Now just a couple of side notes about two pieces of Disney news that came out today. First, Black Panther is on track to be a record busting film. Current projections from boxofficemojo.com have the films weekend's gross coming in behind only the 2 Avengers films. It should easily become the highest grossing film in terms of opening weekends for the month of February. Later in the weekend, I will bring you more data on the film.

Also, I will speak more on this in later posts when I get to Hollywood Studios, but Disney announced that Toy Story Land will be opening on June 30, 2018.

A Tour of Magic Kingdom-Part 1

Hi Disney friends,

In my last post I shared with you what a “normal” day may look like for my family. I also shared we make our decisions based upon which park has extra magic hours in the morning. Some of you may not care and you just want to go to the park you want to go to. So with that in mind, I am going to start a series on the different parks at Walt Disney World—and this may take a while. Along with breakdowns of what is in each park and most parks will have multiple days, I will try to share interesting tidbits about each park.

Since it is the oldest and most iconic, I will obviously begin with the Magic Kingdom which is actually broken down into 6 areas: Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland (the last 5 are listed in order of moving counterclockwise around Cinderella’s Castle.) Cinderella’s Castle which is the iconic center if the park stands at 189 feet tall. By using forced perspective where items at the top are built smaller than normal, it give the sense that the castle is taller. The reason for the height is that Disney imagineers had to build the building less than 200 feet tall or else it would have had to have a blinking light at the top to warn aircraft of the height and that was not something that Walt Disney wanted. (Also, the urban legend that the castle can be dismantled in case of a hurricane is incorrect.)

Cinderella's Castle at Night--Waiting on Happily Ever After Fireworks Show

Main Street USA, which is based upon Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri, does not have any rides, but houses many stores and food locations. Casey’s Corner is known for its hot dogs and throughout the day various “shows” take place on the “road.” You can also use the entrance to the park to get on the Walt Disney World Railway for stops around the park. You can even get a haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop.  Just as you leave this part of the park heading towards Adventureland, you can stop into the Crystal Palace (Advanced Dining Reservations are highly suggested) for a meal with Winnie the Pooh and some of his friends. A couple of other notes: the second floor windows have names of some real individuals for Disney’s past as a way to honor their importance to the development of Disney. Also, it is a great place to watch the nighttime fireworks displays on Cinderella’s castle.

Main Street USA Train Station

I will admit that these posts will not come close to doing the parks there justice. There is just so much to take in that it is hard to describe what the park is like, but I will try to give you a taste of some of the things you can expect to see if you visit the park. If you need help planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, please let me know by emailing me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com and I will be honored to help you plan a magical vacation.

A "Normal' Day in the Parks

Hi Disney friends,

I know I have thrown a lot at you in the past few posts regarding planning your Walt Disney World trip and I hope I not overwhelmed you. If you feel overwhelmed and you still want a to go, please shoot me an email at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com and I will help you through the process.

Now, for this post, I want to share with you how my families day goes (this will be generic.) We plan to hit the park that has extra magic hours in the morning. Since we are getting moving early, we generally eat something simple (a bar type item) before we leave the room. Be getting to the park early, we are able to get to rides with just people who are staying on site. We are able to get multiple rides in before the crowds hit. We also plan our fastpasses for that park for the morning. Fastpasses are only available for hours when the park is open to the general public.

At this point, we are ready to take a break and eat lunch (probably a table service meal for a little longer time to rest.) Sometimes this is a slow process since many people break for lunch around the same time. At this point we decide whether or not to push and stay in the park or head back to the room for a midday break. Most of the time we do take advantage of the break and hit the pools or walk around and admire the theming of the resort.

Then we will head back to the parks and grab a quick service meal and take in one of the nighttime shows and maybe hit a couple of more rides. This does keep from getting so run down during the vacation. I know some people just go-go-go, but I am there partially to relax.

I hope this helps in your thinking about your magical vacation. If you need any help, please let me know. Also, if you have any specific questions that you would like answered, please let me know.

Beginning of the "river" that flows into the pool at Wilderness Lodge

Packing for Walt Disney World

Hi Disney friends,

This series of post have been focused on planning for a trip to Walt Disney World. I have not focused on a specific time of year because that will be determined by your needs and more than likely school schedules.

What I want to do here is talk about how I go about planning which clothes to pack for a trip to Walt Disney World. I will admit that I do have one advantage over some of you in that I drive to the park. Many people who live within about 12 hours tend to drive because of the costs associated with flying. The reason I say that I have an advantage is that I do not have to overly rely on limits to the amount of clothes/items that I can pack. Now I still have to take into account that what I pack does have to fit in our vehicle.

The point of this is that I get asked many times about the weather. I will admit that I am a weather nerd and enjoy keeping up with what is going on in the environment. However, I do not start preparing to pack clothes until about 1 week before a trip. At that point, I begin looking at multiple websites and averaging the different temperature and rain forecasts. The reason I wait until about 1 week is that up until that time, the different sites may have vastly different predictions, but about 1 week before a trip, the variances between the sites shrinks dramatically.

Now, for a few points about the weather. It will be hot and humid in the summer. A couple of items to pack for the summer are rain ponchos and sunscreen. Many people will get sunburned in Orlando if they are not prepared. The winter can vary greatly.  This past January, the temperature actually dropped below freezing for one night and was in the 70’s 4 days later so layers are important.

I hope this helps you prepare for packing, which may be one of the most stressful parts of the pre-trip. There are stores nearby in case you forget an item or two and there are shops at all of the resorts, but the less time you spend on items that you can pack ahead of time, the more time you have to do what you want to do. If you need any help or just want to keep up with Disney, please email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com or visit my google+ page https://plus.google.com/communities/111981664285147051843?sqinv=N3Z0UGZ0cmxwb2dqSEEyOXFiYk9IamVMZGwxdU1n

Purchasing Walt Disney World Tickets

Hi Disney friends,

My last posts have centered around the parts that need to be planned ahead of your vacation to Walt Disney World—fastpasses and resort choices. I have also looked at the costs of choosing to purchase a dining plan. Today, I want to talk about tickets for your stay.

Generally, most people get the number of tickets that coincide with the number of nights that they plan on being at Walt Disney World. A couple of issues come up with this. One issue centers around whether or not to get a ticket for the day you arrive or the day you leave. That is a personal decision, but I would think if you were going to be getting to Walt Disney World early in the day, then you would want a ticket for that day. You are allowed to enter the park even if you have not checked in to your resort (assuming you are staying on site.) On the day you leave, you would probably not have an opportunity to use a ticket (unless you have a flight late in the day or you are driving and will be leaving late.) Another question you would need to ask yourself is whether or not you might want to spend one day just hanging out at the resort or heading over to Disney Springs. In all honesty, if you are staying for more than 5 days, the price for a 5 day ticket and 6 day ticket is not vastly different.

The other thing to think about is whether or not you would want to purchase the park hopper option. The park hopper allows guests to enjoy more than one park per day. Depending on how many days of tickets you get the price can vary between about $65/ticket (2-3 days) or $80/ticket (4+ days.) The price is not per day, it is per ticket, so for longer stays is seems to be more financially feasible. The nice thing about the park hopper is flexibility. I have use the option to see multiple fireworks shows in the same night. Also, if a park is open early and you want to hit that park and then head over to a second park that may have lower crowds, that is also an option.

If you have any questions about tickets, please let me know and I will be glad to help you figure out what will work best for your needs and budgets. Just email me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com. Again, thank you for reading my posts and I hope that I am being helpful.

Disney Box Office Weekend Numbers (looking ahead to Black Panther)

Hi Disney friends,

The weekend is over and the 2 Disney films are still in the top 25. Coco for the first time since it opened at Thanksgiving dropped below the $1 mil mark for a weekend but it still has grossed enough worldwide that it is the number 95 film all time on a worldwide basis. It is also only $100,000 behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The other House of Mouse film in the top 25 is Star Wars: The Last Jedi which grossed over $1.2 mil for the weekend. It is still hanging at number 9 all time on a worldwide basis and is still the number 1 film for both the domestic and worldwide markets for 2017.

Next weekend sees the release of Black Panther and things are looking bright for the newest Disney/Marvell release. The numbers are growing for projections but to put it in perspective, according to Fandango, Black Panther is outselling all of the other Marvell films in ticket presales. Here are some numbers that the film could be aiming for.

Deadpool largest 3 day February opening at $132,434,639.

Iron Man 3 3 day opening $174,144,585. (the largest opening of the Iron Man series)

Thor: Ragnarok 3 day opening $122,744,989 (the largest opening in the Thor series)

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 3 day opening $146,510,104.

We will see how high this film can go.

Thank you for letting me share my love for Disney and films with you.

Brian

Planning Fastpasses at Walt Disney World - Part 3

Hi Disney friends,

I come to the last post in the series of planning fastpasses, and I wanted to spend time talking about how my family goes about our plan for a day in the parks in regards to booking our fastpasses. For starters, we stay on site, which means we are able to book at the 60 day window which allows for more opportunity to book rides. There is one thing to remember though, when the window opens at 7am eastern, some rides have already had people booking them, because when you stay on site, your 60 day window includes up to 7 days of the trip. That means that if your window opens for a trip on a Monday, you are able to book through the following Sunday (again if you are staying on site.) Therefore, some of the times may not be the best, but if you start early you should be able to get what you want.

What we do is try to plan on going to parks with extra magic hours in the morning. Since we are staying on site, we are able to ride rides one hour prior to the official opening of the park. At EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, we book one Tier 1 ride for as close to opening as we can get and then 2 tier 2 rides as soon after that as we can (they will not let you overlap times.) We get to the park for extra magic hours and hit the other tier 1 rides if we can. Then as close to opening, we head over to our first fastpass ride (tier 1.) Once we have checked in, there is still some waiting, we will try to go to our other 2 rides and move them up and finish them as fast as possible so that we have the option of booking other fastpasses for later in the day. If most of the fastpass options are gone, we will book one of the fireworks shows that have fastpasses (Illuminations at EPCOT, Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, or Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom.)

So a typical fastpass day for EPCOT may look like:

800 am Test Track (at rope drop—not fastpassed)

900 am Soarin (as soon as booked through start trying to move times up for other rides)

1000 am – 1200 am Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Mission: Space

Then we are free to do other things.

A quick not about Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. The ride is so popular that early morning times are booked out when you get to your 60 day window. Therefore, you can plan a late day at the park or book from the end of your trip (book the ride for the last day you are in the parks) and then back up to other rides. When my last trip occurred, I was able to FOP at 630 pm on the third day of our trip and I booked fastpasses at 702 am when my window opened.

Walt Disney World does not have tiered rides, but 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight are 2 of the more popular attractions and book relatively quickly.

I hope this helps you in any planning you have coming up for a trip to Walt Disney World and again if you need any help booking a Disney vacation of any type, please let me know at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

PS: There is one disadvantage that I can think of when using fastpasses—you do miss out on some of the more interesting queues for some of the lines. An example is that in Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom, there are games to play if you are in the nonfastpass line—but you are moving faster—so in the end, it is about tradeoffs.

Part of the queue at Flight of Passage

Walt Disney World Fastpass Planning Part 2

Hi Disney friends,

In my last post, I spoke about what a fastpass is and how to prepare for the 60 day window to open. Today, I am going to break down each park in terms of what is available. I am not going to go through an exhaustive list of each ride/experience/show, but will look at the different tiers.

The way the tiered system works is that in three of the parks (EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) there are 2 tiers of rides. (Magic Kingdom has so many rides compared to the other parks, that they do not have a tiered system.) When planning your fastpasses, you are allowed 1 ride from tier 1 and 2 from tier 2. Some people have tried to book 1 tier 1 ride and then when they finish that ride, try to book another tier 1 ride, but Mickey is not allowing that. To be able to ride another tier 1 ride, you must use up both tier 2 rides and then try to book another tier 1 ride, but in all honesty, tier 1 rides are pretty much always booked up the day you are in a park.

EPCOT has four rides/shows that are in tier 1. Those are Test Track, Soarin', Frozen Ever After, and Illuminations (the nighttime fireworks show.) I would hold off on using a Tier 1 for Illuminations for a couple of reasons. First, if that is one of your 3, you would not be able to fastpass any other rides until after you check in for the show. Secondly, there are places to see the show from all around EPCOT. A second thing to think about is the age of your children. If you have older children who have moved past Frozen, then I would use the tier 1 fastpass on either Test Track or Soarin.

Hollywood Studios has 2 rides and 2 shows part of the fastpass tier 1. The 2 rides are Rock n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith and Toy Story Midway Mania! The 2 shows are Beauty and Beast Live on Stage and Fantasmic (the nighttime show.) Again, I would not use a Tier 1 on either of the shows in my initial planning. If you have gotten the 3 fastpasses used from earlier in the day, then use one of the new fastpasses to go one of the shows (I would choose Fantasmic since there is only one show and there are multiple shows for Beauty and the Beast.)

Lastly is Animal Kingdom. There are only 2 tier 1 rides and they are both in Pandora. Flight of Passage (probably the most sought fastpass as of now) and Na'vi River Journey. With wait times pushing three hours for Flight of Passage, that is one that most people attempt to get.

The next post in this series will focus on how to plan for your fastpasses within the day. I hope I am helping you with a Disney vacation, but if you need more help, please contact me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Steamboat Willie from Fantasmic.

Walt Disney World Fastpass Planning - Part 1

Hi Disney friends,

I would first just like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who reads these posts, +1s them on GooglePlus, and passes along the information to friends. I hope that you are finding them informative and helpful. The reason that I started these blogs was to help people who are new to Disney or have not been in a few years to think through some of the issues with planning a magical vacation. I just hope I have not been too informative in that you would not need to use me as a travel agent (just joking--a little.)

The last few posts have centered around decisions that need to be made around the 180 day mark. The decision about where to stay and booking dining reservations take up a lot of time and requires quite a bit of work and thought. Once those two items are decided upon, then there is a bit of a break until the 60 day mark. A couple of things occur at the 60 day mark--this post is geared specifically to those parties that are staying on site. 

At the 60 day mark, you can go through on-line check in and set up room requests. The other thing that occurs is that you can select fastpasses for the first day of your stay through the end of your stay (assuming you are staying 7 days which is the longest you can book out--you can stay as long as you like.) Fastpasses are an opportunity to book a ride for a specific time during the day. The nice thing about this is that it allows you an opportunity to set up the rides around meals that you may have already booked.

Some of the logistics of fastpasses. First, you and those in your party can choose up to three rides (or shows) for a specific day and in a specific park. Once you have used up your original three passes, you would then be able to book an additional fastpass and once that one is used, you could then book another ride. The extra passes that you book could be in a different park, but the first three have to be in the same park. (To take advantage of booking in a different pass, you would need to purchase park hopper tickets--more on that in later posts.)

In terms of planning, about 10 days prior to your fastpass window you would need to begin to research which rides are available for fastpasses and decide on which rides you would want to fastpass. The next post will focus on what is available in the different parks.

Again, as a travel agent, my job in this process would be to plan the fastpasses for you or help you work through and learn the system yourself so that you feel comfortable booking the rides at your convenience. I do not just get you tickets and rooms, I am there to help you through the entire process. If you have any questions about any of the logistics of going to Walt Disney World (or taking a Disney Cruise or staying at Disney's Hilton Head Resort or Vero Beach Resort or enjoying an Adventures by Disney experience) please let me know by emailing me at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com.

Part of Pandora--home of the Flight of Passage--one of the most coveted Fastpass rides in the Animal Kingdom

Choosing a Walt Disney World Resort--Summary

Hi there Disney friends,

I hope the last few posts about choosing a Walt Disney World resort have been informative and helpful. No matter where you stay, you cannot go wrong if you are able stay on site. I feel that an on-site stay is better logistically for most people. I will admit that there are some off-site locations that are cheaper, but by the time you factor in paying to park and travel time, you would almost break even. In an earlier post, I listed 6 reasons to stay on site and I think they are still valid.

For many people, deciding on a place to stay at Walt Disney World can be overwhelming, but once you determine your budget, things begin to fall in place very quickly. (A quick side note about the value resorts (because of their price) do fill up relatively quickly for some of the busier times of the year (major holidays and special events.) The earlier you plan your vacation the better the selection of rooms there will be in all of the resorts. The budget for most people is the biggest item that drives their decision on where to stay.

Once you decide on your budget, then room size comes into play. One item to think of here is that within each category of rooms, there may be only one or two resorts that offer larger rooms that will hold more family members. One example is that of the three All-Star resorts, only All-Star Music has rooms that can sleep up six.

Once those decisions are in place, things like transportation issues, location with Walt Disney World, and theming become personal preference. Even within a specific resort, personal preference will occur. We have stayed at Saratoga Springs and prefer the Grandstand area, but others prefer Congress Park.

At the end of the day, you will need to make the best decision for your family. I would never want someone to be stressed about the logistics of a vacation, that they would not be able to enjoy time with family and friends. After all, that is the point of your time away from the stresses of home.

If you need help on determining which resort works best for you, please let me know and I will be honored to help you. Just drop me an e-mail at brian.herndon@mousemadesimple.com and I will be glad to help you have a magical vacation.

View of Grand Floridian from Polynesian