With the countdown to my trip to Disney World in October just coming in under the 200 day mark, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the top 5 things I'm excited about doing and seeing on my trip (and what you should be excited about as well if you are taking a trip in the near future.)
Number 1: TRADER SAM's GROG GROTTO! I'm sure you can tell my excitement by my choice of capital letters, but I literally screamed when I first heard that this famous bar would be coming to the World, and I screamed even louder when I learned that it would be open for our trip in October. I know it only seats about 50 people at a time, so I'm hoping that at least some of the initial buzz wears off in the next few months so we don't have to stand in crazy long lines when we are there (although I totally would....).
Number 2: Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic! This will be my first time going to the event and to say I salivate everytime I think about it is not a lie. The idea of being able to sample over 60 different food and wine offerings only makes me sad that the event is three hours long, so I will have to eat quickly if I want to try them all. I will say that next to Trade Sam's this is really what I am looking forward to about our trip this year.
Number 3: Be Our Guest Restaurant! I am going to brave the early morning glow of my computer screen at the 180 day mark of our trip and try and get lunch reservations here. It was open last time we went, but we both thought it was too much hype, and not actually going to be a great meal so we decided against it. Now, after reading so many glowing reviews of it, we would be crazy not to at least try and dine here on our next trip.
Number 4: Being in the parks for 6 days! This marks our longest trip (aside from our honeymoon), so I'm excited about having so much time in all of the parks. Now that Hollywood Studios has been cut down to a half day park for us, I am looking forward to being able to spend more time in my husband's favorite park, Animal Kingdom. He would be perfectly happy spending all day at Dawa Bar and people watching, or riding Expedition Everest 5 times in a row, and this trip we will actually have time to do that. Although just to be clear I highly suggest going on Expedition Everest BEFORE spending an afternoon at Dawa Bar.
Number 5: Going back to Epcot Food and Wine Festival! Last year was our first year attending the event and we ended up spending much more time there than we originally anticipated. Even though we researched a lot before we went, we still thought we would only want to spend one or two nights there since we only thought we would enjoy and handful of the offerings. Well cut to my husband wanting to sample something at every single pavilion so we could get all of the stamps in the booklet they hand out. We came pretty close, but I still think we missed one or two countries. Either way, we ended up heading to Epcot almost every night of our trip and spend hours sharing food and drinks and just hanging out around the promenade at Epcot, so we are going to allow lots of time this trip for a repeat visit.
As always, feel free to find me on Facebook under "The Married Mouse" where I will be posting live photos from my trip this October!
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
What's Next?
With all of the changes going on over at Hollywood Studios, it seems to be a hot topic with any Disney fan, so I thought I would put my two cents in on what I think might be coming to a currently very barren park.
The number one thing I think must be happening soon will be Star Wars Land, or at the very least, more attractions based on the ever popular movie franchise. I think that Disney acquiring Lucasfilm was just the tip of the iceberg. They already had done so much with Star Wars in the parks (Star Tours, Star Wars weekends, Star Wars merch), so it's a no brainer to think that now that they own the rights they will make it much more of a presence in the parks.
The available land right around Star Tours also seems like a land themed to the movies would make an easy fit. They could use the theatre where Indiana Jones is, as well as the Backlot Express restaurant and really expand the area around where Star Tours currently stands, plus all of the land right outside of the park. To make it easier, they also already have one hugely popular mainliner attraction already built in, so they only have to expand the land and add in two or three more attractions.
It would also be a good way for Disney to go away from the "everything princess" theme that has caused some Disney fans to be disappointed recently. Don't get me wrong, I like Frozen just as much as they next gal, but for a family with small boys, or for a couple without children, the princess themeing that is constantly being shoved down our throats can be a little much at times. Star Wars would give another option for character interaction that isn't focused around a fair maiden in a long, poofy dress. In fact, this has already proven to be the case with the new Star Wards Dine In Galactic Breakfast that started last year over at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre where guests spent $49.99 for a character breakfast. Yes you read that right, $50 per person for breakfast, and nobody from Frozen was even there! This means that guests are literally crying out for some character dining that isn't centered around princesses, and I think people would be willing to pay much more if they were able to meet actually Star Wars characters in a dining environment that came right from the Star Wars world.
I know the idea of extended Pixar Place has been thrown around, as well as the idea of making another Cars Land, but honestly I think that those were thought of before the Star Wars acquisition. I just can't see why the company would duplicate the exact thing we see in California Adventure (since they want us to have a reason to visit both parks), and Pixar Place seems like it would be hard to make a coherent land out of it, since all Pixar films are based on different subjects, and all live in different lands.
Well that's my opinion on what is going to happen, and hopefully we will see and hear some announcements soon (like at the D23 expo in August), so we can all stop speculating and start getting exciting about what is to come. Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section!
The number one thing I think must be happening soon will be Star Wars Land, or at the very least, more attractions based on the ever popular movie franchise. I think that Disney acquiring Lucasfilm was just the tip of the iceberg. They already had done so much with Star Wars in the parks (Star Tours, Star Wars weekends, Star Wars merch), so it's a no brainer to think that now that they own the rights they will make it much more of a presence in the parks.
The available land right around Star Tours also seems like a land themed to the movies would make an easy fit. They could use the theatre where Indiana Jones is, as well as the Backlot Express restaurant and really expand the area around where Star Tours currently stands, plus all of the land right outside of the park. To make it easier, they also already have one hugely popular mainliner attraction already built in, so they only have to expand the land and add in two or three more attractions.
It would also be a good way for Disney to go away from the "everything princess" theme that has caused some Disney fans to be disappointed recently. Don't get me wrong, I like Frozen just as much as they next gal, but for a family with small boys, or for a couple without children, the princess themeing that is constantly being shoved down our throats can be a little much at times. Star Wars would give another option for character interaction that isn't focused around a fair maiden in a long, poofy dress. In fact, this has already proven to be the case with the new Star Wards Dine In Galactic Breakfast that started last year over at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre where guests spent $49.99 for a character breakfast. Yes you read that right, $50 per person for breakfast, and nobody from Frozen was even there! This means that guests are literally crying out for some character dining that isn't centered around princesses, and I think people would be willing to pay much more if they were able to meet actually Star Wars characters in a dining environment that came right from the Star Wars world.
I know the idea of extended Pixar Place has been thrown around, as well as the idea of making another Cars Land, but honestly I think that those were thought of before the Star Wars acquisition. I just can't see why the company would duplicate the exact thing we see in California Adventure (since they want us to have a reason to visit both parks), and Pixar Place seems like it would be hard to make a coherent land out of it, since all Pixar films are based on different subjects, and all live in different lands.
Well that's my opinion on what is going to happen, and hopefully we will see and hear some announcements soon (like at the D23 expo in August), so we can all stop speculating and start getting exciting about what is to come. Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section!
What's Changing?
With all of the recent changes (subtractions) in the attraction lineup at the Studious I thought it would be nice to look at what they have taken away, what may be to come, and what you can currently do there.
What they have taken away:
-The American Idol Experience: Laugh all you will, but this was actually one of the attractions my father and I went to most often on our trips to the parks. We would generally see one or two shows during the day, and then make sure to go to the finale show if we really liked if "our person" made it to the finale, so we could go and vote for them. The witty banter between the judges was fun to watch, and even though the auditorium held 1,000 people it never filled to capacity when we were there, so it was always easy to drop by right before show time and snag a seat. I wouldn't say this a crazy popular attraction, but considering it took over from a stage that had been vacant for 7 years, it was better than nothing, and thrilling for the contestants and their families. I also loved that it really tied in to the whole "working studios" aspect that the park tends to consistently lack.
-Studio Backlot Tour: This was such a heart breaker for me to lose because it really was such an integral part of my MGM or Hollywood Studios experience, as well as one of the major E-ticket attractions here. It was a great way to soak up an hour or so of your day in the park, and a huge bonus (to everyone over 21) is that they allowed you to take beer, wine, or cocktails on to the attraction!!! While you couldn't take them on to the ride vehicles themselves, you were allowed to quench your thirst during the pre-show (starring the fabulously awful Michael Bay doing what he does best, bragging about himself and how awesome he is-so alcohol is necessary to make it through this terrible pre- show). It also offered a fun look into the costuming area as well as a behind the scenes look at the practice area for Lights, Motors, Action. It was a great way to beat the heat and really relax on a hot day and learn a little something extra about Disney alone the way.
-Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: This is another attraction that I will greatly miss (as well as another one that took up a good chunk of your time in the parks). Another adult tip on this one as well was that you were also allowed to bring beer and wine in to the theater to drink during the performance! Indiana Jones doing daring stunts AND beer- really, what could be better? Even though this show did fill up fast, if you came 10-15 minutes before show time you generally didn't have a problem finding seats ( well, unless you are a party of 15). It was a fun look into how some stunts were performed, and the audience participation really added the cherry on top. Once again, this felt like you were right in the middle of a real movie set, and once again added to the whole "real working studios" appeal that they were originally going for. I'm starting to think that they are going away from this concept, and thus why they are taking away many attractions that make guests feel in the middle of the action.
-The name of the park! Bob Iger just announced the other day that they would be officially changing the name of the park sometime down the road, but he wouldn't even hint as to what it would be changed to. I'm thinking it will have less to do with Studios, and more to do with themed lands (Star Wars Land anyone?), so maybe a name to encapsulate more brands and variety in theming and not something that pigeon holes them into being all about movies.
Stay tuned for the next update to this series where I discuss what may be coming soon to Hollywood Studios, and please come on over to Facebook and like my page! You can find it by searching for "The Married Mouse."
What they have taken away:
-The American Idol Experience: Laugh all you will, but this was actually one of the attractions my father and I went to most often on our trips to the parks. We would generally see one or two shows during the day, and then make sure to go to the finale show if we really liked if "our person" made it to the finale, so we could go and vote for them. The witty banter between the judges was fun to watch, and even though the auditorium held 1,000 people it never filled to capacity when we were there, so it was always easy to drop by right before show time and snag a seat. I wouldn't say this a crazy popular attraction, but considering it took over from a stage that had been vacant for 7 years, it was better than nothing, and thrilling for the contestants and their families. I also loved that it really tied in to the whole "working studios" aspect that the park tends to consistently lack.
-Studio Backlot Tour: This was such a heart breaker for me to lose because it really was such an integral part of my MGM or Hollywood Studios experience, as well as one of the major E-ticket attractions here. It was a great way to soak up an hour or so of your day in the park, and a huge bonus (to everyone over 21) is that they allowed you to take beer, wine, or cocktails on to the attraction!!! While you couldn't take them on to the ride vehicles themselves, you were allowed to quench your thirst during the pre-show (starring the fabulously awful Michael Bay doing what he does best, bragging about himself and how awesome he is-so alcohol is necessary to make it through this terrible pre- show). It also offered a fun look into the costuming area as well as a behind the scenes look at the practice area for Lights, Motors, Action. It was a great way to beat the heat and really relax on a hot day and learn a little something extra about Disney alone the way.
-Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: This is another attraction that I will greatly miss (as well as another one that took up a good chunk of your time in the parks). Another adult tip on this one as well was that you were also allowed to bring beer and wine in to the theater to drink during the performance! Indiana Jones doing daring stunts AND beer- really, what could be better? Even though this show did fill up fast, if you came 10-15 minutes before show time you generally didn't have a problem finding seats ( well, unless you are a party of 15). It was a fun look into how some stunts were performed, and the audience participation really added the cherry on top. Once again, this felt like you were right in the middle of a real movie set, and once again added to the whole "real working studios" appeal that they were originally going for. I'm starting to think that they are going away from this concept, and thus why they are taking away many attractions that make guests feel in the middle of the action.
-The name of the park! Bob Iger just announced the other day that they would be officially changing the name of the park sometime down the road, but he wouldn't even hint as to what it would be changed to. I'm thinking it will have less to do with Studios, and more to do with themed lands (Star Wars Land anyone?), so maybe a name to encapsulate more brands and variety in theming and not something that pigeon holes them into being all about movies.
Stay tuned for the next update to this series where I discuss what may be coming soon to Hollywood Studios, and please come on over to Facebook and like my page! You can find it by searching for "The Married Mouse."
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Let's Party!
After scheduling an entire trip around it, e-mailing the Swan and Dolphin almost weekly to find out when tickets would be released, today was finally the day that we got our tickets to the 6th Annual Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic!!! Not sure if you can tell by all of my exclamation points, but to say that I am excited would be a wee bit of an understatement. You see, the issue is that we really wanted to attend this event last year during our honeymoon, but the dates that it fell on were too far away from our wedding date to be able to fit it in for a honeymoon so we had to skip it. This year we knew we wanted to take a trip to celebrate our one year anniversary, but we were open to going anytime in October so long as we could attend the event, so imagine my excitement when we found out the event would be held this year on October 30 and 31!!!
When I got home from work today and was checking Facebook I literally screamed when I saw the post that tickets were now available for sale and immediately purchased them. We decided to go on October 30th to (hopefully) avoid some of the crowds that we figured Saturday would bring, but also because we literally couldn't wait one extra day to attend. One of the big reasons that I really felt drawn to this event was because of Lou Mongello and his site over at wdwradio.com. The past few years he has done a live broadcast of the event that I have been fortunate enough to watch and he had me practically salivating over the amazing food and wine offerings. I know I mentioned this in a previous post but when I'm in the parks I truly hate sitting down to a two or three hour dinner and a restaurant where I will spend upwards of $200 for my dinner (and some wine), so this really seemed like the perfect option. While, yes, we are still spending $200 for our tickets to the event, it will be a very interactive adventure where we can sample lots of different options and won't just be sitting at a table for three hours.
I'm already counting down the days until we leave for our trip (232), and the days until we get to attend the event (234)! I also hope to post some more factual information about the event in the coming months, and will for sure post a more in depth trip report and review once I come back from my trip in October!
When I got home from work today and was checking Facebook I literally screamed when I saw the post that tickets were now available for sale and immediately purchased them. We decided to go on October 30th to (hopefully) avoid some of the crowds that we figured Saturday would bring, but also because we literally couldn't wait one extra day to attend. One of the big reasons that I really felt drawn to this event was because of Lou Mongello and his site over at wdwradio.com. The past few years he has done a live broadcast of the event that I have been fortunate enough to watch and he had me practically salivating over the amazing food and wine offerings. I know I mentioned this in a previous post but when I'm in the parks I truly hate sitting down to a two or three hour dinner and a restaurant where I will spend upwards of $200 for my dinner (and some wine), so this really seemed like the perfect option. While, yes, we are still spending $200 for our tickets to the event, it will be a very interactive adventure where we can sample lots of different options and won't just be sitting at a table for three hours.
I'm already counting down the days until we leave for our trip (232), and the days until we get to attend the event (234)! I also hope to post some more factual information about the event in the coming months, and will for sure post a more in depth trip report and review once I come back from my trip in October!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Flower and Garden Festival - Part 3
Now we continue where we left off from my last post about my trip to the 2014 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.
The amazing topiaries were one of my (obviously) favorite aspects of the festival. This being my first time going, it really amazed me the detail that Disney had with these. They weren't just sticking random oddly shaped trees in random locations, but instead really made these topiaries look exactly like their Disney characters, and took great time to make sure and place them where it would appropriate. My favorite example of this was Peter Pan being placed on top of one of the shops in England, and Captain Hook down below in a fighting stance, making it seem like you have caught them in the middle a swash buckling battle. And since Epcot really is the best park to tour at night, it was great to see the addition of some great lighting to the topiaries that really made them stand out during a nighttime stroll around World Showcase.
The last thing I really remember about this trip was that it was the last trip I went on with paper Fastpasses, before the Magic Bands were rolled out to all resort and off site guests. Now that I have made another trip since then using Magic Bands, it is crazy to think of how insane it was to have to get to the parks at rope drop only to have to run (almost literally) to your favorite attraction and stand in line quickly to get a Fast Pass, only to leave, go ride other attractions, and return to the very same attraction to ride it. On our last trip we were able to leisurely tour the park in the morning and then spend the afternoon hitting the busier attractions that we already had pre-planned Fast Passes for. Since we were traveling with my father and his girlfriend as well, I had to keep all 4 park tickets on me so I could quickly run to the kiosk and collect all of our Fast Passes.
The amazing topiaries were one of my (obviously) favorite aspects of the festival. This being my first time going, it really amazed me the detail that Disney had with these. They weren't just sticking random oddly shaped trees in random locations, but instead really made these topiaries look exactly like their Disney characters, and took great time to make sure and place them where it would appropriate. My favorite example of this was Peter Pan being placed on top of one of the shops in England, and Captain Hook down below in a fighting stance, making it seem like you have caught them in the middle a swash buckling battle. And since Epcot really is the best park to tour at night, it was great to see the addition of some great lighting to the topiaries that really made them stand out during a nighttime stroll around World Showcase.
The last thing I really remember about this trip was that it was the last trip I went on with paper Fastpasses, before the Magic Bands were rolled out to all resort and off site guests. Now that I have made another trip since then using Magic Bands, it is crazy to think of how insane it was to have to get to the parks at rope drop only to have to run (almost literally) to your favorite attraction and stand in line quickly to get a Fast Pass, only to leave, go ride other attractions, and return to the very same attraction to ride it. On our last trip we were able to leisurely tour the park in the morning and then spend the afternoon hitting the busier attractions that we already had pre-planned Fast Passes for. Since we were traveling with my father and his girlfriend as well, I had to keep all 4 park tickets on me so I could quickly run to the kiosk and collect all of our Fast Passes.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Flower and Garden Festival - Part 2
Now we continue where we left off from my last post about my trip to the 2014 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.
The amazing topiaries were one of my (obviously) favorite aspects of the festival. This being my first time going, it really amazed me the detail that Disney had with these. They weren't just sticking random oddly shaped trees in random locations, but instead really made these topiaries look exactly like their Disney characters, and took great time to make sure and place them where it would appropriate. My favorite example of this was Peter Pan being placed on top of one of the shops in England, and Captain Hook down below in a fighting stance, making it seem like you have caught them in the middle a swash buckling battle. And since Epcot really is the best park to tour at night, it was great to see the addition of some great lighting to the topiaries that really made them stand out during a nighttime stroll around World Showcase.
The last thing I really remember about this trip was that it was the last trip I went on with paper Fastpasses, before the Magic Bands were rolled out to all resort and off site guests. Now that I have made another trip since then using Magic Bands, it is crazy to think of how insane it was to have to get to the parks at rope drop only to have to run (almost literally) to your favorite attraction and stand in line quickly to get a Fast Pass, only to leave, go ride other attractions, and return to the very same attraction to ride it. On our last trip we were able to leisurely tour the park in the morning and then spend the afternoon hitting the busier attractions that we already had pre-planned Fast Passes for. Since we were traveling with my father and his girlfriend as well, I had to keep all 4 park tickets on me so I could quickly run to the kiosk and collect all of our Fast Passes.
The amazing topiaries were one of my (obviously) favorite aspects of the festival. This being my first time going, it really amazed me the detail that Disney had with these. They weren't just sticking random oddly shaped trees in random locations, but instead really made these topiaries look exactly like their Disney characters, and took great time to make sure and place them where it would appropriate. My favorite example of this was Peter Pan being placed on top of one of the shops in England, and Captain Hook down below in a fighting stance, making it seem like you have caught them in the middle a swash buckling battle. And since Epcot really is the best park to tour at night, it was great to see the addition of some great lighting to the topiaries that really made them stand out during a nighttime stroll around World Showcase.
The last thing I really remember about this trip was that it was the last trip I went on with paper Fastpasses, before the Magic Bands were rolled out to all resort and off site guests. Now that I have made another trip since then using Magic Bands, it is crazy to think of how insane it was to have to get to the parks at rope drop only to have to run (almost literally) to your favorite attraction and stand in line quickly to get a Fast Pass, only to leave, go ride other attractions, and return to the very same attraction to ride it. On our last trip we were able to leisurely tour the park in the morning and then spend the afternoon hitting the busier attractions that we already had pre-planned Fast Passes for. Since we were traveling with my father and his girlfriend as well, I had to keep all 4 park tickets on me so I could quickly run to the kiosk and collect all of our Fast Passes.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Flower and Garden Festival -Part 1
With the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival starting tomorrow (and running through May 17), I thought this would be a perfect time to look back on my trip last year during the event.
Last year marked the first time I had ever been to the Flower and Garden Festival, which is odd considering that I have been going to Disney multiple times a year since I was 8, so I can't imagine missing such an event. One great thing that they added last year was the addition of the "outdoor kitchens" a.k.a "we are trying to drag the Food and Wine Festival out to even longer than before, so now we are going to offer the same food out of the same booths, but this time in the spring". Even though I do criticize the lack of creativity (since it's the exact same concept as Food and Wine), I did really enjoy having new and exciting food and drink options during our trip. While I do really enjoy getting to sample some local cuisine from each country, my family really has a hard and fast rule against sitting down for a meal while at Disney, so the booths gave us a great opportunity to try new foods in an "on the go" setting.
One thing we also really loved last year was the butterfly tent! It was full of so many beautiful butterflies that you can get an up close and personal look at. It was really nice to be able to relax for a little bit and get to do something you don't normally do while at the World.
By far though the main thing we loved about the festival were the amazing topiaries, but more about that in Part 2!
Last year marked the first time I had ever been to the Flower and Garden Festival, which is odd considering that I have been going to Disney multiple times a year since I was 8, so I can't imagine missing such an event. One great thing that they added last year was the addition of the "outdoor kitchens" a.k.a "we are trying to drag the Food and Wine Festival out to even longer than before, so now we are going to offer the same food out of the same booths, but this time in the spring". Even though I do criticize the lack of creativity (since it's the exact same concept as Food and Wine), I did really enjoy having new and exciting food and drink options during our trip. While I do really enjoy getting to sample some local cuisine from each country, my family really has a hard and fast rule against sitting down for a meal while at Disney, so the booths gave us a great opportunity to try new foods in an "on the go" setting.
One thing we also really loved last year was the butterfly tent! It was full of so many beautiful butterflies that you can get an up close and personal look at. It was really nice to be able to relax for a little bit and get to do something you don't normally do while at the World.
By far though the main thing we loved about the festival were the amazing topiaries, but more about that in Part 2!
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