Walt Disney World Resort Non-Park Discussion Thread

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/01/landscape-of-flavors-at-disneys-art-of-animation-resort-at-walt-disney-world/

“Better-for-you” options at five mini shops serving breakfast, lunch and dinner is the overarching theme of the new Landscape of Flavors food court still being tweaked for Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, opening in May. The new restaurant will be adjacent to the lobby.

“The idea is that you customize your choice,” says Chef Ed Wronski, Director, Food & Beverage Concept Development, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “From burgers to pasta, salads, ethnic flavors, omelets, even parfaits and gelatos, everything is made fresh as you order.”

There’s a big focus on beverages, too. Fresh fruit smoothies are made to order, ditto for lemonade and pomegranate limeade. They’re stocking organic teas, beer (including gluten free), wine, coffee and juices. You can get a plain cup of coffee or a French vanilla or mocha iced. And half bottles of wine are paired with cuisine from the food shops.

We got a sneak peek at the menu, and here are some of the highlights:

The Soup-Salad-Sandwich Shop lets you create your own salad (with beef or chicken) and offers a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes on focaccia, or a Buffalo-style turkey sandwich with arugula and a blue cheese-Buffalo sauce-mayo spread. Both are served with delish house-made potato chips.

The World Flavors Shop adds Indian-African flair to breakfast, too, with scrambled eggs, tandoor potatoes, Portuguese sausage, slab bacon and a mini-naan; or a veggie flatbread sandwich on naan with cauliflower, spinach and paneer. Lunch and dinner is a choice of tandoori chicken or shrimp, Mongolian beef with vegetables, mahi mahi, Portuguese sausage or roasted acorn squash served with sides and naan bread.

The Pizza Shop features make-your-own pasta, cheese and pepperoni pizzas and meatballs on ciabatta bread. Room delivery is an option, too.

The Burger Shop includes a breakfast burger with chicken breakfast sausage, cheese and scrambled eggs on a multi-grain bun, and a steak-and-eggs breakfast burger with a burger topped with fried eggs, cheese and bacon. Besides the traditional burgers, lunch and dinner includes a surf and turf burger with crab cake and fried popcorn shrimp, and a pastrami cheeseburger topped with pepper jack cheese and a slice of fried green tomato.

The “grab ‘n go” Market Shop offers drinks, yogurt, bagels, pastries, gourmet cupcakes, cookies and gelato.

The food court will be part of the Disney Dining Plan, details to follow.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/01/new-tastes-at-crossroads-at-house-of-blues-in-downtown-disney-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

We’re fans of House of Blues just for the incredible collection of folk art – we visit just to enjoy the fantastic paintings. When we headed back last week, we found some new menu items – and tweaks to old favorites.

If you loved the HOB shrimp and grits, the new version is just as delicious, but now the grits are fried in a crispy cake, smothered in a chipotle garlic cream sauce with six pan-seared shrimp. If you’re trying to behave, the new grilled flatbreads are a winner: they grill the dough then finish it in the pizza oven. The simple basil pesto and tomato was our favorite.

Cornbread is back minus the rosemary, jambalaya returns without shrimp, but with a hefty serving of chicken and spicy Andouille sausage. The diverse menu runs the gamut from lobster mac & cheese to street tacos and generous salads, but we have to say that the new Juicy Lucy burger topped our list of favorites. The Angus beef was stuffed with cheese and Applewood bacon, then topped with crispy pickled jalapeños and chipotle mayo. We split it three ways.

The wine list is all new, and you’ll find 15 beers plus local micro brews and a full bar. When you’re really hungry, end with an order of bourbon bread pudding, now served with a splash of bourbon, or the new molten chocolate cake – then stroll Downtown Disney end to end to burn those calories.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/02/finding-fixtures-in-the-ink-paint-shop-at-disneys-art-of-animation-resort/

When Disney’s Art of Animation Resort opens this coming May, guests will find a colorful new merchandise location called the Ink & Paint Shop. For the past several months, Lyndsey Vincent, a recent intern on the Walt Disney World Professional Internship Program, has been diligently working on one important thing for the new shop. She has the unique job of designing the merchandise fixtures,\ and we recently spoke about her experience. “I’ve grown up with Disney and visited Disneyland Resort every summer with my family,” said Lyndsey. “I graduated with an Interior Design degree last spring and moved from Idaho to work for Walt Disney World Resort. I didn’t know what to expect when I got here but the experience has been fun!”

Now a full-time member of the Global Retail Development team at Disney Theme Park Merchandise, Lyndsey worked closely with several departments “to put together the puzzle” that is a new location. “Location planning was a key department that helped with the design process,” explained Lyndsey. “They provided me the number of ‘faceouts’ or areas that will carry merchandise. My job then was to design fixtures that would achieve their number while balancing other factors like traffic flow and shop design.”

Walt Disney Imagineering designed the wall spaces for the location which resemble oversized paint jars. Lyndsey explained that the fixtures will be clean and simple in form and will be neutral in color to complement the colorful palate that Imagineering used. “We had several different versions of fixtures during the development process,” continued Lyndsey. “Ultimately, we chose clean, simple designs that remind me of an animator’s workspace. For this project, I wanted materials that had recycled content, had Greenguard certification for indoor air quality, and were manufactured in the US. The fixtures I am most excited about are the nested tables, which are made from a recycled concrete material.”

Lyndsey said she learned the importance of details from her Imagineering partners. “Throughout this process, Imagineering taught me the importance of paying attention to the details,” remarked Lyndsey. “Guests don’t visit Disney and remark, ‘Wow – look at those amazing fixtures!’ Yet, they are an important part of any shop. When designed well, they create a great immersive shopping experience that is all Disney.”

You can see these fixtures and the location come to life when the resort begins opening in phases on May 31.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/02/a-marquee-milestone-at-disneys-art-of-animation-resort/

I’m happy to start off the week by sharing a fun update on Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

Last week, Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) put the finishing touches on the new resort’s marquee. Measuring in at 46 feet, six inches, the resort’s sign now holds the record as the largest freestanding marquee at Walt Disney World Resort. (Incidentally, it’s 18 inches taller than the famous “HOLLYWOOD” sign in Los Angeles, Calif.).

The photo, supplied by WDI, shows three layers of development the marquee went through in its creation – from digital design, to model, to full-scale installation.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which will feature four wings dedicated to popular films Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, will open in phases beginning May 31.

[ahechtFluffy, Fluffy, Donkeys Filled With Medicine and Goo!]

Interesting that it's "Disney's Art of Animation Resort". I thought the 's had been banned, leading to stupid names like the "Disney John Carter" posters and, of course, "Disney California Adventure".

[A.J.Counts I305 as 32 credits...]

No! Don't give them any ideas! Apostrophes and "s"s are my favorite things to put at the end of the name "Disney"!

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/03/opening-dates-now-set-for-disneys-art-of-animation-resort-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

Great news to share today. The teams creating Disney’s Art of Animation Resort tell us that the wings dedicated to popular films “Cars,” “The Lion King,” and “The Little Mermaid” will now be opening sooner than you can imagine after the grand opening of the “Finding Nemo”-themed wing on May 31. Here’s the official schedule:

• Finding Nemo (Grand opening) – Opens May 31
• Cars – Opens June 18
• Lion King – Opens August 10
• Little Mermaid – Opens September 15

And guests can begin booking rooms March 23! It seems like just yesterday when we shared the first image of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) putting the finishing touches on the new resort’s marquee and Nemo icons. Now, we’re closing in on the big day – May 31. Let us know which wing you’re most looking forward to.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/04/tandoor-ovens-mongolian-grill-real-gelato-at-landscape-of-flavors-at-disneys-art-of-animation-resort/

We got a chance to talk with Michelle Clegg, food & beverage operations manager for the soon-to-open Landscape of Flavors food court at the new Disney’s Art of Animation Resort that debuts next month at Walt Disney World Resort.

They’re still tweaking the menu, but all sorts of creative new items make this the next generation of Disney food courts. Even burgers are “create your own”; you can start with a beef, chicken or veggie burger, and then the kitchen will pile on your favorite toppings (say, pepperjack cheese, pickles, tomatoes, onions and lettuce). But most fun are the four onstage tandoor ovens where chefs will bake bread and roast chicken, shrimp, sausage and acorn squash and other veggies – Michelle says that the roasted acorn squash is her favorite dish at the new restaurant. Tandoors are cylindrical ovens that reach very high temperatures and quickly bake, so it should be a grand onstage show for diners. The real treat is naan, a delicious Indian bread that’s slapped directly onto the oven’s walls and left to bake until puffy and lightly browned, perfect for wrapping all sorts of delicious food.

And the restaurant’s Mongolian grill is another new touch – 3 feet in diameter, the chefs will make everything onstage, from challah bread French toast for breakfast to grilled beef and fish for lunch and dinner.

There’s lot of attention on “better-for-you” options, so you’ll find buckwheat waffles and pasta, multigrain rice, low-fat smoothies, egg white frittatas and make-your-own yogurt parfaits. But it’s all about choices, so there are still pizzas and fries (and chocolate chip pancakes).

And we’re excited to see real gelato on the menu, the Italian version of ice cream with less butterfat but bigger flavor. That and a whole menu of coffee drinks, including iced French vanilla, iced mocha, cappuccino, espresso and mochachino. We’ll carpool to the new resort for our 3 p.m. break!

[BeemerBoyWDW Monorail Fanatic]

And we’re excited to see real gelato on the menu, the Italian version of ice cream with less butterfat but bigger flavor.

Where's Ginzo at? I'm sure he'll approve of this.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/04/a-reimagined-basin-reopens-at-downtown-disney-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

Check out this shopping list: Almonds, cranberry, vanilla, oatmeal, honey, and sea salt. No, we’re not making cookies – those are just some of the natural ingredients used to create the fresh-cut soaps available at Basin, the bath and beauty shop at Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort.

Basin recently reopened after a refresh that included the addition of an oversized sink where as many as eight guests can simultaneously try out the all-natural salt body scrubs. The new Basin centerpiece is topped with a Mickey Mouse that was carved from a 250-pound block of soap.

Here’s a tour through the refreshed location:


YouTube Videolink

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

And we’re excited to see real gelato on the menu, the Italian version of ice cream with less butterfat but bigger flavor.

Where's Ginzo at? I'm sure he'll approve of this.

Why? So he can say how much better real gelato is in Italy?