Walt Disney World Resort Non-Park Discussion Thread

[Haymaker]

Reports saying DVC resale waivers have changed to allow resale buyers to stay at Riviera.

[bert425]

my Heart is breaking for those Disney Castmembers who are being affected

 

sounds like some areas are being very hard hit.

 

Hopefully when the parks reopen, many will be rehired (I suspect the mass layoff is mainly to get the numbers off the books for the fiscal year).

 

Still it's a terrible time for things like this to happen. I understand it, but still very sad about it.

[Nrthwnd]

Quote

 

"Disney is laying off 28,000 employees in the US"

So sad to read/hear about this.

[jedimaster1227]

Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Disney Springs has sent us a press release announcing some upcoming specials for their 15th anniversary, available on Wednesday, October 21st! Coupled with the fun entertainment that Raglan Road has to offer, and all that a visit to Disney Springs can bring, this is the perfect excuse to visit!

Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Disney Springs marks its 15th anniversary on Weds., Oct. 21.

To celebrate the 15-year milestone, Raglan Road will offer $15 specials on its most popular dishes and beverages plus other discounts on the Oct. 21 anniversary date:

Select Entrees reduced to $15 to include Fish & Chips, Shepherd’s To Die For Pie, Bangin’ Bangers and Mighty Mash, and the OMG Burger

• $15 15-year-old Irish Whiskey Flight
• $15 Beer Flights for Two
• 15 percent off Cooke’s of Dublin meals
• 15 percent off Shop for Ireland retail purchases

The dining, shopping and entertainment district Disney Springs was still called Downtown Disney in 2005 when the authentic Irish pub, owned and operated by Irish partners John Cooke and Paul Nolan, opened its doors offering a lively mix of authentic Irish entertainment and contemporary Irish cuisine.

Now situated at The Landing at Disney Springs and having garnered multiple dining and entertainment awards through the years, Raglan Road features daily choreographed Irish stage shows by talented bands and an award-winning step-dance troupe. A dining destination for travelers and locals, Raglan Road last month earned Orlando magazine’s 2020 Reader’s Choice first-place Dining Award for Best Live Music Entertainment. The pub’s popular annual Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival and its Labor Day weekend boutique Irish music festival, the Great Irish Hooley, have welcomed many thousands of festival-goers each year.

Initially featuring lunch, dinner and late-night pub grub, Raglan Road in 2013 introduced its Rollicking Raglan Brunch on Sundays, eventually expanding to Saturdays, as well. The popular weekend brunch last month also earned an Orlando magazine Reader’s Choice 2nd place Dining Award for Best Brunch.

A Traveler’s Choice award winner for consecutive years, Raglan Road in 2020 also earned the exclusive honor of placing in the top 10 percent of restaurants worldwide thanks to travelers’ reviews and ratings.

In addition to the pub’s modern Irish cuisine, the menu features a wide selection of craft beers and ales, hand-crafted cocktails, Irish coffee drinks, plus wine and bubbly, too. The Raglan Road children’s menu offers options for every young palate.

Raglan Road closed in mid-March due to pandemic-related restaurant shutdowns and reopened in June after incorporating a long list of safety measures throughout the restaurant. Guests can book socially-distanced tables for dinner and for the Rollicking Raglan Weekend Brunch. Drop-in guests may find distanced seating at one of the pub’s bars, in one of three dining rooms or on the patio, but reservations are highly recommended.

The pub’s Shop for Ireland boutique is open daily and packed with everything from cookbooks and kitchen wares to a wide selection of apparel, jewelry, flat caps, ball caps, and foodstuffs. Cooke’s of Dublin, the Irish quick-service restaurant adjacent to the pub, offers traditional favorites like Dublin-style fish & chips, burgers and savory pies to carry out, eat in or devour at an outside table from noon to 10 p.m.

Owned and operated by Irish partners John Cooke and Paul Nolan, Raglan Road features traditional Irish dishes and new creations with a Celtic twist.  The restaurant’s warm interior of aged walnut and mahogany woods from old Irish bars and churches was built in Ireland and shipped to Orlando.  Live entertainment nightly includes a suite of shows featuring Irish bands and dancers. Guests also can enjoy shows beginning at noon during the weekend Rollicking Raglan Brunch.  Dinner is served from 4-11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday Brunch is served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant is located at Disney Springs in the Walt Disney World Resort, 1640 E. Buena Vista Dr., Lake Buena Vista, Fla.  Visit www.raglanroad.com or call 407/938-0300. Follow us @RaglanRoadPub on social media.

[Nrthwnd]

^ You had me at the fish & chips, mate!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

That all looks fantastic! 

[jedimaster1227]

Walt Disney World has announced that Disney's Blizzard Beach will reopen on March 7th, 2021! The water park will be open for its 25th season and to celebrate, the Disney Parks Blog has shared seven fun facts about the classic water park!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/12/7-reasons-to-be-excited-for-the-opening-of-disneys-blizzard-beach-in-march-2021/

The wait is finally over! Cast members will begin returning soon to prepare Disney’s Blizzard Beach for its scheduled reopening on March 7, 2021. First opened to the public on April 1, 1995, this spring will kick off Blizzard Beach’s 25th season. In honor of this exciting news – here are seven fun facts you may not have known about Disney’s wintry-themed water park.

1. Blizzard Beach has a special story all its own 

A ski resort in Florida? You heard that right! As the story goes, a legendary snowstorm in Florida prompted local opportunists to build a ski resort. When Florida’s climate returned to normal temperatures and the snow began to melt, Blizzard Beach was born.

 2. Blizzard Beach is home to one of the fastest waterslides in the world

The ultimate water park thrill ride, Summit Plummet is a 120-foot-tall waterslide with a near-vertical drop. Guests accelerate up to 65 mph on the slide, making it one of the fastest attractions at Walt Disney World.

3. There’s no shortage of tasty treats

From churros to Mickey ice cream bars, you can discover many of your favorite snacks at the Disney Water Parks. There are plenty of menu options to choose from, including these loaded nachos from Frostbite Freddy’s Frozen Freshments.

4. The first chairlift in Florida was built at Blizzard Beach

Want to know a Disney secret? This colorful chairlift, built to ferry guests to the top of Mount Gushmore, was the first of its kind in the state of Florida. The chairlift offers a scenic bird’s-eye view of Blizzard Beach and easy access to Summit Plummet, Slush Gusher and Teamboat Springs.

5. There’s a full-service beach bar serving Blizzard Beach-inspired cocktails

Piña CoLAVA anyone? How about a Blue Blizzard Margarita? The Polar Pub serves as Blizzard Beach’s own full-service beach bar and offers specialty cocktails inspired by the park’s stories.

6. Cross Country Creek is one of the longest lazy rivers in the U.S.A.

At 3,000 feet, Cross Country Creek ranks among the longest lazy rivers in the country. It takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete one journey around the waterway – depending, of course, on how lazy you want to be!

7. Teamboat Springs is one of the world’s longest family whitewater raft ride

One of the world’s longest family whitewater raft ride is none other than Teamboat Springs at Blizzard Beach. Along the winding rapids of Teamboat Springs, guests encounter remnants of the fabled snowstorm in the form of snowshoes, snow shovels, melting icicles and a snow mobile.

[SharkTums]

Really happy for them! Love Blizzard Beach!

[KBrylczyk]

Blizzard Beach is excellent, I'm glad they're giving it the TLC it needs.  Everyone talks about Summit Plummet but IMO Slush Gusher is the scariest slide.  Summit Plummet just gave me a mean wedgie and beat up by back.  Slush Gusher had me going so fast before the final dip that I launched into the air and landed back on the slide.  It was probably only like 3 inches but in the moment I swore I was flying into the stratosphere.

[cfc]

I like this water park a lot, but haven't been there in years. Cross Country Creek is the best lazy river ever.

[Hilltopper39]

I wonder if they got around to fixing/replacing the one slide of Runoff Rapids that's been closed for a few years. It's really bizarre the slide is there but the entry and exit are both boarded up, just kind of bizarre looking for a Disney park. As much a we love Blizzard Beach another 2 person tube slide would be a great so hopefully that slide is back to normal when the park re-opens. 

[Haymaker]

WDW is ending its contract with Mears for the Magical/Tragical Express starting with 2022 arrivals.

Rumor I heard is that this leaked before Disney was ready to announce its replacement, time will tell if thats true or if this is just another on-site perk theyre eliminating.

Also announced was the end of Extra Magic Hours, to be replaced by daily Early Entry for resort guests, 30 minutes across the board, all 4 parks.

[SharkTums]

They also stopped EMH after 9/11.  We'll see if it comes back again or it gets replaced by the before and after parties they had been upcharging lately. 

[thepoint4life23]

Does anyone know how far out you can book park reservation for when you stay at a Disney resort? I am looking to book a trip for November and wanted to know if lets say i book next week if i can make park reservation at the time or if its more like fast passes and can't do so say 90 days before the trip

[Chiselphane]

36 minutes ago, thepoint4life23 said:

Does anyone know how far out you can book park reservation for when you stay at a Disney resort? I am looking to book a trip for November and wanted to know if lets say i book next week if i can make park reservation at the time or if its more like fast passes and can't do so say 90 days before the trip

Currently the park reservation calendar is open til Jan 14 2023

[PKI Jizzman]

Just a general question for you all. I haven't had a real visit to WDW since 2002 when I was 11 years old. 

Would visiting now, with limitations like no fast pass be a mistake? Should I just wait for when things are back to normal? I am likely visiting for BGT/SWO/Universal and WDW is right there, I haven't been paying too much attention to how they're operating until recently. 

[Haymaker]

2 hours ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Just a general question for you all. I haven't had a real visit to WDW since 2002 when I was 11 years old. 

Would visiting now, with limitations like no fast pass be a mistake? Should I just wait for when things are back to normal? I am likely visiting for BGT/SWO/Universal and WDW is right there, I haven't been paying too much attention to how they're operating until recently. 

Depends. Are character meet & greets, shows, fireworks and good eating your thing? Or are you just looking to ride as much as you can? By all accounts ive seen, it is a watered down experience right now, and cast members are rightfully not as chipper as they usually are because guests cant act right. But if youre just looking to ride what you can and go, if you hit it at a down time then not having FP+ wont be that big of a deal. The Jan-Feb lull had very low crowds and waits. 

[PKI Jizzman]

21 hours ago, Haymaker said:

Depends. Are character meet & greets, shows, fireworks and good eating your thing? Or are you just looking to ride as much as you can? By all accounts ive seen, it is a watered down experience right now, and cast members are rightfully not as chipper as they usually are because guests cant act right. But if youre just looking to ride what you can and go, if you hit it at a down time then not having FP+ wont be that big of a deal. The Jan-Feb lull had very low crowds and waits. 

I love fireworks and good eats, but meet and greets/shows aren't really my thing. I really want to revisit all of the rides I've forgotten about and see all of the new attractions. I haven't been on Dinosaur or EE, Test Track, etc WDW is essentially 4 new parks for me haha. 

I would be visiting in June!

[Haymaker]

52 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

I love fireworks and good eats, but meet and greets/shows aren't really my thing. I really want to revisit all of the rides I've forgotten about and see all of the new attractions. I haven't been on Dinosaur or EE, Test Track, etc WDW is essentially 4 new parks for me haha. 

I would be visiting in June!

Well some good eats arent open yet, like 'Ohana, Takumi Tei, Monsieur Paul and Tusker House, but those arent deal breakers, at least for me. Chances are fireworks wont be back yet, but I think if you go during the week in early June you'll be fine with wait times. Northern schools arent out yet and locals come out more on the weekend. 

[805Andrew]

On 3/14/2021 at 7:59 AM, PKI Jizzman said:

Just a general question for you all. I haven't had a real visit to WDW since 2002 when I was 11 years old. 

Would visiting now, with limitations like no fast pass be a mistake? Should I just wait for when things are back to normal? I am likely visiting for BGT/SWO/Universal and WDW is right there, I haven't been paying too much attention to how they're operating until recently. 

I just visited last week (before my Premier Pass expires at the end of the month) and it is fine if you are mainly a rides person. I do miss a few shows like fireworks but the lower capacity means under one hour waits for most of the rides (as long as you don't visit on a busy holiday weekend or during peak Spring Break - I left just as the Spring Break crowds were arriving). Also there are still plenty of good food options available to keep infrequent visitors satisfied aside from a lot of quick service locations in Magic Kingdom being closed. Flower & Garden Festival is currently running at Epcot until July and the food choices are pretty much as good as Food & Wine Festival. I was satisfied with the available food choices at Animal Kingdom as well and even Hollywood Studios (thanks to Galaxy's Edge). For Magic Kingdom though I would try a reserve a table service restaurant (I recommend Skipper Canteen) as most of their open quick serve locations are just basic options like burgers and hot dogs. 

[PKI Jizzman]

That's good to hear! I'm also seeing that a 5 day park hopper ticket is the same price as 10 day admission. That will be plentyyy enough time to do everything and be able to reride the big rides that I really enjoy. There's so much good food and drink all over Disney I am not concerned there, I have actually been to Ohana when I visited Universal, my group took me over there for dinner and I understand the love people have for it and those types of restaurants. 

[SharkTums]

^It's a hard call right now. The hours are shorter and there is much less entertainment, but if you're going for rides and can go mid-week when it's not busy it will be great for rides. 

[Garet]

Quote

Kelly Sills paid a small fortune for an enchanting trip to “the most magical place on Earth.”

Instead, the Baton Rouge resident — like several other Disney World guests who have defied coronavirus restrictions — visited the Orange County jail.

Amid heightened precautions for the virus at the major Florida tourist attraction, Sills, 47, skipped the temperature screening required of guests, authorities said. He was confronted by security about it at a Disney Springs restaurant, the Boathouse, when he yelled and refused to leave, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest report from Feb. 13. When deputies insisted he would be charged with trespassing, he pointed to how much he spent on his vacation, according to body-camera footage released this week.

Body camera footage shows arrest after man refuses temperature check at Disney World

Baton Rouge resident Kelly Sills was arrested after he refused a temperature check at Disney World. Sills claimed he spent $15,000 on the trip. (Orange County Sheriff’s Office)

“I paid $15,000,” said Sills, handcuffed. “You can’t trespass me if I paid $15,000.”

He pleaded not guilty to a trespassing charge, according to Orange County court records.

In an interview Saturday with The Washington Post, Sills said he would have “happily” consented to a temperature screening but he had inadvertently walked in through an exit and not realized his error. He partly blamed the security manager for escalating the conflict — and compared Disney security to Nazis and the mafia — but also admitted he was in “a bit of a mood” after a day of travel.

He was arrested on the first night of what was a five-day trip with his family, a rare reprieve for which he had paid thousands, he said. Two hotel rooms, air travel and admission to Disney and Universal for seven to eight people set him back, he said.

“Covid is a very serious thing, but so is my vacation with my family,” he said.

Sills’s arrest, first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, is not the first instance guests have been reprimanded over defying coronavirus restrictions at a Disney park. The newspaper reported several skirmishes have stemmed from angry refusals to follow the theme park’s rules, including guests spitting on, yelling at and pushing employees tasked with reminding visitors to follow restrictions instated to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

The confrontations at Disney World come as other parts of Florida have had to ramp up enforcement when rowdy tourists flocked to the state that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has promoted as less restrictive. While spring break revelers descended on South Florida, DeSantis praised how busy the area was compared with cities in other states with stricter coronavirus guidelines, such as New York City. He has touted the state’s distribution of vaccine doses and argued it is safe to visit.

“It’s booming here because you can live like a human being,” he said at a February press event. “People take precautions, which is great, but you’re not locked down. People aren’t miserable.”

But some local leaders said the “open for business” message that endorses fewer rules could lead to “chaos.”

[Miami Beach police pepper-spray ‘unruly’ spring breakers, arrest 100 as authorities fear covid-19 surge]

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said conflicts over coronavirus rules are uncommon, with most guests following the requirements shared with them before they travel. Disney requires guests to stay home if they have symptoms, wear masks for if they are ages 2 and up, and undergo temperature checks at some entries.

“Guests have been overwhelmingly supportive of our protocols,” she wrote in a statement. “Millions of Guests visit our theme parks each year and in rare instances when things of this nature occur, we hold them accountable.”

In the body-camera footage, Sills expressed disbelief that Disney was requiring a temperature check as deputies walked him to a patrol car.

“I’m so ready to be done with this covid,” he told deputies at another point.

As deputies escorted Sills past families and others strolling through the park, he had a change of heart, wanting to undergo a temperature screening.

“Will you take my temperature before you kick me out, please?” he asked in the video.

“They’ll do that at the jail,” a deputy responded.

“Well, that’s good,” Sills said.

Source

Disney definitely takes breaking the covid rules seriously. There's body cam footage in the link.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Ha! That's the way to do it!

Tell 'em you paid a lot for that trip!

Of course, you should expect special perks....

 

And jail just happens to be one of them. 

What an ass.

[SharkTums]

Yeah, this guy is a real idiot. Apparently he's also involved in some shady government stuff back in his hometown.  I honestly don't know what's the worse excuse; the 'Do you know who I am?' or the 'Do you know how much I paid?'.  Both make you look like an ass!