Walt Disney World Resort Non-Park Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

Quite the party here tonight.

 

Yeah...

 

 

There are WAY too many people there for my liking. But hey, to each their own! At least the people are having a good time!

Honestly, what is the POINT of your post??? Just to be negative??? Why??? Who needs to hear it? Someone made a post saying they are having a good time at an event tonight and your whole point was just to show your disapproval. Ugh, when people ask why I have just been flat out sick of people and their stupid comments more and more lately, this is a perfect example of why.

 

We need fewer people like you on our forums and more like that guy posting he was having fun.

 

There... I said it.

[jedimaster1227]

Morimoto Asia has sent us a notice that the Sakura Festival is running through April 15th, 2018!

 

The festival will celebrate the arrival of spring and cherry blossoms at Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs. The restaurant will be decorated with Instagram-worthy decor, the pink blooms of the Sakura. The festival will feature themed menu specials that will be available to order during lunch and dinner. Throughout the month-long festival, the restaurant will host multiple events dedicated to the cherry blossoms.

Edited March 24, 2018 by jedimaster1227

[jray21]

The world needs more Morimoto restaurants. I need to go back for a visit!

[jedimaster1227]

In honor of National Beer Day, we have been sent a list of some of the unique beers offered throughout the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort!

 

Sakura Kolsch, Crooked Can Brewing Co., served at Morimoto Asia, Disney Springs - A true collaboration between Morimoto Asia and Crooked Can brewing, the Sakura Kolsch or Cherry Blossom Kolsch is dry hopped with Cherry Blossom tea. It is a unique and one of a kind beer that complements so many of Chef Morimoto's dishes including sushi.

 

Cantillion served at The Edison, Disney Springs – One of the most highly regarded and coveted beers in the world, this Belgium-based brew specializes in the the (almost) lost style of Lambics. Lambics are particularly interesting as they really are the “terroir” of beer. Brewed only 5 months a year, this beer is cooled off and inoculated with wild yeast that floats in from the open windows, settling in the Koelschip, which uses the cool fall and spring air to cool the wort and to give the yeast it’s local flavor and terroir – a true adventure for the nose and the palate. The Edison’s current selection special is the rare version Fou’ Foune or a Lambic aged on apricots.

 

Birra Frangante, Birrificio Del Ducato, served at Maria & Enzo's, Disney Springs - Translated as "fragrant beer" in Italian, this brew from Parma Italy borders on a Belgian pale ale style, but much more fragrant and aromatic. Paired beautifully

with 24 month-aged prosciutto di Parma.

 

Mo’ara High Country Ale served at Satu’li Canteen, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park - Features an herbal spice hop aroma and notes of caramel, toffee and nuts. A perfect refreshment after riding a banshee on Pandora's Flight of Passage.

 

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout served at Enzo's Hideaway, Disney Springs - The original bourbon barrel aged stout with rich, luscious notes of chocolate, vanilla and a nice roasted barley note. This brew is a perfect fit to this speakeasy bar that rotates its "smuggled selections" regularly.

 

HANGAR 24 (Redlands, CA) ORANGE WHEAT, Wheat, Redlands served at UVA Bar & Cafe, Downtown Disney – Described as crisp, tangy, and refreshing. Whole locally grown oranges added to the brewing process enhance the citrus aroma, light airy mouth-feel, and tangy finish which are the trademarks of this slightly hazy unfiltered beer.

 

Angel City IPA served at Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, Downtown Disney - A spirited, medium-bodied, copper-hued beer brewed with enough hops to satisfy. The big and bold brew is the perfect treat for the hop inclined that captures the character and true spirit of Los Angeles, like no other.

 

Monarch Milk Stout served at Florida Fresh, Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival – This brew from First Magnitude brewing Co. in Gainesville Florida is smooth with a hint of sweetness. Rich and dark in color, this milk stout is the like cream added to your morning coffee…with a little kick.

 

Violet Lemonade Ale served at Pineapple Promenade, Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival – This Playalinda Brewing Company beer from Titusville Florida is refreshingly sweet and sour, a perfect complement to bright Florida sun.

 

Sunshine Greetings Orange Hibiscuses Wheat Al, Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival – this beer is brewed with hibiscus and orange peel. Light, fruity & refreshing, this ale has a light pinkish hue and a bright, floral aroma. Light citrus notes blend seamlessly with the rosy / gently-tart character of the hibiscus - Subtle malt sweetness backs the easy going floral notes, giving this beer complexity paired with superb drinkability.

 

Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale served at at Nomad Lounge, Tiffins and Thirsty River, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park –This African-inspired deep amber ale is brewed exclusively for Walt Disney World with sorghum and a special blend of spices including cinnamon and cardamom.

 

Morimoto Soba Ale served at Morimoto Asia, Disney Springs - part of the Signature Series of Rogue Ales, launched in the Spring of 2003 with internationally acclaimed Chef Masaharu Morimoto—a James Beard awarded chef and one of the stars of the Food Network series, Iron Chef. The delicate flavor of roasted Soba brings a nutty finish to this light and refreshing ale. A perfect accompaniment to lighter cuisine.

 

Hawkes’ Grog Ale served at Satu’li Canteen, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park - a light, wheaty ale made by Terrapin Beer Co. It's a Golden Ale with a green color and contains the flavors of wheat and citrus all followed by a creamy finish.

 

Full Sail Session Lager, served at 50’s Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood Studios - Session Premium lager is a crisp, smooth, and refreshing import-style lager, like the kind of beer made back in the pre-Prohibition days. Crisp, smooth, light bodied, but with a nice creaminess when you swish it. There is a lot of flavor in here for a pale lager.

 

Safari Amber, served at Dawa Bar in Africa at Animal Kingdom - Whether you are riding with the Yeti on Expedition Everest or spotting animals on the Kilimanjaro Safaris, make sure to stop in Dawa Bar at Animal Kingdom for this delicious and refreshing lager. With a subtle citrus taste, it is the perfect refresher on a hot day.

 

Stone Delicious IPA served at BaseLine Tap House at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Intensely citrusy, beautifully bitter beer brings a magnificent lemon candy-like flavor that’s balanced by hop spice.

 

Lucky Buddha, served at Yak and Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom - If you're lucky enough to be spending the day at Animal Kingdom, drinking a Lucky Buddha Beer, you're lucky enough. Served in a green bottle sculpted with a signature laughing buddha, this true asian style lager with a crisp, clean finish is the perfect afternoon refreshment.

 

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, served at Le Cellier in Canada - World Showcase at Epcot -the first beer Unibroue ever brewed with pale golden, Belgian white ale pairs perfectly with the Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup, or the Oatmeal Stout-Braised Short Ribs.

 

Golden Road Hefeweizen, served at BaseLine Tap House at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – this Bavarian-style wheat beer has hints of banana and clove on the nose from the German yeast. A medium body and smooth crisp finish that has you ready for the next sip.

Edited April 7, 2018 by jedimaster1227

[viking86]

All that beer looks delicious! But I'm still waiting for Disney to start serving Norwegian beer in the Norway pavilion at Epcot!

[Nrthwnd]

New word I just read and learned about, today.

BULLWHEEL: The bullwheel is the mechanism that the rope turns on in a station to return the gondolas to the next station. The bullwheel can be both a motorized or non-motorized. Here’s an example of an exposed bullwheel. Of course, the bullwheel at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be under the cover of the themed station.

An example of the bullwheel. Quote from blogmickey.

[kadath]

Hey Guys,

so as you may or may not know, the free dining plan for WDW in 2018 has been released and by pure chance we have booked a trip to WDW in the right timeframe. Now, being first timers from Europe, we've booked a comparatively cheap package, but since we're on a tight budget we'd like to have a go at it. Problem is, UK/IE (which is were we booked, but are actually german residents) has their free dining released for 2019. Now, anyone has ever had a similar situation and can say wether we have any chance, or is the 2018 Free Dining Plan for US-Citizens only? Doesn't say anything like that on the site though... Thank you very much for any tips!

[bert425]

Oh wow.. the new Wreck it Ralph II trailer is out!

 

 

Vanellope meets the Princeses

 

go to 1:15 in the trailer to begin that AWESOME segment:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[Nrthwnd]

Love it, that Cinderella breaks her glass slipper, turning it into a weapon.

[bert425]

Love it, that Cinderella breaks her glass slipper, turning it into a weapon.

 

and Pocahontas' hair blowing in the non-existent indoor breeze

[DallasAlvey]

Last night we were at the opening of H20 Glow Nights, the new hard ticket event at Typhoon Lagoon! Had a lot of fun, really enjoyed just being able to hang out in the park at night. Like other Disney hard ticket events the crowds are kept pretty light, meaning little to no waits for anything. There's some entertainment offerings unique to Glow Nights like the Partysaurus Rex dance party and meet and greets with Buzz, Woody and Jessie. Honestly had a really good time, would love to see more nighttime events in the waterparks!

 

Sun’s setting on Typhoon Lagoon, time for Glow Nights to start!

Got our credentials and we’re ready to go!

Map for the event!

Can’t help but take these sunset pics!

Trying out some of the food selections. The impossible burger is unique to Glow Nights and is an all vegetarian burger.

More food!

Frozen margaritas were delicious!

Some merchandise available at the park.

Woody and Jessie are out meeting guests by the wavepool.

Partysaurus Rex has the dance party going on the beach!

[twitter]

[/twitter]

Love the way the park looks at night!

Lazy River looked like this the whole night! Perks of hard ticket events!

Buzz is also out greeting guests by Crush N' Gusher.

Crush N' Gusher was a walk on the whole night!

Had a great time at Glow Nights, really great way to experience Typhoon Lagoon!

[Moose]

This looks a lot like the crowds at Riptide during Gay Days, but for cheaper (I assume). It really is a great time and you get so many slides in. THis year we rode crush n' gusher over a dozen times and still rode everything else in the park multiple times as well.

[bert425]

I tend not to be a waterpark person.. but this looks like a LOT of fun.

 

great pics.

[jray21]

That looks like a fun event! An evening at the waterpark in Orlando during the summer sounds perfect. Great report!

[Satans Hockey]

This looks awesome! We enjoyed typhoon lagoon more than blizzard beach just because they had more tube rides and stuff we could do together. Both water parks are still some of the absolute best though and I can't wait to get back down there again, we would definitely give this a try.

[robbalvey]

If there is one thing I wish that people could see more of, it is the behind the scenes juggernaut that is the well-oiled machine that puts together everything you see at Walt Disney World. Thanks to several of the Adventures by Disney backstage tours that are offered around the WDW resort, you can get to see some of these things, and trust me, they are AMAZING! We were recently invited out to check out some of the highlights of the upcoming holiday tours along with a preview of what is up and coming this holiday season.

 

During the holiday period Adventures by Disney offers two backstage tours that will WOW you! The "Holiday D-Lights" is a six hour tour that will take you behind the scenes of how the parks are decorated for Christmas and a look at some of other holiday offerings around the resort. This includes getting to see how the lights are put on Cinderella Castle, a walk through the enormous warehouse that contains all the holiday props used at Walt Disney World (It's amazing!), an inside look at the fireworks used in Holiday Illuminations (literally you get to look inside the fireworks!), and get to see how the Candlelight Processional show is put together and listen into the stage techs working as the show unfolds live in front of you.

 

The "Yuletide Fantasy" tour is a three and half hour tour where you'll get an inside look at how many of the floral arrangements you see around the resort are put together, and you'll even get to make your own holiday treat!

 

Both tours will give you exclusive keepsakes to take home with you!

 

More information on these limited tours are available here:

Holiday D-Lights Tour: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/holiday-d-lights/

 

Yuletide Fantasy Tour: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/yuletide-fantasy/

 

Since most of the tour takes place backstage, we were unable to take many photos, but we do have a few to share with you...

 

Here's where you get to see how the castle Christmas lights are done! And the warehouse you can get a glimpse of behind me is just full of thousands of interesting props and familiar scenes that you will see all over the parks! This is only one small "snapshot" of what this section of the tour includes.

 

If holiday decorations are your thing, seriously you will be amazing by everything you will see in this warehouse!

 

Inside this building is where you'll get to see floral arrangements being made that are used throughout the parks. Not only did the building smell wonderful, it was so interesting to see how all this creativity comes together.

 

As part of the Yuletide Fantasy tour, you will head over to Disney Springs for some festive decorating at Amorette's!

 

Hey look! I made something!

 

As you can see this takes a LOT of concentration!

 

Even me, who has ZERO artistic talent at all, made something fun and cool! When this tour takes place in December, you'll get to decorate a Gingerbread Man!

 

Here's a look at the exclusive pin you get for doing the tour!

 

We were also given some other fun little keepsakes throughout the tour!

 

But what about the rest of Holidays around the Walt Disney World Resort?

 

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! will be back at Hollywood Studios!

 

During the presentation, we were told that the Tower of Terror projection show will be adding new this year... get ready for it... LASERS!!!! (Thanks Laser Dave!)

 

Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration (one of my all-time favorite shows at the resort) will be back at Magic Kingdom during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

 

We got to check out some new merchandise! Check out how awesome Chip n Dale look hanging out in that new Dooney and Bourke holiday bag!

 

That hat is FABULOUS!!!

 

Love the Ugly Sweater pin collection! Especially the Baymax pin!

 

And don't forget that sleigh rides will be back in 2018 at Fort Wilderness campground!

 

It was a great day getting to experience these tours along with learning about what we can look forward to this holiday season at Walt Disney World! Hope to see some of you at the parks this December!

Edited July 23, 2018 by robbalvey

[thrillrider]

This tour looks like a great time! Thank you for sharing.

 

A few years ago, there was a show (I believe it was on the travel channel) about all that goes into the Christmas decorations at Disneyworld. They had some footage of the wearhouse and the full time staff on hand all year that work on the decorations. It was really interesting, and always thought it would be fun to tour this area.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

These are so cool!!

[Nrthwnd]

omg The Ugly Sweater Pins RAAAAAAAWK!

 

[jedimaster1227]

The Edison has sent us a notice about their upcoming event, "A Gatsby Evening at The Edison" taking place next month!

 

Join us for a roarin’ good time at The Edison's lavish Gatsby affair on Sunday, September 2. Celebrate Labor Day at Disney Springs by getting all dolled up in your best flapper attire, jazzed up in your 1920s style suits, and get ready to dance the night away in style. From the moment you step on the red carpet and enter the opulent party setting, be prepared to be entertained. From flair-tenders serving swanky spirits, flying aerial champagne performers, burlesque dancers, cigar rollers, a live band, stilt-walkers and more, you will be dazzled till the end. Sip complimentary bubbles of Moet Champagne and enjoy The Edison's full food & beverage menu for purchase. Doors Open at 7:30 p.m. Purchase your tickets here: https://bit.ly/2OSK9SF

[jedimaster1227]

Just a reminder, there are still tickets available for "A Gatsby Evening at The Edison" taking place this Sunday at The Edison at Disney Springs! Purchase your tickets here: https://bit.ly/2OSK9SF

[coasterbill]

While not related to the park itself, this is huge news for anyone in the eastern half of the United States who’s traveling to Orlando. We broke down and bought a SunPass last year because of how obnoxious the rental car toll plan fees are and how ridiculous it is to pay cash for tolls the 21st century. Now you can just bring your EZ-Pass down to Orlando and use that.

 

EZ Pass Now Accepted in Central Florida

 

[thrillrider]

While not related to the park itself, this is huge news for anyone in the eastern half of the United States who’s traveling to Orlando. We broke down and bought a SunPass last year because of how obnoxious the rental car toll plan fees are and how ridiculous it is to pay cash for tolls the 21st century. Now you can just bring your EZ-Pass down to Orlando and use that.

 

EZ Pass Now Accepted in Central Florida

 

 

Thanks for that info on the EZ pass. I would never had known.

We just purchased a new car, and forgot to remove our sun pass from the car(it was hidden behind the rear view mirror). We just depleted the balance on it during our last trip down there this summer.

[A.J.]

While not related to the park itself, this is huge news for anyone in the eastern half of the United States who’s traveling to Orlando. We broke down and bought a SunPass last year because of how obnoxious the rental car toll plan fees are and how ridiculous it is to pay cash for tolls the 21st century. Now you can just bring your EZ-Pass down to Orlando and use that.

 

EZ Pass Now Accepted in Central Florida

Keep in mind that this is only on Central Florida Expressway Authority routes, or, any route with a YELLOW toll road font above the number. Green-colored toll roads, including Florida's Turnpike, still require SunPass (or will toll you by your plate). Thankfully, the majority of Orlando toll roads are the yellow ones, except, annoyingly, the stretch of the Beachline Expressway (Route 528) that intersects Orange Blossom Trail, John Young Parkway, Universal Boulevard, International Drive, and Interstate 4.

[bert425]

ok, a friend posted this on FB, and it made me laugh out loud (and now I'm singing it in my head). . so wanted to share