Tag: Walt Disney World (FL)

Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date December 29, 2020

Into each life, a little rain must fall. And if that rain happens to fall on your Disney day, you may be singing the blues. There’s still plenty of ways to have fun at the parks, though. Today, we’re looking at four ways to have fun at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on a rainy day.

Indoor Attractions or Attractions with Indoor Queues

Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain

Although many attractions at Animal Kingdom are outside, there are a few that can help take you out of the rain for a while, including It’s Tough to be a Bug and Dinosaur. Also, depending on line length, Flight of Passage has a queue that is partially indoors, and much of Kilimanjaro Safaris’ queue is under cover. A trip on the Wildlife Express is under cover, and then Conservation Station is inside.

Go Shopping for a While

Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain

Animal Kingdom has several unique shopping locations where you can spend some time to get out of the rain. You can read more about the variety that you can find here.

Grab a Drink and Watch the Crowds Go By

Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain

A good bar experience may not be what you think of when you think of Animal Kingdom, but two of our favorite bars at Walt Disney World can be found here. For a casual drink and good crowd-watching opportunities, Dawa Bar in Africa is highly recommended. Looking for an even more relaxing experience? Nomad Lounge, located near the Discovery Island bridge into Pandora offers quality drinks and food. You can see more of our recommendations here.

Ride Kali River Rapids

Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain

If it’s raining, you’re probably already wet. As long as it isn’t severe weather that necessitates a closure, why not enjoy riding on Kali River Rapids to get thoroughly soaked?

Do you have other favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom when it rains? Let us know in the comments.

The post Best Ways to Enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Rain appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Walt Disney World (FL), Disney’s Animal Kingdom, rain

Tags Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, rain, Walt Disney World (FL)

Disney Reviews Other

What We Loved the Most in 2020

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date December 28, 2020

Whether it’s a headliner attraction opening or something that just makes life better, or an experience of making lemonade out of lemons, there were some things we loved about 2020. Here’s our list of the things that we actually loved from 2020.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

What We Loved the Most in 2020 — Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway – December 9, 2020

If there’s ever a year where we just needed something fun, it was this year. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is just plain fun. It may not be as high-tech as Rise of the Resistance, and certainly won’t be as heart-stopping as Guardians of the Galaxy or TRON when they open, but that’s what makes this so incredible. It’s something the whole family can enjoy and it is fun to do again and again. It also has the perfect 2020 motto “Nothing Can Stop Us Now…” which also wins for best irony in that this attraction launched and then Walt Disney World closed that same month. Ah, 2020.

Character Cavalcades for the Holidays

With the desire to keep people from congregating for things like parades, and with meet and greets on hold, Disney introduced character cavalcades at all Walt Disney World theme parks. What was really wonderful, however, were the cavalcades for Halloween and Christmas, allowing daytime guests to experience some of the beloved aspects of the nighttime parades during hard-ticket events but without the extra cost of attending the event. Even when the nighttime events come back, I’d personally love to see these little cavalcades continue.

The NBA Bubble

What We Loved the Most in 2020

Disney has been host to all sorts of sports events in the past, but the sheer scope and logistics behind the NBA Bubble were mind-boggling. It was surreal hearing commentators talking about “that shot on basket went so far that it almost hit EPCOT” and seeing glimpses inside Bubble life at Disney resorts. Even if you weren’t a basketball fan, it was a welcome escape over the summer.

New Bag Check Procedure

What We Loved the Most in 2020

Gone are the days of standing behind the person with a backpack that has 50 different zippered pouches that all have to be opened one at a time! The new walk-through security screening at Disney Parks is so much easier and more efficient. For most people, just walk on through security without having your bag checked. (If you have something that sets off the scanner, for instance umbrellas seem to be problematic at times, you go for quick additional screening.) This has made for a much more pleasant experience entering the parks without compromising safety.

Got any items you’d include on this year’s list of things we loved? Let us know in the comments.

The post What We Loved the Most in 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Walt Disney World (FL), Bag Check, character cavalcade, NBA Bubble

Tags bag check, character cavalcade, Just For Fun, NBA Bubble, Walt Disney World (FL)

Disney Food Disney Merch Disney Parks

Disney in a Minute: What is a Mickey Bar?

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date November 4, 2020

We’re here with a series of quick posts, “Disney in a Minute,” bite-sized nuggets of information that can better help you understand a Disney term or planning topic. Enjoy!

There are Mickey pretzels, Mickey waffles, and Mickey donuts, but arguably the most iconic of all Mickey Mouse-shaped foods is the Mickey bar. The official name of the “Mickey bar” is Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar.

The Mickey bar is a Nestle product sold at carts in the parks and in freezer cases in the Disney resorts – a Mickey Mouse-shaped slab of vanilla ice cream enrobed in a “chocolatey” coating. The vanilla is not as heavy as a super premium ice cream and the coating has enough of a waxy mouthfeel to make you understand why they had to say “chocolatey” and not just chocolate. Still, it’s a refreshing treat on a hot day in the parks.

Disney itself proclaims Mickey bars as “The Happiest Snacks on Earth” and promotes their status as the snack ideal on t-shirts and other park paraphernalia – everything from dog toys to COVID masks. And there are thousands of fan homages to the Mickey bar shape on self-made merchandise sites like Etsy.

The current price for a Mickey bar in the parks is $6.00 (including tax). You can also find boxes of six purported Mickey bars in the freezer sections of supermarkets and big box stores like Target, often for about $7-8 per box of six. Be aware that these are not the exact same item as the Mickey bars sold in the parks. They are smaller and different formulation, but when you’re stuck at home during a pandemic, they’re a worthy (and much less expensive) substitute.

Disney in a Minute: What is a Mickey Bar?

Let us know what Disney topics you think need just a bit more explanation.

The post Disney in a Minute: What is a Mickey Bar? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), mickey bar

Tags mickey bar, Walt Disney World (FL)

Disney Parks Other

Walt Disney World Wait Times for Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date November 3, 2020

Crowds and temperatures were relatively low in Walt Disney World on Tuesday. And today was the first day that Rise of the Resistance boarding groups were available to guests at 7 a.m. without having to enter Hollywood Studios.

We counted 500 people at Disney’s Animal Kingdom yesterday, and 486 of them (97%) were wearing masks in accordance to Disney’s guidelines. For reference, 81 of the 100 people we counted at Orlando International Airport were wearing masks that followed the airport’s guidelines.

We received 183 actual wait times in Walt Disney World today. Let’s do the numbers!

Hollywood Studios Wait Times

We think Rise of the Resistance’s capacity has increased in the past couple of weeks, drawing more people per hour into Galaxy’s Edge. Nearby, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run had its highest average posted wait time of the past week today, at 60 minutes. Its 30-day average is 59 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. And those posted wait times seemed pretty accurate – we received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 99% of the posted wait time.

Posted wait times still seem to be overestimating the actual waits at Toy Story Mania, though. Toy Story had an average wait time today of 31 minutes, higher than its 7-day average of 25 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. But we received 10 actual wait times today at Toy Story, and the actual wait averaged 54% of the posted wait time. That’s much lower than the park-wide average of 79%.

Likewise, posted waits at Star Tours: The Adventures Continue were overestimates. Star Tours’ posted waits averaged 30 minutes today. We received 6 actual wait times, though, and the actual wait only averaged 59% of the posted wait time.

Slinky Dog Dash had an average wait time today of 68 minutes. Its 7-day average is 59 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 67 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 85% of the posted wait time.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster had an average wait time today of 50 minutes, ranking it #1 for the week (its 7-day average is 44 minutes). RnRC’s 30-day average is 51 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 71% of the posted wait time.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror had an average wait time today of 48 minutes. Its 7-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #147 for the past year. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 86% of the posted wait time.

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Rise of the Resistance boarding groups started strong and ran really well until just before 3 p.m, when the ride seems to have experienced over an hour of downtime. It looked like they were back on track as of 5 p.m. today:

EPCOT Wait Times

Posted waits at EPCOT have been overestimated for a while, and today continued that trend. Soarin’ had an average posted wait time today of 31 minutes. We received 6 actual wait times at Soarin’ today, and those only averaged 44% of the posted wait time.

Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 13 minutes. Its 7-day average is 17 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 19 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 61% of the posted wait time.

Test Track had an average wait time today of 50 minutes. Its 7-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 63 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month.

Frozen Ever After is undergoing a short refurbishment until November 6, 2020, so it didn’t have wait times today. And I’m typing that mostly for myself so I don’t panic tomorrow when our reports don’t list FEA wait times, and I forget to read to the bottom where they say it’s closed.

Journey Into Imagination With Figment had an average wait time today of 11 minutes. Its 7-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 16 minutes, so today ranks #20 for the past month.

Living with the Land had an average wait time today of 13 minutes. Its 7-day average is 12 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 13 minutes, so today ranks #16 for the past month.

Mission: SPACE Orange had an average wait time today of 18 minutes. Its 7-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 27 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month.

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had an average wait time today of 50 minutes. Its 7-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #24 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 106% of the posted wait time.

Peter Pan’s Flight had an average wait time today of 26 minutes. Its 7-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 34 minutes, so today ranks #24 for the past month. We received 10 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 68% of the posted wait time.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant had an average wait time today of 10 minutes. Its 7-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 12 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month.

“it’s a small world” had an average wait time today of 32 minutes. Its 7-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #21 for the past month.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an average wait time today of 38 minutes. Its 7-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #20 for the past month. We received 9 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 59% of the posted wait time.

Splash Mountain had an average wait time today of 41 minutes. Its 7-day average is 45 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today at Splash, and the actual wait averaged 131% of the posted wait time. Wow.

Over in Liberty Square, the Haunted Mansion had an average wait time today of 32 minutes. Its 7-day average is 39 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. We received 15 actual wait times today (!), and the actual wait averaged 76% of the posted wait time.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had an average wait time today of 22 minutes. Its 7-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 56% of the posted wait time.

Space Mountain had an average wait time today of 25 minutes. Its 7-day average is 32 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. We received 9 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 72% of the posted wait time.

Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Avatar Flight of Passage had an average wait time today of 46 minutes. Its 7-day average is 47 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 63 minutes, so today ranks #22 for the past month. We received 9 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 70% of the posted wait time.

Na’vi River Journey had an average wait time today of 45 minutes. Its 7-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 98% of the posted wait time.

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 41 minutes. Its 7-day average is 27 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 32 minutes, so today ranks #5 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 44% of the posted wait time.

Kali River Rapids had an average wait time today of 20 minutes. Its 7-day average is 20 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month.

Kilimanjaro Safaris had an average wait time today of 16 minutes. Its 7-day average is 20 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month. We received 10 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 50% of the posted wait time.

And DINOSAUR had an average wait time today of 27 minutes. Its 7-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 31 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 71% of the posted wait time.

Which park would you have liked to spend the day in? Let us know in the comments.

The post Walt Disney World Wait Times for Tuesday, November 3, 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), wait times

Tags wait times, Walt Disney World (FL)

Disney Parks

Is Now the Best Time to Bring Your Own Food to Disney World?

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date November 2, 2020

Like all theme parks, Disney World has a litany of prohibited items – things you can’t bring into the parks – but luckily, most food items are not on that list.

Is Now the Best Time to Bring Your Own Food to Disney World? — Closed restaurants mean there are more outdoor tables open.

With limited exceptions you’re welcome to bring food and beverages with you into the parks. If you’ve never brought your own food to the Disney World theme parks before, or only brought a modest amount of snacks, now may be the time you want to seriously consider bringing your own meals into the parks. Here’s why:

Park entrance procedures have changed: Prior to the pandemic, every guests bag was fully hand searched. If you brought, say, a large backpack filled with sandwiches, fruit, and other substantial eats, you’d have to go through a lengthy process of having a security guard see or feel all your items. In the last few weeks, the parks have transitioned to a more streamlined walk-through system, like of like at the airport, minus the part about putting your bags on the conveyor belt. Only a few items now have to be removed from your bag for scanning, notably umbrellas, making it much less cumbersome to tote multiple bags of food into the parks.
There are fewer restaurants open: Many restaurants in the theme parks are still shuttered due to coronavirus. This means that your favorite items might not be available, possibly making bring-your-own a more attractive option.
Quick service waits are trending longer: Depending on when you visit (weekends and holidays are worse), you may encounter longer waits to get at ready-access food or open mobile order windows that are a hour or more later than you want to eat. If you bring your own food, you can always dine on your schedule.
Outdoor table availability is high: When you bring your own food, sometimes the struggle is figuring out where you can comfortably eat. But with some restaurants currently closed, their outdoor seating is now up for grabs. For example, when Casey’s Corner is open, it can be a real challenge to find seating near the Hub, but with Casey’s closed, their tables are often open.
Disney quick service prices are, well, pricey: Buying a bottle of water in the parks will set you back $3.50. A single apple costs $2.29. Most in-park hamburgers cost between $10 and $13. Adding an order of fries sets you back an additional $4.50. Multiply that by several family members and you’re looking at a significant outlay of funds for a basic meal. Bringing your own can save you big time.
If you bring your own food, you reduce the number of people you’re interacting with in the parks: Everyone working in the WDW food service wears masks, so the risk of COVID contamination there is minimal, but for some folks, any reduction of contact with others is a win.

Have you ever brought meals into the Disney World theme parks? What have your experiences been?

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From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Dining, Walt Disney World (FL), food, saving money

Tags dining, food, saving money, Walt Disney World (FL)