If you don’t watch the video using a VR headset, it may look a little weird. However, you can still get a glimpse of the action, as well as see an unfinished Death Star.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16. If you live in the UK, you get to see it a day early on December 15, and for that, the rest of the world envies you.
We all dream about it: walking through the Haunted Mansion with the lights-on. Some cast members get to do it as a special offering every few months, and no doubt you always hear from them about how amazing their lights-on tour of the Mansion was. Well, the general public does have an opportunity to see this classic attraction as never before, but you can’t plan for it, you just have to get extraordinarily lucky. If the ride breaks down and requires a guest evacuation (known in the industry as an EVAC), the lights will come on and guests are escorted out of the ride. The other night, we were lucky enough to live out this scenario.
When we reached the Seance Room scene featuring Madame Leota, our Doombuggy vehicle came to a stop. We sat there for about 10-15 minutes before the lights eventually came on. This was exciting enough, but then getting let out of the Doombuggy and walking through the entire first portion of the ride, well, it was an experience I’ll never forget.
I did capture what I could of the experience in video, and we are happy to share that with you today:
While we didn’t get to walkthrough the famous graveyard scene, we did get to t=do this during Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland a few years back, and we do have video of that to share with you, in case you have never seen it:
Starting November 20th, guest will be able to meet Disney’s newest princess at Walt Disney Studios Paris.
This seems to be the first instance over the holiday period to bring the European parks more in step with the American parks, with Star Wars: Season Of The Force to follow.
No further information has been provided as to when the interaction will end, but official Disney sources have cited the meet and greet as being part of their Christmas celebrations.
When the trailer for Disney’s “Beauty And The Beast” came out this week, a lot of people were happy to see their favorite scenes from the animated classic come to life with the live action adaption of “Beauty And The Beast”. But just how close where they to the original animated film? We have painstakingly gone through both movies to find as many matching scenes as we can. Let’s take a look!
Ashamed of his monstrous form…..
….The Beast concealed himself inside his castle.
Little town, it’s a quiet village.
I’ll give you a place to stay!
Hello. Is anyone here?
She is the one! The girl we have been waiting for!
Who’s done this to you?
Come into the light…..
Beast comes out of the darkness.
Belle is startled by Beast’s appearance.
You want to stay in the tower?
Show me the girl!
I use antlers in all of my decorating!
I thought you might like a spot of tea.
Wanna see me do a trick?
Why isn’t she down yet?
Aw-haw-haw!
The West Wing is forbidden!
The wolves attack Belle and Phillipe.
Belle protects Phillipe from the wolves attacks.
Beast saves Belle.
The Beast is injured during the battle.
I’ve never seen so many books in all my life!
There might be something there that wasn’t there before.
As it turns out, those big cardboard boxes you get in the mail carrying your Walt Disney World MagicBands were bad for environment… Who would have guessed? Anyway, it seems enough people complained to the point where Disney has completely redesigned the boxes and made them out of recyclable materials.
The new boxes also probably save Disney money, but that is purely speculation on our part. Guest should be receiving the new boxes starting immediately if they ordered or are having MagicBands shipped to them for their upcoming vacation.
The old style boxes looked like this and were double boxed, rather than the box for the bands itself doubling as the shipping container:
The “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios” has been quite popular, selling out on many evenings already. We had actually missed getting tickets to the first party when they first went on sale, but we continued to check for availability everyday. Last week, we did finally find two spots for the very first one and booked it immediately. The moral of the story is to keep checking back if it isn’t available when you first attempt, tentative guests will often cancel just a few days out.
The party starts 1 hour and 15 minutes before the show begins. Check-in begins about a half-hour before that and allows guests to obtain a wristband so they can just walk-in when the party starts. Tables are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so if you absolutely want a table with seats, get here early.
Unlike the indoors Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular dessert party (version 2), this one is held outside in the courtyard of the Great Movie Ride. While it seems a bit strange to put this outside in the colder months, especially for an evening event, the backdrop is pretty wonderful. The space was a little cramped though and it was often difficult to not find a line for food or beverage throughout the night. They may need to either add a few stations or decrease the number of guests, but I assume neither of those will ever happen “because MONEY”.
This was taken before everyone had gotten in, but it filled in real fast.
This was later…
I often waited between 5-7 (yeah, seven) minutes for a drink at the bar, which seems like a bit much considering the amount you are paying here for a premium experience. If I’m out in the park, I understand that lines are inevitable and a part of life. If I’m paying an up-charge for something, I expect some better service. If you wait a long time at a restaurant for your food to arrive, you get angry. At $69 per adult and $39 per child (Which jumps to $79/$45 December 18th-31st), I expect not to wait very long.
Let’s talk about the food and drink…
Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Party Snack Stations
I recall my very first Star Wars dessert party was disappointing as they really hadn’t prepared for it at all. That was not the case this time around as all of the stations were decorated just right. My first Star Wars dessert party still featured FROZEN-colored table cloths…
There are 4 food stations overall, two featuring the same “handheld” desserts, while another features non-dessert snacks, and the last has cakes, ice cream, and a snack mix. There are also two bars adjacent to one another and then a non-alcoholic drink station.
The chocolate cupcake with mint frosting and peppermint bark was one of the highlights for us. A larger version of this cupcake is sold in the park throughout the day now.
I also LOVED these gingerbread cookies. Sadly, no one could give me a full description of it, but it is enjoyable if gingerbread is your thing.
The lemon meringue tart was solid as well.
The ubiquitous crispy rice treats were also on hand, and tasted the same as always.
The “non-dessert” food station befuddles me. It is an expanded line from the Star Wars offerings, but I’m still not certain that all of these items need to be here.
The holiday antipasto looked kind of gross, but I took one for the team and tried it. It was surprisingly tasty.
The kale, collard and pomegranate onion slaw seemed a bit out of place, but it really wasn’t bad.
The meatballs were fine too, albeit seemingly out of place at such as event with a dessert-heavy spread.
The spinach dip was solid as well. Again, I didn’t hate any of the “non-dessert” offerings, I’m just not sure that we needed more of them. I would have rather they spent the time on the dessert line-up as it is a little thinner than the previous incarnations.
I could have done without the “warm salted caramel cottage pudding”. It was way too salty, and yes, I know that salted is in the name.
My favorite thing we had the entire night (other than alcoholic drinks) was the warm chocolate torte with cream cheese glaze and candy cane dust. It reminded me of a homemade chocolate cake and the cream cheese icing was absolute perfection. Add ice cream to this at the end of the station and you won’t regret it.
The only thing missing was the nitro-based dessert from the Star Wars party, which is a real loss. I was surprised that it wasn’t offered here, but I understand the need to differentiate these parties from one another at some point.
The winter spiced party mix was solid and fit the party well.
Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Party Beverages
The bars offered two specialty beverages and a good selection of beer and wine.
I enjoyed the Apple Cinnamon Cocktail quite a bit, but the other specialty drink was my personal favorite.
The Gingerbread Martini was… everyone say it with me… PHENOMENAL. I think I ended up having three of these, including the one they handed me when I walked in. I enjoy creamy alcoholic beverages, as you might know by now, but even those in my party who usually do not found this to be their favorite offering from the party overall.
We also tried some the wines. Pictured above is the Cabernet and the Pinot Noir. Both were enjoyable, not the worst quality wines I have had in a Disney theme park.
As always, a selection of juices, teas, canned soft drinks, coffees, and water is available at a separate station.
Viewing location
The viewing area for the fireworks show was no different than Star Wars, located just off to the left side of the Center Stage area in front of the Chinese Theater. This is still the best place to see fireworks from in this park, and especially this show. There are snow and laser effects that are only best seen from this general area, so you will either need to book this party or show up at least an hour before the show to grab a spot up here. My viewing tips for the dessert party remain the same as from previous reviews, just stay off top the right of the viewing area if you want to see more of the show.
The show itself is fine, even lighter on pyrotechnics than the Galactic Spectacular show. That being said, there are two segments using the lasers that I absolutely adore, but overall, it’s fairly “meh” and far from any sort of substitute for Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, or dare I say it, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.
Overall
A dessert party is only as good as the show it is for, and I don’t think anyone was too crazy about this one. The food and beverage had a lot of good offerings, but there were a few misses. The biggest problem for me was the lines and overcrowding. Again, when you pay this much money, you expect somewhat better service. I had not waited in lines for food or drink like this at any of the 5 other dessert parties I had attended at this park, and I don’t expect it from this one.
While there was no large gift like at the Star Wars offering, guests at the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam! Holiday Party get to meet Santa Goofy and also get an exclusive pair of HoloSpex glasses.
The HoloSpex glasses are cool as they make reindeer shapes when you look at lights or fireworks.
The Santa Goofy meet and greet that comes to each table is a nice gesture, but the lighting is terrible in the area for something like this.
While it some ways it feels like a downgrade from the previous incarnations, the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam! is a viable option for anyone who wants to drink, eat, and be merry instead of standing in a packed crowd for an hour waiting for this nighttime show to start. While I don’t think it was as good as my previous dessert party experiences, I’m still not sure that I wouldn’t recommend it to those interested. This is a busier time of year, and sometimes avoiding crowds is just worth the uncharge if you can afford it.
Walt Disney World has announced a new type of “discount” ticket which will only be valid through May 26, 2017.
The new 4 Park Magic Ticket is only $70 per day for a limited time and gives guests one admission to each of the four theme parks on four separate days starting today, Nov. 15, 2016-May 26, 2017.
The 4 Park Magic Ticket is valid for a total of four admissions to the Walt Disney World Theme Parks and can be used to enter each Theme Park only once. Tickets are valid for one day of admission to Magic Kingdom Park, one day of admission to Epcot, one day of admission to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and one day of admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on four separate days and may not be used to enter the same Park more than once.
Guests must purchase the 4 Park Magic Ticket Nov. 15, 2016-March 5, 2017. Tickets must be used within 14 days of first use or by May 26, 2017, and the following block-out dates apply: Dec. 17, 2016 through Jan. 2, 2017 and April 10-21, 2017. Tickets are nonrefundable, nontransferable and exclude activities/events separately priced. Admission is subject to capacity closures and other restrictions.
For more information or to book a Walt Disney World vacation, contact our friends at Magical Travel at 1-866-207-8387 or MagicalTravel.com.
Walls around the soon to open PizzeRizzo Muppets-themed eatery at Disney’s Hollywood Studios came down today, allowing us a better view of the fantastic-looking new counter service restaurant.
Pretty neat garbage can, huh?
The menu is posted on the window.
I took another trip past the windows, but there still wasn’t much to see.
PizzeRizzo officially opens on Friday, November 18th.
Join us this evening at 6:45pm for a live video stream of the premiere performance of the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM nighttime Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
