PHOTOS, VIDEO, REVIEW: Jungle Cruise “Skipper Canteen” Restaurant Opens at Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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After many months of waiting, the Jungle Cruise-themed Skipper Canteen restaurant soft-opened today at the Magic Kingdom in Adventureland. Despite early rumbling that it may be a counter service location or a hybrid like Be Our Guest Restaurant, it is table service-only offering lunch and dinner currently.

The restaurant accepts the Disney Dining Plan and the Tables in Wonderland discount card already, usually not the case with new restaurants at WDW, but welcome indeed. There are no reservations being taken as of yet, so it is walk-ups only, but they do have a nifty texting system to tell you when your table is ready (as long as you have a U.S. cell phone number).

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The interior is brilliant. While not a whole lot of work needed to be done to the main dining room (this was the Adventureland Veranda restaurant many years ago and the room was never heavily modified for any meet and greets), two new rooms in the back of the restaurant are elegantly decorated with tons of amazing nods to the Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Tiki Room, and even the now-shuttered Adventurer’s Club from Pleasure Island.

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It does seem like not all of the decorations have been installed yet, but what is there already is fabulous. It is clear that they needed to be open to handle the holiday crowds in the park, so don’t be surprised if new details pop up daily over the next few weeks.

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Take a video tour of the Skipper Canteen:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxrKKMWEwnE]

Not only is the decor brilliant, the cast members working here are too. I had so many fantastic interactions with servers, seaters, and greeters today, I find it hard to single out just one. They were all ready to unleash a repertoire of bad puns on us and I could not have been happier. While the service was a little slow (as to be expected on a first day), the crew kept everyone entertained and you could see they were trying their best which is all you can really ask. With atmosphere this good, I was in no rush to eat and get out anyway, so the wait for food never felt too long.

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As for the menu, it is a BIG departure for the Magic Kingdom. It is easily the most exotic menu in a park mostly known for hamburgers and hot dogs (although this has been slowly changing over the last few years). The menu is also quite large, offering plenty to choose from. There’s even a allergy version of the menu which is quite helpful for those who need it.

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The allergy menu

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Kid’s menu

I didn’t order a ton off the menu since I was alone, but I did get an appetizer, entree, dessert, and both of the signature beverages (which can come in a beautiful souvenir cup.

Let’s get the bad out of the way: I hated the signature drinks. One is basically apple juice and the other, well, I’m not really sure what I was drinking. Personally, I don’t drink lot of fruit juice, so it may just be me, but I didn’t care for either of these.

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The Punch Line Punch just tasted like apple juice…

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The Schweitzer Slush was awful, I can’t even define a flavor for you.

A nice offering, complimentary bread is brought out with a honey spread. This was fantastic. It was unique and unexpected and I loved it.

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The S.E.A. (Society of Explorers and Adventurers) Shu Mai was my favorite item I had today. It had a nice and spicy kick to it and was very flavorful. The dipping sauce was also fantastic.

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For my entree, I had the Skip’s Mac and Cheese which came highly recommended. The mix of spiced ground beef, pasta, and bechamel  sauce blended nicely and had an interesting flavor that I really enjoyed.

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Then there was dessert…

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OK, I just had to show you the back…

I ordered the Kungaloosh just to make all you Adventurer’s Club fans happy… OK, it was the most chocolate thing on the menu so I wanted it.

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It was really great. Nothing too crazy, but prepared very nicely and certainly a must if you love chocolate as much as I do.

Overall, I LOVED Skipper Canteen. I’m a sucker for story, so even if the food wasn’t good, I was prepared to return several times, but honestly, this is the BEST table service menu at the Magic Kingdom. It’s unique, it’s diverse, and everything I’ve had or any dishes I asked neighboring tables about (yeah, I was THAT guy) recieves high marks. It’s seriously really good. It’s good to the point that I’m afraid Magic Kingdom crowds will be afraid of the menu and they may change it, but we’ll see what happens. As of right now, this is THE BEST restaurant at Magic Kingdom. I know that doesn’t often mean much, but I would seriously rank the meal I had today in at least the top 20 restaurants at Walt Disney World. I would go higher, but I really need to try more of the menu, which I plan on doing very soon based on my experience today.

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Watch The “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Livestream On StarWars.com Today, December 14th

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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Join the stars and creators of Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the world premiere on 12/14!

The biggest movie event of the year is almost here — and StarWars.com will have exclusive, live-streaming coverage presented by Verizon! Stay tuned for more information on how Verizon will bring fans unique views of the stream and a chance to ask the cast questions!

Visit StarWars.com at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET) on 12/14 for in-depth interviews with the cast and creators of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, live from the world premiere in Los Angeles. Hosts Andi Gutierrez, Anthony Carboni, and David Collins will be reporting on all the action, talking to stars and fans on a day that will be long remembered.

Set your hyperspace coordinates now and don’t miss it!

Source: StarWars.com

PHOTOS: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Red Carpet World Premiere

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

 

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Last night was the World Premier for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”! The movie was shown at The Dolby, The El Capitan and the TCL theaters in Hollywood, CA.  All of the stars were out for the premier including stars that were not part of “The Force Awakens” but huge Star Wars fans. Take a look at some of the photos from the world premier of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

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Disney Interactive Releases Disney Infinity 3.0 “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Poster

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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With only days until the theatrical release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, Disney Interactive has released their own version of a movie poster for the Disney 3.0 version of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. The “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” play set will be released this Friday, December 18th to coincide with the release of the movie and also to make sure that no SPOILERS for the movie are leaked through the game.

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Source: Disney Infinity Facebook Page

D Street & Vinylmation Depart from Disney Springs West Side for New Star Wars Store

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

Vinylmation and non-Star Wars merchandise has been slowly vanishing from D Street at Disney Springs for weeks now. Well, now the name has left as well as the store completes its makeover into the Star Wars Galactic Outpost.

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In the same vein as the Marvel-only Super Hero Headquarters store just a few steps away, this is now a Star Wars-only shop on the West Side at Disney Springs. The store was not remodeled in any way, so it does still have most of the decorations from D Street. It is unclear if the store will be remodeled at some point or moved to a new residence once the Town Center area of Disney Springs opens in 2016, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Those looking for Vinylmation will find most of the selection moved to Disney Pin Traders in the Marketplace, while Star Wars Vinylmation resides at Galactic Outpost and MARVEL Vinylmation at Super Hero Headquarters. Much of the art collections that used to be at D Street can now be found at the Marketplace Co-Op store in the Sign Shop or Wonderground Gallery sections.

The Official “Star Wars” Facebook Page Lets You Customize Your Profile Photo With Lightsabers; “Star Wars” Stickers

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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In celebration of Star Wars: The Force Awakens fans can now express their excitement on Facebook by using unique custom profile frames.

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Fans can choose from either Finn’s blue light saber or Kylo Ren’s red light saber.

Also, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens sticker pack for Facebook is now available! Download the pack here: http://on.fb.me/1OSmfAM

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Source: Star Wars Facebook

Disney Installs Metal Detectors at all US Parks

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

An unfortunate sign of the times, coupled with recent domestic and international acts of terrorism, has led the Walt Disney Company to decide to install metal detectors at the front gates of its US parks, at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

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After a man tried to enter the Magic Kingdom with a gun last week, Disney has also announced that it will no longer sell toy guns in its parks, and that guests ages 14 and older will no longer be permitted to wear costumes.

In addition to Disney parks, Universal Orlando and Sea World have also installed metal detectors.  The AMC theater at Disney Springs has also installed the devices for tonight’s premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

None of the parks have confirmed whether the metal detectors will be a permanent fixture or are only temporary. Although the structures look temporary, it is likely that more permanent structures would be built (after the busy holiday season) if the metal detectors are here to stay.  The move puts the Orlando theme parks in line with Six Flags, which has had metal detectors at its parks for years, some even before the 9/11 attacks.

REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – “Fans, We’re Home”

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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A Spectacular And Welcome Return For The Star Wars Franchise!

Great news for Star Wars fans! Star Wars is back and this movie is a fantastic return to form for the franchise. Those of you, who may have been put off by the feel of The Prequels, welcome back, because this is the movie you have been waiting for!

I can remember back in May of 1977 when my parents took me to see a movie called “Star Wars”. Within the first few minutes, I knew I was witnessing something special. I never realized at the time that this would become something that would stay with me and be a part of my life forever. It not only affected my life, but Star Wars went on to become a global phenomenon and transcended from being part of American culture to one of the world’s and impacted the lives of billions of Star Wars fans.

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Let’s get right into the review. I’ll save any Major SPOILERS for the last paragraph. Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduces a brand new cast as well as welcomes back fan favorites such as Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO from The Original Trilogy. The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the events of Return Of The Jedi. Immediately we are treated to the familiar Star Wars theme and the opening crawl informs us what has transpired since the events of Return Of The Jedi. You would think that after the conclusion in Jedi, that all would be well for the Rebel Alliance. Well, that is not the case. The Empire was never fully destroyed and they regrouped to form the even more powerful First Order. There are very little remnants of the Rebel Alliance around and now emerges a new group to challenge The First Order called The Resistance. A new villain emerges who embraces the Dark Side of The Force and whose goal is to fulfill the destiny of Darth Vader and become the heir to Vader’s rule, but where is Luke during all of this? That is the big question that many of us have been asking after seeing the trailers and marketing for the movie and that is what helps drive the story for this movie.

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All of the acting is well done especially by the new comers: Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron. But for me, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren steals the movie. He does a fantastic job as the new villain and is right up there with Darth Vader as a real threat. Kylo Ren reminds you at times of Darth Vader but he is also very different. There definitely is an internal struggle going on with his character and he does some really horrible things in this film. The Force Awakens has a great blend of action, drama and humor. John Boyega and Harrison Ford especially do a fantastic job with their comedic lines. And even BB-8 has great comic timing too!

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J.J. Abrams was a great choice to direct the film. Abrams has been a long term fan of Star Wars and it shows. One of his goals was to bring back the look and feel of The Original Trilogy by using 35MM film instead of digital and incorporating practical effects along with CGI. Lawrence Kasdan was also brought on board to help write the script. Kasdan is known for writing the scripts for Empire and Jedi and his writing is without a doubt a welcome return.

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This movie just comes across as a movie by Star Wars fans written for Star Wars fans. Some will disagree with me, but that is what we needed after Lucas’ handling of The Prequels. Although those movies had the Star Wars moniker in the title, they just didn’t feel like The Original Trilogy. The good news is The Force Awakens brings back the magic and feeling of The Original Trilogy. I still respect George Lucas for the world he created. There would be no Star Wars without him. I would love to see George Lucas back with the Star Wars franchise, especially a Star Wars spin-off movie, but have him working with a team in which ideas are shared and thrown out if they are bad.

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Thanks have to go out to Kathleen Kennedy, the President of Lucasfilm. This movie would not have been made without her. She has always been partners and friends with George Lucas. George trusted her to take over after he sold Lucasfilm to Disney and she was instrumental in bringing in JJ Abrams to direct, John Williams to score the film, Lawrence Kasdan to come back and write the script after he passed on The Prequels, the original cast such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. And most importantly, she was a huge fan of The Original Trilogy and wanted to see the films return to that direction. Kennedy surrounded herself with the best people and also is good friends with Steven Spielberg who heavily suggested Abrams to be director. You also have to thank Bob Iger for working with George Lucas and help bringing Star Wars to the Disney family. Bob Iger is also a huge fan of the Original Trilogy and wanted to see those characters stories continue. Without Iger’s influence we probably would have never seen a new trilogy and sequel to the greatest trilogy of all time.

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I give Star Wars: The Force Awakens a 4 out of 5. I rank this above The Prequels but below The Original Trilogy. But it’s definitely in the same category as The Original Trilogy. It loses a point for being a little too similar to A New Hope.

UPDATE: I saw The Force Awakens three times now and have to change my rating to 4.5 out of 5. Definitely an awesome movie that keeps getting better and better with repeat viewings!

Get ready folks, because it has begun. The Force has now awakened! A new Star Wars movie every year! Star Wars is back!

SPOILERS:

  • Wooooo! A lot of stuff went down here. These are mostly questions and thoughts about what could happen in the future sequels. But they do contain MAJOR SPOILERS from The Force Awakens.
  • The one question I had hoped that would be answered but wasn’t was who is Rey’s parents and why did they abandon her at such a young age? A lot of people thought she could be Han and Leia’s daughter, but that was not the case. Rey is very Force sensitivity and if history has shown us anything, that means her parents (or parent) were too and possibly even Jedi. Could her father be Luke and he abandoned her before he went into exile? Could it have been Leia? It appears Han left Leia so it is possible that after he left that she met someone else.
  • The big reveal is that Kylo Ren is Han and Leia’s son. Kylo Ren is definitely struggling between The Dark and The Light Side Of The Force. He murders his own father with hopes that would remove the internal struggle he was having with good and evil. He worships his grandfather, Darth Vader, but apparently does not believe or know of Vader turning from the Dark Side to save Luke and help defeat the Empire. Will Kylo Ren be visited by his grandfather’s Force Ghost and Anakin tell him the truth? Will Kylo Ren redeem himself similar to how Vader did? I can definitely see that happening. Leia still believes there is good in her son.
  • What is Kylo Ren? He is not a Sith. He is Force sensitive and uses the Dark Side but he does not appear to be a Sith.
  • Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? I still can’t tell if he is a giant or not. That hologram could be misleading. The Emperor appeared to Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and at the time he looked gigantic but when we finally saw him, he wasn’t. I have heard rumors that Snoke me actually be Darth Plagueis who was the Emperor’s Master. The Emperor tells the story in Revenge Of The Sith how Darth Palgueis’s was able to cheat death but he was killed in his sleep by his apprentice. If he cheated death once, who is to say that he couldn’t cheat it again when he was killed by The Emperor and maybe he has been in hiding for all of those years.
  • I was definitely surprised and disappointed in the amount of screen time that Captain Phasma had in this movie. Her character was highly marketed and she is barely in the movie. She is set to appear in Episode VIII, so hopefully her role will be expanded.
  • Now that Han is gone, will we see Chewie and The Millennium Falcon again? It does appear that Chewie is Rey’s co-pilot. I have a feeling that Luke will train Rey in the ways of the Force and she will eventually reunite with Chewie and The Falcon.
  • Luke is expected to have a much larger role in Episode VIII. Will he go back to the Resistance Home Base and reunite with Leia? Or will he just remain a hermit after instructing Rey? I do believe at some point that we will see Luke in action again. Maybe he will take on Kylo Ren or more likely Snoke.
  • What about Finn being in a coma? I’m pretty sure he will be out of that coma fairly quickly after Episode VIII starts.
  • Will BB-8 be reunited with Rey? Kind of surprised that BB-8 stayed with Poe. Even though he was Poe’s droid it seemed like Rey and BB-8 bonded more than he and Poe did.
  • The lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Rey I thought was very sloppy and was kind of disappointed. I know they are not full Jedi or Sith but to me that had to be the worst light saber duel in the Star Wars Saga.
  • I was also a bit disappointed in John William’s score for the movie. Yes you heard familiar themes from previous moves but nothing really stuck out like Dual Of The Fates or The Imperial March.
  • Loved that they destroyed Coruscant. To me that was a message to The Prequels. No more boring Senate hearings or negotiations! Edit: Thanks to Chris for informing me that was not Coruscant but the planet Chandrilla, which was mentioned in the Star Wars novel, Aftermath.
  • Maz Kanata was a great CGI character voiced by Lupita Nyong’o. But she still is very mysterious. Will we see her in future sequels? Why is she so sensitive to The Force?

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Breaks Box Office Records!; $238 Million Domestic And $517 Million Globally!

WDWNT on November 13, 2015

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Records Fall As STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Posts $238M Domestic, $517M Global Debut

The Walt Disney Studios announced today that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has set a new all-time domestic debut record with an estimated $238M. With a five-day international debut of $279M, the film has taken in $517M globally.

“Our sole focus has been creating a film that delivers that one-of-a-kind Star Wars experience, and director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, and the Lucasfilm team have outdone themselves,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “To all of the fans around the world who not only came out in Force to make this such an exciting and astronomical debut but who treated this film as their own and helped preserve the experience for their fellow fans by not spoiling it – thank you, we do.”

En route to this galactic launch, the film has smashed several all-time domestic box office records, including:

  • Biggest Thursday preview gross with $57M.
  • Biggest Friday and biggest single-day gross with $120.5M.
  • First film ever to post a single day over $100M.
  • Fastest film to $100M and $200M.
  • Biggest December debut (nearly 3 times previous record of $84.6M).
  • Biggest IMAX Thursday night preview ($5.7M), single-day ($14M, Friday), and weekend ($30.1M).
  • Highest theater average for a wide release ($57,568).

Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted day-and-date internationally in nearly every market (except Greece and India, which open Dec. 24, and China, which opens Jan. 9) and set records in many. Highlights:

  • Biggest opening weekend of all time in UK (4-day), Australia, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Poland (3-day), Denmark (5-day), Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Serbia, New Zealand. Second biggest opening weekend in France, Belgium, Israel, Chile.
  • Biggest IMAX global debut of $48M.

The Force is strong with critics and audiences, whose enthusiastic reactions have powered a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and an excellent A CinemaScore, with an A+ among women and younger audiences, for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

UPDATE: Additional box office data for The Force Awakens and box office records data provided by BoxOfficeMojo.com:

In just its first day of release Force Awakens brought in an estimated $120.5 million setting a new record for the largest Friday, opening day and single day. All on its own, that opening day was also enough to break the previous December opening weekend record of $84.62 million set by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012. Additionally, the film now holds the following domestic records:

* The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 record included midnight only screenings while Force Awakens screenings began at 7 PM on Thursday and included Star Wars marathon ticket sales, tickets that were sold for as much as $59.99 each.
** Holiday is defined as the first Friday in November through New Year’s week or weekend.

Domestically, Force Awakens did fall short of a few records such as the largest Saturday and Sunday totals, both held by Jurassic World. Subsequent weekend records, however, are still up for grabs along with the fastest to $300 million and so on, not to mention the overall domestic record currently held by Avatar at $760.5 million.