Parks & Resorts – Page 165

REVIEW: New Dishes at Captain Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Captain Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort recently underwent some menu changes, so we decided to head on over last night and check it out for ourselves.

New Menu at Captain Cook’s

Sandwiches and Grill Menu From Captain Cooks

Polynesian Favorites Menu from Captain Cook’s

New, but not in this review is the seared chicken breast.

Flatbread, Salad and Soup Menu

Fish Tacos ($9.29)

Before you even say anything, yes, we should have got the chips as a side but someone forgot to ask… anyway, these were surprisingly good. The two tacos are of a good size and heavily doused in the chipotle lime cream, which is a good thing. Everything about these was fresh and delicious, well, except for the awful Disney counter service fries which we should have not ordered.

Fish Tacos ($9.29)

Pork Fried Rice ($8.99)

A good price for a lot of food. The pork was very well prepared and very tender, the rice however was a little overdone but still tasted fine. This is a really good option, but I saw another reviewer call this their favorite quick service item at Walt Disney World, which to me seems like a bit much. It’s solid overall, not great though.

Pork Fried Rice ($8.99)

Pan Asian Noodles and Vegetables with Shrimp ($10.99)

If you enjoy the delicious noodles upstairs at Ohana, this may be a good substitute for when you can’t go there. You can chose to add shrimp or chicken for an added charge, we chose shrimp. Overall it was a very good and a nice sized portion.

Curried Seafood Stew ($13.99)

This was a weird dish, but I ended up eating all of it so I think I enjoyed it. There is a fair amount of seafood in here for a counter service dish, and the rice gets thoroughly soaked in the curry sauce which has a really good flavor to it which is not very spicy. While I would have enjoyed more spice, the dish was good as is and likely something I would order again.

Overall, these are great additions to the menu which are all solid options and fit the theme of the hotel nicely. Unique offerings are always a plus and these are very unique options for an already stellar counter service restaurant.

OVERALL SCORE FOR CAPTAIN COOK’S – 6.5 OUT OF 7

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 8/12/16 (Tomorrowland Overhaul, Big Thunder Mountain Closed, ETC.)

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Tomorrowland slowly gets a new look, Big Thunder Mountain scaffolding goes up, and the 45th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom grows closer in our latest photo report:

This door to the Confectionery is closed while the Cotton Candy machine is repaired

Painting of the rocks at the entrance to Tomorrowland continues

A preview of the finished product can be found HERE

A tent storing all of the paints is located in the Stitch extended queue and old second theater exit

Some new Finding Dory D-Tech on Demand cases available at the Light and Power Co.

A new MagicBand as well

There is now a Pascal light-up squeeze toy lanyard… thing…

The ham and cheese stuffed pretzel has made it on the menu board at Gaston’s Tavern, so I guess it is staying

Enchanted Tales with Belle is open, but still behind tarps

Tarps are still up at the Haunted Mansion as well

There si now a Walt Disney World entrance ornament to match the 4 park ornaments, should they ever come back in stock

Trashcan ornaments in full effect

They are much smaller than the salt and pepper shakers

The graduation ornament for this year features Mickey taking a selfie…

Big Thunder Mountain is now closed through November for sprucing up and the possible addition Â of the new finale scene

The signage on the construction walls is pretty amazing

The first piece of Walt Disney World 45th anniversary merchandise has hit stores, and it’s a pen

The Dead Men Tell No Tales banner outside of Pirates of the Caribbean was removed after 10 years…

I hadn’t seen this chalkboard magnet before

We did finally find an open flip book notepad…

“Elena of Avalor” Royal Welcome Show to be Presented Daily for Limited Time at Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Starting today and running through August 27th, 2016, the Elena of Avalor Royal Welcome will be presented daily at Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

The show will be presented at 9:05AM, 10:00AM, 12:20PM, and 1:35PM and will be very similar to the ceremony presented yesterday. A Princess Elena meet and greet is still slated to be added to the Magic Kingdom later this month, but no further details have been presented.

PHOTOS, VIDEO: Merchandise for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2016

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Today, Disney provided a sneak peek of the merchandise coming to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for 2016.

There is a limited edition retail MagicBand with an edition size of 3,000. It will be released at Emporium and Box Office Gifts on Main Street, U.S.A.

The limited release and limited edition pins will be released in Big Top Souvenirs in the Storybook Circus area of New Fantasyland. The pin assortment includes individual pins, a limited edition box set, a limited edition framed pin set, a limited release mystery pin set, and a limited release pin created especially for Annual Passholders. Guests may also find event apparel and holiday ornaments in this location.

Apparel may also be found in Mickey’s Star Trader in Tomorrowland, or at Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A.

Additional items were previewed in a video on the Disney Parks Blog:

PHOTO REPORT: Disney Springs 8/12/16 (Paddlefish, Planet Hollywood, Star Wars, ETC.)

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Theefish and Planet Hollywood continue to be remodeled while more Star Wars merchandise invades in our latest Disney Springs photo report:

Star Wars Galactic Outpost was stripped of all of the former D Street decorations

Some new Toy Story opened edition pins were released recently

Some new Fab 5 Pirates of the Caribbean pins as well

The new other facade for the Planet Hollywood Observatory

The Empress Lilly is being pretty much ripped apart for the conversion into the Paddlefish

the new “it’s a small world” Donney & Bourke collection is available at Marketplace Co-Op

The Star Wars attraction posters are now appearing on yet another piece of merchandise, playing cards

These new motorized walking toys started showing up at the parks, looks like there will be 4 in total

Walls by Planet Hollywood now direct guests towards the stores inside the Market Building in Town Center

The new Billboard for T-Rex in the Town Center is nearing completion

Additional seating was added between D-Luxe Burger and Blaze Pizza

BREAKING: The Sum of All Thrills and Stormstruck Closing; Goodbye Innoventions at Epcot

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

On September 14th, 2016, the Sum of All Thrills and Stromstruck exhibits inside Innoventions at Epcot will close.

Innoventions West exhibits were closed last year and some of the space was utilized for meet and greet areas for Baymax and Joy & Sadness. Colortopia, the newest Innoventions exhibit to open, will remain open at this time, but will close whenever the contract with Glidden concludes. Disney has stated they will make an announcement about the future of the Innoventions space at a later date.

All signs point to a massive overhaul of Future World at Epcot coming in the next few years, and those plans may include the demolition/repurposing of the Innoventions East and West buildings, thus why no replacement exhibits are being added.

RUMOR: Pirates of the Caribbean Replacing Peter Pan in “FANTASMIC 2.0” Show at Disneyland in 2017

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

When Fantasmic returns to Disneyland in the Summer of 2017, the Pirates of the Caribbean will be joining the crew in what should be an entirely re-imagined version of the show internally being referred to as “Fantasmic 2.0”.

Original poster for Disneyland’s Fantasmic!

When Fantasmic returns to Disneyland Park in 2017, guests will find a number of upgrades to the show on the technical side. A brand new HD projection system, lighting upgrades, and a completely new sound system (which wasn’t replaced in the 2009 overhaul) are expected in the change-over.

Pirates appearing soon on the Sailing Ship Columbia?

In addition, the show will be sporting a few new segments, including one for Pirates of the Caribbean, which would replace the Peter Pan segment which has been in the show since it debuted in 1992. Using projection mapping technology, the plan will be to turn the Sailing Ship Columbia into the Black Pearl. The ship will host a large fight between Jack Sparrow’s crew and that of Captain Barbossa. Of course, The Columbia will be re-rigged for all new stunt work featuring Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirate friends. The truly amazing part (if true) is that the projection mapping technology will follow the ship around the river, also projecting onto the performers on the boat. This effect would allow performers to change in appearance, jumping between a skeleton and human form just like the characters in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Other new segments are expected to replace some of the older ones when Fantasmic! returns to Disneyland next year. Sadly, we have no solid information on these at this time. Work on the Sailing Ship Columbia to prepare it for these new show elements are already underway.

Sailing Ship Columbia getting altered for “Fantasmic 2.0”

The new “Fantasmic 2.0” is expected to run nightly starting in early-Summer 2017. If our source is correct, it will continue to be a nightly, non-seasonal offering for at least a year through the end of 2018. There is no reasoning being given for the expanded schedule, but guest demand for a re-imagined show should be strong enough to warrant such an elongated performance season.

James Cameron Will Unveil More of Pandora: The World of AVATAR Theme Park Land at Destination D Event

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

From io9 on Gizmodo:

As most of us are patiently twiddling our thumbs waiting for Disney to open its Star Wars lands, James Cameron’s Avatar is going to beat it into the parks. Pandora: The World of Avatar will open in 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida and io9 can exclusively reveal that Cameron himself, along with his producer Jon Landau and Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde, will be on hand at the upcoming D23 Destination D event in November to reveal brand new details about the 12-acre immersive theme park section.

Taking place November 19 and 20 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World Resort, D23 Destination D: Amazing Adventures is open only to D23 Fan Club members but you can read more about it here. The event takes place on the years the D23 Expo doesn’t and, addition to the Cameron panel, there will be events based on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and more.

CONCEPT ART: Disney Enhancing Wedding Pavilion With Redesigned Interior

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Disney today share a look at concept art for the new “enhanced” interior of the Wedding pavilion, nestled on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon between Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort:

No completion date on the project has been announced as of yet. Here is what the interior looked like previously:

PHOTO REPORT: Disneyland Park 8/15/16 (Star Wars land, Eastern Gateway, Rivers of America, ETC.)

WDWNT on August 18, 2016

Disneyland Reporter Conner Purzycki brings us back to Disneyland Park in his latest photo report, as we check in on Star Wars land, the Rivers of America, and more: