Category: Magic Kingdom

Since the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen restaurant opened at the Magic Kingdom last December, it has been a point of much controversy. Many applauded the diverse menu, a great departure from other eateries around the park. However, a lot of guests have taken a seat at the restaurant only to find a menu that might be a little scary to those less-familiar with cuisine from other regions. Maybe it’s just too much for such a popular theme park to serve such food? Probably not considering how many other establishments in the park serve fairly standard food offerings. Regardless, Disney will be changing the menu due to the demands of these unsatisfied guests.

Disney has not stated when the change will happen, but cast members at the restaurant have been informed that the changes are coming. The menu is expected to radically change, with almost all of the current offerings going away or moving to another restaurant at Walt Disney World (the head-on shrimp are moving to Tiffins at Animal Kingdom).

We’ll be sure to bring you the new menu once it debuts, so stay tuned.

Disney After Hours, the controversial hard-ticket event at the Magic Kingdom we broke the story on a few weeks ago, doesn’t seem to be doing quite as well as Walt Disney World would have hoped. In an effort to increase sales for the event, Disney is now offering 50% off tickets for annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members.

Disney After Hours takes place on the following dates:

• Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM
• Thursday, May 5, 2016 from 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM
• Sunday, May 8, 2016 from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM
• Thursday, May 12, 2016 from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM
• Thursday, May 19, 2016 from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM

Discounted tickets are $75.00 (plus tax). For tickets, call (407) 827-7185 or stop by a ticketing window at Walt Disney World.

Recently, we showed you how guest’s names were being showcased at both “it’s a small world” and Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith using MagicBand technology. Well now, the Hitchhiking Ghosts of the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom are getting into the act:

Along with a series of new animated sequences, the Hitchhiking Ghosts at the end of the attraction may now leave a tombstone with a guest’s name on it lying behind or even remark that they are following the guest home to the home-state (like in the photo above).

A bit blurry, but you get the idea…

A tombstone left behind after Gus hits guests with a portrait that captures their faces

Photos courtesy @Schmoofy on Twitter.

Don’t worry, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom is still getting that exciting new ending scene filled with projection mapping, we just have to wait a little longer to get it.

The refurbishment to change the scene was rescheduled this week, now taking place from August 8th through November 18th, 2016. The refurbishment was originally set to take place from April through July, but was moved due to heavy crowds expected during the early summer months this year.

On March 13th, the Diamond Horseshoe in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom began a table service dining offering. For $33.00 for adults and $19.00 each for children ages 3-9 (plus tax), guests can enjoy all-you-care-to eat portions.

Pick one, but you can get more of anything and everything anyway.

There is no live entertainment offered, just music playing from the machine on stage.

The location offers one unique drink offering for $5.50 extra, a “prairie punch” which is a frozen watermelon lemonade. It was way too sweet, not very good.

The upstairs is sadly not being used, but there is about 100 seats downstairs in use.

The tableware matches those found at Liberty Tree Tavern and Skipper Canteens since the kitchen is being shared for this venue as well.

To start, the table is brought cornbread and a “frontier salad”…

I actually really enjoyed the salad with the cornbread croutons, the dressing had a nice kick to it as well.

You can’t beat cornbread, but this was not as good or as fresh as it is at say Trail’s End or Boatwright’s.

Then there is the entrees…

The turkey was the best of the entrees, but it still wasn’t all that good. Its placed on top of cornbread, but it did little to enhance the flavor.

I liked the ham even though it was over-salted, but the beans were not all that tasty.

The beef was quite possibly the worst entree I’ve ever had in a theme park (outside of Lombard’s at Universal probably). I wish I could more adequately describe how bad it was, but I’m not even sure what it tasted like. The mashed potatoes were fine, just nothing special.

For dessert, they offer a brownie and an apple tart with Craisins…

This was OK, but nothing extraordinary about it.

The brownies were horrendous. They had been sitting out for a while, but there was almost zero taste. It was like eating moist cardboard.

If you couldn’t tell by this review, Diamond Horseshoe is bad, very bad. Under no circumstances should you waste your time and/or money here. You will be much better off indulging in the new menu nearby at Pecos Bill’s or even eating the mediocre BBQ sandwiches from Tortuga Tavern. Luckily, this offering is temporary and concludes May 30th, but honestly, the effort to make this worth any amount of money was minimal. It’s pretty much all-you-care-to-eat counter service swill.

Most of the food was cold, none of the entrees were very good, and the specialty drink was just awful. Outside of the exceptional service from the wait staff, this was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had.

This is only being used to handle the abundance of guests who need to eat in the park during this busier season, but if they ever plan to bring this back, I would hope they revamp the menu.