Magic Kingdom – Page 38

CONFIRMED: Jungle Cruise Themed “Skipper’s Cantina” Restaurant Coming to the Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on April 13, 2015

The Jungle Cruise may not be getting a store anytime soon, but it is getting its own restaurant…

Image courtesy WidenYourWorld.net, Adventureland Veranda many years ago

The Adventureland Veranda restaurant opened with the park in October 1971, and despite several widespread menu changes and the arrival and departure of Kikkoman as a corporate sponsor, continued to operate until 1994. Since then, it has been used for many things, mostly character meet and greets and treat stations for the Magic Kingdom’s party events. After most recently serving as home to Tinker Bell and her fairy friends before she flew on over to Town Square Theater, the establishment will finally return to food service after 21 years of being lost in the shuffle. The recent swap of Sunshine Tree Terrace and Aloha Isle was indeed a measure to alleviate traffic in front of the restaurant’s entrances and exits.

The space being used as Tinker Bell’s Magical Nook

The new restaurant will be tentatively called the “Skipper’s Cantina”, themed around the near-by Jungle Cruise attraction. The back story would revolve around Jungle Cruise skippers being paid pretty poorly by the Jungle Navigation Company (or Disney in real life, but that’s enough of that…) and needing to operate the restaurant to make a little more money. This would be significant as it would be the first restaurant at the domestic Disney Parks inspired by an original Disney attraction and not an animated or live action film.

Who’s hungry for some Jungle Cruise-inspired cuisine?

Current rumors speculate that the restaurant will operate in a similar fashion to “Be Our Guest” in that is will offer a counter service lunch and a table service dinner. With the annual Magic Kingdom park attendance continually rising, the once unnecessary establishment will now serve a real purpose in helping out the overburdened park-wide dining facilities in the Magic Kingdom of 2015.

Disney would like to have the new restaurant open by November 2015, but that is purely speculation at this time. That being said, the interior of the building was never damaged too heavily by any of the tenants over the last few years, so the conversion shouldn’t take very long.

Stay tuned for more on this breaking story…

REVIEW: Be Our Guest Restaurant Begins Breakfast Test; Is It Worth The Price?

WDWNT on April 13, 2015

On Friday, the Be Our Guest Restaurant in New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom began testing breakfast service between the hours of 8 & 10 AM. We went to check it out on Sunday and see if the ever-popular restaurant’s pricey new breakfast would live up to months of speculation and hype surrounding it. Let’s find out if it did:

Yes, it is expensive.

Each table is provided a pastry tray. The pastry tray is pretty small for a party of 4, but I can see parties of 2 feeling like they got more than enough from this. With a few different reservations, we ended up having 12 in our party on Sunday morning. Now, you would think that each separate transaction would warrant a separate pastry tray, but it did not. The servers gave us 4 pastry plates for 12 people. If more than 4 people wanted a croissant, well, I guess that’s too bad. After asking several times, they did bring us a few more trays, but upon telling them that our kids would really love another croissant (if possible), the waitress vanished and never returned. I would much rather they simplify this as a basket of croissants and muffins, rather than this sampler that doesn’t feature many items that are easily share-able amongst more than 2 people. Besides that, they were the usual pastries you’d find at any of the breakfast buffets and most of the items are quite good… if you actually get one…

There is some variation in the trays as well, with a cinnamon roll being replaced with this tart in this case

The croissant doughnut was insane, but also insanely delicious. Very sweet, very soft, practically perfect in every way.

The Eggs Florentine was my favorite dish. The flaky, crisp pastry mixed with eggs and spinach was absolutely delicious.

The meat tray was good, but fairly standard.

The vegetable quiche was surprisingly edible and actually a really good option for those with special dietary needs. The crust was perfect, and there was enough flavor in it to feel satisfied with it.

The open face sandwich was also very good, but every order of this at our table was a bit cold. The ordering system at Be Our Guest can be spotty at times and you really can’t afford a delay in food coming to a guest’s table when there are eggs on it. Eggs cool down real fast and it was apparent this sat somewhere for a bit.

The kid’s meals aren’t huge, but they are kid’s meals. Our 4 and 6 year-old children enjoyed them, but there honestly was anything special about them.

Overall, some dishes were great and some mediocre, but none of them were bad. I’ve had much worse breakfasts at Disney Parks, and I wouldn’t rank this lower than many (not bringing value into play).

So, is it worth $20 a person? You might be surprised to hear maybe…

Look at it this way: A tremendous amount of guests book a breakfast reservation for the Crystal Palace really just to get in the park early and get a jump on the crowds. Crystal Palace is far more expensive than Be Our Guest Restaurant for breakfast. Yes, there are characters, and yes, it is a buffet, but the price point is significantly higher. An 8:00AM Be Our Guest Reservation is far more affordable for any family, and while there is less food and no characters, that same early advantage remains. While later reservations won’t have this advantage (and thus are more easily deemed overpriced, which I feel that the meals are), I can’t help but feel Disney priced this based on those who will receive this perk and perhaps some backlash from those paying a lot more for Cinderella’s royal Table or Crystal Palace. Be Our Guest is the closest restaurant to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train too…

Drik Wallen & Brian Carey’s 3/2/15 WDW Photo Report (Polynesian, Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs, ETC.)

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

Let’s catch up with what’s new and exciting at Walt Disney World with some photos from our reporters taken in the last week or so:

The Polynesian Resort bungalows look just about ready

Work is also wrapping up on the villas as we have less than a month until opening

Rock work has appeared on the remodeled volcano pool

The kids water-play area looks like a lot of fun

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, some of the Main Street facades are still behind tarps

Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid is still closed for a few more days for modifications

The refurbishment of the Castle continues

Moving on to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs, new planters and lights seem to be going in all over the place

Beautifully Disney has closed in the Marketplace Co-Op, to be replaced with Wonderground Gallery

A new Margarita bar is being built in the Marketplace

Work continues on the Boathouse, which will open soon in The Landing

They are enclosing the hangar restaurant

St. Patrick’s Day and Easter Eachez Vinylmation now for sale at D Street

Some of the planters by Planet Hollywood have come out from behind walls

The escalators and stairs that will take guests out of the Orange parking structure are almost finished

Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC recently opened in The Landing

This is the samecompany that operated Babycakes inside the Pollo Campero building

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid Ride at Magic Kingdom Re-Opens with Significant Changes

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

After being closed for a little over a month now, Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid at the Magic Kingdom re-opened yesterday with all of the changes we reported would be on the way several months ago:

A lot of black light is used in the ride now, and static fish figures have been added in some places

The Under the Sea sequence uses a lot of black light now, used to hide the lighting rigs and such above

There are also some static fish figures hanging in this section of the ride now

The human figures in the later scenes also received “real” flowing hair, opposed to the old rubber hair they once sported

Here’s our video of the ride with the changes in place:

Dirk Wallen’s 3/10/15 WDW Photo Report (Disney Springs, Magic Kingdom, Polynesian, Hollywood Studios, ETC.)

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen traveled far and wide this week, visiting Disney Springs, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Polynesian Village Resort, and the Magic Kingdom, taking plenty of newsworthy photos to share with us today:

Starting at Disney Springs, work continues on the area outside of the AMC

The Wonderground Gallery opened inside the Marketplace Co-Op recently

Also new at the Co-Op is The Sign Shop, selling soem brand new Disney-inspired signage

The finishing touches being placed on the rear facade of Raglan Road

The Boathouse is nearing completion

The facade of the Hangar restaurant is now being worked on

The new pier area and margarita bar in the Marketplace should be open soon

Moving over to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the new volcano pool area is nearing completion

Cinderella merchandise has invaded the Emporium at the Magic Kingdom

Even with Cinderella’s Royal Table re-opened, work continues on the castle via the infamous crane

The Sorcerer’s Hat may be gone, but the foundation and such from it will still take a bit to remove

The tarps are down at what we expect to be the TCM sponsored photo-op at the end of the Great Movie Ride

Work has begun on the Toy Story Mania expansion we told you about last year

St. Patrick’s Day snacks have started appearing around the resort

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!

Disney Parks “Coolest Summer Ever” Brings Another 24-Hour Day; Frozen Summer Fun Returns & More

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

Walt Disney World Resort will kick off the “Coolest Summer Ever” with 24 hours of nonstop fun during a special event May 22-23 at the Magic Kingdom, hosted by Olaf, the summer-loving snowman from Disney’s blockbuster animated hit “Frozen.”

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of family vacation time, and Walt Disney World Resort will launch into the season full force. The Magic Kingdom will be open 24 hours to guests from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Friday May 22 to Saturday, May 23. Guests will be invited to come in costume to show their Disney Side while a selection of favorite attractions, entertainment, special event merchandise, plus food and beverage are on tap all night long to celebrate the start of the “Coolest Summer Ever” at Walt Disney World Resort. The around-the-clock celebration features Disney character greetings, dance parties and surprises into the wee hours of the night.

The summer offerings at Walt Disney World will include the return of Frozen Summer Fun to Hollywood Studios, with the fireworks show, DJ dance party, and small parade re-joining the sing-along celebration. Frozen Summer Fun will be hosted June 17th through September 7th.

Disney also took this opportunity to announce the water park hopper ticket we have been talking about a rumor for some time now.

On the West Coast, Disneyland Resort will kick off the summer with a dynamic 24-hour event of its own, May 22-23, to launch the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration. Marking the 60^thanniversary of the resort, the Diamond Celebration includes the premieres of three new nighttime spectaculars: “Disneyland Forever” fireworks, “Paint the Night” parade and “World of Color – Celebrate!”

The all-day/all-night revelry of the 24-hour party will include dancing and special character encounters at locations in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks, along with enchanting Diamond décor throughout the resort and the exciting shows and attractions that bring guests back year after year.

PHOTOS: Aloha Isle and Dole Whips Swap Places with Sunshine Tree Terrace

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

Effective today, Sunshine Tree Terrace and the ever-popular Aloha Isle in Adventureland have switched places:

Sunshine Tree Terrace taking the place of Aloha Isle

The Little Orange Bird will move in soon, for now he is nowhere to be found

So, the Citrus Swirl is now over here

Aloha Isle by Dole is now next door to the Enchanted Tiki Room

And Dole Whips over here

The change is being made to alleviate the long lines for Aloha Isle and the over-crowding of the area outside of the former Adventureland Veranda (also formerly Tinker Bell’s Nook). Rumor has it that the former restaurant may be turned in a new table service dining location and removing the more popular Aloha Isle from the area would alleviate some of the pressure of having to share the restaurants promenade with a lengthy Dole Whip line. Only time will tell.

PHOTOS BY KELLY DERDA

Prix-Fixe “Be Our Guest” Restaurant Breakfast Test Running March 20th-June 18th, 2015

WDWNT on March 19, 2015

Starting on March 20, Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort will begin testing a prix fixe breakfast from 8-10 a.m. daily through June 18.

The “fast casual” breakfast menu has a decidedly French touch; each meal begins with a pastry basket for sharing. Your entrée options include assorted cured meat and cheese served with marmalade, fresh fruit and a toasted baguette. You can also enjoy eggs Florentine served in a puff pastry shell with country ham and roasted plum tomatoes and an open-face bacon-and-poached-egg sandwich with Brie.

Healthier options include the scrambled egg whites with roasted tomatoes, multigrain croissant and fresh fruit or a vegetable quiche with mushroom, zucchini, bell pepper, onion and chive, served with seasonal fruit. The prix fixe menu will also include a selection of self-service beverages.

There is also the Croissant Doughnut: a fried doughnut topped with banana caramel sauce, chocolate ganache and whipped cream.

The kids’ menu includes brioche French toast with fresh fruit, scrambled eggs with Applewood bacon and fresh fruit, fruit crepes with yogurt and fresh fruit with a berry foam, cereal and oatmeal.

Guests can make reservations beginning March 17 for dates March 20 through June 18, 2015 via DisneyWorld.com/dine, the My Disney Experience app, or by calling 407-WDW-DINE. Advance reservations are being encouraged. The Disney Dining Plan will be accepted.

The full breakfast menu and pricing can be found at “WDWNT Now!” starting today:

ENTREES

Assorted Cured Meats and Cheese

Alpine-smoked Ham, Serrano Ham, Sopressata, and Cheese with Marmalade, Fresh Fruit, Toasted Baguette, and a selection of pastries.

$19.99

Cured Meats and Cheese with Millet Bread

Alpine-smoked Ham, Serrano Ham, Sopressata, and Cheese with Marmalade, Fresh Fruit, and Millet Bread.

$19.99

Cured Meats No Chs

Alpine-smoked Ham, Serrano Ham, and Sopressata with Marmalade, Fresh Fruit, and Toasted Baguette.

$19.99

Bacon Egg Sand*

Poached Eggs, Applewood Bacon, Brie Cheese, and Arugula on a toasted Baguette served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries. *This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Open-Face Bacon and Egg Sandwich on Millet Bread*

Poached Eggs, Applewood Bacon, Brie Cheese, and Arugula on Millet Bread served with Fresh Fruit. *This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Open-Face Bacon and Egg Sandwich No Cheese*

Poached Eggs, Applewood Bacon, and Arugula on a Toasted Baguette served with Fresh Fruit. *This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Eggs Florentine*

Puff Pastry Shell filled with Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and fresh Spinach served with Country Ham, Roasted Plum Tomatoes, and a selection of pastries.*This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Eggs Florentine Millet Bread No Cheese*

Scrambled Eggs and Fresh Spinach served with Country Ham, Roasted Plum Tomatoes, and Millet Bread.*This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Egg White Scr*

Scrambled Egg Whites with Roasted Tomatoes, Multi-grain Croissant, Fresh Fruit, and a selection of pastries.*This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Egg White Scramble with Millet Bread*

Scrambled Egg Whites served with Roasted Tomatoes, Millet Bread, and Fresh Fruit. *This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$19.99

Vegetable Quiche

Mushroom, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion and Chive Quiche served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries

$19.99

Fried Doughnut

Fried Doughnut topped with Banana-Caramel Sauce, Pastry Crème, and Chocolate Ganache served with a selection of pastries

$19.99

Waffles

served with Fresh Fruit

$19.99

French Toast Sticks

served with Fresh Fruit

$19.99

Beverages

Castle Goblet

Light Up Castle-themed Souvenir Goblet with choice of fountain beverage.

$16.99

Ariel Light Cup

Child’s Ariel Cup with Light Up Clip and choice of fountain beverage.

$6.99

Pirate Light Cup

Child’s Pirate Cup with Light Up Clip and choice of fountain beverage.

$6.99

Cold Fountain Beverage

Self-serve cold fountain beverage, 22oz

Hot Beverage

Self-serve, Fresh-brewed Coffee or Hot Cocoa.

Bottled Water

Dasani Bottled Water

Lowfat Milk

Lowfat Milk 1%

Vanilla Soy Milk

Vanilla Soy Milk

Chocolate Milk

Nestlé Nesquik Chocolate Milk 14 oz

Simply Orange Juice

Simply Orange Juice

Apple Juice

Minute Maid Apple Juice

Perrier Water

Perrier Water

Mickey Straw

$0.59

Kids’ Meals

Crepes du Cogsworth

stuffed with Yogurt, Fresh Berries, and Wildberry Foam served with a selection of pastries.

$11.99

Philippe’s Toasted Oats

Steel-cut Oatmeal served with Golden Raisins, Brown Sugar, and a selection of pastries

$11.99

Warm Oatmeal with Soy Milk

Steel-cut Oatmeal served with Golden Raisins, Brown Sugar, and Soy Milk

$11.99

Fifi’s French Toast

Brioche Bread served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries

$11.99

French Toast Sticks

served with Fresh Fruit

$11.99

Scrambled Eggs du Maurice*

served with Applewood Bacon, Fresh Fruit, and a selection of pastries.*This item may contain raw or undercooked ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

$11.99

Chip’s Kellogg’s Cereal

Choice of Kellogg’s Cereal with Milk, Fresh Fruit, and a selection of pastries

$11.99

Cereal Soy Fruit

Choice of Kellogg’s Cereal with Soy Milk and Fresh Fruit

$11.99

Waffles

served with Fresh Fruit

$11.99

Be Our Guest Restaurant Opening Lunch Reservations To All Guests, Food Pre-Ordering Available, Breakfast Coming Soon

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

So, for the past several months, guests who wanted to eat lunch at Be Our Guest restaurant in New Fantasyland either needed to be a resort guests with a FastPass reservation or arrive at the restaurant pretty early in the day to get a return time to eat at the establishment. Needless to say, the test was pretty disastrous, leading Disney to implement a new system starting next month.

Much like a table service restaurant, Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) will be available for the Be Our Guest Restaurant lunch by phone or through MyDisneyExperience starting February 25th. We assume this will be utilizing the established 180 day window for advanced reservations, but that has not been confirmed as of yet.

Guests will also be able to pre-order their food and drinks anywhere from 30 days to within 5 minutes of their arrival at the restaurant once they have a reservation, again via MyDisneyExperience. Pre-ordering isn’t necessary, you can still order at the restaurant as well.

Disney has confirmed breakfast will be added to Be Our Guest Restaurant as well sometime this year, but details on the counter service offering will be provided at a later date.

Walt Disney World Speedway Closing To Make Way for Magic Kingdom Area Improvements

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Walt Disney World announced yesterday that the Richard Petty Driving Experience and Exotic Driving Experience will be closing in late-June 2015 for “future transportation improvements”. The Walt Disney World Speedway is expected to be demolished sometime after that.

It’s no secret that road improvements are coming to the area, as cast members already know of the expansion of Floridian Way and the moving of Cast Connection to allow backstage road improvements near Magic Kingdom. We can only speculate that changes will also be made to the Magic Kingdom toll plaza and parking exit to allow better traffic flow, and perhaps provide a separate vehicle entrance to the park from the road that takes guests to the monorail resorts nearby.