The Food Truck Craze Is Coming to Downtown Disney

WDWNT on September 13, 2013

Calling all Walt Disney World Foodies!  Food trucks are all the rage these days, and now they are coming to Downtown Disney. These trucks will be rolling in later this Autumn.

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Chef James Kleinschmidt and Downtown Disney Area Manager for Food & Beverage, Matt Fisher, have been working together with the Walt Disney World Food & Beverage partners on the food truck concept. According to these two, there will be four food trucks, each truck to represent the essence of a different Disney Park.

The food trucks are:

“Enchanted Fare” — this food truck will serve favorites from Disney Parks; for example, Croque Monsieur from Magic Kingdom Park, Glass Noodle Salad from Hong Kong Disneyland and Hand-Dipped Corn Dogs from Disneyland Park.

“The World Showcase of Flavors” – this food truck is will include feature menu items from the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, such as Grass-Fed Beef Sliders, Pierogies with Kielbasa and Lobster Rolls.

“Superstar Catering” — Meatballs will be the “star” of this food truck! A variety of meatball dishes, like the Lamb Meatball Flatbread with Tzatziki, will be showcased on this truck’s menu.

“Namaste Café” — this food truck will infuse a mix of spices into their menu items, such as Butter Chicken, Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs and Tandori Spiced Shrimp.

Are you a fan of the food truck craze? From which Downtown Disney food truck will you be sampling?

Joe Hogarty’s 9/10/13 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT on September 13, 2013

Hearing walls had come down around Princess Fairytale Hall in New Fantasyland, WDWNT reporter Joe Hogarty decided to visit the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday this week and he has a number fo newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:

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A beautiful day

work on the curb by the emporium is finished, so work has now moved across the street to the Confectionery

Walls came down around Princess Fairytale Hall, giving us a look at the gorgeous facade

A closer look at the 11 Princess shields on the facade

The exterior queue

Let’s move over to the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train

Plenty of workers up on the mountain

An Imagineer checking out some details

These posts have appeared recently

Prince Eric’s Village Market is now open

This wall was recently completed on the back of the mountain

I wonder what the story is with these areas that look like someone broke through them

Another mine opening is now visible

Scary…

For the first time we can see an awning where we assume the entrance to the queue will be

The Jungle Cruise is closed for refurbishment, mostly queue modifications being made

Over at Pirates of the Caribbean…

A few weeks ago, these new boats arrived

They are very nice, but there are a few issues

First off, they are going down the flume awkwardly and taking on a lot of water

Secondly, the ruber on the front and back of the boats make an awful noise when they touch another boat… hopefully all of this will be resolved

Facade work still taking place on the Adventureland Veranda

Tom Corless’ 7/12-14/13 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

I spent a majority of last weekend visiting the Magic Kingdom and I took a number of newsworthy photos to share, so let’s take a look at what’s new around the park:

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The Villas at the Grand Floridian are looking great

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, the MyMagic+ service center is sitting dormant in Town Square Theater for now

Speaking of Town Square Theater, some guests decided to write on Mickey’s hand…

This is not alright people…

A few new character banks are now on sale

There is also now a kid’s Toodles shirt

Another pair of giant glasses has come out, this pair looks like Minnie’s bow

The gutters have returned to Sleepy Hallow Refreshments, meaning work is finally done on the facade

The new ear hat ornaments can be found at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe

The shoe ornaments are still in stock as well

There is now a Haunted Mansion candlestick holder available

Everything but the Haunted Mansion throw blanket is currently available

Some new Winnie the Pooh merchandise has arrived at Hundred Acre Goods

Some new shirts with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore

FastPass+ signage at the Tomorrowland Speedway

Work is speeding up on the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train in New Fantasyland

So, after the new FastPass+ merge point at “it’s a small world”, there is currently a free-for-all of people in line with no divider… hopefully this will be fixed before FastPass+ rolls out

The stroller name tags currently feature Disney Planes

You can now get Monster Energy Drink at some food carts

In an effort to keep strollers away from Pirate’s Adventure kiosks, signage was added. People don’t read…

The replica of the Be Our Guest Restaurant music box has finally been released and retails for $90

Walt Disney World (And Disneyland) Resort-Inspired Signs Now Available

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

One of the most difficult things for me to face is saying farewell to my “happy place” at the end of a Walt Disney World vacation. The sights, the smells, the sounds —  fun and happiness all around you.

One of the ways I try to combat post-WDW sadness is to try and recreate some of my favorite dishes from the restaurants.  I’ve perfected the New England Clam Chowder from Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and the Key Lime Pie from Olivia’s Café at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and the Buttermilk Fried Chicken from the Hoop De Doo Review at Fort Wilderness.

Now Walt Disney World has a new way to recreate the feeling of the Disney Resorts at home – with a line of art-inspired signage from the Disney Parks. Created by the Disney Imagineers and the Disney Design Group, these signs are following the trend of vintage sign replicas.

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David Whitaker, senior merchandiser, says, “The sign program has been wildly popular with guests. We wanted to offer oversized replicas of Disney Parks’ signs printed on wood-like material or metal… we had plenty of options for us at Disney Parks. The fun part was selecting the most iconic signs for this first program.”

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For some signs, the artists reproduced the sign almost exactly how it looks at Disney Parks, like the Aloha Isle sign.

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Other signs combine elements from several signs for an attraction to create an original piece of artwork, like the Enchanted Tiki Room sign.

“We took the attraction sign and combined it with shields found both on the Adventureland bridge in Magic Kingdom Park in Florida and on the attraction building in Disneyland park in California,” explained David. “I thought the addition of the shields made the sign more aesthetically pleasing.”

Look for the new vintage resort signs at the Art of Disney location in Downtown Disney Marketplace and Animation Gallery at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Gaston’s Tavern sign is located in the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom.

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There are also two Disney•Pixar’s “Cars“-inspired signs found at select locations in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure park.

Unfortunately, the vintage signs will not be available at the Disney Parks online store, but  some of these signs will be offered at the Disneyland Resort at a future date.

VIDEO: A Look Back at Long-Lost Friends Week at the Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

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Last week as part of Limited Time Magic, the Magic Kingdom hosted Long Lost Friends Week, bringing back characters from Robin Hood, Chicken Little, Song of the South, and The Princess and the Frog to the park.In case you missed it, we have some video of all of the characters to share with you:

We All Scream for Limited Time Magic Monstrous Sundaes at WDW & DLR

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

Starting July 28th through August 4th, the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort are offering up some monstrously-sweet treats for part of their “Limited Time Magic.”

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With two scoops of delicious mint chip ice cream, gooey hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, candy eyeball and horns in a crunchy waffle cup,  the Disneyland sundae will be sure to scare up some yummy fun.  This colossal treat at be found at Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor in Disneyland Park and Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream at Disney California Adventure. ($6.99 plus tax)

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At the Plaza Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, you can try a parfait-glass sundae that comes in either mint chocolate chip or vanilla-strawberry ($6.99 plus tax). For a smaller appetite, you can try a mini version of these sundaes at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop ($5.29 plus tax).

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Now instead of using spoons to dig tunnels under the city, you can use the spoons to try out these cool sundaes!

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Will you be trying these monstrously-delicious sundaes at the Parks this week?

Dirk Wallen’s 7/27-29/13 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Downtown Disney over the last three days and has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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More touch-point entrances are being installed at Epcot

The exit has been moved to accommodate this work

Work continues on Fountain View which will open as Starbucks in the Fall

This booth is once again out from behind walls… let’s see if it actually opens this time…

The latest Remember When pin is out, featuring Journey Into Jungle Book from Animal Kingdom

Walls are still up around this planter on World Showcase promenade

Hard to see, but roads have been paved for the third bus loop at the Magic Kingdom

There is some major concrete work happening outside of the Emporium

Walls are down from around this sign

White tarps up on this Main Street facade for whatever reason

Planes merchandise has landed at the Emporium

New crossword Mickey Mouse iPhone 5 phone case

These walls are still up in Liberty Square

Walls still up at the old Peter Pan restrooms in Fantasyland

This awesome sign featuring the two lines at the Mad Tea Party finally went back up this week

Still nothing to see at Princess Fairytale Hall

Plenty to see over at the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train site

You can now see hills and valleys where the trains will dive down and rise up… this looks pretty incredible…

Work has just about wrapped up on the back of the mountain

We’re still waiting for Triton’s Treasures to open

One tarp is still up on the building

FastPass+ running at Magic Carpets of Aladdin

The FastPass+ entrance is also ready to go at Pirates of the Caribbean

A new marquee and times board are up at the American Idol Experience

Signage points FastPass+ guests down to here to enter

The Hollywood Brown Derby is testing a new lunch menu right now and it looks amazing

Moving to the Studios, Planes banners are up in the Animation Courtyard

Planes and Frozen billboards up in the Animation Courtyard as well

FastPass+ at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

Moving to Downtown Disney, one of the West Side parking lots has already been closed for construction

Demolition continues at the former Comedy Warehouse

A new bridge is being constructed from the West Side to Pleasure Island, going around the planned construction area

Limited Time Magic Reversible Heroes & Villains “Cover Your Ears” Now at Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on August 7, 2013

In celebration of the “Year of the Ear,” Walt Disney World is introducing some very cool Cover Your Ears reversible base wraps for Limited Time Magic. These wraps cover the base of the Mickey Ear hats, and this new release introduces a new hero and villain-theme.

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This wrap slips right over your everyday Mickey Mouse black ear hat. The photo above shows the front and back of the reversible wrap.

The hero/villain Cover Your Ears base was designed by long-time Disney Design Group artist, Mark Seppala. “A few years ago my fellow artist Brian Blackmore and I worked on a project that featured heroes and villains,” explained Mark. “I pulled character elements from that project for this hat as I thought it would be a neat concept. I’m happy with the final version as the colors and printing really pop! I’m partial to the villain side and included as many characters as I possibly could. There are approximately 34 villains and 61 heroes represented on this base. Now that’s a hat with a lot of character!”

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You can find these reversible wraps in Fantasyland’s Mad Hatter at the Disneyland park, at the Disneyland Resort, and at Chapeau Hat Shoppe in Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Because this is park of the Limited Time Magic celebrations, there are  limited numbers of the reversible covers available, while supplies last.

What villain or hero would you like to see on your Cover Your Ears?

Dirk Wallen’s 6/1/13 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and has some newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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Still no permanent sign installed at the Explorers Outpost

Surprisingly, there is still work happening down at the Tree of Life nets

Small walls still up

Looks like they are installing some railings

Work continues on the new theater for Festival of the Lion King in Africa

They are still working on the queue modifications at Finding Nemo: The Musical

New signage up at the Main Street Bakery as we get closer to the reopening this month

Sleepy Hallow Refreshments still behind tarps

Some walls up in Liberty Square

Tarps still up on the former Peter Pan restrooms

No tarps on Princess Fairytale Hall anymore

Work on the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train seems to be picking up

A large section in the back no longer has walls up and is a new stroller parking area for Under the Sea

Triton’s Treasures should also be open very soon

The path to Storybook Circus is now permanently open

Work continues on The Villas at the Grand Floridian

VIDEO: Summer Edition of the Main Street Trolley Show Debuts

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

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In the last year, we have seen the debut of an autumn and spring edition of the popular Main Street Trolley show at the Magic Kingdom. Well, just last week a new summer edition of the show was unveiled and we have video of it to share with you:

So, what do you think of the summer version of the Main Street Trolley show?