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What’s coming up in 2019 at WDW

2019 brings some new events at all four parks at Walt Disney World. So what is coming up?

Magic Kingdom

Starting on 18th January Magic Kingdom will be hosting ‘Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration’ to honour these staple Disney characters. New merchandise, events, and foods will be available. There will be a new version of popular dance parade called ‘Move it! Shake it! MouskeDance it! Street Party’. The Dapper Dan’s and the Casey’s Corner pianist will also add some new Mickey and Minnie magic to their repertoire from 18th Jan to 30th Sept.

Epcot

The Epcot International Festival of Arts is in its 3rd year now and runs from 18th Jan – 25 Feb. We were lucky enough to visit this during its first year in 2017. Amongst other events the Disney on Broadway concert series returns to the America Garden’s Theatre in the world showcase, this year expanding to 7 days a week.

The theatre will also be in use during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival from 6th March to 3rd June. The Gardn Rocks Concert Series will also expand to 7 days a week during this time.

The biggest event for Epcot in 2019 is probably the end of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This 20 year old nighttime firework and music display will come to an end in the second half of 2019. Stay tuned for more news of its replacement!

Hollywood Studios

2018 was a big year for this park with the opening of Toy Story Land in June, but it looks like 2019 will be even bigger! Of course the big event is the opening of ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’ in late autumn, but that is not all.

The park itself has its 30th anniversary on 30th May (having originally opened under the name MGM Studios) and Pixar will be a big theme this year. Pixar Place is now transformed into a Metroville city block from ‘The Incredibles’ films. Here you can meet Edna Mode, look out for clues as to the whereabouts of Jack-Jack, join in with a lively party and catch Mr Incredible, Mrs Incredible, and Frozone at various points during the day.

When Disney started building both Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge, large sections towards the back of the park were closed. One of the casualties of this was the Mike and Sulley meet and greet. The good news is that these popular characters are now back and can be seen inside the Walt Disney Presents Theatre.

The new park expansion also saw the end of the Cars related experiences including a Lightning McQueen meet and greet. Later on in the Spring, Lightning McQueen returns with a new show experience telling the untold story of Lightning McQueen.

Animal Kingdom

This park celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and this year from 18th Jan – 30th September it will mark the 25th anniversary of ‘The Lion King’. A ‘Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party’ will see Timon and Rafiki dance with live musicians celebrating music around the world. Immersive 3D photo opportunities will also be available with more celebrations yet to be announced.

So make 2019 your year to visit Walt Disney World!

 

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New Workshop activities at selected resorts

As most people know,  a holiday at Disney is about more than just visiting the parks. There is so much to do in and around the resorts too.

A new offering is a series of painting workshops across Walt Disney World.

On most Sundays and Wednesdays (at midday) Animal Kingdom Lodge is offering the ‘Wild about Painting’ experience. This will teach you to paint an animal-inspired masterpiece. It takes place on the Kuba Terrace just outside the Jambo House Lobby, and includes a cocktail or non-alcoholic beverage.

The Boardwalk resort is offering two workshops. ‘Canvas Painting on Boards’ takes place in the Trattoria al Forno restaurant on Tuesday afternoons, and ‘Wine Glass Painting on the Boards’ is at Abracadabar on Thursday afternoons. Both include snacks and a cocktail or non-alcoholic beverage.

Finally is an experience just for DVC members and their guests. ‘Painting with a View’ takes place in the Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower, this is available on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. You can learn how to paint a classic Disney images, along with breakfast (for the morning classes), snacks (for the afternoon classes) and a non-alcoholic drink or a glass of wine or beer. As this is for members only you will need to show your membership card.

All three are for guests aged 12+ and last for 2 hours. Each costs $50 per person.

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Star Wars Galaxy Edge – more details revealed

With less than 12 months till the opening of Galaxy Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, more details are leaking.

IMAGE VIA DISNEY

No firm release date has been given – ‘late fall’ is all that Disney are committing to – but here is what we do know.

There will be two quick service locations within this section of the park, with a market shopping area, similar in someways to walking down Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.

The ride that has generated the most hype is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. This will see people split into groups of 6 and ‘pilot’ the Millennium Falcon through the galaxy. It sounds like a souped-up version of the existing Star Tours ride, with a much more interactive, personalised experience promised.

The second ride is Rise of the Resistance and Disney have not been too forthcoming with details on this ride. It appears to be a traditional Disney dark ride, but the largest that Disney has ever constructed. It appears that, including the pre-show, it will be a 28 minute experience! This is probably twice as long as the current experience at Flight of Passage, Disney’s current headline new ride.

And of course that just leaves the new Star Wars hotel. Due to open at the same time as Galaxy’s Edge we know that this is due to be an immersive experience. Rumours are that stays are restricted to 2 nights – and with the cost also rumoured to be around $1000 per night this would make for an expensive stay. Disney have suggested that guests will be given a story line to complete during their stay, which will link in with Galaxy’s Edge.

Image Courtesy of Disney/Lucasfilm

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Room details and floor plans released for latest DVC resort

The latest DVC resort is due to open later this year and this week Disney released more details about the accommodation it will provide.

The Riviera Resort is located between Hollywood Studios and Epcot and is adjacent to The Caribbean Resort (a moderate level resort).  It will have its own station for the Skyliner – the new Disney gondola system – giving easy access to both of these parks. It is officially classed as an Epcot Area Resort and will have 300 rooms. Theming is based around the Riviera in the south of France.

Like all DVC resorts there will be Deluxe Studios (sleeping 5), 1 bedroom villas (sleeping 5), 2 bedroom villas (sleeping 9), and 3 bedroom grand villas (sleeping 12). However they are adding an additional room type, the Tower Studio. This will sleep 2 and offers a slightly cheaper option.

Like all DVC resorts, some rooms will be available for cash sales. Prices in £ have not yet been released, but US prices are as follows:

Tower Studio – from $486 per night
Deluxe Studio – from $662 per night
1 bedroom villa – from $984 per night
2 bedroom villa – from $1519 per night
3 bedroom villa – from $3110 per night

One interesting design feature included in these rooms is a double Murphy bed. A lot of DVC studios already utilise. A small drop down Murphy bed under the TV which is perfect for a child to sleep on (our youngest uses these when we go), but these double ones have not yet been seen at a DVC resort.  Rather than using a sofa bed, all room types excluding the grand villa will have a pull down Queen size bed which will come down over the top of the sofa. I imagine that this will please a lot of people who don’t like sleeping on the sofa beds, but still retains a sofa available for use during the day.

Disney have not yet released a points chart for the Rivera but if we look at the cash prices for rooms, it looks as if they are aiming at a similar level to Boardwalk.

More images and floor plans can be found at WDW News Today.

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Dates announced for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2019

Mickey and Minnie at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom ParkSo quite a bit earlier than usual Disney have released dates for this year’s Halloween Party.  Usually dates are released and tickets go on sale around April/May, but this year it would seem that Disney want us to be planning early.

This is a good thing as it can help people budget for the party if they know it is going to be on when they are there, or it can help them plan park days if they are not going to the party.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (known as MNSSHP) is a hard-ticketed event held in Magic Kingdom from 7pm till park closing on a selection of dates from mid-August until the end of October. If you buy a party ticket you can enter from 4pm without having to buy a regular park ticket. If you don’t have a park ticket then you will need to leave the park before the party starts. And yes, they do police it – if you don’t have a party wristband they will ensure you leave the park. This means that there is not a regular showing of ‘Happily Ever After’ (the firework show) on party nights.

We love MNSSHP having now done it three times. This is the only time that guests over the age of 14 are allowed to dress up in costumes (the best aspect of the party as far as I’m concerned), there is free candy, special fireworks, a special parade and show, Halloween themed snacks and desserts, along with merchandise

This year there are 36 dates and are as follows:

August – 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30

September – 2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27 and 29

October – 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29 and 31

November – 1

Ticket prices are from $85-135 for adults and $74-130 for children (under 10). Slight discounts apply to some dates for DVC Members and Annual Passholders.

Tickets can be purchased from the Disney World website

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When should you go to WDW?

This is a question that is often asked – when is the best time of year to go. Unfortunately there is no simple answer, but I shall try and give some general advice here. There are a number of things to take into account.

The weather

This is the big one with Florida. It’s hot! Even in winter time it is in the low to mid 20s – what we would call a nice comfortable summer over here. The downside of all of this is that June-August is VERY hot. It is worth bearing in mind that unlike the UK there is air-con everywhere, and most rides have indoor queues, but despite this it can feel very hot walking around. To add to this you have hurricane season. Only once in recent years has Disney actually closed due to weather (Hurricane Matthew in 2016) but for some people this is a concern.

Crowd levels

Okay, so the bad news here is that there is really no quiet time at Disney anymore. Queues are to be expected all year round, but they can vary. The two busiest times are Christmas and Easter (Spring Break in the US). They are so busy that when free dining is released, those dates are the only ones excluded from the offer – no need to give an incentive. Of course Christmas can be a magical time to be at Disney, but when you can hardly move it’s not so magical. You can also sometimes get park closures at these times where they start restricting entrance to the parks due to the volume of guests. 4th July can also see this happen.

School holiday options

Of course, coming from the UK we like to visit for two weeks or more, which can rule out half-terms unless you are prepared to pull your kids out of school. So, looking at crowd levels/weather and school holidays, when are best.

  • Febuary half term is lovely weather wise, but can clash with President’s weekend (it did in 2017 for example) which leads to a spike in crowd levels. Also quite nice now that the Arts Festival has been introduced at Epcot. Towards the end of February is usually the Princess Half-Marathon which is popular.
  • Easter is busy, as previously mentioned and you won’t get any free dining offers. However the Flower and Garden Festival is running at Epcot (usually March-June) which is lovely. Spring Break is a much shorter period of time compared to our Easter holidays so it is worth checking the dates for the year you are planning on going.
  • May half-term is a popular one for people willing to take their kids out of school. The weather is starting to heat up but it hasn’t hit the real highs of summer. Do be aware that it often covers Memorial Day weekend which sees a spike in crowds.
  • Summer holidays are busy as kids all over the US are off school. If this is the best time for you then try to go the last two weeks of August. Yes it will be hot (and is still in hurricane season) but US schools start to go back mid-August so crowds will die down. If you are lucky you can also catch the early Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom (in 2018 the first one was the 17th August).
  • October half term is one of our favourite times to go. The weather is lovely and the crowds are not too bad. Halloween is in full swing with parties on selected evenings and Halloween/Autumn decor all over Magic Kingdom. Epcot also has the Food and Wine Festival which is very popular with tourists and locals (some people recommend avoiding Epcot at the weekends during this time).
  • Christmas is obviously extra magical at Disney but peak crowds kick in around the 20th December. New Year is also peak crowds – everyone seems to want to watch the Magic Kingdom or Epcot fireworks on 31st December.
Wait times on the MDE app

So how do you decide?

It depends what you want. Is it a quieter park? Is it cooler or hotter weather? Is it one of the festivals at Epcot? Or the magic of the festive season? Only you can answer that but there are things that can help you make your decision. Highly recommended is the WDW Prep School Crowd Calendar. This is published for the year in advance from September to August. Another fun way is to check the MDE app (My Disney Experience) a the time of year you are interested in going to see what the wait times are like. The higher the wait time, the busier it is!

And of course, lots of us like checking the app just to imagine we are there 🙂

Ultimately, the best time to go to Disney is whenever you can! It is just best to be prepared for crowds and heat.

When is your favourite time to go? Let us know below.

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Exciting news from D23

‘D23 Desitiation D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse’ is currently taking place at WDW. Disney Parks were live blogging the news as it was announced earlier today, and here are the highlights!

With Star Wars: Galaxy Edge opening towards the end of next year, the names of two signature attractions have been announced: Milennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

More details about the new deluxe resort have been announced. Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge will be a nature inspired resort with both hotel rooms and DVC villas.

One of the most anticipated announcements was probably details about the new nighttime show planned to replace Illuminations at Epcot. Due to launch in 2020 it will celebrate Disney music and feature floating set pieces, fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers, all centred around the World Showcase Lagoon. Of course many will be sad to see Illuminations go, but it has probably run its course.

More details were given about the new ride in the France pavilion at Epcot. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is expected to be the same as the existing ride at Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris and will be a welcome addition to the ride options at Epcot.

Finally there are two new experiences debuting in 2019 focused around Mickey Mouse. Firstly, a new nighttime spectacular at Hollywood Studios (most likely replacing the Star Wars Fireworks, rather than Fantasmic). Secondly the long awaited replacement for The Great Movie Ride, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open.

For Disneyland California there was the news that Mickey’s Soundsational Parade is set to return in January 2019

Keep up to date with news on the Disney Parks website.

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The magic happens at night

One thing that people might not know is that when the parks close to guests they don’t actually close down. This is when hundreds of cast members step in and clean, do maintenance, and get everything ready for guests the next day.

I have stayed at monorail resorts three times now and two of those have been towards the end of October. On both occasions I have been woken up at some point at around 3am to the sound of Christmas music – a sign that the performers are rehearsing for the Christmas parade.

This time lapse video is a fascinating example of the overnight work in the parks. Magic Kingdom hosts both Halloween parties – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party’ – and Christmas parties – ‘Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party’. The park is fully decorated for each season. So imagine visiting with the park full of pumpkins and autumn foliage but the very next day when you enter it is instead full of candy canes and fir trees.

Here is how the magic happens on that one night each year.

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So why ‘Helen’s Happy Place’?

I spent a long time trying to decide on a name for this blog/site. It was actually a friend’s suggestion.  I talk a lot about how Disney is my happy place. I even bought this t-shirt last year.

When we go, we prefer to be onsite and to be in ‘the Disney bubble’. When you are there it is like the outside world doesn’t exist. All the rubbish associated with it is not there anymore. The build up to a trip is what keeps me going throug all the bad stuff that can happen on a day to day basis. 

Then you drive under the sign – see, even in the rain it looks awesome – and you have arrived. You can feel the tension drain away. Add to that the first time each trip when you walk into Magic Kingdom, look up Main Street, and see the castle. 

You are home and life is good.

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Pull up a chair

Hi, and pull up a chair – or a bean bag, there’s a few of those in the corner over there.

I’m Helen and I am an unashamed Disney fan. So much so that one of my nicknames at work is ‘Disney’. I’m the person that friends and family turn to for advice on visiting WDW (Walt Disney World).  I kept being told that I should set up a business advising people. Well, I’m not going to do that, but I do love talking about going to Disney, as ALL things Disney, so I thought why not set up a page where I can do that.

I first visited WDW in 1994 after university and had the most amazing time. Only two years earlier I’d returned to the love of Disney that I’d had as a child with the release of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.  Nearly 20 years, one husband, and two kids later, I returned to WDW in Oct 2012. The plan was to take the children on a ‘once in a life time’ trip. They were 8 and 5. It was as amazing as I had remembered and the children were in awe of everything.

As with a lot of people this ‘once in a life time’ trip turned out to be anything but. We returned in 2014 and have been back every year since then. We have stayed off site, on site, become DVC members, had an Annual Pass, and recently discovered the Disney Cruise line.

So here I am with my own site to talk about my favourite subject – Disney!  Feel free to ask any questions, and if there is something you want me to write about then just say.

Oct 2012 – WDW – offsite
Oct 2014 – WDW – The Grand Floridian
August 2015 – WDW – Old Key West and Port Orleans Riverside
August 2016 – WDW – Beach Club Villas (our DVC Home Resort), Vero Beach, and cruised on the Disney Dream
February 2017 – WDW – Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Villas at the Grand Floridian, and cruised on the Disney Dream (adult only trip)
July 2017 – DLP – Newport Bay Club
August 2017 – DLP – Sequoia Lodge (adult only trip)
October 2017 – WDW – Polynesian and cruised on the Disney Dream
August 2018 – WDW – Bay Lake Tower, Port Orleans French Quater, Vero Beach, cruised on the Disney Dream, and cruised on the Disney Fantasy