Resorts – Helen's Happy Place

18th August 202218th August 2022

Some new experiences – Thur 28 July

Most of us had a much more relaxed start today. By ‘most’ I mean all of us except my son. Now that he is 18 (he was 14 when we were last here) he is now old enough to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. This is a 5 hour tour taking you behind the scenes at Magic Kingdom. Our youngest is only 15 and you have be be 16 to do it so she wasn’t able to. So we decided that my son would do it, and the rest of us would wait until my daughter was old enough. He had to be at Magic Kingdom by 7.45 so he got an early bus over there while the rest of us had a bit of a lie in!

We pottered around the resort for the morning. Had a little wander over to The Boardwalk and then got the bus over to Magic Kingdom. The tour was due to finish at 1pm and it was a bit earlier than that when we got there. So we spent some time looking in the shops on Main Street as they were near where he was due to finish. I went into the shop that sells Pandora and bought my park exclusive charm. I buy one every year when we go and this year I chose one that said ‘2022’ (with the ‘0’ being Mickey ears). We also wandered around ‘Crystal Arts’ which we never really bother with as a lot of it is pricey glass ornaments which we would be unlikely to get home in one piece even if we did buy one. At the back of the shop is a glass blower and we stopped to watch. It was fascinating. I’ve seen glass blowers before (not at Disney) but this one was explaining everything she was doing and why.

By this time my son had finished and met up with us. We walked up to Tomorrow Land and did People Mover – he had been on his feet for 5 hours and People Mover is a nice sit down. We then did Dumbo and went over to do 7 Dwarves Mine Train (we’d locked in a DAS when we arrived). After that we headed back to the resort as we were planning on going into Epcot for the evening and watching the new night time show: ‘Harmonious’.

Back at the resort we weren’t feeling particularly hungry so we just had snacky things. I had another anniversary dessert – just not a cheesecake this time.

‘Harmonious’ started at 9pm so we decided to head into the park at about 7.30 to get something to eat and then get a good spot. As we were at Beach Club we walked in through the International Gateway which comes out in the World Showcase between France and the UK. We’d decided to try the Quick Service restaurant in America which had changed to a BBQ place since we were last there, and it was in roughly a right area to get a good spot for the fireworks.

We ended up sat at the edge of the World Showcase Lagoon – the show takes place on the water – in Italy. We sat on the floor for about 30 mins while we we waiting and it was definitely worth it. I have to admit I’m not a fan of ‘Illuminations’ which it replaced. This is somewhat controversial as ‘Illuminations’ was quite well loved. ‘Harmonious uses water to create projection screens (very similar to the now defunct ‘Rivers of Light’ In Animal Kingdom). It has clips from films representing countries across the World Showcase and in some cases the songs are sung in the language of that country. I thought this was really good and was pleased that ‘Touch the Sky’ from Brave had been included. Another plus was that as we had the new Magic Bands – Magic Band + – they lit up and vibrated in sync with the show.

And then – best thing about staying at Epcot – it was just a short 10 min walk back to our room 🙂

17th August 202218th August 2022

Resort move day number 1 – Wed 27 July

We are staying in multiple resorts during our stay and today was our first change. We did a bit of packing last night but still had more to do today. We needed to be out of the room by 11am but wanted to make the most of early hours in the parks so we decided to head to the park first and then come back to move.

Park booking for today was Epcot so we were on the app at 7am to get another boarding group for Guardians. Success! Group 9 🙂

So we got on the bus to get to Epcot for early hours and by the time our boarding group was called just after we arrived. On our way to the ride we stopped at ‘Gateway Gifts’ which is one of the shops just when you enter the park. Today was the launch of the new Magic Bands – Magic Band+. My son wanted to buy one of these and they were being sold at one shop in each park. When Disney releases a new product lines can be huge so we wanted to be there early. We were lucky in that there was actually hardly any queue (my son heard later on that the queues at Magic Kingdom had been insane!). Magic band purchased we headed over to Guardians but little did we know that this was NOT going to be a regular ride!

All went well at first. We walked through the queue as it wasn’t very busy. We got into the first pre-show room and then into the second, all as usual. Even got onto the ride as usual. The way the ride works is that the cars head off around a corner and then there is a short climb up to the start of the ride. We started the clim and then stopped. Okay, most likely no problem. If there were issues unloading at the end of the ride (maybe a wheelchair transfer) then often the ride is held so that there isn’t a backing up of cars. Usually lasts less than a minute. This didn’t. 5 mins later the lights all went on! Now for most Disney parks fans the one thing they dream of is an evac (a ride evacuation), especially on a dark ride where they will have to put the lights on and you see things you don’t normally see – Haunted Mansion is the dream evac for this reason. But with this one we hadn’t really gone anywhere so it would be a pretty boring evac.

There were lots of regular announcements telling us to remain seated and after about another 5 mins the lights went off and we started again. It wasn’t really an issue as the ride proper hadn’t really started so it didn’t interrupt the experience. However, when we got to the end there was a cast member there and as everyone got off he was scanning our bands. Turns out that they were giving us all an free lightning lane to ride it again due to the interruption – result!

We didn’t have time to ride it then but knew we were going to go back this afternoon so that would work out great. So having done the ride we had a ride on Test Track (my son’s favourite ride) and then it was back to the resort to check out.

Then it was a quick drive over to Beach Club. This is our DVC home resort (where we own points) and it is lovely. The theming is great, and it is a 5 min walk to Epcot which is a BIG plus. It also has one of the best pools on property. The only downside is that there is a distinct lack of quick service options. The Market Place (the resort shop) has some things, but what we really miss is an actual restaurant to sit in to eat the meals.

Anyway, our room is lovely. It’s a deluxe studio (the smallest type of DVC room) and has a mini kitchen which we didn’t have in Port Orleans. One good thing about this resort is there is a drop down bed (Murphy bed) under the TV so it technically sleeps 5 (double bed, double sofa bed, and single Murphy bed). This is great for us as the children don’t want to share a bed at their age so the air bed we used at Port Orleans is not needed now!

We got to the resort but the room wasn’t ready (as expected, check in is not technically till 4pm) so we left most of the luggage in the car and took a few things that we didn’t want to leave there in the heat – we did that one year with one of my daughter’s American Girl dolls and its face became very squidgy! – to bell services and then headed back to Epcot.

Earlier on in the day we had booked a lightning lane for Ratatouille and we also had the lightning lane we had been given for Guardians. However, when we checked we saw that the Guardians one was actually an any experience lightning lane. This meant that the first ride we checked into would use that one. Our plan had been to do Ratatouille first as it is right next to the International Gateway entrance which is where you come in when walking from the resort. But we obviously didn’t want to miss out on our extra Guardians ride – which is at the opposite end of the park – so we headed over to do that again.

Remember how I said on Monday that there are six songs for the ride and you get given one at random? Well, this was our third ride and for the third time we got ‘September’ – think I will always associate that with the ride now.

Everyone else then decided to go and do Mission Space. This is one a WON’T do as I felt so ill the first time I did it. So whilst they did that I went off and did Spaceship Earth.

We then checked the app and our room had been allocated at the resort which meant it was ready. So we headed back to unpack

We did a bit of unpacking and sorting and had a bit of a rethink over our upcoming plans. See, we really like Guardians. And the only reliable way to get a ride (apart from paying) is to get a boarding group a 7am. Only, to do that you have to have a park reservation at Epcot. We had spread our park reservations out across the different parks. The way the system works is that you reserve a park and then after 2pm you can park hop to a different park. So we decided to change some reservations. We have switched a lot of them to Epcot and then are going to rely on park hopping to go to different parks for the afternoon/evening. Did I mention that Guardians is the best ride ever? 😉

It was now late afternoon so it was time to park hop and we headed to Magic Kingdom for rides and fireworks. We did Pirates of the Caribbean and Seven Dwarves with the DAS and then got a good spot for the fireworks. I struggle a lot with crowds and we were told about a Disabled section that we could enter with our DAS but we were also told that you need to be there really early! So instead we decided to watch it from the end of Main Street. This was partly because it would be less crowded but also we could then keep to one side out of the way of the crowds before we headed back up into the park to do some rides.

The firework show – ‘Enchantment’ – is a new one since we were last here. It has been specially done for the 50th. Like ‘Happily Ever After’ it uses a mixture of projections on the castle and fireworks.

Verdict? It was good. But it was definitely no ‘Happily Ever After’. Nor ‘Wishes’. I don’t know what it was, but something didn’t feel the same. Though they still have Tinker bell flying from the Castle down to Tomorrowland – and yes that bit still made me cry.

We hung back by City Hall as the crowds poured down Main Street. Although the park doesn’t close after the fireworks people with small children tend to leave then. Once it had calmed down we headed back up into the park and rode Big Thunder Mountain in the dark – something I’ve wanted to do for a long time 🙂

Finally – photo time in front of the castle!

14th August 202213th August 2022

Settling in – Sun 24 July

Today we are off to Animal Kingdom. This park has my favourite ride on property so looking forward to this.

Again we utilised Lightning Lane before we left and booked in a ride (Nav’i River Ride), with the intention of doing a DAS as soon as we got there for Flight of Passage.

This park used to be a half day park but since they added Pandora (the Avatar section) there is more to do now. However, for some bizarre reason they have now decided to close before it gets dark. I saw this is ‘bizarre’ as Pandora was designed to light up at night with bioluminescence on the ground and on the plants, and rocks, etc (if you’ve seen Avatar then you will know what I mean).

When we got there both Dinosaur and Expedition Everest where showing as pretty much walk-ons so we went to Dinoland and did Dinosaur first. Definitely not a favourite of one of my children, so often this is a once and done ride. It is a dark ride and VERY intense as you try to escape earth before the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit! Expedition Everest is the big roller coaster in Animal Kingdom with a backwards section in the dark. As we had early entry due to staying in a Disney resort the standby line was only 10 mins so we did it that way – anything around 5-10 mins on a lot of rides is pretty much a walk on.

We decided to then go down to Pandora as it was nearly time for our lightning lane that we had booked at 7am. As we were walking past the lake we saw the new Kite Tails show starting so stopped to watch. Disney has tried to do a number of different shows at this location and none of them have been really successful (though I liked Rivers of Light). This was okay but I wouldn’t stop to watch it again. It was giant inflatable kites of Simba, Zazu, Timone, and Pumba which were pulled through the air by speed boats. A nice diversion but little else.

What it did do though was delay us enough for Kali River Rapids to open at 9am. One of my daughter’s favourites as she loved to get wet we decided to do that on the way to Pandora. I got drenched!

Then Pandora. Nav’i River Journey always seems to get mixed reviews. It’s a gentle dark water ride and some consider it boring. I actually like it – but I’m also a fan of the movie. The design of the ride is a clever mix of a standard river ride with plants and rocks, and projections.

But Flight of Passage. If you have never ridden this then it is so hard to explain. You are riding on the back of a banshee through Pandora and it is the closest I have ever come to feeling as if I’m flying. The ride seat is like a motorbike so it is like you are straddling the banshee. To make it seem even more realistic you can feel the banshee ‘breathing’ against your thighs. It only lasts 4.5 minutes but it is so worth the wait – which can still get up to 2.5-3 hours on busy days. This is the ride in Animal Kingdom that you need to purchase a lightning lane for. It hasn’t lost anything in the four years since we last rode it. Still AMAZING!

After doing Flight of Passage we headed back to the resort for a snack for lunch. This is one of the best bits about staying at Port Orleans – the beignets! They are a bit of a Disney World institution. Last time we were here they were available from Sassagoula so you could order them as part of your meal. They’ve now moved them to the Scat Cat Club Cafe next door. They are quite big and so we ordered 6 between the 4 of us. They are basically a French doughnut which were introduced to New Orleans in the 18th century and are served hot. Of course, being Disney, these are Mickey shaped. I did treat myself to a mug in the resort shop so that I can remember the feeling of being sat in Port Orleans while I’m at work 🙂

Beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter

We are deciding to try and spend the hottest time of the day back at the resort for a rest – let’s see how well that works out. So after a break we headed to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We split up and the kids went off together while my husband and I rode the People Mover and did Carousel of Progress. People Mover has the added bonus of getting a good view of the new Tron Coaster that is under construction. There is also a point where the ride goes through the Space Mountain building in total darkness – like you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. We got stopped in that section and were there for quite a while. Eventually they turned the lights on so we got to see what most people don’t see. It wasn’t an evac though and the ride did start up again.

We all met back up and did some more rides together. The plan had been to stay for the fireworks but it looked like a storm was forecast so we decided to head off back to the resort a bit early. Leaving at the time that the park closes – or when a storm starts – is never a good plan as the queue for buses can be really bad!

12th August 202213th August 2022

Disney – here we come! (Friday 22 July)

Well, it has been four years since I last went to Disney – thanks to Covid – and yesterday was the day we finally set off! We flew to Miami from Heathrow. There are a couple of reasons for this but the biggest one is that the flights are SO much cheaper. Secondly, immigration is usually a lot quieter than at Orlando. Flew with Virgin on a plane, appropriately for our family, called West End Girl 🙂

The flight was 9 hours and I have to say that it went very quickly. I’m not a good flyer and this is the one thing I dread about going to Disney, so I was pleased that it didn’t seem too long. When we landed it was nearly midnight our time so we checked into a hotel at Miami airport. In the past we have driven straight up but it’s safer to just wait till the next morning when your body clock is 5 hours ahead of the actual time.

So this morning we drove the 3.5 hour drive up to Orlando, but not before a quick stop at the American Girl store. We have been doing this (either in Miami or Orlando) every year since 2014 and even though my daughter may now be 15, it is a big part of our holidays. We did come out with two dolls (oops!). We also did a quick Walmart stop for some essentials.

We arrived at our resort at around 4pm. We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for the first five nights (this is a multi resort stay!). We have been here before and it is our go to Moderate resort. It has a slightly larger sister resort, Port Orleans Riverside, but we prefer French Quarter. The theming is New Orleans and it has 7 separate accommodation buildings around a central lobby and dining area, pool, and some open spaces where events like campfires and movies take place. Lovely tree-lined narrow streets separate the buildings. It also has the advantage of being a short boat ride to Disney Springs (which we will use later in the week).

I was very pleased to see that the battery in my 4 year old Magic Band still worked and let me in the room. I spotted it and bought it as we were checking out of Bay Lake Tower back in 2018 and so I’d never actually used it.

Once we had unpacked a few things we headed off to Magic Kingdom. The first task was to set up our Disability Access Service (DAS) passes (both myself and my son are able to get these) as they make queueing for rides a lot easier. I would struggle to with the noise in the queues without it. We had a quick look at the 50th Anniversary merchandise and then headed up Main Street.

As usual, I burst into tears at the site of the castle. It’s a bit of a family joke now that I cry as soon as I see the castle and I didn’t disappoint! There is something about the feeling of walking down Main Street, hearing the music, and seeing the castle. After all, it’s my happy place 🙂

Today was our first time using the new Genie+ service. It was still the Fast Pass system when we were last here. I’ll do a separate post explaining in detail how it works and how we used it as a family, but with that and the DAS we managed to ride Buzz, Peter Pan, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We decided to leave before the fireworks started and watch them properly another day.

So it was back to the resort. The only downside to staying here is that the rooms only sleep 4. Whilst we are 4 the two children don’t want to share a double bed, so we end up with a blow up bed for one of them. But it’s only for 5 nights before we move onto a resort that does sleep 5.

Tiring first day with the long drive as well, but going to bed happy.

18th April 201918th April 2019

Free dining for 2020 UK bookings announced

So, it is that time of year again. Disney have released details of the free dining offers for UK guests and packages go on sale on 25th April 2019 for stays in 2020.

However there are some differences this time.

Normally the offers are available all for stays all year round except for Easter and Christmas. However, this time they can only be booked for stays up until 3 October 2020. This does unfortunately meant that you cannot get free dining for stays during October half term. This is the first time Disney have done this – we have done October half term on the free dining offer before – and it is not clear exactly why things have changed this time round.

Another big difference is that they have restricted some resorts and room types that can be booked under the offer.

So here are the details.

When can you book?

25th April to 2 July 2019

When can you stay?

1 January 2020 to 29th March 2020 or 13 April 2020 to 3 October 2020

What do you need to book?

Free dining is only available when you book a package. This means booking your accommodation and park tickets together. ‘Package’ does not include flights and you can book these separately at a different time. You also need to book a minimum of 5 nights stay.

What do you get?

This all depends on where you stay. ALL package bookings will get a $200 gift card which you collect from The World of Disney in Disney Springs. The specific dining package depends on your resort level.

Value resorts:

These resorts don’t get one of the dining plans but instead get a ‘free breakfast’ offer. This is slightly confusing though as you don’t have to use it for breakfast. It is basically a quick service meal credit and you can use it at any quick service location at any time during the day. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Disney’s All-Star Resorts, Disney’s Pop Century (excluding pool view rooms), Disney’s Art of Animation (excluding Little Mermaid standard rooms).

Moderate resorts:

These resorts get the quick service dining plan. For the first time Disney have put restrictions on which rooms you can use this for and this might cause problems for some – like us – you book the rooms with a 5th bed at Port Orleans Riverside. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (excluding water view rooms), Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside (excluding standard view and standard view 5th sleeper rooms) and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

Deluxe resorts and Deluxe villa resorts:

These resorts get the Disney dining plan. This also includes room restrictions, along with some resort restrictions. Noticeable exclusions from the offer are the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts. The following resorts are offering this deal.

Deluxe Resorts: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (excluding pool view rooms), Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

Deluxe Villa Resorts: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village, Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Disney’s Boardwalk Villas, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

As always you can pay to upgrade your dining plan – so you can stay at a moderate resort, but pay extra to get the DDP. Do work out the numbers though because sometimes it is cheaper to upgrade the resort instead.

1st February 20191st February 2019

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.

23rd January 201923rd January 2019

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.

19th November 201819th November 2018

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.