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Universal Orlando Resort for Newbies – CityWalk

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date January 23, 2021

Whether you are a long-time Walt Disney World guest looking to switch theme parks on your next trip or you are visiting Orlando for the first time, planning a visit to Universal Orlando Resort poses a lot of questions. In this article, we will cover CityWalk, compare it to Disney Springs, and help you avoid crowds.

What is CityWalk?

Universal Orlando Resort for Newbies – CityWalk

CityWalk is Universal Orlando’s dining, shopping, and entertainment district. It is comprised of 11 full-service restaurants, over a dozen counter service restaurants and snack stands, half a dozen shops, live entertainment, theaters, and clubs.

Where is CityWalk?

Universal Orlando Resort for Newbies – CityWalk citywalk map — CityWalk is located in the heart of Universal Orlando.

CityWalk is sandwiched between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure theme parks. All guests must pass through CityWalk when arriving and leaving the two theme parks. CityWalk is accessible by walking paths, boats, and buses from Universal Orlando hotels.

How Does CityWalk Compare to Disney Springs?

At first glance, both seem similar but there are two big differences between them: size and location.

Universal Orlando Resort for Newbies – CityWalk — Disney Springs layout (left) and CityWalk Orlando (right). CityWalk can fit into the upper left most part of Disney Springs, The Marketplace.

Disney Springs is a sprawling 120 acres over three districts while CityWalk is a compact 30 acres, roughly the same size as Disney Springs Marketplace District. This means fewer shops, restaurants, entertainment, and people can fit in there. Example: CityWalk has 11 full-service restaurants while Disney Springs features 21 options. Shopping is more prominent at Disney Springs with dozens of shops while CityWalk mostly features gift shops for the parks and restaurants.

Second, Disney Springs is not located within walking distance from the theme parks or most resorts and must be reached by car, bus, or boat (from select resorts). Compare this to CityWalk which is located immediately outside of the two theme parks and within walking distance from the parks. This makes CityWalk a great place to escape the theme parks during the afternoon and to grab a quick bite to eat.

Both CityWalk and Disney Springs offer live street entertainment, movie theaters, and have a signature stage show (Cirque Du Soleil Drawn to Life in Disney Springs or Blue Man Group in CityWalk, although these shows have been paused during the COVID-19 pandemic). One aspect CityWalk beats Disney Springs is with nightlife by featuring several clubs, live-band karaoke bar, and a large live concert venue.

CityWalk Establishments

Table Service Restaurants

Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food (Casual Mexican)
Bigfire (Steakhouse)
Bob Marley – A Tribute to Freedom (Jamaican-inspired)
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant & Market (Chain seafood)
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar (Burgers and sushi, oddly it works)
Hard Rock Cafe Orlando (Chain American food)
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville (Chain American food, but island style)
NBC Sports Grill & Brew (Brewpub/sports bar)
Pat O’Brien’s (Irish/New Orleans)
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen (Over-the-top American)
VIVO Italian Kitchen (Fresh Italian)

Quick Service Restaurants

Bread Box Handcrafted Sandwiches (Fresh sandwiches)
BK Whopper Bar (Fast food chain burgers)
Fusion Bistro Sushi & Sake Bar (Sushi)
Hot Dog Hall of Fame (Assorted styles of hot dogs and mustards)
Lone Palm Airport (Supplemental bar to Margaritaville)
Moe’s Southwest Grill (Fast food Mexican chain)
Panda Express Gourmet Chinese Food (Fast food American-Chinese)
Red Oven Pizza Bakery (Neapolitan pizza)
Starbucks Coffee (Coffee, pastries, light food)

Food Carts & Snacks

Cinnabon (cinnamon buns and deserts)
Cold Stone Creamery (ice cream with crazy toppings)
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt (frozen yogurt)
Voodoo Doughnut (Crazy donuts)
Auntie Anne’s (pretzels)
Coke Icon Cart (drinks and quick snacks)
Dippin Dots (ice cream… of the future!)
Dockside (Bar)
Hub Cart (Fresh margaritas)
Shoreline (Bar)

Shopping

Hard Rock Shop (Rock inspired merchandise)
Hart & Huntington Tattoo Shop (Tattoos and tattoo merchandise)
Quiet Flight Surf Shop (Clothing)
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium (to-go candies and treats)
Universal Studios Store (Theme park merchandise)

Entertainment and Clubs

Cinemark Theaters (Movie theater)
Blue Man Group (Live comedy/music show)
Hard Rock Live (Rotating live concerts)
Hollywood Drive-In Golf (miniature golf)
Pat O’Brien’s (nighttime)
Bob Marley – A Tribute to Freedom (nighttime)
Fat Tuesday (Bar)
Red Coconut Club (Club)
Rising Star (Karaoke bar with live band)
the groove (Club)

Recommendations

TouringPlans users give the CityWalk establishments positive reviews. Their favorite table service locations are Vivo, Toothsome, and Bigfire while their favorite quick-service locations are Breadbox, Hot Dog Hall of Fame, and Red Oven. For snacks and treats, our readers loved Voodoo Donuts, Cinnabon, and Cold Stone Creamery.

Cinemark Theaters recently received a large refurbishment of the theater making it a good place to catch a movie. Hollywood Drive-In Golf is fun but expensive; if you are looking for miniature golf consider getting an Uber to a location on I-Drive. Blue Man Group is a fun, rambunctious, and colorful show that combines music and comedy; it comes with my personal recommendation.

Touring Tips

CityWalk is the most crowded in the evenings starting at roughly 6:00 p.m. until two hours after park close. Fridays and Saturdays are the most crowded with locals and conventioneers milling around the clubs. We suggest visiting CityWalk during lunch for shopping, or eating an early lunch. Most establishments open at 11:00 a.m. with the exclusion of Starbucks, Cinnabon, and Voodoo Donuts which open with CityWalk in the morning.

COVID Note: Restaurants are running at a reduced capacity, and shops are socially distanced. Limited outdoor seating is available at Cowfish, Margaritaville, NBC Grill & Brew, Toothsome, Hot Dog Hall of Fame, Red Oven, Starbucks, Lone Palm, BK Whopper Bar, Moe’s Southwestern Grill, Panda Express, and Fusion Bistro.

Do you have questions about Universal Orlando Resort? Leave your questions and comments below!

The post Universal Orlando Resort for Newbies – CityWalk appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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Filed Under: CityWalk, Universal Orlando Resort, Blue Man Group, citywalk, universal citywalk

Tags Blue Man Group, citywalk, Universal CityWalk, Universal Orlando Resort

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The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date January 23, 2021

This week’s SATURDAY SIX takes a look at recent theme park news via memes! 2021 is just three weeks old, but boy has a lot happened during that time. Thankfully, the heroes and heroines of DisTwitter are making sure we get all the news we need to know along with a dash of lighthearted fun.

# 6 – Disneyland Cancels Annual Passes

One thing that many theme park fans thought *should* happen, but never thought actually *would* happen is the Disneyland Resort doing something about their annual passholders. Unlike Walt Disney World in Florida – which has a much smaller amount of APs compared to regular day guests – Disneyland has a lot of APs because of the sheer amount of people that live within driving distance to the parks. That fact, along with Disneyland being the one park Walt himself walked in, helped Disneyland sell a ton of annual passes, despite having some huge price increases over the past few years.

With no clear end point for the coronavirus in sight, Disney needed to do something to prepare for when their California parks finally reopen, presumably with a limited capacity. When Walt Disney World instituted a park reservation system, it drew the ire of many annual passholders. Disneyland is surely going to implement a park reservation system to help handle capacity as well, and they would have a lot more angry APs if they didn’t rip the band-aid off now. To the shock of just about everyone, on January 14th Disney released the following statement:

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

DisTwitter created their own statements.

Others brought back popular meme formats to use with this story, such as the “how it started/how it will end” meme comparing the Disneyland AP to another relic from a long ago era.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Sometimes you have to look at the bright side though. Yes, your annual pass is gone, but the good news is that you’ll soon* have that pre-paid money back in your bank account. (*Soon being a relative term as it took months for many WDW APs to get their money refunded when Disney allowed guests to cancel that option in 2020.)

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

And if Disneyland doesn’t reopen to theme park guests, well we can still repurpose it into something useful..

# 5 – Joe Rohde Retires

Earlier this month Joe Rohde officially retired from Walt Disney Imagineering after 40 years with the company. With a resume that includes being the lead designer for the Animal Kingdom theme park, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Aulani Resort in Hawaii, Joe is possibly the most well known Imagineer to the today’s casual theme park guest. For hardcore theme park fans, Rohde would be in the mix to be on the Mount Rushmore of Imagineering, along with names such Rolly Crump, Mary Blair, Marc Davis, Tony Baxter, Harriet Burns, and X Atencio.

In recent years, Rohde has been tasked with what could be considered impossible projects, and instead made them immediate fan favorite hits. When Pandora: the World of Avatar was announced for the Animal Kingdom, some scoffed at the idea at adding such an IP-driven land into a park based around conservation. However, from the moment Pandora opened, it was a huge hit with guests, with Flight of Passage becoming one of the most popular rides in theme park history. Meanwhile, after Disney bought the rights to Marvel, it was tasked to Rohde to shoehorn a comic book IP onto the Hollywood Tower of Terror attraction in Disney’s California Adventure. Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! took everyone by surprise by delivering a ride experience that was much more fun than its predecessor along with having great appeal to theme park, comic book, and movie fans with all the cameos, references, and Easter Eggs throughout the queue.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

On the day of Rohde’s retirement, some of DisTwitter went down the rabbit hole after discovering the Pokemon character Klefki bares more than a passing resemblance to Joe’s iconic earrings.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

# 4 – TRON Lightcycle Run Closes Portal

Readers of this fine blog series are used to delays in Disney construction projects. Hearing that the TRON coaster in Disney’s Magic Kingdom won’t open in 2021 wasn’t a huge surprise to most, but it was weird to see an opening in the large show building completely sealed off. Blog Mickey got the photo below which shows the track for the TRON coaster that appears to be going straight into a wall (which, granted, would probably still be more fun than riding Primeval Whirl again). Before it was sealed off, this area had a large opening and was a “portal” that guests will go through when entering the show building.

DisTwitter had a lot of fun with this one…

# 3 – The Absolutely Incredible Story of Another Caballero Dying at Gran Fiesta Tour (Seriously, This. Actually. Happened.)

You would think the Theme Park Turkey Award Winning story of Jose Carioca going down at Gran Fiesta Tour in EPCOT would be the last time we’d hear about that attraction for a while. NAY NAY. In the first week of January, Donald Duck was physically propped up due to some issues the audioanimatronic was having.

DisTwitter created a meme showing Roger Rabbit holding Donald in place. Normally, that would be the end of the story…however we’re not even close to that.

The next day, Donald Duck was removed from the attraction and what looked to be a memorial was put in its place.

DisTwitter had a lot of fun with this one, including using the “ghost” of Donald Duck as we saw in the Disney Sing Along Song Series: Disneyland Fun.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Eventually, even the memorial was removed. We don’t know what’s going to happen to Gran Fiesta Tour next, but we can’t wait to see it….

# 2 – Tragical Express

While those in California got the surprise of AP cancellations, we in Florida got shocking news of our own with Disney announcing that the popular Magical Express bus service would be ending later this year. We’ll wait to see what Disney plans for a replacement, but right now this seems like a short sighted move to save money. Magical Express kept people in the “Disney Bubble.” A bus would be waiting for you at the Orlando airport and would take you straight to your Disney hotel, where you could then use the various forms of Disney transportation (including busses, Skyliner, monorail, and boats) to stay on Disney property for your entire vacation.

On Disney message boards and Facebook, this announcement went over about as well as you’d think it would, with people flipping out. Adding fuel to the fire, DisTwitter memesmith @SuperWeenieHtJr came up with an iconic photo.

This meme went viral, going everywhere on all forms of social media. Your Humble Author also shared it on Twitter.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

The next part of the story is unfortunately “part of the game” when it comes to creating memes in today’s world. Because most people don’t watermark their work, there are times it can be hard to trace back who was the original creator of the photo. Other times people are much more devious, clearly taking someone else’s popular meme on Twitter and pretending it as their own when reposting on Facebook or Instagram.

Weenie’s WALK meme started appearing everywhere uncredited. Some of us on DisTwitter started to have fun with that fact, adding our watermarks onto the photo to drive @SuperWeenieHtJr even more crazy.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

# 1 – Theme Parks Feel The Bern

This past week was a pretty major one when it comes to America, and there was no bigger sign that big changes are already here than “The Bernie Meme.” During Joe Biden’s inauguration, what caught many people’s attention was the sight of Senator Bernie Sanders, sitting by himself wearing a thick pair of Vermont-made mittens.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Tons of people immediately shared the above photo, adding a description of their own above it.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Others started adding Bernie to photos, and that’s when things REALLY got good. Theme Park fans hit home run after home run putting Bernie into various places in Walt Disney World.

“What year is it? Oh, right around the turn of the century. And believe me…”

Going above and beyond are those who made videos. Below is a screenshot of Bernie in a Haunted Mansion Doom Buggy, but you can also watch the animated version. After seeing that, check out this one featuring Bernie in MuppetVision 3-D. AMAZING!

Here’s what is most stunning about the Bernie meme. Normally a meme like this would catch fire and then be immediately forgotten about in a couple hours because some other next-level bonkers event happened in the world that we all had to worry about. The Bernie meme continued into the next day, something pretty much unheard of over the last several years. (I would say “four years” to be precise.)

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Hey, I know this story…

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Have to give major props to those who go the extra mile.

Crazier still was that the Bernie meme was shared by a lot of famous athletes, musicians, and movie stars. Currently on Disney+, the show WandaVision is a gigantic hit with fans and critics alike. One of the stars of the show shared a meme using Bernie in a moment from WandaVision episode 2.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Each episode of WandaVision pays tribute to television shows of years past, including homages to the openings of shows like Bewitched. One animated opening to WandaVision had an animated Bernie added to it!

Here we have Bernie patiently waiting for Disneyland to reopen.

You’ve heard the story talked about by Len Testa and Jim Hill on the Disney Dish Podcast, but here is Bernie at the “Save Mr. Toad” sit-in at the Magic Kingdom back in the day.

Of course the Universal fans had fun with Bernie as well, including added him to Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Finally Universal was able to do something about that pesky Osprey problem…

HHN Fans had to represent.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

Let’s close the Bernie memes tying back to an “unforgettable” moment from last year…

Honorable Mention – When Memes Are So Weird They Are Great

Lost amidst this month of gigantic news was Universal putting out a meme so bizarre… so insane… so incredibly weird that it’s actually awesome.

So there you have it: The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Theme Park News via MEMES! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles covering the latest from the Disney Outlet Stores. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:

Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHyde and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.

The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!)

The post The SATURDAY SIX Looks at Recent Theme Park News via MEMES (Joe Rohde, Magical Express, Disneyland APs, and more!) appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Saturday Six, Universal Orlando Resort, Walt Disney World (FL), Disneyland, Joe Rohde, Magical Express

Tags disneyland, Joe Rohde, magical express, Saturday Six, Universal Orlando Resort, Walt Disney World (FL)

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One of the Slowest Fridays – Disney World Wait Times for Friday, January 22, 2021

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date January 22, 2021

January is usually a very slow time at Walt Disney World, making it one of the periods we strongly recommend visiting. With the way things have been since the July 2020 reopening we’re used to seeing an uptick in wait times on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but today’s wait times continue to be as low as they’ve been all week. And the actual wait times reported by our Lines app users are even lower. EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios had the lowest average wait times of the past 30 days. Let’s do the numbers.

EPCOT Wait Times

One of the Slowest Fridays – Disney World Wait Times for Friday, January 22, 2021 — EPCOT Wait Times for January 22, 2021

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros had an average wait time today of 5 minutes. Its 7-day average is 7 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 9 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #227 for the past year.

Mission: SPACE Orange had an average wait time today of 17 minutes. Its 7-day average is 26 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 28 minutes, so today ranks #174 for the past year.

Soarin’ had an average wait time today of 10 minutes. Its 7-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 41 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #243 for the past year.

Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 5 minutes. Its 7-day average is 17 minutes, so today ranks #7 for this week. Its 30-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #30 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 19 minutes, so today ranks #226 for the past year.

Test Track had an average wait time today of 37 minutes. Its 7-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 67 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #162 for the past year.

Frozen Ever After had an average wait time today of 18 minutes. Its 7-day average is 28 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #27 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 53 minutes, so today ranks #237 for the past year.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Wait Times

Muppet*Vision 3D had an average wait time today of 22 minutes. Its 7-day average is 25 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #31 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 17 minutes, so today ranks #49 for the past year.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Yo-Yo Ma had an average wait time today of 25 minutes. Its 7-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #219 for the past year.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue had an average wait time today of 21 minutes. Its 7-day average is 32 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 27 minutes, so today ranks #173 for the past year.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror had an average wait time today of 45 minutes. Its 7-day average is 54 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 62 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #154 for the past year.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had an average wait time today of 28 minutes. Its 7-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 63 minutes, so today ranks #205 for the past year.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run had an average wait time today of 29 minutes. Its 7-day average is 49 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 58 minutes, so today ranks #237 for the past year.

Rise of the Resistance went into hyperdrive and actually was ahead of pace of the past 7 days for a short bit, but then had a few gaps at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and around 3:00 p.m.. It is on pace to surpass Boarding Groups in the 120 range.

One of the Slowest Fridays – Disney World Wait Times for Friday, January 22, 2021

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an average wait time today of 39 minutes. Its 7-day average is 45 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 53 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #164 for the past year. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 67% of the posted wait time.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had an average wait time today of 28 minutes. Its 7-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 57% of the posted wait time.

Peter Pan’s Flight had an average wait time today of 23 minutes. Its 7-day average is 31 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #200 for the past year.

Pirates of the Caribbean had an average wait time today of 40 minutes. Its 7-day average is 40 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #21 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #155 for the past year.

Space Mountain had an average wait time today of 28 minutes. Its 7-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 51 minutes, so today ranks #24 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 45% of the posted wait time.

Splash Mountain had an average wait time today of 39 minutes. Its 7-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 51 minutes, so today ranks #21 for the past month. We received 7 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 87% of the posted wait time.

The Haunted Mansion had an average wait time today of 15 minutes. Its 7-day average is 21 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #25 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #213 for the past year. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 45% of the posted wait time.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had an average wait time today of 54 minutes. Its 7-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 72 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 69 minutes, so today ranks #144 for the past year.

Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid had an average wait time today of 16 minutes. Its 7-day average is 19 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #19 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #167 for the past year.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Kali River Rapids remains under refurbishment. And most of Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail is in refurbishment too, though it is still open.

DINOSAUR had an average wait time today of 19 minutes. Its 7-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #27 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 32 minutes, so today ranks #169 for the past year.

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 8 minutes. Its 7-day average is 21 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 28 minutes, so today ranks #29 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #242 for the past year.

Kilimanjaro Safaris had an average wait time today of 12 minutes. Its 7-day average is 18 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #21 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #202 for the past year.

Na’vi River Journey had an average wait time today of 36 minutes. Its 7-day average is 47 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 59 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 50 minutes, so today ranks #179 for the past year.

Avatar Flight of Passage had an average wait time today of 21 minutes. Its 7-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #23 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 69 minutes, so today ranks #197 for the past year. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 72% of the posted wait time.

The post One of the Slowest Fridays – Disney World Wait Times for Friday, January 22, 2021 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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Filed Under: Attractions, Observations, disney crowds, disney wait times

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Festival of the Arts 2021 Food Reviewed: Part 3

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date January 22, 2021

Festival of the Arts offers some of the most beautiful — and tasty — bites out of any EPCOT festival. Naturally some options are better than others, and some (like some art) just don’t work for every palate. In the final part of this series, here’s part 3 of our hits and misses from the 2021 Festival of the Arts.

El Artista Hambriento

Festival of the Arts 2021 Food Reviewed: Part 3

(located at the Mexico pavilion)

Chile Relleno: Fried Poblano Pepper filled with Flank Steak, Black Beans, and Tomatoes, drizzled with a Poblano Cream Sauce – $7.25
Pork Belly Pastor: Pastor-marinated Pork Belly atop Boniato Purée with Charred Pineapple and Crispy Cilantro – $7.50
Taco de Chocolate: Chocolate Candy Shell filled with Mexican Chocolate Mousse with a touch of Chile topped with Tropical Fruit – $6.00

By far, the favorite from here was the Pork Belly Pastor: Sweet and savory and a good portion. It’s worth getting again, although lines for the booth can be long. Although the chile relleno was good, it wasn’t a huge standout. The flavors are fairly spicy, but not painfully so, however the addition of spice takes away from the potential for other flavors. For the Taco de Chocolate, it has good flavors, but the serving size is really small.

L’Arte di Mangiare

(located at the Italy pavilion)

Arancini: Sweet Sausage Fried Risotto Balls with Pomodoro Sauce – $12.00
L’Aragosta: Lobster Ravioli with Vanilla-Saffron Cream Sauce and Shredded Chili Peppers – $15.00
Bomboloni: Cream-Filled Italian Doughnut with Raspberry Sauce and Powdered Sugar – $11.00

Okay, Disney, can we talk? The booth at Italy is an expensive option, and yet it is utterly forgettable. It does feel consistently that at every festival, the Italy booth underperforms. The risotto balls were crispy, but there wasn’t really a sausage flavor to them. At $15, the serving size for three ravioli is really high, especially since they’re just mediocre. As far as the Bomboloni, that’s $11 for three mini donuts. I guess they’re hoping that they can justify their prices by comparing them to Everglazed? Overall, this whole booth is one we’d skip.

The Painted Panda

(Located at the China pavilion)

Old Shanghai Shi Zi Tou: Pork and Water Chestnut Meatballs served with Taro Root – $8.50
Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp – $10.50

Taro root is highly underrated and under-used in the U.S. It’s got a mild flavor, and so it tends to just accept the flavor of whatever it is combined with. The combination of pork and water chestnut gives a unique twist on what is basically just a giant meatball. But the dish that was more of a favorite is the Sichuan Hot Shrimp. The noodles are delicious and it’s fun to have it served in a glass. The only down side is that the portion size is small. (The drink pictured is the Sea Butterfly, which is beautiful to look at, but basically just tastes like alcohol — no real other flavor to it.)

The Artist’s Table

Festival of the Arts 2021 Food Reviewed: Part 3

(Located at America pavilion)

Beef Wellington: Mushroom Duxelles, Prosciutto, and Puff Pastry with Red Wine Demi-Glace and Fennel Cream – $8.25
Pan-Seared Scallop with Chorizo, Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, and Parmesan Crisp – $7.00
Symphony in Chocolate Flight: Mozart Cream Liqueurs paired with White, Milk, and Dark Sipping Chocolates – $13.00

Beef Wellington is a dish that it is able to do very well or poorly — there really isn’t an in between. Sometimes the meat inside ends up being over-cooked, and sometimes the pastry outside can be doughy and gummy. During the festival, we’ve seen inconsistency with this dish. Ours this day was good and the red wine sauce on it was delicious. Other times it has been more lackluster. The Pan-Seared Scallop was delicious, and the spicy chorizo flavor with it is a great addition. But for $7, understand that you’re just getting one scallop. If you enjoy it, savor it. The Sipping Chocolate flight was a neat way to have a sweet ending at the booth, however make sure to grab a spoon to mix the drink before sipping, otherwise you get just liqueur followed by just chocolate.

Classic Cuisine

Festival of the Arts 2021 Food Reviewed: Part 3

(Located at Germany pavilion)

Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib with Parsnip Purée, Broccolini, Baby Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic – $8.00
Coq au Vin: Chicken Roulade with Violet Mustard, Candied Carrots, Pancetta Crisp, Marble Potatoes, and Beurre Rouge Sauce – $6.75
Opera Cake: Almond Joconde, Coffee Buttercream, and Chocolate Ganache – $4.50

Although both entrees here were good, the Red Wine-Braised Short Rib was the better one. The meat had a good flavor, and who doesn’t love the tang of aged balsamic? The Coq a Vin was good, and the violent mustard gave it a unique spice. The big challenge was that it really was just two bites. The Opera Cake is a popular choice with so many great flavors — almond, coffee, and chocolate all melded into one. The portion size is also good, abut the same size as you get in Les Halles Boulangerie.

Do any of these dishes end up on your must-try list?

The post Festival of the Arts 2021 Food Reviewed: Part 3 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Epcot, Festival of the Arts, Walt Disney World (FL)

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Is the WandaVision Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie Worth the Money?

Post author By touringplans.com
Post date January 22, 2021

You can always find delightful sweets at Amorette’s Patisserie located at Disney Springs. Throughout the year there are seasonal treats, and right now there is a petit cake to celebrate the new Marvel and Disney+ show “WandaVision.” This petit cake is getting lots of attention because of its looks, but also because of its price.

Is the WandaVision Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie Worth the Money? — Amorette’s Disney Springs

The WandaVision Petit Cake is $20, and it is truly petit. Amorette’s always has at least one petit cake offered throughout the year and it is usually $16.00. This WandaVision version is $4 more and has really neat detail to look like a retro television. The first release of the cake included a 1950s version and a 1960s version. The flavor is the same, it just looks different.

As the series progresses each Friday, a new decade will be featured on the WandaVision cake, but the flavor will not change. Speaking of flavor, Chrissy on our team has tried quite a lot of petit cakes from Amorette’s Patisserie so we’re able to tell you which ones are worth it and which ones are not.

The flavor of the WandaVision Petit Cake is one the best Chrissy has ever had. This is mostly due to its simplicity. Most Petit Cakes from Amorette’s Patisserie have layers of intricate flavor, and sometimes it can be too much in one tiny cake. The WandaVision cake is layers of chocolate and vanilla chiffon, white chocolate and dark chocolate mousse, with cookie crumbs and chocolate pieces.

It is a single serving, but two people could share it. Chrissy loved the flavors in this one, noting it is one of the better petit cakes she’s had. The challenge is that price tag.

Is $20 worth it? It all depends. If you’re a diehard Marvel fan than it may be worth it to you. Otherwise, if you’re looking for pure value and good taste, we would suggest a massive cake slice from Gideon’s Bakehouse – though during peak times there can be a long wait.

What do you think of the WandaVision Cake? Would you go for it at $20?

The post Is the WandaVision Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie Worth the Money? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Dining, Disney Springs, Marvel, disney cakes, disney marvel, wandavision