Author: touringplans.com

Move over pumpkin spice, the winter holidays are moving in at Walt Disney World. While the festivities officially kick off on November 6, 2020, a few Holiday Exclusive treats have appeared early. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom we tried the new Autumn Tree of Life Cupcake. Now, we’ve headed to Disney’s Contemporary Resort for three Christmas cookies that just debuted.

Disney’s Contemporary has long been a front runner for holiday treats thanks to their fantastic winter holiday and Christmas cookies. This year three favorites return to the Contempo Cafe–and you can even order then through mobile ordering at MyDisneyExperience! It’s great to get a little holiday cheer when you’re on the run, run Rudolph.

• Linzer Cookie – Hazelnut Cookie filled with Raspberry Jam – $6.50
• Gingerbread Boy Cookie – $6.25
• Chocolate-Peppermint Cookie – $5.50

Each cookie is a returning favorite. In years past Disney’s Contemporary had one of the largest assortment of holiday treats at a little holiday market stand near its gingerbread display. In the interest of not drawing a crowd, the gingerbread displays will not happen at any of the resorts this year. But it is nice to be able to simply place a mobile order for the festive treats.

It’s hard to choose a favorite among this trio. The Linzer perhaps has a slight edge thanks to its glistening and chewy raspberry jam and delightful snow fall of powdered sugar. It’s hard for me to resist anything chocolate-peppermint, and the gingerbread cookie has great traditional flavor.

Also at the Contempo Cafe we were pleasantly surprised to come across a gingerbread kit for sale. It seems since the Contemporary won’t have a display this year they are giving you the chance to make your own. When our field team showed me the photos of this kit I couldn’t stop the “OMG” that exclaimed out of my mouth.

They definitely pulled on the heartstrings of Disney fans with this one, giving us a chance to build our own little Contemporary with fresh made gingerbread and lots of candy decorations with great detail, including a Santa and a snowman. The best part of all is there are two mini monorails made of white chocolate. The $35.00 price tag is a little hefty, but everything is made in-house.

Do you have a favorite part of the holidays at Disney’s Contemporary? Are you tempted to make your own Contemporary out of gingerbread?

The post REVIEW – Holiday Exclusive Cookies and a Gingerbread Kit You Have GOT to see at Disney’s Contemporary appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Christmas, Dining, Holidays, Snacks, Trip Planning, disney christmas 2020, disney cookies, disney desserts, disney’s contemporary

It’s been a few years since PizzeRizzo took over for Pizza Planet at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Pizza Planet was a disappointment, when you think about how fleshed out it could have been to resemble Pizza Planet in the original Toy Story movie. PizzeRizzo offers nearly the exact seem menu as its predecessor and has fun décor and theming for The Muppets. It’s decent choice and is popular for fans of The Muppets. Still, it’s one of the lowest rated quick service locations at Walt Disney World, and I believe The Muppets deserve better. Ivonne on our team paid Rizzo and pals a visit for lunch and tried something a little different.

PizzeRizzo is located in the Grand Avenue area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It is right across from MuppetVision 3-D. Mobile ordering is available, and because it is one of the least popular quick service locations at Hollywood Studios mobile pick-up windows are usually easy to get here. There is outside seating as well as multiple themed dining rooms both upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs is not always open, but if you like the weird, zany humor of The Muppets then upstairs dining is a great choice with a private party room theme, complete with party lighting and party music.

During Ivonne’s visit she decided to try something other than pizza. There are four different kinds of pizza on the menu at PizzeRizzo. There’s also two subs, and a salad. Ivonne went with the classic Meatball Sub. For $9.99 it is lower priced than the average Disney Quick Service meal. The Meatball Sub was flavorful and a nice alternative to pizza. It could have filled out the sub roll a little more, perhaps with one more meatball, or more sauce and cheese. This Meatball Sub won’t compete with your local favorite Italian deli back home, but it is satisfying.

Our readers give PizzeRizzo a 76% thumbs up rating, and rank it as number 99 out of 107 quick service options. So as you can see, there are many higher rated options at Walt Disney World. If you’re looking for other quick service options at Hollywood Studios you’ll most likely have a better dining experience at ABC Commissary or Backlot Express.

Have you dined at PizzeRizzo before? What did you think of it?

 

The post REVIEW – PizzeRizzo Offers Quick Pizza and Italian Options, But The Muppets Deserve Better appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Dining, Hollywood Studios, Trip Planning, disney dining, disney pizza, hollywood studios dining, hollywood studios restaurants, the muppets

After a busy Halloween weekend we expected things to settle down a little today. And overall they did. But, Disney’s Hollywood Studios had one of the busiest days it’s had in the past 30 day period. Is this because it’s the last day of Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups in their current system? Let’s look at the numbers.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Wait Times

We’re going to start at the busiest park today and work our way to the ones with the lowest wait times. And spoiler alert – today Animal Kingdom was not the slowest park today. Every single solitary attraction at Hollywood Studios had its longest average wait times of the 7-day average.

Something Gonzo was going on at Muppet*Vision 3D which had an average wait time today of 27 minutes. Its 7-day average is 14 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #1 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 12 minutes, so today ranks #1 for the past year. Granted, theater attractions have limited capacity right now, but wakka wakka wow!

The classic Star Wars attraction, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue had an average wait time today of 29 minutes. Its 7-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 54% of the posted wait time.

A busy day to drop in at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror which had an average wait time today of 51 minutes. Its 7-day average is 41 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #8 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #128 for the past year.

Oh boy it was a very busy day Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway which had an average wait time today of 91 minutes. Its 7-day average is 67 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 80 minutes, so today ranks #1 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 70 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past year.

Rise of the Resistance ran well today and in fact exceeded the boarding groups able to ride from the last 7 days. We’re very keen to see how tomorrow goes with the new process for morning boarding group distribution.

 

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

The average posted wait time at Magic Kingdom today was 34 minutes. We received 62 actual wait times from our Lines app users. The actual wait time was 77% of the posted wait. So, although Disney’s posted wait times averaged at 34 minutes today, the actual average wait was about 24 minutes.

It’s always fun to kick off with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which had an average wait time today of 51 minutes. Its 7-day average is 37 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #6 for the past month. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 63% of the posted wait time.

A trip to outer space took less than an hour today, with Space Mountain‘s average wait time today of 40 minutes. Its 7-day average is 28 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 365-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #154 for the past year. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 84% of the posted wait time.

Today had some of the coolest temps that Orlando has seen in a while so naturally, Splash Mountain had an average wait time today of 41 minutes. Its 7-day average is 45 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 62 minutes, so today ranks #26 for the past month. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 73% of the posted wait time.

It was a busy day to drop in on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which had an average wait time today of 62 minutes, which is still 20 minutes less that its average of the past year. Its 7-day average is 49 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #11 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 83 minutes, so today ranks #149 for the past year.

Jungle Cruise is currently the Jingle Cruise, so it is more popular than normally, and had an average wait time today of 47 minutes. Its 7-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 41 minutes, so today ranks #3 for the past month. We received 7 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 81% of the posted wait time.

Peter Pan’s Flight had an average wait time today of 37 minutes. Its 7-day average is 27 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 34 minutes, so today ranks #10 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 54 minutes, so today ranks #150 for the past year.

That silly ol’ bear, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh had an average wait time today of 24 minutes. Its 7-day average is 21 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 31 minutes, so today ranks #159 for the past year.

 

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Wait Times

In a surprise twist, Animal Kingdom did not have the lowest overall average wait times today, EPCOT did. Still, it was a fairly pretty busy day compared to the last seven days. Whenever there is cooler weather in the area Animal Kingdom becomes quite popular because the animals are often more active.

One animal that’s not particular active, the Yeti at Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 31 minutes. Its 7-day average is 25 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 365-day average is 47 minutes, so today ranks #154 for the past year. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 45% of the posted wait time, meaning the actual wait time was around 15 minutes.

Not surprising, Kilimanjaro Safaris had an average wait time today of 27 minutes. Its 7-day average is 18 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #5 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 51 minutes, so today ranks #139 for the past year. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 65% of the posted wait time.

Another busy day at Na’vi River Journey which had an average wait time today of 45 minutes. Its 7-day average is 40 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #153 for the past year.

Avatar Flight of Passage had an average wait time today of 57 minutes, which puts it at the longest wait in the park. Its 7-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. But consider this, its 365-day average is 101 minutes, so today ranks #158 for the past year. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 81% of the posted wait time.

 

EPCOT Wait Times

It was a great day to visit the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Today being Dias de los Muertos, it’s the perfect reason to go to Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros which had an average wait time today of 12 minutes. Its 7-day average is 9 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #11 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #80 for the past year.

Another great boat ride, Living with the Land had an average wait time today of 11 minutes. Its 7-day average is 12 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 13 minutes, so today ranks #20 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #167 for the past year.

And another nautical adventure, The Seas with Nemo & Friends had an average wait time today of 13 minutes. Its 7-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 13 minutes, so today ranks #12 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 17 minutes, so today ranks #156 for the past year.

A journey through the history of human communication, Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 15 minutes. Its 7-day average is 16 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 19 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 22 minutes, so today ranks #157 for the past year.

Test Track had an average wait time today of 50 minutes. Its 7-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 63 minutes, so today ranks #24 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 58 minutes, so today ranks #121 for the past year.

The post An Average Monday, Except for Hollywood Studios – Walt Disney World Wait Times for Monday, November 2, 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Attractions, Trip Planning, disney crowds, disney rides, disney wait times, walt disney world wait times