Author: touringplans.com

One of the best destinations within Walt Disney World is the EPCOT Resort Area. This little neighborhood encompasses Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Villas, Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and Villas, and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. Each resort surrounds beautiful Crescent Lake, with an entrance to EPCOT near the Beach Club, and a walkway to Disney’s Hollywood Studios near the Boardwalk Resort and Dolphin Hotel. It is truly one of the best locations on Disney property.

We hadn’t visited this area in a while so we asked a member of our field team, Ivonne to take a stroll around this picturesque area. The resorts in this area are some of the highest rated on property according to our readers and subscribers. We have ratings and information on all the Walt Disney World hotels, and even have a free Room Finder tool so you can see which specific hotel rooms have the views and location to fit your needs.

Let’s take a stroll around the EPCOT Resorts Area, and make a stop for some Halloween sweet treats too.

We’ll start at Disney’s Beach Club Villas. The regular rooms and suites at Disney’s Beach Club are closed, only the Disney Vacation Club Villas are open right now. There’s quite a bit of food and beverage options available even though the Beach Club guest rooms are closed. The Beach Club Marketplace is a very casual dining option inside the large merchandise shop at the Beach Club. It is the lowest rated quick dining options at Walt Disney World, according to our readers, with a 66% thumbs up rating. However, there are currently two grab and go Halloween treats available that might boost its rating a little.

The Tiramisu Grave is classic tiramisu with no extra frills in the flavors, but fun Halloween toppings of white chocolate covered pretzels for a skeleton body, and a marshmallow for a head to resemble the grave. A nice treat, nothing tremendous, but a good standard tiramisu for $5.49.

Ivonne preferred the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie instead. The pumpkin cake was a great texture and full of festive fall flavor and the brown butter cream cheese was rich and creamy. Not a bad deal for $4.69.

Right next door to Disney’s Beach Club is the Yacht Club Resort. The Yacht Club was one of the hotels that hosted the NBA Bubble. Now that the NBA Season has come to a close, the Yacht Club has reopened. It is currently the only hotel besides the Swan and Dolphin that is open, whereas Beach Club and Boardwalk only have the Disney Vacation Club Villas open. As a result the Friendship Ferry Boats are not currently operating.

Across Crescent Lake is Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. The theme of this resort is a turn of the century Atlantic boardwalk. There’s lots of whimsical details here. The most whimsical and weird detail perhaps is the clown face pool. It is quite a strange sight to see kids and adults go down the waterslide, only to come out of the clown’s mouth. It seems the nightmares of many Disney fans may be over as there is a scrim up over where the clown’s face would be. We’re not sure how we feel about the cloud print on the scrim, but maybe it’s better than the clown face. What do you think?

Lastly, Ivonne headed over to the Swan and Dolphin hotels. One of the most unique properties at Walt Disney World, the Michael Graves architecture is sure to catch your eye. The blend of Disney amenities and Marriott features is quite unique here. Recently, one of the amenities has been changed. Instead of Disney bus transportation, these hotels now use Mears Transportation.

Will you miss the clown face if it is indeed removed from the Boardwalk pool? Do you have a favorite resort in this area?

The post PHOTOS: Let’s Visit the EPCOT Resort Hotels for Halloween Treats and More appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Observations, Photos and Video, Resorts, disney on site hotels, disney’s beach club, Disney’s BoardWalk, Disney’s BoardWalk Villas, Epcot resorts, walt disney world swan dolphin

Crowds were lower on Monday at every park in Walt Disney World except Hollywood Studios, and the wait times there are almost too high to be believed.  It was also a tough day for Rise of the Resistance, after a pretty good week.  Let’s do the numbers.

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Wait times at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad averaged 38 minutes today, well below its 7-day average of 48 minutes and its 30-day average of 45 minutes. And even then, actual wait times today averaged 45% of the posted wait time, so your average wait was under 20 minutes.

It was a similar story over at Splash Mountain, which had an average wait time today of 66 minutes (#5 week / # 11 month). But actual waits only averaged 62% of the posted wait time, so a posted wait of 66 minutes was an actual wait of about 41 minutes.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had an average wait time today of 33 minutes. Its 7-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month (and #128 for the past year). The actual wait averaged 86% of the posted wait time, which is pretty good overall.  And Space Mountain had an average wait time today of 43 minutes (#5 week / #16 month / #150 year). The actual wait at Space averaged 78% of the posted wait time.

Pirates of the Caribbean had an average wait time today of 48 minutes. Its 7-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. The actual wait averaged 69% of the posted wait time.

 

 Actual waits in line average under 20 minutes with our Walt Disney World touring plans.  Subscribe today and get our Lines app too.

EPCOT Wait Times

Monday was a good day to tour EPCOT, with wait times around the park averaging under 25 minutes.  Frozen Ever After had an average wait time today of 58 minutes. Its 7-day average is 74 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 61 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month.

Soarin’ had an average wait time today of 30 minutes. Its 7-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #16 for the past month (#164 for the past year, too).

Test Track had an average wait time today of 68 minutes. Its 7-day average is 71 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past month.

Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 13 minutes. Its 7-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 19 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month.

 

Hollywood Studios Wait Times

Wait times at the Studios today were sus, as the kids say.  Toy Story Mania! had an average wait time today of 32 minutes. Its 7-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #8 for the past month. But the actual wait averaged 37% of the posted wait time.  That’s way off – it means the actual wait in line at TSM averaged around 12 minutes.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith had an average wait time today of 51 minutes. Its 7-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. The actual wait averaged 61% of the posted wait time.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue had an average wait time today of 32 minutes. Its 7-day average is 31 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #8 for the past month. Actual waits averaged 52% of the posted wait time.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had an average wait time today of 90 minutes. Its 7-day average is 83 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 84 minutes, so today ranks #5 for the past month.

Things were rough over at Rise of the Resistance today. It looks like they had a long outage starting around 10:30 this morning for about an hour, and then another long outage from around 3:10 p.m. to around 4:25 p.m.  It looks like Rise isn’t going to get to Boarding Group 90 today.

Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Wait times were pretty accurate over at Avatar: Flight of Passage today.  FoP had an average wait time today of 78 minutes. Its 7-day average is 84 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 57 minutes, so today ranks #4 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 104 minutes, so today ranks #153 for the past year. Actual waits averaged 76% of the posted wait time.

Na’vi River Journey had an average wait time today of 45 minutes. Its 7-day average is 52 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 44 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month.

Kali River Rapids had an average wait time today of 18 minutes. Its 7-day average is 31 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 24 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month.

And Expedition Everest had an average wait time today of 35 minutes. Its 7-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month.

The post Lighter Crowds Across The Parks – Walt Disney World Wait Times for Monday, October 19, 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), wait times

Judging from notes from friends and family up north, fall is in full swing. And while Florida is a little bit slow to join those cooler temperatures, Disney always goes over the top when it comes to trying to bring about the fall feeling. This includes special food with those fall flavors of apple, pumpkin, and spices. Here’s our top four picks for fall treats at Walt Disney World.

Magic Kingdom: Not-So-Poison Apple Cupcake

The Not-So-Poison Apple Cupcake, available at Pinocchio Village Haus in Fantasyland, has been at Magic Kingdom during the fall season for a few years now. The spiced apple cupcake is loaded with cozy autumn flavors. There is an obscene amount of frosting on this one, which is a good thing if you love frosting.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Pumpkin Cheesecake Cannoli at PizzeRizzo

A delightful twist on pumpkin cheesecake, the filling is mixed with praline crunch and fills the crunchy cannoli.

Disney’s Riviera Resort: Pumpkin Mousse at Disney’s Riviera Resort La Petit Cafe

A European-themed resort would not be the same without an artisan coffee shop and bakery. La Petit Cafe sure fits the bill with its tasty pastries, baked goods, and specialty coffees. For the Halloween season a few desserts are offered, including the Pumpkin Mousse. Our field team immediately fell in love with the smooth creamy texture and sweet pumpkin spice flavor. Light, yet filling and satisfying, the Pumpkin Mousse is a must-do dessert for anyone who enjoys fall flavors.

Disney Springs, Amorette’s Patisserie and The Ganachery: Anything, really!

If there’s one constant in the world, it’s that we’re huge fans of the sweets at Amorette’s Patisserie and The Ganachery at Disney Springs. Whether you’re looking at the incredible pumpkin Creme Brulee or Cookies and Cream cake at Amorette’s or the Caramel Chocolate Skulls or the amazing Chocolate Piñatas at The Ganachery, it is hard to find something that we wouldn’t recommend at these locations.

Which of these do y9u find the most tempting to your taste buds?

The post The Top Four Fall Sweet Treats at Walt Disney World appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Snacks, Walt Disney World (FL), Amorette’s Patisserie, cupcakes, snacks, The Ganachery

For nearly three decades, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels have stood as an iconic property that blends the benefits of staying on Disney property with the amenities of a Starwood (now Marriott) property. By offering many of the same benefits as a Disney owned and operated hotel, plus Marriott’s standards, the Swan-Dolphin hotel area is  a great choice for many families. But a recent change to their bus transportation may decrease the overall value of staying at these properties.

For years the Swan and Dolphin utilized Disney’s own buses for guest transportation to the Disney theme parks. This allowed guests to be dropped off at the Disney owned bus stops, which are closest to the theme park entrances. This is especially helpful at Magic Kingdom because it means being dropped off and picked up close to the park entrance itself.

Now, the Swan and Dolphin has switched to Mears Transportation. Although Mears is the absolute largest transportation provider in Orlando, this means a major change to Swan-Dolphin’s transportation. Guests are now dropped off and picked up at the third-party bus lots. For Magic Kingdom this means the Swan-Dolphin bus stop is at the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Guests that are used to the Disney bus terminal just outside the entrance to Magic Kingdom will find this to be a big change. Having to instead come and go from the Transportation  and Ticket Center, will add about 15 – 30 minutes to their arrival and departure. And while that may not seem like a huge amount of time, it can certainly feel like a big change, and it can feel like a lot more effort is in involved.

The Swan and Dolphin still offer an incredible location. They are right next to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. They are part of the Boardwalk neighborhood which is home to Disney’s Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk Resorts. If the main focus of your trip to Walt Disney World is visiting EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios then the Swan and Dolphin hotels offer an unbeatable location. For those two parks it is best to walk, especially since the Friendship Ferry Boats are currently not operating. In fact, the Swan Dolphin’s guide to Disney transportation essentially states that to get to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests need to walk there.

If you’re not sure which resort is the best fit for your family we can help with that. We’ve got information on all the Disney Resort Hotels. And our Room Finder tool is free to use and enables you to find the specific hotel rooms that fit your needs at any of the Disney properties. Becoming a TouringPlans Subscriber will give you access to all our tools and the Lines app, which will give you the ability to avoid long lines to maximize your time.

Have you stayed at the Swan or Dolphin before? What do you think of this change to their bus transportation?

The post Major Change to Swan and Dolphin’s Bus Transportation – What Does It Mean For You? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Dos and Don’ts, Hollywood Studios, Observations, Resorts, Transportation, disney on site hotels, disney reopening, disney swan dolphin, Disney Transportation, Swan & Dolphin

Florida sunsets can be simply spectacular. There are nights when the sky turns so pink that even the air itself seems to have a rose-colored hue. That “golden hour” is a great time to take in-park photos, and this is especially true at Magic Kingdom. The hour before sunset adds an extra layer of magic to an already magical place.

Here’s some photos that we captured recently during a particularly beautiful sunset at Magic Kingdom. Enjoy!

 

Are you a fan of sunsets at the parks or do you prefer nighttime more? 

The post Sunset Shots at Magic Kingdom appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Photos and Video, Walt Disney World (FL), photos, sunset