Quick-service dining at Magic Kingdom is still somewhat limited. With favorites like Casey’s Corner and Columbia Harbour House currently closed (not to mention “seasonal” closures like Tomorrowland Terrace), lunch options aren’t what they used to be. Recently, we paid a visit to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom to see if it is a better option than, say, Pinnochio Village Haus. Pecos Bill offers mobile ordering, and we were happy to take advantage of that.
One of the highlights of Pecos Bill was the toppings bar, a veritable cornucopia of meal enhancements. This was an option for families looking to split an entree or for people with hearty appetites to get some additional food for no additional cost. With that now on hiatus (#ThanksCOVID), some items come with their own miniature version with select ingredients. For example, we ordered the Beef Nachos and were given a variety of individually portioned toppings on the side.
Although that’s a decent amount of toppings, if you want more, it never hurts to ask. (We haven’t seen people turned down when asking for more.) Yes, it’s not the same as the toppings bar, but it is a sufficient solution to these different times.
Based on more than half a million survey data responses for dining in the past few years, Pecos Bill rates a 86% thumbs up rating and ranks at #45 in Walt Disney World, earning it a solid B rating. The portion size is medium-large, and the menu is Tex-Mex inspired cuisine.
Our beef nachos were exactly what you’d expect–chips, a generous portion of seasoned ground beef, and a large dollop of creamy queso. It’s a meal that could be split for a light eater or for a quick snack. At $11, the price doesn’t feel unreasonable for what you get.
Overall, with limited dining options at Magic Kingdom, Pecos Bill is one of your better choices–even without the toppings bar.
We’re here with a series of quick posts, “Disney in a Minute,” bite-sized nuggets of information that can better help you understand a Disney term or planning topic. Enjoy!
What is an Adult?
The girl on the left may still have missing teeth, but Disney considers her an adult.
For many purposes, if you’re at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or on a Disney Cruise Line ship, you become an adult at age ten. Yep, Disney considers people ages ten and older to be adults for pricing on tickets, the Disney Dining Plan (currently on hiatus), fixed-priced restaurants, tours, and several other situations. If you’re choosing a date to visit, be aware that you may be able to save significant money if you visit when your child is age nine rather than waiting until she turns ten.
While Disney will begin charging adult prices for tickets and food when your child turns ten, there are some exceptions to this rule. Guests must be at least 14 years old to go into the theme parks on their own. And for legal purposes, sometimes a Disney adult is a real adult. You must be at least 18 to be the lead guest on a hotel reservation. And, of course, you must be at least 21 to purchase or consume alcohol.
Let us know what Disney topics you think merit a minute of explanation!
I’m always struck with awe at the sheer power and size of rhinos, so of course, I couldn’t let World Rhino Day go by without taking time to appreciate and promote the protection of this magnificent endangered species.
Did you know rhinoceros are the world’s second largest land animal and among the most endangered animals in the wild due to poaching?
Today, I’m thrilled to share that Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park has big news for the future of rhinos – we have three pregnant white rhinoceros in our care. It’s the first time we have ever had this many horns and hooves on the horizon.
Kendi, who was the first rhino born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1999, is the first due, with a calf expected to be born sometime this October.
Jao is expected to give birth sometime in fall 2021.
And rounding out the “crash,” which is what we call a rhino herd, Lola is due in fall / winter 2021.
Dr. Natalie Mylniczenko, one of our veterinarians, has been along on the journey with our moms-to-be. Through routine checkups and ultrasounds, Dr. Natalie has worked closely with the rhino keeper team to keep a close eye on how the pregnancies are progressing. She may be one of the only people in the world that has seen a rhino at 2 centimeters.
Planning for a rhino birth requires time and patience for all involved. Rhinos have a long gestation period, approximately 16-18 months, so each of these births are roughly 1 ½ years in the making. Add to that the time that goes into research to pave the way. All three rhinos were chosen to breed through Species Survival Plans (SSPs), which are overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ensure the responsible breeding of endangered species. Dugan, the herd’s bull, is the father of all three calves.
Our animal care team is eager and ready to help welcome these rhino calves upon their arrivals. Once born, they acclimate quickly – rhino calves weigh between 88-140 lbs. at birth and can stand up within the first hour. They stay very close to their mothers for the first three years of their life.
We are so excited about these new additions coming soon to our rhino family and we’ll continue to keep you updated here and at @drmarkatdisney on Instagram and @DisneyASE on Facebook.
Want to learn more about how Disney cares for rhinos and helps protect these species in the wild? In addition to our social channels, check out “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom” streaming on Disney+ starting September 25.
From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com Filed Under: Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Animals, DAK, WDW
You’re planning a super fun Walt Disney World vacation! Your sister-in-law hears this and thinks a Disney vacation sounds super fun too.
And she wants her family to travel with you. Yayyyyy!!!
Yayyyy????
If you have enough conversations about your Disney World trips, inevitably your in-laws, or sister, or your college roommate, or your next door neighbor will come up with the brilliant idea that if you’re both going to have amazing Disney vacations, then wouldn’t it be great to have those vacations together.
When traveling with others, make sure that all the kids and all the adults get along well.
Is that a good idea or a bad idea? As with most things Disney, the answer is, “It depends.”
Traveling with friends or extended family could be a wonderful experience for all involved, or it could be a way to beat a perfectly nice relationship to death with a grotesquely over-sized turkey leg. Now more than ever, it’s important to look closely at what traveling with others really means and do an honest assessment of whether it makes sense for you.
Here are some things to think about. While a few of these points are specifically targeted to travel during the time of Coronavirus, most items apply any time:
Can the people you’re traveling with follow rules? During the Coronavirus pandemic, there are lots of rules. Wear your mask, keep social distance, sanitize often. If you know that your prospective travel companions are rule flaunters in general, then now is not the time to travel with them.
Have your travel companions kept good COVID hygiene? Are these folks who have been staying home and wearing masks from the onset of the pandemic, or have they been out maskless at large gatherings? Are they/you willing to get tested before you travel together? Make sure that people you might spend time with have the same protection philosophy you do.
Do you actually like these people? All of them? Sure you love your sister like, well, a sister, but what about her overbearing husband or her bratty daughter? While you may be able to cope with these folks at a two-hour birthday party, will you actually remain sane if you have to listen to bro-in-law complain about his boss for five straight days of your precious vacation time. If you can’t honestly say that you enjoy spending time with every single person in the other family, then reconsider making the trip.
Do your kids actually like each other? Up until age seven or eight you can usually throw youngsters together and they’ll find a way to make it work. But once the kiddos get their own interests, all bets are off. Does a cheerleader cousin make your goth daughter’s skin crawl? Will throwing your children together with polar opposites ruin their vacation (and thus yours)?
Do you have a similar financial situation? This may be difficult to assess, because most folks in the US would rather sleep on hot coals than have an honest discussion about money. Despite the discomfort, you’ve got to have the money talk before embarking on a vacation with someone. Do your friends think a vacation only a vacation if you’re staying in a five-star resort, while you’re clipping coupons to splurge on a moderate hotel? Do you want to eat table service for every meal, while your friends want to save their pennies by making oatmeal in the room for breakfast and bringing granola bars for snacks in the parks? Obviously, neither approach is right or wrong, but if you’re not on the same page then resentment is bound to happen. The “haves” will feel like they’re being held back. The “have nots” will feel over-extended or guilty. If your spending ability and philosophies are not in sync, save your socializing for your home turf.
Are your bravery levels compatible? There are plenty of situations at the Disney parks which challenge the senses. Will you react to them in the same way as your companions? If they want to do Expedition Everest six times in a row, while you get dizzy during the rotations at Carousel of Progress, then resentment is likely to accumulate while one group cools their heels waiting for the other.
Do you have similar attitudes about time? Are you always early for reservations while your bestie is often later than fashionably late? Are you ready for rope drop and pooped by 8:00 pm, while your in-laws like to sleep until noon? It’s difficult to have a great time with someone if you’re never awake at the same time or if you don’t have the same attitude about promptness.
Do you discipline the same way? In some families, the rules are the rules, no matter where you are. In other families, vacations are where rules are made to be broken. If one set of kids in having ice cream for breakfast, while the other gets no dessert unless they finish their green beans, tensions will arise.
Even if you’ve been in a close educational pod with your proposed companions for months, completely secure in your COVID plan and truly BFFs at home, it’s important to think about the ways in which travel will put different stresses on the relationship. Daytime and nighttime routines can be very different. Unknown stimuli (such as overstimulation in a theme park) can cause perfectly balanced relationships to skew. Do you really want to mess with a great relationship now? Or ever?
The more people you bring, the more opinions you’ll have to accommodate on what is the best way to do Disney.
Now before you start thinking that there is NEVER a situation where you’ll be comfortable traveling with another family, there are also some pros to group vacations that may outweigh any cons:
Date night is easy. Assuming that the other family is willing, you can trade evenings out with your spouse. You watch their kids while they watch yours. Enjoy big savings on sitting fees and feel safety in leaving your kids with a known supervisor.
Shared experiences can build bonds. If your son and his cousin simultaneously chicken out when attempting Space Mountain for the first time, that’s a story they’ll later laugh about for years to come.
There may be some economy-of-scale savings. This is particularly true if you decide to stay in off-site accommodations. Splitting the cost of an Orlando-area rental home may allow you substantially upgraded amenities for the same prices as staying on-site with a smaller party.
If you do decide to take the plunge, here are some guidelines you may want to set before you travel:
Everyone pays for their own food. Tell your server at the beginning of each meal that you want separate checks. This eliminates hard feelings when the sirloin and martini eater wants to go halfsies on a meal with a teetotaler vegetarian, for the third time this week.
Plan some time apart. Just because you’re vacationing together, that doesn’t mean you have to spend every waking minute together. If you plan to have some activities separately, that will give you more to talk about when meet up again.
Distribute tasks. Get everyone involved in the trip planning. This gives everyone ownership in making the vacation a success. This also ensures that no one person is overwhelmed with tasks like making dining reservations or planning itineraries.
Write out a list of expectations. Items covered may include items such as expected bedtimes, souvenir budgets, or disciplinary tactics for typical misbehavior situations. Share the list with children. The more everyone understands what the common goals are, the fewer opportunities there will be for hurt feelings and misunderstandings.
Over the years, I personally have traveled to Walt Disney World with neighbors, my parents, my sister-in-law and her family, adult friends, unrelated young adult babysitters, and even a group of twelve teenage girls. There have been great successes (priceless photos of the extended clan) and some frustrating challenges. Meeting at 8:00 does actually mean meeting at 8:00, why don’t some people understand that?
What have your experiences been? Have you enjoyed your journeys to the World with others, or are you going nuclear-family-only from now on because of a negative situation? Give us your tips in the comments below.
Considering a large-group trip and want help with the planning experience? A TouringPlans travel agent can assist with your trip whether it is a party of 2 or 200. Visit us at Touringplans.com/travel.
We’re pleased to share that today Hong Kong Disneyland announced that it will officially reopen on September 25, 2020!
In alignment with the latest guidance from health and government authorities, the resort will continue its measured approach with health and safety measures implemented as a top priority, including capacity control, health screenings, temperature checks, requiring face masks, social distancing, and increased cleaning and disinfecting.
We thank all of our Cast Members for their dedication efforts in preparation for our reopening, and we hope to see you real soon!
