Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights remain canceled for 2020, but today the resort announced a new spooky daytime event for guests. On Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20, Universal will open up two haunted houses at Universal Studios Florida, offer trick or treating in Islands of Adventure, and permit guests to partake in some costumed mischief. Plus, Universal will continue to offer the Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store and fan-favorite Pizza Fries at Louie’s.
Haunted Houses
Universal is taking the shrink wrapping off two built Halloween Horror Nights 30 houses for guests to experience during the day.
Revenge of the Tooth Fairy – The innocent traditions of the tooth fairy hide a darker ritual. All children must give up their baby teeth to the goblinesque tooth fairies or pay a gruesome price. Step into an old manor that has been overrun by yellow-clawed fiends who extract teeth by force. It’s an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Universal Monsters: Bride of Frankenstein Lives – “We belong dead.” The last words of Frankenstein’s monster on that fateful night when his Bride rejected him. But his end was her beginning. Now the Bride is stepping out of the shadows to bring him back. And there’s nothing she won’t do as she sharpens her brilliance by experimenting on unsuspecting victims. The mate will have her monster. And the monster his mate.
WARNING: Universal’s Halloween haunted houses are NOT for children. Reconsider bringing kids under the age of 13 and use your judgment for anyone under 18. Houses feature low lighting, fog, strobe lights, startling imagery, mature themes, and confined spaces.
All houses will require a Virtual Line pass to access. Read our article on the Universal Orlando app and Virtual Line for more information and tips. Upon arrival at the maze entrance trusses (located in the Music Plaza stage and outside of Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon), Team Members will scan a QR code for entry into the socially distanced queue. While the Virtual Line will reduce the wait in line, it will not completely remove the line. We still expect queue waits to reach 20 – 30 minutes and up to an hour. Queues feature no restroom access and are completely outside, so make sure to use the restrooms and hydrate before experiencing.
Trick or Treating at Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure is offering a trick or treat scavenger hunt around the park. Guests 12 or younger, accompanied by an adult, can pick up a trick or treat bag (location TBA) and find Pumpkin stickers at select retail establishments for special treats. Per Universal’s terms, you must use one of their supplied bags as a way to limit crowds. We suggest you get a bag immediately at the park opening on weekends.
Universal is labeling this event as a “test” for September 19 and 20 only. We have heard enough through the grapevine that suggests Universal will continue the “test” on September 26 and 27 and then make it a daily offering through Halloween on October 31, 2020. TouringPlans will keep you up to date on extensions to this event.
Are you excited for this event? Would it be something you’d make a trip to Universal Orlando to experience? Let us know in the comments.
We love being in the parks, and enjoy bringing you along with us through our social media posts. With so much social media content out there, sometimes you don’t get to see everything that comes through. To brighten up your Monday, here’s some photos that we took this week in the Walt Disney World theme parks.
Got a photo request from the parks? Let us know in the comments!
Somewhere on the internet, I’d wager there was a “PSL Countdown” going last month. Starbucks’ famous (or infamous) Pumpkin Spice Latte is a drink that signals the start of the fall season for its many fans. Even Walt Disney World isn’t immune from the PSL craze, with Starbucks locations at all WDW theme parks and two locations at Disney Springs, although admittedly in a typical year, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party starts before PSL season begins.
In addition to Starbucks, Walt Disney World also has Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea kiosks at their theme parks, and getting into the seasonal spirit, Joffrey’s also offers a pumpkin-coffee drink. We’re comparing the two drinks to see which one you should get when you’re craving that taste of fall.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
From Starbucks’ web site, the PSL is described as espresso and steam milk combined with a blend of pumpkin and traditional fall spice flavors, finished with whipped cream and Pumpkin Spice topping. Served hot or iced, a 16 oz. serving is $5.65.
Starbucks also offers a pumpkin cream cold brew, a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, and chai beverages that can be modified to include pumpkin pie topping and sauce.
Joffrey’s Pumpkin Pie Latte
According to Joffrey’s web site, the Pumpkin Pie Latte is like pumpkin pie in your cup–made with espresso, milk, and pumpkin pie syrup. A 16 oz. serving (iced or hot) is $5.69.
One “extra” at Joffrey’s is that you have a “make it spirited” option. The serving size goes down to 12 oz., and the price goes up to $11.99, but you can add in Irish cream, vodka, coffee liqueur, or Irish whiskey.
Joffrey’s also offers a pumpkin creme brûlée cold brew and, for those who don’t want coffee flavors, a harvest chai latte (which also has the pumpkin pie syrup).
The Verdict
Which should you get? It really depends whether you like the pumpkin spice flavor or the coffee latte flavor more. Our team tried both in one day at neighboring kiosks at EPCOT. The Starbucks version has a more robust pumpkin and spice flavor to it, whereas the Joffrey’s version has a more distinct coffee flavor, with the cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger/cloves notes of pumpkin spice blend. For those who want the coffee flavor in their drink, Joffrey’s was the clear winner.
If you’re looking to save time, usually lines at Joffrey’s kiosks are shorter than those at Starbucks, and there are more Joffrey’s locations available than Starbucks ones within the theme parks.
Overall, price is practically the same, but being able to “adult-ify” the drink with an alcohol addition at Joffrey’s might be an incentive for some people.
So while PSL attracts the major attention, we’re leaning towards team Joffrey’s on this one.
Do you have strong feelings brewing for one or the other? Let us know which is your preferred drink in the comments.
When you’re planning a Disney World vacation, one term you’ll run into quickly is “Quick Service Dining.” Here’s everything you need to know about what it is and where to find it.
Some Quick Service restaurants are as small as the Boardwalk Pizza Window
So what is Quick Service Dining?
Quick Service Dining is what folks out in the non-Disney world might call fast food. In general, Quick Service Dining is a food service venue where you walk up to a counter, place an order, receive a tray of food, and take it to a table on your own.
So it’s what most people would think of as theme park food?
Well, there’s certainly plenty of Disney World Quick Service food that feels theme park-ish (burgers and fries, hot dogs, funnel cake), but there are also healthy and inventive quick service fare available throughout Walt Disney World.
What do you call Disney World food that’s not Quick Service?
Other terms that Disney uses to describe food service locations are “table service,” “signature dining,” “buffet,” “family style,” “casual dining,” “character dining,” “bar,” or “lounge.”
The terms you might hear that are in some ways related to, or synonymous with, Quick Service Dining are “counter service,” “fast casual” (which is not the same a casual), “food truck,” or “food cart.”
Most WDW resorts have Quick Service food courts
How many Quick Service restaurants are there at Disney World?
It depends a little on how you’re counting, but overall there are approximately 200 quick service places to eat at Disney World. Though many have remained virtually unchanged for decades, others are regularly added, subtracted, or reconfigured.
Where are the Quick Service restaurants at Disney World?
Pretty much everywhere. There are Quick Service venues at all four theme parks, at both water parks, at every resort hotel, at Disney Springs, at ESPN Wide World of Sports, and I’m sure somewhere else that I’m forgetting.
OK, so there are a lot of them. How do I find them?
Quick Service locations are indicated on the park maps (both print and online) for park locations, on the resort maps for resort locations, on the Disney Springs app for Disney Springs location.
On the My Disney Experience app, go to the park (or other location) map, selected the “Dining” filter, and you’ll see the map populated with little fork and knife symbols. Click on the symbols for more information about that dining location. One helpful feature is that restaurants that are not open are not marked by the fork and knife symbol. For example, during the pandemic, Casey’s Corner is closed. On the map, you can see the name of the location, but since it is not clickable, you know it’s not open.
Do I need a reservation for a Quick Service restaurant?
Not usually. That’s generally one of the defining features of Quick Service dining.
What do you mean “not usually”?
Every once in a while Disney creates a venue that has hybrid service, for example an restaurant that has Quick Service (counter ordering) at lunch and has table service (wait staff service) at dinner. Currently, the notable example of a hybrid restaurant is Be Our Guest at Magic Kingdom. Breakfast and lunch at BoG are sort-of quick service, in that you order your food at a kiosk, and you collect your own utensils and beverages, but a cast member brings the food to your table. Due to the popularity of this location, you do need a reservation, even for this hybrid Quick Service experience. [Dinner at BoG is a traditional table service.]
Why would I eat at a Quick Service restaurant at Disney World?
Lots of reasons, including:
The restaurant offers the food you want to eat.
You want to adhere to a modest budget.
You don’t want to take much time out of your park touring to eat.
The restaurant is in a convenient location. [For example, the WDW value resorts only have Quick Service food options.]
You’re on a version of the Disney Dining Plan that requires you to eat Quick Service meals. [Note: the Dining Plan is currently on hiatus.]
On the TouringPlans Lines app, select the Dining tab to see all the restaurants in a location
So, for Quick Service, I walk up to a counter and order?
Pre-pandemic, you could do that at any Quick Service venue. Currently you can do this at some Quick Service places, but for others you will be required to mobile order your Quick Service food.
What’s mobile order?
Mobile order is placing your food order for a restaurant on a smart phone or other device rather than by speaking directly with a person. (If you’ve ever mobile ordered at a place like Starbucks, then you understand the procedure.) Disney World mobile order takes place on the My Disney Experience app. The app will ping you when your food is ready and you pick it up at the counter.
You can see a complete description and a video on how mobile order works on the TouringPlans.com website.
What are the prices like at Disney World’s Quick Service restaurants?
As with all things Disney, it depends. You can get a sour pickle at food carts in the parks for about $2.00 or you can get a three meat combo platter with a side dish and Texas toast at Epcot’s Regal Eagle for about $19.00. Most Quick Service full meals cost about $13-16 at lunch and dinner. Breakfast is a few dollars less.
Are there meals for kids at Quick Service restaurants?
Absolutely! (You know this is Disney World, right?)
Most indoor quick service restaurants have high chairs available (this is at Roaring Fork Quick Service at Wilderness Lodge
Are there high chairs at the WDW Quick Service restaurants?
Mostly, yes. In my experience, there are high chairs and booster seats available at all the Quick Service venues that offer indoor seating. Some, like the Magic Kingdom’s Lunching Pad, have solely outdoor seating. High chairs may be in short supply there.
I’m a single parent with a lot of kids, how do I get all my food from the counter to the table?
Disney cast members are happy to assist anyone who needs help with this, whether it’s single parents or guests with physical challenges. Just ask and a cast member will carry your tray for you.
Can I bring a stroller into a Quick Service restaurant at Walt Disney World?
Usually not, though if you’re eating at a particularly empty time and find a particularly kind cast member, they might let you, say, bring a stroller inside if your child is asleep.
If you really want to keep your child in a stroller while you dine, look for a venue that has outdoor seating.
Falafel meal at Mara, the Animal Kingdom Lodge quick service restaurant
Can adults order kids’ meals at Disney World Quick Service restaurants?
Yes! There are lots of reasons why adult might want to order a kids’ meal: preference for the food offered, cost control, portion control, and so on. There is no one checking the ages of who is buying kids’ meals at Quick Service restaurants.
I just want a simple hamburger. How do I know where to find this?
I’m a vegetarian. Are there Quick Service options for me?
Sure. Just about every Quick Service venue has at least one vegetarian entree option, or at least an option that’s easily modified to become vegetarian. For example, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in the Magic Kingdom offers a Greek Salad with Chicken. You could ask them to omit the chicken to create a vegetarian dish. Cosmic Ray’s also serves a decent plant-based vegan sloppy joe, as well as several vegetarian side dishes.
The resort quick service restaurants serve breakfast as well as lunch and dinner
Someone in my party has a food allergy, how do I know if the Quick Service food is safe for them?
Additionally, all Disney Quick Service restaurants keep a binder in the kitchen which includes the complete ingredient list for every item they serve. You are welcome to ask to look at this binder to understand the ingredients in the food your child is consuming. Just ask anyone behind the counter.
I don’t want junk food while I’m at the parks. What can I eat at a Quick Service restaurant that won’t make me feel ick?
Disney has done a decent job in recent years of adding healthier, “real food” menu items to Quick Service locations throughout the parks and resorts. If the Quick Service restaurant you’re closest to doesn’t offer what you’re looking for, try a few others and you’re likely to find something that meets your needs.
While there are healthy options everywhere, if you want some splurge food, that’s easy to find too
Do you have any examples of real food at Walt Disney World Quick Service restaurants?
Sure. Here are some possibilities:
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn (Magic Kingdom) – Chicken and rice bowl, topped with black beans, lettuce, and tomato
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo (Hollywood Studios) – Hummus Garden spread with plant-based “Kefta”, herb hummus, tomato-cucumber relish and pita bread
Sunshine Seasons (Epcot) – Oak-Grilled Salmon with cheese grits and andouille corn succotash
Landscape of Flavors (Art of Animation resort) – Carved Rotisserie Turkey Breast with choice of two sides
What’s your favorite Quick Service restaurant at Walt Disney World?
This is like asking me to choose my favorite child. There are so many! Some that I return to frequently are Columbia Harbor House (Magic Kingdom), Flame Tree BBQ (Animal Kingdom), and Katsura Grill (EPCOT, Japan).
What do TouringPlans readers think the best WDW Quick Service restaurants are?
All of TouringPlans reader ratings are available online. To find their Quick Service picks, change the last filter menu from “all categories” to “Quick Service.” The top ten rated places are below.
Have any other questions about Quick Service dining? Let us know in the comments.
From our friends at touringplans.com Filed Under: Dining, Trip Planning, Walt Disney World (FL), Kids Quick Service, quick service, quick service dining
With the release of the new Disney Editions book, “The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky,” Disneyland Resort Ambassador Justin Rapp recently had the chance to talk with two of the book’s creators, Jeff Kurtti and Paul Wolski. In the interview captured below, they gave Justin an insider’s view of the content and the context of the book, and offered a behind-the-scenes look at how it came about.
JUSTIN: I’ll start with the first step of the creative journey— How did you approach this subject as you started this project?
JEFF: The challenge, as it typically is with Disney titles, is to create a story with sufficient depth and authority or new ideas or materials to appeal to a Disney fan, but also to not leave a reader who is fresh to Disney intimidated or feeling baffled. In the books I’ve done, that’s the balance for—and a reflection of—the breadth of the Disney audience. I’m not terribly interested in statistics and data as much as I am in telling a story.
JUSTIN: That brings up an interesting point, I think. Why is the monorail so associated with Disney?
PAUL: In a way, the Monorail symbolizes Walt’s spirit of exploration, discovery and possibility—and Disney fans connect to those feelings. Disney has always treated the Monorail as a transportation and an attraction, and the story is always futuristic, optimistic—that very “Walt” idea of “progress.” A sleek and silent train of the future that you can ride today…
JUSTIN: We’ve had a Monorail operating at Disneyland for over 50 years. What was your first knowledge or experience of a Monorail growing up?
PAUL: Growing up in Florida, I knew of only “one Monorail,” and was not really aware of the evolution of the tech or of Walt’s deep commitment to it. I also knew superficially that many versions had evolved over the years, but in the book we feature a fun visual spread showing all seven “Mark” series Monorails, and include their years of operation, color schemes and notable physical features. It’s great to view and compare them in one layout.
JUSTIN: What was the origin of your story? Was this an idea that you and your co-authors brought to the table, or something else?
JEFF: We work a lot with a wonderful editor named Jennifer Eastwood, and she called one day with that “headline concept” for a book: “The Disney Monorail.” Like so many of us who are fans at heart, she remembered her childhood family vacations to Walt Disney World, and was lucky to have stayed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort almost every summer. So in Jen’s fond recollections, the Disney Monorail has a deep resonance and meaning. I think she knew a lot of other Disney fans feel that way too!
I couldn’t imagine a book that I knew would be so reliant on the collections at Walt Disney Imagineering without Vanessa Hunt as a collaborator, so I pitched that she co-author with me. Vanessa is not just deeply familiar with the Walt Disney Imagineering Art Collection; she has an aficionado’s understanding of the cultural meaning in the works—she’s a big enough fan to know what will be of the most interest. Her personal talents and art and collections experience combine for not just a skill with using the visuals to support and to advance storytelling, it’s given her a deep conscience about protecting the artists and artistic intent, and really protecting the quality of image reproduction.
Looking at how the visuals were assembling, I asked Paul to join us, and sort of “bring it all together,” which, of course, elevated the whole thing.PAUL: I’ve known Jeff for thirty years, and we’ve been good friends and colleagues, so our views are very simpatico. I was just so inspired by the story and the artwork of Disney’s monorails, and that notion of an “optimistic future,” I thought it would be so rewarding to bring together all the storytelling into a unified visual statement. Working with the vast number of images that Vanessa “curated” like an exhibit designer was a huge benefit to the overall “look” of things.
JUSTIN: No doubt one of the reasons the book is so visually stunning. It seems like every page is a kind of “reveal.” It did make me curious how you work as a trio to balance the storytelling.
JEFF: Unlike a lot of books, we all started out together. It wasn’t a procedural process where I wrote, then Vanessa picked art, then Paul did a design. We all worked in parallel to manage the storytelling in all forms, and create something where everything was harmonious.
PAUL: It also gave us three viewpoints, too, I think. We have a different experience and viewpoint on the subject. I’m a Florida kid, and Jeff was an Anaheim guy. Vanessa has her own point of view—generational and professional—on the subject.
In that way, the book begins to express itself, the work began to show, and tell us what it wanted to be, to best tell a compelling story. I think that the three of us temper and balance one another, and it enables us to create something with broader narrative and appeal.
JUSTIN: The art is truly varied and interesting, from early concepts to seemingly common things like signage and graphics.
PAUL: Vanessa assembled a gallery of WDI art pieces and photographs—many I had not seen before, and I’m sure have never been published. Several of them have been published, of course—but much of what we have seen before is from lower-quality sources such as photographic transparencies, some of them dating back to the 1980s. Vanessa insisted that all the art be from primary sources. So the art within this book even if we think we’ve seen it before, has rich resolution, focal clarity, and color accuracy that makes it new.
JEFF: I also had never really noticed how many early Disneyland design iterations, dozens of visions of various “Tomorrowlands,” feature a monorail as an expectation, as an expression of futurism. It’s there from the earliest notions of the Park.
PAUL: There’s something timeless about the Mark I design, as well as earlier depictions of futuristic travel that featured rounded curves and orbs. Now it’s a kind of retro style that has become an aesthetic that represents modern design
JUSTIN: That “Tomorrowland” vibe extends to the overall book design. I sensed inspiration from attraction posters, for instance…
PAUL: Regarding the attraction posters, the design of those graphics led me to really study the bold and clean graphic styling of the great Disney art director Paul Hartley. It resulted in a book that at once feels vintage and current.
Vanessa gave me a ton of reference—the WDI Collection houses scores of Hartley’s works for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair. Posters, signage, tram cards and print collateral graphics were his forte. He was so prolific. His work in magazine and book design was the key resource for me. I looked through issues of “Mickey Mouse Club Magazine” and its successor, “Walt Disney’s Magazine,” published from 1955-1959, and the books Hartley art directed.
JUSTIN: Can you tell me something in the book that you’re particularly excited about?
PAUL: An idea that came about at the very last minute had to do with this really glorious huge 76″ x 32″ EPCOT concept rendering, created in 1975 by award- winning production designer John DeCuir, Sr. The dynamic width of the piece made it really hard to present without cropping it. It broke my heart to have to lose it. Then our editor suggested putting it at full-width on the inside of the dust jacket, as an “easter egg” for readers.
JUSTIN: That’s terrific. Thank you for sharing some insight on how these great Disney Editions books come about. I’m always fascinated to know how Disney projects are made—that “backstage” view is a big part of Disney culture!
