Have you ever decorated your Christmas tree, getting to the bottom of the box thinking you’re done, and then you come across a lovely little ornament you didn’t realize was there? That’s what we found at Baseline Taphouse inside Hollywood Studios. We came across the Whisky Apple Crème Brûlée this week, and we wish we had done so sooner.
Whisky Apple Crème Brûlée at Baseline TaphouseBaseline Taphouse
Baseline Taphouse is a favorite spot among many Disney fans, including most everyone on our team. A long list of California craft beer makes it tempting for a flight or a tall pour. Wines on tap are high quality. And a few cocktails on tap rival many of the cocktails available throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Whisky Apple Crème Brûlée at Baseline Taphouse
The food available here is meant to pair well with any of the available drinks. It is a surprise to see a dessert like this on the menu, but we’re glad the folks at Disney are trying something different. The Whisky Apple Crème Brûlée is full of warmth and sweetness without being too sugary. Little bits of apple give each creamy custard spoonful a special touch. The whisky flavor is present, but mellow.
Have you been to Baseline Taphouse before? How does this sweet sound to you?
December 11 is National App Day, and we couldn’t let the day go by without giving a nod to our own Lines 2.0 app. Since 2011, the Lines app has been helping people on their Walt Disney World vacations save time in line, and have so much information at their fingertips. With the iPhone launch earlier this year of Lines 2.0 (and field testing continuing on the Android version), this highly rated app is now even better. We’ve compiled a list of articles about the different aspects of Lines 2.0 that we love and how to use them. What features do you enjoy the most?
Using Lines 2.0 for Spontaneous Touring
Filtering Dining and Attractions
Navigating the Lines 2.0 Dining Page
Creating Custom Touring Plans
Viewing Attraction Information and Wait Times
Video: How to Create a Touring Plan in Lines 2.0
Features of Lines 2.0
The Lines 2.0 development team continues to dream big. What features would you like to see added in the future? What features do you find the most useful now? Let us know in the comments.
Lines 2.0 was a major leap forward for the TouringPlans site. Featuring a fully upgraded user interface, improved optimization, and new and exciting features now and coming in the future, there’s no surprise that Lines is the highest-rated Walt Disney World app in the iOS and Google Play stores. I recently sat down (virtually of course) with TouringPlans own Len Testa to talk about the creation of Lines and its new iteration.
The Lines app debuted in 2011. What challenges did you find in creating that first Lines app?
The original version of Lines – Lines 1, if you will – provided a basic web interface to our tools, most notably the computer-optimized touring plans and Lines Chat. When we wrote Lines 1, we wanted the same computer code to run on both Apple and Android devices. And because there were not many ways to do that back in 2011, we settled on using a text-based web browser as the user interface. It was simple, it ran on almost everything, and it got the job done.
The UI didn’t look great, especially as it became easier and more common for apps to have sophisticated, mobile-first interfaces. But people were willing to accept the old-style UI because of the information and functionality it provided. Throughout most of its life, including up to today, Lines 1 has been the highest-rated app for Walt Disney World in both the iOS and Google Play stores. In fact, it’s rated higher than Disney’s own My Disney Experience app. I need to give a shout out to Lines’ original developer, Henry Work, for writing an app that worked that well for that long. That’s good programming.
Lines 1 was no-frills, but highly functional.
What started you talking about an upgrade to the Lines app?
We realized that there were things we wanted to do with the app that couldn’t be done easily (or at all) through a web browser. The first of these was location-based services. The HTML5 standard has GPS functionality, but not the same amount of functionality as native apps – apps purpose-built for a specific phone system. In our case, we really wanted to provide in-park, real-time walking directions from one ride to another. And we wanted to be able to optimize your touring plan based on exactly where you are in the park, so we know what’s convenient to where you’re at.
Another thing we wanted to do with the app was create experimental services today that people would expect to use 5, 10, or 20 years from now. Way back in 1997, my first academic publication described a day where people would walk around with hand-held, GPS-enabled devices that would route you from ride to ride with minimal waits in line, using real-time data obtained in the parks. And then we spent much of the last twenty years building it. The question we face now is figuring out what that next big leap is – what’s the thing that guests in theme parks 10 or 20 years from now will take for granted, and how do we start building that now? More on that later.
About how long did it take from saying “Hey, let’s do a Lines 2.0 app” to its iPhone launch?
Around 10 months, almost all of it the work of our developer Brad Huber. When Brad and I were talking about goals for the app besides a modern interface, those goals were driven almost entirely by feedback our users were giving us: things like notifications, the ability to work in the presence of unreliable network connectivity, and fast response times. So one of Brad’s first tasks was to design the back-end software elements to handle those things. Brad also did almost all of the screen design, which I really like. And, you know, he continues to patiently answer all of my questions about React Native, for the tiny bits of the app I work on.
What feature of Lines 2.0 are you personally most proud of?
Brad’s home screen design, which shows park information like hours and crowd levels, looks really good to me – I still get a “Wow, that’s really professional” feeling every time I see it.
Designing the screens for creating and updating touring plans were the most difficult user experience challenges we had. For one thing, there’s no other analogous process that we could look at to see how other people solved it, so we had to do it ourselves. We spent a good chunk of 2019 on that user experience, and I think David Davies, Brian McNichols, and Brad did a good job on making it easier to use.
Lines 2.0 home screen for iPhone.
Do you have any amazing statistics about the Lines app to blow us away?
Liners – the folks who use the Lines app – have the ability to tell us how long they’ve actually waited in line for a ride, through a stopwatch feature we built into the app. We get anywhere from 100 to 200 actual wait times per day on an average day. To date, Liners have sent in almost 400,000 actual wait times. We use those to improve our wait-time model forecasts, so they’re really valuable to us.
We’ve also optimized more than 28 million touring plans, most of them through the app.
Aside from continuing to field test the Android version of Lines 2.0 for its upcoming launch, are there other projects that you are looking at for future releases?
Of course.
Can you tell us what those might be?
Optimal turn-by-turn walking directions inside the parks using GPS is the next big thing we’re working on. With that, we’ll be able to tell you step by step how to get from one place in the park to another, in the shortest amount of time.
Along with that, we had a fabulous intern over the summer, Yoel Hawa, who built a prototype for walking directions that uses augmented reality (AR) to guide you on your route. Imagine giant Mickey Mouse gloves floating in space along the walkway in Tomorrowland, pointing out the path to follow to your destination. Once we get the GPS and point-to-point walking directions done, this would be the next step. And beyond that, we think there’s a lot of ways AR can help guests in the parks.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
I’d like to thank all of the Liners who are providing valuable feedback on the app, and who continue to make the Lines community helpful, friendly, and welcoming to everyone. Also, Dustin Verdin is a graphic designer who did a great job with the UI elements we gave him.
Thanks, Len. And congrats to you and the whole team on the amazing success of Lines 2.0! Have an additional questions? Feel free to ask in the comments.
The Winterberry Margarita has been the seasonal cocktail of Hollywood Studios for a couple of years now. This frozen margarita can be found at multiple quick service locations around the park – available for mobile ordering. It is a nice enough margarita, but we’re ready for something new.
Frozen Winterberry Margarita – Patrón Tequila, Sweet-and-Sour, Cranberry Juice, and Wildberry topped with Blueberry Boba Pearls – $14.00
Winterberry Margarita at Hollywood Studios
This margarita isn’t awful, just satisfactory. If you desire a frozen margarita or a cocktail that isn’t too sweet then it is a good option. It won’t blow you away, and you’ll want to stir it up to make sure it stays blended. The blueberry boba pearls add a fun touch, as long as you’re okay with the texture. If you prefer not to have the boba you can ask for it to be left off.
Winterberry Margarita at Hollywood Studios
If you want to upgrade your festive cocktail you can add a glow cube for $3.00. If you prefer a sweeter cocktail, or one that isn’t frozen, then the Christmas on the Beach or Holiday Lights at Brown Derby Lounge will satisfy your desire.
Have you had the Frozen Winterberry Margarita? What’s your favorite seasonal cocktail at Hollywood Studios?
If you’re venturing to Orlando this holiday season chances are you are prepared to enjoy this festive time of year in an unconventional way. Gentle falling snow and sleigh rides are not what you’ll find at Walt Disney World, but there’s still loads of festive fun. Celebrate the season in a tropical way with a cocktail from The Brown Derby Lounge.
Holiday Lights Cocktail at Brown Derby Lounge
Earlier this month we scoped out the Christmas on the Beach cocktail. Now Len and Chrissy on our team gave the Holiday Lights cocktail a try. Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and a touch of Cranberry Juice compose this cocktail. Coconut and pineapple are the most pronounced flavors, but the Spiced Rum helps to cut the sweetness and bring a festive warmth and spice. Len describes it as “summertime at Christmas.”
Len, his hair, and Holiday Lights CocktailHoliday Lights Cocktail at Brown Derby Lounge
Brown Derby Lounge is normally a fantastic spot to sit, sip on a martini, and enjoy some light bites fresh from The Brown Derby kitchen. Right now this lounge is only open for walk-up drinks to go. For the holidays they’ve opened up the lounge’s outdoor seating area for you to enjoy your drinks from the walk-up bar. You need to be stationary to eat or drink in accordance with Disney’s COVID-19 safety precautions, so it is a big help to have this sitting area open.
Do you prefer your cocktails sweet or a little tart? How does the Holiday Lights drink sound to you?
