A Blog About Disney Stuff

Yesterday we rejoiced in the anniversaries of Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Understandably, there was not much fanfare given the state of things in the world. Still, our team enjoyed being in EPCOT, revisiting some of the few sites that still hold those original EPCOT vibes.

EPCOT has changed dramatically and sadly it is in a state of limbo. Construction for a massive revamp of the park is nearly halted thanks to COVID-19 and the massive financial impact it has caused.  Bluntly, it is not an easy park to be in, especially at Future World. But, there’s still lots of EPCOT magic to enjoy.

At Future World West you can experience three pavilions that still carry some retro EPCOT feelings. The Seas with Nemo and Friends has changed the look of what was The Living Seas. It was the first major attraction at Walt Disney World to receive a massive Intellectual Property overlay, adding in Disney characters to what was a scientific pavilion.  Still, once inside you can see remnants of Seabase Alpha, and you can still marvel at the second largest aquarium in the country.

Over at The Land Pavilion, the exterior is almost exactly that same as it’s been since it opened. Although the steep hill to enter is annoying, the mosaic tile wall along the entrance is beautiful, and it is a creative building layout. The interior carries a lot of the same feeling as it always has, but with modern touches.

Aboard Living With The Land, a cherished boat ride, you can spot a tribute to EPCOT’s opening year. That’s one of my favorite touches throughout Walt Disney World, displaying the opening year and other important dates throughout attractions.

The final pavilion in Future World West, The Imagination Pavilion, is home to one of the biggest controversies of the park. Many Disney fans lament the removal of the original Imagination attraction. Though Journey Into Imagination with Figment does have a few tributes to the original attraction, nothing will fill the hole in our hearts.

What was the World of Motion attraction is now Test Track. This attraction has a modern looking entrance, and has seen its share of revamps over the years.

It is good to note that weekdays continue to be a lot less busy than weekends at EPCOT. We’ve seen weekday attendance pick up at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, but at EPCOT we’ve not seen as much of an increase during the week.

Our Lines App uses real time data to show Expected Wait Times compared to Disney’s Posted Wait Times. At around 2:00 p.m. yesterday the average expected wait time was around 17 – 20 minutes.

Did you ever visit EPCOT Center in the early years? What is your favorite EPCOT attraction?

The post PHOTOS: Celebrating EPCOT’s Anniversary by Revisiting Memories of the Original Park appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Epcot, In the Parks, Observations, Photos and Video, disney reopening, epcot anniversary, Epcot Construction, epcot photos, epcot tips

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 Attraction?

About two years ago, I saw a charming off-Broadway musical called The Other Josh Cohen. Toward the end of the show, a character mentions having been on Space Mountain, calling it a roller coaster. Another character immediately castigates him and says, “It’s not a ‘roller coaster,’ it’s an ‘attraction.’”

That pretty much sums up the situation.

Disney does not call the things you do and see in the parks by words like “ride,” “roller coaster,” “show,” “train,” or “movie.” All those things are, per Disney nomenclature, “attractions.” Attractions can be in motion like Space Mountain or Dumbo the Flying Elephant. They can be stationary like Country Bear Jamboree or It’s Tough to Be a Bug. They can be things you walk through or past like the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail or Maharajah Jungle Trek. Even Epcot’s Kidcot Fun Stops, where kids sit and color, are classified as attractions.

Some attractions are headliners or major attractions, Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios, for example. Others are minor attractions, like the Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival at Epcot. There are even a few things like the Aerophile ballon and the Vintage Amphicars at Disney Springs that Disney calls attractions even though they’re not in a theme park.

So why do you care that Disney calls things attractions rather than some other word? Well, you don’t necessarily, but knowing this does sometimes help you understand what people are talking about.

For example, the Walt Disney World website currently lists 172 things under “Attractions” home page link. It can be helpful to know that not all 172 of those items move and they’re not all time consuming. You might also miss a lot of the things to do at Disney World if you asked someone about “rides.” They could tell you about only things with vehicles that move rather than things that provide entertainment like The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Hollywood Studios or the film in the Canada pavilion at EPCOT. “Attractions” covers everything.

Let us know what Disney topics you think need just a bit more explanation.

The post Disney in a Minute: What is an Attraction? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), disney in a minute

This week, see what Dani has to say about the layoff of thousands of Cast Members, we find out why you need to see this new artwork that’s found in the Disneyland Resort, and what Joe thinks of how the VelociCoaster will change the Orlando area, plus more.

What We’re Talking About – Disney and Universal Orlando News and Rumors

Of course the biggest news of the week that you likely didn’t miss was the fact that 28,000 Cast Members across the company are being let go. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, said the layoffs are happening as the virus has hurt business, and because California has not lifted restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.

Dani shares her sentiments: For the layoffs, this has hit home. I worked for Disney for nine years, I spent the most time working for Disney Vacation Club. 279 people are said to be laid off from DVC – that’s a massive amount. Every day since the announcement I’ve seen numerous Facebook friends post that they got “the call” and were let go. I have been setting money aside each month to donate to local food banks and help local Cast Members that I know. I am grateful to be able to write about the parks and appreciate our readers. For those who would like to assist with donations or for those who need help, here is more information about Cast Member Pantry In addition, you can also donate to Second Harvest Food Bank, if you so choose. 

What a gorgeous piece of art. A beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman is now on display at the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort and was designed by former Disney Imagineer Nikkolas Smith. The mural is titled “King Chad,” and features Chadwick as T’Challa posing with a young boy, who is clearly a children’s hospital patient. It is a wonderful mural.

We all love hearing Joe Rhode stories and he recently talked with Collider about the new Disney+ series about Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as well as about the park as well. It’s so fascinating listening to this man share details about this park. You can so tell how much he loves it.

*Big gasp* Nick Fury is coming back! Samuel L. Jackson is slated to reprise the roll in an upcoming Disney+ project, according to Variety.

James let us know his take: It’s always great news to hear of any new, original content coming to Disney+, but having an actor the caliber of Samuel L. Jackson on board to reprise his role of Nick Fury for a Marvel series is just what I needed right now. While I do kinda wish that Disney would consider loosening its content restrictions to permit Jackson the flexibility to uncork some of his trademark profanity, I’m still really excited to hear this!

Helen Reddy, who was in Pete’s Dragon and sang the classic Disney song, “Candle on the Water,” passed away this week. Is the original version of Pete’s Dragon one of your favorites? Thoughts are with here family.

A Pixar film means a great new short and this year, before Soul, the short will be called Burrow and it features a scared looking rabbit. Will be curious to see where this story goes.

Dani said: I absolutely love when Pixar films and shorts go deep, dealing with emotions. I cannot wait for “Soul” about a very important topic. I’m sure I will cry, a lot.

Yara Shahidi, who plays Zoe in black-ish and grown-ish will play Tinkerbell in Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Peter Pan. She will join Jude Law who will play Captain Hook. (How did I miss that news?!)

Are you ready for one intense roller coaster ride? I think you’re going to get it with the recently announced Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando Resort. The coaster is slated to debut summer 2021 and is themed after the most recent films, including cameos of some of your favorite characters. It looks totally insane and I cannot wait to be able to ride this one!

Joe stated: Orlando tourists should prepare for a coaster unlike any in the area.

The post What We’re Talking About: Cast Member Layoffs, Universal’s VelociCoaster, and More appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: In Case You Missed It

This Crowd Calendar update is a full update going through September 2021. To make such a long-range forecast we are making some assumptions:

• Demand will stay low for Florida theme park travel
• Disney will keep capacity at or below 50%
• The risk of COVID-19 infection stays the same
• Health and safety measures stay in place

Changes Since Labor Day

Since Labor Day we have seen higher wait times. The 30 attractions listed below are the attractions that are used for the TouringPlans Crowd Calendar. Across all 30 attractions, the average posted wait times are up 70%. For September 2019, the average posted wait times were down 40% compared to July and August of that year. In any normal year, September wait times are lower than summer wait times. Attraction capacity has not changed since the parks have reopened, so the increased wait times can be attributed to more people in the parks.

In-Park Research

We frequently count guests leaving attractions to determine ride capacity and we did so as recently as last weekend. Our research has found that ride capacity is down 50-60% with the current health and safety restrictions. So if attendance was the same in 2019 and 2020, wait times should be roughly doubled. With fewer activities (shorter park hours, no nighttime spectaculars, no character meet and greets, fewer shows, and fewer opened shops and restaurants) wait times should be even higher for the same number of people.

Looking at posted wait times for September after Labor Day for 2019 and 2020. The overall average change in posted wait times is close to 0%. This is evidence that attendance is at least 50% lower in September 2020 than in September 2019. We estimate attendance to be 33% in September 2020 compared to September 2019.

What To Expect In The Parks

Parks do not feel less crowded. Queues are physically much longer. The queues have social distancing so they take much more space than prior to COVID-19. With closed attractions, shops, and restaurants, there is less available space in the parks. Social distancing on Disney transportation makes getting anywhere take longer.

Since attendance numbers do not always translate to the feel in the parks, we use attraction wait times to determine the Crowd Levels. We don’t expect crowds will be going down. With what we saw in September, we are increasing Crowd Levels in this update.

With a higher percent of guests being locals, weekends are the busiest time at the parks. We expect this will hold true for the rest of 2020.

If you decide it is the right time to visit Walt Disney World, regardless of the Crowd Levels, using a Touring Plan will save you time waiting in lines. Subscribe to TouringPlans.com and get the best advice for your next trip to Walt Disney World.

 

The post October WDW Crowd Calendar Update appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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