Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney District has a brand new addition with a one-of-a-kind Starbucks. The popular coffee shop was created with sustainable materials and features an outdoor patio with a giant living wall containing over 1,000 plants shaped in the shape of a stylized coffee… Read More »New Starbucks Now Open in Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort
Normally at this time of year, I write a retrospective piece looking back at the year in Disney, but for personal reasons, I’ve decided now is the time to look forward, not back. Instead of recollections, I’m writing prescriptions.These are the things I believe will help Walt Disney World continue to compete for the hearts and wallets of their fans while fending off challenges from other entertainment options both near (Universal Orlando) and far (changing TV viewing habits at home, for instance)
I’ll try and limit myself to one or two recommendations each and something that can at least get started in 2014. I don’t intend each prescription to solve every woe, but it will at least make a significant difference in one or two major problem areas.
Magic Kingdom
The oldest theme park in Central Florida is showing its age more and more and suffers from serious stagnation in both attractions and entertainment (translation: a serious capacity issue). There is something they can do quickly to make a dent. As part of an overall project to update Tomorrowland, I prescribe for the park an indoor air-conditioned high-capacity theater capable of hosting shows similar to the Hyperion Theater at California Adventure. With multiple shows a day, this adds a lot of capacity, gives guests a place to cool off in the heat and humidity, and allows for a showcase for Disney’s latest animated musicals (Rapunzel Stage show anyone?). This is also something that could be accomplished quickly and with minimal in park disruption by setting the theater outside the berm. Additional revenue can be raised by hosting events in the space, something the Magic Kingdom is currently lacking.
EPCOT
This park has the highest capacity of all four parks. It has two wonderful festivals and an enjoyable Christmas overlay. These are wonderful for what they do to attract guests. However, the mission and vision of EPCOT has been ignored for too long, and many areas of the park are in serious need of rejuvenation. Let’s tackle the two sections of the park separately.Read More »Dr. John’s 2014 Prescriptions for Walt Disney World
It’s the time of year when food takes center stage, with Thanksgiving right around the corner and the holidays shortly following. Downtown Disney has taken note, and has given us foodies some more good news and something to look forward to: food trucks! There are no specific dates set yet for when the trucks will make their first appearances, just that they will debut sometime in early November.
So far we know that there will be four trucks showcasing various meals from around the world, so guests can experience international dishes without all the traveling. The first truck, “Enchanted Fare,” will serve a wide variety of foods from Disney parks around the globe, such as Croque Monsieur, Glass Noodle Salad, as well as Hand-Dipped Corn Dogs.
Croque Monsieur from Magic Kingdom Park
As a sports fan, Team Mickey in the Downtown Disney Marketplace is always on my must visit list when that credit card is burning a hole in my wallet. If you have a sports fan in your family, you can probably find a gift that… Read More »Mickey Mouse NCAA Football Poll
Downtown Disney is at the start of a multi-year project that will transform it into a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex called Disney Springs. With construction of the first parking garage underway, things are getting serious. Over the weekend, I stopped by to see how traffic and parking was flowing.
It turns out things aren’t too bad. However, Disney is being crafty with its directions to open parking lots. The T-Rex and marketplace parking lots will always fill up early on busy days, but there was still plenty of parking down by Cirque du Soliel’s La Nouba, even though the street signs all directed guests to park and one of the two remote parking lots across the street. I followed the signs just to see where they led and ended up parking at Team Disney building. It was actually a pleasant experience with a shuttle that picks up and drops off right at La Nouba. I avoided the unpleasant hunt for a parking spot and only added a few minutes delay in waiting for the shuttle. You can walk across the street if you desire.
At Downtown Disney itself, there are walls everywhere, a bit more demolishing has occurred, and they have started construction on what will be the first new building of Disney Springs. That and more in our photo tour below the jump:
Downtown Disney at the Walt Disney World resort is in the early stages of its transformation into Disney Springs. A lot of what we knew as DTD (including Pleasure Island and NYE every night) is gone forever. However, there are some traditions that continue and we hope will survive the transition. One of these is the Festival of the Masters, which, believe it or not, is in its 38th year. The event will takeover Downtown Disney Nov 8-10, 2013.
The prestigious open-air fine arts festival features more than 300 artists creating and showcasing their unique works in painting, photography, sculpture, chalk, glass and more. Exhibits feature more than 130 award-winning artists, nearly 20 up-and-coming Emerging Masters, the Disney Artist Village, live performance artists and more.
Here’s a video I made capturing a few of the highlights from last year:
A crowd favorite, the Disney Artist Village will return with one of the largest displays of official Disney art available for purchase and will include meet and greets with the more than 25 artists behind those masterpieces. Located between Cirque du Soleil and House of Blues on Downtown Disney West Side, the Disney Artist Village tent will feature Disney character art created by masters from various Disney disciplines including Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group. Disney Artists also will perform live shows as they create new works of art on stage and will host interactive chats about art and what it can be. Both the art chats and live performances will take place at Waterside Stage in the Marketplace.Read More »Festival of the Masters Returns to Downtown Disney Novemember 8-10, 2013
Go Inside Disney’s The Lion King at WonderGround Gallery in the Downtown Disney District Have you ever wanted to go behind the scenes of Disney’s The Lion King? The massively popular musical is returning to Los Angeles for a limited time (November 20th—January 12th) and… Read More »Inside Disney’s The Lion King Exhibit Open at WonderGround Gallery
We already know that Chris Colfer is a big Disney fan. I mean look at that cute photo of him with Pinocchio. What you may not know is that he’s also a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Golden Globe winner, and all around nice… Read More »Chris Colfer Returning to Disneyland for Book Signing on Oct 12
