Skip to main content

Ears the News with Richard




'Be Our Guest Restaurant' has been incredibly popular, with dinner reservations being near 100% booked for 180 days in advance, and the lunch queue beginning at park opening. 

Starting this month, selected guests are going to be given the chance to choose an arrival time for lunch online, and even choose items from the menu prior to their arrival. This will all be done on a website, similar to the new FASTPASS+ system that is already in testing with guests. Once the arrival time and menu items have been selected, the guest will arrive at the designated time, check in and pay at an express location, take the magic rose to the table of their choice, and the food will be delivered.  This new system being tested looks like a way to manage guest flow through the restaurant more effectively, and reduce time taken in the ordering phase once inside the restaurant.

The test will be in limited numbers; with guests being invited into the test at their resort check-in. Regular walkups for lunch will still be available for all other guests not taking part in the test. 

Epcot's nighttime spectacular IllumiNations Reflections of Earth and Wishes have started a round of testing for inclusion into FASTPASS+. Two locations are in Epcot going to be trialed, one near Germany and the other in World Showcase Plaza as well as sections around the hub at Magic Kingdom.  FASTPASS+ will ultimately allow guests to not only choose attraction FASTPASS times, but will also provide preferred viewing locations for shows, parades, and fireworks.

Disney has invested heavily in the NextGen project that is introducing a whole host of new trip planning technologies across the entire Walt Disney World Resort. The latest product from the project is a brand new version of the official DisneyWorld.com website. Completely re-written, the site no longer uses Flash making it much more iPad friendly. It is also much more focused on providing information and creating itineraries. As you would expect, the new website also features a dedicated 'My Disney Experience' section, that will allow visitors to manage all of their FASTPASS+ ride reservations, dining, accommodations and PhotoPass.

The site is being rolled out gradually, so is not available to all users. It appears to be random, so keep trying if you want to see the new site before its full launch.

'Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage’ at Disney's Hollywood Studios is scheduled to close for a brief refurbishment in early January 2013. The refurbishment begins on 1/7/2013 and reopens on 1/13/2013 

‘Disney Junior - Live on Stage!' is closing for month long refurbishment in early 2013. The refurbishment begins on 1/14/2013 and reopens on 2/15/2013.

The official Disney Parks Blog has confirmed that “Doc McStuffins” and “Sofia the First” will be joining “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” at the attraction.







The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has a new holiday display this year. The palm trees between the two hotels now form a nightly show, with the trees performing approximately every 10 minutes from 6:00 PM. 
Video from WDWMagic

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

House of Blues Brunch

Brunch is probably my favorite meal to go out for, and Disney Springs has some hidden gems in the brunch department. House of Blues offers weekend brunch with one of the best deals on property, bottomless mimosas!  If you’re up for it, House of Blues offers a laid back atmosphere with live music for brunch. It is available Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm, with the full menu available after 12pm. We were sat in the back room where we couldn’t see the stage but could hear it and it was a great vibe!  Bottomless mimosas and coffee were the popular choice for beverages, but they also offer a variety of brunch cocktails and other options. Bottomless mimosa! We were a party of 8 and hungry, so we started with an order of nachos from the lunch menu and they were a HUGE portion, so glad we had a lot of people to share them with.  BBQ Nachos - Four cheese sauce, avocado, roasted corn salsa, pickled red onion, tomato, Memphis BBQ sauce, cilantro crema, cotija cheese. Chicken, Brisket or Pul

Giovanni's Table on Liberty of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has wonderful specialty dining options on all of their ships.  They all have some variety of an Italian restaurant and I've tried Jamie's Italian on the Symphony of the Seas and now Giovanni's Table on Liberty of the Seas. The restaurant is located by the Windjammer Buffet, tucked off to one side as you enter the area.  Once inside, the atmosphere is dark and cozy, very different from the buffet hectic world outside the doors.  There is an open kitchen along the one wall and windows along the other.  The restaurant is a set upcharge, and then you can order whatever you want from the food menu that is to your liking throughout the meal.  Giovanni's is actually undergoing some changes on a lot of RCCL ships, but Liberty hadn't had those changes yet so it was still the "old" one, which was fine by us. We had an amazing meal here, and wouldn't hesitate to come back again on a future cruise.  You might see Giovanni's Kitchen

5 Ways To Get Psyched For Your Disney Trip!

Hey-Howdy-Hey, Disney Guys and Gals!      Is anyone familiar with Barney Stinson's "Get Psyched" Mix? Anyone? How I Met your Mother Fans? Ok, great! So you totally get where I'm going with this! If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can watch a clip  HERE!  Basically, the theory is that no matter what's going on in your life, you can get yourself psyched up and ready for something awesome to happen, all by listening to the right piece of music. Playing off of that theory, I feel that one of the very best things about a Disney trip is actually  preparing  for it, or getting psyched! You can have a whole bunch of crappy stuff happening in your life at the time, but if you have a Disney trip on the horizon... even if it's 564 days away, you have something to look forward to and enjoy preparing yourself for. In fact, many Disney fans, (myself included), pretty much get from one day to the next by preparing for upcoming trips. You may even book a ne