David Letterman isn’t the only one with top 10 lists. Here’s where you can get your villain fix!
1. Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty.”– Catch her in Fantasmic! over at Hollywood Studios. When she transforms herself into a dragon and sets the river on fire, it’s one of the most awesome moments in the entire nighttime spectacular. You can also see her in the Dream Along with Mickey show at Magic Kingdom.
2. Captain Hook – The Dream-Along with Mickey show at Magic Kingdom Park, as he and Mr. Smee face off against their old nemesis.
3. Ursula – Before New Fantasyland, we’ve been able to go “Under the Sea” with Voyage of the Little Mermaidat Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
4. Jafar – From “Aladdin” during the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade at Magic Kingdom Park
5. The Queen from Snow White– Catch her in Fantasmic!
6. Governor Ratcliffe – He’s in Fantasmic! too. If you remember, he is the self-serving villain from “Pocahontas,” who is greedy and wants gold!
7. Lady Tremaine – Cinderella’s stepmother and her two awkward daughters, Anastasia and Drizella. They do character meet and greets in the Magic Kingdom. You can also find them during character dining times over at 1900 Park Fare Restaurant in the Grand Floridian.
8. Gaston – Gaston takes part in Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and beginning this fall, you’ll actually have a chance to meet him when he begins making regular appearances outside Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland.
9. Evil Emperor Zurg – look for him at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (attraction) in Magic Kingdom!
10. Headless Horseman – Nothing says Halloween quite like “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and no villain is more ominous than the Headless Horseman, who makes special appearances ONLY during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom Park.
Disney Parks Blog has great photos of them all! (Insert evil laugh here.)
Awww Donny – what’s a New Year’s Eve without this song?
What ARE you doing for New Year’s Eve? How about heading to Disney? Hot off the press – Disney World has announced what will be in store for those who are enough lucky enough to be there.
At Epcot, guests can expect music at select pavilions around the World Showcase throughout the evening, plus “IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth” is scheduled for both 7 p.m. and 11:42 p.m. Hungry? How about a buffet in the World ShowPlace facility? This dinner will take inspiration from Disney’s “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” films. We can make reservations to eat dinner during the hours of 4:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. with a cost of $68.87 per adult ($44.37 for kids).
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the landscaper/musicians Mulch, Sweat and Shears will make an appearance in front of the iconic Sorcerer’s Hat on a stage crafted especially for their act. The concert will feature pyrotechnics and will also play during midnight fireworks.
Outside of the main theme parks, DisneyQuest is offering up a cyber celebration from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. featuring a DJ dance party, character meet and greets, a confetti drop at midnight and unlimited access to DisneyQuest games. Tickets are said to go on sale soon. Spring for the tickets – and you will also get a coupon for a quick service entree, side and drink. Even my husband might be into this idea!!
Some of the resorts, too, are gearing up to help guests celebrate New Year’s with music and entertainment. One example: Narcoosee’s Restaurant within the Grand Floridian has a special four-course dining experience complete with a DJ, a balloon artist and special fireworks viewing; cost is $161.85 for adults ($77.19 for kids). This one includes guaranteed weight loss afterwards for me. There wouldn’t be any grocery money left for a whole week!
Finally, for those of us wanting to get our groove on and cut a rug in 2013, the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort is planning a special New Year’s Eve party to take place from 8 p.m. – 2 a.m complete with a video DJ and partial viewing of Epcot’s fireworks. I don’t know what “partial viewing” means…do you? Are we behind a big telephone pole or something?
OK so if you could pick one or more of these events – how would YOU celebrate New Year’s Eve at Disney?
Sorcerers Hat at Disneys Hollywood Studios (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Logo for New Fantasyland — the expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thank you Disney World – for paying attention. Today there is yet another reason that I think the new Fantasyland will be worth the wait! It looks like the folks at Walt Disney Imagineering have read our minds and maybe monitored our tweets and facebook requests. So far we have seen the indoor air-conditioned Dumbo queue, FASTPASS for most attractions, shade trees, wider walkways, and lots of wall-seating throughout Storybook Circus.
That’s all great but what am I MOST excited about?
It seems though that Disney is not quite done yet, and have another trick up their sleeve. The third Big Top in Storybook Circus (the yellow one), along with the new restroom area being built in the former skyway station area, (remember those??) is expected to feature something known as a ‘D-Zone’. These areas are designed to allow people to relax, take a seat, and to have access to things like ECV charging stations….and a place to -wait for it – CHARGE OUR CELL PHONES.Thank you Imagineers…thank you!!
No longer will I have to be the crazy lady in the park looking everywhere for outlets. My legs going to sleep from sitting on the ground will be just a memory. October 23rd I get to go to Fantasyland for a sneak preview, and I am so excited I may explode. Blogging and sending you photos from the park will be a breeze if the new D-Zones are ready. Stay tuned to Disneyways!
Food and Wine is here and if you’re like me, you want to make the most of every precious minute you have to spend in Epcot!
To help you with your Food and Wine plans here is a link to the Disney Food Blog’s page. This will show you where each World Showcase tasting station is located, the menu items from each one, prices, and some even with pictures and reviews of the food and libations! Click HERE to check out all of their guides.
Before you head to World Showcase, I want to recommend that you find the top 5 items that you really have your heart set on trying. Sometimes the lines are long and people are blocking the menu boards – so just knowing where you want to go and what you want to get when you get there can save you a ton of time!
Another time saver is to get a Disney gift card before you go. You don’t even have to wait until you get here, you can get themonline! It’s fun just to check out all the different designs there are! This will help you stick to your budget and there’s no fumbling with cash or change at the kiosks. They do have special gift cards at the festival that you can attach to your wrist with a rubber band – but other then that – they don’t do anything that a regular old Disney gift card can’t do. You can reload them as many times as you want. Below is a video showing the gift cards that attach to your wrist – only these were at the Flower and Garden Festival.
If you do have extra time (and money) however, you will want to read up on the special events and possibly make a reservation or two for those. There are wonderful low cost seminars and food demos too!
One other tip. If you can spare the time, take a minute to find the festival welcome center and grab a free passport. It’s a wonderful (FREE!) souvenir and you can get each country stamped by a cast member when you visit the kiosks! These have menus but not pricing, so doing your homework if your on a budget is still a good idea. If you take just a few minutes to check out the festival welcome center while you’re there – you could meet a TV star from HGTV, get a free chocolate or wine sample, do some shopping, and definitely enjoy the air-conditioning.
Do a little planning before you go and you will find there is so much more to the festival that you may not have gotten a chance to experience otherwise. If you have any questions or maybe your own tips for saving time at food and wine please post them in the comments section.
Even though I was born and raised in Orlando, I didn’t know about 3D Disney’s Dessert Discovery Party until I actually took a job booking Disney dining for guests. Most of us that are born here have heard of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival but really don’t know much about it, we only think we do. When I excitedly tell my friends and family that the Epcot food and wine festival is coming – I usually get a raised eyebrow and the same question, “Isn’t that the thing where you get to try food and wine from all the countries?”
Well… yes… but it’s also the chance to book some wonderful experiences, demos, and tastings – the way only Disney could do them. You just might even meet some TV stars, and you’ll definitely get a chance to rock out to some tunes courtesy of some of the best bands of the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s. But these are just the Food and Wine Festival opportunities that Disney tends to focus their advertising on. There is so much more to enjoy!
You may want to book early for the Dessert Party, although there still seem to be seats available for this year. If you are planning ahead – and you enjoy this sort of thing – you will want to start studying up on what’s new, what’s popular and what’s changed…beginning in early August, and even July 2013.
Events like this one are VERY popular and sometimes sell out on the first day we can book them.
I had been reading about Epcot’s “3D” Dessert Discovery Party for years. It sounded like a wonderful experience – and being the dessert lover that I am, I thought, how could I go wrong?
“Join us for a dessert lover’s dream at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2012! Indulge in decadent desserts and cordials, then enjoy a V.I.P. viewing of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Where: World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, located between the Canada Pavilion and the United Kingdom Pavilion in World Showcase.
When: Fridays, October 5, 12 and 26 and November 2 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Cost: $55 per person, plus tax. Gratuity included. Epcot Theme Park admission required.
For General Admission reservations, please book online or call (407) WDW-FEST or (407) 939-3378. Space is limited, so be sure to book in advance.:”
You read that right — FIFTY FIVE DOLLARS plus tax. Whew!! Pretty steep for me. I justified it as a “research” expense for my readers and busted out my credit card on the very first day of bookings. After months of waiting, the occasion finally arrived. October 5th fell on a Friday this year. All this time I thought I would be going by myself, but I was pleasantly surprised to have my neighbor Tristan express interest in coming along. Luckily she was able to book a seat just in time – and we were off on our quest to discover wonderful Disney desserts.
We were headed to The World Showplace Events Pavilion. It is located between the Canada and UK pavilions in World Showcase at Epcot. This is where they hold many of these type of special events. I think it looks so pretty at night. This photo belongs to http://www.disneytravelbabble.com – the rest are from Disneyways.
The party didn’t start until 8PM, so Tristan and I decided to sample some of the best and most popular eats that the Food and Wine Festival had to offer. Before taking off though, I double checked with a cast member who told us we would be given a wrist band upon entrance – and they can usually just look up the reservation by last name. People were already lining up by 7pm – but Tristan and I were hungry – and we are not much for lines. At $55 a seat we figured it wasn’t a big rush, Epcot could afford to save 2 seats and some desserts for us. This proved to be a smart decision. There were a lot of people – but the pavilion is BIG, and the dessert stations are plentiful – so there was no shortage of food or seats when we got in.
After our snacks from the kiosks of the “world” we checked in at the podium and were handed some pretty cool 3D glasses. There is just no way to describe what you see through these things unless you look at these chandeliers and imagine Mickey icons being all around them.
From here we were treated to the sounds of a live band singing all your typical “sweet” and “candy” themed songs…Sugar Sugar…Lollipop…Candy…you get the idea.
I loved the music and thought the band was great. But that’s no surprise – I’m pretty cheesy like that.
The very end of this blog contains a link where you can learn more about the details, dates, and how to book the 3D Disney’s Dessert Discovery Party.
Today I wanted to take you on pictorial and video tour of my personal experience – but first – here’s a few Disneyways tips:
Don’t sweat the long line -unless you really want to be one of the first ones inside! There are plenty of food and seats for everyone – and you won’t have to be in the serving lines nearly as long if everyone else has gotten their desserts already.
Have a snack before you go – something substantial. I recommend the Coq Au Vin from the French Kiosk! There is a “Savory” station but of course that is the longest line during the first hour of the party. This is really a time where you can eat dessert first! Pace yourself and go back for the savory stuff later – you’ll be glad you did!!
Do NOT miss the donuts flambé! They are bathed in sugar are cooked in a pan of rum – right in front of you!
4. I am not much for alcohol but even I had to try the flavored vodka!
5. I mixed it with some of the blue lemon-aid and Tristan suggested I call it the Krista Cocktail. Feel free to try it OR you could mix some flavored vodka with the Chocolate or Cranberry Water they had available and create your own signature drink!
Overall, the event was fabulous, and more than I expected. One of the best parts of the party however, is the special fireworks viewing area.
We were literally right on by the water – and I got some cool video.
Watching the fireworks through the special 3D glasses they had given us earlier was pretty much the coolest thing I had ever seen. There was no way to film it through the glasses – but believe me I tried! In fact, much to my embarrassment, you can hear my reaction and see how I turned the video camera sideways – without even realizing it. Listen closely before that… and you’ll hear the Dad behind me telling his son “I SEE MICKEYS!” Awesome.
SO – if you are big on sweets, booze, fireworks, and feeling like you are getting VIP treatment – you may want to look in to the “3D Dessert Discovery Party” as I like to call it! In closing, here are some pictures of the food stations, atmosphere, and fun!
To learn more about booking your own 3D Party – including Sweet Seats click here.
October 1, 2012 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the opening day at Epcot! It was HOT, humid, and somewhat crowded but I am chalking it up to one of my favorite Disney days in history.
The IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show at Epcot at Walt Disney World. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Please enjoy this video that my wonderful, tall husband took of the special Epcot 30 Illuminations “tag”. Illuminations is always awesome but the tag really added something amazing, and to me, the show was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I almost cried about 5 times while watching it.
Feel free to play it over and over just to enjoy the sounds while you work. That’s what I have been doing.
One other thing…there was soot literally raining down after the show from the multiple pyrotechnics! INCREDIBLE!
I grew up and have never lived any where but in Orlando. Walt Disney World has literally been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. My parents would take me there as a small child, and I would cry every time we left because I just didn’t know how soon I would be allowed to go back. The parents of my childhood best friend both worked at Disney World, so I can remember going to the cast member parties at a pretty young age. Back in 1993 Disney used to have Grad Nite and I remember that magical evening at the Parks as being one of the highlights of my senior year in high school.
I think it was 2007 when I spent 3 months or so actually working at Disney. I don’t know what came over me. My siblings all worked there when they were young, but I was a very busy adult with a husband and 2 children by this time. Even though I was gainfully employed as a dental assistant in Winter Park Florida 4-5 days a week, apparently I wasn’t busy enough. So, I threw in buying a house for good measure, you know, since we had nothing else to do.
Even though I had 13 years of customer service experience, (5 years of that customer service experience with a little company called AT&T) and absolutely no food service experience…at all…ever…the Disney casting center thought I’d be a good fit as a hostess at the Garden Grill over in Epcot. I really didn’t understand it – but I didn’t care! I just put on my little farmer’s outfit, my Disney required non-skid shoes, and my tiny little fake diamond stud earrings. Then I made my long journey to work at the happiest place on earth. It was a long way from sucking spit at the dental office all week, and I loved it.
Little did I know that just a few short years later I would own my own company – and begin taking calls for Disney dining from home!
“Thank you for calling Disney dining, my name is Krista. How can I help you celebrate today?”
It was something I am pretty sure I said in my sleep. The calls were constant and there was no time to breathe in between. It was all the fun of working with Disney and it’s guests on a global scale – without ever leaving my little home office. Many times I was still wearing my PJ’s! I just did it, and I loved every minute.
In fact, Disney dining was a big part of my life for 3 years, so that little stint at the Garden Grill gave me some invaluable inside knowledge about how Disney dining works. I took a month long class about booking resort stays too. In spite of never working as a travel agent, I am a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge. These are just some of the skills and experiences that I get to draw from as I spend time with my Disney friends all over the world via social media and my online radio shows. I am on an awesome journey – building a financially sound company and career out my love of the Disney Parks. I feel so very privileged and blessed to be able to sharemy lifetime of living near the Disney magic with you.
Thanks for reading my blog, facebook posts, and tweets! I hope you have a magical day – and I’ll see YOU in the Parks!
Have you heard about the My Disney Experience Mobile App?
Here is the scoop:
“Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online has released My Disney Experience, a free mobile application designed to help Guests make the most of their experience while visiting the Walt Disney World Resort.
• The app includes state-of-the-art maps with GPS and in-park navigation that provide a vivid, accurate representation of the theme parks, resorts and other on-property points of interest.
• My Disney Experience also includes park hours, wait times, dining and attraction information, a digital tip board and nearby attractions and services.
• Some of the features require Guests to create an account and sign in to activate functionality.
• Initially, the app is available for the iPhone and iPad (Apple App Store). My Disney Experience for Android smartphones (Google Play and Amazon Android Marketplace) as well as Android tablets, Blackberry, and Windows devices.
• Enhancements and updates will be made to this application as needed.
FAQs
1. What is My Disney Experience?
My Disney Experience is a mobile application created by Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts Online as the official app of the Walt Disney World Resort.
2. How much does My Disney Experience cost?
My Disney Experience is available at no cost. However, messaging and data
charges may apply; check with your mobile carrier.
3. Will My Disney Experience be updated with new information regularly?
Similar to other Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts online content, My
Disney Experience will have the most up-to-date official information from the
Disneyways 