On my recent trip to WDW we spent 1 and 1/2 days at the Magic Kingdom. I think Disney should invent happy pills. Something all children (and some adults too) are required to take before entering the park. Screaming children have to go to The Tower of Terror. Perhaps they should add nap rooms for over tired children who are on the verge of a tantrum. Hey, I'm allowed to dream right? Isn't one of their slogans where dreams come true?

The day before I headed to Orlando my mom told me it would be cool and I'd need a light jacket or fleece. So I packed light weight long sleeved shirts, pants and a hoodie. Arrived in Orlando, walked outside and thought – phew, it's a little steamy! Turns out the highs were around 86 degrees. So needless to say I own a whole new selection of Disney Ts.

February is one of the Florida resident months and so a few of us were able to get discounted rates. Typically, Florida resident months mean smaller crowds, however, not this time. Seems like all of New Orleans came to Disney to escape Mardi Gras.

We decided to head straight to the New Fantasy Land in hopes of avoiding some crowds. That was a smart move. There were 5 kids with us all under age 6. They really liked the new area.

The new part of Fantasyland lies just beyond the remaining part of Fantasyland just behind Cinderella Castle. The new area offers two parts, the Enchanted Forest and Storybook Circus. In addition there are two new castles: Beast’s Castle, representing “Beauty and the Beast,” and Prince Eric’s Castle, representing “The Little Mermaid.”

The Enchanted Forest showcases the tales of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid” and has tons of Disneyesque landscape with waterfalls, greenery, grottoes, bridges and of course, the forests.

An area focused on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is under construction and will open in 2014. You can take a sneak peak into the area but all you really see is a big hole and lots of construction equipment.

The Little Mermaid ride transports guests below the ocean’s surface to see Ariel and her friends, an adventure that recreates scenes from the 1989 animated movie and includes some of its memorable songs. Fast Passes! Next door, Ariel’s Grotto offers guests the chance to meet Ariel in the flesh – and take tons of photos (there were as many grown men as kids taking photos!)

Across a stone gargoyle bridge from Ariel’s home is the Beast’s Castle, the site of Be Our Guest Restaurant. Be Our Guest offers quick-service dining for lunch and table-service dining for dinner. I wrote a review of Be Our Guest previously.

Belle’s Village has a small collection of buildings housing shops, but the focal point is a bronze statue of Gaston. You might even find Gaston in the town square, eager admirers waiting for photos with him. He left just as we arrived.

Gaston’s Tavern, decorated like a hunting lodge, has LeFou’s Brew. The no-sugar-added frozen apple juice has a hint of toasted marshmallow, and is topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam. Didn't sound or look good to me.

Storybook Circus bring the big top to Magic Kingdom and features the “Dumbo” movie characters. Storybook Circus is the new home Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, ride. The kids seemed to love it and it looked like it got a much needed renovation.

Another “Dumbo” are is a Splash ‘N’ Soak Station. The play area is based on the train from the movie, and circus animals in train cars squirt and spray water at guests. The day we visited that area it was pouring so we didn't even notice the water!

The Barnstormer Featuring the Great Goofini, is a kiddie coaster. The ride is very short and gentle, my 3 years old nephew met the height requirement to ride it! Fast Passes!

Pete’s Silly Sideshow offers a character meet-and-greet with Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. You can meet the characters, pose for photos and receive autographs inside the air-conditioned bit top. The downside, there are no fast passes for these characters.

All in all, this was a great area for the kids, provided a little downtime for the adults and looks really great! Can't wait for the rest to open!

Part 3 of my WDW Vacation – the rest of the Magic Kingdom

On March 1st I will be moving to a new home at First2Board.com. Please come visit me there.

 

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my entire family and some friends at WDW. My family are Disney Vacation Club Members and the Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary is a Vacation Club resort (however anyone can stay at the Bay Lake Towers based on availability.)

The benefit of the Bay Lake Towers and the Contemporary Hotel is both the proximity to the Magic Kingdom and that it's on the Magic Kingdom Monorail line.

The room type we had at the Bay Lake Towers is called the 3-bedroom Grand Villa with a theme park view. The alternative view is of Bay Lake and the pools/activity area. The first floor of the room has a full kitchen, living room, laundry room, master bedroom with master bath and a second full bath in the living area. The second floor has 2 bedrooms and each has a full bath and double beds. There's a loft area on the second floor with a sleeper sofa.

[caption id="" width="360" align="alignnone" caption="Courtesy Disney Vacation Club"][/caption]

The views from the room were spectacular because there were floor to ceiling windows. The view from our room looked onto the Magic Kingdom and you could see iconic figures like Cinderella's Castle and Space Mountain.

The room was really comfortable.

[caption id="" width="383" align="alignnone" caption="Kitchen"][/caption]

One of the best parts of the room in my opinion was the perfect view of the fireworks from the park. I love fireworks, I hate crowds. From the room you could sit on the balcony and enjoy the show.

I really enjoyed the Bay Lake Towers and even as a non Disney Vacation Club member I would stay at the Contemporary Bay Lake Towers if I was visiting The Magic Kingdom.

Part 2 of my Disney Vacation review: The New Fantasy Land

 

Be Our Guest takes you inside Beast’s Castle from the 1991 film, Beauty and the Beast. Featuring French food, Be Our Guest currently serves Quick Service lunch and Full Service dinner. Be Our Guest is not the first Disney restaurant to have some variation in their serving style throughout the day, but it is the largest to do so. During dinner, between 900-1,000 guests will be served and at lunch, approximately 1,500 guests will be served.

 

The dining rooms for dinner consist of The Ballroom and The West Wing. The Rose Gallery is only open for lunch. The attention to detail is simply amazing. It really feels that you have walked into the same castle from the film. The “snow” you see falling through the windows is the exact same animation used in the film. The faces of the angels you see flying above you in the ceiling have a special meaning. They are either the young faces of Walt Disney Imagineers themselves or of their loved ones.

Although this isn’t a character dining location, you will get to see The Beast! Approximately every thirty minutes an announcement plays as he greets the guests of his castle. He then parades himself through all of the dining rooms and into the Library. In the Library you can take photos with the Beast.

The food is hit or miss. Three people in our party ordered seafood and loved the dishes. The salmon dish and the shrimp and scallops were the best. The Cornish Hen was dry as was the chicken. The children ordered from a kids menu and enjoyed pasta with red sauce and meatloaf, in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears.

Dessert was also surprisingly hit or miss. The strawberry cream cupcake was the best. The triple chocolate cupcake was good and no one enjoyed the cream puffs.

Currently Be Our Guest is booked for dinner through August 2013. They suggest you book six months in advance. You can, of course, walk up and standby for cancellations or no-shows. There are no lunch reservations and we were told the wait can range from 10-30 minutes when the doors open to 90-150 minutes at the peak lunch period. In general, the new Fantasy Land is jammed packed so I suggest getting there as early as possible to avoid lines.

Overall, Be Our Guest is a great experience and worth a visit, if you can get in. Dinner for 5 adults and 2 kids cost $220 without any alcohol or appetizers. So be prepared to spend more than you would in any other Magic Kingdom restaurant.

 

Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House & Animal Kingdom Kidani Village Villas

Every year my entire family goes to Walt Disney World in Orlando for a family vacation. Growing up in Florida, I went to Disney often. But seeing it now through the eyes of my niece and nephew is quite a treat – and worth the endless days of screaming children and grumpy parents.
The resort sits on a 43-acre wildlife preserve featuring 30 species of wildlife. Looking out your window and seeing giraffe and zebra is quite a unique and special experience. Part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the hotel offers quick access to the pack and busses to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios & Blizzard Beach.

The Kidani Village is the newer of the two Animal Kingdom Lodge hotels. The rooms are African themed with a touch of Disney thrown in. We had a 2-bedroom, 3-bathroom suite. The suite ranges in price from $800 – $1300 per night depending on the day and season. They say the suite sleeps 9, but that would be extremely uncomfortable. The master suite has a king size bed with a very large bathroom featuring a spa tub and shower (pictured below.) The living area has a full kitchen, dining table that can sit 6 comfortably (if you had 9 people someone would be eating on the floor!) a queen size sofa bed and twin size sofa chair. The living room also had a full bathroom, which was for a large group. The second bedroom had one queen size bed and one queen size sofa with a small bathroom.

The beds are the most uncomfortable beds of any hotel I’ve ever stayed in (and in 2011 I had over 200 nights in hotels). The sofa beds were like planks. I would never sleep on one of them again…I would rather pay for an extra room or bring an air mattress. On the flip side, they pillows were very comfy.

The reason to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is for the view of the animals and proximity to the parks. I’ve stayed at the Contemporary Bay Lake Villas (in 2010) and Suite at The Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel (run by Starwood) (in 2009) and the Animal Kingdom lodge was the least comfortable, but one of the most exciting & kid friendly hotels. The Contemporary Bay Lake Villas are more comfortable and closest to the Magic Kingdom and the Dolphin is the most comfortable and closest to Epcot.

The Animal Kingdom Villas offer a massage and fitness center, Samawati Springs Pool, a 4,700 square-foot, zero-depth entry pool with a 128-foot long slide, Uwanja Camp, located near Samawati Springs Pool, a water playground that the kids fell in love with, tennis courts, and other recreation areas. Of course, there’s the animal observation area with a camp fire.

The restaurant choices in the Kidani Village are limited – there’s only one and it’s not cheap. The Jambo House has the majority of the restaurants including Jiko – The Cooking Place a highly rated and highly priced restaurant, Boma – Flavors of Africa a very busy buffet (also pricy) and the Mara – a quick service African inspired restaurant which also features standard American fare like burgers and kids choices.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village has been designated by the Florida Green Lodging Program, recognizing the Resort’s environmentally responsible practices. They changed the linens and towels one time during a 5 night stay. There are ample recycling options but I didn’t see any other visible “green” practices.

Next year when we make our annual trek to Disney I don’t think we’ll be staying at the Animal Kingdom, but I would recommend anyone experience it at least one time. Unless you have a trip to Africa planned, the chances of seeing these types of animals up close is highly unlikely and worth the trip.

View of the Savannah at the Animal Kingdom Kidani Villas

Villa Living Room

Villa Master Bedroom

Villa Master bathroom