Walt Disney World Fall 2016 Update
Bonjour from France! We are at Marne-la-Vallée, having just finished the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon in the midst of our real-life “Impressions de Brickers” tour of locales featured in Impressions de France. There’s a lot to cover in terms of changes to Disneyland Paris since our last visit, and we’ll get to that in due time…
However, we wanted to provide you with a few updates in the meantime from our recent “stopover” in Walt Disney World on the way here. Aside from the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Recap and Booth Menus for Epcot Food & Wine Festival that we are in the process of posting/reviewing (more are still coming–internet connectivity has been a challenge!) we have a few other quick things to report.
In general, crowd levels were quite low during our visit, as has been the case all summer. If you’re getting giddy for low crowds during your own fall vacation to Walt Disney World this year…don’t. October should be a busy month–it definitely is at least in terms of the hotel bookings, but we also expect off-site guests to contribute to larger than normal crowds. A slight dip from the norm is possible for the Christmas season, particularly among semi-frequent visitors, many of whom took impulse trips to see the last year of Osborne Lights, and have no incentive to return this year.
In Magic Kingdom, the big ‘news’ is the ongoing work being done to Tomorrowland. The Carousel of Progress’ repainting complete, they’ve moved on to the rocks that line the entrance to the land, and are moving from the earthy, southwest tones here to something more akin to a moon planet of Venus, with metallic blue and purple hues.
It’s difficult to judge the unfinished product fully, but I like what I see thus far. I’d prefer the clean lines of the original Tomorrowland aesthetic (which, ironically, is timeless as compared to the tired current incarnation of the land), but I think going for a sci-fi alien planet look is a decent bandaid until Disney invests in a full scale overhaul of the land.
We also decided to pay our respects to Skippy in Stitch’s Great Escape, and did that for the first time in several years. With yesterday’s news that the attraction is going seasonal, it seems the new Wreck-It-Ralph Sugar Rush Racers replacement has been greenlit. It doesn’t exactly strike us as a good fit, but Stitch’s Great Escape is so reviled that this is one situation where any change (even a closure) is a good one.
Aside from that and Halloween decorations, not much to report in Magic Kingdom. I also finally was able to dine at Be Our Guest Restaurant for dinner (in case you wondered why this post leads with a random photo of lamb), as we were able to score a same-day ADR!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios was a quick visit for us due to the current state of the park, but we had time to check out the construction status of Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. Progress is finally being made removing the Streets of America, and it was a bit bittersweet. While I totally see why that area–a veritable ghost town during the day–is being repurposed, we have a lot of fond memories from there at Osborne Lights over the years.
In the more immediate future, work was continuing on PizzeRizzo, the restaurant replacing Pizza Planet. I’m really excited for this, and hope it’s the first of many placemaking efforts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that will be packaged into the park’s relaunch. I know PizzeRizzo is supposed to open in “Fall 2016,” but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that date slip into Winter 2016. Looks like a lot of interior progress remains to be done.
We didn’t spend a lot of time in Animal Kingdom this trip either, but we did attend a Disney Vacation Club 25th Anniversary party there one evening (will do a full report later), and it was quite fun. Progress on Pandora remains ongoing, and it’s really something to see the exterior in person from a distance outside the park. The scale of that land looks insane. We can’t wait.
The recent news with Animal Kingdom has been the end of Jungle Book: Alive with Magic, and I can’t say we are disappointed that it’s reign of terror is over (is anyone?). It’s a shame the show was so poor, because the performers really did give it their all. On the plus side, Rivers of Light was testing after-hours during the DVC 25th Anniversary party, and we watched the floats move out and some test patterns display. With the floats now working, it would seem the show should be ready sooner rather than later.
Over in Epcot, Food & Wine Festival kicked off, with new decor and a couple of booths being upgraded to the designs to that fit organically within World Showcase. With as much ‘clutter’ as has been added around World Showcase in the last decade, these booths are a welcome addition and one that makes the festival seem less visually intrusive. It also appears new flowers have been planted and the park looks nice.
Epcot is also quite clearly in a state of flux. I made sure to watch Universe of Energy twice, as I think there’s a decent chance that won’t be possible come the second week of January 2017. We were there for the last ever showing of Stormstruck (because this is what bloggers do, I guess?), and the closure of it and Sum of All Thrills means the majority of Innoventions now sits empty. This is quite clearly intentional, but the question of what Disney intends to do with these spaces going forward remains.
Will both sides be razed and new spaces built? Will the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction encroach into Innoventions territory near Universe of Energy? A lot of unknowns, and while we think Epcot needs help–and fast–we’re hopeful the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction slated for Future World is delayed and rethought. (At present, it’s on track to be announced in the next couple of months.)
Rounding things out, there was more progress at Disney Springs, most notably Planet Hollywood’s transition from circa 1991 to circa 1930s (it may be a step back in time, but it’s most definitely a thematic step forward), while also adding a Guy Fieri menu (two steps forward, one step back…), and continuing progress on The Edison. We visited Disney Springs a couple of times to try new-to-us dining options.
At the resorts, construction remains ongoing at the Copper Creek Cabins at Wilderness Lodge. Other than that, no real “major” changes to report on since our last visit in July.
Finally, we’ll leave you with some cheesiness. Above is a shot I took last Thursday at Walt Disney World, one of my favorite scenes in Impressions de France because it captures a quiet moment between a couple, and what I consider to be a “squad goal” (my attempt to keep up with the gibe of the kids these days) for Sarah and I. Well, two days later we recreated the shot ourselves while visiting Étretat…
Thanks to our friend Mark Willard for capturing the shot. Also thanks to the kind French stranger who allowed us to use her dog for the photo. (After, we went to her house and met her cats…it’s a long story.) By the way, is anyone interested in reading an extend trip/race report from Disneyland Paris that also includes our Impressions de France filming location excursions? Considering doing it since there’s an Epcot connection, but not sure if any of you care. (No offense whatsoever if not–better to be honest than waste my time and yours!)
Alright, that does it for now! We dined at several new (to us) restaurants, stayed at a few different resorts, and have other specific topics to address, but thought we’d start with this high-level overview of some changes since our last visit. Throughout the week we’ll have some additional posts and updates, so stay tuned…
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Your Thoughts
Any thoughts on the latest updates at Walt Disney World? Any other news or rumors of your own to share? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
Your blog is the best! We are heading to WDW soon and will be staying at POP. Been searching for pictures of refurbished rooms and information on them and cannot seem to find much. Any inside info or pictures you can share? Or a website you can direct me to? Excited about the possibility of staying in a “new room”!
plz suggest best places/ rides/ help plan a disney world trip with 2 year old. best / must watch shows/ rides/ activities/ food for the kid etc. any practical tips will be highly appreciated. we are visiting 16 oct 2016, how many days should we spend ?
I’m always down for an old fashioned trip report. The Impressions de France recreation is now part of my #squadgoals for my wife an I.
I am totally down with a France report, if only because I am very curious to hear more about your visit with those French cats.
Definitely do the Impressions de France report! My daughter and I are planning a trip to Paris and Disneyland Paris next summer and would love to see your report so that maybe we can get some ideas of a few other places to visit while we are there.
Love that you and Sarah recreated that pic, what a great idea. And yes, yes, yes, would love to see a trip report for Disneyland Paris and the half!
I’m sweltering at Disneyland at the moment, but eager to hear of your “Tour de Impressions” because I *love* that attraction, and always imagine myself at those locales. Viewing them through your eyes would be the next best thing.
Yes on a Paris DLP and non-DLP report (although I am in such lousy physical shape that I can pass on the Half Marathon part)!!
Yes, please post your Paris race report and France trip. I think it is completely appropriate. Very excited to read about each of them.
So, do you have any insight on how November is looking? I haven’t been able to find much information on this month. Thanks in advance.
We haven’t heard much about November, although my expectation is that it will be slightly below the norm.
I would also like to see an updated post about Disneyland Paris. I’m contemplating a trip to Paris next year and am thinking about a couple days at DLP while I’m there.
We leave for Paris this Friday!! We are going to DLP the following weekend (10/7-10/9) — thank you for all the wonderful posts from your past trips. It’s been such a help in planning. 🙂 🙂 I so hope to hear about your experiences before we arrive, but if not, it’ll be a fun recap.
“After, we went to her house and met her cats…it’s a long story.” This sounds amazing. I hope it makes it into the DLP + Impressions de France trip report. I would LOVE to read about it!
Silly question: how did you know all the places in Impressions de France? Is there a list somewhere of all the places? What a fun idea. Maybe we’ll do that on our next jaunt to Europe.
Thank you for posting while you are still on your vacation! Have a safe rest of your trip! 🙂 🙂
Tom, I’d like to read the proposed France photo post, but I hope you’ll consider finishing the Food and Wine booth reviews first. My wife and I are going to Food and Wine (and Epcot more generally) for the first time ever next week and I’d love to have a good sense of the best food options before we arrive.
Whether on here or at travelcaffiene, count me as among those who would enjoy a France trip report!
We are going to France next year and have decided to make it a Disney-Inspired trip as well. Love the photo and looking forward to the full trip report.
Just have to say…my family really enjoyed the Jungle Book show. We are more excited about Rivers of Light but either way, it was nice to have something new at Animal Kingdom.
Love the posts!
I rarely post comments (yes I’m one of those lurkers), but I absolutely HAD to this time because I really want to see your proposed France post! It would be an amazing guide for all of those who also want to see the Impressions de France locations in real life! What a brilliant idea. I also want to hear your thoughts on the race, as you’ve been commenting on it from your prior race reports!
Thanks for always providing us with great content and humor!
“If you’re getting giddy for your own fall vacation to Walt Disney World this year…don’t.”
🙁 That’s a bummer. My husband and I are leaving tomorrow for our first WDW trip in 4 years. I hoped we picked a slow time, but I guess with the free meal plan days, that’s not the case? And it’s going to be super hot. Ah well. I am determined we will have fun!
By the sound of it, I think it’s safe to completely skip Hollywood Studios, right?
Now that I see that line in isolation, I have to admit that it’s overly harsh. You should still be excited for your vacation–October is a great time to visit. My attempt here was to manage expectations regarding crowds, as all signs point to the low crowds that have been observed over the course of the summer and early fall NOT carrying through to October.
Eh, I think whether you should skip DHS is a matter of perspective, days at Walt Disney World, and whether any of your favorite attractions are there. I could definitely see park-hopping over for an evening to do Tower of Terror and seeing the Star Wars fireworks, but I don’t think you’re missing a whole lot if you nix it from your annual vacation plans for a year, either.
Good to see that you’re still determined to have fun–hope my remark didn’t dampen your enthusiasm! 🙂
Nah! It’s all good. I see where you’re coming from.
And even if the crowds a little higher, your report of the Halloween Party has convinced me to buy tickets for this Thursday night. So, now we’ll have two WDW nights (including Wednesday nights extra magic hours) where the ride lines shouldn’t be too bad.
Thanks for the response. And I’m very much looking forward to your Paris Disney report. It’s on my bucket list. 🙂
P.S. Your tips are rad. I’ve had so much fun prepping for this trip. I’m not much fan of super humid heat, but I think all of your keeping cool suggestions will help tremendously.
I thought that was harsh too. I love reading your blogs and I am heading down in October. I haven’t been there in ten years and I am so excited. Your post made me feel bad a little bit. But the last time I was there was actually on News Years Eve and it was packed. So I am hoping the crowds will still be lighter compared to that. And my family and I are still excited . Thanks for all the wonderful blogs. And I would also like to hear about Paris.
Here’s my post WDW trip follow-up:
The crowds weren’t too bad. Using the very handy WDW Lines app, we were able to get the most rides in around our FP times and during the peak times of the day. We rode all of our favorite rides multiple times and the longest line we were in was probably 1/2 hour. And despite having an afternoon FP for the Frozen Ever After, knowing that the ride breaks down a lot we went directly to the ride upon arriving to Epcot that morning (around 9:30am). The posted line wait was 45 minutes but the WDW Line app’s actual wait time showed 25 minutes. In reality it was somewhere in middle of those wait times. But as we got to the front of the line the ride shut down for technical difficulties. They allowed us to stay in line but did announce that they didn’t know when the ride would reopen. We opted to wait it out because we figured that they were well practiced at getting things up and running again as soon as possible. Our wait (at the front of the line, which gave us the very sad view of many young girls bawling as their parents dragged them out of line because they didn’t want to wait) was around 20 or so minutes. Then we were on the first boat as it started up again. Luckily, the ride was uninterrupted. It was AWESOME! The animatronics were amazing and now I can’t wait to read up on how they designed and built this (adapted) ride. We also went back to the ride at our appointed FP time, but again the ride was down. But we were given an any time Frozen FP, so we elected to come back to Epcot that night to do a Food & Wine dinner and use the FP. The second ride was better than the first because I was able to really take in the details this time.
Although, the crowds were good and we had an overall great time, the heat was oppressive. I’m NEVER going back during the summer/early fall again. Thankfully, I took Tom’s beat-the-heat tips, which helped but nothing can really shield you from the blazing sun and super high humidity. With the heat index, it was about 104 midday.
But still, it was such a great trip and although we did all my favorite things (my husband was happy to go along with letting me dictate everything 🙂 ), there’s so much we didn’t get to do. That’s how they reel you back in. I’m already planning my next trip, but it will definitely be during cooler temps and with my Disney loving best friend.
+ 1 on seeing a post re: Paris.
🙂
Thanks Tom!