Search Results for: blog parades shows and character greets at the animal kingdom

Special Tours at the Disney Parks

The Disney Parks are just so big that it seems like there will never stop being things to learn about them. New features and attractions are added all of the time.  Today we’re going to take a look at one unique aspect of the park: tours.  Disney World offers all sorts of special year-round and seasonal tours, but it also has something called the VIP tour. The VIP tour isn’t what it might immediately sound like: it’s not a special behind-the-scenes, comprehensive look at Disney World.  Instead, it’s a service that will transport you around the park to the attractions … Continue reading →

Become a Wilderness Explorer at the Animal Kingdom

If “Up” is one of your favorite Disney/Pixar movies, then Disney World’s Animal Kingdom has a great new surprise coming for you this spring.  Soon guests to the Animal Kingdom can become Wilderness Explorers, just like Russell from “Up.” Wilderness Explorers was the Boy Scout-style troop to which Russell belonged in the film.  An early version of this new experience was tested at the Animal Kingdom way back in the fall of 2011, and now it’s finally going to be making its debut this spring.  Wilderness Explorers isn’t a proper game like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom; it’s closer to … Continue reading →

Disney Christmas Day Parade Filming Dates

Big news first: I know the filming dates for the 2012 Disney-ABC Christmas Day Parade. This is an elusive event where the tickets go on sale and sell out almost immediately. This year I have an inside line on the taping; the daughter of a friend of mine is going to dance in the parade. They’re taping the last week of November/the first weekend in December. The big day should be Saturday, December 1. I couldn’t verify this information online, because Disney hasn’t posted anything official about it yet. They probably won’t until November. But I can guarantee that the … Continue reading →

Special Shopping and Tours at the Animal Kingdom

Well, we’ve finally come to it. Today is the last in my series looking at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As special events and other highlights happen at the park I’ll cover them, but today I’m finished my peek at what you can find on a normal basis at the Animal Kingdom. We’ll conclude with shopping and special tours. There’s not a lot of unique shopping at the Animal Kingdom. Most of the stores are of the typical shirts-and-stuffed-animals variety. However, there is the Mombasa Marketplace, in the Africa section of the Animal Kingdom, near the Tusker House. It’s divided into two … Continue reading →

Lodging at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom has lodging at just about any level: from deluxe villas to discount resorts. If you want something themed around the Animal Kingdom you’ll have to go for the pricier places: the deluxe villas Jambo House or Kidani Village, or the deluxe Animal Kingdom Lodge. The two former are actually just specific floors/areas within the latter, which is an African-style lodge spread out over 43 acres. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has two of its own restaurants, which weren’t covered when I looked at the dining at the Animal Kingdom. They’re Jiko – The Cooking Place and Boma – … Continue reading →

Disney Park Secrets: Working the Front Gate

Any Disney fan has wondered this at some point in his or her life: what would it be like to work at Disney? Be it for the movie division, at the parks, as an Imagineer, or even just in a Disney store, surrounded by the characters we grew up with, we’ve probably all thought about it at some point. So it’s fun to hear about what it could be like to work at the Happiest Place on Earth (or its East Coast sibling). Internet news/interest site Reddit has a feature called “Ask Me Anything,” wherein people, anyone from “Avengers” director … Continue reading →

Stomach Virus Spread at Disney’s Wild Africa Trek

The provided snack In the past couple of years the spate of food poisoning cases on cruise ships put a big “health alert” smirch on the often laid-back and envied vacation. This year, however, Disney World might be taking that dubious crown. At least, the Wild Africa Trek at the Animal Kingdom could. NBC News reports that several dozen people became sick at the beginning of June, and the primary link between them was that they’d all gone on the Wild Africa Trek right around the same time. The safari-style tour, that takes guests to parts of the park usually … Continue reading →

Adventurous Eating at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

I want to devote an entire day’s blog to dining in the Animal Kingdom. My naivete and lack of experience with Disney World shows, because I could write multiple blogs on the eatery options in just one Disney World Park, the Animal Kingdom included. So I’ll just give a quick overview today, saving the details for the nicer restaurants. The three proper sit down, have a relaxed and potentially multiple-course meal (and thus a more expensive one) establishments at the Animal Kingdom are the Rainforest Cafe, Tusker House Restaurant, and Yak & Yeti Restaurant. The Rainforest Cafe sounds like it … Continue reading →

New Disney Animation Resort Opens

It’s finally here: this Thursday the first phase of the Walt Disney World Art of Animation Resort opens. That means that starting in two days you can only stay in rooms in the “Finding Nemo” wing. But have no fear: by the fall the themed rooms for all of the movies will be open. The “Cars” family suites will be unveiled on June 18, August 10 sees the opening of suites from “The Lion King,” and on September 15 “The Little Mermaid” standard rooms will open for business. You can book reservations for all of these rooms right now. The … Continue reading →

Honoring Alice Davis: Legendary Disney Costume Designer

Costumes designed by Alice Davis This year I missed out on my annual tradition of profiling important women in Disney history for Women’s History Month. My March was very busy this year so I just didn’t have time to do the necessary research. Luckily, the perfect profile has fallen into my lap. This month costume designer Alice Davis was honored on Disneyland’s Main Street, USA, as a new window in her honor was unveiled. Alice Davis isn’t a name you’ll hear much when talking about the movies; she only had involvement in a couple, including, “Sleeping Beauty.” Her stamp is … Continue reading →