Continuing from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Frontierland, we’ll head into Storybook Circus and Liberty Square to see what’s fresh.
You may remember the mass hysteria caused by threads like this one over at WDWMAGIC a few weeks ago. Click on the “Epcyclopedia” article linked at the top if you want a particularly hearty chuckle. Apparently we were all at risk of death because cast members were constantly realizing that Dumbo had damage, in turn pulling the emergency stop, and then momentarily forgetting the damage long enough to start the ride up 90 seconds later with another batch of potential victims. Right. This website took a slightly more tempered approach near the end of this post back in June.
This is what that particular Dumbo looks like today. You can tell he’s been painted over if you look closely, but that should change as the sun begins to beat down on the fresh coat of paint.
That pink one is the worst of the bunch. It’s less obvious here.
And less obvious than that if you’re not zoomed in. Full size: http://i.minus.com/iGFxLuV916zpx.jpg. It looks like all three directly in front of us have been repaired. Considering virtually no one noticed the damage when the Dumbos actually were damaged, I don’t think it’s possible anyone would naturally notice the slight change in color. VACATION SAVED. MEMORIES RESTORED. Send me back to the All Star Sports.
More. Bigger: http://i.minus.com/ib2Aimf2Pn57v3.jpg. The tiles that were causing the scraping have been replaced and the problem is hopefully fixed permanently. Just don’t touch the base of it or you’re liable to set the whole thing in motion again.
This sign is either new or I hadn’t noticed it before. It isn’t operational yet, so I’m leaning towards new. It would obviously tell you when FASTPASS return is and it’s conveniently located on the standby side so you can compare it to the wait time. The return time is still listed above the FASTPASS machines at Mickey’s PhilarMagic.
Casey Jr. remains unpopular in the humidity. I enjoy getting sprayed with chlorinated recirculated water as much as the next bro, but we don’t want to get Tom wet.
The gate around Casey remains. Considering he’s supposed to have pulled into station, it seems like they could theme some sort of wall around him using that theme.
Barnstormer continues to see considerable afternoon waits. This is a solid 30 minutes. Ideally, you want to be here before 10:30am or after 8:30pm.
New Fantasyland construction continues to come along.
The addition of the second Dumbo spinner along with FASTPASS seems to be having a measurable impact at Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan’s Flight. Peter Pan’s Flight FASTPASS return times aren’t as far out and Winnie the Pooh has shorter standby wait times. Ordinarily, we’d be looking at a 40 or 50 minute wait and the actual wait here would be closer to 20 minutes.
It helps that you now have to choose between Pooh and Dumbo FASTPASSes at the same location. The Pooh FASTPASS sign is on the fritz – FASTPASS is out to 8:15pm – 9:15pm. This picture was taken at 6:43pm, so Dumbo FASTPASS is 40 minutes out as usual and Pooh is a bit beyond that with its higher wait times. Now that Rapunzel meets at Town Square Theater from open to 4pm, FASTPASS is also more attractive there earlier in the day. More people than before are choosing to pull Princess FASTPASSes and the addition of Dumbo means anyone that decides to pull one there obviously can’t pull one for another attraction at the same time.
As usual, you can walk right on the Regal Carousel.
Speaking of being regal, whether or not you’re staying on property now dictates where you park your stroller in Fantasyland. On-site visitors (not including Swan, Dolphin, or Shades of Green) park outside it’s a small world and across from Peter Pan’s Flight. You show your room card and a cast member parks your stroller so you know it isn’t going to be moved to Adventureland or something. Note that you’re greeted as “Royal Subjects,” which used to refer to all guests.
Off-site visitors self-park along the wall near the Pinocchio Village Haus bathrooms. “Peasants” seems a little harsh here. At least for now, Disney isn’t differentiating between the resort levels, so your room at Pop gets you the same parking spot as Grand Floridian Concierge.
I’m totally kidding. That second sign is Photoshopped. I know I tricked at least one of you. Normally, Peter Pan’s Flight FASTPASSes wouldn’t even be available at 6:42pm in July, but here they are.
More breaking news. This time it’s true though! The tables near Liberty Square Market and across from Liberty Square Riverboat and Haunted Mansion are now similar/the same as Pecos Bill.
They used to be these relatively comfortable seats with cushions and backs. These tables/chairs could simply be out for refurbishment/new cushions/cleaning or whatever. I neglected to ask.
Or it could be a classic page out of the McDonald’s cookbook. Keep your seating uncomfortable and people won’t linger. Previously, these tables are almost always full of people simply resting. With Liberty Square Market and now a Turkey Leg and Pizza Cart right across the way, Disney may want to keep people without food moving. We’ll keep an eye on this exciting development!
Lunch is at Columbia Harbour House, my favorite of the Magic Kingdom quick services.
Virtually everything is good here, from the soups, to the salmon, to the lobster roll, to the salads, to the shrimp. The only things I don’t care much for are the fish, which is the same as what’s served at ABC Commissary, and your standard chicken nuggets and desserts.
At the risk of being obnoxious, I’m probably going to talk up the next iteration of the website over the coming weeks. You’ll be able to click on one page and see the Columbia Harbour House overview, menu, the seating areas, pictures and my reviews of all the food items, recommended entrees, etc. The idea was always to get my “ideas” down on “paper” and then move those pictures and thoughts to pages that make the most logistical sense. Until then, you’ll just have to keep up with me ^_^
This is the Garden Harvest Salad, described as having Mixed Greens, Garden Vegetables, Green Beans, Carrots, and Chicken for $8.19.
For a company that’s generally well regarded as catering to those with special dietary needs and allergies, it continues to surprise me that their menus are so vague. What salad dressing does the salad have? Don’t know.
What are “Garden Vegetables?” It apparently includes whole and pieces of tomato. There’s some red cabbage in there. The dressing is a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. Anyway, it’s the same rant I’ve made a lot recently. Maybe we’ll see some more specific menus rolled in August and September when we see minor to major tweaking with menus and pricing. I wouldn’t compare “out of pocket” prices to the new Disney Dining Plan prices quite yet. Restaurant menu pricing is going up across the board soon too! So add $2 to those appetizers, $4 to the entrees, and $1 to desserts.
Back to the salad specifically. This was the first time I was offered the salad dressing on the side. If I didn’t want the vinaigrette, I could have opted for one of their other salad dressings – Ken’s Ranch or Olive Oil from the condiment bar should be the choices. While there’s no chicken visible, there actually was a decent amount underneath. The next time I order one, I’ll “deconstruct” it for you (and obviously charge you an extra $7 to do so), so you can get an idea about the usual portion size. This is more or less your basic Disney salad. It’s a pretty decent amount of food. The lettuce and the rest of the ingredients are all fresh. There was only the single whole cherry(?) tomato. A few green beans. The carrots are cut in different sizes to give you more of that “harvest” feeling you specifically ordered. It was perfectly enjoyable and the vinaigrette was a nice twist on the usual balsamic that they like to put on everything from pasta to pizzas.
Don’t worry, I’m still on napkin watch and they’re still the generic brown variety. Taking pictures of napkin dispensers may be even more embarrassing than BBQ sauce packets. At least we’re killing two birds with one stone.
I decided to ride Haunted Mansion on my way over to Big Thunder. Looks like they’re flying Batman’s colors on the very bottom of the picture.
This is a pretty easy queue to gauge. With no one in the extended queue and a single line right into the cemetery, the actual wait should be closer to ten minutes.
But it turns out the line was that short because Disney had recently dumped the Mansion queue for the fifth time that day. This is me exiting along with the sixth dump. You’ll hear the term “dumping the queue” when everyone that was waiting has to leave. There are no “skip the line when it’s back open” passes. You’re just out of luck. Whine to Guest Services and they’ll probably write you an Anytime FASTPASS for the attraction of your choice.
I never realized how hot it was right outside the doors into the Mansion. The area is covered to “protect” you from rain, but it isn’t enclosed. So it’s keeping all of the body heat in and allowing for very little ventilation. But you’re not getting any air-conditioning. They tell you to “fill in all available space,” so you’ve got more and more people inching towards you as they get more and more impatient. And then we stood there for 15 minutes. I can honestly say it was some of the worst 15 minutes on Disney property and we didn’t even get to ride! The family behind me said it happened to them on Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad earlier in the day. I believed them because I saw Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Splash down myself, on top of our exit from Haunted Mansion. Not a happy Disney celebrity blogger.
That should do it for Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Storybook Circus. Just a short look at Main Street, Tomorrowland, and Merchandise next.
Plain brown napkins? Seriously? I spend thousands on a trip and I’m expected to use a plain brown napkin?
That’s it!! I’m cancelling my vacation and going to the local Six Flags instead. When, or if, WDW ever has imprinted napkins again then maybe, maybe, I’ll think about returning.
Thanks for the update! 🙂
I enjoy your site so much. Thank you.
You totally got me on the stroller parking! Good photoshopping;) and thanks for the link to the Briar Patch merchandise:)
Oh…and I miss the personalized tinker bell/castle Aquafina water bottles from my 2007 trip…cheap skates.
I’m so bummed that you put the kidding comment so soon. I was sooooo looking forward to reading the newbie comments. That was funny…until you ruined it. 🙂
Ya…I’m (unfortunately) guessing the later (Or it could be a classic page out of the McDonald’s cookbook. Keep your seating uncomfortable and people won’t linger). Those stools look brutal and is it me, or is there a drastic height difference between seat & table top?
Hey Josh, What do they attribute all the downtime with these rides to? Solar flares? IT guy on vacation? Just wondering if this is something relatively rare or something to expect…we didn’t seem to run into this on our last trip. As always, loving the site!!
Totally fell for that mean trick!! I kept going back and forth between the pics, thinking, “really??”
I was cracking up at the stroller parking! HAHA! Thanks for the good laugh — and the report.
“but we don’t want to get Tom wet.”
Who knows, he may like that! 🙂
Hey Josh, I am so glad you survived the horror of a photo of napkin dispensers. I nearly didn’t survive trying to take a photo of the seeing eye dog pooping area in Norway at EPCOT. I was taking the picture for my own business purposes and for the DISability board, when a man of the Yankee persuasion actually became irate with me and started screaming at me that I didn’t need to take a picture of a “no dogs sign”. He started shouting to nearby customers that I was crazy. He then told his children to block my pictures, then he threated to smash my camera, and then he threated to smack me so hard I’d be out of the park when I refused to leave the park on his orders. Yes, he actually said to me (not knowing me from Adam) that since he paid $35,000 for 7 rooms at the Grand Floridian and therefore he had more right to be there than I did, and he had a right to kick me out of the park!!! I have NEVER had something like that happen to me before no matter how silly or mundane my subject matter seemed. and no CM’s or the hidden cops to be found!! It was quite scary!
You fooled me! The saddest thing is, I actually saw your “Peasants” picture on Twitter and completely forgot that you had already admitted it was Photoshopped. So shame on me. 😉
Okay – I was the moron who totally fell for your stroller parking sign! I told three family members before I scrolled down, only to realize what a gullible fool I am! Funny stuff. This is my first post here – I’m a TGM transplant and am truly enjoying your site! Great information combined with dry humor – a winner all around. Thanks!!
Peasant chic is the new Pirate chic. Move over scurvy scum, now there’s something swarmier!
@Kiki – it seems to happen to certain rides more than others, but I’m starting to get cynical and wonder if it isn’t because they want to move people away from the older crowd-pleasers and into restaurant lines/shops. 😛
You had my husband and I dying laughing at the stroller parking. The sad thing is it wouldn’t shock me at all if it had been true. Loved it.
Yeah- I’m excited to hear about new features on the website. In between your drinking and snarking, there is some very good useful information here to use. Do you think it will be done by the time I’m at Disney in early September?
I don’t know that depends. What month is this?
Useful info *in between* the drinking & snarking?!? Sounds like you’re skipping the best parts!!
I’m only here for the drinking and snarking (and the encyclopaedic salad reviews)
So will there be a specific drinking and snarking link we can all go to? I certainly think you should be sure to reserve ample bandwidth for that aprticular section of the site.
As for the month, it’s Tuesday…….
Meant “particular” . Darn keyboard. too much drink, not enough snark for me in the previous post…..
I almost choked on my oatmeal after seeing that peasant stroller parking sign! I should have known it was a joke. Peasant seems to mean for Disney..maybe Merchant Parking or Skilled Craftsman and Master Artisan Parking would be more their style.
Just wondering about the enforcement for the peasant strollers. Would royal guest strollers be issued wrist bands? Sounds like a perfect assignment for Jeff.
There are things you can put on Tom to keep him from getting wet
So Mindy, I guess you are of the Southern Persuasion?
Love your posts! Can’t wait to use your useful tidbits next month. Please take some pics of POTC pirate gear. I’ve got 2 pirate twins doing Pirate’s League next month and I know we’ll be buying some pirate treasures. I need a good hat for my DS.
Wait, so CHH is your favorite QS restaurant, and you order a …… SALAD? What’s up with that? Why bother going there for your standard, ordinary, run-of-the-mill garden salad?? Lame…. 😉
LOL Next they will be offering their royal guests the good napkins and the peasants will get the brown ones. I am so glad I stay on property, just in case. 🙂
“Garden Vegetables”? Is that like Ocean Seafood? And Im not trying to start anything, but I did hear something abot the Royal Guest Strollers being resort specific and having built-in mist fans, just sayin”.
Keri…thanks for the insight! Hate to be cynical, too, but I think you may be right!! Oh well, at least as a Royal Subject I will get phenomenal stroller parking while I wait to not ride the ride!!
I spent my first time on Dumbo (2 wks ago) looking for the boo – boos and couldn’t find them! Oh well – and about napkin-gate, isn’t Disney just trying to be “green” and changing to recycled paper napkins? thanks for the laughs Josh – I had to invest in new microfiber cloths to wipe down the computer screen after one too many “spews”!
I hit the link to see the thread about the Dumbo ride, but it only took me to your picture.
Anyone have a link to the wdwmagic thread where they’re all causing a fuss about the chip out of Dumbo’s arse?
Yup, me too. I wanna see the thread!
Ok, I admit it! You got me with the peasants sign! I thought, “No freaking way!”
http://www.epcyclopedia.com/2012/06/25/new-double-dumbo-designs-by-dolts-at-walt-disney-world/
There’s the encyclopedia guy’s site referred to. Yeah, a bit dramatic.
Stroller parking signs made me LOL. Snarkiness is why we are all here, right???