Walt Disney World Resort Update for November 15-21, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for November 15–21, 2016

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News and Views

Very Merry Christmas kicks off the 2016 season | PizzeRizzo set to reopen this week | Black Friday at Disney Springs | DVC members can sign up for new tour and save the date for two after-hours events | Watch out for Disney's delivery fee | Views around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Very Merry Christmas kicks off the 2016 season

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party kicked off the 2016 season last week, and MousePlanet was there to cover the after-hours event in all of the candy-cane glory. If you don't already follow MousePlanet on Facebook, be sure to take a look at our Facebook Live account, where Alan Dalinka shared video from Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration, and the Holiday Wishes fireworks show.

Alan will be covering several events live from Walt Disney World this week, including what we hope will be the debut of the new drone-based holiday display at Disney Springs. Be sure to follow along on Twitter and Facebook to see the latest updates. You can also read more about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in a new article from Don and Bonnie Fink today on MousePlanet.

The recently upgraded Castle projection technology is used extensively to provide colorfully scenic backdrops during the new stage show named Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Zootopia's Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps pose for photos in Tomorrowland during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Clarabelle Cow, with an articulated mouth and blinking eyes, plays a prominent part in Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Mike Wazowski appears in A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas! Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

During Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, it may be possible to get closer to the castle stage to actually see Queen Elsa (lower left) as she adds snow and ice to Cinderella Castle. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

PizzeRizzo set to reopen this week

Disney's Hollywood Studios is about to bring a much-needed quick service restaurants back on line this week, just in time for the start of the holiday tourist season. PizzeRizzo is the new name for the rethemed Toy Story Pizza Planet restaurant in what is now called the Muppet Courtyard section of the park.

While the theme and decor have changed, the restaurant's menu seems much the same, with a lineup of pizzas paired with Caesar side salad. Alternate entrees include a meatball sub and an antipasto salad.

The dessert menu is a bit different, with tiramisu and cannoli replacing the cappuccino cupcake. A new wild berry-basil limoncello lemonade and non-alcoholic peach bellini add variety to the standard soft drink menu.

Black Friday at Disney Springs

Now that Walt Disney World is landlord of a traditional shopping mall, the company is in the novel position of promoting the Black Friday events of the Disney Springs merchants. This won't (or at least should not) be the type of Black Friday event that prompts people to camp out overnight and results in viral gate-crashing videos, but there is a nice lineup of activities in addition to the special offers at the various retailers.

All of the Disney Springs stores open at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, November 25, two hours earlier than normal. To fuel shoppers for the day, a number of Disney Springs restaurants and kiosks will be open early, including Starbucks and Wolfgang Puck Express. If you just can't face holiday shopping without some liquid courage, there will be a few locations offering up morning cocktails and adult breakfast beverages.

Santa Claus will be welcoming visitors to Santa's Chalet starting at 8:00 a.m. as well. If you don't get everything crossed off your holiday list on Friday, Disney Springs opens again at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to give you another early morning head start.

Over 50 Disney Springs stores have special offers and discounts for the holiday weekend, but be sure to read the complete list on the Disney website. Some specials start before Black Friday, and others run beyond November 26, so be sure to pay attention to offer dates and details.

DVC members can sign up for new tour and save the date for two after-hours events

Disney Vacation Club members have a few new things to look forward to as the 25th anniversary celebration wraps up in 2017.

Soarin' Around the World backstage tour

Starting this Thursday, November 18, DVC members can call Member Services to reserve a place on a new members-only backstage tour of the Soarin' Around the World attraction. The tour begins Wednesday, November 30, with one tour departing most Wednesdays at 8:00 a.m. The one-hour experience includes a look behind the screen of the attraction, and ends with a ride just as the park opens for the day.

Magic Kingdom After Hours

DVC members and their guests can attend an after-hours event at the Magic Kingdom on February 24, 2017 or March 3, 2017, complete with character meet-and-greets, a dance party and more. Additional details will be released in January, but DVC invites members to save the date now and look for additional details in the new year.

Watch out for Disney's delivery fee

MousePlanet reader Candi shared a photo making the rounds of a Facebook group of which she is a member, and it's a good opportunity for us to alert readers of a little-known policy that may become more important as services like Amazon Prime Now become more popular among Walt Disney World visitors.

The person who posted the original photo is staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, and used Amazon's Prime Now service to have a purchase delivered to their hotel. The package was delivered to their hotel room, along with a note which read,

Package Delivery

We hope you are enjoying your stay. Please note a $5.00 per package handling fee will be charged to your room account for the package(s) delivered today. If you have any questions, please press “0” on your in-room telephone for assistance.

While the note and surcharge surprised this recipient, this policy is not new. Disney's policy on package delivery has been posted on the Guest Services website since at least spring of 2016, including the $5.00 per-package fee. “Please note that a $5 per package handling fee may apply to all packages that are received through the Front Desk or are delivered to your Disney Resort hotel room.”

However, it seems that Disney may now be making more of an effort to assess the $5 fee, or perhaps it's just seasonal enforcement. We were unable to reach out to Disney before publication to find out if they have altered the policy since it was originally implemented, and will update once we can do so.

If you're still planning to use delivery services to have packages shipped to Walt Disney World, just be sure to factor in the delivery fee and be sure to specify that you want your order delivered in as few boxes as possible.

Views Around the World

Alan shares photos from his walks around the Walt Disney World resort.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Holiday stars again line Sunset Boulevard for the Season. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Christmas tree decorations wrap around light poles on Hollywood Boulevard. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Christmas Tree outside Disney's Hollywood Studios stands in its traditional location. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

New Star Wars themed signage hangs inside Disney & Co. on Hollywood Boulevard amongst the merchandise. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Construction of Toy Story Land continues behind construction walls; these toys are at a kiosk nearby across from the exit of Toy Story Mania. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

As work progresses on the future Star Wars and Toy Story Lands, a crane can be seen towering beyond Muppet Vision 3D all the way from Disney's Hollywood Studios parking lot. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A limited number of guests were allowed in front of the Disney's Hollywood Studios temporary stage for performances for the upcoming ABC-TV Disney Parks Holiday Specials. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Epcot

The sun set for the final time on the 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival on Monday. Epcot's celebration of Holidays Around the World begins on November 25. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Some of the musical acts appearing in the upcoming ABC-TV Disney Parks Specials were recorded last week on a stage at Mission: Space in Future World. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Resorts

A mobile outdoor cart sells alcoholic beverages outside ESPN Club at Disney's BoardWalk. Since it is mobile, it may not always be serving. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Exterior refurbishment is underway at Trattoria al forno on Disney's BoardWalk; the restaurant remains open for breakfast and dinner service. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Exterior refurbishment is underway at Disney's BoardWalk Villas. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

…An “Atlas Books” facade has been installed in Disney's Hollywood Studios for interactive encounters with Doctor Strange from the recently released Marvel film by the same name. Notwithstanding Disney's acquisition of Marvel several years ago, its use of Marvel characters in the Florida parks is complicated by pre-existing licensing agreements and, likely as a result, there is no Marvel signage in the area and there is no published information about the encounters on the MyDisneyExperience App.

A facade has been installed for interactive encounters with Doctor Strange from the recently released Marvel film by the same name. . Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

…Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is scheduled to reopen November 18 following a lengthy refurbishment.

…The Hall of Presidents will close on January 17, 2017 to add an audio-animatronic figure of the 45th president of the United States. The attraction is expected to reopen sometime in July, 2017.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter is here! The newsletter contains a recap of the week's articles (in case you miss a day), news that may have developed since the weekly Updates were published, and tips about what's happening at the Disney theme parks for the coming weekend. We'll also include a fun bonus, such as an Eye Spy or a trivia question. To subscribe to our free newsletter, just enter your e-mail in the box below.

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Crowd Forecast

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Resort Events

Check here to see if a park event might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail (link).

2016 Resort events

• Star Wars Experiences – Opened December 1, 2015
• Destination D – November 19-20, 2016. D23 Members are invited to join the excitement of D23 Destination D: Amazing Adventures, a celebration of Disney adventures of the past, present, and future. More details at the event website.
• Holidays at Walt Disney World – November 7 through December 31, 2016
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – November 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27, 29; December 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22
• Holidays Around the World at Epcot – November 25 through December 30, 2016
• Candlelight Processional at Epcot – November 25 through December 30, 2016

2017 Resort events

• MouseAdventure – Saturday, March 4, 2017

runDisney events

If you participate in (or are considering signing up for) runDisney events, visit our Team MousePlanet forum on the MousePad discussion board, where you can join our community of health-minded readers and staff.

2017

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 4–8, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by October 4, 2016.
• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 24–26, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by November 15, 2016.
• Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side Weekend – April 20–23, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by January 17, 2017.
• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – November 3–5. All races are sold out, with the exception of the runDisney Kids races. Proof of time deadline has passed.

For current information on registration dates and capacity, see Lorree Tachell's runDisney Race Capacity Updates in the Team MousePlanet forum on our MousePad discussion board.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Events

Check here to see if a sporting competition might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. We don't list all events here, but focus on the larger sport and cheer events that might result in extra visitors to the theme parks, and make it harder to secure a hotel room. The All-Star and moderate resort hotels are often the home base for these larger events, so it's worth avoiding those properties if possible.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex events

2016

• 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl – December 3–10.

2017

• Pro Bowl week festivities – take place the week prior to the 2017 game on January 29. Additional schedule information to be released.

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

2016

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed August 8 – November 18 for refurbishment.
• The Hall of Presidents – closes January 17, 2017 to add an audio-animatronic figure of the 45th president of the United States. Expected to reopen July, 2017.

Epcot

Permanently closed:

• Sum of All Thrills – closed permanently on September 14.
• Storm Struck – closed permanently on September 14.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2016

• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed for refurbishment. Will reopen this Friday, November 18 as PizzeRizzo

Permanently closed:

• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
• Studio Catering Co.
• Meet & Greet: Mike and Sulley at Streets of America
• Magic of Disney Animation
• The Writer's Stop
• Academy of Television Sciences Hall of Fame

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• Dinosaur – closed for refurbishment July 25 – Fall, 2016

Blizzard Beach

• Closed October 23 – December 24 for seasonal refurbishment.

Typhoon Lagoon

• Closed December 24 – March 11, 2017 for seasonal refurbishment.

Disney Springs

• Fulton's Crab House – closed for refurbishment. Scheduled to reopen in Fall 2016 as Paddlefish
• Planet Hollywood – closed for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Disney Quest – scheduled to close sometime in 2016.

Resorts

• Wilderness Lodge and Villas – Hidden Springs pool, resort beach, playground, and Recreation fire pit closed. No opening date provided, but the pool is expected to be closed through 2017. Expect construction-related closures and noise due to construction of the as-yet-unannounced Disney Vacation Club cabins.
• Disney's All-Star Sports – the Grand Slam Pool closes October 10 for refurbishment, and is expected to reopen by December 2. The Surfboard Bay Pool will remain open.
• Disney's Pop Century Resort – the Computer Pool closes October 31 for refurbishment, and is expected to reopen by December 23. The Hippy Dippy Pool will remain open.

Elsewhere

• Disney Osprey Ridge Golf Course – permanently closed.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Walt Disney World Resort Update. For your convenience, we have grouped the discount offers based on the intended audience. Check out the category that best matches you, and pick the offer that works best for you. And keep those tips coming—let us know if you find a better or different offer, so we can share it with other readers.