Walt Disney World Resort Update for September 13-19, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for September 13–19, 2016

Go directly to: News & Views | Join our Networks | Resort Events | Refurbishments and Attraction Closures | Discounts and Promotions

News and Views

Food and Wine turns 21 | Princess Elena Royal Welcome | Welcome to “off-season” | Views around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Food and Wine turns 21

The 21st annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival begins this Wednesday, September 14. The highly-anticipated event celebrates its twenty-first year with the longest festival yet, 62 days in all.

The west side of Future World will once again be home to “Next Eats” during the 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival when it opens September 14. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Through November 14, park visitors will have the opportunity to sample food and drink offerings from 30 global marketplace booths around the World Showcase and extending into portions of Future World. While a number of returning favorites are back for the 2016 festival, there are also 32 brand-new dishes to sample from the marketplace booths.

Our Alan Dalinka is attending a media tour of the Festival this weekend, and will have lots of photos and suggestions for visitors in next week's Update.

At several kiosks at this year's Food & Wine Festival, the beverage taps are located at separate themed counters like this one at Italy. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Disney Parks Blog shared a preview of the merchandise to be released for the Food & Wine Festival. Most of the items are in the standard souvenir category we expect from Disney—hats, shirts, tote bags—but there is one item that I was pleasantly surprised to see. I've long been in the habit of holding on to the plastic utensils I get from the first booth I visit, and reusing them as I visit additional booths to reduce the amount of trash generated from the event. This usually means stuffing a napkin-wrapped spoon into my purse, and inevitably results in smearing some foodstuff on my car keys. This year, Disney is selling a reusable cutlery set, complete with handy storage case. You'll be fully prepared to dine around the world without added waste when you bring this set along on your adventure.

A sampling of the 2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival Merchandise. Image © Disney.

Disney Parks Blog Unboxed – 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Merchandise

Princess Elena Royal Welcome

Photographer Alan Dalinka paid a visit the the Magic Kingdom last week to catch “Princess Elena Royal Welcome,” the limited-time offering featuring Princess Elena of Avalor from the new Disney Channel animated series.

Cinderella and Prince Charming host the “Princess Elena Royal Welcome” show several times each day at Cinderella Castle, currently scheduled through September 24, 2016, according to Disney's website. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Princess Elena sings and plays guitar in the “Princess Elena Royal Welcome” show at Cinderella Castle. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney says Elena is “the first-ever Disney princess to hail from a fairy tale kingdom infused with Latin culture and folklore,” and in this new show Cinderella and Prince Charming welcome Elena to the Magic Kingdom. Music features prominently in the animated series, so it's no surprise that Elena's royal welcome includes a musical number.

Several live musicians and standard bearers assist Cinderella and Prince Charming in the Princess Elena Royal Welcome. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney says Elena is “the first-ever Disney princess to hail from a fairy tale kingdom infused with Latin culture and folklore.” Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Keeping with her portrayal in the animated series, Princess Elena sings and plays guitar at the Magic Kingdom. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

“Princess Elena Royal Welcome” is currently scheduled only through September 24, 2016, but there's always the chance it could be extended if Disney feels the demand is strong enough.

Welcome to “off-season”

Some visitors claim that there is no longer an “off season” at Walt Disney World, and to some degree they have a point. Events like the Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival were created to help lure visitors to Florida during otherwise slow seasons. Now those events create their own traffic patterns, but this is still a good time of year to visit if your own schedule allows. Alan notes that—tropical storms aside—the weather has been beautiful when it's not raining, and wait times at even the most popular attractions are surprisingly short.

Of course, the trade off for lighter crowds is accepting that some of your favorite rides may be closed for refurbishment, and that the parks offer shorter operating hours than in the busier travel season.

At this time of year, signs at the Transportation and Ticket Center note Magic Kingdom's early closing time. Signs elsewhere note whether or not tickets remain to that evening's hard-ticketed Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (and, later this Fall will note the availability of tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party). Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

During this brief time between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, short standby wait times often may be found even at the most popular attractions. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Views Around the World

Hollywood Studios

Sight lines continue to be a challenge during daily presentations of the March of the First Order at the Center Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios, with only the tallest visitors able to see much of the show from the flat viewing area. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

From in front of the Center Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios, occasionally some of the construction cranes working on the new Toy Story and Star Wars lands may be spotted in the distance. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

From the exit area of Toy Story Mania (near where the Studio Tour used to be located), it appears that most of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure has been removed as the area is cleared for construction of the new Toy Story and Star Wars lands. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Magic Kingdom

Central Florida wildlife may also ride the ferry to Magic Kingdom. Remember, of course, that you should not feed wildlife. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The “winterizing” of Cinderella Castle is apparent from the Seven Seas Lagoon. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

From close up, it is now possible to see some of the holiday Dream Lights installed on Cinderella Castle. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A worker suspended in the crane's basket installs the holiday Dream Lights on Cinderella Castle. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

On the Fantasyland side of Cinderella Castle, the construction crane blocks the path toward the east side of the park. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Rock painting continues at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Only the rocks north of the Tomorrowland bridge were being painted over the past week. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Some exterior renovations continue at the Haunted Mansion, but there is now much less scaffolding around the mansion's facade. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Refurbishment continues at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Refurbishment at It's a Small World is expected to be concluded by September 15. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Epcot

Flags around Walt Disney World were flown at half staff on September 11. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The latest Figment t-shirts are available for sale at the Imagination pavilion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Springs

The bar located on the docks at The Boathouse at Disney Springs provides a spectacular place to view a Central Florida sunset. Panoramic Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

…This is your final opportunity to ride the Sum of All Thrills (presented by Raytheon) and Storm Struck (presented by Flash) at Epcot's Innoventions East. With their corporate sponsorships at an end, are both scheduled to close on September 14. The twin closures leave only one attraction open in Innoventions East, the Colortopia Experience (presented by Glidden), which opened in 2015. Innoventions West was converted into a character meet-and-greet following the closure of the IBM-sponsored THINK exhibit in 2015. Disney has not announced a replacement for the attractions, nor any news about the future of Innoventions.

…The “rolling refurbishment” of four Walt Disney World golf courses continues this week. Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course is closed September 12-16 for refurbishment.

…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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MousePlanet

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
• 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival – September 14 through November 14, 2016.
• Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic – Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30.
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party –September – 2, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 29, 30; October – 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31
• D23's Sip & Scream – Wednesday, October 5. The event is sold out
• D23 Behind-the-Scenes Experience: A Midnight Soirée at the Tower of Terror – Wednesday, October 5. The event is sold out.
• “Jersey Week” – November 6–13. Expect larger crowds this week as New Jersey students and families take advantage of a Fall Break created by their school's participation in the New Jersey Teachers Convention.
• Dapper Day at Epcot (unofficial event) – Saturday, November 12, 2016. More information at the event website.
• 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.

2016

• 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.

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.

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

• Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic – November 11–12.
• 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

• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – closed July 7 – September 24 for refurbishment.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed August 8 – November 18 for refurbishment.
• “it's a small world” – closed August 22 – September 15 for refurbishment.

Epcot

2016

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

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2016

• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed for refurbishment. Will reopen in Fall, 2016 as PizzeRizzo
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster – closed for refurbishment October 27 though November 9.

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

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's Oak Trail Golf Course – closed September 12-16 for refurbishment.
• 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.