Insider Disney Tips

 

Hello Disney friends!  Tonight I’ll be sharing some of my most used Disney Insider tips and tricks with you and many of these will also answer some of your questions that you have written in to me with.  I love it when I am out places or even at work and people come up to me and ask me questions about Disney World.  Just today a co-worked was telling me that she is taking her two grand kids to Disney World next week and she was almost terrified by it!  So I sat her down and started going through all of my tips to help out.  By the end of our talk, she had 3 pages full of notes and she was feeling much better about her upcoming trip.  She looked at me and said, “You need to write a book and share these amazing tips with the world!”  Well many people have already beat me to that, but I CAN write them all down here on my blog, so let’s get started!

Insider Tip #1 – Use Disney’s Magical Express!

 

If you are planning on flying into the Orlando International Airport to get your Walt Disney World vacation started, then you absolutely MUST call ahead and save your seats on Disney’s Magical Express Bus.  These busses truly are magical in that they will put your baggage on the bus for you, you will enter a luxury bus with some very comfortable seats on them, you will get to watch a great video all about your upcoming stay at the Disney World Resort, then you will be dropped right off in front of your resort hotel, and then your bags will be taken directly to your room for you.  What could be any easier than that?  Nothing, that’s what!  If you have no need to rent a car, then please take this absolutely FREE bus trip to your hotels front steps and enjoy a great video or enjoy a 45 minute nap before you hit the parks!  You’ll thank me for this the first time you use it.  Disney will even mail you luggage tags to put on your bags as well.  It is truly carefree for you saves you rental car fee and having to drive everywhere you go and pay for parking as well.

Insider Tip #2 – Character Meals – Should I Or Shouldn’t I?

 

The short answer here is Yes and No.  Let me explain.  If, like my co-worker, you will be traveling with younger kids, then here is my tip for you.  You most definitely must do ONE Character Breakfast at Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary Resort.  Why?  To begin with, you will end up taking a Monorail to get there and younger kids absolutely LOVE riding on the “highway in the sky” Monorails.  They get to look out the windows and see that they are up so high in the air above everyone else and it makes them feel like super heroes.  The monorail actually goes right through the Contemporary Resort so you will get to watch the Monorails come and go as you eat, and they is cool for younger kids as well.  Next, Chef Mickeys breakfast is by far the cheapest Character Meal you will get.  Looking to save money and still see characters right at your table?  Then Chef Mickeys is your ticket. Next, Chef Mickeys has the largest choice of food items for breakfast for the entire family.  The little ones can get the Mickey waffles they love, and Mom and Dad can get a made to order omelette with just about fillings that you like.  They have cereals, bacon, eggs, all types of fruits, hams, french toast, basically if you have had it for breakfast, it is available here on the buffet.  Finally, you are guaranteed to see each and every character at your table before you leave.  You will see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale and Pluto.  They come to your table and pose for pictures with everyone at the table, and sometimes they have time for autographs.  The only thing you have to watch is that sometimes the little ones get so wound up about the characters that they fail to eat much, and you will be paying a higher price for this breakfast so you have to be dilligent in reminding them to eat when the characters aren’t there.

If you have slightly older kids, then the magic of the character meals are mostly lost on them.  Now at 45 I still love to do character meals.  Like Peter Pan, I’ll never grow up and will always love posing with Mickey for a new photo, but older kids just see it as a waste of time that they could be using to ride the rides in parks.  So for these parents I would tell you to save your money.

You can ask around to see if you have a particular character that you would like to have a meal with because different characters show up at different restaurants.  Some can be down right impossible to find, such as Rapunzel.

 

Insider Tip #3 – You Will Get Wet

Splash Mountain is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom (sorry Haunted Mansion!).  There is a sign outside the ride.  It is kind of a little sign and most people walk right by it without reading it.  Here is the sign:

 

It should say, “You WILL Get Wet”, because for the most part, your going to get wet to some degree.  This can be off putting to a lot of people I have found, especially at certain times of the day.  To begin, if someone in your party does not like to get wet, they have the option of sitting in the waiting area just outside of the rides entrance where they can sit peacefully and stay 100% dry.  You can also buy a rain poncho for them and have them put it on before they even get on the ride.  Why before?  Most of the time when you start to get into your log for the ride, you will find the seats are soaking wet because the last group got soaking wet and dripped all over the seats.  So put that poncho on immediately and you will not get wet.

Finally, not only will you get wet, but I also find that many people forget they are holding cameras or camcorders and let me tell you, if you get them wet, they can totally stop working.  I do not even recommend trying to put a plastic bag over them.  Simply do not take them on any water ride.  It is just too easy for water to work its way into the inner working of your electronics.  This includes iPhones that you have in your jeans or shorts pockets so watch those as well.  

Insider Tip #4 – FastPasses – Get Them Early and Often

 

FastPasses can be a huge time saver for your family, but you have to be quick for the more popular attractions and shows.  Let’s take what is the most popular ride in all of Disney World these days, Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios.  Many days my family has had to get up by 7am so that we could have a quick breakfast, get on the DIsney Bus, and head over to Hollywood Studios so that we could be one of the first groups in the door.  That way my son can run ahead to Toy Story Mania and get our FastPasses.  This is because on a normal day, ALL of the FastPasses are usually gone by 11:00 or 12:00 noon!  Yes ALL of the FastPasses for the ENTIRE DAY are gone by then.  So if you do not get there early, you can be one of the many unhappy faces waiting in the 2 hour lines to ride the ride!  Your best bet with FastPasses is to plan out your days as much as you can and the minute you are allowed to get your next set of FastPasses, you are then ready to get your next set.  It is best to try to mix it up with popular rides, and not so popular rides so that you can always be riding something during the day.  You will find that without FastPasses, you will spend the greater portions of your days waiting in long lines in the hot Florida sun.  FastPasses are your friend and you should use them whenever you can.

Ok that’s it for today.  There is a LOT of information here for you take in today, and that is purposefully so because I will not be able to do a post for tomorrow, so feel free to come back tomorrow and read any of the other great posts that are currently on the blog, and as always please feel free to leave comments or feedback for me.  Have an amazing weekend, and I’ll see ya back here on Sunday for some fresh, new content about Disney!

Disney Questions, Disney Questions, and More Disney Questions

 

Okay so tonight I am back to answering the many Disney questions that have been submitted over the past couple of weeks.  Thanks again to everyone who has submitted questions to me.  Thanks to you all, I now have over 100 questions I can pick from to answer over the next many weeks, so thanks again and now, on with the show.

Tonights first question comes from DisneyFanK and they ask, “Brad my family loves your blog and especially all of the pictures that you share with us.  Do you use a special camera for your pictures?”

Nope, not at all really.  We have a Canon CoolPix DSL camera and no special lens or anything.  I have found that the key to getting great pictures is to take as many as you can. By that I mean I will stand in front if whatever I am shooting and I will take probably around 10 to 15 shots of it and then I keep the best ones.  That is the great things about digital pictures – don’t like them?  Then throw them away with no money lost.  It can also be very hard to get pictures without a ton of people in them or someone walking in front of you, so we try to get pictures in the early mornings when less people are in the parks.  As a final picture tip, you should always hand your camera to the PhotoPass people and ask them to take a picture with your camera as well.  That way you can get in some pictures of yourself and they are always happy to take pictures with your camera.  Thanks for writing in and I hope this helps!

Next question comes from TomH from Minnesota.  Tom asks, “Besides your blog, can you help me find some ways to keep Disney with me when I am not able to get to the parks?”

You definitely asked the right guy this question Tom.  There are hundreds of way to keep Disney with and around you all the time when you can’t be at the parks.  To begin, you should load up your iPhone/iPad/iPod with all the Disney music you can find.  I love the movie soundtracks for a start.  There are so many soundtracks that you could almost fill your iPhone just with animated soundtracks from DIsney and Pixar films.  You can also fire up iTunes and click on the “podcast” tab and then search for Disney podcasts.  These are usually weekly shows that are either news related or otherwise all things DIsney related.  The best 2 Disney podcasts are WDW Radio hosted by Lou Mongello and Inside the Magic hosted by Ricky Brigante.  For WDW Radio, Lou was an attorney who had such a passion for Disney that he quit his job and now he does his Disney podcast and he does videos in the park, audio guides to all of the lands in the Magic Kingdom, and he charges people to take them on guides tours of any of the Disney Parks.  Inside the Magic is more Disney news oriented and Ricky also has a passion for Disney and it shows by the quality of his show.  Podcasts are a great way to to feel as if you are in the parks year around.

If you love food like I do, there are many Disney cookbooks available that have the recipes in them from many of the DIsney restaurants.  So when you start craving the BBQ ribs from the Brown Derby, you can open up a cookbook and cook them yourself!

Of course there are all the Disney movies on DVD and Blu-Ray.  There are literally tons of DIsney books on bookstore shelves and at Amazon that you can read and most of them are really great at making you feel like you are getting insider info about Disney World.

I could go on and on here, but rest assured that if you look a little, you will be able to keep Disney with you every day that you are not in the parks.  Hope this was helpful to you!

My last question tonight comes from Terri and she asks, “Ok you have to pick one and only one food dish at Disney that you can keep with you after the zombies take over the world.  What food dish do you take?  I know how much you love the food at Disney so I assume this will be a hard one for you?”

Man you had to go and get all cruel on me Terri!  By the way, I have decided when the zombies do come I’m immediately running up to them and getting bitten so I can join the winning team quicker!  I love me some zombies, especially the Walking Dead TV show.  Ok so basically, what is my all-time favorite food dish at Disney World?  Hmmm, there are just so many and like my kids, it is impossible to pick a favorite, but for the sake of answering your question, I will go with…

 

this juicy, tender filet on a bed of the tastiest risotto with bacon from Le Cellier in the Canadian Pavilion in Epcot.  By far, the best meal I eat each time when we go to Disney, bar none.  It is just the right portion, and the pretzel bread and cheese soup that I had before the main course welcomes this filet in my tummy with open arms!

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to write in and ask your questions.  i will try to do better about answering more of them now much quicker since I has such a backlog of them.  Thanks for joining me again this evening and as always, I appreciate your time and I will see ya back here real soon!

Soarin To Tower – We Are Ready For Takeoff!

 

If you have never taken a flight on Soarin Over California, or just Soarin as it is more commonly known, then by all means you are missing out on one of the finest attractions that all of Disney has to offer.

Do you like hang gliding?  Oh come on what do you mean you have never been hang gliding?  Well now is the time start true believe because Soarin is the absolute safest way to go daredevil hang gliding across most of the scenic places that California has to offer!

Soarin Over California started it’s life in the mind of Imagineer Mark Sumner in 1996.  He had an idea for a ride that would use a lift mechanism unlike anything that had ever been built before.  So like any great Imagineer, her pulled out his old Erector set and he built a working prototype, seen here:

 

This lift system would sit three rows of people and as it lifts toward the sky, it pulls the first row up higher than the second, and the second up higher than the third, enabling everyone to have a very clear view of the Omnimax screen in front of them.  Oh and it lifts you up 10 stories into the air, and swings you around as if you were on an actual hang glider!  Here you can see the ride vehicles:

  

Once on board and strapped into your hang glider, all of the lights go out and you “lift off” in your glider and instantly you are “Soarin Over California”

The ride lasts about five minutes and will see you flying over the Golden gate Bridge, in San Francisco, Redwood Creek, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, the PGA West golf course in la Quinta, Camarillo, Anza-Borrego, Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu, Los Angeles and of course Disneyland itself during the Christmas season. The final scene takes place at Christmas time and at night as the Christmas firework show is taking place.  You will be flying over river rafters (be sure to take big smells during the ride as there are many amazing smells around you, such as pine trees and orange groves), snow skiers, horseback riders, kayakers, hot air ballooners, fighter jets, golfers, and of course other hang gliders.

Here you will need to duck because a golfer did not see you coming before he tees off and he almost hits you right in the face with his ball.  Oh and if you look at the ball very closely, you will see that it has Mickey Mouse on it, but you must look quickly!

 

During this scene, the majestic snow filled hills give way to snow skiers.  The last skier you see will wipe out in a huge and hilarious way!  No skiers were harmed in the filming of Soarin!

 

Soarin is a ride unlike any other.  It is at the same time serene, peaceful, and yet exhilarating and exiting.  You have a constant breeze in your face and the smells that I mentioned work a magic on you that really pulls you into believing that you truly are on a hang glider.  The soundtrack to the ride is so very good that I actually purchased it from the store outside of the ride and it makes great listening in the car to and from work.

Now the bad news!  When you enter Epcot, PLEASE RUN to The Land Pavilion as quickly as you can and go immediately and get a FastPass for Soarin.  If you do not, they will all be gone by 12:00 noon, and it doesn’t matter what time of year you go.  Soarin is in the two 3 most popular attractions in all of Disney World and the FastPasses go quicker than lightning.  We always send our kids ahead to get the FastPasses, then we catch up with them and then get in line immediately so that we can at least ride it twice in a day.

Soarin is simply not to be missed, and if your into very complicated ride mechanisms, you will lose yourself in wonder because while the ride was thought up while playing with an Erector Set, the ride still looks like a huge Erector set!

Thanks for taking your time to read my Disney ramblings!  I truly appreciate it and I’ll see ya back here real soon where tomorrow I will again be taking your Disney Questions and giving them a thorough answering!  Have a blessed day everyone!

Calling All Space Rangers! Buzz Lightyear Needs You!

Hidden away in the rightmost corner of Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World, you will find the home of the first Pixar character to make his way into the Magic Kingdom.  When he is not busy saving our galaxy from the nefarious and evil Emperor Palpat….errr Zerg, he makes his home here in the Magic Kingdom at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin attraction.

You will be hard pressed to find a more colorful attraction in all of the Magic Kingdom!  With the pastel and fluorescent greens, blues and purples everywhere you look, this ride is a true feast for the eyes.  Of course since this is a Buzz Lightyear ride, it has to be themed around space, and the Space Ranger Spin ride is just that, mixing a space theme with an arcade shooting game at the same time.

I have spoken to many people who think this attraction is for the kiddies only because it involves spinning around and shooting a laser gun, but boy they sure are wrong, and missing out on a very fun trip through space.  As you can see from the picture above, you do indeed man one of Buzz Lightyears favorite laser cannons.  You and a friend board your spaceships and blast off through the galaxy while you shoot Emperor Zergs minions and even take on Zerg himself as the end boss.

See that circle with the “Z” in the middle of it, that is your target and it is your job to shoot as many of them as you can and get a high score before the ride ends.  One of you onboard the ship will grab the joystick controls of the ship and either turn the ship in a circle left or right, and your job is to ensure that you put yourself in the best position to hit the most targets.  There are hundreds of targets all around you, so there is always something to be shooting at on Space Ranger Spin.

Of course at the end of the ride, Emperor Zerg challenges you to a fight and if you are good enough and can hit him enough times you can vanquish him once and for all!  I love the interactivity within this ride as well.  As you hit targets, sometimes they will move or shake and a sound plays to let you know you have hit the target.  Smoke and flashing lights will appear as well to really immerse you in the space theme.  Of course there are plenty of LGM (Little Green Men) to help you out during your mission.

Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin is a very popular attraction at the Magic Kingdom and will tend to have long lines the later it gets in the day, so my insider recommendation to you is to try to ride it as one of the first things you do during the day.  We usually ride Space Ranger Spin, then head over to Space Mountain and get FastPasses so that we can hit two birds with on stone.

Here’s some more insider tips just for my readers that will help you set truly high scores everytime you ride:

Tip #1 – you do NOT have to keep pressing the trigger button to make it fire.  Simply hold down the trigger and it will fire continuously!  Very few people get this and it will save your fingers some wear and tear!

Tip #2 – this is super secret so please keep this one just between us Space Rangers ok?  Right after you get into your spaceship begin shooting the back of the persons head in the spaceship in front if you?  Why you ask?  Because most people’s hair gives off a shine similiar to the paint used on the target and you will find that you can rack up millions of points before the ride even starts!

Tip #3 – You have to have great eyes and even better aim for this tip, but right before you enter the room to take on Zerg, look down at the floor for a hidden target and shoot it!  If you do, your score will roll over to 999,999,999!  This is top secret info, so again, don’t tell anyone our secret ok!  You will be the envy of the entire Space Corps with this little beauty!

Finally, you should really take your time and check out the huge audio animatronic Buss Lightyear right before you enter the ride itself.  There is a lot of new technology in Buzz that is worth checking out.  For instance, this was the first animatronic figure that uses a projector to create Buzz’s face.  This same technology is used on Mr. Potato Head over at Toy Story Midway Mania, but good old Buzz used it first!

I hope next time your at the Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland that you will join up with the Space Rangers and help Buzz Lightyear beat Zerg back to Infinity and Beyond!

As always, thanks for joining me as we took a ride through the Space Ranger Spin.  I’ll see ya back here real soon Cadet!

Yo Ho! Yo Ho! Pirate Ride Changes For Me!

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride that exists today at Walt Disney World is quite different from the ride that was originally installed at the Magic Kingdom back in 1973.  Many changes have been made to the ride over the years, and even with all the changes, it remains one of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom.

The version of Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland in California is quite a bit different yet from the Florida version.  Many people who have ridden both attractions actually prefer the California version to the Florida version.  I have ridden both and I think I like the opening scene to the California version better, but overall, I still prefer the Florida version.  But let’s discuss the changes that have occurred to the Disney World version.

To begin, in the 90’s Disney began to receive complaints about the scene where the scurvy pirates are chasing the women through the city.  Seems this scene was found to be degrading to many womens groups, and they asked Disney of there was anything they could do about the scene.  One thing about Disney is that they take complaints very seriously.  In fact, you can go to the Town Hall building at Main Street USA and either put in a complaint about something in the parks or put in a compliment about something or a cast member if you like, and you can bet you will receive a response very soon.

Disney did make the first change to the Pirates ride in response to that complaint.  Here as you can see, now it is the ladies who are chasing the pirates through the city:

Next Disney decided that they were going to try to begin making movies based upon attractions from the theme parks.  The first move they produced was the Country Bears.  This movie was, simply put, a flop in every way.  The story was pretty thin to begin with and had very little to do with the attraction from the parks.  Disney went back to the drawing board and later decided to try again.  This time, Disney chose of the most popular attractions in all of their parks, The Haunted Mansion, and this time they got one of the biggest move stars around to star in the movie, Eddie Murphy.

As fate would have it, The Haunted Mansion, well doing better than the Country Bears did, still did not become the huge hit that Disney had planned on.  All other plans for movies based on their attractions were put on hold.  That is until Gore Verbinski called and begged and pleaded to make a Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Instead of trying to remain true to the rides history, this time out they would do a traditional pirate style movie and lace it with key scenes and themes from the attraction.  Oh and Johhny Depp would be the star of the film and he would take Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones as his muse for his role of Captain Jack Sparrow.  Well the rest is box office history and it wasn’t long before Disney thought that Captain Jack would make a great addition to the attraction itself.

Disney soon began the work of creating Audio-Animatronic figures of the drunken Captain Sparrow and working on very unique and thoughtful ways of incorporating him into the famous ride.  To begin, Captain Jacks nemesis Blackbeard seems to appear out of thin air and he warns you that dead men do indeed tell tales and that you should keep your eye out for Jack Sparrow:

Next, Captain Barbosa would now be the captain of the first ship you see as you enter the town scene:

Barbosa is no better shot than the previous captain was as he never seems to be able to hit the fort guarding the town.

Next up, you will see your first glimpse of Captain Jack as he looks over the shoulder of a pirate who seems to have something that Jack Sparrow is looking for:

A little later on, you will find Jack Sparrow eyeing up another pirate that has a key to Jack’s treasure room and he needs that key badly:

Next with just the right angle, you will see Jack sneaking his way back to his treasure room, but here you can see Jacks head atop a manaquin that will soon appear to have Jacks head atop its body:

Finally, at you pass through the town you will see that Captain Jack has indeed found and opened his treasure room and is once again sitting on the throne:

Finally, after the last movie came out and heavily featured mermaids in the story, Disney hasa went back in and added a few mermaid touches to the ride.  First you will see a mermaid skeleton that has washed up on a beach, and then if you look down beside your boat from time to time you will see the glowing mermaids in the water next to your boat:

From the “Yo Ho” song that you will have a hard time getting out of your head, to the near perfect likeness of Johnn Depp throughout the ride, Pirates of the Caribbean is always an enjoyable ride.  It is a longer ride and is always nice to get out of the heat and into the air conditioning for.  Wait time can be long for the ride, but that depends on the time of year that you are visiting.  Very rarely will you need a FastPass to ride the ride.

When the ride is over you will be let out into one of the larger and better themed shops that Disney has to offer.  Be warned that little boys will find this shop to be heaven and it will be very hard to not buy a sword, or fake pirate beard, or a t-shirt in the Pirates shop.

Finally, Jack Sparrow himself will now appear outside of the ride from time to time to try to recruit little pirates into his merry band of buccaneers, so be on the look out for that.

Pretty much everyone rides Pirates of the Caribbean when they visit the park, so this isn’t meant to be a review of the ride, but more of an update for those of you who have not been to the parks since the updates have taken place.

So arrrgh mateys, I’ll be seein ye real soon aboard the Black Pearl!  Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a funnel cake for me please!

Funnel Cakes For Everyone!

Who doesn’t love funnel cake right?  On a hot summer day in Orlando, nothing goes down quite as well as a really sugary sweet funnel cake, especially with plenty of ice cream topping!

My favorite place to enjoy a great funnel cake at Disney World is the American Pavilion at Epcot:

Now I have to say this but the Disney funnel cakes are like my kids – I simply do not have a favorite – I love them all equally!  As long as they have ice cream on them and copious amounts of powdered sugar, then count me in.  Look at these little babies and let the drooling begin!

Here we have your basic funnel cake with no frills – powdered sugar and lots of it.  These are great in a pinch, maybe when it is just too hot out and the ice cream would melt to fast.  This one also does well if you need to eat it quickly to ensure that you get in line to ride the Maelstrom before the lines get too long.

Here we have the mid-level funnel cake with a few more bells and whistles.  This beauty has a delicious chocolate swirl, lots of whipped cream and is actually piled high with two cakes instead of one.  This cake is for the times when you will be sharing and you have a little more time to spare.  Of course on a windy day you want to stay away from this model or else you’ll end up wearing more of it that you will be eating it.

Ok here is the Cadillac of the funnel cakes.  Here you have the strawberry compote drizzled graciously all over the cake!  You not only have the vanilla ice cream on it, but the ice cream is also covered in a Mickey Mouse shaped whipped cream dollops!  There is absolutely no sharing of this baby!  This is to be strictly eaten by by yourself and is to be flaunted in from of as many people as possible.  Of course you will be totally sick the minute you finish, but it is worth every minute of it!

If you can’t tell, I love funnel cake, and if you’ve never had one at Disney, well you’re missing out on a legend!

I’ll see ya real soon at the American Pavilion in line for the funnel cake.  I’ll be the guy with powdered sugar all over his face and fingers and will be in line for probably my third funnel cake!  Please don’t laugh out loud!

Tramp On Over To Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

 

I absolutely love a great Italian meal!  The deep garlic smells and tastes, the hearty tomato aromas and of course the many cheeses that top off many Italian dishes make the meals so memorable.  The only thing that could make an amazing Italian meal even better would be to have that meal while sitting at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, and that is exactly what Tony’s Town Square restaurant will do for you.

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant is themed around Disney’s Lady and the Tramp animated feature.  To start, the restaurant itself is just beautiful.  As you enter the Magic Kingdom, it is located just to your right as you come through the rightmost tunnel entrance.  I’ve never been able to quite figure out why, but there is seldom a very long wait to get into Tony’s, so your chances of getting a walk-up reservation are always very good.  The minute you enter the restaurant the authentic Italian smells will waft over you and get your saliva glands moving.  While your waiting for your table to be ready, why not look over the menu, shall we?

 

The menu is pretty much the same for lunch as it is dinner, but as in all Disney restaurants, the prices at lunch are about half the prices you will pay for dinner, so I always recommend that you try to sneak in for a lunch if at all possible.  The portions will be a little larger for dinner, but in the end, not worth the doubling of the prices.  Speaking of prices, Tony’s is a little on the expensive side, even for lunch.  As you can see, the spaghetti and meatballs meal is $16.99.  Here is what that looks like:

 

This is a nice sized portion and I have to tell you that the meatballs are probably some of the best, most zesty meatballs you will ever try.  If you go to Disney with any regularity, you just come to know that on average, any lunch meal will cost you between $15.00 and $25.00 dollars a person pretty much wherever you go in a sit down restaurant such as Tony’s.  You should keep in mind that you will NOT leave Tony’s feeling hungry in the least and the atmosphere makes the meal a total experience and well worth the money.  

There are many paintings, statues, sculptures, and animation cells all throughout the restaurant from the Lady and the Tramp movie, and of course they are playing many of the songs from the movie, including the beautiful “Bella Notte” which is the song that plays while Lady and the Tramp share the strand of spaghetti.  

The entire inside of the restaurant just reminds you of any restaurant that you might walk into if you were in Italy itself. 

You will begin you meal with some complimentary Italian breads with virgin olive oils for dipping in.  I dare you not to go through at least 3 baskets of this bread during your meal.  If your smart, you’ll even do what we do and ask for some to go as well so that you can enjoy some more later in your room!

As you can see from the menu, most of the popular Italian dishes are represented here.  Lasagna, pastas, salads, spaghetti, and calamari are all here.  You simply can’t go wrong with any of these choices.  They even have a steak on the menu for those who do not prefer Italian, and of course there are always the kids menu choices of chicken strips, burgers, and pizzas as well.

My family always starts off with the calamari with marinara dipping sauce and we devour it very soon after it gets delivered.  It is a very healthy portion that is more than enough for the four of us.  Sometimes calamari can be very stringy and sometimes can have an overly oily taste.  Not at Tony’s though.  It is always very fresh, very crisp and only the finest calamari are used.  This is without a doubt one of my families favorite appetizers at Disney World.  Via Napoli in Epcot also has a great calamari as well, but since we always visit the Magic Kingdom first, we always tend to have the calamari at Tony’s first.

 

The lasagna has such a wonderfully full and fresh taste to it.  The tomato sauce does not overpower the dish in any way.  The lasagna pasta itself is amazingly light and just falls apart with the push of your fork.  This is a triple layered lasagna and is spiced just right.  The grated cheese on top really gives the dish the taste that will keep you coming back for more.  The portion size is just right, especially after the generous helping of the break you have already had!

 

Here you can see that even the kids glassware is excellently themed to Lady and the Tramp.

 

This is what the steak looks like and as you can see, this too is a very generous portion.  I have not yet had the steak but I am told that it is very delicious and always cooked perfectly to order.

Of course no meal is complete without dessert and Tony’s fills that bill as well.  They have many different options for dessert and they have chosen to leave them a mystery.  Because they are made fresh daily, they will have the waiter bring a tray to your table and show you the offerings of the day.  Here you can see the chocolate puff pastry with creme filling:

 

Imagine the coldest, freshest, chocolate covered eclair with a flaky crust on it and that is exactly what this amazing Italian dessert tastes like!  I have never been able to eat the entire thing myself just because it is way too rich.  You simply must share this with others in order to have the entire thing eaten.  Other options included a gellato in various fruit flavors, tiramisu, and regular options such as ice cream sundaes and cones.

As I said earlier, I just cannot figure out why Tony’s never has a wait to get in?  The food is top notch and the quality and portion size is second to none.  The atmosphere could not be more authentic Italian and the way they have themed it to Lady and the Tramp is simply perfect.  Sure the prices are a little high, but that is par for the course for a Disney restaurant, and Tony’s value for the food dollar is very high.  Well whatever the reason for the short waits, I will not complain because that just means I will be able to get to our table sooner and start enjoying the meal that much sooner.  

Finally, some table have an amazing view of Main Street USA since the restaurant sits right off of it, and this makes for some amazing picture opportunities if you are lucky enough to land one of them.  Of course you can ask to sit at one when you make your reservation, but that can mean a longer than normal wait as there are not many of these tables with a view.

To summarize, Tony’s Town Square Restaurant is an authentic Italian experience that is not to be missed.  You will be very pleased with the portions and quality of the food.  You will bask in the atmosphere and the attention to detail of the Lady and the Tramp theme that runs throughout.  And finally the price is very much on par for a Disney sit down restaurant where I am sure you will be taking some food home with you.

Well now that I am totally hungry, I’m off to have some dinner myself!  I hope you enjoyed our trip to Tony’s today and hope you will give it try on your next trip to Walt Disney World.

As always thanks for spending some time with me today, and if you have any questions, comments, feedback, trivia, or anything you want to share with me, please feel free to email me – komgenick2@hotmail.com, or feel free to leave your comments below.  

Have a very blessed day and I’ll see ya real soon at Ton’t Town Square Restaurant.  I’ll be the guy ordering a wheel barrow to have myself wheeled out of the restaurant after eating way too much as usual!

24 Hours In The Magic Kingdom Happening Now

So I bet you didn’t know that you can actually spend a full 24 hours inside the Magic Kingdom riding all of your favorite rides, eating all your favorite food, seeing all of your favorite shows, and even wearing your jammies for an all night party?  It is happening right now as we speak:

Right now the Magic Kingdom has actually stopped allowing anyone else to come into the park!  That’s right – it is FULL!  As in not one more person can come it or else it becomes a fire hazard!  That is mind blowing!  Disney announced a while back that they were going to keep the Magic Kingdom open for an entire 24 hour period, and people went crazy to ensure that they could be there.

Yep that is Spaceship Earth all dolled up to look like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.  Of course this is a huge promotion on Disney’s part to drum up interest for the new Monsters University movie that is coming out very soon, and of course the Disney fans are eating it up.  They have special merchandise available only today, such as these cool Mike Wazowski glasses:

Normally when you stay for the Extra Magic hours in the parks, it is a really great deal because most people chose not to stay late in the parks so it is a great time to be able to get onto your favorite rides with almost no waits at all.  But tonight, with the park at capacity, it would be a real pain as the waits on everything are at least 2 hours longs right now!  As a matter of fact I just saw a sing in the park saying it was an hour wait just to get on the monorail!  That is just crazy!

So while it is awesome that Disney is keeping the park open a full 24 hours, and an entire day of fun in the parks would be an awesome thing to experience, I will stick with using the Extra Magic hours the next time I am there and riding Space Mountain 10 times in a row with no wait, and I’ll just pretend I was there for 24 hours!

Thanks for stopping by tonight and reading my rantings about Disney.  I hope you’ll come back again this weekend as I will have some really fun posts coming up over the long Memorial Day Weekend.

I’ll see ya real soon, and if your in the parks tonight for the 24 hour all nighter, take a deep breath and remember that your in the Happiest Place on Earth no matter how long the lines are!

Frequently Asked (crazy) Questions

So Jeff W. from California wrote in and asked me, “Hey Brad!  Thanks for taking the time to answer people’s questions.  I have always been afraid to ask questions in a public forum like this in case my question would seem dumb or crazy.  What are some of the dumb/crazy questions that you have received?

Well let me start by saying that there are no dumb questions Jeff.  If you are wondering about something, you should never be afraid to ask.  You just might learn something and people who know the answers are usually chomping at the bit to share their knowledge.  Few things make me happier than when someone writes me and tells me that my advice either saved them money or time on their visit to Disney World.  I know how expensive a trip to Disney World can be, and I also know that no one likes waiting in long lines to ride their favorite rides, so if I can help in any way, I am always glad to.  Actually, I am quite surprised at just how many questions I have gotten since I started writing this blog and writing for DisneyByTheNumbers.  

Now with that said, I do get quite a few “crazy” questions so I will share a few of them with you here.  Maybe you’ll find them as funny as I have over the years.  So in no particular order, here are some of the more “goofy” questions I have received over the years:

Did someone say GOOFY!!!

#1 – What time is the 3 o’clock parade?

You may have to read this one a couple of times to see why it is a little goofy, but in the end you will see that the question answers itself!  Yes, the Magic Kingdom does indeed have a 3 o’clock parade that happens every day at 3 o’clock, so I just started to hope that the person who asked me this actually thought that the NAME of the parade was the “3 o’clock parade”.  Either that or they were really, really tired!

#2 – Where in the parks can me and my kids see Bugs Bunny?

Ummmmmmmm, uhhhhhhhhh, wrong company!!!   Bugs Bunny is wholly owned by Warner Brothers and has never been owned by Disney.  Ever!  Yet so many people have asked me where they can find either Bugs Bunny or Tweety Bird in the parks.  I just smile and tell them they can find them at any other park than the one I am currently in.  That way there is one less person I have to wait in line behind for Splash Mountain!!  Just kidding!  Of course, I always tell them that Warner Brothers owns the character and unfortunately they won’t be seeing them anywhere in a Disney owned park.

#3 – I heard Walt Disney has himself frozen after he died in hopes that they could thaw him out when they found a cure for his cancer.

Nope.  Never happened.  Walt was of course very intelligent when in came to new technology and he did research cryogenics according to his daughter Diane Disney Miller, but she also verified that Walt was not cryogenically frozen after his death, but was buried in a family owned plot.  I personally wish there was a way to bring ole Walt back.  The world sure does need more visionaries and thought leaders like Walt Disney.  

#4 – If Goofy is a dog, why can he talk?

Well ummmm, Mickey talks too right?  And Donald, and Minnie, and Daisy.  Why is it that people think that of all the animals in the Disney stable of characters that dogs shouldn’t talk.  Of course, Pluto doesn’t talk and he is a dog, but Disney does claim that Goofy isn’t really a dog, but has the mannerisms of a dog instead.  Goofy started life as Dippy Dog before they changed his name to Goofy so there might be something to this question after all!

And finally, #5 –  How long have Mickey and Minnie Mouse been married?

Not a single day!  Now in the comic strips many years ago Mickey and Minnie had a mock wedding, where all their friends attended and it sure enough looked like a real wedding.  Disney did this to gage the publics reaction to it, and the overall reaction was not great actually, so they never have married them off in “real life”, or as real as two fictional characters can get.

So that is it for Mythbusters Disney Edition for tonight!  I love taking your questions and answering them, no matter how goofy they may be.  Thanks for spending some time with me today, and I hope you have had a truly magical day!  If you have any questions, or even a suggestion for a blog topic, please feel free to email me or leave them in the comments section below.  You can always feel free to leave me comments and know that no one else but me sees them, so if you are afraid that your questions may be goofy, fear not, as only I will know.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more Disney goodness for you, so I’ll see ya real soon!

May The Dark Side Be With You!

In honor of Star Wars Weekends going on this month and next at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I thought I would share a quick story of just how much fun Star Wars Weekends can be.

Not only do you get to meet some of your favorite stars who were in all of the Star Wars movies, not only can you get pictures with them and get autographs with them, but you can watch them dance off against each other!  It’s true and boy some of these folks would have easily made the Solid Gold Top 10 list!  Here is a link to another great Disney bsed website titled “Inside The Magic”.  It is ran by a guy who truly loves Disney and runs the best Disney news podcast there is.  His name is Ricky Brigante and he manages to be at Disney whenever anything cool is happening and he always takes the best video and audio of the events.  This link will take you to his Hyperspace Hoopla page where you can watch this years Dance Off Between The Dark Side and the Light Side.  In my opinion, this year the Dark Side won, but as with every other year, they lose and Vader ends up throwing Palpatine down a very long and dark shaft.

http://www.insidethemagic.net/tag/hyperspace-hoopla/

I hope you enjoy the videos and as always, May the Force Be With You.  I’ll see you back here real soon where tomorrow’s post will once again answer more of your questions.  Have a very blessed day!