A Tower By Any Name….

WDWNT Author on May 14, 2008

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Looks like Disney may have changed the name of the new time-share tower the company is building next to its Contemporary Resort.

“Bay Lake Tower” has replaced “Kingdom Tower” as the name of the project, at least in filings with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

What’s more, earlier this month Disney filed paperwork to create a “Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Condominium Association,” presumably to manage the resort once it is sold off to individual owners. Disney had created a “Kingdom Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Condominium Association” in January.

Disney still has not publicly announced its plans for the partially-built Contemporary addition, which now stands 14 stories and will be linked to the resort’s main A-frame building by a pedestrian bridge. A spokeswoman said the company had nothing to announce today, either. But Disney has indicated in documents submitted to the state that it intends to use the tower for Disney Vacation Club, the company’s Celebration-based time-share arm.

The “Kingdom Tower” name was criticized by some Disney fans when it first surfaced in those documents. Some posters on Internet forums said it evoked religious overtones, noting that “Kingdom Hall” is a term for a place where Jehovah’s Witnesses worship.

“I think a lot of people were drawing comparisons to Kingdom Hall,” said Tim Krasniewski, publisher of DVCNews.com, a website devoted to Disney Vacation Club.

Krasniewski said he was personally fond of “Kingdom Tower,” which most assumed referred to the Magic Kingdom theme park that sits next door to the Contemporary. But he said he likes “Bay Lake Tower” — which refers to one of the lakes that the Contemporary and its addition overlook — even better.

“I think it’s a wonderful name,” he said. “I think everybody’s familiar with Bay Lake, with the fact that Bay Lake is right there. It has a Disney feel to it.”

“Screw” It

WDWNT Author on May 14, 2008

Scott Joseph | Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer

When The Wave, a new full-service restaurant at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, opens next month, it will boast an unusual wine cellar. Besides stocking no California labels — those wines are available upstairs at the California Grill — the ground-floor restaurant will feature wines of the Southern Hemisphere, including vintages from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina.

But that’s not the most unusual aspect. The Wave will offer only wines that have screw caps; no wines with corks will be available. One exception will be sparkling wines, which are not yet available with screw caps. John Blazon, master sommelier and manager of wine sales and standards for Walt Disney World Resort, said he wants “to show middle America that you can enjoy a great bottle of wine despite how it’s sealed.”

Blazon said he has collected 80 wines of various varietals and price points to present at the restaurant’s opening, which is scheduled for June 7. Once considered an indicator of low quality, screw caps, also known as Stelvin closures, have been gaining popularity among premium wine producers for several years as a more reliable means of sealing a bottle of wine.

Fort Wilderness Facelift

WDWNT Author on April 14, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — An outdoor adventure that has been a favorite with Walt Disney World guests since 1971 is receiving some enhancements. As part of a resort-wide renovation project, on now, changes are coming or already in place across the 700 acres of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.

“Over the last 37 years, the average length of an RV has increased by 27 feet,” says Fort Wilderness spokesperson Darcy Cormier. “Many feature ‘slide outs’ that mechanically extend from the sides of the vehicle.”

To address the needs of today’s larger vehicles, an intensive effort will widen and lengthen the concrete parking pads while maintaining privacy and tranquility provided by natural vegetation. A new “Premium” campsite will be available that features extra large concrete pads for larger vehicles — also upgrades to existing amenities such as picnic tables and grills.

The main pool at Fort Wilderness will be enhanced with a themed water slide, hot tub and children’s wet play area. The pool’s deep end has been made shallower.

Nestled in the woodlands, the resort’s 409 Wilderness Cabins feature brand-new furniture, carpeting, fixtures and linens — plus a fresh coat of paint. Each spacious cabin features more than 500 square feet of air-conditioned living space as well as a private patio deck with a charcoal grill and picnic table. The master bedroom sleeps four with a full-sized bed and set of bunk beds, while the separate living room sleeps two with a full-sized pull-down bed. All cabins also feature vaulted ceilings, color cable television, DVD player, telephone and a spacious oval dining table. Daily housekeeping service is provided to all Wilderness Cabins.

“With all of the comforts of home, the Wilderness Cabins are perfect for guests who want to wind down in a tranquil, relaxing atmosphere after a fun-filled day at the theme parks,” said Jean Gallagher, general manager of Fort Wilderness.

Fort Wilderness has always been the pet-friendly choice for guests to Walt Disney World Resort, and now dogs are getting a playground of their own at the newly opened Waggin’ Trails Dog Park, an off-leash play area.

Of course there is plenty of recreation for humans, too, including horseback riding, fishing excursions, nature trail exploration, boat rentals, volleyball, tennis, bike rentals and the new Wilderness Back Trail Adventure, where guests can experience, first-hand, a Segway X2 Personal Transporter. Guests can unwind on a white sand beach, play a leisurely game of shuffleboard, take the little ones on a pony ride or enjoy an evening horse-drawn wagon ride around the resort.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground is located in the Magic Kingdom resort area on the banks of Bay Lake. Convenient boat transportation to Magic Kingdom and motorcoach transportation to all Walt Disney World destinations, including Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is provided.

For more information, or to make reservations at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, visit www.wdwcamp.com or call 407/WDW-CAMP. To book the two-hour guided Segway X2 experience, contact 407/WDW-TOUR.

Catching Up With The World

WDWNT Author on April 13, 2008

After enjoying a fantastic weekend at The Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders’ “Trade Till You Fade” event along with staff members John Rick of The Disney Pincast, Jason Diffendal of WDWCelebrations, and Justin Heyman, we’re back with some news updates from around the Walt Disney World Resort:

-Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, construction of the American Idol show has forced the new Block Party Bash parade to make it’s two show stops on Hollywood Blvd. and at the Sorcerer’s Hat and then go straight back down the street again into the gates through which it arrived. We expect this to be the parade’s route until construction of the attraction is completed this Fall.

-Construction of the new north wing at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is picking up, as glass panels are actually being added to the building already.

Walt Disney World Update

WDWNT Author on March 10, 2008

Our good friend Denise over at Mousesteps.com has a new photo update from Walt Disney World featuring pictures of the newly remodeled Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom Lodge construction, and much more. To see the full update, go HERE.

Phase One Complete

WDWNT Author on February 18, 2008

Sara K. Clarke | Jason Garcia and Scott Powers, Orlando Sentinel

The first phase of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Villas time share is complete. Disney last month wrapped up work on the last of 109 units that have been converted from hotel rooms to time shares on the upper levels of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Construction is continuing on the project’s much-larger second phase: A 340-unit annex next to the lodge that has been dubbed “Kidani Village.” Disney says the expansion will include a 120-seat sit-down restaurant, a 4,700-square-foot swimming pool with a water slide and two spas, plus tennis, shuffleboard and half-court basketball, among other amenities. Disney expects to complete the second phase during the spring of 2009.

The Animal Kingdom Villas are Disney’s eighth time share and the sixth at Disney World. The company is in the midst of building new time shares at Disneyland in Southern California and has announced plans to develop a time share and hotel resort in Hawaii. Construction records also suggest Disney is building a time-share addition to the Contemporary Resort in Orlando, though the company has not confirmed the project.

Jose Eber Update 2/6/08

WDWNT Author on February 6, 2008

Staff member Jose Eber has provided us with some live updates from the Walt Disney World Resort:

-Monorail Black returned from its refurbishment today. The monorail now has the four central handrails much like the other ten monorails which have already received the renovations. Monorail Red headed in for refurbishment today and is the last to recieve the modifications.

-The Earful Tower at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has received a glossy black finish on its ears and should receive its finishing touches any day now. The Animation Archway at the studios should receive new signage around the same time.

-The new marble tile at the Grand Floridian should be installed in the next 1-2 weeks.

-In what has become a frequent occurence, Space Mountain broke down and went out of commission at about 11:45 today. One wonders how much longer the big refurbishment for the Magic Kingdom attraction can be put off.

Review of Boatwright’s

WDWNT Author on January 24, 2008

Since news is a little slow today, I decided to pull out a new article by staff columnist Collin Korb. This time around, Collin reports on his most recent visit to Boatright’s at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort hotel. 

Let me begin by saying that we have dined at Boatwrights one other time before our second visit. Our first visit was so positive, server so pleasant and accommodating, and management so responsive, that we booked a second dinner as soon as we knew we were to return to the Port Orleans Resort.

The ambiance is very unique. Inside the restaurant you will find the “bones” of ship mounted in the center of the room surrounded by various tools, cogs, and saw blades. It is a very rustic environment that is warm and inviting. The servers and hostesses are very personable and friendly. Sadly, our second visit was not as pleasing as the first. Our dining experience began very positively as the three of us took advantage of the specialty non-alcoholic drinks. The ladies each ordered a milkshake and it was very tasty. I ordered the Chocolate Banana Smoothie and was very pleased; it was an excellent way to begin the evening. Our server arrived in a timely fashion and took our appetizer orders: Steak and Red Bean Soup for one, Caesar Salad for the other, and I chose the Crawfish cakes. The cakes were very tasty, due in part to the fact that they were baked, not fried at my request. The remoulade dipping sauce really completed the taste experience. We were less than adventurous with our orders this evening. Each of us ordered the Filet Mignon. This is where the experience went sour. We, of course, were excited as a result of our positive dining experiences and filets at other Disney Dining Restaurants. Each of us ordered our filets cooked medium and were eager for the meal to arrive. Our drinks and waters ran dry as our server was somewhat delinquent in her duties. Being a former server, I took note of her section and how many tables she was managing and wondered what caused her delay? We each got our waters topped off and our pop ordered and were doing o.k.

When our dinners arrived things appeared to be in order until we each decided to take a bite. One filet was rather bloody, surely not cooked medium, the other two tasted like “char”- a lot of grill remnants were coated on the filet. We sent the bloody order back to be cooked a bit more but the 14 year old lost her appetite. I admit I finished my meal as did my fiancé, because we were on the dining plan. During our first visit I asked to see the manager because our server, Jose, was OUTSTANDING!!! We wanted to compliment him. I spoke to a female manager who was brand new. Interestingly enough when I requested a manager (4 months later, next visit) it was the same woman.

I explained our situation to her and this time she was less than sympathetic. I told her we were on the dining plan and explained the situation about the under/over cooking. I was disappointed in her response that the reason for the issues was a result of the menu just changing; she offered no measure to resolve the issue at all. We were all very disappointed. We ordered our desserts to go. I had the Bananas Foster Angel Food Cake and the ladies ordered chocolate cake. We finished those up after visiting the Magic Kingdom that evening. One positive and one negative experience don’t quite add up. Next time, it’s back to Le Cellier at Epcot.

News From Around WDW

WDWNT Author on January 15, 2008

‘-One of my favorite restaurants, Citricos in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, is now open seven days a week. For many years the restaurant was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

-Rock and Roll Beach Club at Pleasure Island will be the first club to close this February. Many more of the long-standing clubs will also close soon to prepare for the addition of more shopping, dining, and maybe even a bowling alley.