Top 25 Walt Disney World Attractions: #24

At number 24, we have Norway’s Maelstrom.  This boat ride is one of the few rides located in EPCOT’s World Showcase and a delight for seafarers of all ages.

You begin the voyage ascending a dark tunnel which spits you out into a Viking village.  Shortly thereafter, you pass into the marshland to encounter savage trolls who decide to send you “back, over the falls!”  You then proceed backwards down a slight incline, narrowly missing the clutches of vicious polar bears.  Right before your boat capsizes over the waterfalls leading outdoors, your boat rights itself going forward again.  You are then whisked down a 28 foot flume drop into the land of oil rigs.  You depart into a quaint Norwegian Village which takes you to the local shops.

While the above description may sound nonsensical and disjointed, the whole of the attraction is greater than the sum of its parts.  The attraction is incredibly unique and charming.  It’s also only attraction offering any level of thrill in World Showcase.  For those reasons alone, Maelstrom merits a slot in the top 25.

Top 25 Walt Disney World Attractions: #25

Hello, everyone and welcome back!  It's been a while, but I'll be starting the blog again with a new series on the Top 25 Attractions at Walt Disney World.  I will attempt to post a new attraction once every few days, so check back often.  These are my personal favorite attractions, but I've tried to give consideration to what an objective young adult might enjoy.  Criteria include thrills, duration, story, wait times, re-rideablity, and charm.  Without further ado, let' begin! 

25. Test Track Presented by Chevrolet

Test Track is one of the headliner attractions of EPCOT and begins the Top 25.   Riders of this attraction sit in a six seat car which is taken through several indoor simulations, concluding with an outside track with straightaways and banked turns at 60 mph.

The recent refurbishment to this attraction merits a slot in my top 25 if only for the queue.  In this queue, you can design your own car to run through the simulated tests of the attraction.  Not only do you get to choose the car’s appearance but also its attributes.  Attributes trade off with each other, so results will vary widely.  Your car information is stored on your Magic Band and is inputted on a reader right before you board your car.  Not only can you see how your designed car would have performed in the tests during and after ride, but you can also play games with and take photos with the car afterward.   

Outside of the queue, the ride is enjoyable but exhibits only one true highlight: the outdoor straightaways and banked turns at 60 mph.  The straightaways feel like riding in a convertible and the turns produce some minor G’s. 

While fun, the wait time on Test Track can often be over an hour.  The single rider line can cut that wait to less than 20 minutes, but does skip the design portion.  Also, there’s not a ton of re-rideability outside of the design process.  Ultimately, this attraction is fun and great for a first time rider but does not meriting a ride every visit.

Updated Concept Art for Avatarland Coming in 2016/2017

On October 12th, Disney released concept art for Avatarland slated to open in 2016/2017.  The project, which will replace the Camp Minnie Mickey area of Animal Kingdom, was initially announced in 2011 in response to the overwhelming success of Univeral's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The original timeline had construction beginning in 2013 with the area opening around 2015.  As the years passed, Disney announced very little about the project, leading to rumors of breakdowns in negotiations with James Cameron and the potential for the project to be shelved indefinitely.  These rumors were also spurred by the purchase of LucasFilms, leading many to believe the budget for Avatarland would be shifted to a new Star Wars themed area in the Studios (a project I believe Disney will move forward on in the next 1-2 years).

This announcement, however, breathes new life into the project, the opening of which will likely coincide with sequels to the movie.  Most notably, the art includes a flying simulator ride (a la Soarin'), a boat ride, and a nighttime parade.  The nighttime parade also indicates that Disney will be keeping the park open much later than it currently does.  The park usually closes between 5pm to 7pm to minimize stress on the animals which are located in the back of the park and operating costs.  Ideally, these attractions and this parade will provide enough content to keep families happily occupied for a full day.

While most people, myself included, believe Disney allocate its parks budget towards more beloved intellectual properties, the concept art looks amazing, and I look forward to seeing future progress on this project.

WDW Announcement and Concept Art

Restaurant Review: Via Napoli

On my most recent trip to the World, I had the pleasure of dining with my girlfriend, Kelly, at Via Napoli in the Italy Pavilion in Epcot.  I had heard great things about it and was particularly inspired by a WDW Radio Live Review of Via Napoli (WDW Radio Episode #320).  Acting on such inspiration, I booked dinner reservations on our arrival date a few weeks prior to our trip.  Upon on arrival, we made a quick stop at Living with the Land (strong opening play for any WDW vacation, I know!), and then we were ready to eat.

The restaurant itself is located in the far back portion of the Italy Pavilion and is somewhat difficult to notice for the casual passerby.  Despite the seclusion, the restaurant has stayed busy since its late 2010 opening.  We arrived on time and waited about 10-15 minutes.  The entry room to the restaurant was somewhat small, but the air conditioning was a welcomed luxury.

The restaurant has a very inviting yet active atmosphere to it.  It's marked by soft colors and bright lighting, but it's also very loud with servers scuttling about, giving the restaurant a feel akin to a large Italian family get-together dinner.  While this atmosphere is exciting and inviting, it is not terribly intimate, so those looking for a romantic date spot should look elsewhere (or at least the slightly quieter side room where we ate).

Kelly and I both ordered drinks; she ordered a glass of house white wine (which she enjoyed), and I ordered the Strawberry Aqua Frescas (the signature house drink which also comes in blood orange).  The Aqua Frescas was enjoyable, but little more than pureed strawberry in water, and at $6.00 per glass, not worth the price.  It'd rather pay a few extra dollars for a glass of sangria. 

After scouring the menu (found here), we decided to split an appetizer and a individual pizza.  We opted for the Arancini (fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu, $11) and the Prosciutto E Melone Pizza (white pizza, fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, canteloupe, arugula, $19).  Together, these items were sufficient for collective appetites.  

The before shot- three to an order,
aesthetically pleasant

 The Arancini was a little bit of a let-down after having the dish hyped to me by the WDW Radio Podcast, but was still an enjoyable dish.  Having never tried risotto before, I had no baseline comparison, but I'm assuming it was well cooked (if Hell's Kitchen has taught me anything, it's that any chef should know how to cook risotto).  Regardless, each ball had a thick, crispy outside which was contrasted by the soft risotto and mozerralla on the inside.  The highlight of the dish, however, was the ragu.  Kelly and I made sure none of it went to waste.  While I would not order this dish again, it was enjoyable, and, at the very least, tipped us off that we should work ragu pasta dishes into our future orders.

An inside shot- illustrating the thickness
of the fried layer and the contents

 The pizza, on the other hand, was FANTASTIC!  The primary draw of this pizza was the thinly sliced cantaloupe and prosciutto.  Having never tried the combination, I was pleasantly surprised (they also offer the combo as an appetizer sans pizza).  Contrary to my suspicions, the melon did not overpower the other flavors on the pizza.  Combined with the arugala, all the ingredients gave the pizza a very well-balanced, light flavor.  Kelly was particularly a fan of the crust which was thin and crispy.

Overall, the meal left us both very satisfied without being heavy, perfect for people who still have lots to do and see in Epcot before Illuminations!  Splitting an appetizer and an entree seemed like the appropriate amount of food and helped keep the bill down.  I would happily recommend Via Napoli for lunch or dinner for anyone going to Epcot looking for a casual, sit-down meal.  Hope to see you all there in future trips!

More Than Just a Fashion Accessory

In late September/ early October, Disney submitted paperwork to the FCC regarding a new radio transmitting wristband.  The wristband transmits a 2.4 GHz signal to an indoor wireless infrastructure.  The band has no on/off switch and is powered by a non-replaceable battery.  The band also includes a passive UHF & HF RFID tag radio.

This band likely represents the next step in WDW’s plan to implement Next-Gen technology by storing pre-loaded information such as tickets, hotel keys, FastPass times, and dinner reservations on the band.  Disney has been testing new FastPass stations over the past year, implementing new RFID hotel room keys at select resorts, and installing wi-fi in the parks (so far, free wi-fi is available in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and DHS).  These steps, taken together with these filings, point towards the wristband as being the lynchpin on storing and transmitting visitor information throughout the parks and resorts.  

Source  

Happy Birthday, EPCOT!

Today is the 30^th anniversary of the opening of EPCOT!  In celebration, I’d like to share with you two videos of Walt describing his vision for Epcot.  For those not in the know, EPCOT is actually an acronym for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and was a planned community designed to showcase the potential progress of technology and innovation.  In these videos, Walt describes the roles of EPCOT in Disney World in the organization of the community itself.  Both are well worth watching; enjoy!

Fantasyland Expansion Preview

As many readers may already know, Walt Disney World is expanding the Fantasyland area of the Magic Kingdom.  This expansion is occurring in three phases: a Dumbo themed area, a Beauty and the Beast & Little Mermaid area, and a Snow White area.  The Dumbo area opened earlier this year in the spring featuring twin Dumbo flyers, a water play area, and a rethemed Goofy rollercoaster for youngsters.  The second phase of the expansion will occur this holiday season (likely November).  This phase will feature an interactive Belle Storytelling attraction, Gaston's Tavern, the Be Our Guest Restaurant (counter-service by day and table-service by night), and a new Little Mermaid Dark Ride.  The final phase will feature a medium-thrill level mine cart roller coaster, opening in 2014.  A great video showing some of the progress can be found here:  

For me, the most interesting parts of this video are the interactive characters in the Enchanted Tales attraction and the gorgeous Be Our Guest restaurant!