Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2024 Edition

[jlundeen]

I hope they add some kind of shade for those 2 hour standby lines....

 

[OKW Lover]

The ride is having multi hour long breakdowns per day. I saw at one point the ride was down for 6-7 hours.

That's interesting. Where do you find this info?

 

[Smugpugmug]

That's interesting. Where do you find this info?

https://www.thrill-data.com/

You can track any ride's up time and/or downtime, not just Tiana.

 

[kylenne]

I hope they add some kind of shade for those 2 hour standby lines....

Me too, that queue is going to be absolutely brutal during Spring Break.

 

[Gabby01]

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter Opens Refurbished Rooms to Guests

This past weekend we saw reports that Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter opened newly refurbished rooms to about 60+ guests.

This is a look at what the rooms looked like before this refurbishment. In April of this year, we reported that some rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter would begin undergoing refurbishment in May. We do expect this refurbishment to continue in other buildings and rooms through November 2024.

The pictures that were shared on Facebook are from a refurbished room in Building 1.

The new rooms feature a fresh coat of cream paint that brightens the room. There are small nods to “The Princess and the Frog” and the New Orleans Mardi Gras season throughout the refurbished room.

The flooring below the beds appears to have been changed as well. Previously there was a straight pattern with a darker wood framing the interior (barely seen in the first image above). Now it is a more chevron pattern.

This definitely makes me more interested in POFQ! I love how bright and relaxing the new rooms look.

 

[disney-inspired]

I like the new furniture, but I prefer the colored wall. And oh how I hate the barn sliding bathroom doors (everywhere).

The sliding door is only for the sink area. the toilet/shower have their own door, unless that was removed but don't see that being done.

 

[rangerxenos]

This definitely makes me more interested in POFQ! I love how bright and relaxing the new rooms look.

I stayed there for the first time in April, fell in love with the resort, it's nice and small, very quiet, and only one bus stop!

I was also very impressed with the staff, it's one of the best I've interacted with in all my stays on property, and that includes Deluxe resorts. Whoever is in charge there is doing the right thing!

 

[OKW Lover]

https://www.thrill-data.com/

You can track any ride's up time and/or downtime, not just Tiana.

I wonder if some of that down time is because of weather.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I wonder if some of that down time is because of weather.

The site does not account for closures due to weather but *anecdotal evidence* when I did my AP preview the weather was perfect but the ride was down for over 5 hours. There are some fundamental issues with the mechanics of the ride ATM that need to be fixed. There is 0 excuse why this happens almost every day (outside of weather).

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Tiana’s was down all morning today.

 

[rangerxenos]

The site does not account for closures due to weather but *anecdotal evidence* when I did my AP preview the weather was perfect but the ride was down for over 5 hours. There are some fundamental issues with the mechanics of the ride ATM that need to be fixed. There is 0 excuse why this happens almost every day (outside of weather).

Yep. They should have just extended the refurbish and done it right.

 

[bdrex28]

I've been saying they ought to extend park hours at AK and put a drone show in the arena that used to have Rivers of Light

The park is beautiful at night, but right now you only really get to see it around the holidays because the park closes so early most of the rest of the year.

I am 100000000% behind this.

Back in March of 2020 (right when COVID began) we were at my middle daughter's volleyball tournament in Orlando and then spent 5 days at the parks. March 8-12 if I recall and no one knew what to think about Covid.

Anyway....they had After Hours at AK and it was amazing. The park was beautiful, Pandora area was fantastic.

But they haven't done after hours since and you rarely get to see AK in the Dark/Night like that because of closing time.

 

[rangerxenos]

I am 100000000% behind this.

Back in March of 2020 (right when COVID began) we were at my middle daughter's volleyball tournament in Orlando and then spent 5 days at the parks. March 8-12 if I recall and no one knew what to think about Covid.

Anyway....they had After Hours at AK and it was amazing. The park was beautiful, Pandora area was fantastic.

But they haven't done after hours since and you rarely get to see AK in the Dark/Night like that because of closing time.

During the holidays they do a beautiful light show on the Tree of Life, there's no reason (Other than $$$ to pay staff.) that they couldn't stay open later and have a show for each Season!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

TRON Lightcycle Run Will Not Participate in Early Entry When Standby Opens Next Week

When TRON Lightcycle Run opens up a traditional standby queue next week, it will not initially participate in the Early Entry perk.

Walt Disney World says that TRON Lightcyle Run will not be available during Early Entry when it launches a standby queue on September 9th. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in practice, given that Tomorrowland is open during Early Entry, and guests will likely want to rope drop TRON Lightcycle Run when it officially opens for the day at 9am. Of course, operations and crowds on September 9th will probably not be representative of the experience two months from now, especially once we enter a busier time of the year, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on things.

For guests with access to the Extended Evening Hours perk for Deluxe Resort hotels, TRON Lightcycle Run will be available without the need to join a Virtual Queue starting with the September 11th Extended Evening Hours event, and moving forward.

TRON Lightcycle Run has previously operated a standby queue during special events, but next week will mark a significant shift in crowd dynamics at Magic Kingdom for the first time in years. We’ll have more thoughts on that shortly!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Construction Underway at Woody’s Lunch Box, Seating Relocated to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios

Construction is underway at the main seating area for Woody’s Lunch Box, and guests will have to travel to a seating area far, far away while work continues. If we had to guess, the construction at Woody’s Lunch Box appears to be unexpected, but it could also be related to construction that has been ongoing for more than 2.5 years already. Either way, there is almost no seating at Woody’s Lunch Box for the moment, and tables have been set up along the walkway to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Here’s a look!

Here’s a look at the temporary seating area available for guests. Of course, it’s open to anyone (not just guests dining at Woody’s Lunch Box), and not policed at all, unlike Woody’s Lunch Box which is relatively strict during peak dining times.

 

[CarolynFH]

Construction is underway at the main seating area for Woody’s Lunch Box,

Oh, please please please be adding a LOT of seating to Woody's Lunch Box, and have it finished in time for our trip in January!

 

[sherlockmiles]

TRON Lightcycle Run Will Not Participate in Early Entry When Standby Opens Next Week

When TRON Lightcycle Run opens up a traditional standby queue next week, it will not initially participate in the Early Entry perk.

Walt Disney World says that TRON Lightcyle Run will not be available during Early Entry when it launches a standby queue on September 9th. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in practice, given that Tomorrowland is open during Early Entry, and guests will likely want to rope drop TRON Lightcycle Run when it officially opens for the day at 9am. Of course, operations and crowds on September 9th will probably not be representative of the experience two months from now, especially once we enter a busier time of the year, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on things.

For guests with access to the Extended Evening Hours perk for Deluxe Resort hotels, TRON Lightcycle Run will be available without the need to join a Virtual Queue starting with the September 11th Extended Evening Hours event, and moving forward.

TRON Lightcycle Run has previously operated a standby queue during special events, but next week will mark a significant shift in crowd dynamics at Magic Kingdom for the first time in years. We’ll have more thoughts on that shortly!

That does not make sense from a guest point of view. Guess the queue will just start then in the walkway.

 

[Suger Mag]

That does not make sense from a guest point of view. Guess the queue will just start then in the walkway.

Why would you waste early entry waiting for a ride that is not open while other rides are open ? Or am I misunderstanding? It is a big ramp to walk up so there is plenty of space

 

[chiburple]

Why would you waste early entry waiting for a ride that is not open while other rides are open ? Or am I misunderstanding? It is a big ramp to walk up so there is plenty of space

I imagine it could still be the shortest wait for this ride of the day, especially if you want to buy multipass, but not pay for the ILL.

 

[soniam]

I imagine it could still be the shortest wait for this ride of the day, especially if you want to buy multipass, but not pay for the ILL.

Yep. Especially since EE is only 30 minutes. You are lucky if you can get 2 rides in. It’s usually 1. If Space Mountain is down, most people will run to Tron. Otherwise, you are riding Buzz or hoofing it to fantasyland.