Mouse Extra

Have you been to the Wilderness Lodge to see part of Walt Disney’s own train collection?  Have you enjoyed a funnel cake along the boardwalk?  Did you ever try the Yachtsman’s Steakhouse?  Or rented a boat on the Sevens Seas Lagoon?  Have you experienced the amazing savannahs at the Animal Kingdom Lodge?  Or tired the “Kitchen Sink” at the Beach Club’s Beaches and Cream?

If the answer to these questions is no it is probably because you’ve never stayed at the resorts where you’ll find these amazing treasures of Disney World.  If you don’t stay there, it is incredibly inconvenient to go there from whatever on-property resort you are staying at.  Disney really needs to address this.

The resorts, especially the deluxe resorts, are attractions onto themselves.  They offer an amazing collection of restaurants and bars, as well as recreation and terrific ambience.  Anyone going to the Mouse, especially for a longer trip, is truly missing some of Imagineering’s finest designs if they don’t see these resorts.  But if you stay on property, and do not rent a car because the Magical Express brought you to the bubble, it is often an over hour long ordeal trying to get to these destinations.  You are forced to hop from bus to bus, and if you want to stay after park hours you may be forced into paying for a cab.  To me, this is silly and an opportunity missed.

Perhaps the biggest problem Disney guests encounter is the inability to find reservations at top restaurants.  But because of the inability to navigate around property, the restaurants at the resorts are often ignored by many guests.  Sure, Ohana and the California Grill are popular, but people often ignore places like Boma, the Yachtman’s Steakhouse, or Artists Point simply because they can’t get back to their own resorts without taking all night switching busses.  Marketing these destinations better and providing transportation to them and back will fill the seats and ease the anger guests have developed for the Disney Dining Plan.

This could be done by the existing bus system, but I understand the demand may not be that high.  So why can’t Disney operate smaller van-sized vehicles?  They could do this on an “on call’ basis, where guests can go the bell services desk before their meal and arrange a time to be picked up and taken back to their resort after they’ve eaten.  It doesn’t require many vehicles and the benefits to the resorts seem rather extensive.  I’ll even accept only doing this service after 6pm, as while the parks are filled in the afternoons this probably won’t be needed.

When guests have spent the day at a park that has closed early, they now have a world full of options to explore and enjoy.  Guests who could only afford a value or moderate resort can now experience the grandeur of the deluxe offerings, and Disney will reap the rewards.

I am a big fan of the Boardwalk. The theme is exceptionally well done and reminiscent of an old mid-Atlantic seaboard destination. It just may be my favorite place to stay at Walt Disney World. It has is all. A wooden walkway? yup. Funnel cakes? you betcha. An ice cream store and candy shop? both are covered. Street entertainers? every night. Midway games? check. Bars and restaurants? check and check. Rides? ummm…..no.

Lets face it, any boardwalk worth its salt has a pier with some fun rides, but at the Disney version. In order to be a truly accurate representation, I feel Disney needs to add this last element. Or, at the very least, one ride in particular. At one end of the Boardwalk, there is the Dance Hall. This is a colossal waste of prime real estate. For starters, its often empty. I say we put the space to better use and have Disney construct that classic boardwalk ride, the Ferris wheel.

A Ferris wheel at that spot would give incredible views of MGM and Epcot as both are in walking distance. How great would it be to watch parts of Fantasmic or Illuminations while taking a spin? I would like to see some of the more common rides the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Himalaya, or a swing ride, as well, but we’ll start with a good old fashioned Ferris wheel.

Today’s Suggestion Box is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Today begins a new topic we will surely revisit many times in the future, our suggestions that we would like to give to Walt Disney World officials.  These are not heady, expensive plans for creating e-tickets or resurrecting extinct attractions, but the things we notice could use a little improvement or addition.  For our big ideas, go the Building My Imagineering category.

Has this ever happened to you?  You are walking around the Disney-MGM Studios, it’s hot, you’ve done all the rides, and now you want to get out of the sun and cool off with perhaps an adult beverage.  Does that sound familiar?  It happens to me every time I am in the park, and since the Catwalk closed, there’s no place to just chill out for awhile.  You have to either eat something inside a restaurant, which doesn’t help much at 3 in the afternoon, or you have to leave and go back to a resort.  If you are hoping to stick around for Fantasmic, this is also not always a viable option, or the best one.

What the Studios need is a pub, plain and simple.  The Catwalk used to fill the need, but that closed sometime ago and was essentially not replaced.  Since the Studios does not require a full day to see the good stuff, yet has an incredible night time show, those smart adult guests who like to avoid the lines by being in the park early have nothing to do but bake in the sun.  If you don’t have any children with you, you’re shut out.  A good tavern, even one attached to a restaurant so that every guest, even the little ones, can enjoy it would be the fix.

There are so many possibilities for amazing themes that would fit perfectly into the park.  Who about Rick’s from Casablanca over by Indian Jones?  Perhaps the Star Wars Cantina over by Star Tours would be a good fit.  (Just think how popular that would be!)  There are endless ideas that could fit into the New York area.  What do you think?  Any ideas?