Walt Disney World Preview – Week of August 12
This week brings attraction closures, Mission: Space opening, and dinner discounts galore. Keep reading below to find out more! (That rhyme was accidental, but I’m still proud of myself. It’s the little things.)
Special Events
- What a time to be a Floridian! Now until September 30th, Florida residents will be offered a FREE appetizer AND valet parking with each adult dinner entrée. This is featured at the following restaurants:
- Jiko
- Flying Fish
- Citricos
- Artist Point
- La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil is offering discounted tickets for performances Tuesday through Saturday nights. Book now through December 16, 2017 to save!
- Are you a Tables in Wonderland member? Now through September 30th, you can receive a 30% discount at the following restaurants:
- Artist Point – Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Captain’s Grille – Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Jiko – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Flying Fish – Disney’s BoardWalk Resort
- The Wave…of American Flavors – Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Citricos – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
- The Grand Floridian Café – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
- Boatwright’s Dining Hall – Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside
- The Turf Club Bar & Grill – Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Olivia’s Cafe – Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Note: Discount is only available before 6:30pm or after 8:30pm
Weather
For the most current weather conditions, click here!
Crowd Levels
For more information about crowd levels, click here!
Park Hours
Attractions Closed For Refurbishments
Magic Kingdom:
- The Hall of Presidents
Epcot:
- Mission: SPACE (Green and Orange) – OPENS AUGUST 13TH
- Ellen’s Energy Adventure (Closing August 14th)
Hollywood Studios
- The Great Movie Ride (Closing August 14th)
Will you ride Mission: Space Green or Orange? Let me know in the comments!
Thank you for doing these weekly reports. I’m quite looking forward to next week’s report and the one after that, since my family is considering doing a late-August trip next year and this information will give a good idea of what to expect e.g. weather, park hours, EMH, crowd levels all consolidated in one spot.
Dawn,
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them. I hope everyone finds them helpful!
Angela
I’m curious, based on the restaurant discounts recently announced and anecdotal observations from an early July trip, whether Disney has reached a tipping point on prices for dining. We visited for two nights at SSR, five nights for a conference at Coronado, and five nights at BCV, and the recurring theme was A) “how much is the food now?!?;” and B) “where is everyone?” As much as Cape May Cafe would normally appeal to plenty of palates and tastes, who in their right mind would pay $48 for that buffet? Families of four don’t typically drop $200 for dinner, do they? Sure there might be a discount, but that’s insane. And it did not look busy at peak dinner times. Perhaps that has led to longer lines at Beaches and Cream, which was essentially full nonstop, despite the less than desirable food and accompanying high prices. (And charging $1 if you want sprinkles/jimmies on your cone/cup?) There were open tables for Captain’s Grille inside Ariel’s as well, although the prices were less stratospheric than CMC. At Coronado, quality at Pepper Market was never high, but was downright poor for our visits. (Also curious why a manager had to be called EVERY TIME before a DVC discount could be applied at the market or Cafe Rix. It took almost 6-7 minutes once and led to a long line at checkout.) Maya Grill looked abandoned every night, although Ventana’s seemed to be busy, although it has so few tables it would be hard not to be full. Prices there were downright reasonable as well. Biggest disappointment and surprise was being able to walk up without an ADR and get a table at 5 p.m. at Kona Cafe, our favorite place. They’ve changed the menu, and many of the old favorites are gone. The place was also partially empty when we left @ 630ish, with only about half the tables occupied. (Relax, the bread and butter was still fabulous. But the sushi options have dwindled considerably both inside the restaurant at next door at the sushi bar.) Ohana appeared crowded. We did have some good experiences at the Chocolate Emporium at Citywalk (place was jammed and prices were reasonable), and Mythos (ditto). As a parent of a fan of Disney’s flatbread pizzas, I’m also curious why they are priced differently at each resort. They were variously 8.49, 8.99, 9.29, 9.49, 9.99 and even reached 10.49 at Contiempo IIRC. Just my .02 as a DVC member, occasional passholder/TIW and frequent visitor.
Steve,
I definitely think you’re on to something. A lot of people speculate that the crowds have been lower this summer due to higher ticket prices. I think the same could be applied to dining.
Really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thank you for sharing!
Angela
We will be visiting next month and I am definitely going to ride Orange (again), however, the Green sounds pretty cool actually so we might try to ride both if we can fit both in. Thanks for all the updates Angela!
You’re welcome Steve H. Enjoy your vacation! – Angela