Disney has announced that the Trails End restaurant and adjacent Crockett’s Tavern at Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campgrounds Resort will be reopening tomorrow, July 27, 2023!

They have been closed for refurbishment the last few months. We were sad at the closing of one of our favorite Disney buffets at Trails End, now reimagined as a quick-service takeaway food market. It used to be our tradition to take the ferry boat over to Fort Wilderness after a long hot day at the Magic Kingdom Park for their buffet dinner. Resting our feet with the cool breeze blowing as the ferry sailed across the lagoon was the best feeling ever at that point. Then, we sat for a while as a family, recapping our fun day, enjoying the delicious fried chicken, brisket, ribs, gigantic baked potatoes, and more. Yummm! At least, it sounds like some favorite foods are returning, along with some new selections.

Most importantly, YES, the fried chicken is back! The old Trails End had the best fried chicken at Disney, and I contend even the best I’ve ever had elsewhere too. Crossing fingers that it’s returning the same. Too bad it won’t be all-you-can-eat anymore, but I can’t wait to try it again.

Along with the fried chicken, there will also be pecan smoked chicken and brisket, bbq ribs, chicken nuggets, chicken wrap, cheeseburgers, and pizza, including new meat lovers or veggie versions of the latter two. Sides will include mac n cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, coleslaw, plant-based cowboy beans, french fries, and cornbread. Of course, they didn’t forget dessert! The famous strawberry shortcake from Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue next door is back, along with other favorites like banana pudding, lemon blueberry trifle, carrot cake, ice cream, and several cupcakes and cookies, including s’mores flavors.

The restaurant has been refreshed into a casual seating area with warm wood furnishings and rustic accents. You can sit there to eat your food from the marketplace or take them to go.

Crockett’s Tavern has also been reimagined into a lounge with expanded seating indoors and out. The outdoor window will also reopen for you to grab a quick drink to-go.

Light bites include a charcuterie board, chicken bites, crispy cauliflower, and a trio of sliders (pulled pork/brisket/buffalo chicken or plant-based fried green tomatoes). There’s also a dessert trio with s’mores chocolate pudding, strawberry shortcake, and banana pudding.

Of course, the adult beverages are the stars of the lounge, with a moonshine cocktail flight and several new cocktails featuring Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey, Laird’s Applejack Brandy, Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Hendrick’s Gin, Teremana Blanco Tequila, Ole Smoky White Lightnin’ Moonshine, and more.

Were these places some of your favorites too? It’s sad to see the old favorites go, but I’m glad they’ve reopened back in some form. We’ll have to check them out on our next trip!

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about a Disney trip.

Pics ©Disney

For travelers to Disney World in Orlando Florida, the Sunshine Flyer and Mears Connect bus services have announced their merger this week. The new service will be called Mears Connect Driven By Sunshine and officially begin service on August 1, 2023.

These services provide bus and van transportation to and from the Orlando International Airport and the Disney World area resorts. With the merger, they can now provide 24/7 service and additional features. Unfortunately, the buses will no longer have the cool old-fashioned steam train look though.

If you have a current Mears Connect reservation, you will not be impacted. If you have a Sunshine Flyer reservation before August 1st, you should have gotten an email with new instructions.

Future reservations can be made on the Mears Connect site. You can also visit the site for additional information about the merger.

This is just one of several options for transportation to the Disney Parks. You can always rent a car and drive yourself, book private car services, or take Uber/Lyft. Feel free to ping me if you want to chat about your options for a Disney trip.

Pic ©Mears

Heads Up! You can now book Disney World tickets, rooms, and dining plans for 2024! Yes, dining plans are back!

As you can imagine, their systems got bogged down with the high volume this morning, but it looks like bookings are open again. If you’re interested in booking a 2024 trip, now’s the time.

Unfortunately, there is no one nice list of the prices for next year though. You just have to plug in your possible trip dates with the options you’re considering and see what the total is…or have a travel agent like me help you do the legwork.

In general, 2024 will cost more than 2023 though, but there are many factors that go into the total. Disney uses dynamic pricing, so the prices will vary depending on popularity and availability. Days that tend to be busier, such as weekends and holidays, will generally cost more than other days. The length of your stay and which resort you stay at will also affect the overall cost.

Finally, many people have been waiting for the dining plans to return. These are basically prepaid meal plans that folks like for the convenience. You should evaluate which restaurants you plan to really dine in, including what you might order there, to see if the plans are worthwhile to you though. Everyone in your booking will have to get the same plan if you opt-in for it, even the kids.

There are two types of dining plans that you can add to your resort packages. These are the prices and allocations per person per day of your resort stay. Both plans also include 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug per person per stay.

Quick Service Dining Plan:

$57.01 per adult (ages 10+), $23.83 per child (ages 3 – 9)

• 2 Quick Service Meals
• 1 Alcoholic/non-Alcoholic Beverage per Meal
• 1 Snack

Disney Dining Plan:

$94.28 per adult (ages 10+), $29.69 per child (ages 3-9)

• 1 Table Service Meal
  
• 1 Quick Service Meal
  
• 1 Alcoholic/non-Alcoholic Beverage per Meal
  
• 1 Snack

If you’re thinking about a 2024 trip, you can now begin to crunch the numbers. Resorts can fill up for popular times of the year, and prices will just go up the closer you get.

Packages (which means booking a resort room and tickets together) just need a $200 deposit and that’s fully refundable if you cancel at least 30 days before your check-in date.

Room-only bookings need to pay the first day’s amount and are refundable if you cancel at least 5 days before your check-in date.

Ticket-only bookings are not refundable but the tickets can stay in your account for future use. You’ll just have to pay the additional difference if ticket prices increase for the days you eventually use them.

If a special offer comes along in the future, you can get that applied if your booking qualifies for it too.

As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about booking a Disney World trip! See ya real soon!

Breaking News! Disney just announced that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience in Orlando will be closing after the September 28-30, 2023 voyage!

If you’ve been meaning to book this, now’s the time. New reservations are paused for now but are expected to reopen on May 26th.

If you already have a booking for after September 30th, Disney will be contacting you in the coming days about your options.

The Galactic Starcruiser is a revolutionary 2-night experience where you will embark on a first-of-its-kind Star Wars adventure. Throughout the ship, you’ll interact with an eclectic collection of characters, sit down to exotic galactic cuisine and perhaps even plot a secret mission together. Seek out the inner workings of the legendary starship, learn the traditional art of wielding a lightsaber, and even jump on a transport to the planet Batuu—where your mission continues at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!

There are tons of YouTube videos if you want to see what the experience is like. For more details, visit the Galactic Starcruiser page.

If you would like me to help book your voyage, feel free to contact me.

The Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is returning this Fall to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World! The evening extra-ticketed event will take place on select nights from Aug 11 – Nov 1, 2023. Party festivities begin at 7pm but you may enter the park after 4pm with the party ticket.

Partake in all of this spooktacular fun:

• Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular! – three sinister sisters bewitch and bedazzle the residents of Magic Kingdom park in this fun stage show.
• Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular – a wickedly wild fireworks display featuring some of your favorite Disney characters, hosted by Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
• Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade – fun parade unique to the party. Must see!
• Disney Junior Jam – dance with some favorite Disney Junior friends at Cosmic Rays. Perfect for young partygoers!
• Trick-or-Treat – collect candy as you roam trails around the park in search of some of your favorite sweets.
• More treats – eat more Halloween-inspired food and beverages
• Dress in costume – revel in the festive atmosphere around the park with fellow party-goers and Disney favorites in their Halloween finest.
• Photo Ops – commemorate the night with themed back drops and magic shots.
• Shopping – of course, there will be themed party merch!

Ticket sales for this party start TODAY for Disney resort guests at select resorts and on May 2, 2023 for everyone else. Prices range from $99-$199, depending on day. Annual passholders and DVC members get $10 savings per ticket.

For more details about the party and to buy tickets, go to this Disney World party page:

• Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Be sure to read the costume guidelines and other Know-Before-You-Go before you go. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or want help planning your Disney trip.

©Disney