Blog Archives
A New Interactive Pirate Adventure at the Magic Kingdom
From the official Disney Park’s Blog:
Pirates, ahoy!
We’re happy to share here on the Disney Parks Blog today that a new interactive quest called A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas will debut in Adventureland at Magic Kingdom Park this spring. (And check out this great artist rendering that our friends at Walt Disney Imagineering just shared with us!)
In A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas, guests will use a pirate map and magic talisman to help them complete five different pirate raids throughout Read the rest of this entry
Disney World History!
I am researching some history on Disney World in preparation for a new series of articles. While doing so I stumbled across this video. You will enjoy it but be warned it’s long!
Do You Feel Like A Hero?
The official opening date of the Fantasyland expansion at Walt Disney World is coming. On December 6th, 2012, it will open up and though everything planned will not be open, there will certainly be enough to be worthy of a Disney celebration!
The New Fantasyland is divided into two parts, Storybook Circus and Enchanted Forrest.
The Storybook Circus is already making magic happen for guests and includes the Fantasyland station of the Walt Disney World Railroad, Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station, the new double Dumbo The Flying Elephant and the Barnstormer.
The Enchanted Forrest will include Ariel’s Grotto, Enchanted Tales With Belle, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Under The Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid.
Of course there are a few things still under construction that we cannot wait for (but I guess we will have to!) but these additions, available in full on December 6th, are well worth the trip. Well who are we kidding, Disney World is always worth the trip!
Of course, being Disney, they need a hero to open the place up for the rest of us! At least that is what their add implies (See the video below to know what grumpy means!) Could you be that hero? I sure would like to be!
For more information on the Fantasyland expansion check out our New Fantasyland Page.
Maurice Has A Magic Mirror?
At Walt Disney World anytime something is added there seems to be, unfortunately, something that has to go away. While sometimes this leaves us a little sad because a beloved attraction goes away, like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it is a necessary part of making room for something that is new (and hopefully better!)
When WDW Imagineering announced the huge Fantasyland expansion two of the things they noted that was destined for the used to be were Snow White’s Scary Adventure and Story Time With Belle.
But neither Snow White nor Belle were going to be completely forgotten. Snow White was going to be remembered through the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train and Belle was getting an expanded and much improved story telling gig called Enchanted Tales With Belle.
Videos of the Seven Dwarf’s have already been featured here at grumpymickey.com but today we bring you a glimpse of Belle’s new venue. Enjoy the show!
A Dinner Fit For A Beast!
While Disney may not encourage you to eat like the Beast, they are proud to announce that you can eat with the Beast! Well maybe not exactly with him but in his castle. To that end they developed the soon to be opened Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
This eatery is part of the new Fantasyland Expansion and will be opening on November 19, 2012.
Guests will eat in one of three scenes from the classic movie: the West Wing, the Rose Gallery or the Ballroom. Each room will be decorated with all the attention to detail that guests have come to expect from Disney over the years from chandeliers, falling snow and life size representations of the Beast himself as well as Belle.
The restaurant itself is counter service during lunch and table service at night.
The menu is inspired by the movie and includes:
Lunch Menu:
- Tuna Niçoise salad
- Croque Monsieur sandwich with carved ham, Gruyere cheese, béchamel and pommes frites (French fries)
- Carved turkey on a warm baguette with Dijon mayonnaise
- Grilled steak sandwich with garlic butter spread
- Braised pork
- Vegetable quiche
- Quinoa, shallot and chive salad.
Dinner Menu:
Appetizers
- Charcuterie plate with cured meats and sausages, mussels steamed in white wine
- French onion soup
- Potato leek soup
- Salad with champagne vinaigrette
- Salad trio with three mini tastes of roasted beet, raisins and orange; green beans, tomatoes and roasted shallots; and watermelon, radish and mint.
Entrées
- Thyme-scented pork rack chop with au gratin pasta
- Rotisserie rock hen with roasted fingerling potatoes
- Pan-seared salmon in leek fondue
- Grilled strip steak with pommes frites
- Sautéed shrimp and scallops with veggies in puff pastry with creamy lobster sauce
- Oven-baked ratatouille
Dessert
- Cupcakes – Strawberry cream cheese or Triple chocolate
- Chocolate cream puff and a Passion fruit cream puff.
Kids 9 and under will have their own menus:
Lunch
- Carved turkey sandwich
- Roasted pulled pork
- Mickey meatloaf
- Seared mahi mahi
- Whole-grain macaroni topped with marinara and mozzarella
Dinner
- Grilled steak
- Grilled fish of the day
- Whole-grain macaroni
You can reserve your spot now by calling 407-WDW-Dine but a credit card is required. 
The credit card will not be charged at this time though. It is just to secure your spot. Cancellations that are not made the day before reservations will be charged a $10 per person fee.
Online reservations will not be available until August 22, 2012.
Grand Opening of the Fantasyland Expansion!
No doubt you, like all other Disney loves the world over, have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the new Fantasyland attractions. Well they are not all open yet but Disney has set a date!
Disney has announced a big event set for December 6, 2012 that will include the official opening of several new attractions!
Mermaid lovers will finally get to go Under the Sea with Ariel. The little mermaid will also be featured in Ariel’s Grotto for picture taking opportunities.
For those with a Beastly appetite the new Be Our Guest Restaurant in Beast Castle as well as Gaston’s Tavern and Bonjour! Village Gifts will be open for business.
Unfortunately not everything will be ready to go on December 6th. We will have to wait till 2013 for Princess Fairytale Hall and 2014 for the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. But don’t look at it like a delay just an excuse for more trips to Disney World.
Quick Update
Grumpydisney.com continues to grow. New galleries have been added and the pages for each theme park have been created. The next step is to flesh out the pages with all the information you need to know if each attraction is for you. Grumpy will be diligently working on this over the next few weeks or more but the emphasis is on quality and not quantity. I hope you enjoy the work!
If you have missed it be sure to see one of grumpy’s personal favorites, Kilimanjaro Safaris!
Meet Merida from Disney•Pixar’s ‘Brave’ at Magic Kingdom Park
Merida from Disney*Pixar’s upcoming film brave has already started making appearances at the Magic Kingdom! We may have to wait till late June to catch a glimpse of her onscreen but we can already see her in person and isn’t that better? And this meet and greet seems a little elevated from normal Disney fare as younger guests can engage in archery practice and some mischievous bears (animatronic only so don’t panic) have stopped by too. Find Merida in the Fairytale Garden.
Sorcerer’s Of The Magic Kingdom
Hades, the evil ruler of the underworld from the animated Disney movie Hercules, has a plan to take over the Magic Kingdom and the only thing stopping him is you! Or me! Or one of the other sixteen million guests who will visit the Magic Kingdom this year!
But how do you stop him? As you enter the Magic Kingdom stop by the Main Street USA Fire Station and sign on to be one of Merlin’s apprentices in the new interactive Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game.
You will quickly learn that Hades has sent his minions to seize Merlin’s magic crystal but in the attempt the crystal was shattered. Hades has not given up though! He has enlisted the help of some of Disney’s favorite (or infamous) villains to gather the shards of the crystal so it can be put back together. Once that is accomplished Hades will have the power to take over the Magic Kingdom.
The only thing standing in his way is you! Merlin will enlist you as his apprentice and give you a map and a five random magic spell cards (there are a total of seventy.) You are now ready to start your adventure.
Spread through out the lands of the Magic Kingdom, with the exception of Tomorrowland, are twenty magic portals. They are disguised as ordinary things, such as windows, but when you, as an apprentice sorcerer, display your magic card, they become something totally different and you get your chance to see what the villains are up to as well as the chance to stop them by casting a spell. When the time is right, show your strength and wave your card in front of the portal to defeat the evil before it can seize the Kingdom. After defeating eight of the villains you head for a confrontation with Hades himself.
Check out this video from the Imagineering Department
