Episode 391: Today we discuss among other things, what are our favorite bathrooms at Walt Disney World. When you have kids like we do, it is vital to know where all of the good bathrooms are. We talk the latest Disney news as well. Cast member previews for Tron are in full swing. The back story for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has been revealed. There is also a rumor going around the Pacos Bill’s could be getting a re-theme soon. Jason also previews his upcoming day trip to Disneyland Paris. He gives us the details on their premiere experience to skip the lines at the top attractions.
Episode: 388 This week, we’re excited to bring you some of the biggest announcements that were made in the past week. First and foremost, the opening date for the highly-anticipated Tron light cycle Run roller coaster has finally been revealed – the attraction will officially open on April 4th! In addition to the opening date for Tron, Disney also announced that they will be eliminating the parking fee for hotel guests, which is a welcome change for those staying on-site. Another change that was announced is that Annual Passholders will no longer need to make reservations for afternoon entry to the parks. (with a few exceptions) Finally, Disney has announced that they will be adding free on-ride photos as part of their Genie Plus service. This means that guests will be able to capture memories of their favorite rides and attractions without having to pay extra for the photo. In other news, Disney has recently announced a new Chairman of the Board. Also this is the last week of operation for splash mountain.
Episode 387: In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing Adam’s recent trip to Walt Disney World over the Christmas holidays. One of the highlights of his trip was riding the Walt Disney World Railroad. It is so good to have it back in service. He noticed that one particular station had the shortest lines while he was there. Another highlight of Adam’s trip was a visit to La Cave del Tequila. One of our favorite spots in all of Walt Disney World and the staff there is just amazing. He also got to sample Jock Lindsey’s “Holiday” Bar at Disney Springs and really enjoyed it. We also cover the Disney news and rumors that we missed over the past couple of weeks.
Episode 386. Jason recaps his Every Ride Challenge run with his son Andrew. He talks about using Genie+ with the new modify feature. He used it with great results during his challenge. We do also cover some of the news. Te Fiti is now visible over the constructions walls at Epcot. The Journey of water is scheduled to open in 2023. Speaking of 2023, We discuss more about what we think the timing will be of the new things coming to Disney World in 2023. Woody’s Roundup Rodeo BBQ, Tron and the WDW Railroad to name a few. We also took a detour by coming up with our own challenge to visit 10 lounges in a day. We just have to figure out what those 10 will be and then we will get right on that. Jason then goes into the details of his challenge run where he and his son finished 30 rides and 545 points.
Episode 382: This week’s episode got cut short by some technical issues. We did manage to discuss some news and two of us have trips coming up soon. Jason is in Walt Disney world this weekend to see Fantasmic and I will be there soon as well. We discuss some of the latest holiday happenings around Walt Disney World. Bob is at it again and we discuss the Q4 earnings call. We got some new details on the Disneyland treehouse redesign. It is going to be kind of back to the original Swiss Family Robinson but not quite. We have a date for when Guardians will add the holiday track to cosmic rewind. A rare hurricane in November impacted the Disney World resort this week. We also experienced some technical difficulties that cut this episode short.
Episode 381: It’s November now and that means that it is Christmas time at Walt Disney World. We talk about that transformation from a long Halloween season and then going directly into Christmas. The Galactic Starcruiser is having a major slowdown in bookings. What is the future going to look like for this pricey 2 day experience? In some happy news Fantasmic is back and we really like the updates to the show! I know we have given this show a hard time over the years but it was outdated and the changes that were made to this show have given it new life. On another positive note, the Toy Story meet and greets are coming back. The Jingle Cruise, one of my favorite holiday overlays, is also back! There’s a lot of fun things going on This holiday season.
Episode 378: Prices are on the rise once again at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. We discuss our disgust with the particularly egregious price hikes. Like genie plus and some of the food and drink increases. We sadly predicted the increases at places like Baseline Taphouse. We know that prices will enviably go up over time but this increases are substantial at a time when Disney is well above inflation on most prices. undenounced to him, Jason got to visit on the last weekend before these prices were increased. He did a split DVC stay starting at Rivera and ending at Animal Kingdom Lodge. He tested out Magic Band Plus and met up with some friends who are non regular guests. We get to hear what they thought of all of the new things to experience at Walt Disney World.
Episode 375: Jason just returned from a solo trip to Walt Disney World. He utilized some last minute DVC availability and stayed at the boardwalk. On this trip he experience a re-ranking of his favorite coasters at Disney as well as his favorite lounges on property. He was able to fit a lot into his 48 hour trip. He let’s us know his thoughts on the boardwalk and getting the most out of Genie plus during his trip. He visited all 4 parks and was able to get quite a lot done. We do also spend a few minutes talking about the news but there wasn’t much new to discuss at the time.
On our podcast we talk a lot about these lounges. We thought it would be a good idea to talk more about them in depth and put together a pros and cons list of each. We haven’t visited every single bar or lounge on Disney property yet but there are several that we keep repeating because they have become staples of our Walt Disney World experience! If your favorite is not on our list, let us know! With that out of the way, these are our current top five and I am even going to throw in some honorable mentions at the end. Let’s get started…
In no particular order (because we can’t agree on the ranking) We are starting with…La Cava del Tequila. This lounge is located in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot, So you need a park ticket and a reservation for Epcot to get here. It’s hard to beat the Mexico pavilion when it comes to theming but throw in some good margaritas and some queso on top of that and you have an unbeatable combination!
Pros: Excellent Drink menu, especially if you like tequila. The Theming here is arguably the best on this list. The atmosphere inside the Mexico Pavilion is some of the best in World Showcase. If you are lucky enough to score a table…the chips, quac, and queso are also top notch. Shoutout to Barbas as well who is one of the best servers anywhere in Walt Disney World!
Cons: It Can be very crowded depending on the time of day that you visit. It is tough to get a table here but it is so much better if you do. Most people will do the walk up bar and enjoy their drinks outside by the fountain. Drink are on the expensive side. ($16-$30)
The next one on our list is the Nomad Lounge. Located just outside of Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. (A park ticket and reservation at Animal Kingdom is required) We finally got to visit this lounge for the first time this year and it was an instant favorite! The theming here is also outstanding (here’s looking at you Joe Rhode). We also really enjoyed the food options and the drink menu is very diverse. This one has it all…so much so that this lounge won our twitter poll by a landslide.
Pros: The theme of world travel here is incredible and the cozy atmosphere just makes you want to stay here all day. (we practically did on our first visit). The food options are outstanding and the wide variety of drinks means that you can find something for everyone here!
Cons: This place is popular so get your name in early. We had to wait 30 minutes to get a spot not long after it opened. This lounge is at Animal Kingdom so it is out of the way for most of Walt Disney World. Just make sure to work this into your Animal Kingdom day. I did also find that the seating areas can be a little close together depending on where you get seated.
The next one in our top five is Dahlia Lounge. This spacious lounge is located at the top of Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs resort. (No theme park ticket or reservation required) This is another one that has it all…Good food options and a nice variety of drinks that will please just about anyone. The views from the top of the tower are also quite nice.
Pros: Great Views from on top of Gran Destino Tower. It is very spacious and spread out for a lounge. There’s good food and drink options. We have had top notch service here as well. (It also has a great name 🙂
Cons: Unless you are staying at this resort you will have to go out of your way to get here. Some of the food options are on the pricey side. (I’m looking at you $35 charcuterie) but there are other options.
In no particular order, the next one on our list is Bar Riva. This one is located at Disney’s Riviera Resort. (No park ticket or reservation required) This is our favorite skyliner bar maybe because it is the shortest walk from a skyliner station. (we did the math) It also has fantastic food options and next door is Primo Piatto, one of our favorite quick service locations in all of Walt Disney World! We also have a favorite bar tender here, Chris.
Pros: Excellent food, there’s good options at Bar Riva but Primo Piatto is also right next door and just a mobile order away! The drinks here are outstanding and the service we’ve had has been wonderful. There’s a nice wide open courtyard area around this bar so there’s plenty of room and space for kids to run around. This one may also be the least crowded of any of the bars on this list.
Cons: The bar itself is covered but it is open air. If you aren’t familiar with the resort it may be difficult to find at first. I am also not a huge fan of the theming inside the bar but there’s plenty of other areas that you can sit and take in the beauty of this resort.
Last but not least is Baseline Taphouse. This is located inside of Hollywood Studios on Grand Avenue, just outside of the entrance to Batuu. (Park ticket and reservation for Hollywood Studios is required) The vibe here is chill and the music really sets that mood. If you love beer this is the place to go in Hollywood Studios. Prices here are very reasonable for a Disney Bar. This one has been on our list for a long time and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.
Pros: The chill music creates a laid back atmosphere that is much needed at Hollywood Studios these days. The prices here are very reasonable for food and drinks. ($10 charcuterie) They have a good selection of craft beers on tap.
Cons: It has mostly outdoor seating and can get very crowded at times. There’s not a lot of cocktail options on the menu and the food is good but limited options.
So there you have it. This is our top five list of Bars/Lounges on Walt Disney World Property. Is there anything missing that should be here? Let us know! We are going on our experience and these are definitely the top 5 for us as of right now. In episode 372 linked here we go through 11 bars and lounges and easily narrowed down that list to these five. I will include some honorable mentions that we definitely enjoy often. Trader Sam’s/ Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Banana Cabana at Disney’s Caribbean Beach report, and Brown Derby Lounge at Disney’s Hollywood studios. Those are all good but didn’t quite make it into the top 5.
Episode 372: Today we answer the age old question, What is the best lounge at Walt Disney World. The only problem is we can’t agree on which one is the best. We listed 11 of what we think are the best top bars/lounges at Walt Disney World and we discuss the pros and cons of each. We then narrowed down that list to our definitive top 5. We all agreed on which ones made the top 5 but we all had our own reasons for picking the order that these should go in. Truthfully, this like all other top 5 lists can change with our mood or over time. See if you agree with our list or if we excluded your favorite altogether. We also cover some of the latest news and oh yeah, Jason is back this week and hosted this episode.
Episode 370: There is an ongoing debate in the Disney Community about which form of Disney transportation is best, Monorail or Skyliner. (sorry Bus) Well, in order to truly get to the bottom of that we must fully explore all of what makes them both great. There are truly some great restaurants that are on the monorail and if you include the boardwalk area there’s many more options on the skyliner. But which of these two forms of transportation has the best overall restaurants? We give our top 5 picks for each and then decide which one overall has the better restaurants. We do also cover some news stories. The Disneyland resort is finally allowing renewals of their Magic Key (annual pass) program. The prices are different though. We also talk a little about this year’s Mickey’s not so scary Halloween party!
Episode: 364 This week we have another trip report from Walt Disney World. This time I recently returned from a trip with a group of 14 people. I found out that there are some challenges with a group of that size of course, but also that an enjoyable time with minimal wait times can still be had. With a few tricks up my sleeve we did the majority of our rides with Lightning Lanes. We did all 4 parks each day with a group of 10-14 people and I go through the strategies that I used for each park. It turned out surprisingly well! If I can get a large group through Disney and everyone had a great time then so can you! There will be a part 2 to this trip coming soon. We also cover some news that broke this week. Mainly that Bob’s contract got extended and We now know that Tiana’s bayou adventure will be opening in 2024!
Episode 363: Jon and I catch up on the Disney news of the past month. With all of our recent trips it we haven’t talked much about the latest news. I was impressed by the Indiana Jones merch that came out this month. If only these movie props could’ve been around when I was 10 years old! The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue has now officially reopened, We discuss what is new, what is the same and is it still a good value? There’s a lot of meet and greets returning over the summer. Things are slowly returning back. Christmas time this year is going to be a lot more like 2019! Except for the price tag 🙁 The Disney Wish made it into port but will it be ready for it’s first sailing? All this and more!
Episode 359: This week we are all traveling to Disney in different ways. We have a cruise, a land and sea cruise and we have Walt Disney World trips. Between the four of us we have a lot of Disney travel this month! Jon and I first discuss the first two episodes of the Obiwan series. This was the most watch premiere of a Disney Plus show ever. We discuss some other parks news and then we go into our trip previews. This is my first cruise so I have a lot to learn but the biggest hurdle right now seems to be getting cleared to get on this ship. Once I make it on the ship with Cape Canaveral behind us, then I’ll share that sentiment. Jon talks about his upcoming trip and how he used a crowd calendar as his guide for selecting which parks he reserved for each day of his trip. Look foward to trip reports in the coming weeks!
Episode 356: We have a full house in this episode as we have Jason and James join us this week! We discuss the latest news. Which includes Tron testing at full speed and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic rewind is in passholder previews. Meanwhile the Disney CEO is touting the Q2 earnings for the company. He points to things like Genie Plus, Disney Plus and Galactic Starcruiser as the reasons for the increase in revenue. In order to help Bob out more, we pulled a list of every Disney movie made and we randomly selected some to come up with attraction ideas from the existing Disney IP database. We found some hidden gems that I think Bob would be proud to have made into new attractions or an overlay to existing attractions. It was a fun game for us to play.
Episode 354: We catch up on all of the latest news this week. It’s been a while since we covered the news and there’s plenty going on. We give our take on the Reedy Creek Improvement district situation and what we think will actually happen to it. The Halloween Party is back in its full form this year but it kept the prices from last year, sadly. There’s some new details on the Haunted Mansion film that is currently in production. This got us talking about sequels and how Walt was quoted as being against making sequels to his movies. We also mention the upcoming Rescue Rangers movie and it definitely looks unique. Tokyo is making some interesting changes to their Space mountain. All of these stories and more!
Episode 353: This week Adam recently return from an Easter trip to Walt Disney World! This episode is all about the much needed getaway. I stayed at Gran Destino but I spent quite a bit of time at the Polynesian. I talk about the significance of that resort and why it means so much to me. It was nice to be back and reflect on good times that I’ve had there over the years. I also have more in Genie Plus. I go through the frustrations but also a glimmer of hope for the future. My family enjoyed the Flower and Garden festival and the easter egg hunt at Epcot. I got lucky with a table at La Cava! I also discovered a new lounge that will become a new regular at Hollywood Studios!
This week some of us are traveling…(Me) so we aren’t able to put a new episode out but we decided to republish our 300th episode where we discuss our Disney roots and what started our love for Disney. The last several months have been challenging for Disney fans so I think it is important to Get Back to our roots and see if that helps rekindle the flame a little. See you next week with a trip report!
Episode 351: Today we catch up on the latest Disney news and one of us just booked their first Disney Cruise! We start with the news and even though we don’t talk about Bruno, we had to talk about the Oscars. Encanto won best animated feature but it lost for best song. Oh yeah, and there was a little incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock. We give our take on that. There’s more drama in Florida with Bob. Connections Café will have some cool new features. The queue for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind has been revealed and speculation is running wild about previews! Jon and I end this episode by having some fun Disney conversation.
Episode 345: Jason is back this week and we talk about maximizing Genie Plus! With the Q1 earnings call happening this past week, we know for sure that Genie is here to stay. We give our thoughts on how to improve it and how to best use it for your next trip. We also discuss more about the Q1 earnings call and what more we can expect Disney and CEO to do as a result. We also talk about some Genie Plus news. Jon and I have finished watching Book of Boba Fett and we try to talk about our feelings on season 1 without spoiling the ending for Jason. Another big Star Wars story in the news was the release date for the Obiwan Kenobi series on Disney Plus. I talk about how excited I am about it until I see who all is involved with the production and then I start getting nervous. How do you feel about the Obiwan Series?
