#easywdw

Last week, Disney started rolling out some of its previously announced Star Wars related attractions and food items. Though Elyssa and I probably won’t get to see any of it with our own eyes for a couple of months (unless we decide to just head down some other random weekend…), there has been a ton of coverage online about what is available.

If you want to get the most in-depth summary of everything (especially in the context of overall Studios touring strategies), I recommend that you check out this post by Josh over at easyWDW. In addition to covering all new entertainment and new food items, he also explains how to best fit a visit to the Launch Bay into your day:

If you do want to do the meet and greets [available at the Launch Bay], I suggest visiting as late in the evening as possible and ideally 90 to 120 minutes before close. … The benefit of going late is that we know for a fact how morning touring goes, so we can stick to the tried and true strategy there and enjoy short waits at Toy Story, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and other Meet and Greets.

Based on recent treads in crowd levels, Josh’s strategy makes a ton of sense. Take advantage of the lower crowd levels associated with rope drop to get the most popular attractions out of the way and then visit the Launch Bay when most people probably already have. It will also be interesting to see what the crowd levels are like in the Launch Bay after it has been open for a few months.

If you’re mainly interested in seeing photos of the new Launch Bay, then you can check out the companion photo post from easyWDW, or these posts onWDW News Today and WDW Magic. Both Inside the Magic and The DIS also have video walk throughs of what you can see in the Launch Bay. For those of you more interested in pictures of the new food items, I suggest checking out WDW News Today and Disney Food Blog.

On a semi-related note, various sources are also saying the new Symphony in the Stars fireworks show is rumored to start on December 18. (You can also now start booking reservations for a new dessert party associated with the show for dates starting January 5, 2016.) This is a little surprising to me, since I feel like the Osborne Lights are enough to draw people to the Studios over the holidays. I have always assumed they would wait until after the Osborne Lights are taken down to start showing Symphony in the Stars.

Star Wars toys lose all their value if you take them out of the box.

The post The Start of the Studio’s Star Wars Invasion appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again: Josh at easyWDW is almost always one of the first people to post information about Disney World Schedule changes.

Here are his updates for:

November (these changes are particularly around Thanksgiving, though he also posted about recent the November 8 change);

December; and

February

Personally, I’m most excited to see some hours extended for Princess Half-Marathon Weekend.

The post Disney World Schedule Changes for November, December (2015), and February (2016) at easyWDW appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

Earlier today, Josh from easyWDW (with a major credit given to Steve Milz) published the 2015 Version of the easyWDW Epcot Food & Wine Festival Review PDF. As I’ve said before, I always start my Food & Wine planning with easyWDW‘s food reviews. Therefore, it seems like a no-brainer to download this PDF to your phone, so you can reference it at the festival. (Though, I would love to see people walking around the festival with any of these guides in printed and bound form. Full color, of course.)

The post easyWDW has Released its 2015 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival PDF appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

A number of sites, including easyWDW and WDW News Today are reporting that the Jedi Training Academy will be closing for about 8 weeks on October 4th to revamp the show to tie in more with the Star Wars Rebels cartoon (admittedly, a really well done show.) For me, the biggest bummer is that Scout and Elyssa, Jr. will never be able to do this:

Meanwhile, the Disney Parks Blog released a a bunch of details about the upcoming Season of the Force event at Disneyland. The post contained a number of details for the Disneyland version of the park (including a Chewbacca meet-and-greet), but ended with this disappointing note:

[K]eep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog for dates and details on these new Star Wars experiences coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Kind of a bummer for people like me who are looking forward to the Disney World event (Though, probably not as much of a bummer as all the closings that will be taking place at Disneyland as part of the Star Wars construction.) I imagine that the Seasons of the Force event will start up once the Osborne Family Lights come down (since that would be an easy way to get people to go to The Studios.)

One of my favorite Star Wars action figures

The post News and Lack of News about Star Wars at the Studios appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

As you may have heard on Twitter yesterday, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar is now open at Downtown Disney (or “Disney Springs” if you’re reading this after September 29, 2015.) As is usually the case when a new place to grab food or drink opens, there have been a ton of new reviews posted.

The most thorough review of the bar, so far, comes courtesy of Dani (last name withheld) at TouringPlans. Her review features a good mix of photos, a description of the arrival experience (texting people that they can return is so much nicer than a pager-based system), and a nice rundown of the food and drinks she tried:

The calamari flatbread [$14.99] is a perfect choice for calamari fans. The harissa spread gives a nice Mediterranean flavor. This is a great option to share. The Air Pirate’s Pretzels ($8.99) were also a surprise hit. The caraway seeds add depth to the flavor, the beer cheese is way-too-good , though the mustard may be too strong for some palates.

(For people liked me who have no idea what “harissa” is, it’s “a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste the main ingredients of which are roasted red peppers, serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices and herbs”.)

Josh from easyWDW also had an excellent write-up on the bar, that was full of his usual snark:

Lisa ordered the $10.25 Reggie’s Revenge: Florida Cane ‘Orlando Orange’ Vodka, Midori Melon Liqueur, White Cranberry Juice, and fresh Lime Juice. Ordinarily, you want to avoid just about anything originating in Florida, perhaps with the exception of this week’s episode of Cops, but Florida Cane does a good job with their vodkas. (emphasis added)

As you would expect from an easyWDW review, the article is full of good pictures (including some artsy titled ones) and good, practical advice about what you might want to actually order. (I admit I was pleased that he also seemed to enjoy the calamari flatbread, since I have been intrigued by that option since the menu was first posted. Also, his running joke about the name of the bar is fantastic.)

If you’re looking for more photos from the bar, then Denise at MouseSteps has a post with about a 100 of them. WDW Magic has also nice, concise, review, if you still want more coverage.

The post Early Reviews of Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

It’s preview day for the 2015 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and Josh from easyWDW is tweeting up a picture filled storm. If you can’t wait to see details from this year’s festival, than I recommend checking out his Twitter feed:

Show time http://pic.twitter.com/rFFAZWxCBB

— josh (@easywdw) September 24, 2015

The post Check out the easyWDW Twitter Feed if you want early Food & Wine Festival Pictures appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

Josh at easyWDW has posted updates to Disney World’s operating schedule for October, December, and January. The December update is especially important since it includes a number of new Extra Magic Hour mornings around Christmas.

As a general note, I always check easyWDW for schedule updates before any trip. I know that I could pull the information directly from Disney but Josh’s layout and information is way more convenient. (I even prefer it to using MyDisney Experience to look for future park hours.)

The post Disney World October, December, and January Park Hours Updates from easyWDW appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

Josh over at easyWDW has put together one of his epic “Merchandise Updates”. If you are the kind of person who wants to know all of the new merchandise that’s available at Disney World, take a look at his update (which comes in 3 parts):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3