Walt Disney World remains closed for now, but if you were able to visit, a must-see stop would be a performance of the Green Army Drum Corps in Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is a percussion trio outfitted in the style of the Green army Soldiers of the Toy Story movies. They march and perform several times a day, so check a Times Guide when you’re there.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has gone through some changes over the past two years, so we thought it might be time for another look. From the new Skyliner, the new neighbor to the north called The Riviera, to new buildings outside Old Port Royale, the resort has seen changes to its skyline.
There’s a new form of transportation available at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and that’s called the Skyliner. The Skyliner is an aerial gondola that runs to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It makes a stop at the new Riviera Hotel and has connecting services to Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation.
When the Skyliner first opened, we took a ride from Epcot to Hollywood Studios with a stop at the Skyliner Station at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. We found the ride comfortable and very enjoyable. It affords a unique view of some of the Disney Skyline we hadn’t seen before.
Our understanding is that bus service from Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios has started running every hour instead of the customary 20-minute interval found at most resort bus stops. This is because of the Skyliner service to these parks. It’s like Disney hotels that have boat service to another attraction, like the Yacht and Beach Club to Hollywood Studios. So, if you’re not fond of the Skyliner, your wait for a bus could be a bit longer than you expect.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is situated around a water feature called Barefoot Bay. Each country has a beachfront along this small lake, but the nature of being along a lakefront means that things tend to get spread around. In fact, one of the biggest complaints we see on social media about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is that it’s too big. It takes too long to walk from your room to the food court and lobby at Old Port Royale. Fortunately, there’s a bridge in the middle of the hotel that connects old Port Royale from the countries on the opposite side of the lake. There’s also an internal bus service that moves guests around the hotel grounds. It’s really not hard to get around once you know the drill.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has several places where you can grab a meal. The most obvious is the main food court in Old Port Royale, called Centertown Market. You can get all three of your meals and there’s inside or covered outside seating available.
If you’re in a hurry, there’s Centertown Market Grab & Go, where you can get salads, sandwiches, and snacks already made and ready to enjoy. You can get bakery items too.
Dining is at Sebastian’s Bistro, which is outside Old Port Royale in the building it shares with the Banana Cabana. Sebastian’s in only open for dinner.
Sebastian’s Bistro is the new dining restaurant at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. It is a new building since 2018, located outside Old Port Royale and next to the Fuentes del Morro Pool. Sebastian’s replaced Shutters, which was located inside Old Port Royale.
Sebastian’s is considered casual dining with island-inspired cuisine, like Jerk Chicken with Black Beans, Cilantro Rice, and Dark Rum Glaze. You can find their menu here.
There’s a lot to like about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. The times we’ve visited and even stayed at this hotel, we couldn’t escape the feeling that there was a lot of emphasis placed on the party atmosphere of Caribbean life. The Fuentes del Morro Pool seemed to be the center of activity around the resort, promoting outside activities all day, every day.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort seems to have a place for everyone. Whether your notion of fun is an active day at the pool or a quiet place by yourself to reflect, it’s here.
The Liberty Belle River Boat in Frontierland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom has been off-line and out of service since January of this year. It has been going through an extensive refurbishment, as all things in Disney do from time to time.
A couple of days ago, we happened to be walking through Frontierland and noticed that this magnificent old boat is back in the water and traveling around the Rivers of America. She’s not taking passengers just yet, but we’re told that she will be in the next couple of weeks.
Oh, and for you folks who are sticklers about the details, the Liberty Belle has a new whistle.
Not long ago we made our way through the United Kingdom at Epcot, in world Showcase. We found authentic merchandise from England and Scotland, sampled the traditional British food, and enjoyed Disney’s recreation of the British architecture. The pavilion seems packed full of British culture and history and, to us, represents a good cross-section of how the United Kingdom really is. Take a look at what we found:
Most of us here in the US know what Fish and Chips is, but some of us may have never heard the term, Bangers and Mash. Simply put, Bangers and Mash is an English dish made of sausage and mashed potatoes. It’s often referred to as Pub Grub. In 2009, Bangers and Mash was listed as Britain’s most popular comfort food in a survey by the TV channel, Good Food. Here’s a menu from the Rose and Crown.
At this year’s D23 Expo, Disney announced the creation of a Mary Poppins attraction at Epcot. No details were given about whether it would be a ride, a show, or maybe a small neighborhood. What we do know is that Epcot is undergoing a major overhaul at the moment, so it could be nearly anything.
We’ve spent time in the United Kingdom here in Epcot. We’ve sampled the food, shopped the merchandise, and enjoyed the entertainment, and it never gets old. We can recommend that anyone visiting Epcot and especially World Showcase, spend some time here and see what you can find.
Over the past 24 years, the chefs at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World have been preparing giant chocolate Easter Eggs. They display them in the lobby right around Easter.
Here are a few of the Easter Eggs we found:
One of the nearly half million flowers planted during the Flower and garden Festival is the Amaryllis, seen here in the United Kingdom pavilion. Photo by Don Fink.
The 25th Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is underway and it’s one of our favorite times at Walt Disney World, especially Epcot. It’s spring in Florida and the weather is usually cooperative; not too hot and humid, and not too much rain and a typical day is in the low ‘80s or high ‘70s.
The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is an annual event at Epcot that showcases, as you might expect by the name, gardening, the earth, and just about anything dealing with flowers, vegetable gardens, and so on.
While Epcot in its normal state is far from a wasteland with it’s typical Disney over-the-top landscaping, the international Flower and Garden Festival is yet another level of excellence. There are over 500,000 plants, trees, and shrubs planted for the Flower & Garden Festival each year. Of those, 250,000 are annual blossoms. And this year, because the festival runs for 90 days, there’ll be two crop rotations to keep the flowers fresh for the entire event. That seems like a lot of effort, but that’s Disney.
There were over 400 horticulturists needed to transform Epcot into the Flower & Garden landscape we see during the festival, and it takes 100 cast members dedicated to maintaining the display.
Lady and the Tramp can be found in Italy. It’s one of our favorite displays because of the flowing grasses that make up Lady’s ears. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
We focused our attention on the topiaries this year at the Flower & Garden Festival, you should remember that there’s plenty to do while you’re admiring the color.
There are 15 outdoor kitchens with over 70 different beverages and 40 featured food items. One outdoor kitchen to be sure to see is the new Honey Bee-stro. It’s located along the walkway from Future World West to Showcase Plaza. The kitchen is sponsored by the National Honey Board and features dishes like their Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake, with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream. For a beverage you might try a Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze, served with Blueberry Vodka.
We can’t forget the Garden Rocks Concert Series. This year you’ll find old favorites like Herman’s Hermits (May 4th through May 7th), but you’ll also see seven new artists. Earlier during the Festival, we saw Jo Dee Messina. Being country fans like we are, this was a treat. She appeared on April 20th and the 21st. Hopefully she’ll return next year, and many of the artists do perform every year.
This year, the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival runs until May 28th. If you happen to be in Florida, this is an event worth seeing.
There are only a handful of places on earth where millions of people plan for years to come and spend a week, and the Magic Kingdom is one of them. You would think that a simple amusement park wouldn’t hold so many in awe, but people come to see it, and come back again and again. It’s not just marketing either. For many people, it’s been a life long relationship. Walt Disney set out the rules for making an amusement park that everyone could enjoy over 60 years ago, and that foundation holds true today. After all it’s still the “happiest place on earth”.
Downtown Disney is in full construction mode these days. It’s rare to walk through and not see something new from the day before. It’s getting exciting because new businesses are starting to open, parking areas are in full construction mode, and things are just changing on a daily basis. Here are a few images of some of the newest developments at Downtown Disney.
