Since reopening, Disney World has implemented several health and safety measures to keep guests and Cast Members safe.

Not only are there face masks and social distancing markers, but many attraction and shops have received a plexiglass makeover. Many rides have gotten a plexiglass makeover in the queues, the loading area, and the attraction vehicles themselves, and today we noticed that more plexiglass has been added to an attraction in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

As we headed to Pandora in Animal Kingdom today, we decided to hop on Na’vi River Journey. A few weeks ago, we noticed that plexiglass had been added to at least one of the boats, and they were seating every row in that boat.

Now, every single boat has a plexiglass divider between the rows. Also, Cast Members are now loading each row. Beforehand, parties had an entire boat to themselves. Disney has added plexiglass dividers on other boat rides as well like Frozen Ever After and Living With the Land so that they can seat guests in every row.

Plexiglass can help the wait times drastically, especially since Na’vi River Journey has consistently had some of the longest wait times in ALL of Disney World. Overall, our experience was about the same as any other ride with plexiglass in Disney World right now, but our wait time was fairly short at 25 minutes.

Plexiglass dividers have been added to every boat on Na’vi River Journey making the wait time much shorter! pic.twitter.com/P6r95MvAEO

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) March 24, 2021

 

 

 

 

We’ll continue to be on the lookout for any other attractions that get plexiglass, and we’ll keep an eye on how it affects the wait times for Na’vi River Journey. Stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates from the Disney Parks!

Is Animal Kingdom’s Longest Wait Time Finally Going to Get Shorter?!

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Have you been to Disney World since it reopened? Let us know in the comments!

The post A Ride At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Now Has Even MORE Plexiglass first appeared on the disney food blog.

There are TONS of amazing quick-service locations in Disney Springs, and today we visited one of our favorites!

D-Luxe Burger is known for their incredible burgers (obviously), and it’s one of the few restaurants owned and operated by Disney in the area! While the restaurant offers up some fun seasonal food, we grabbed a classic on the menu today.

This one is for all of you spicy-food lovers out there, because we grabbed the El Diablo Burger! The burger is made with a Chorizo and Signature Blend Beef Patty, Fried Banana Peppers, Pepper Jack, Lettuce, Tomato, Grilled Onion, and Chipotle Mayonnaise.

And, of course, we had to get a side of fries too! The fries come with one sauce, but you can ask a Cast Member for other sauces too! We went with Truffle Aioli, but we also asked for a side of Buffalo Bleu Cheese and Chipotle Mayonnaise for dipping.

We LOVE D-Luxe Burger, so it wasn’t a surprise that we loved the El Diablo. It was spicy from the peppers, but not too overpowering! You can tell the burger patty is a really good quality. The bun holds up and doesn’t sink from all of the stuff on top of it, and the produce was super fresh. The crunch from the bell peppers was one of our favorite parts of the burger!

If you are a more adventurous burger-eater, this is a fun burger to try! It is not super spicy, but it certainly has a kick to it. If you hate spice of any kind, you’ll want to stay away.

The fries are not our favorite, but they are still a nice compliment to the meal. We love that the skin is on the potatoes and they are large enough to get a good dip of whatever sauce you choose!

The truffle aioli was very truffle-y, which we loved, and it was good paired with the fries. The buffalo bleu cheese was the hottest of the sauces, but not overwhelming at all. We couldn’t really taste the bleu cheese in that dip. The chipotle mayo was nice and smokey, just how we like it!

You can grab the El Diablo Burger for $12.49 and a side of fries is $4.99 for a regular and $7.49 for a large. This meal is for those who love spice or want to change up their burger game a little bit! Stay tuned to DFB for the latest food reviews from Disney World!

Check out ALL of our Easter treat reviews from this year!

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Have you eaten at D-Luxe Burger in Disney Springs? Let us know in the comments!

The post REVIEW: Beware! This Burger in Disney Springs Has Got A KICK! first appeared on the disney food blog.

Dessert time in Disney World is basically the best time of the day with all of the incredible treats available. And, Disney Springs is home to one of the absolute BEST desserts across the property – cookies from Gideon’s Bakehouse!

The menu is stocked with cake, coffee, and massive cookies that are almost too good to share (but they’re certainly big enough). Since the opening of Gideon’s Bakehouse in Disney Springs, the store has become incredibly popular and kinda difficult to access due to its long lines. That’s why Gideon’s is sharing some tips to help you get your cookie fix!

So, what is the art of actually visiting Gideon’s Bakehouse, even now that the cookies are at a celebrity status? The bakery is chiming in with a few helpful tips and tricks on their Facebook page since Gideon’s has almost had to start operating like a “theme park ride.” Here’s everything you need to know.

Gideon’s doesn’t begin welcoming guests inside the bakery until 10 AM, but the line starts forming earlier at around 9 AM when the parking garages open in Disney Springs. A Virtual Queue is implemented when the queue gets very long. While guests are waiting for their return text from the Virtual Queue, they can hop over to their favorite shops throughout Disney Springs.

It’s important to note that you might have to wait a while… like a few hours, even. On weekdays, the Virtual Queue usually launches between open and lunchtime, based on crowd levels. The wait can last around two hours, so you can take a lunch break before making your way back to Gideon’s. Weekends are a lot busier, as expected, with the Virtual Queue sometimes starting before Gideon’s even opens and averaging at about a five-hour wait, Fridays through Sundays.

The earlier the arrival, the shorter the wait — most of the time. After you receive the return text, the wait to enter Gideon’s Bakehouse is usually about 15 minutes. Guests will need to sign up for the Virtual Queue in person next to the bridge in front of Morimoto Asia before the queue closes (around 6PM or 7PM each day). Gideon’s closes the queue early in order to ensure that guests already in it are waited on and the bakery can close on time.

The Disney Springs location doesn’t use delivery, shipping, or pre-order options like the original store at East End Market, which is 20 miles into Orlando. Even with the wait, we definitely recommend taking time out of your day in Disney Springs to visit the bakery and indulge in one (or a whole box) of the amazing cookies and treats at the store. And, you can keep up with everything new we find in Disney World by staying tuned to DFB!

3 More Reasons to Wait HOURS for Gideon’s Bakehouse in Disney Springs

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Have you been to Gideon’s Bakehouse? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Your FULL Guide to Securing the Most Popular Treat in Disney Springs first appeared on the disney food blog.

Today’s posted wait times at Walt Disney World were some of the highest in the past year.  The average attraction posted wait time was 38 minutes today at the Magic Kingdom, which was the highest it’s been for the past month, and the 16th-highest day of the past year.  EPCOT was also popular, with an average posted wait of 34 minutes – that’s good for 7th-highest over the past month, and 36th-highest over the past year.  Hollywood Studios’ wait times were not helped by the fact that Rise of the Resistance is having one of its worst days in recent memory.

We’ve received 277 actual wait times so far today from our fabulous Lines community.  Let’s do the rest of the numbers!

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

The good news at the Magic Kingdom is that posted wait times seem to have been heavily inflated, so actual waits were not as bad it seemed. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an average wait time today of 44 minutes. Its 7-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 45 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #128 for the past year. We received 17 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged just 25% of the posted wait time.

Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 21 minutes. Its 7-day average is 26 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #19 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 25 minutes, so today ranks #138 for the past year. We received 12 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 58% of the posted wait time.

Hollywood Studios Wait Times

Toy Story Mania! had an average wait time today of 33 minutes. Its 7-day average is 36 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #16 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 26 minutes, so today ranks #51 for the past year. We received 11 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 69% of the posted wait time.

Rise of the Resistance is having one of its worst afternoons in recent memory.  Rise started calling boarding groups around 8:45 a.m. today, and everything seems to have run smoothly until boarding group 70 around 12:25 p.m.  That’s when a delay of around 100 minutes stopped Rise from calling more boarding groups.  When boarding resumed, it looks like Rise was running in some sort of lower-capacity “degraded mode”, because they were not calling boarding groups as fast as they were in the morning.

Rise has only managed to get through around 45 boarding groups in the last 4 1/2 hours, when they should get through around 80.  It looks like around 20% of guests with a boarding group won’t be able to ride today.  That’s a tough break.  It also points out why Rise is unlikely to get FastPass+, even if FastPass+ comes back – the ride simply isn’t reliable enough to be able to forecast FastPass+ capacity.

EPCOT Wait Times

Frozen Ever After had an average wait time today of 49 minutes. Its 7-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 39 minutes, so today ranks #4 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 45 minutes, so today ranks #94 for the past year. We received 7 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 72% of the posted wait time.

The post One of the Busiest Days of the Past Year – Disney World Wait Times for Wednesday, March 24, 2021 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.