#AwakenSummer at Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World / Orlando

I will start with full disclosure, Walt Disney World covered the costs of having me represent Today’s Best Country and attend a media preview.  All this to help me show you a world of possibilities for your vacation this year.  I insisted that I would cover what I wanted and say what I wanted.  I am not the best camera person so, pardon the sometimes shaky nature of my videos, the tripod was broken in the overhead bin.  Things can shift during flight up there.

As for what’s new around Walt Disney World, fortunately, I gotta admit, there’s not much to quibble about.  The biggest headlines:  All the new Star Wars experiences that have been added for this summer and new night time offerings at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios: The Star Wars park

If you’re a fan of all things Star Wars, some of the new experiences can be pretty amazing. The first of these, is a simple march featuring Captain Phasma leading a squad of stormtroopers.  I wasn’t excited by the description of this one, but it is more fun and enjoyable to check-out than I would have first guessed.  And the daytime Star Wars stage show, Star Wars: A Galaxy Far Far Away, features so many of your favorite characters, including C3PO, Chewbacca and R2D2, and yet somehow manages to make projected video visible in bright Florida sun.  How DO  they do that?

And in addition, at new meet-n-greets at the Star Wars Launch Bay, you can get up close and personal with both Chewbacca and Kylo Ren.

Symphony In the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular

Now, imagine this,  having two stormtroopers approach and demand to see your ID, interrogating you for a minute and then sending you on your way with a terse “Nothing to see here, move along.” Following that, your inner 7 year-old will be in full hyper-ventilate mode, as you settle in to watch Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular.   In case you’re wondering, that’s Disney PR speak for Star Wars fireworks.  I suggest “Star Wars in the Sky Fireworks,”  but then, that right there, is probably why I’m in radio and not a Disney parks consultant.

And hey, can’t argue with really cool fireworks, here’s the first two minutes to give you a taste.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Sun goes down, thrills go up!

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the park is finally extending operating hours into the evening.  And this presents some very unique experiences.  Starting with Kilimanjaro Safari at night.  I thought before riding, “So dark, what am I even going to see?  Harrumph!” — boy was I wrong.

Disney’s done a great job of providing very natural feeling light throughout the safari.  Even going so far as to create a never-ending sunset that occurs on the savannah area of the attraction.  I asked every Disney contact I could how they are pulling that off.  It truly is Disney magic. You may not be able to photograph much, but you can see it.  And maybe us all putting our cameras down for a minute wouldn’t be the worst thing.

And throughout Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the arrival of darkness creates stunning opportunities to see the park in a whole new way.  I kept exploring familiar areas like the river overlook on the bottom edge of Harambe market, which created a couple of stunning pictures.

These give a sense of how evenings at Animal Kingdom will be like nothing experienced there before.  Riding Expedition Everest in the dark brought a whole new level of sinister fun to the attraction that’s been frightening us since the park opened.

Tree of Life – Awakenings

And new for the evenings, watch as the Tree of Life, well, comes to life..  It’s almost impossible to describe.  Disney magic animates the tree, and creatures all over it, to life.  At times, it’s nearly impossible to tell where the tree starts and the video begins.  This picture of the tree provided by DIsney is followed by a two minute preview video.

Rivers of Light – Sneak Preview

Not to mention the biggest experience of all, the all new Rivers of Light, a nightly show at Animal Kingdom in a new theatre-in-the-round  environment that’s pretty similar to Fantasmic in terms of the core experience.  But yet, it’s very different  Click below for a 2 minute preview video for Rivers of Light.

Disney Springs: 2 nights to explore it all

Meanwhile, over at what used to be Downtown Disney, the all new Disney Springs is coming together very nicely.  With three of the planned four neighborhoods mostly up and operating, Disney has taken a distinct departure from the past in this area. Don’t be worried that this won’t really be much more than shopping and dining, cause Disney has remembered the entertainment too.

Unique street-mosphere actors, singers, dancers and more will keep you occupied with unique and themed entertainment offerings to match the neighborhood you’re in.  New shopping opportunities abound, with flagship-level stores either open or on the way from many brands you’ll recognize.  One of the dining opportunities that’s not to be missed is the soon to be opening STK Orlando restaurant.

Perhaps you’ve seen Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba on a previous trip?  The show is constantly evolving and changing, most recently with new performers being added to the opening segments of the show, creating a very different vibe.

All-in-all, with all the growth at Disney Springs, you might want to set aside two evenings to see and experience all it has to offer.

Epcot: Frozen is hotter than ever

If your kids liked the movie Frozen, we’ll, they’ll love the new experiences at Epcot. The new expanded Norway pavillion will open this summer with the Royal Summerhaus allowing encounters with your favorite Frozen characters.  Also opening this summer, a new boat-ride attraction, Frozen Ever After which will replace what was Maelstrom.  While this attraction wasn’t yet ready for the preview, they did give us a peek behind the walls at the construction of the whole area.  It’s going to be an impressive and much larger Norway on future visits to Epcot.

Also expected at Epcot this summer, characters from this summer’s Pixar film,  Finding Dory will be added to the popular attraction Turtle Talk with Crush and the Soarin’ attraction gets an upgrade with Soarin’ Around the World, in which riders will hang glide all over the world, and past famous global landmarks’.

With more to do and see than ever before, you can find out more about a Walt Disney World, Florida vacation for your family by visiting Disneyworld.ca for special offers and savings.