A great annual event is returning this week—the Mighty St. Patrick’s Festival at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant returns to Disney Springs! Break out your green and celebrate for five days of fun March 13-17 with non-stop Irish-infused entertainment from morning until night, a mighty selection of beers and cocktails and of course, the most authentic Irish pub grub around.
The Disney Parks blog has released quite a bit of info on this event:
The regular menu will be available during the event featuring your favorite go-to dishes like the Guinness-infused Bangin’ Bangers and Mighty Mash. Planning to stop by over the weekend? The Rollicking Raglan Weekend Brunch will be served March 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.
Guests who dine on Monday, March 16 can enjoy a new whiskey pairing dinner from 3-11 p.m. featuring a special prix fixe menu with locally sourced dishes like Whiskey Cured House Smoked Salmon and Apple Baked Dumplings paired with the finest Irish whiskey cocktails.
One of the most thrilling highlights of this annual event is the amazing live entertainment hand-picked straight from Ireland. Here’s a look at this year’s line-up:
Strings & Things will bring their contemporary Irish Trad/Folk/Roots crossover talent from Tipperary and Galway to the festival stage. Their unique sound and powerful stage energy promise a raucous evening of music and song.
TradGad features three talented musicians from Kerry, Dublin and Galway charming guests with their vibrant performances on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, banjo and bouzouki.
Maca, an Irish sister duo dubbed “Ireland’s next big thing” will rock the Raglan Road Pub stages with their extraordinary talent.
Fia Rua, featuring band members from Ireland and Scotland, will blend their musical backgrounds to perform and wow guests with a unique Celtic sound.
Mike Waters, from the southeast of Ireland, will perform Irish songs and ballads from traditional to contemporary with a good measure of chat and humor.
Emily Furlong, an extraordinary singer and entertainer from Wexford, Ireland will captivate guests with her stunning voice.
No Half Measures, an exciting, fresh and vibrant four-piece band from Scotland, Cork and Kilkenny will spin their youthful, contemporary sound for the Mighty Festival audience.
Of course, don’t miss the popular Raglan Road Irish Dancers plucked from the cast and stages of the world’s greatest Irish dance shows! They’ll be performing intermittently during the festival and ready to teach you an Irish jig – no experience necessary! Kids will also have a blast at this family-friendly party so be sure to bring everyone dressed in their best green garb and enjoy complimentary face painting.
For those planning to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to plan ahead for the fun! On March 17, guests will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis with a cover charge of $10 for each guest 18 and older. Reservations can be booked online for other festival days, including brunch by calling 407-938-0300.
The newest attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – open today – features the oldest and most beloved characters in Disney history (minus Oswald of course, maybe someday he’ll get an attraction). Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway may feature the original Fab 5 – but in a very new and non-traditional way. As I’m sure you know by now, this new ride is entirely drawn from the Mickey Mouse original cartoon shorts that premiered back in 2013. These cartoon shorts really created a whole new world that Mickey and his pals lived in, and we got to see an entirely different side of Mickey and the gang.
Runaway Railway Backstory
As much as I am for the most part a Disney purist and don’t like to see character integrity challenged, I really love these shorts. I found the fact that Mickey had more “human” qualities of not just being perfect and having nothing go wrong, combined with very non-human effects and cartoon physics, a hilarious combo.
Mickey and Minnie are still in love, Donald and Daisy are still in love (but bickering cause Donald has that temper), Goofy was still a class A goof, and Pluto was a loyal best friend. Those character traits are pushed to extremes in these cartoon shorts, all while highlighting obscure Disney or Disney parks history, or poking fun at themselves in the best possible way. Additionally, many of these shorts feature different countries; their traditions, music, culture, and even language. The shorts are little love-letters to their featured country, and Mickey and the gang speak the native language in these episodes, with no translation. I love this because it shows the power of Mickey as a character, how beloved he is across the world, and how he can fit right in anywhere because of his universal appeal and good intentions.
Panda-Monium
Mumbai Madness
Flushed
Potatoland!
Anyway, I’m getting a little off track (no Runaway Railway pun intended) but I really do think these shorts are a triumph in character and art style, and show that Mickey can keep up with the times and be enjoyed by a whole new generation, while appreciating the history of the past. For those that aren’t fans of the animation style, or how different the characters may look at times, I like to just look at these set of shorts as a whole separate entity from the Mickey and friends represented in the parks, movies, and comics. Just as some classic Disney attractions and characters received new treatments in the form of comic books in recent years, this is a whole new separate way to enjoy Mickey and pals.
Back to the Runaway Railway…I think if Walt Disney Imagineering tried to create a new ride based on the Fab 5, it would almost immediately be outdated, or look odd. Honestly, even the talking/blinking Mickey characters in the parks looks a little off to me. Seeing tiny, casual, full-of-life representation of these characters is a great way to ensure this attraction can appeal to everyone, because it is linked to these shorts and not tied to any one Mickey Mouse storyline or timeline.
Thanks to Imagineer Kevin Rafferty and the entire Runaway Railway team, the Mickey Shorts we’ve come to love have come to life before our eyes, and we get to be a part of the action and fun. I think there are a lot of spoilers out there already, and I don’t aim to add to that. So this review really just serves as a discussion for my thoughts after riding multiple times yesterday, and its impact on Disney’s Hollywood Studios overall.
Runaway Railway Rundown
Location
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is located in the former home of The Great Movie Ride, at the Chinese Theatre. This end of the park has gone through its own ups and downs. Once seen as you first entered the park, welcoming you at the end of Hollywood Blvd., it was then hidden behind a giant hat, providing a merchandise and pin trading location. We finally got rid of the hat, and an even larger, movable stage popped up, for Star Wars performances. This stage is still in use today, but I hope that the new attraction opening will see the end of that stage. There is no shortage of Star Wars content around the park, having it block the iconic Chinese Theatre just seems silly.
Of course its new home meant the end of a classic and much beloved attraction – The Great Movie Ride. I have countless memories of this ride, both of myself as a child, and with my own children. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few events inside the former attraction, and getting to roam the track and get up close and personal to the amazing details that went into The Great Movie Ride are some of my most treasured memories.
Do I wish Runaway Railway could’ve found a new home elsewhere in the park? Yes. But alas I don’t make the decisions, and it’s here now. I do think that The Great Movie ride was sorely in need of updating and more TLC, and I don’t know that it ever would, in an age of IP drawing in the crowds and being the reasons for vacations being planned. The majority of folks were not flocking to Walt Disney World because of the Great Movie Ride, and right or wrong, Disney decided to change that by taking it out of the equation altogether.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios, along with EPCOT, have had an issue with the parks not being able to live up to their original messages, themes, and experiences. Much like EPCOT Center was a place for inspiration, understanding and discovery, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was originally a love note to the past, and a guidebook for the present, in the form of the movie-making industry. That all changed when the Studios were no longer studios at all. The tours were still there, but soon those became stagnant as well, and unable to properly represent the process of making movies. So the focus shifted, to rides vs. experiences. Thrills vs. nostalgia. What we were then left with, in both those parks, was a mishmash of different themes, different messages, different stories. Both parks are now in flux and perhaps in the future will tell a more cohesive story overall.
Runaway Railway Queue
The facade of the Chinese Theatre is for the most part unchanged with this new attraction. Yes, there is a new sign out front, reminiscent of old Hollywood neon, with nods to the former marquee within the Great Movie Ride load area. The taller palm trees that flanked the main entrance have been replaced by shorter trees, presumably to keep from blocking the sign, while still keeping some foliage in the plaza.
The queue itself is pretty similar in the first portion, looking to the original Chinese Theatre for its decor. However, once you make the turn into the former pre-show area for The Great Movie Ride, where you’d see the “coming attractions” on the big screen, you’ll notice a big change. The room is now only perhaps a quarter of that size, and is walled off. That is the very end of the queue, and there are I think 3 pre-show rooms that you will be ushered into for the first portion of the ride. It’s a very small room because it’s basically just the amount of guests that will fit on one train, which is much less than the old people-eating GMR moving theaters.
The queue itself does not seem very big, but while it’s hard not to compare it to The Great Movie Ride, it really shouldn’t be done as it’s a completely different experience from pre-show to load to ride to exit. It’s no longer a slow-moving queue where you would sometimes see the coming attraction movies multiple times in that room. And it’s no longer loading two huge cars full of guests at a time, but then keeping them in there for 18 minutes or so.
Pre-show
I won’t get into spoilers here, since it literally just opened today, and the spoiler potential starts right with the pre-show. As someone who had the pre-show spoiled for me, I wish I hadn’t and don’t want to do that to anyone else. It was still fun, but why not preserve the magic whenever possible? Anyway, as mentioned above this is a smaller room and there are I believe 2 of them, but in the madness of the media event, I may be getting that wrong.
The premise here is that you are arriving at the theatre to see Mickey and Minnie’s newest short, Perfect Picnic. Then in classic Disney fashion, something goes very wrong. But it’s all good, Goofy’s in charge!
Ride Rooms
There have been quite a few video clips and images released by Disney at this point, and we’ve included some in our Runaway Railway Review video. More than what’s shown there, I don’t want to reveal. I wouldn’t do it justice by describing it, or showing it on video. It is best experienced in person, and as difficult as it may be to do for a while, experiencing it multiple times to really take it all in.
The main experience here is that you are IN a Mickey Mouse short, and enjoying a trip from Runnamuck Railway Station to the park to meet up with Mickey and Minnie. And that does happen, eventually. Along the way you’ll see stunning visuals, albeit in the style of the Mickey shorts mentioned above. There are some character animatronics, which are also in that style. As a result, they may look a little odd from certain angles. It’s best to try different train cars when you can to see things from different angles. And even if you don’t, you may find that you end up in a different car than you started in.
Engineer Goofy says hello to Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
There are 8 rows of seats, 2 rows in 4 cars, plus Goofy driving the train. Each seat is a good view, but the perspectives will be different if you are further up or further back.
Characters on the Ride
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse – These true originals are ready to take their little red convertible for a leisurely drive through Runnamuck Park in search of the perfect picnic spot. What could possibly go wrong?
Pluto – The dutiful dog just wants to bring Mickey and Minnie their lost picnic basket.
Engineer Goofy – Mickey and Minnie’s lanky pal invites guests into the cartoon world for what surely promises to be an uneventful train ride through Runnamuck Park.
Daisy Duck – The proprietor of Daisy’s Dance Studio is ready to teach guests some fancy new moves.
Donald Duck – Everyone’s favorite hot-headed “problem child” is steaming again, as someone made off with the sign from his hot dog stand at the carnival.
Jackhammer Pete – The big brute’s vibrations may have some unforeseen consequences for Mickey and Minnie.
Chuuby (pronounced “choo-bee”) – This adorable little bird – created exclusively for the attraction – likes to sing and dance in Runnamuck Park.
Runaway Railway Music
If you are a fan of the cartoon shorts, then you’ll know that the music is very catchy and gets stuck in your head. Many episodes have their own original songs, which are brilliantly memorable. Even just the tune of the theme song and end credits get stuck in my head all the time. Runaway Railway is no exception. There is a new song composed just for the ride, and I think Disney knew it was going to be so catchy that they put the lyrics on multiple merchandise items. So get ready for “Nothing Can Stop Us Now…” to be rolling around your brain as you ride other attractions throughout the day! (You can hear the composer Chris Willis speak about the process in our video above!)
Runaway Railway Merchandise
We’ll have another post up soon highlighting all the exclusive ride-themed merchandise for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. For now you can see the Runaway Railway merchandise in our video or on our instagram and facebook too.
Speaking of instagram and facebook, we are giving away an exclusive MagicBand that we received for the Runaway Railway media event on our instagram and facebook page. The MagicBand has not been linked to any account so it’ll be good to go for whoever wins! Head to our zannaland instagram or zannaland facebook page to enter to win!
We hope this review and rundown give you some backstory and helps with your planning to experience Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Runaway Railway Tips:
We’d definitely advise getting FastPasses if you can. These can be reserved up to 180 days in advance if you are staying on property. For locals, we only have 30 days in advance, but it’s better than nothing!
If you can’t get a FastPass, get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios super early. Then head straight to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway first and you shouldn’t have too long for standby.
We’d advise riding in the first two cars the first time you ride, if you can request it. We preferred the second or third row of all the rows we tried.
Be on the lookout for some nods to The Great Movie Ride including a prop from the ride along with other visual Easter eggs.
And while you’re waiting, there’s a fun new Mickey & Minnie trivia game on the Disney Parks Play app, so be sure you’ve got that ready to go and you can test your knowledge while you wait to ride!
If you’ve experienced this ride, let us know what you thought in the comments below!
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This week on Up the Waterfall we took a break from the deep dives into Disney history and have a palate cleanser of sorts with a Best Scenic Spots in Disney Parks episode. This came about from my handful of recent visits to the newest Disney hotels – Disney’s Riviera Resort and Gran Destino Tower, both of which have rooftop restaurants or lounges with amazing views. It made me really appreciate some of the great scenery that exists around Disney parks. Of course, I mean outside of the normal ones we expect like Cinderella Castle and the main “weenies” of the parks.
In this episode we share our favorite scenic spots in Walt Disney World, Disneyland and the Disney resort hotels as well. Do any of our picks align with yours? What did we leave out? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear your best scenic spots in Disney parks picks too!
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode of Up the Waterfall!
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Head to our Up the Waterfall YouTube Playlist– where you can see our opening sequence and some unique images of the places we mention. Here’s the latest episode:
Feel free to comment below with your favorites spots, any questions or info you’d like to add, or if it’s easier, head to the Zannaland Facebook page and join the discussion there with fellow Disney fans!
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We’ve done a preview video of the 2020 Epcot Festival of the Arts, but we thought we’d go back and share our experience. This time we took part in the paint by numbers mural and completed the Figment Scavenger Hunt that takes place with each ArtfulEpcot Festival.
Art: This festival features so many different kinds of Disney art – Chalk Art in 3-D by artists, Paint-by-Numbers mural that you get to paint each day. Disney artists are there sharing their creations in print, postcard and original canvas form. Different artisans showing how art can be added to scarves, shirts, even bicycle-powered spin art this year.
Food: As with all the other Epcot festivals, there are various food booths or kiosks offering unique treats. With this Artful Epcot festival, they try to make the food items more artistic, either deconstructing a classic dish, or theming it after a famous art style.
Merchandise: Ear hats, spirit jerseys, MagicBands, plush…all the usual suspects are at this festival. You can find unique Figment designs for the Festival of the Arts. Each year they try to switch up Figment’s look for another art style. You can see more of the Festival exclusive merchandise in our Epcot Art Festival Preview
Disney on Broadway: Each year we are treated to Broadway stars singing their current or former Disney on Broadway roles, or other Disney favorites as solos and duets. This is one of my favorite parts of this festival.
Here’s our latest vlog – where we get creative with the Paint by Numbers mural, and find some Figment art with the Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt!
We hope you enjoy our 2020 Epcot Festival of the Arts vlog! Have you been to the Epcot Festival of the Arts? What was your favorite part? Tell us in the comments below! Also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to know when we upload a new video or podcast!
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Join us for another fun vlog as we review the new City Works Eatery at Disney Springs. This is the newest restaurant at Disney Springs, located next to the new NBA Experience. With over 90 craft beers on tap, City Works Eatery and Pour House makes for a fun addition of American sports-bar style flair to your vacation.
City Works currently has nine locations across the country in cities and towns including Fort Worth, Tex.; Frisco, Tex.; King of Prussia, Pa.; Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Schaumburg, Ill.; Tysons, Va.; Wheeling, Ill.; and Vernon Hills, Ill. With 90 local and global beers on tap, the restaurant offers a wide range of rare and unique craft selections. All locations are open for brunch, lunch and dinner, and prices range from $13-$20 for lunch and $15-$28 for dinner.
City Works will have 30-40% of its draft beer taps dedicated to local breweries and eight wines on draft. It will also offer a seasonally changing cocktail menu and a fully stocked bar, plus a whiskey list. Guests can enjoy Happy Hour specials, including $2 off well drinks, local craft beers and glasses of wine, and $7 bar bites Monday through Thursday 3-6 p.m. Drink specials also are available 10 p.m.-midnight.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday 11 a.m.-midnight, Friday 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m.-midnight. It also offers brunch dishes on the weekends 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Now you may be asking yourself, “Disney’s Sangria University, what’s that?!” First of all, your reaction would be totally understandable because I didn’t know the answer to that myself until a few days ago!
EDIT 2/22/21: Disney just announced that Sangria University is reopened! The experience had been closed due to the pandemic, but it is now again available for guests to book. To find out more, email WDW.Sangria.University@disney.com to request a reservation or set up a private session. Continue reading for what the experience was like when we tried it last year!
You can also watch our accompanying video of Sangria University below, to see just what it’s like to attend this fabulous Disney recreational activity!
Since I hadn’t heard of Sangria University before, I wanted to tell you all about it. Keep reading to learn where to find this experience, and if it’s worth spending your time and money on! Now let’s get right to the facts and figures!
4 different sangria samples you get to enjoy!
What is Sangria University?
Sangria University is a separately booked experience where you get to sample four different sangria types and then make your own sangria! You’ll hear some fun info from your bartender/class leader and receive a certificate at the end! Each session holds 14-15 people.
What’s included in Sangria University?
When you arrive, you are seated with 4 glasses of sangria to sample (these are a good size too) and then create your own sangria in one of the gorgeous balloon glasses from the Dahlia Lounge and Toledo.
You also get an appetizer sample to enjoy during the class. The Lentil Hummus appetizer, which has a harissa topping and pepitas on top. It is normally served with pita triangles, but since I’m vegan, it came with sliced cucumber and carrot sticks to enjoy the hummus with.
Finally, you are presented with a personalized Certificate of Mastery too!
Tinto Sangria
Sparkling Sangria made with Cava
Rosado Sangria made with Rose wine
Blanco Sangria made with white wine
Three Bridges Lentil Hummus vegan version with cucumbers and carrots
The create your own Sangria ingredients
Recipe and info cards from Sangria University
Where is Sangria University?
You’ll attend this interactive activity at the Three Bridges Bar and Grill, at Villa del Lago, which is right in the middle of Lago Dorado, the lake at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Three Bridges has been open for a little while now and is a wonderful addition to the already amazing dining and lounge choices at Coronado Springs. This would be a perfect mid-day pick-me-up before a dinner at Toledo in Gran Destino Tower, or you could just pop back over for dinner at Three Bridges too!
When is Sangria University?
The sessions currently take place on Saturdays from 2:30-3:30pm. If this offering becomes really popular, that time could change or more times/days could be added, so check back to see if there have been any updates. Edited to add: We just heard from the Proprietor of Three Bridges Bar and Grill and they have committed to adding Sundays to the Sangria University Schedule, so you can reserve Sundays from 2:30-3:30pm as well now!
How Much is Sangria University?
$45 per person inclusive of tax. For that price, you get all of the drinks mentioned above, the appetizer, and the personalized certificate at the end.
You can also add additional liquors to your sangria creation, which at the time of posting were $4 each.
There are currently no discounts accepted for Sangria University (so no Tables in Wonderland, Annual Pass, DVC, or Cast discounts).
Salud!
How Do I Book Sangria University?
At this time, you cannot book on the My Disney Experience or on the Disney Dining line or WaltDisneyWorld.com. But, all you have to do to book Sangria University is call the Coronado Springs Resort Recreation line at 407-939-1004 to make the reservation. You can also email Three Bridges Bar & Grill directly at WDW.Sangria.University@disney.com to request a reservation or set up a private session. They also will accept walk-ups if you happen to be at Coronado Springs around that time, if they have any space for the current class.
Can I book a private party for Sangria University?
YES! If you want to book this fun experience for a bridal or engagement shower, a team building event with your company, a birthday party, or just a fun private party with a group of your friends, you can set up a special time and day to experience Sangria University! See above for the email address to set that up.
So there you have it, all the facts! I really enjoyed this experience, and would definitely recommend it for a unique activity to enjoy with the beautiful surroundings of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, learn a little bit, and enjoy some delicious sangria and hummus too.
It’s definitely more of a fun and low-key session, not super heavy on the traditions of sangria or history. In fact, all of the sangria that you sample are created by the Three Bridges, so they aren’t tied to any one traditional blend. It’s a great way to enjoy 4 very different ways to experience sangria, and even more exciting that you get to try your hand at blending your own flavors!
Special Thanks to Athena from Three Bridges Bar & Grill for inviting my friend Amanda from VeganDisneyFood out to experience this, and to Amanda for asking me to join her! We were provided with a complimentary session, however, my thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own!
Have you experienced Sangria University?
What did you think? What about any other unique resort offerings?
Let us know in the comments below if you have, or plan to be, a graduate soon!
We explore what it takes to become a true Disney villain – even though that may just consist of riding a few rides and eating a hotdog or two. Look, there’s only so much we can do, this villainy thing is hard work.
Disclosure: Disney hosted us for this event, but these opinions are our own!
We take a look at some of the exciting new things coming to 2020 Epcot for the Festival of the Arts, and see special appearances by Gavin Lee and Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald!
Disclosure: Disney hosted us for this event, but these opinions are our own!
Episode IX of Star Wars has come out, which means new scenes/locations at Star Tours, which we got to check out! But before that, we visited Topolino’s Terrace at Riviera Resort for breakfast. AND THEN WE RODE RISE OF THE RESISTANCE, Y’ALLLLLLL. Also no spoilers for Rise of Skywalker or Rise of the Resistance will be shown in this video, so no worries about that.
Disclosure: Disney hosted us for this event, but these opinions are our own!
