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The Jungle Book opened in theaters this past Friday to what is reported to be the second biggest April opening of all time (of all time) at around 102 million dollars.

These elephants look like they just finished watching John Carter on TBS and Treasure Planet is coming on next.

Australia expansion confirmed.

The black swan had been hunted to extinction in New Zealand (thanks for nothing Wilson!) back in the mid-19th century, but you’ll be happy to know that they have been doing very well since Smeagol was sent back to the Shire. The black swan now appears on the flag for Western Australia.

Those of you that keep up with “Sheldon Cooper Presents Fun With Flags” already know, but the folks in that neck of the woods take their flags very seriously.

#squadgoals

Feels good man.

Viva Gaia Street Band is one of the most colorful, energetic acts in any domestic Disney theme park. Here they are performing “The Macarena,” which is a song about a woman that cheats on her boyfriend while he is away in the military and then wants to travel to New York to find another new boyfriend and go shopping. Ayyyyyyyy Macarena!

Disney ran another set of quick service price increases this past weekend, which means they printed new menus for every quick service on March 1st, then again on April 3rd, and then again this past weekend. A large soda is up 12.2% or 40 cents to $3.69. I’m pretty sure that it’s a conspiracy and Disney wants me spending all of my time cropping pictures of ice cream menus rather than making wait times charts and graphs.

Back in December, about a dozen kiosks in Discovery Island and around the Park received new names. “Discovery Popcorn” became “The Feeding Ground.” “Gardens Kiosk” became “Terra Treats.” And so on. If you look at the top of this one, it doesn’t take long to figure out why they called it “The Smiling Crocodile.” It’s because there are smiling crocodiles.

These are actually the fourth and fifth new items to debut at this kiosk since the rename.

I’ve tried each of the previously offered salads, none of which came together quite as intended I don’t think.

I’ve felt like the portion size on a lot of these snack-size, “snack-priced” items have been on the lousy side, but what I received impressed, relatively speaking.

The first image might make the potato salad look like it suffers from far too much mayo, but there was actually very little and I appreciated that the potatoes were nicely whipped but maintained a texture that was still reminiscent of a red potato. If that makes any sense.

The Chicken Drumstick is the same as what’s served on the Kids Picks menu over at Flame Tree Barbecue, which isn’t a bad thing I don’t think. I was impressed with the weight of the carton when it was handed to me. I’m not saying that I had trouble carrying it because I am a big, strong, very manly Disney World blogger, but after carrying around plate after plate that “felt” like it was piled high with mostly air at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, this was a much more sizable amount of food. And the chicken leg was great – meaty with very little fat and a nice spiced rotisserie flavor from the skin. It’s an excellent snack if you’re kind of hungry, but looking forward to plowing through ‘Ohana in a couple of hours and don’t want a full meal or a sugary treat to tide you over.

Also available for a dollar more is the Smoky Cheddar Grits Served with Pulled Pork and Bread-and-Butter Pickles. This one also surprised on its heartiness. Like the Fisherman’s Pie at the Ireland booth during Food/Wine, there is a lot of food in what “appears” to be a minnie (do you see what I did there) ramekin. Like the chicken drumstick, the pork here is directly from Flame Tree and topped with their signature KC Masterpiece sauce. The grits underneath were creamy with a pleasant cheddar taste with the uneven texture that you hope for from homemade grits.

The three or four slices of bread-and-butter pickles are probably a take-them-or-leave-them proposition. I appreciated that their acidity helped cut the richness of the grits in particular, but you can ask for them on the side or to be omitted entirely if there is zero percent chance that you’ll like them. They have a very distinct sour/vinegar flavor.

Overall, $11 probably buys you about 2/3 of the food of a full quick service meal for the same money. If you’re paying cash and looking for the most food for your buck then you might want to head over to Flame Tree. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a quick stop and a variety of flavors, then this might be a better bet. Unlike 90% of the stuff at Flower/Garden, I didn’t feel like I was pickpocketed after the fact. But those with snack credits to burn will find some of the best values for their credits here.

Disney Conservation Fund is celebrating 20 years with this button.

Mickey and Minnie waits at Adventurers Outpost remain short compared to what they would be if the characters met in a more obvious location.

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Your standby wait depends almost entirely on how many FastPass+ returners arrive while you’re waiting. The website sensibly chuckles every time it sees someone look at a low wait time and then try to hurry their family to the entrance even though nobody else is headed for the entrance. As if crossing the precious threshold when it says “5” will lock in that wait time even if there are an unseen 4,000 people ahead in line. One other tip: You do not need to run if you see a bus, tram, monorail, etc. pulling in to its stop. It is not going anywhere for some time. If the bus is sitting there and the driver is facing the opposite direction then you have my blessing to push anyone and everyone to the side as you barrel through. Just scream “I’M LEN TESTA” while you do it. Everyone is in on the joke so it’s okay.

These boats to the left have been docked across from Yak & Yeti for years and years. The barges with the tractors not so much.

The Disney Difference is the details as the boats being used for Rivers of Light will follow the same aesthetic. Almost like somebody untied the boats to pilot them down the river to crash into each other in a show that is being renamed RIVERS OF DEATH MONSTER BOAT JAM. *John Cena music*

Speaking of Rivers of Light, Disney has taken the nighttime spectacular off their list of “Magical New Experiences [That] Will Debut This Summer.” That full press release can be read here: http://wdwnews.com/releases/2016/04/18/blockbuster-experiences-will-debut-this-summer-across-all-four-walt-disney-world-theme-parks/ just in case you weren’t already excited for a new hot dog stand and THE SOUL OF NORWAY TO BE RIPPED OUT OF ITS PEOPLE FOREVER. I wrote extensively about the delays yesterday in this post. Just because the show is no longer mentioned does not necessarily mean that we won’t see the show debut in June…July…August…or September. But it does mean that they don’t know.

When you’re behind another blogger in line and you’re both writing the exact same post.

Yeti: “I have authoritah?”

Prof Pema Dorje, PhD: “That’s right and people must respect it.”

A guided climb up Mount Everest will run you around $65,000 per person, most of which goes to the company organizing the carry. The April 2015 earthquakes caused upwards of 10 billion dollars in damage to Nepal, a country with a GDP south of 20 billion or damage equal to half of the monetary value of all goods and services produced that year. Hurricane Katrina caused about 125 billion in damage to a country with a GDP of 17,419 billion. I’m not even sure how to write that as a percentage as it’s such a small number and we are all familiar with how poorly that rebuilding effort has gone. It might be .0072%.

The Boneyard playground reopened after a brief refurbishment.

As did the Isle of Java to the right of Flame Tree Barbecue.

Disney released a lot more details about the Tiffins’ menu here: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/04/tiffins-inventive-menu-stars-cuisine-from-around-the-globe-wine-list-focuses-on-environmentality/ and here: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/03/more-details-about-tiffins-the-newest-dining-experience-at-walt-disney-world-resort/ in case you missed those announcements.

With 55 seats inside, and 46 seats in a covered outdoor area, Nomad Lounge offers a half- dozen small bites such as a vegetarian summer roll, a seared Wagyu beef skewer, honey-glazed coriander-spiced pork ribs, Indian butter-chicken wings, seasonal fish balls with shishito peppers and house-made head cheese and chicken liver pate with chutney.

Like Tiffins, the lounge offers handcrafted cocktails with African, Asian and South American flavors, imported beers and a South American and South African wine list.

Yes please.

No word on when this flowerbed will reopen.

No Macarena here.

The look of shock as guests are told this is the end of the FastPass+ return line for Kilimanjaro Safaris. The two-finger point makes everything okay though.

Can we stop the body shaming, Disney? “I ‘ave big bones!” – Olympe Maxime – Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

In case you want to be the most popular person on your safari.

In case you didn’t like the assortment of patches on the Everest shirt.

In case you’re looking for the official shirt for 4th FastPass+ availability at Hollywood Studios.

In case you’re looking for a wall of merchandise that will be part of Burgan’s next outlet update.

In case you can’t get your plumber on the phone so the sign tells you to call the same number.

We’ll take a look at the signs around Harambe Market and then meander through Pangani Forest Exploration Trail before heading to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for some more updates.

No, I’m not in a hurry to get back over there either.