Your entrance into Africa is through the friendly, welcoming village of Harambe. Harambe is Swahili for “come together”. Interestingly enough, this village is a combination of a number of some of the favorite places in Africa found by Disney Imagineers whilst on a scouting trip for Animal Kingdom’s Africa. Some of these snippets include a fortress found in Zanzibar and a faux water-stained, crumbling old building and private home that were originally seen in Kenya. The thatched huts found throughout this community were constructed by thirteen Zulu craftspeople from South Africa. The quaint village area was designed to resemble an East African port that caters to tourists prior to their safari excursions (i.e. Kilimanjaro Safari). This bustling port includes a “hotel”, restaurants, an outdoor bar complete with live entertainment and the marketplace. Cast Members/villagers are dressed in colorful, authentic African costumes to add to the atmosphere.

Your Disney safari experience will take you on a journey chasing poachers as you cross the savannah dotted with 34 different species of birds and animals. Following your safari, tour the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and be entertained by the silverback gorillas.The Wildlife Express steam-powered train cuts through the savannah to Conservation Station where you’ll find an interactive center designed to educate as well as entertain. Points of interest along the train route include the buildings where the animals are kept at night so that they may be checked out medically and fed. The 1.2-mile train ride is wheelchair accessible. Assistive Listening Devices are available for guests who are hearing impaired, check with Guest Services for more information.

As per the village atmosphere of Harambe, there are a number of refreshment/dining establishments. Tusker House Restaurant offers a buffet for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. At Mr. Kamal’s Burger Grill, you can grab a hamburger and beverage for a quick bite. Specialty coffees and delicious baked goods are served at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery. Fresh fruit and juices are found at the Harambe Fruit Market. The Tamu Tamu Refreshments stand offers frozen treats and drinks. You can be entertained by live African music as you sit enjoying cocktails and munching on snacks at the “Dawa Bar”.

No village would be complete without its marketplace and shops, and the Mombasa Marketplace/Ziwani Traders” will not disappoint you. Kilimanjaro Safari souvenirs and apparel, T-shirts, hats, gourds, carvings and jewelry, are but a few of the many gifts and souvenirs offered here.

Newly imagined and now a magical reality at sea, the Disney Fantasy has come true—and is now sailing to spectacular ports of call!  The new Disney Fantasy is embarking on exciting itineraries in 2012 and 2013 — reserve your place today!

At night, the pool deck becomes spectacularly lit check it out here!

Overview
Building on the classic style of her sister ship, the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy™ is the regal fourth cruise liner in the expanding Disney Cruise Line fleet. This 130,000-ton vessel offers:

• 14 towering decks
• 1,250 staterooms
• The capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers—along with the over 1,450 Cast and Crew Members who tend to the needs of every cruise Guest each day
• Total ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet

Building on the classic style of the previous ships, the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder and the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy is a majestic sailing vessel where early 20th-century design—recalling the golden age of cruising—meets state-of-the-art technology. The cruise liner is designed with families in mind, combining sleek style and convenient facilities with splashes of Disney magic.

Year-round, you and your family are invited to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise adventure aboard the Disney Fantasy. Here, you’ll find the vast array of comforts, outstanding service and timeless beauty of a ship that’s sure to capture your heart and imagination.

“it’s a small world,” a gentle boat ride that’s fun for little ones as well as Guests of all ages, is in the Fantasyland area in Magic Kingdom theme park.

Climb aboard and glide past nearly 300 brightly costumed dolls and animals as they sing “it’s a small world” and dance on the shores of the Seven Seaways water canals that embrace this miniature globe.

Dressed in costumes that represent more than 100 nations, the dolls sing the “it’s a small world” song lyrics in 5 languages. Boundaries dissolve and continents are connected by this singular song. After all, this attraction—first designed for the 1964 New York World’s Fair—has Walt Disney’s personal touch.

The Song Heard ‘Round “it’s a small world”
The original concept for “it’s a small world” had the dolls singing the national anthem from each country they represented. A good idea in theory, but everyone singing a different tune resulted in a musical cacophony that clearly weakened the attraction’s theme of harmony.

In the mid-1960s, Walt Disney interrupted staff composers Robert and Richard Sherman’s work on the score for the upcoming Disney film, Mary Poppins, to write the single theme song for “it’s a small world.”

Robert and Richard Sherman’s first version of the “it’s a small world” song was written as a ballad. Walt requested something more cheerful, so the song was sped up and sung as a round, or roundelay.

Because of the repetition and because the Sherman Brothers used a musical technique called counterpoint, where the same chords are played over and over again but with different melodies, the song they wrote is catchy and unforgettable.

At the first presentation to Walt Disney, Robert and Richard Sherman performed “it’s a small world” song while walking through a scale model of the attraction, singing and clapping their hands. Walt was delighted.

In full spirit of international unity, “it’s a small world” song was recorded in various studios around the world. The song was sung by a church choir in London, TV performers in Mexico City, a school chorus in Rome, Italy, and by children from Tokyo, Japan and Burbank, California.

Pirates Night
Available on all Disney cruises, Pirate Night invites landlubbers to embrace the pirate life with a thrilling celebration at sea! The excitement begins with a pirate-themed dinner and continues with a buccaneer bash—starring some favorite Disney Characters—and a spectacular fireworks display.

Dinner Party
Pirate Night festivities start at dinnertime when your servers, dressed in pirate garb, greet you and your family with an, “Ahoy, matey,” and, “Arrr!” in one of the Main Dining restaurants. Once seated, unique offerings await, including:

• A special bandana—tie it on for a little pirate style
• A menu that resembles an old treasure map
• Themed dinner options

Deck Party
After dinner, venture to the pool deck for a treasure trove of Disney entertainment starring some of your favorite Disney Characters bedecked in pirate garb. Kick up your heels for a little line dancing and rock out to pirate-themed tunes.

Just as the fun is in full swing, black lighting, raucous music and skull-and-crossbones projections signal the arrival of Captain Hook, Mr. Smee and a gang of pirates—ready to take over the party. But they’re no match for Mickey and his crew.

Pirate Night Deck Party Games

Fireworks
In a breathtaking finale—complete with awe-inspiring fireworks that can’t be missed—Mickey and friends save day! They protect the ship from Captain Hook and his scurvy scalawags to ensure that it’s smooth sailing for the rest of your vacation.

This spectacular fireworks display is the only one in the world offered by a cruise line. Please note that the fireworks show is weather permitting and may be postponed or canceled due to weather conditions, including high winds.

Please check the Personal Navigator—the Disney Cruise Line daily newsletter detailing all there is to see and do—while onboard for specific show dates

Newly imagined and now a magical reality at sea, the Disney Fantasy has come true—and is now sailing to spectacular ports of call!  The new Disney Fantasy is embarking on exciting itineraries in 2012 and 2013 — reserve your place today!

Building on the classic style of her sister ship, the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy™ is the regal fourth cruise liner in the expanding Disney Cruise Line fleet.

This 130,000-ton vessel offers:

• 14 towering decks
• 1,250 staterooms
• The capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers—along with the over 1,450 Cast and Crew Members who tend to the needs of every cruise Guest each day
• Total ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet

Building on the classic style of the previous ships, the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder and the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy is a majestic sailing vessel where early 20th-century design—recalling the golden age of cruising—meets state-of-the-art technology. The cruise liner is designed with families in mind, combining sleek style and convenient facilities with splashes of Disney magic.

Year-round, you and your family are invited to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise adventure aboard the Disney Fantasy. Here, you’ll find the vast array of comforts, outstanding service and timeless beauty of a ship that’s sure to capture your heart and imagination.

Check out our video of the Sailing Away Celebration!

Updated November 3, 2018

With the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, many guests staying at the Disney Hotels or Orlando area hotels want to spend a day at Universal Orlando Resort. Disney does not provide transportation to Universal Studios from the Disney Hotels, so how do you get from Disney to Universal Studios? There are several ways to get from the Disney Hotels and the Orlando area hotels to Universal Studios.

Tickets with Transfers Combo

Destinations in Florida Travel offers a ticket called the 1-Day/2-Park Pass or 2-Day/2-Park Pass and they include shuttle transfers from the Disney Hotels and Orlando Area Hotels. The shuttle transfers are on board Mears Transportation. It is an easy process. Once you book your ticket, you call Mears about 24 hours before you are visiting Universal Studios to schedule your pickup time. Then you are picked up outside your hotel for your day at Universal Studios.

Once you are done playing at Universal Studios, you call the same number to schedule your pickup time to head back to your Disney Hotel. In the afternoon, the shuttle runs every hour (quarter after) from 3 PM-2 AM. This means you can stay and play at CityWalk after your day at Universal Studios and then take the shuttle back to your resort.

The shuttle transfers saves you from $90 on transportation from Disney to Universal Studios. Plus, this ticket is also saving you $10 per person off the regular gates prices.  One more HUGE perk, you do not have to wait in line at the ticket windows.  You walk right up to the electronic kiosks to pick up your tickets.  This can easily save you 30 minutes!  To book your tickets, call Destinations in Florida at 877-918-8941.

Renting a Car

Another transportation option is renting a car. Disney World has an Alamo Office right in the middle of the resort at the Walt Disney World Car Care Center. You can rent a car for the day and head to Universal Studios. Be sure to take parking at Universal Studios into your budget, since this is an additional cost when renting a car. Alamo will pick you up at your Disney Resort and take you to their office. After your day, they will also take you back to your Disney Resort. So, you don’t have to worry about transportation from your Disney Hotel to the Alamo Office.  Keep in mind you will have to pay for parking at Universal Orlando Resort!

Take a Taxi

If you are not a planner, you may just want to take a taxi for your transportation. You can always catch a taxi outside your Disney Hotel or you can call 407-699-9999 to get a taxi. The price is right around $45 each way plus tip for a taxi from the Disney Hotels to Universal Studios.

These are three ways to get from the Disney World & Orlando area hotels to Universal Orlando Resort.

As travel agents based in Florida, we are lucky enough to experience the newest attractions, rides, parades, and restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort.  This week, the newest restaurant opened at Downtown Disney Marketplace.  Our entire office took the afternoon off to experience T-Rex to share with our customers.  I took my family, including my son who is 4 and daughter who is 2, to this new restaurant.  With the name, T-Rex, I am sure you can tell it is themed after dinosaurs.  The first glimpse of dinosaurs happens as you walk through the entrance of T-Rex with the huge dinosaur fossil.  As you walk to the hostess stand, you see a huge animiatronic T-Rex, to welcome you to the restaurant.  This dinosaur is amazing to watch as he moves.  His eyes look so real as they scan the restaurant (for his next meal.)

The restaurant has animatronic dinosaurs, everywhere you look.  T-Rex is themed after fire, water, and ice.  The water section you will immediately see as you walk to your seat with bright blue colors and sealife floating from the ceiling.  The water section features a huge octopus, lots of jellyfish, and several aquariums with fish.  I loved this section with all of the vibrant colors and sealife.  For those hidden Mickey fans, there is a Mickey Mouse hidden on the octupus. Here is a picture (above) of the water section with the huge octupus and jellyfish.

The next section as you walk through the restaurant is fire.  This section features the huge fire pit, where they cook your meals.  This is where you will also experience the meteor shower as part of the “show” during your meals.  The last section is ice, which is almost breathtaking.  This whole section of the restaurant is a huge glacier with a wooly mammoth and even a t-rex frozen in the ice.  The ice changes colors during your meal, making it an even more amazing experience.

As we sat in our seats, we were just mesmerized by all of the dinosaur animatronics, colors, and sounds.  Both of my kids were wide-eyed and actually quiet (for a change).  I think we were in the restaurant for over 30 minutes just looking at everything, before we even thought about eating.

The menu is very similar to Rain Forest Cafe, with lots and lots of options.  They featured great appetizers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, seafood entrees, and incredible desserts.  Our server was excellent!  He was a recent Orlando local and very excited about his new job at T-Rex.  He did an incredible job, especially for a brand new restaurant.  The food and desserts were incredible.

After enjoying dinner and this pre-historic experience, stop by the gift shop.  They have lots of fun souvenirs for the whole family, including some activities for the kids.  Build a Bear has the Build a Dino store, where your child can build a dinosaur and even dress them in the most fashionable modern attire.  You can even let the preschoolers play in the Discovery Dig Site outside and discover fossils and dinosaur bones.  This activity is free for all guests.

We spent several hours at T-Rex during our meal and then in the gift shop area.  Our kids are already talking about another visit to T-Rex!  This brand new restaurant is a must see for kids of all ages during a Disney World vacation.  They are not taking any reservations until after New Years.  They are taking walkups only.  To avoid the longer waits, plan on having lunch or dine during off hours (like 2-4).  This is an incredible restaurant and we recommend this for any family visiting Disney World.

Review from Allison Jones – Disney Specialist at Destinations in Florida Travel