A the Walt Disney World “This Is Magic” media preview, I got to take the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for a test drive, found my new favorite breakfast spot at Disney, and found a way to bring my favorite ride at Animal Kingdom home to Tampa.

Thanks to Walt Disney World for inviting us to the media preview. Full disclosure – Disney World is a Q105 advertiser and they hosted our staff for a few days to check out what’s new at the House of the Mouse.

Disney World’s Next Ride To Open

The headlining act of the Walt Disney World “This Is Magic” media preview was definitely the redo of the ride formerly known as Splash Mountain. Something happened on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure that I’ll never forget. It was one of those cool life moments you can’t believe you got to experience. If you’re one of my friends on Instagram, you already know. The video has almost a half million views already. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Even though Tiana was the star of the show for most in the media, the thing that stood out for me the most on this Disney trip was the food. Shocker right? Geno is going to talk about food.

The Food Factor

Seriously though I really was blown away by the improvement in the quality of the cafeteria-style food options in the big dining areas. My expectations when it comes to theme park food are realistic. They have to make it fast and serve thousands of tourists per hour. That usually means the food can be forgettable. But I had some of the best pizza I’ve had in a while, an insanely good burger and a couple desserts that were top notch.

As for the rides, although Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was the focal point of the visit, there were two rides I still hadn’t been on. Tron and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had opened since my last Disney World visit.

• But first, gotta get the castle pic.

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  A super big thank you to the Disney Parks for inviting the Q105 crew to their media preview last week. They even let me bring along some of my friends from high school who flew down from Maine.

• Up first… Animal Kingdom

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  First stop... Animal Kingdom to ride my absolute favorite ride. It used to be Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster, but one ride at AK eclipsed it. BTW, Rockin' Rollercoaster is still closed for renovations but will reopen soon.

• My spirit animal

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  This guy (or gal, I didn't wanna invade privacy to check) just sat there for a good 5 minutes, barely moving... just eating and relaxing near the waterfall.
• Taking my favorite ride home

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  Got to bring a little bit of my favorite ride at Disney home. The Avatar Flight of Passage ride is just incredible. Love how they incorporate all of your senses in the experience... even smell. That scent they spray at the end is so soothing. I never knew they had a candle in the gift shop as you exit. Smart move Disney! It's not a perfect match, but close enough.

• Disney Detail

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  The Mickey towel on the bed... love it.

• My new favorite breakfast spot at Disney World

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  If you're visiting Disney, you've gotta have Mickey Waffles. It's the law. I have a new favorite breakfast spot at Disney World. We were lucky to be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and "Boma: The Flavors of Africa" was downstairs. It's a buffet. The blueberry pancakes were excellent, but ya gotta get the Mickey Waffle too.
• Breaking the buffet rule

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  Most buffets are more about quantity of over quality of food. Not Boma. EVERYTHING and I mean everything was good. Even simple things like these grilled tomatoes were just awesome. Be sure to get some of the ham with the "Boma Mustard" too... it's chipotle and teriyaki mustard sauce. So good.

• Uh oh

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  All you can eat perfectly-prepared, salty, juicy delicious bacon? This could be dangerous.

• Time to Tron

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  Finally! It was time to ride Tron. It opened a couple years ago but it'd been a while since my last Disney visit. My first ride was in the daylight... I grabbed a front row seat. Essential!
• Tron at Night

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  As fun as Tron was the first time, at night it was way cooler! I loved the change in temperature too as you went inside and outside. But the lightning at night really elevates the experience.

• Running away

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  I finally got to ride Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. We were invited to a sneak preview before it opened, but they hadn't finished it yet so all we saw was up to the part where the screen explodes. Fun ride!

• A “Wow” Pizza moment

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  I've often said it. It doesn't make people happy when I say it but it's true. Florida doesn't have a lot of great pizza. We have a lot of good pizza. But great pizza is hard to find. I was blown away by the flavor of the basic pepperoni pizza at Connections Cafe on this visit. When you consider how many people they have to serve and how fast they have to prepare it, I was not expecting an "oh wow" first bite. But that definitely happened.
• Time to meet Tiana

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  I have to admit. I've never seen The Princess and The Frog. But this new ride is highly anticipated and is open now to pass holders. It'll be available to the public soon. We got to hear from the creators of the ride and there were some surprises to come.

• Tiana!

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  After learning a new Tiana series is coming to Disney Plus, we got to hear Anika Noni Rose (the voice of Tiana) perform. Incredible moment. But that wouldn't be the only surprise.

• The Bears are back!

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  We also learned that the revamped version of Country Bear Musical Jamboree will open July 17, 2024.
• Time to ride!

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  The media in attendance got to take the new ride for a test drive. There were two lines. One was super long for those who wanted a video of the ride experience. I opted for the short line without video. It would lead to a truly "Disney magic" moment. This is what you see as you enter.

• No way!

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  Because of the cameras being adjusted, there were often stops in the ride. During one of them someone noticed sitting two boats ahead of us was Jenifer Lewis... who sings "Dig a Little Deeper." Someone asked her if we could all sing it... and she happily obliged. It was such a cool moment. The photo here is one thing... you have to watch the video. It's on my Facebook and Instagram (@genoradio) in the reels.

• Beignets baby!

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  The other great thing about this media preview being focused so much on the Tiana ride... the movie is set in New Orleans so there were lots of beignets!
• Another favorite

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  Next it was off to Epcot to ride one of my other favorites, Soarin'. I have to admit I'm more partial to the California version instead of the trip around the world they do now. I lived in Cali for about 7 years and it felt like I was going back for a visit. But it's still a fun ride.

• My other favorite thing to do at Epcot

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  Try soda from around the world. I'm going to do a full review of each of the Coca Cola beverages from these countries in a separate post. Watch for it on my page.

• Sorry not sorry

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  And yes, sorry but not sorry. If you're going with me to Disney World, you're going to have to go on Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom. I love nostalgia and technology. But I also love short lines and air conditioning.
• Time to zap some monsters

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  In full serious butt kickin' mode.

• More wows

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  Another great fast food meal that took me by surprise was the Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork Burger at Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios. Be sure to get some cheese sauce to dip your fries in.

• Disney Rule #1

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  Whether it's ice cream, pancakes or pretzels, if it's Mickey Mouse shaped, you get it.
• Summer foods

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  At the Disney "This is Magic" media preview, we also got to sample some of the foods they're serving up at the H2O glow after hours parties. If you like cooler nighttime weather and shorter lines, these are a blast. And the food options are fun too. I was stoked to see they brought back the Chicago Hot Dog for another summer.

• Winner winner chicken dinner

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  But the big thing I couldn't get enough of was Disney's taken on a Southern comfort food staple: chicken and waffles. The dressing was sooo good. Had a kick to it.

• Healthy… at Disney?

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  If you're one of those weird people who likes to take good care of yourself, we can't be friends. But you do have great options at Disney.
• Always save room for dessert

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  The Disney desserts were decidedly dangerously decadent. Devoured this lemon/chocolate creation in nanoseconds.

• Instagrammable Food

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  Disney has this knack for making the most Instagram-ready foods.

• Just being Goofy

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  My other spirit animal.
• Time to say goodbye

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  Now it's time to say goodbye to all our family. M-I-C-K-E-Y, See ya real soon.

• But before we go…

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  Fireworks over Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom is a must. She's my second favorite Cinderella, close behind the 80s hairband.

• Time to say goodbye to the friends

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  Thanks again to Disney for letting me bring along my high school friends. It was good to catch up with them and share the experience. Way more fun to get together in the Florida sunshine instead of visiting them in frigid Maine.
• Oh! One honorable mention.

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  This wasn't on Disney property but on the way home I tried a new pizza spot in Orlando. V Pizza & Tap Room - Lake Buena Vista in the Vista Centre Shoppes at 8586 Palm Parkway was phenomenal!

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