Friday, October 16, 2015

Casting company working on new Disney Parks Christmas special - and they want to hear from you!


I get many requests to share announcements on this blog.  Most requests I ignore.  You don't want to be bothered with such stuff and the last thing I want to do is perpetuate a possible scam.  This one's a bit different.  Like the Disney's Biggest Fan contest I talked about several years ago, sometimes you have to put your hat in the ring to see if something magical might pop out.

A group called The Casting Firm contacted me asking to pass along the following announcement.  At first I did what I usually do - I ignored it.  Then I did some checking.  Based on what I could discover, this group is legit.  This group has worked on many Disney-related projects, either for ABC or other Disney networks.

So why not give it a shot!!!
 


NOW CASTING NATIONWIDE:
MAJOR NETWORK HOLIDAY SPECIAL!
HAVE YOU HAD AN UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT AT ONE OF THE DISNEY PARKS OR PROPERTIES?

A Major Network & the Casting Firm are seeking couples, families and friends who’ve had an incredible Disney experience…and have a story to share that will touch the hearts of America!

· Have you had an epic, grand, joyful or love-filled moment at a Disney Park, Resort, or on a Disney Cruise?"
· Did you get engaged or married at a Disney property….or are you planning to?
· Was the first time you met Mickey, Goofy or any Disney character a truly unforgettable moment?
· Do you have a loved one serving in the military with a special connection to Disney who deserves to be recognized for their selflessness?
· Is there a special reason you or your family wants to go back to one of the Disney parks or properties?

The Casting Firm is looking for inspirational stories from couples, families, or friends to be part of an inspirational holiday special that will air on a Major Network!

SUBMIT or NOMINATE someone today at: www.theCastingFirm.com/Disney

Or, email them at CastME@theCastingFirm.com, and include a Contact Number, Photos, and share your story.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Pandora - The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom to include new attractions

Image courtesy Disney.  All rights reserved.
At the D23 Expo today, Disney announced the official name for the new Avatar-based expansion currently under construction at Animal Kingdom - "Pandora - the World of Avatar."  This new land will include two new attractions, the Avatar Flight of Passage, in which guests will soar on a flying Banshee over the world of Pandora.  Also, the "Rivers of Light," currently under construction, will offer a new evening show featuring lanterns, water screens and more.

Disney also announced the Kilimanjaro Safaris will be expanded to offer new sunset scenes and will include two new species - African wild dogs and hyenas.

Toy Story Land coming to Disney Hollywood Studios

Image courtesy Disney.  All rights reserved.

At the D23 Expo, Disney today announced that Toy Story Land will be coming to Disney Hollywood Studios.  This new eleven-acre land, based on the existing Toy Story Mania! will include two new attractions - a Little Green Men alien flying saucers attraction and a new family-friendly roller coaster based on Slinky the dog.

It's official! The Force to expand at Disneyland and Walt Disney World


Image courtesy Disney.  All rights reserved.

Image courtesy Disney.  All rights reserved.

Image courtesy Disney.  All rights reserved.

Today at the D23 EXPO 2015, The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced to an audience of more than 7,500 fans that Star Wars-themed lands will be coming to Disneyland park in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., allowing Star Wars fans to step into the stories from a galaxy far, far away.

Ambitious plans to bring Star Wars to life in the two parks include creating Disney’s largest single themed land expansions ever at 14 acres each, transporting guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life.

“I am thrilled to announce the next chapter in the long and exciting history between Disney Parks and Star Wars,” said Iger. “We are creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single themed land expansion ever. These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet, including an epic Star Wars adventure that puts you in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance.”

These authentic lands will have two signature attractions. Along with the thrilling battle experience, another attraction puts guests behind the controls of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, as they take on a customized secret mission.

Iger also shared concept images of the Star Wars-themed lands, giving fans a glimpse at what is to come for Disney parks.

The partnership between Disney and Lucasfilm dates back to 1987, when the successful Star Tours attraction, inspired by George Lucas’s legendary Star Wars film series, opened at Disneyland. The attraction was then redesigned, emerging as “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue” in 2011 and featuring more than 50 different story outcomes and the possibility to visit five different planets.

For 60 years, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been delighting millions of people with fantastic storytelling, exceptional entertainment and extraordinary experiences, creating places where guests can make life-long memories with their friends and families. This announcement marks an unprecedented time of growth with exciting developments happening around the world – from Disneyland Resort’s Diamond Celebration to the anticipated opening of Shanghai Disney Resort in China.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen to open at WDW

Copyright Disney.  All rights reserved.
Here's some of our first news coming out of the D23 Expo 2015 in Anaheim!

Disney has announced that the Jungle Cruise Navigation Company Ltd. Skipper Canteen will open in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom.  According to the official Disney Parks Blog, this new restaurant will open in late 2015.  Based on the artist rendering above, it looks like this will go into the space around what was the Aloha Isle.

The restaurant will be staffed by Jungle Cruise skippers, so you can bet there will be plenty more bad jokes coming!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April Fools Day - Disney Style!

Each year, on the first of April, plenty of incredible, unbelievable and utterly amazing news stories cross the web.  So today being the first of April, let's look at some of the more amazing revelations announced today and then you can determine which one was the best and most creative!


Guardians of the Star Wars Galaxy Announced!
http://thedisneyblog.com/2015/04/01/guardians-of-the-star-wars-galaxy-announced/

Walt Disney to make appearances during Disneyland's 60th anniversary
http://disneyexaminer.com/2015/04/breaking-news-walt-disney-to-make-appearances-during-disneyland-60-anniversary/

Disney announces plans for Hollywood Studios (Disney's Adventure Park)
http://www.disneyfanatic.com/breaking-news-disney-announces-their-plans-for-hollywood-studios/

Olaf's Frozen Escape coming to Magic Kingdom in 2016
http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/04/01/olafs-frozen-escape-coming-to-magic-kingdom-in-2016/

Cinderella's Castle to be renamed for Elsa
http://www.disneydining.com/cinderellas-castle-to-be-renamed-for-elsa/

Disney cancels partnership with Coca-Cola, signs agreement with Pepsi
http://www.chipandco.com/disney-cancels-partnership-cocacola-signs-agreement-pepsi-210522/

Disney buys Star Trek
http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Disney-Buys-Star-Trek-492977809

Powerline to play a secret show
http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2014/04/01/powerline-to-play-a-secret-show/?cmp=SMC%7Cgoo_mov%7Cnatural%7Cblgomd%7COMDApril%7CFB%7Cpowerline-AGoofyMovie%7CInHouse%7C2015-04-01%7Crepost%7C%7Cesocialmedia%7C%7C

First Look:  Disney Parks to send guests to Pluto
http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2015/04/01/first-look-disney-parks-to-send-guests-to-pluto/

Cars Land to open Summer 2017 (Disneytoon Studios)
http://behindthemouse.com/cars-land-to-open-summer-2017/

Judge bans Frozen from all theme parks
http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2015/04/01/judge-fools-all-banning-frozen-from-theme-parks-and-agreeing-with-frozen-is-my-life-story-author/

Disney/Pixar presents "X-Wings" trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ3n_D1zBrg


So which did you think was the best April Fools Day gag?  Post a comment!!

Friday, March 6, 2015

Photo Friday - an Adventureland hidden Mickey?


Time for another Photo Friday.

Once again, we return to shots from my January 2015 trip to Walt Disney World.  As regular readers of this blog know, I like to look for new hidden Mickeys.  I was walking through Adventureland near Pirates of the Caribbean, and glanced at the stage where the Jack Sparrow Pirate Tutorial takes place.  I happened to notice the coconuts on the left side of the stage were arranged in a way that could form a classic hidden Mickey.  It is best seen when on the stage.  So a snapped a few photos and I'll put it up for your thoughts.  Is this a hidden Mickey?  Post a comment and share your thoughts.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Photo Friday: Viva Donald!


For this week's Photo Friday, I thought I'd share a random shot from my most recent trip to Walt Disney World (January, 2015).  This is from the Grand Fiesta Tour attraction at the Mexico pavilion.  Every time I ride this attraction, I make sure to check on a well-known hidden Mickey, that is shown in this shot.  Can you see it?

Enjoy and Viva Donald!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Magic Bands and FastPass+

Welcome back for another Tip Tuesday!

This week, I wanted to get into the differences between Magic Bands and FastPass+.  Many in the Disney fan community have strong feelings (both positive and negative) about Magic Bands and FastPass+.  Many guests can easily think that the two go together, which is not exactly the case.  So I thought I'd go through what each does and how they can be related.

MagicBand
Put simply, a Magic Band is the same thing as the old Key to the World card guests used to use during a stay at Walt Disney World.  Instead of a plastic card, guests receive a rubber-like bracelet.  It uses the same RFID technology as the old card.  Just like the old card, the band serves as the guest's room key, charging privileges and PhotoPass (now Memory Maker) ID.  Also, just like the old card, the band can hold park tickets, if tickets are loaded onto the account.  So why did Disney go to Magic Bands instead of the cards?  For one thing, the cards are much easier to lose or misplace.  It is far easier to have  your ticket, room key and everything else right on your wrist.  Oh, one thing about security in case you're worried about someone stealing your band and using it to charge purchases or get into the parks - guests must still use a pin number when charging and the biometric scanners are still used at the parks, so there's really no point in stealing a band.  If a band is stolen, Disney can very quickly deactivate that band, making it truly useless.

FastPass+
In the old days (I'm starting to sound like some old guy), guests inserted their ticket card into a machine and out came a FastPass ticket allowing the guest to return at a certain time.  There was one hitch, though -- the guest had to enter the park and go (sometimes run) to the FastPass machines to get a pass.  There were plenty of times where the line for the FastPass machines were longer than the standby lines in the attraction itself, especially at park opening.  So Disney created FastPass+, which essentially, is an advance reservation system for FastPasses.  Guests go online to the MyDisneyExperience site and make reservations for up to three attractions in one park for a certain day (Disney is tweaking this site and it is likely that soon guests will be able to get passes for attractions and different parks in the same day).  These advanced reservations can be done up to sixty days in advance, eliminating the need to be in the parks and to rush to an attraction, or at least that was the theory.  Guests are still running around the parks at rope drop.  The one benefit here is that guests can use the MyDisneyExperience app while in the parks to change their FastPass reservations (either change the time or the attraction).  When it's time for a guest to visit a certain attraction, they place their Magic Band against a reader and are then permitted to enter.

There is one problem with FastPass+ that, I understand, Disney is working to address.  Once the guest has used up their three advance FastPasses, they can go to one of several FastPass kiosks located in the parks to get additional passes, but they can't do this online using the MyDisneyExperience app.  However, what's happened is that, again, the lines for the kiosks are getting longer than the standby lines themselves.  Apparently, Disney is working to modify the app so guests can schedule additional passes online instead of having to wait in a long line for a kiosk - and those lines are LONG!  When I was at WDW during Marathon weekend (which is a slower time of year), some people were waiting nearly an hour just to get to a kiosk.

Many of the guests who have problems with the Magic Bands are actually upset with FastPass+ and not the bands themselves.  I have to agree with some of the criticisms.  In all, FastPass+ is a pretty good idea, but it does require some tweaking, particularly once a guest has used up all the original passes.  Further, Disney needs to add the ability to book passes for attractions in multiple parks in the same day.

As the Magic Band technology spreads to other parks around the world - Disneyland is due to start using Magic Bands in the near future, it's important for these kinks to be worked out.  One thing remains the same - that families can have fun together and can even do so in a spontaneous way.  There's so much to do at Walt Disney World that isn't covered by FastPasses, as I am constantly reminding people.

What are your thoughts about Magic Bands and FastPass+?

(correction:  FastPass+ reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance, not 6 months - my error!!  The article has been corrected above.)

Friday, February 20, 2015

If there's one thing you can count on...

It's that Disney will raise the prices of tickets at their theme parks.

According to several published reports, this weekend, Disney will raise the prices of tickets at Walt Disney World.  This year, Disney is crossing a major milestone - the $100 mark.  A one-day, one-park ticket for the Magic Kingdom will now cost $105 per person.  This is the first time in history any single-day Disney park ticket has cost more than $100.  While this price increase is not surprising, it is in another way - crossing the $100 mark is a big deal in the minds of consumers. 

Take a look at this chart of one-day, one-park prices since this type of ticket became available:

Click for a larger view.
What's readily apparent is that ticket prices have been steadily increasing at a rate of anywhere from 0 to 20% each year, with the average price increase being about 6%.  This kind of annual rate increase is not common in the world of business.  The price for most items hasn't risen a steady 6% each year for the past 33 years.  For instance, gas in 1982 cost about $1.19 a gallon and milk cost about $1.49 a gallon.  If gas prices followed this same rate of increase, gas would cost about $9.43 a gallon and a gallon of milk would be more than $14! 

It is true that even at $105, a one-day, one-park ticket is a better overall value than, say, a round of golf at your local course.  With greens fees today running at least around $50 a person, the cost-per-hour for golf is far high higher than that of a day at the Magic Kingdom.  Even so, I continue to be concerned that Disney is slowly pricing itself out of range for lower income families.  That one-in-a-lifetime trip may become a not-in-my-lifetime trip because the prices are getting so high.

Attendance is just as high as it has ever been, so guests seem to be willing to pay the constantly higher price.  I'm just worried that there will, someday, be that point where too much becomes too much.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

DisneyDaddy returns to WDW Mousenger podcast

I had the opportunity to again join my friend Rod Wheaton on his WDW Mousenger podcast.  We talked all about RunDisney and why we enjoy Disney running events.  Be sure to tune into an upcoming edition of WDW Mousenger to catch the show!


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