New Rates!

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First thing first,  as my wife and I pulled up to the park this morning the first thing we noticed that parking went from $17.00 a car to $20.00 a car.  The next thing we noticed is that the have a whole new pass system.

The old system was

  • Seasonal
  • Annual
  • Premium

The New system is now

  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Platinum
  • Platinum Plus

 

Disney Springs?

Chef Masaharu Morimoto is teaming up with Patina Restaurant Group to open Morimoto Asia as Walt Disney World Resort brings to life Disney Springs, an entertainment-dining-retail district re-imagined from Downtown Disney. Studio V's design for Morimoto Asia features a new two-story glass entrance, Asian calligraphy facades, and outdoor dining areas with views overlooking Disney Springs. To open in summer 2015 at The Landing, in the heart of Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia is the Japanese master chefÕs first pan-Asian dining experience. (Concept renderings courtesy of Studio V.)
Chef Masaharu Morimoto is teaming up with Patina Restaurant Group to open Morimoto Asia as Walt Disney World Resort brings to life Disney Springs, an entertainment-dining-retail district re-imagined from Downtown Disney. Studio V’s design for Morimoto Asia features a new two-story glass entrance, Asian calligraphy facades, and outdoor dining areas with views overlooking Disney Springs. To open in summer 2015 at The Landing, in the heart of Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia is the Japanese master chefÕs first pan-Asian dining experience. (Concept renderings courtesy of Studio V.)

Effective Tuesday evening, the name “Downtown Disney” goes bye-bye. Hello, Disney Springs!

Walt Disney World is throwing a renaming celebration Tuesday at the brand new, Indiana Jones-themed Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. Disney executives, cast members and Disney Springs’ newest tenants will take part in this milestone occasion.

The transformation into the reimagined, redesigned and totally kicked-up entertainment district has been happening for two years. By the time it’s fully complete in 2016, Disney Springs will double the number of shops and restaurants currently found at Downtown Disney.

Disney Springs will include outdoor neighborhoods — the West Side, the Landing and the Marketplace — with everything from “splurge”-type restaurants to new lakefront shopping. Some of the new stores include:

  • APEX by Sunglass Hut
  • Art of Shaving
  • Chapel Hats
  • Erwin Pearl
  • Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC
  • Havaianas
  • Sanuk
  • Sound Lion
  • Vivoli Gelateria

Continue reading Disney Springs?

BlackFace Mickey

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Mickey once wore ‘blackface’. A Disney reimagining of influential slavery novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ called ‘Mickey’s Mellerdrammer’ saw Mickey Mouse in “blackface” to perform on stage – with the help of some dynamite. This 1933 effort was sadly reflective of the times.

Banned for Joke?

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A Florida man says he is banned from Walt Disney World for life after what he calls a bad joke.

David Swindler posted a video to YouTube, saying he and his family were visiting Disney for a Labor Day weekend trip.

Swindler says he became impatient with an employee at his hotel and joked that he could build a meth lab faster than he could get service.

That’s when Swindler says Orange County deputies showed up at his room and asked to see his meth lab.

Swindler says he was then banned from Disney parks for life.

Disney has not yet responded to a request for a comment on the story.

Increased Security

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As my friends and I were at the parks last week, we noticed even more CCTV cameras. Most of the times they are very low key and not really noticeable, but lately they are really out there in your face. I wounder if this is on purpose as a deterrent or they were put up in a hurry due to a security threat.

Proximity Alarms?

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WDW put that green security fence up between the MK monorail station and the WDW Railroad back in the late 1990’s. Unfortunately you could see where people had worn a path in their attempts to sneak into the MK. As someone pointed out, that fence is equipped with proximity alarms and is monitored by security

End to Osborne lights

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Walt Disney World on Friday announced this will be the last year of the Osborne family’s Christmas lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights has been a Christmas tradition at Disney World for the past 20 years.

Disney officials say the theme park is unable to put on the lights after this year because of plans to use the space for new Stars Wars and Toy Story themed areas.

The Christmas light spectacle features millions of lights synchronized to holiday music.

The spectacle started as a family tradition at the Arkansas home of Jennings Osborne. In 1995, the spectacle was transferred to Disney World after the Osbornes ran into legal problems over its display in their neighborhood.

Pay for Seat?

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For those that are planning a Walt Disney World vacation and learning all the intricacies of the new technology of My Disney Experience, you may have to learn a few more things. If you’re finding it hard to make some dining reservations, you can still get them, but it’s going to cost you. Disney is currently investigating websites that are scooping up dining reservations by the dozen and then selling them to guests for a price.

Dining reservations at places such as Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest Restaurant are not easy to get as it is. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, websites such as DiS Dining Agent is making it even harder to get them.

This website actually makes Disney dining reservations under fake identities and then sells them over to guests for $15. Actually, the wording used is “transfers them to customers,” but it’s done in a number of different ways.

Anna Skamarakas is a teacher from New Jersey and a “Disney Parks Mom” panelist, and she is not happy about this.

“It just infuriates me. They are doing something to circumnavigate the system, which isn’t fair to the rest of us who are trying to play by the rules.”

DiS Dining Agent is not affiliated with Disney Theme Parks or The Walt Disney Company in any way or form.

Eater has broken down the site a bit and seen how it works via the notes from the company. For around $15 each, they will sell the reservation, but there is no guarantee that the “transfer” will be successful yet they still keep the fee.

For smaller fees of $6 to $10, the site will cancel the reservation they have on hold “in exchange for letting you know exactly when that happens.” This will allow the customer to pick up the reservation as soon as it is released.

There’s even a concierge level where they will “guarantee” you get the reservation because they don’t transfer it. In this case, they will actually hand over the My Disney Experience (MDE) account – made in a fake name – to the customer and give them control of the reservation.

There are sites out there such as WDW Tools, Disney Dining Scout, Disney Dining Buddy, and others that are similar, but a little more fair. They charge a fee to send out alerts to guests that a reservation they are looking for, has become available.

Never do those websites actually book the Walt Disney World dining reservation for anyone, but simply let people know when they’re open.

Jacquee Wahler, a Disney spokeswoman, has confirmed that Disney is aware of the website, and apparently others as well.

“…we are currently reviewing the situation involving third party website dining services. Disney has no affiliation with these third-party services which can interfere with the guest experience we strive to create.”

Many have found that in the past year or two, Walt Disney World dining reservations are becoming harder to come by. Not only do guests have to contend with other guests booking reservations, but websites scooping them up and selling them.

Disney is looking into things and there is a good chance that changes could come to the Walt Disney World dining reservation system. Either way, Disney is not going to allow a website to continue making money off of guests by selling them dining reservations so something is likely going to change.