Downtown Disney to Expand into Disney Springs

A few years after it announced and then scrapped plans to reformat Pleasure Island, the official Disney Parks blog has revealed that Downtown Disney is getting an upgrade. A years-long project will transform Downtown Disney into Disney Springs, an even larger shopping and entertainment district. Downtown Disney is so popular with Florida residents and Disney World guests alike that it was time to expand. Don’t worry about suddenly needing a ticket to get into the area: just like before, Disney Springs will be open to the public (though individual entertainment venues still might require tickets for entrance). Tom Staggs, the … Continue reading →

Special Tours at the Disney Parks

The Disney Parks are just so big that it seems like there will never stop being things to learn about them. New features and attractions are added all of the time. Today we’re going to take a look at one unique aspect of the park: tours. Disney World offers all sorts of special year-round and seasonal tours, but it also has something called the VIP tour. The VIP tour isn’t what it might immediately sound like: it’s not a special behind-the-scenes, comprehensive look at Disney World. Instead, it’s a service that will transport you around the park to the attractions … Continue reading →

Shanghai Disneyland to Open in 2015

In 2015, a brand new Disneyland will open its gates. Don’t believe it? Did you think you would have heard of something so momentous happening sooner? At the end of 2015, Shanghai Disneyland will be open for business. It was easy to forget about the at-times controversial park, because it’s been years since we’ve heard more than a peep about it. But now that we’re getting closer to its opening date, more details are beginning to trickle in. The Disney Parks blog has a snapshot of the Shanghai Disneyland model, or at least a portion of the model, focusing on … Continue reading →

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Kicks Off This Week

This week the Epcot International Flower Garden Festival officially opens. It’s one of Epcot’s longest events, in the length of time it’s going on at the park. So from year to year it might not seem like a lot changes. This year, though, it’s got something special up its sleeve. One of Disney’s big films of the year is “Oz: The Great & Powerful,” which tells the story of how a man from the American Midwest became the wonderful, terrible Wizard of Oz. It opens on March 8, two days after the kickoff of the Flower & Garden Festival, and … Continue reading →

Exploring the International Disney Parks

Disney World and Disneyland aren’t exactly the same, so why should the other Disney parks abroad be similar? If you ever get the chance to travel to an international Disney park, perhaps to Tokyo Disneyland for the new D23 convention this fall, you might notice a few differences from the domestic ones. BBC Travel did a report on some of the unique things that set the international parks apart. One of the most obvious differences is the food. While you can get some international food at Disney Parks, especially at Epcot at Disney World, it’s still not standard. Obviously, that’s … Continue reading →

Wintry Fantasies at the Disney Parks

Disneyland’s new Fantasy Faire doesn’t open until March 12, but details are starting to emerge about what the attraction will entail. It draws some inspiration from Disney World’s Fantasyland expansion; the Faire as a whole will take the form of a medieval village. That reminds me a lot of Belle’s village at the new Fantasyland. That shouldn’t be too surprising, because the Fantasy Faire is an expansion of Disneyland’s Fantasyland. It’s not as large or ambitious as the one at Disney World, but it’s still going to be similar. Unlike the one in Orlando, however, the one in Anaheim won’t … Continue reading →

Become a Wilderness Explorer at the Animal Kingdom

If “Up” is one of your favorite Disney/Pixar movies, then Disney World’s Animal Kingdom has a great new surprise coming for you this spring. Soon guests to the Animal Kingdom can become Wilderness Explorers, just like Russell from “Up.” Wilderness Explorers was the Boy Scout-style troop to which Russell belonged in the film. An early version of this new experience was tested at the Animal Kingdom way back in the fall of 2011, and now it’s finally going to be making its debut this spring. Wilderness Explorers isn’t a proper game like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom; it’s closer to … Continue reading →

MyMagic+ to Record Disney Guest Experience

Disney’s always looking for a way to get ahead in its parks, including providing the best customer service around. Its constant raising of prices might seem counter intuitive to that, but at least it keeps upgrading its services. The New York Times has a fascinating new report on the Disney Parks’ latest effort: MyMagic+. MyMagic+ takes the physical form of a wristband park guests wear in place of tickets. Guests won’t have to trade in paper tickets anymore, instead waving their bands in front of the new FastPass monitors (even if they didn’t purchase a FastPass, those Mickey monitors are used). MyMagic+ … Continue reading →

Couple Visits Disneyland Every Day in 2012

At the end of 2012 I came across an interesting post on the official Disney Parks blog: a couple visited Disneyland every single day in 2012. On December 31, Jeff Reitz and Tonya Mickesh received special gifts personally from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs. It was a typical fancy Disney ceremony: as the two made their way down Main Street, Staggs was waiting for them to present their honors in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Their honors included being made honorary citizens of Disneyland, and a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite, a luxury apartment off the … Continue reading →

Benefits Cut for Disney World Premium Annual Passes

The lobby of the Grand Floridian, one of Disney World’s most exclusive hotels Walt Disney World continues to aggravate its most loyal fans, as it announced in December that discounts for premium annual pass members will be cut. The Orlando Sentinel has all the details. Since 2010 Disney World’s been pulling back a lot on the discounts it offers various pass holders. This time, the target is premium annual passes, which already cost around $750 (Florida residents get a discount at around $600). Now the shopping discounts premium annual pass holders receive have been cut in half. Let’s take a … Continue reading →