We’ve known for some time that an interactive queue is coming to the Haunted Mansion, we even knew that Imagineers were playing around with replacing the Hitchhiking Ghosts with digital projections, but now we have video evidence of what those changes may look like. One… Read More »Big Changes coming to Disney World’s Haunted Mansion
Oh those wacky Geo-Location Cache Hobbyists, causing Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney and Disneyland Drive to close down for 90 plus minutes today while Police brought in the bomb squad, what were they thinking? Who knows? But that’s certainly better news than someone planting a bomb… Read More »Disneyland’s Suspicious Device A Geo-Location Cache
The big news earlier today was that Mickey and Minnie’s Main Street Meet and Greet would be opening with the benefit of Fastpass to avoid the long waits that the Toontown Fair location had become known for. I’m a bit on the fence about this. I don’t like Fastpass in general because I think it A) is unnecessary for most attractions, B) upsets the guests in the standby queue which is bad show, C) artificially inflates the guests in public spaces which means a lower overall capacity for the parks, D) totally negates the chance to enjoy an afternoon in the parks with an equal chance to enjoy the fastpass attractions… I can go on… but I’ll stop now. Positioning FASTPASS as convenience, which you’ll see Disney has done in their press release, is only true for those who are able to use it. Once Fastpass runs out or the return time passes beyond your availability, then it’s no longer a convenience and instead becomes a huge burden.
That said, I can see Fastpass working for character meet and greets if, and it’s an important if, they dedicate one room to that queue and then manage the standby queue to keep it under a reasonable length (say 20 minutes for the Big Cheese). Do I actually see Disney managing the queues that way? I doubt it, but I hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Yes, I know that people “hate” to wait for attractions and characters. Nothing sucks more than waiting 45 minutes for a 30 second experience with a character that can’t even talk to you. To me that is a staffing problem and a capacity problem. Fastpass does nothing to address either of those. But it does make the guests that use it happy and they say good things about it, so it does have that one thing going for it. I don’t see how that outweighs the rest, but oh well.
Disney’s full press release for the announcement is below the jump. Please jump in on the comments with your thoughts on the changes:
Read More »Mickey and Minnie Meet and Greet gets FASTPASS, new Concept Art
Back in the day, there was a time on The Disney Channel when you couldn’t shake a tree without Bill Nye The Science Guy falling on your heard. Eventually Disney sours on its stars and Bill Nye The Science Guy shown the door after some… Read More »Bill Nye The Science Guy visits EPCOT on Wednesday
This week last year Walt Disney World rechristened the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex under the ESPN brand. Thus marked the zenith of a little project that began 8 years ago with the first ESPN The Weekend. For the first time, this year will feature some beloved college and professional sports mascots. Also, the ESPN the Weekend actually starts a day early on the 3rd with some live broadcasts by ESPN talking heads and Braves MLB Baseball Spring training.
The main even kicks off at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday the 4th. Marquee stars from the NFL, MLB, NBA and NCAA, plus well-known ESPN on-air personalities, will be packing them in for the eighth annual Dick’s Sporting Goods presents ESPN The Weekend, providing fans have a one-of-a-kind opportunity see and hear many of their favorite athletes and ESPN personalities.
This year’s lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios features more than 35 athletes and ESPN stars, including former University of Florida football coach and current ESPN college football analyst Urban Meyer, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, N.Y. Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, NBA Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving and MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., plus former NFL star Derrick Brooks, ex-NBA great Alonzo Mourning and current Orlando Magic players.
Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, hosts of the popular “Mike & Mike in the Morning” show, return as co-hosts of the event, and will broadcast live March 3-4 from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney. They will be joined by several fellow ESPN personalities such as “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd, “Monday Night Football’s” Ron Jaworski and MLB analyst Nomar Garciaparra.
Additional ESPN personalities include, Tedy Bruschi, Linda Cohn, Herm Edwards, John Kruk, Karl Ravech, Bobby Valentine and Trey Wingo.
Read More »ESPN The Weekend March 4-6 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Last year EPCOT Center’s Germany Pavilion opened Karamell-Kuche, a new candy shop from the folks at Werther’s Original Caramel. In the new store you can find this new unique EPCOT collectible. It’s a beautiful tin from Werther’s that may just look familiar to you.
Yep, it’s actually a slightly modified version of this building from right across the Germany Pavilion courtyard.
If you remember Werther’s filmed their recently commercials in the Germany Pavillion and it looks like that the Toy Store has become the official candy store for Werther’s. A bit confusing, but it’s a nice collectible anyway.
More Germany changes below the jump:
The crowds were amazing at Walt Disney World this weekend. Definitely the busiest I’ve seen it since the peak of last summer. But we enjoyed ourselves on President’s Day weekend and of course, stopped in at the Hall of Presidents for the obligatory show. For… Read More »Presidents Day at Disney World
If there is one thing Portland, OR has become known for these days, it’s the diverse music scene that keeps 20 and 30 somethings moving there despite the lack of available jobs. The Oregonian has a look at two of those musicians who were discovered… Read More »Portland Pair Perform Pirate Pieces for Disney Jr