Disney once famously refused to acknowledge that they were building a new Disney Vacation Club resort next to The Contemporary even-though the blueprints had leaked months prior and everyone who flew by on the monorail every day could plainly see a multi-story building going up,… Read More »Festival of The Lion King decamping to Africa in 2014
I was able to sneak out to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours on Friday and will have some construction updates from around the park later this week. But first, I wanted to share a merchandise finds that caught my eye.
Universal Studios Florida has an expansion of its own going on at one of its popular lands based on The Simpsons animated TV show. Sure, it’s not New Fantasyland, but it does make you feel like you’re in the city of Springfield. In addition to… Read More »The Simpsons Kang and Kodos’ Twirl ‘N’ Hurl Testing at Universal Studios Florida
The European edition of Star Wars Celebrations, the official Lucasfilm organized fan event, has just wrapped up. More than 20,000 Star Wars fans from around the world gathered to celebrate their love of the classic stories and the chance to hear a few big announcements about the future of the franchise.
In a Main Stage event hosted by Warwick Davis, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that legendary composer John Williams will return to score the highly-anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII, to be directed by J.J. Abrams. And one of the Executive Producers from Star Wars Rebels, Dave Filoni, was on hand to guide fans through the genesis of the upcoming animated series, revealing designs heavily influenced by original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. While unable to attend in person, Executive Producers Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman shared their excitement for the series in a video message recorded exclusively for Celebration attendees. Star Wars: Episode VII is slated for a 2015 release and Star Wars Rebels will begin airing on Disney XD starting in fall of 2014.Read More »Star Wars Celebration Europe Wraps Up With Big Announcement
If you follow TV/Entertainment news to the nauseating level that I do, you know how Netflix is completely changing the TV landscape. What used to be known as a way to binge watch old TV shows and catch up on movies you missed in theaters,… Read More »Bunheads has been cancelled…what about Netflix
In today’s moment of cuteness, Disney’s Animal Kingdom recently welcomed its first ever Masai giraffe calf. Masai and reticulated are the two subspecies of giraffe found on the savannas of Kilimanjaro Safaris. The Masai giraffe is native to the plains of southern Kenya and throughout Tanzania.
This as yet unnamed calf will be out exploring his new savanna home within the next few weeks. But in the meantime the Disney Parks Blog is hosting a poll to name the baby giraffe. The choices are: Baraka, meaning blessing; Knodo, meaning battle; Baridi, meaning frost; Shingo, meaning long neck; Asani, meaning rebellious; and Mosi, meaning first. Frost is my last name, so I kinda like that one.
Giraffe trivia and fun facts below the jump:
Read More »Disney’s Animal Kingdom Welcomes Its First Ever Masai Giraffe Birth
I was on vacation earlier this month and missed the news that Johnny Depp has signed on to return as the Mad Hatter in the Alice in Wonderland Sequel. That the sequel would be made was in little doubt after the original brought in more… Read More »Johnny Depp to Return as Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland Sequel
Megan McArdle, a business and economics blogger recently made the jump from Newsweek to Bloomberg. During that time off she indulged in one of her passions – roller coasters. I knew there was a reason I liked her. One of her insights from the trip is about how guest services like Quick Queue, Fast Lane, or Fast Pass are impacting the enjoyment of theme park guests, and, perhaps, even symbolize something that’s gone wrong with our nation over all.
McArdle observes something many theme park fans have noticed before. Even though Fastpass is free, and other systems aren’t that outrageous as a percentage of the overall vacation, some families just don’t use them.
I find it hard to believe that the problem is a lack of awareness; all three parks prominently hawked Quick Queue or Fast Lane passes at concession stands.
Perhaps the problem is the price — though with the bucks people were dropping on concessions, I can’t believe that this is the issue. No, I think the answer is in the hard stares we got as we walked through the fast-pass gate. People just don’t like fast passes. It doesn’t feel right.
I had never really thought about it that way. But it makes sense to me.Read More »How Fast Passes Are Ruining Our Nation, Hyperbole… or Not?