Walt Disney World has released a list of injuries that occurred on attractions for the second quarter of 2011. It’s not long and not surprising. However, having witnessed a couple of non-attraction related injuries in the park myself (and a friend having witnessed a death… Read More »Disney World Releases 2nd Quarter Injury Report
There was news this week that Disney’s 3rd ship in its cruise line fleet, the Disney Dream, has been sailing to near sellouts since its launch in January with an average of 3,800 passengers a sailing on a ship capable of holding 4,000. That’s good… Read More »What Disney got Right, and Wrong, with the Disney Dream
Today we welcome guest author AJ Wolfe from the Disney Food Blog to discuss the new additions and events we can expect at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival this year. The 2011 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival will entice visitors to return… Read More »What to Expect at This Year’s EPCOT Food & Wine Festival
The monorail station could be looking like this a lot more when Disney institutes its new reduced hours for the trains.
One of my favorite Robert Heinlein short stories is “The Roads Must Roll.” Written in 1940, it speculates about a rapid transit system that would move people across the country in speed and comfort. The high speed nature of the rolling roads meant that maintenance was a huge deal. When the employees decided to organize for better working conditions, well, the shit hits the fan. In some ways it foretold the air controller strike of the Reagan era. These days there is an odd tie-in to the Walt Disney World monorails system too.
Walt Disney World just announced they would be reducing the operating hours of their monorail fleet. They used to run 1.5 hours after the parks closed or after the last scheduled event (extra magic hours, christmas party, etc). Sometimes these hours were stretched even further on the EPCOT line. Now they will all shut down 1 hour after the posted closing time for the park with no allowance for extra magic hours or other events. Guests will be placed on buses or water craft to be returned to their hotels or the TTC and EPCOT parking lots.
Initially, there was a lot of outcry directed at Disney for reducing benefits to resort and park guests at the same time they are raising prices, but soon word leaked out that there was an important reason behind the shift. The reason? The monorail fleet is just breaking down under the strain.
If you’ve been a fan of Disney’s theme parks or a collector of Disneyana for any length of time there’s a good chance you’ve seen George the Disney tattoo guy. George is known for having a huge collection of Disney collectibles (at one time he… Read More »The Disney Tattoo Guy Versus the Nicolas Cage Rule
As the Disney Wonder enjoys its first tours of Alaska, guests are reporting back that the views are spectacular. However, since it can get cold and rainy the usual sunbathing activity is a bit diminished. To compensate for the ship’s busier interior, Disney is holding… Read More »Mickey and Minnie dressed up for Alaskan Weather aboard Disney Wonder
The Vacation Lodge Motel, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom, on the 192 caught fire around 10:45pm last night and is still burning strong right now. All three wings of the sprawling motel have burned to the ground, displacing 150 guests. Although it was an operating motel,… Read More »Massive Motel Fire near Disney World Closes 192, Injures 12
Since 1991 the Disney Vacation Club has enticed Disney fans to buy into the magic as part owner of a timeshare property located right on Walt Disney World. Since then they’ve expanded to other locations in Florida, Disneyland, and soon Hawaii. Add to that the… Read More »Disney Vacation Club Remakes Logo to Reflect Changed Brand