Walt Disney World

Take me to EPCOT!!!

Posted on by Miss Main Street

 

As an impish little fellow with a vegetable nose and snow for a body has been known to randomly belt out, “it’s summer!!!”. And thanks to all the wonderful, meticulous planning going on behind the scenes at Walt Disney World, one thing has been on my mind for weeks months now…. finding a way back (insert devious Haunted Mansion voice over here)! Okay, so maybe it isn’t quite summer yet, but it’s close enough. And as summer approaches, I can hardly contain myself from recreating Olaf’s happy little jig as I count off all the wonderful things coming to EPCOT alone. Ready? Here goes!

Soarin’ Around the World Takes Flight at Disney Parks This Summer

(photo courtesy Disney Parks blog)

5 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious reasons to make EPCOT a MUST DO this summer!

  1. Premiering June 17th, the new Soarin’ Around the World will debut along with a third theater to help relieve the long queue lines that have become synonymous with the attraction itself. It will also be premiering in Disneyland this day and as Soarin’ Over the Horizons at Shanghai Disneyland
  2.  Then, just a few days later on June 21st, Frozen Ever After and the Royal Sommerhus will open for the plethora of folks still holding onto winter over at the Norway pavilion. Frozen Ever After will be a water ride taking guests on a journey through Arendelle while the Royal Sommerhus will give guests the opportunity to meet Anna and Elsa in person. Prepare for the above long queue lines to now become synonymous with this pavilion giving us all plenty of time to ponder whether Odin in his infinite wisdom knew what he was paving the way for all those years ago…
  3. Turtle Talk with Crush will continue to give guests a reason to keep swimming over to its corner with the addition of several characters from Disney/Pixar’s upcoming ‘Finding Dory’ film. We’ll see Dory and several of her big picture friends join Crush in the tank and for the first time, Squirt will be swimming along as well!
  4. On June 6th Disney Vacation Club members will get their own private retreat featuring air conditioning on the second floor of the Imagination pavilion as a part of the 25th anniversary of the club. Okay, so the Member Lounge will include Coco-Cola Freestyle machines, wi-fi and other features but we all know the real joy will be stepping away from the crowds to indulge in the creature comforts of basking in cool temperatures while staring out at the melting family caricatures doddering by on the sidewalks below.
  5. And finally, the latest perk rounding out this list (because admit it, it needed a fifth item to seal the deal) is that guests can now use their personal smartphones to play Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure throughout the park. You’ll still need to stop by the Odyssey Bridge or the International Gateway to begin recruitment but it’s still a welcome advancement for this wonderful activity within the park.

And so there you have it folks! I can only imagine that later this fall I’ll be begging to stroll through Disney Springs and that next summer I’ll be ready for explore Pandora but right now, EPCOT is where it’s at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Disney Springs!

Posted on by Miss Main Street

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(photo courtesy Disney Parks Blog)

Just over a month ago I was able to spend an exciting extended weekend at the place where dreams come true! Walt Disney World! And while there, I noticed that the maps for Downtown Disney were hinting that the official name change was soon to come. While they said “Downtown Disney,” more importantly they also said “Soon to be Disney Springs” in much larger font. It was a tease for something to come and much sooner than I had expected. But it’s official! Downtown Disney is now Disney Springs and with that simple swapping of words, comes the excitement of everything yet to come. While the whole area already looks much different, the plans for a new chocolate shop, more restaurants, stores (Lilly Pulitzer, I’ve got my eye on you!) and the NBA Experience, it’s clear that Disney isn’t done yet with the future of Disney Springs. They’re just getting started and I’m more than happy with that.  😉

 

 

Star Wars Lands and Experiences coming to Disney!

Posted on by Miss Main Street

Photo courtesy DisneyParks blog
(Photo Courtesy DisneyParks blog)

If you haven’t heard the news yet, then sit back and prepare to be blown out of this world. In fact, prepare to be blown into a galaxy far, far away for at the latest D23 EXPO, it was announced that both Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Resort will be getting their own Star Wars themed land. According to Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, each land will be over 14 acres large and offer two new attractions. There wasn’t much detail on the future attractions (just yet) but one of them was teased boasted that it will let guests get to fly the legendary Millennium Falcon on a “secret mission.” While it’s hard to tell exactly what that means, I’m already envisioning a Star Tours mixed with a Mission:SPACE type of feel.

Photo courtesy of DisneyParks blog
(Photo Courtesy DisneyParks blog)

In addition to the two lands, it was also announced that a new Star Wars experience will be coming to both locations in early 2016 known as Season of the Force. For Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, this means a specially themed Star Wars fireworks show and for Disneyland it marks something much bigger. For years people on the West Coast have been asking for Star Wars Weekends to come to Disneyland and now they’ll be getting to take part in this new event. Space Mountain will be temporarily re-imagined into Hyperspace Mountain and park guests will get to enjoy specially themed food and entertainment.

Expect to hear more in the upcoming months about these latest additions to the parks. For the great thing about Disney is that they love to surprise and excite you with news like this, but they also know to keep just enough secret to keep you coming back for more!

Disney Shopping just got easier!

Posted on by Miss Main Street

Today I found out about an exciting new app that Disney is going to be rolling out shortly. Simply named “Shop Disney Parks” the app will allow users to purchase virtually any item from a Disney operated store at Walt Disney World right from their smartphones. It will also allow park guests to find the availability of the merchandise in question and where it can be found. The rumors from the sites I went to suggested that eventually it will work with the My Disney Experience app, but that for now the two will remain separate. Although I can’t confirm anything, one site even mentioned that this linking would then allow for the automatic application of discounts that guests may be entitled to have (example: Annual Pass discounts).

As someone who has personally experienced the twinge and then full on pangs of regret for not buying an item while at the parks and wishing for a way to turn back time, I know this app will be a saving grace for many.

5 Free things at Disney Parks

Posted on by Miss Main Street

As you probably already know, going to Disney can be expensive. Between travel arrangements, tickets and hotels, it can sometimes seem that there’s no end to the items required just to get there. However, did you know there are actually some things you can get for free? Yep, that’s right! Disney and free can go together, but you just have to know where to look. And, that’s why I’m here today to help out with 5 things you can get at Disney…for free!

  1. Personal hand drawn character keepsake: Located at the soon to close Magic of Disney Animation in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World (closing July 12th), the bottom level in DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney Orlando and Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland, is an experience called Animation Academy. Here guests will get to learn from a Disney artist how to draw various Disney characters and get to keep their drawing as a personal keepsake for years to come!
  2. Special Occasion Buttons: Wandering around the park you will be sure to see guests sporting buttons announcing birthdays, family reunions, anniversaries and nuptials. Often times these buttons allow cast members to hone in and be able to share in your celebrations wishing you a congratulations, to sometimes a free dessert for the birthday guest. I’ve even gotten a free piece of decadent chocolate cake from Germany once for merely sporting an anniversary button and looking particularly ravenous at all the treats before me. You aren’t guaranteed to get anything free for wearing the button, but the buttons themselves are! You can find them at Guest Services in the front of the parks.
  3. Free 5×7 photo with Disney Characters for guests with Disney Chase Visa cards: Okay, so this item requires you to have taken your love of Disney so far that it travels with you in your wallet even when you aren’t on vacation. If that’s you, it means you are entitled to a free 5×7 photo during your visit to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. And if you are so inclined, you’re even allowed to get one every day of your visit… you just have to make it to the booth location. At WDW this one on one photo experience is located in Innovations West in Epocot and at DL it is in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure.
  4. Disney family decals: So this one is super cute and worth doing even if you aren’t going to a Disney park. All you have to do is go to Build Your Disney side and from there you’ll get to create your family in decal form. You’ll get to choose what your Disney persona wears and even if they’ll be enjoying a nice Mickey shaped treat to tempt you! If you do it before your trip, put it on your car to look at as you travel or on your luggage if so inclined. I’ve been itching to place mine on a mirror in our Disney section at our house. Whatever you use them for, they’re totally worth the time!
  5. Disney Planning DVD: Okay, so this tends to be a take it or leave it type offering. For many people, if they are going online order this DVD, they’re probably also going online to already plan their trip. But! If you want to get pumped for the big trip or maybe just want an overview of what there is to expect, this is a great and actually fun to collect. It’s amazing seeing how much information on the DVD’s (and VHS’s if you’re my age) have evolved over the years.

(Very) Quick Overview of MagicBands

Posted on by Miss Main Street

Prior to a friend’s recent trip to Walt Disney World, I was asked if there was anything else she needed to take care of before her vacation. Her traveling partner and herself had already booked their resort, flights, dining reservations and bought their tickets. It sounded like everything to her, until I asked about MagicBands. Instantly, she had questions  mostly focusing on “if she really needed them” and if so, how to get them. Later she admitted that everything about it seemed so overwhelming that she just wanted to push it off as much as possible.

And that’s totally understandable.

The fact that the MagicBands are designed to take so much stress off of guests while they are visiting the parks can often have the unfortunate effect of stressing out a guest before that said visit. Therefore, today I am here to hopefully give you a very quick overview of the basics that you need to know.

bands

What are Magicbands anyways?

Simply put, MagicBands are colorful bracelet type objects that EVERYONE going to Walt Disney World Resort gets for free. All of them have an RFID chip inside of them and it’s used for a multitude of functions. Basically, it allows you to attach your park ticket, Fastpasses, Disney resort room key, dining reservations and credit card information to it. Additionally, if you are using Magical Express to get from the airport to your Disney resort, you can attach your passes for that on it too. Simply put, the MagicBands are designed so that once you make it to your vacation, all the things you have to carry with you start disappearing.

How do I get them?

If you are staying on Disney property or are a passholder,  you can select and customize your bands online up to 10 days before your trip. Otherwise when you arrive at an on-property resort, you’ll be given a standard one upon check-in. If on the other hand you are staying off property, you can receive your Magicband when you purchase your tickets.

Will I actually use them?

Let me answer with a resounding “yes!”.  At the very least, with little to no effort put into these bands, you’ll have to at least use them to enter the parks. From there, it’s up to you.

They seem so plain, can I decorate them?

Again, the answer is yes. There are lots of sites out there actually revolving around these bands. You can buy all sorts of stickers/vinyl and other options for the bands to spice them up a bit. On top of that, feel free to add your own stickers and cover them with clear nail polish to seal them in. Another option to keep in mind is that Disney actually sells more unique ones online and in the parks. For instance, during the 2015 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival I got myself a limited edition Magicband that made the Magicband readers glow in rainbow colors when used at a Fastpass line or when entering EPCOT. Plus it was super cute!

Anything else I should know?

I’d say after understanding the basics of the Magicbands, a whole new world seems to open (like what I did there? eh eh?).  There’s the My Disney Experience tab you’ll find once you create a Disney account online. Then there’s a MyDisneyExperience app that let’s you do the same from your phone. And let’s not forget that this technology is relatively new. It’s yet to come to Disneyland but you can bet that’s probably only a matter of time.

So there you have it! As you can tell, there is a lot to these little guys but hopefully this will give you a good starting point to work off of. Expect to see more detailed articles about the MagicBands at a later time.

If you are interested in learning more about the technology behind the bands and just what a game changer they are to not only Walt Disney World but the future as well, here’s a great article featured in Wired all about it. It’s long but totally worth it!