Episode 296: We discuss the latest Disney parks news but we focus a lot of attention on the plethora of new content coming to Disney+ over the next few years. (Along with a price hike). The roller coasters at WDW are starting to fill every row now and the parks are still feeling as crowded as ever even though the attendance is at 35% of capacity. However, as we discuss, 35% is not that far off from regular attendance at non-peak times. The Electric Water Pageant is making it’s return this week! We go through each of the Disney IP’s that are adding a lot of content to Disney+ and some to theaters. Star Wars is adding a lot of new shows and a movie or two as it rides the success of the Mandalorian.
Episode:279. Today, we reveal that one of us has tested positive for Corona-virus. We also discuss the latest Disney News. The movie release of Mulan is coming to Disney+ for an additional fee. The Disney 3rd quarter earnings call happened this week and there’s some good and bad things that came out of it. Annual Passholders are continuing to see some extra love and attention these days with extended discounts and of course a new magnet! (one per household). The average wait times for 3 of the 4 Walt Disney world parks has gone up week by week since re-opening but one park has seen wait times go down. Could you guess which one? Splash mountain had a boat sink as well this week and had to close for a couple of days. Isn’t that the attraction to have a boat sink this year?
Episode:277. I talk about my recent trip to Walt Disney World! I go through the safety measures that Disney has in place and if it made me feel safe. We also cover the recent news like the fact that Disney has officially announced the closure of three attractions. Could more closures be on the horizon? What other attractions could be at risk? We also talk about the annual pass options for cancelling or extending your pass. During my trip report I talk about the crowd levels on each day and my first ride experience on Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway. At Epcot I got to experience what I call the Flower, Food, Wine and Garden festival, I give my pick for best dish at the festival. I also had great dinning experiences at California Grill and Olivia’s. Overall if you are considering going to Disney in the near future I would say that you should use extreme caution and make sure that you are OK with the risk but also know that Disney has done a lot to make things as safe as they can.
Episode 276: Today Jon and I talk about the re-opening of all 4 Walt Disney World Parks. Disneyland Paris is also now officially open. However, Hong Kong Disneyland is closing once again. We discuss some of the new procedures that are happening at Epcot and Hollywood Studios and what rides feel safer than other. There’s a lot of new discounts coming out for annual passholders for resorts and merchandise. Disney is also giving passholders more information on extending their pass or cancelling and refunding passes. We have new activity going on with the Star Wars galactic star cruiser and more construction updates. We also preview my trip that I will discuss next week.
Episode 275: Today on the show we discuss some news and the results of our recent social media polls! We caused quite the debate with our poll on which side to start with when visiting World Showcase at Epcot. Do you start with Mexico or Canada? We discuss the differing opinions and give our thoughts. We also had a poll last week where we asked which form of transportation would you most like to ride for fun…The Monorail or the Skyliner. We discuss the results of that poll as well. In the news, Walt Disney World is re-opening as we speak and the early results so far have been positive. There was a huge mistake this week with erroneous charges to annual passholders that had to be reversed. We also discuss the precautions that Disney has made to try and make the parks as safe a possible.
Episode:273. That is the question. Will Disney World open on July 11th or will they push back the reopening date because of surging covid-19 cases in Florida? We know that Disneyland in California has had to postpone their opening date indefinitely. Will Walt Disney World follow? It doesn’t look like Florida is going to stand in the way of it so it will be up to Disney to decide how to proceed. We discuss this and the fact that I (Adam) made a reservation in July to go to the parks. I talk about my experience using the new park reservation system. Jason gives us and update on DVC pricing now that they have started selling again. Jon gives us an update on the status of his cruise and the new flexible options that he has to choose from. We also give our weekly construction/castle painting update. And we tease the topic of next week’s show. It will be all about Splash Mountain and the changes that were announced, so stay tuned!
Episode 271: Today the team discusses the plethora of new details that are coming out about the re-opening of Walt Disney world! There’s a lot of news surrounding the limitations and restrictions that guests will face once Disney World re-opens on July 11th. Guests who have existing reservations at a Disney resort are not guaranteed entry to the parks. Some resort amenities and restaurants will also not be available right away. We list out all of those details for you. Other topics we cover are things like, the castle repainting has resumed and The NBA is officially going to finish their season at the Wide World of Sports complex. We wrap up the episode by going through some Disney history from this week in June.
Episode 270: Today Jason returns to the show and fills us in on the work that he has been doing to help combat the spread of Covid-19. He also gives us his thoughts on what the parks will be like once they reopen. We also discuss Disney’s statement regarding the unjust murder of George Floyd by a police officer. We later go into some other news around spaceship earth and what it will be like when Epcot reopens. Annual Passholders will have the option of partial refunds or date extensions when the parks reopen…but what will the restart date be? Shanghai might be an indication the extension being longer than expected.
Episode: 269. Walt Disney World announced their re-opening dates and we go through all of the details. While it is good to finally know an opening date for the parks and resorts. It was a little surprising at first that they are going with July 11th & 15th. However, after we start going through the details it does start to makes sense. Also, DVC resorts are set to re-open on June 22nd and with likely soft openings of the parks. We break down what some new requirements will be in order for guests to visit the parks this summer. We also discuss some of the other news like what is going on a Disney springs now that they Disney operated stores are open for business…It’s pretty much how you would expect.
Episode 268: Disney Springs is now open! We discuss this and the recent promotion of Josh D’Amaro to Chairman of Parks & Resorts! We will miss him as president of Walt Disney World but as Chairman of Parks and Resorts I have a feeling that we will still see him around. We discuss the positive impact that we think Josh will bring to the guest experience in the coming years. We also talk about the other cooperate shuffling that has gone on this week at Disney. We also noticed that things seem to be picking up over at the Star Wars galactic Starcruiser construction site. Also, we now have masks in our spreadshirt store! 