Details Announced for 2018 Disney’s Easter at Tokyo DisneySea

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Easter festivities are once again coming to Tokyo Disney Resort for “Disney’s Easter” at Disney TokyoSea, March 27 – June 6, 2018. The event will feature shows, merchandise, special restaurant menus, an egg hunt and decorations throughout the park.

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“Fashionable Easter” show

The Fashionable Easter show returns to Mediterranean Harbor. During the show, Mickey and Minnie sail into the harbor, followed by artists from the four ports – American Waterfront, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon and Mysterious Island – dressed in Easter fashions representing their ports. Mickey and his Disney friends change into new costumes based on the fashion tips they receive. The 25-minute show will feature about 115 performers, 5 boats, kites, pyrotechnics and Easter-themed music.

Atmosphere entertainment includes the Tokyo DisneySea Maritime Band wearing bunny-eared Easter “Bunny” Bonnets and colorful costumes as they perform at Waterfront Park, as well as performances of the “Fun Custodial” Cast Member at American Waterfront.

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Bunny Ears headband and hair clip.

Special merchandise for the event will be available beginning March 20, including “Fashionable Easter” items featuring designs of the Disney Friends as fashion models. Bunny Ears Headbands are returning this year in four colors, which guests can mix and match with the Easter “Bunny” Bonnets and eight different types of hair clips. Stationery, tableware and other items will feature Easter designs as well.

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Carbonara pasta dish at Cafe Portofino.

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Shrimp and taramo salad at New York Deli.

Easter menus will also begin on March 20, including a carbonara pasta dish at Cafe Portofino and shrimp and taramo salad on a pink bun at New York Deli. Special cocktails will be available at Barnacle Bill’s, and guests can find a special drink in a Miss Bunny and Thumper cup at Sebastian’s Calypso Kitchen and Tropic Al’s. Restaurants at the Hotel Miracosta will also feature special Easter-inspired menus.

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Easter egg hunt.

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Bunny Ears hair clip exclusive to the egg hunt.

The annual egg hunt will move to Tokyo DisneySea for the first time in 2018. For 900 yen ($7.95 US), guests will receive a special map with hints leading them to Easter eggs hidden around the park. The eggs are designed with Disney Characters and feature motifs of each themed port. Those who successfully find the eggs will receive an exclusive Bunny Ears hair clip.

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Decorations at Mediterranean Harbor.

Mediterranean Harbor and American Waterfront will feature spring decorations that have Easter egg, Easter “Bunny” Bonnet, and colorful flower motifs, as well as with posters depicting images themed to fashion. There will be a new photo location at Waterfront Park inspired by a fashion show runway, where Guests can request Easter “Bunny” Bonnet photo props from a photographer. Guests will also find decorated eggs with motifs representing each themed port, as well as baskets and old-fashioned vehicles filled with colorful flowers and eggs.

Disney Resort Line guests visiting the park will be able to purchase day pass tickets with limited-edition Disney’s Easter designs as well.

PHOTOS: New “Room Occupied” Signs Debut at Disney World Hotels, Denoting Cast May Enter Once a Day

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

As we reported yesterday, “Do Not Disturb” signs at Walt Disney World Resort Hotels are being replaced with new “Room Occupied” signs amid security concerns.

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The new signs guests can place on their room door reflects the new policy in place. They are currently only in use at the Monorail connected resorts, but are set to roll out to all Walt Disney World Resort Hotels in the coming weeks.

Photos courtesy of @fireworks_fairy on twitter.

New Details on Marvel Summer of Super Heroes at Disneyland Paris

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

New details on the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes coming to Disneyland Paris next year were recently announced. The event is slated to run from June 10 to September 20, 2018 – a few weeks after the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War – as a conclusion to Disneyland Paris’ 25th Anniversary celebrations.

The event will feature new shows with a number of characters from the Marvel Universe at the Walt Disney Studios Park.

width=Marvel: Super Heroes United is an immense show at the Studio Theater. Characters including Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Spider-Man will battle Thanos in the 20-minute show to be performed several times daily. The storyline of the show: “Thanos has found a way of manipulating the Avengers and their allies in order to destroy them. Will the heroes manage to escape his clutches? You’ll find out in this show that’s packed full of breath-taking twists and turns.”

The show will focus on three themes – origins, duality, and unity – and feature cutting-edge special effects that will bring the Hulk and Thanos to life, along with spectacular projections and many other surprises.

 

Stark Expo presents: Energy for Tomorrow! will take place at the foot of the Hollywood Tower Hotel in Production Courtyard. In the show, Tony Stark will reveal the latest version of his revolutionary ‘Arc Reactor.’ Loki interrupts, but Black Widow, Spider-Man and Thor attempt to foil his plans.

Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Dance-Off will feature Star-Lord and Gamora making an entrance to hit songs from the 70s and 80s. During the show, the two find themselves in danger and call on the audience for a helping hand. The show will take place several times a day, also in the Production Courtyard.

Heroic Encounter: Captain America is a new character meet and greet with Captain America in the Walt Disney Studios Park.

The Marvel Summer of Super Heroes event will also feature Marvel merchandise exclusive to Disneyland Paris, including Marvel hero headbands.

PHOTOS: Latest Progress on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

It’s been a while since we last took a look at the construction for the upcoming land based on everyone’s favorite galaxy far far away, so let’s see how things are shaping up over at Disneyland.

Progress on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is coming along nicely at Disneyland. The general outline of the land is really apparent now.

Here is an aerial view of the land from the east side.

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From the north side we get a really great view of the entire land.

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Here is a close up of the show buildings for both attractions, Battle Escape to the left and the Millennium Falcon to the right. We also recently got a deeper look at the Falcon attraction, which you can take a look at here.

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Below is where guests will stand when they first enter the land through the Big Thunder Ranch entrance.

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The show building for the battle escape attraction that will put guests in the middle of the action as the Resistance battles it out against The First Order.

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Here are some photos of the land from the south side.

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A final aerial view photo of Galaxy’s Edge from the west side perspective.

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The stunning aerial photos shown above have been provided by Nearmap.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open at Disneyland in 2019, and shortly afterwards in the same year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

PHOTOS: Pizza Ponte Now Open at Disney Springs, Full Menu

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Pizza Ponte at Disney Springs is now open, the first of Patina Restaurant Group’s three food and beverage venues within the Edison complex to open its doors. The other two Maria and Enzo’s establishments – Maria and Enzo’s and Enzo’s Hideaway – as well as the Edison, are all expected to open by month’s end.

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The fast-casual location serves up several varieties of pizza by the slice,  Italian sandwiches, pastries and desserts, along with espresso and coffees, beer and wine, and soft drinks.

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The menu:

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The pizza:

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Sandwiches and other items:

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More of the interior:

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Photos of Maria and Enzo and family adorn the Walls.

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More of the exterior:

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You can find more about all Pizza Ponte, Maria and Enzo’s, Enzo’s Hideaway and the Edison in our previous post.

Holiday Mug Released at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Late last month, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel released an exclusive holiday-themed mug. Since then, many have been wondering when Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort would get holiday mugs. Well, now we know the reason for the delay…

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Nevertheless, they are now available, to head over to Trader Sam’s to hop in what will likely be a several-hours-long line to get yours!

DVC Resorts Now Have Daily Trash Service; Likely Related to New WDW Resort Security Measures

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

On the heels of the new resort security measures we reported this morning, it appears that DVC resorts are also implementing some changes that may be related.

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In an email sent today to Disney Vacation Club members, a change to the longstanding policy of trash removal every fourth day was announced:

Your in-room experience has never been more important to us. That’s why we will begin removing trash from your rooms at Disney Vacation Club resorts on a daily basis in addition to regular housekeeping visits. The daily service begins December 22, 2017, at five resort properties (Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian, Disney’s Grand Californian and Aulani). The service extends to all other Disney Vacation Club resorts on January 7, 2018.

Is it mere coincidence that this announcement came today, and the changes begin today, the same day that Disney is removing the “Do Not Disturb” signs from guest rooms at the three monorail resorts on Walt Disney World property?

The trash service policies are part of the official DVC Rules and Regulations:

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Daily trash service has been on the wish list of many DVC members for as long as I can remember. Whilst members were always able to carry their full trash bags to a local dumpster, many felt removing your own trash made the vacation experience much less magical.

Presumably, the new security requirement across WDW that a Disney employee enter their hotel room at least once a day to ensure guest safety is something simple to implement for resorts where daily housekeeping service is the norm. For DVC resorts, where it is not the norm, having a Cast Member visit your room daily will require additional manpower to implement. And since extra personnel are going to be knocking on doors anyway, why not have them grab the trash while they are in your room? That would seem to make for a win-win situation for Disney and DVC members, and as we’ve now seen, also allows Disney to put a favorable spin on this new security regimen.

BREAKING: New Security Measures at Walt Disney World Hotels, “Do Not Disturb” Room Signs Being Removed

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Beginning with the three monorail resorts near the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort Hotels will no longer provide guests with “Do Not Disturb” signs to put on their doors. The signs will be replaced with “Room Occupied” signs that will notify cast members that guests are in the rooms. However, these guests will be “disturbed” at some point, as it will now be required that a Disney employee enter their hotel room at least once a day to ensure guest safety.

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If you choose to forgo housekeeping on a given day, the Disney terms of service state that “the hotel and its staff reserve the right to enter your room for any purposes including, but not limited to, performing maintenance and repairs or checking on the safety and security of guests and property.” Disney states that cast members will give reasonable notice prior to entering by knocking and announcing that they will enter.

The popular theory is that this is a response to the incident that happened in Vegas earlier this year. The monorail resorts are quite tall and offer similar vantage points of crowded guest areas, as well as Walt Disney World transportation such as monorails, buses, and watercraft. Disney is not publicly stating why they are making the change though.

Guests at the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary Resorts should find a paper in their rooms today noting the change. These changes are expected to roll out to other Walt Disney World Resort Hotels in the coming weeks.

Union Workers at Walt Disney World Reject Contract Offer

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Union members who work at Walt Disney World voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday and Wednesday to reject a new contract deal that would have raised their wages by 6-10% over the next two years. Nearly 10,000 of the 38,000 Disney workers represented by the Service Trade Council Union (STCU) cast a vote, with 93% rejecting the contract, according to Orlando Weekly. STCU is a coalition of six unions who represent Disney workers, including Unite Here Locals 362 and 737.

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Photo courtesy Unite Here Central Florida; used with permission.

Disney’s contract offer would have given full-time and part-time cast members (except those who receive tips) a raise of 3% or $.50 an hour, whichever was higher, retroactive to September 24, 2017. Cast members would receive another identical raise in September 2018. The offer also included a one-time $200 bonus for full-time cast members and those who receive tips, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Most new Disney workers start at $10 an hour (Florida’s minimum wage is $8.10/hour), and the union is seeking to increase that to $15 an hour. Roughly 23,000 of the cast members represented by the union make less than $12 an hour.

Disney’s offer would have increased the starting wage to $11 an hour over two years. The company estimates that its average hourly wage is $13.34 including overtime and premium pay. In statements to the Orlando Sentinel and to Orlando’s ABC affiliate, Disney agreed that cast members deserve a raise and was disappointed that its “fair and reasonable” offer was rejected.

Earlier this year, Disney also began offering or increased signing bonuses for certain positions, including culinary employees, housekeepers, and bus drivers, the Sentinel had reported at the time. November data from the U.S. Department of Labor puts the Orlando unemployment rate at only 3.2%, below the national average of 4.1%.

With the contract rejected, both parties will return to the bargaining table in February. They’ve been at odds on contract negotiations since the summer, and Disney had already requested a federal mediator to assist.

UPDATE: Disney World Restaurant Reservations Now Live on OpenTable

WDWNT on May 28, 2017

Yesterday we shared with you a rumor that Disney-owned restaurants might be available for reservations on OpenTable. Well, today a number of different Disney-owned restaurants at Walt Disney World are now on OpenTable.

It should be noted that OpenTable does not require a credit card guarantee, so this is a big change from the current Disney system which requires a credit card on file to make a reservation.

Here is the current list of Disney-owned restaurants currently on OpenTable:

  • Flying Fish at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
  • Grand Floridian Cafe at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Boatwright’s at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
  • The Wave at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Olivia’s at Disney’s Old Key West Resort
  • Kona Cafe at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
  • Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

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The addition of Disney’s restaurants to OpenTable should allow for them to better compete with the plethora of third-party restaurants that have been opening up on property, especially at Disney Springs.

More restaurants may be added soon, so check back soon for any updates on this story.