Here we are one year after the Presidential Election and the Hall of Presidents attraction at the Magic Kingdom still remains closed. In fairness, Disney said it would open before the end of 2017, however, that is looking less and less likely at this point.
According to guest relations cast members at the front of the park, the attraction is now set to open in “mid-2018”. When we reached out to Disney’s PR Department to clarify this, they stated that they had “no comment” on the time frame, even refusing to adhere to the pre-announced late-2017 opening. Cast members outside of the attraction are still saying it will open later this year, so I guess different departments have different answers at this point. Honestly, the bottom line is nobody knows.
Disney stated previously that the attraction would return as promised with Donald Trump in audio-animatronics form delivering a speech of some kind, as has been tradition in the attraction since the early 1990’s.
Noah will be representing his new Disney Parks Edition “Kid in Me” artwork at Disneyana, Main Street USA, Disneyland Park on November 18th-19th, 2017, appearing from noon until 4pm on both days.
A fan favorite at Disney’s galleries, Noah will debut his newest pieces: “The 8th Wonder of the world…the backside of water!” and “Growing up…The wildest ride in the wilderness!”. Noah will also be bringing some of his most popular Disney artwork to share with guests on both days.
Born and raised in Orange County, California, Noah grew up to be one of the most well-known artists in the country and around the globe. He began his first company on his bike at sixteen handing out business cards to create art, signs and illustrations for local businesses. Noah spends his time creating lines of product for cruise ships, galleries, his clothing line and private commissions for collectors.
Hollywood Scoops on Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is now offering two holiday specials for the Flurry of Fun: an Apple Cranberry Cobbler and an Olaf Sundae.
Apple Cranberry Cobbler ($4.29)
The apple cranberry cobbler is quite good if you enjoy such things. It was served nice and warm in a metal tin, featuring a lot of apple with traces of cranberry, covered in breadcrumbs and icing. This was one of the highlights of all the new offerings we had at the Studios.
Olaf Sundae ($5.99)
The Olaf Sundae features cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream, decorated with chocolate chip buttons, chocolate straw arms, and an Olaf white chocolate decoration, all on top of a jelly-filled, powdered-sugar covered doughnut.
Once we hit the jelly, I enjoyed this more, but hard-packed ice cream on a pastry just isn’t as good as soft serve would be. Maybe a different flavor other than cookies ‘n’ cream would be better, but otherwise, this was pretty large for the price and probably something the kids would enjoy nonetheless.
Over the next 24 months, the convention centers at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts will be transformed to make them even more appealing to meeting, conference, convention planners, and their attendees. Disney recently shared some new details on these two expansions.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Already underway, the expansion at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort will encompass several new features, including a two-story, grand lobby welcoming Guests; a 15-story tower overlooking Lago Dorado, the resort’s centerpiece lake; 500 new Guest rooms and concierge-level suites and services; and a new rooftop restaurant and lounge boasting panoramic views.
Additionally, the expansion brings a new boardroom, event lawn, and two multi-purpose meeting rooms—adding to the resort’s current 220,000 square feet of dedicated meeting, event and exhibition space. See concept art and more for these new features in the video below:
Each of the resort’s existing Guest rooms are also being fully re-imagined with new features and amenities that appeal to savvy business travelers, such as a new desk space, beverage station and more. When complete, Guests will be able to conveniently connect to other areas of the resort via a series of bridges and walkways that pass through an island oasis.
Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts
As part of Disney’s commitment to creating exceptional meetings and events, they are providing meeting planners and event organizers with even more resources to deliver on their goals by expanding the convention center and renovating the Guest rooms at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.
A 28,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort will bring the total amount of flexible meeting and event space at this popular resort location to 100,000 square feet.
The new convention area will boast a 16,000 square-foot ballroom that can be divided into eight dynamic breakout spaces. The expansion will also include three pre-function areas and two distinct gathering rotundas providing unique networking spaces for attendees to relax and reconnect.
Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts also offers 1,190 newly-renovated Guest rooms, all located conveniently within walking distance of Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s BoardWalk entertainment district.
There are also many changes coming to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort’s dining options, including The Market at Ale & Compass, a re-imagined lobby lounge, and a new concept for the former Captain’s Grille. The new market offers a small merchandise area and 28 seats for casual dining. The Captain’s Grille will also become Ale & Compass Restaurant, featuring a transformed lobby lounge and a new interior that expands to 58 seats.
New for the Flurry of Fun this holiday season at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a selection of sweet treats at Fairfax Fare on Sunset Boulevard.
Guests will find three alcoholic hot chocolates for sale, in both individual servings or all together in a flight, as well as Red Velvet Whoopie Pies shaped like Christmas trees!
Hot Cocoa Flight ($11.00)
As pictured left to right, there’s a Hot Chocolate Martini made with Pinnacle Whipped Vodka, the Black Cherry Bourbon Hot Chocolate made with Jim Bean Red Stag Black Cherry, and Bailey’s Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate made with Bailey’s Irish Cream.
The martini tastes just like hot cocoa with a liquor, which is shouldn’t considering there is vodka in it. It’s fine and enjoyable, but nothing about it stands out. Meanwhile, the Black Cherry Bourbon was a bit of a disappointment. It lacked the kick you would expect from that name, and also had an almost chemical-like taste to it.
The Bailey’s Salted Caramel was outstanding however, so much so that we then bought the stand-alone version of it…
It is exactly what you would want out of it, with a strong salted-caramel and cocoa flavor is each sip, matched nicely with the accompanying Bailey’s. I would skip the flight and just get this one for $9.25.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pie – $4.99
They went a little heavy on the powdered sugar on ours…
Inside, it is basically just a red velvet cupcake with the cream cheese icing located between layers. No, this isn’t what most of the world would consider a whoopee pie, but in recent years, it is what Disney’s Hollywood Studios has come to call them. I have to say this because I was nearly ripped-to-shreds the last time I reviewed whoopie pies…
The cake was moist and the icing mixed well with it. If I wanted a cupcake, this is what I would get, but if I wanted an actual whoopee pie, I’d have to leave the park.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returns to Magic Kingdom Park November 9, and this year Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom fans can pick up a special Carousel of Progress-inspired game card on party nights.
This year’s party-exclusive card, “Rover’s Christmas Carousel of Progress” features trusty companion Rover from Carousel of Progress. According to Imagineer Jonathan Ackley, Carousel of Progress was chosen to be featured on this season’s card “because Merlin is inspired by the Carousel of Progress’ celebration of human innovation.”
21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Walt Disney Co., leaving behind a media company tightly focused on news and sports, according to people familiar with the situation.
The talks have taken place over the last few weeks and there is no certainty they will lead to a deal. The two sides are not currently talking at this very moment, but given the on again, off again nature of the talks, they could be revisited.
For Fox, the willingness to engage in sale talks with Disney stems from a growing belief among its senior management that scale in media is of immediate importance and that there is not a path to gain that scale in entertainment through acquisition. The company is said to believe that a more tightly focused group of properties around news and sports could compete more effectively in the current marketplace.
The media landscape has changed considerably in recent years with giants such as Facebook, Google (Alphabet), Amazon and Netflix changing the way people consume media and dominating the digital distribution of digital video content. Being able to compete in that changing landscape, many people believe, requires scale that a Disney has, but 21st Century Fox does not.
For Disney, the opportunity to take control of another movie studio and significant TV production assets as it readies a direct-to-consumer entertainment streaming offering is attractive as is Fox’s significant exposure to international markets, such as the U.K., Germany and Italy — both through its networks and 39 percent ownership of Sky. Disney recently announced it will pull all of its movies from the Netflix platform and will establish two direct-to-consumer offerings: one for sports and one including its key franchises such as “Star Wars” and Marvel.
Disney would not purchase all of Fox, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
Bob Iger (L), CEO of Walt Disney Co. and Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corp.
The company could not own two broadcast networks and would therefore not buy the Fox broadcast network. It would not buy Fox’s sports programming assets in the belief that combining them with ESPN could be seen as anti-competitive from an antitrust standpoint and it would not buy the Fox News or Business channel. Disney would also not purchase Fox’s local broadcasting affiliates, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
In addition to the movie studio, TV production and international assets such as Star and Sky, Disney would also add entertainment networks such as FX and National Geographic.
The contemplated structure of the deal or the price that has been discussed could not be learned. Given it would involve the sale of many, but not all of Fox’s properties, it’s unclear how Fox would mitigate potential tax consequences of a deal.
Disney•Pixar’ has released the final trailer for their upcoming animated movie, “Coco”. Only just a few weeks away!
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Héctor (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
Disney•Pixar’s “Coco” opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 22, 2017.
Due to regular maintenance, the Speedway gas station located near Disney’s BoardWalk Resort will be temporarily beginning November 5th. The project is currently expected to take approximately two weeks to complete, with plans to reopen the station on November 19th.
During this temporary closure, the other Walt Disney World Speedway gas stations at the Car Care Center near the Magic Kingdom and the one across from Disney Springs will continue to be available.
