Disney After Hours will return to the Magic Kingdom January 20th and 27th, February 2nd, 9th and 16th, and March 2nd and 9th.
Tickets cost $119 plus tax, down from $149. They can be booked by calling (407) 827-7185.
Say goodbye to the old maroon and white monorail cast costumes…
Walt Disney World Monorail cast members are set to get new costumes, replacing the current color scheme which has been around for 20+ years. The new costume will be white, blue, and yellow. The costume will also incorporate a conductor’s hat similar to those worn by some cast members who work on the Walt Disney World Railroad.
The costumes are set to debut very soon, so keep an eye out for them!
The Walt Disney Company was recently awarded US Patent Number 9,424,467, entitled “GAZE TRACKING AND RECOGNITION WITH IMAGE LOCATION,” for a system that can track where guests are looking.
Several excerpts from the patent explain how this system will work:
Various entertainment environments, e.g., theme parks, attempt to track where various participants are looking within such environments. By tracking the gaze of a participant, a computing system may direct various animatronics, automated objects, or the like to interact with the participant. For example, a computing system within a theme park may direct an animatronic character from a movie to make a noise if a participant is looking at the animatronic character.
The gaze tracking configuration calculates the ratio of the amount of white in the eyes of a participant on either side of the iris for each eye of the participant. Further, the gaze tracking configuration estimates where the participant directs his or her gaze by averaging the ratios for both eyes of the participant.
Further, the gaze tracking configurations provided herein are not limited to detecting the gaze of a single person, but rather may be utilized to estimate the gaze of a group of people. During event recording, knowing where a live audience is gazing on a sports field or stage allows for automatic control of a camera to point the camera to the place of interest of the audience. For example, the gaze tracking configuration is configured to detect if a large quantity of audience members are gazing in the same direction. The gaze tracking configuration then provides that gaze data to a camera that is configured to automatically adjust to its orientation in the direction of the gaze. Similarly, understanding how a live audience pays attention to a film presentation or theatrical stage presentation can provide a director with valuable information about how the audience is receiving a film or play.
The generic responses and/or specific responses are also utilized with interactive displays. The specific responses are not limited to videos, pictures, or the like in their entireties. The specific responses are also implemented with respect to the gaze of the participant directed toward a particular scene character, object, or the like within a video, picture, or the like.
It is unknown at this point how Disney may utilize this technology, but one could imagine any of a number of scenarios where a guest could interact with a robotic character as if it were a responsive human controlling the character. Another possibility is a virtual-reality system where the guest is in control of the experience and the system can determine where the guest wishes to go simply by where he or she is looking. This is likely to be a part of some of the new, more immersive experiences Disney is planning or building, including Pandora: The World of Avatar, and Star Wars Land.
FuelRod charging batteries are now available for Guests to purchase at two additional locations within Epcot.
Each battery comes with a set of USB cables to charge a mobile phone, tablet or other device. Be sure to read our review if you are unfamiliar with the service.
Guests at Epcot can find the FuelRod charging batteries at:
Effective December 11th, 2016, Enchanted Tales with Belle will no longer be offered during morning Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom.
The attraction has been offered as part of the morning Extra Magic Hours since it opened in 2012.
In a rather strange turn of events, the Disneyland Resort is now home to an alcoholic Dole Whip float.
Now, before you start freaking out that there is alcohol being served at Disneyland Park, the specialty can be found only at the Disneyland Hotel’s Coffee House.
The Coffee House is a rather unassuming coffee shop adjacent to Goofy’s Kitchen. They recently not only added Dole Whip to the menu, but also a Dole Whip float and alcoholic version with rum.
I of course ordered the float with rum. Compared to similar offerings at Walt Disney World, the price point was cheaper and portions were plentiful. They don’t go heavy on the rum sadly, but the overall flavor is very enjoyable.
Be sure to stop by soon as it is unknown how long this new offering will last. It’s a great way to pre or post-game Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar… or you can just get the regular Dole Whip or float I guess. 😉
Who’s ready for some Parade Route Pizza?
Recently at Disneyland Park, a roaming cart selling pizza by the slice was introduced. The cart will roll down the parade route just before the daily event.
A slice is $9.00 and is of a good size. Guests can also purchase a whole pie for the discounted price of $45.00. It does not appear to be of the same style as other counter service pizza around the resort.
This cart comes at an interesting time as “bus loop pizza” was recently introduced at the Walt Disney World Resort.
We told you it was coming a few days ago, but now the new Walt Disney World monorail cast member costumes have debuted.
The new costume features a grey shirt and navy blue pants/shorts. There is also a patch with all 12 monorail colors, including some with the deltas in the color patch. The pockets on the shirt also resemble the deltas on the monorails.
So, what do you think of these new costumes?
Since the closure of the Mexico margarita stand at Epcot, guests have been wondering just when a suitable replacement would arrive. That suitable replacement will open in early 2017.
Choza Tequila, located just steps away from the pavilion’s main entrance, will serve handcrafted and frozen margaritas and feature a well-stocked tequila bar. The outdoor location will also feature tacos, chips with salsa and guacamole, and more.
Disney has yet to officially announce this project, but should soon.
Guests at D23’s Destination D event are going to be the very first to sport the new style of MagicBand for Walt Disney World.
The new MagicBand is indeed the puck style that was rumored a few months back. As you can see, it can be worn in bands, keychains, and possibly other holders.
No further details are available at this time, but we expect to have more info later today.
Our thanks to @ParksNStuff on twitter for the pics!
