Last week, the original World of Color nighttime spectacular returned to the Disneyland Resort after an 18-month hiatus. The replacement show, “World of Color – Celebrate!” never really connected with guests during the Diamond Celebration, leading Disney to restore the original with some minor modifications.
Changes to the show include:
Removal of the “Brave” segment
Enhanced & lighting effects using infrastructure installed for World of Color – Celebrate!
Of course, you can compare the current version to the original with the below video (as we were there for the very first show ever back in 2010):
What do you think? Are you happy to have the original World of Color back at Disney California Adventure?
The dining package still takes place at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant and is a prix fixe meal priced at$45 per adult and $17 per child, plus tax and gratuity (one dining plan table service credit). Guests are given a voucher to enter a special viewing area after their lunch.
Disney’s festival of Fantasy Parade is offered daily at 3PM at the Magic Kingdom.
This package can be booked beginning September 13th, 2016.
Since the announcement of “The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History”, we have been asked many times when exactly the new show in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom would debut. Today, we have that information.
“The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History”
While not yet released to the public by Disney, internal documents state that the show will debut on October 2nd, 2016. Since it is not announced yet, this date can be delayed (similarly to Rivers of Light), but that is at least the targeted start date for The Muppets invasion of Liberty Square.
It’s time once again to check in on the latest progress of the expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
This update includes the latest progress on PizzeRizzo in the Muppets Courtyard, the demolition of the Streets of America & Studios Catering Company for Star Wars and Toy Story Land, and more! Enjoy:
The most wonderful time of the year returns to the Happiest Place on Earth with Holidays at the Disneyland Resort, November 10 through January 8! The festive season will bring jolly new experiences plus returning festive favorites.
At Disney California Adventure park is the all-new nighttime spectacular, “World of Color – Season of Light,” celebrating the warm and heartfelt spirit of the holidays. “World of Color – Season of Light” will take guests through a sparkling winter fantasy, combining classic holiday songs with memorable moments from treasured Disney animated films to create an experience filled with magic.
Also new for 2016, the Festival of Holidays invites guests to celebrate the season like never before at Disney California Adventure park. The entire family will delight in diverse cultural holiday celebrations, including the popular Disney ¡Viva Navidad!, and the global sounds of special guest musical groups will ring throughout the festival. Guests will enjoy delicious, internationally inspired food and beverage at 14 themed festival marketplaces, and the young and young-at-heart will celebrate with some of their favorite Disney Characters. Princess Elena of Avalor will make herDisneyland Resort debut during Festival of Holidays, and after Holidays at the Disneyland Resort conclude January 8, she will remain at Disney California Adventure park to continue visiting with guests.
Over at Disneyland park, the holiday season brings the return of fan favorites including the popular Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle, featuring magical snowfall moments that conclude with “Believe … in Holiday Magic” fireworks. Also returning for Holidays at the Disneyland Resort this year will be “A Christmas Fantasy” parade, “it’s a small world” Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Looking for Santa Claus? He and his sleigh full of mischievous elves will visit Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for this holiday season, where guests will join the festive fun with a series of holiday-themed activities along the trail. And when Santa visits Disneyland park, guests will be able to find him in a special location in Critter Country.
With the ongoing expansion of the Yacht and Beach Club Resort Convention Center at Walt Disney World, it only makes sense that other enhancements around the hotels would also be taking place to coincide with this ongoing work. The first of those major enhancements will be a remodeling of the Captain’s Grille restaurant at the Yacht Club Resort beginning in early 2017.
Captain’s Grille at Disney’s Yacht Club
While no dates have been provided as of yet, the refurbishment will likely last for around 6-8 months and include a major remodeling of the restaurant’s interior and a pretty significant overhaul of the existing menu. It is unknown what the menu changes might be exactly, but one would assume that the popular (yet mostly unknown to the average guest) breakfast buffet will return.
Captain’s Grille at Disney’s Yacht Club
Servers at the restaurant have been made aware of the closure over the last few weeks, but that information has not been deciminated to guests through any official avenues by Disney as of yet.
Captain’s Grille at Disney’s Yacht Club
While Captain’s Grille continues to be a hidden gem of Walt Disney World dining, the interior of the restaurant is undoubtedly aging, a product of early-1990’s design. The restaurant has never undergone a significant remodeling in that time and has, for the most part, looked the same for over 25 years now.
The restaurant will likely see a surge in customers as the nearby convention center is expanded over the coming years. Guests at the facility will be in need of dining options, and Yacht and Beach are fairly short on dining capacity and counter service options. Captain’s Grille typically does not require an advance dining reservation (as it is rarely busy), but it does get a fair amount of foot traffic from the current convention center already.
Stay tuned for more information on this story as it becomes available.
The Halloween season is in full swing at the Magic Kingdom, as are several large refurbishments as the resort prepares for what should be one of the busiest holiday seasons ever. While the summer was slow, the new attractions and other enhancements that took place this Summer should finally bring in some guests and the Magic Kingdom is getting ready for it (as well as its 45th anniversary). Now on to our latest photo report…
Merry Cranemas
The painting of Cinderella Castle and the installation of the holiday lights continues on a daily basis.
New D-Tech on Demand Phone Cases
A number of new D-Tech on Demand phone cases can be found at the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company at the exit of Space Mountain.
Some phone cases are only available during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
This and That
The newly painted rocks in Tomorrowland can be seen from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover.
The Chewbacca stein is now available at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies in Tomorrowland.
Construction Along the Rivers of America
If you take a ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat, be sure to ask about the trivia sheets. Guests can fill out the sheet with answers found along the Rivers of America for a prize they can redeem at the end when they return to the dock.
Work on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is visible from the Riverboat.
For a better look, we also have a video to share with you. Sadly, I did not see anyone working on the finale scene of the ride, so I am afraid to report that we may not see the new explosive finale for the ride in this refurbishment…
While on the Riverboat, we also floated by the ongoing facade refurbishment of the Haunted Mansion:
Love it or hate it (personally I always preferred SpectroMagic), the Main Street Electrical Parade has been a staple of Walt Disney World since 1977. October 9th will certainly be a historic evening to say the very least.
If you are anything like me, you are probably just as excited for all of the new merchandise coming your way from the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival as you are for some off the food and drinks you’ll be enjoying there. Well, to help you in your shopping, we have devised this little guide to all of the merchandise at this year’s event. Enjoy!
Festival Posters
Food and Wine Festival 2016 Poster, $24.99
Food and Wine Festival 2016 Figment Poster, $24.99
Food and Wine Festival 2016 Poster, $24.99
Limited Release and Limited Edition Pins
Limited release Figment logo pin, $14.99
Limited edition Frozen pin, $15.99
Limited edition Three Caballeros pin, $15.99
Limited edition Three Caballeros pin, $15.99
Limited edition The Emperor’s New Groove pin, $15.99
Limited edition Bento Box pin set, $59.99
Limited edition Bento Box pin set, $59.99
Logo Merchandise
Festival baseball cap, $26.99
Festival long sleeve tee, $36.99
Festival “toothpick holder”, $9.99
Festival dish towels, $21.99
Festival wine tervis, $24.99
Festival tumbler, $21.99
Festival v-neck tee, $32.99
Festival garbage can salt and pepper shaker, $9.99
Festival mug, $14.99
Festival tee, $36.99
Festival magnet, $9.99
Festival stemless glass set, $26.99
Festival tray, $6.99 – cutlery set, $14.99
Festival ornament, $12.99
Festival plate, $14.99
Festival wine bag, $34.99
Figment Food & Wine Festival Collection
Figment oven mit, $14.99
Figment magnet, $9.99
Figment t-shirt, $24.99
Figment garbage can salt and pepper shaker, $9.99
Figment mug, $14.99
Figment ornament, $19.99
Figment apron, $26.99
Ladies Figment shirt, , $29.99
Brews Around the World Collection
Brews t-shirt, $27.99
Brews t-shirt, $27.99
Brews baseball cap, $29.99
Brews glass, $14.99
Brews glass, $14.99
Brews ornament, $19.99
Brews ornament, $19.99
Annual Passholder Exclusive Merchandise
Keepsake box, $19.99
Keepsake box, $19.99
Keepsake box, $19.99
Passholder shirt, $27.99
There is also a pin and a coin available, pin is $15.99 and the coin is $24.99.
According to a recent survey, “about half” of the people surveyed who are planning trips to the Orlando area said they have canceled or decided not to visit Walt Disney World due to the threat of the Zika virus.
Zika cases in Florida may be causing vacationers to reconsider plans to visit resorts including Walt Disney Co. parks in Orlando, according to BTIG LLC analyst Rich Greenfield, who cited a survey of travelers.
About half of roughly 800 people planning trips to the area said they have canceled or decided not to visit Walt Disney World due to the threat of the virus, based on a 5,000-person survey earlier this month by CivicScience, a Pittsburgh-based consumer polling and research firm cited by Greenfield in a research note Thursday.
With growth at Disney’s ESPN network slowing and the company’s film studio and consumer unit facing tough comparisons, the company is relying on the parks to drive growth in fiscal 2017, wrote Greenfield, who has recommended selling the stock since December 2015.
As of last month, Disney had “not seen an impact from Zika,” Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said on an Aug. 9 earnings conference call.
Disney, based in Burbank, California, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While the survey suggests travelers have Zika fears, it’s not clear that will show up in Disney’s attendance numbers, Greenfield wrote.
“Given how meaningfully the cancellation/deferral rate appears to be, this is clearly a key question Disney should be pushing management to talk about,” he wrote.
Disney shares were little changed at $92.25 in New York. The stock is down 12 percent this year as of Wednesday.
