Walt Disney World Switching to Self-Service Automated Lockers at Theme Parks

Guest lockers offered at Walt Disney World’s 4 theme parks have been changed to self service, electronic kiosks that no longer require a cast member or physical keys.

 width=

A similar system already in place at the Disneyland Resort

Guests paying with cash and credit can now head directly to the lockers to pay. Guests paying with gift cards or MagicBand will still need to see a cast member at the nearby merchandise location.

Lockers are available in standard size (12.5″x10″x17″) for $7 or large (15.5″x13″x17″) for $10. No deposit is required any more.

Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World water parks already utilize this system.

VIDEOS: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2017

We made our way to the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season to bring you some excellent videos, reviews, and photos.

Mickey’s Boo To You Parade

Hocus Pocus Villian Spelltacular

Moana Meet and Greet at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Stitch’s Great Escape Trick or Treat Trail

VIDEO: A Trip to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2017

On Friday night, we made our way over to the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season and we have some great footage from the event including Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade, Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular, Moana Meet and Greet, and Stitch’s Great Escape Trick or Treat Trail.

Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade

Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular

Moana Meet and Greet at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Stitch’s Great Escape Trick or Treat Trail

REVIEW: The Many Desserts of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2017 at the Magic Kingdom

We made our way over to the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party of 2017 last week, and of course, we had to try a wide variety of the desserts Disney had to offer. There were some desserts that unfortunately were sold out by the time we made our way to them, so do keep that in mind if many of these area must during your party visit. For a full list, you can check out our original story.

Haunted Mansion Portrait Desserts

 width=

Chocolate tart filled with chocolate ganache and topped with peanut butter icing and a Haunted Mansion-inspired white chocolate portrait.

If you’re a peanut butter fan, you’ll love this one because it tastes a lot like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. This was probably the least favorite in the group just because it was too rich in that flavor. Sadly, due to the humidity, as soon as it was taken out of the fridge the portrait started to melt. This one is available at Liberty Square Market next to Hall of Presidents for $5.49.

 width=

Chocolate tart filled with chocolate ganache and topped with Oreo panna cotta and a white chocolate Haunted Mansion-inspired portrait.

Have you ever had the Grey Stuff at Be Our Guest? The Oreo filling in this dessert is exactly the same as what you would find the Grey Stuff. You can find this “dynamite” dessert at Aloha Isle for $5.49.

 width=

Chocolate tart filled with raspberry compote and topped with white chocolate mousse and a Haunted Mansion-inspired white chocolate portrait.

Our favorite Haunted Mansion dessert of the three we tried, this one has a raspberry compote in the middle and is absolutely delicious!! If you’re a fan of fruit and chocolate, check this one out at Storybook Treats for $5.49. Additionally, there’s a 4th Haunted Mansion dessert, unfortunately it was sold out by 9PM when we made our way to Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies.

Jack Skellington Dessert

 width=

A vanilla panna cotta, chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream, white chocolate and dark chocolate crisp pearls, dark chocolate curls and a white chocolate Jack Skellington.

I was the only one in the group that really enjoyed this, mainly because it was so rich. The vanilla cream at the bottom was the part I enjoyed the most. Designed to be eaten like a popsicle, this is a fun dessert that offers some good photo opportunities. Available at Sleepy Hollow for $5.49 alongside the infamous Pumpkin Waffles.

Main Street Bakery Snacks

 width=

Bright orange Mickey Halloween Cupcake with chocolate cake filled with purple marshmallow fluff topped with orange vanilla buttercream, sprinkles and a white chocolate scarecrow Mickey.

Check out this cute cupcake available at the Main Street Bakery. This rich chocolate cupcake was pretty good, but the purple marshmallow filling made this one of the more unique specialty cupcakes of the last few years.

 width=

Not a bad option for $5.99 but the better item at the Main Street Bakery was…

 width=

Mickey-shaped Cinnamon Roll takes on a spooky twist with orange icing and a chocolate spider web.

This Cinnamon Roll was AMAZING! Take the standard Disney cinnamon roll and add orange and chocolate icing to it and that’s pretty much what you have here. This was far and away everyone’s favorite, and the best part is that its available outside of the parties as well. Sadly, the Starbucks pastry bag did a number of the appearance of ours, but you get the idea. Available for $6.29 at the Main Street Bakery.

SaveSave

Hocus Pocus Halloween Merchandise Will Likely Not Be Released at Walt Disney World

Despite being announced as part of the merchandise lineup for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2017 at the Magic Kingdom, a line of Hocus Locus Villains Spelltacular merchandise (based on the show that is a staple of the party) was not released at the event.

 width=

Some sources claim the items were recalled due to some legal/copyright issue. Whatever the reason may be, the items are not expected to show up at any point unless the issue can somehow be resolved before the end of the Halloween season.

The merchandise was also completely removed from the original Disney Parks Blog post about the merchandise.

VIDEO: See What Happens During Evacuation of Pirates of the Caribbean at the Magic Kingdom

One of our readers was recently evacuated from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at the Magic Kingdom during a routine breakdown and sent us some video from their experience:

While this doesn’t happen every day, it is not uncommon either.

What do you think? Do you hope to get evacuated from Disney attractions for a peek backstage or do you prefer to keep the magic a secret?

Full Character and Photo-Op Lineup Announced for Disney World’s PhotoPass Day 2017

August 19 marks World Photo Day, and Disney will celebrate the occasion with the return of Disney PhotoPass Day at Walt Disney World Resort! During this event, Disney PhotoPass Service will offer a number of exclusive photo opportunities that will let you take home even more picture-perfect memories of your visit.

 width=

In honor of Disney’s “Dream Big, Princess” campaign, you’ll find photo opportunities focused on some Disney Princesses as well.

Check out all of the special opportunities that are planned in each of the four theme parks and Disney Springs on August 19 (Entertainment and photo opportunities are subject to change; some locations could be affected by inclement weather):

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Character Experiences:

  • Meeko joins Pocahontas at Character Landing on Discovery Island
  • Timon joins Rafiki at Rafiki’s Planet Watch
  • Princess Atta joins Flik at Discovery Island near Creature Comforts

Photo opportunities:

  • Dream Big Princess photo backdrop before the park entrance (daylight hours only)
  • Jungle Book Magic Shot near Yak & Yeti Restaurant
  • Visit the PhotoPass photographer in DinoLand U.S.A. from 9-10 p.m. to have magical Mickey light effects added to your photo

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

 width=

Character Experiences:

  • The Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Maleficent, and Cruella de Vil will meet with guests at Sunset Showcase. This opportunity will be available from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Photo opportunities:

  • Dream Big Princess photo backdrop outside the Theater of the Stars (daylight hours only)
  • Poison Apple Magic Shot on Sunset Boulevard
  • Fisheye lens in the Chinese Theatre Courtyard area

Epcot

Character Experiences:

  • Genie will join Princess Jasmine in the Morocco Pavilion
  • Mushu will join Mulan in the China Pavilion

Photo opportunities:

  • Dream Big Princess photo backdrop near Epcot Character Spot (daylight hours only)
  • Baymax Animated Magic Shot with the PhotoPass photographer located near Mouse Gear and the Fountain of Nations
  • Fisheye lens near the fountain close to the entrance to Spaceship Earth

Magic Kingdom Park

Character Experiences:

  • Dopey joins Snow White at Town Square Courtyard
  • Captain Hook joins Peter Pan in Fantasyland

Photo opportunities:

  • Dream Big Princess photo backdrop in Fantasyland (daylight hours only)
  • Cinderella’s Coach in Fantasyland
  • “Tangled” light painting photo opportunity near Ariel’s Grotto (available after dark)
  • Mickey Mouse Magic Shot on the bridge near Fairytale Garden
  • Main Street Vehicle near the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (available in the morning and early afternoon)

Disney Springs

Photo opportunities:

  • Dream Big Princess photo backdrop next to the Marketplace Stage
  • Fairy Wings Magic Shot from the PhotoPass photographer roaming around the Marketplace near Tren-D (available from 1-10:30 p.m.)
  • You can also visit the Disney PhotoPass Studio at Disney Springs to enjoy special $99.95 plus shipping pricing on a Personalized Storybook now through August 20!

Don’t forget to share your photos using #DisneyPhotoPassDay and #DreamBigPrincess, and if you want access to all of your PhotoPass photos from Disney PhotoPass Day, purchase Memory Maker One Day for $59 in the My Disney Experience mobile app during or after your visit.

PHOTOS: Awesome New Haunted Mansion Items Released at Walt Disney World

Upon visiting The Magic Kingdom yesterday, we found some cool new Haunted Mansion related items for sale…

 width=

A kid’s t-shirt has some awesome new art on it featuring a TON of characters from the attraction.

 width=

We seriously need this on more than just apparel Disney.

 width=

A new glow in the dark Madame Leota t-shirt for adults is also available.

 width=

And yes, that awesome design from earlier is also on an adult-sized t-shirt (which by the way, are 2 for $40 in Memento Mori right now).

 width=

A few new open edition Haunted Mansion pins were released as well.

 width=

 width=

 width=

All of these items are available now at Memento Mori at the Magic Kingdom, several should be available elsewhere around the resort if you look hard enough (or use the Shop Disney Parks mobile app). We also expect these items to be sold at the Disneyland Resort.

PHOTOS: New Mission: Space Earth and Mars Signage Debuts at Epcot Giving a Glimpse of Things to Come

New signage for the Mission: Space attraction at Epcot debuted this week ahead of the attraction’s pending re-opneing on August 13th, 2017.

 width=

A new marquee outside now shows both Earth and Mars, even though a three-dimensional Earth already resides below the sign…

 width=

 width=

The larger sign with the wait times and warnings was moved from the right side to the left, near the actual entrance to the ride. The new signage reflects the new Earth and Mars names, but keeps the Green and Orange mission names as well, but note that the attraction will be referenced as Earth and Mars more often than Green and Orange.

 width=

An image of the Sun, Earth, and Mars now resides in the center of the sign.

 width=

The new height requirement for Green is reflected on the lowest sign. Interestingly enough, there are far less warnings for Green now, perhaps reflecting Disney’s efforts to make it clear that it is a family friendly version of the ride.

 width=

 width=
The new Mission: Space debuts at Epcot on August 13th, 2017.