With the opening of Pandora: The World of AVATAR this Saturday, Disney will release 3 new MagicBand 2 designs.
For Annual Passholders, there will be the first-ever Passholder exclusive limited edition teal graphic band featuring the phrase “I traveled to Pandora on May 27, 2017.” This band, available opening day, retails at $32.99.
The purple limited-edition graphic band with scenes from nighttime in Pandora (pictured above), features the artwork of Dylan Cole, co-production designer for the upcoming “Avatar” motion picture sequels. The band retails for $32.99 and was already made available online and at Riverside Depot at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
And for Avatar fans looking to coordinate their MagicBand with other cool Na’vi merchandise, check out the blue graphic band representing the Na’vi pattern. This band retails for $22.99 and will make any Avatar feel like a Na’vi.
These new bands will be sold in Windtraders on Pandora – The World of Avatar.
Tonight at 9pm, a new nighttime spectacular will debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
“Disney Movie Magic” is a new projection show that will perform nightly on the facade of the Chinese Theater before Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. The show will contain Disney live action movies.
No further details are available at this time, but we will be checking it out this evening, so stay tuned for a live stream of the show!
This 10-minute show is essentially a preshow for the “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” fireworks show, though it takes place 30 minutes prior to the start of the fireworks. Disney hasn’t officially announced this new offering, but we expect it to be shown nightly prior to “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular.” It includes many Disney live-action movies, including recent ones such as Beauty and the Beast, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Book, and some from the archives such as Tron!
With Pandora now open, the next themed land opening at Walt Disney World will be Toy Story Land. With the opening date to be announced at the D23 Expo in July, major progress on the land’s headlining attraction was made this week…
As you can see, a fair amount of the roller coaster track for the Slinky Dog Dash attraction has already been installed. Photos were taken by @bioreconstruct on twitter.
Disney has released some new info about Wine Bar George at Disney Springs. Today we have some concept art that depicts what the interior and exterior will look like:
Wine Bar George is a new bar coming to Disney Springs late this year. It was created by master Sommelier George Miliotes and will feature over 100+ selections of feature wines from famed growing regions in the United States and abroad. The design for the 6,000-square-foot space will feature wood ceilings, concrete floors, warm lighting and a welcoming atmosphere.
Guests will experience a feel reminiscent of the ‘Old World’, as if they are on the bottom floor of a gravity-flow winery surrounded by their best friends. The space includes a center bar on the first floor, seating for groups of all sizes and chalkboards displaying menu details. Lastly, shareable plates will be served including cheese and charcuterie that complement the wines, with local, seasonal features.
Wine Bar George will open sometime in late 2017 at Disney Springs.
Disney today announced two new restaurants for Disney Springs as work ramps up on the West Side, essentially phase 2 of the project.
Opening in 2018 on the West Side is Jaleo, a concept by world-renowned Chef José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup. Bringing the spirit and flavors of Spain, the Disney Springs restaurant will feature an extensive menu of tapas that reflect the rich regional diversity of traditional and contemporary Spanish cuisine, such as paella cooked over a wood fire, hand-carved Jamon Iberico de Bellota and wood-grilled Iberico pork. With five locations in the United States and Mexico City, this will be the first location in Florida. The first floor of the multi-level restaurant will feature a “grab-n-go” storefront with Spanish-style sandwiches. Designed by noted Spanish designer Juli Capella, the multi-level space will feature vibrant, theatrical décor representing the colorful culture of Spain.
Also in 2018, a new Wolfgang Puck concept will open in a new location in Town Center. Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, will modernize the traditional “bar and grill” concept in a setting inspired by traditional farmhouses with a touch of elegance. The restaurant, designed by tonychi, will capture the essence of laid-back California dining made popular by Puck at Spago, his flagship restaurant in Los Angeles. The menu will highlight the best of Puck’s signature dishes with Mediterranean influences, innovative takes on comfort food classics and handcrafted specialty cocktails, beer and wine.
On a hot day in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, nothing was much better than grabbing a Jungle Juice Slushy from the Mahindi stand in Africa. Well, guests no longer have that option…
Despite signage remaining for the purchase of the drink with a souvenir cup, the drink is removed from the main menu and is no longer available. Mahindi now only sells fountain beverages for drink options.
The Jungle Juice Slushy was a frozen version of the popular beverage served at many locations, most famously at Boma and Tusker House. The drink contains orange juice, passion fruit juice, and guava juice.
With the opening of Pandora: The World of AVATAR over the weekend, the world was finally introduced to the beauty and splendor of the nighttime bioluminescence that fills the newest land at Animal Kingdom when the sun goes down.
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
While there is no grand lighting ceremony, watching the plants and walkways slowly come to life as the sun goes down is pretty neat. It’s not the greatest nighttime lighting package I’ve ever seen, but it’s still awesome to see. While I still think Cars Land at Disney California Adventure is far more grandiose (in the mountain range alone, never mind all of that fantastic neon), this is a solid runner up.
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime on Pandora is a hard thing to capture in pictures or video, so you will need to see it for yourself before you judge, but here is a look at some highlights:
Last night, we actually got caught in the land during a thunderstorm which offered some really beautiful shots.
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
Nighttime bioluminescent lighting in Pandora: The World of AVATAR, Walt Disney World
We also have video of that experience to share:
If you haven’t seen it yet, a nighttime trip to Animal Kingdom is certainly in order to experience Pandora: The World of AVATAR at night.
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
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.
