food IS a theme park
After spending most of a decade away, a DELICIOUS fan favorite item is coming back to the McDonald’s menu this summer.
McDonald’s… at night!
McDonald’s has announced that the McCafé OREO Frappé will be joining the chain’s summer menu at participating locations in 2024.
While the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique has a well-earned reputation for being a rather expensive Disney experience, not many people know it features a very cost-effective option.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Since the first Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique opened at Disney Springs (then known as Downtown Disney) in the mid-00s, the salon-like experience that transforms young children into princesses, princes, knights, and pirates — and sometimes even Encanto characters — has become one of the most popular in the Disney catalogue, expanding to the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and even the vessels of the Disney Cruise Line. However, as beloved as the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is, it also packs a punch for the wallet, with most packages ranging between $99 and $450. However, there is one that won’t break the bank.
Disney World’s most IN-DEMAND cookie spot has a strict rule you may not know about!
©Gideon’s
Gideon’s Bakehouse became a near overnight sensation when the gourmet cookie company opened their first outlet in 2016. Within weeks of opening in Orlando’s East End Market, Gideon’s was featured in publications ranging from New York Times to The Boston Globe, to Sports Illustrated. The chain opened up a flagship location at Disney Springs four years later in 2020, and has remained one of the property’s moist in-demand snack offerings since.
Loungefly Backpacks have become one of the hottest Disney fashion items around in recent years.
©ShutterstockThese Loungeflys are the perfect size for a quick jaunt to a Disney park. They have just enough room to carry essentials, while at the same time, being light and small enough to be comfortably worn. Plus, they just look darn cool. And Amazon has a bunch of new ones available for pre-order NOW.
Disney is bringing back one of the most popular elements of pin trading after a long hiatus!
Cast Members trading pins
While a community of hardcore fans have unofficially traded Disney pins for many years, Disney Pin Trading as an official Disney-sanctioned and endorsed activity, began nearly 25 years ago. Launched with a heavy promotional push in conjunction with the Millennium Celebration, Disney Pin Trading quickly took off, becoming a phenomenon amongst fans, who gathered increasingly large and ornate collections. In addition to purchasing pins and trading with other guests, one of the core elements of the hobby was trading pins with cast members, who were company-issued lanyards or pouches of pins to exchange with guests. However, the pandemic put a stop to that.
We were recently able to get a special glimpse inside Walt Disney’s very own office!
Walt Disney’s preserved private desk.
Even though Walt Disney passed away back in December of 1966, his private office has been lovingly restored and maintained by the dutiful staff of the Walt DisneyArchives. Each detail has been meticulously maintained to achieve historical accuracy, ands give a glimpse into how Walt and his original Imagineers worked during the early golden age of Disney park development.
One of Disney’s World’s oldest hotels is scheduled for a gas outage this week that will affect anyone staying on property.
Shades of Green Hotel
The resort currently known as Shades of Green first opened as the Disney Golf Resort in 1973, catered mainly to those playing on Walt Disney World’s Palm and Magnolia golf courses. The resort’s name was changed to the Disney Inn and it was retimed to Snow White in 1986 in an attempt to raise occupancy rates and appeal to those beyond golfers. In the mid-1990s, the hotel was purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense for use by the military’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) program. Reopened as Shades of Green, it provides discounted prices for rooms and theme park tickets for military personnel of all ranks, as well as their families and guests.
One of Disney’s most legendary attractions is getting an upgrade TOMORROW!
©Disney
Star Tours first opened at Disneyland to massive hoopla in 1987, and almost immediately became one of the park’s most popular – and most beloved – attractions. Clones of the revolutionary-for-the-time simulator attractions came to both Walt Disney World’s MGM Studios theme park and Tokyo Disneyland in 1989, and opened with Disneyland Paris in 1992. For decades, Disney and George Lucas teased the idea that new ride films could be added to the attraction, which finally came to pass in the early 2010s when each version closed, only to be reopened as Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, with alternating randomized experiences featuring differed locales and characters from the Star Wars galaxy. Since the new versions opened, they have been continuously updated with additional alternating scenes from new Star Wars projects.
A long rumored change is FINALLY coming to an opening day Disneyland attraction.
Autopia
Autopia opened with Disneyland on July 17, 1955 and the attraction – in one form or another – has been part of the park since then. Thanks to it’s sleek, Bob Gurr-designed, ride vehicles and giving many children their first experience “behind the wheel” of a car, Autopia has become a popular right of passage for millions over the last near-70 years. However, one issue has plagued the attraction until now.
The latest Disneynature film coming to Disney+ has us ready to ROAR with excitement.
©Walt Disney Studios
Disney has long been associated with documentary filmmaking about nature, going back to the Academy Award-winning True Life Adventures series that Walt Disney himself spearheaded from the late 1940s through the 1960s. The company founded the Disneynature division in 2008, and has released dozens of high quality, expertly filmed nature documentaries under that umbrella since, most of them on or near Earth Day, April 22nd.
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