WDW Daily News

Twelve festival Food Studios plus additional food and beverage locations will take culinary arts to the next level with scrumptious, imaginative dishes – artistically sculpted and ready for camera closeups. New this year is the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine featuring a culinary reward – guests who collect a stamp in their festival passports for each menu item purchased along the Wonderful Walk will fill their “palette” and receive a delicious technicolor treat.

The Food Studios are an edible wonderland of dishes and beverages, from the Deconstructed Reuben and Rainboba drink at The Deconstructed Dish Food Studio, to the Wild Mushroom Risotto and Classic Sidecar with a Chocolate Twist at The Masterpiece Kitchen at the Canada pavilion. The Decadent Delights Food Studio features the sweetest takes on culinary art like the Lemon Blood-Orange Tart and the White Chocolate Figment Puzzle on an Artist Palette. Guests will discover new twists on festival favorites, as well as a broad selection of libations from craft brewers and global wineries.

Also new for the 2020 festival, guests can book a Saturday or Sunday Le Cellier Brunch, a leisurely prix fixe bounty in the Canada pavilion.

If you are soaring to or from Epcot® aboard Disney Skyliner starting today, there’s a tasty new treat for their eyes – the sign for Gusteau’s restaurant was just installed above the expanding France pavilion in World Showcase!

Gusteau’s is the famed Parisian establishment that is home to Chef Remy from Disney and Pixar’s “Ratatouille.” It’s also the soon-to-be setting for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the delicious new attraction opening this summer at Epcot®. This family friendly experience will invite you on a super-sized adventure with Chef Remy, where you’ll race through Gusteau’s kitchen in special trackless ride vehicles.

The new sign is visible from the Disney Skyliner gondolas as they approach or depart the International Gateway station at Epcot®. It’s the latest signal that you are getting closer and closer to taking a ride with “Little Chef” on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, one of several new experiences coming to Epcot® as part of the park’s historic transformation already underway.

As part of the ongoing transformation of Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort, three new films will debut Jan. 17, 2020, at the Florida theme park, on the same day the 2020 Epcot International Festival of the Arts begins. These new films provide more ways for guests to experience Disney magic and celebrate the world around them during a day at Epcot.

• “Awesome Planet” in The Land pavilion explores the spectacular beauty, diversity and dynamic story of Earth.In collaboration with the Disney Conservation Fund, the 10-minute film uses in-theater effects (including wind, scents and water) to tell the story of life on this planet and why it’s vitally important to care for it. “Awesome Planet” features narration by Ty Burrell, star of ABC’s “Modern Family,” andan original musical score from Academy Award-winning® composerSteven
• “Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” in the Canada pavilion is an update to the previous “O Canada!” film with new scenes, a new musical score by Canadian composer Andrew Lockington and new narration by award-winning actors Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy.
• “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along” in the France pavilion’s Palais du Cinémais directed and produced by Don Hahn, producer of the animated and live-action “Beauty and the Beast” films, and invites guests to participate in a twist on a tale as old as time. It also features narration from Angela Lansbury, who played Mrs. Potts in the original film. The new sing-along will run in rotation with “Impressions de France,” which will receive an upgrade to 4K projection.
  • Along with the sing-along is a new exhibit inside Palais du Cinéma. “Tales as Old as Time: French Storytelling on Stage and Screen” invites guests to explore six distinct gallery cases featuring a collection of costumes, music, artwork and more, all dedicated to the adaptation of French literature in cinema, theater, ballet and opera. The exhibit reinforces how French literature has inspired artists from around the globe, including those who created timeless Disney classics such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella” and, of course, “Beauty and the Beast.” Items on display from the Walt Disney Archives include a glass slipper from the live-action “Cinderella” film and Belle’s costume from the live-action “Beauty and the Beast.” Community arts organizations from Florida also contributed pieces to the exhibit.

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts, held Jan. 17 – Feb. 24, 2020, at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, celebrates the very best in visual, culinary and performing arts by bringing in professional artists to share their talent and expertise. Returning to the festival this year is the Disney on Broadway Concert Series, with three daily performances headlined by Broadway stars who reprise favorite songs from past performances in award-winning shows. 

Heidi Blickenstaff and Gavin Lee will be among the first performers to grace the stage of America Gardens Theater for this fan-favorite concert series. Heidi is best known for her starring role as Ursula in Disney on Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid.” Gavin received a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway performance as Bert in Disney’s “Mary Poppins” and most recently played Lumière in the 25^th-anniversary production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.”

The duo will perform five nights of shows beginning Jan. 18, including a special performance alongside fellow Broadway legends Alton Fitzgerald White and Kissy Simmons. 

Here’s the full lineup of show-stopping talent for the Disney on Broadway Concert Series: 

• Jan. 17, 20, 21 and 24 – Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“THE LION KING”) 
• Jan. 18, 19, 22 and 23 – Heidi Blickenstaff (“The Little Mermaid”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)
• Jan. 25 – Special performance featuring Simmons, White, Blickenstaff and Lee 
• Jan. 26, 28, 29; Feb. 1, 2, 5 and 6 – Kara Lindsay (“Newsies”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)
• Jan. 27, 30, 31, Feb. 3, 4, 7 and 8 – Liana Hunt (“Newsies”) and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
• Feb. 9 – Special performance featuring Lindsay, Massey, Hunt and Jacobs
• Feb. 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22 and 23 – Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
• Feb. 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21 – Syndee Winters (“The Lion King”) and Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”)
• Feb. 24 – Special performance featuring Brown, Strickland, Winters and Scott.

All shows are performed at America Gardens Theatre and are included with theme park admission. The best way to experience a performance is by reserving a Disney on Broadway Dining Package, which guarantees seating for one show on the day of the dining experience. Packages at participating Epcot restaurants are now booking.

Conventional wisdom in the past has been that the best time to visit Walt Disney World is the “slow” season, which are typically the weeks in between the end of the holiday season (the first week of January) and the start of Spring Break (in early March).

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The first Marvel Day at Sea cruise of 2020 sets sail aboard the Disney Magic today! And while we’re celebrating the start of these epic cruise vacations, we have even more news to share – Marvel Day at Sea will return to Disney Cruise Line in 2021! Once again, you will have the chance to experience the largest assembly of Marvel Super Heroes and Villains on one ship.

Check out all the different itineraries that will feature this epic day at sea in 2021!

2021 Itineraries: Marvel Day at Sea
Beginning Jan. 9, 2021, Marvel Day at Sea will take place on nine five-night Caribbean and Bahamian cruises sailing from Miami.

Departing Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Feb. 20, 2021, the Western Caribbean itinerary includes a stop at Cozumel, Mexico and Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay.

Departing Feb. 6 and March 6, 2021, the Western Caribbean itinerary includes Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay.

Departing Jan. 18, Feb. 1, Feb. 15 and March 1, 2021, the Bahamian itinerary includes Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay.

An email will be sent to Guests and Travel Professionals with bookings on these sailings to advise that their cruise now includes Marvel Day at Sea.

runDisney is excited to introduce Club runDisney, a new, unique membership opportunity for runners. Club runDisney will offer three different one-year-long membership levels – Silver, Gold, and Platinum – featuring a range of special benefits that will run from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.

All Club runDisney members will receive a welcome package including an exclusive jacket, and will have access to the lowest race registration pricing all year, a new Virtual 10K in Fall 2020 that is exclusively for Club runDisney members, and special Club runDisney designation on race bibs during on-site events. All of these benefits are included with a Silver Membership. 

Gold Membership will include these perks, along with early registration access with a guaranteed spot in the half marathon or marathon distance each race weekend. 

Platinum Membership will have all of these benefits, plus early registration with a guaranteed spot in one distance each race weekend; upgraded corral placement; and an exclusive Expo experience with early admittance to the runDisney Merchandise Shop, a special character meet and greet, and access to a Club runDisney Lounge with expedited race packet pick-up.

Club runDisney memberships will go on sale on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 10 am ET, just prior to the start of the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. If your clients are interested in learning more, they can check out https://www.rundisney.com/club-rundisney/ or visit the Club runDisney booth at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Health & Fitness Expo, which kicks off Wednesday at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

If you are planning on visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland® or Walt Disney World® Resorts, you’ll encounter plenty of characters from around the galaxy—from members of the First Order and the Resistance, to cosmic creatures and of course, droids!

On your next transport to Batuu in Disneyland park, you may see a familiar sidekick gliding around: R2-D2!

A resourceful astromech droid, R2-D2 has shown great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils. A skilled starship mechanic and fighter pilot’s assistant, he formed an unlikely but enduring friendship with the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.

While visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you can take time to explore the epic land where they can sample galactic food and beverages, enter an intriguing collection of merchant shops and take the controls of the most famous ship in the galaxy aboard another attraction in the land, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The newest attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, launches at Disneyland park on Jan. 17. You can climb aboard a full-size transport shuttle before being captured by a Star Destroyer. They’ll then find themselves in the middle of a climactic battle between the dark side of the First Order and the light side of the Resistance. The harrowing adventure blurs the lines between fantasy and reality on a scale never seen before in a Disney attraction.

One month ago today, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the response has been amazing. Thousands upon thousands of guests continue to pour into the park each day to be among the first to experience the groundbreaking new attraction, which is also about to open at Disneyland park in California on Jan. 17, 2020. 

If guests have felt a tremor in the Force this past month, that’s probably the excitement building around Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as details began to emerge about the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping experience that awaits them. To quote the one and only Han Solo: All of it … it’s all true. 

In one of the longest attraction experiences in Disney history, guests become a new Resistance recruit and are sent by Rey to a secret rendezvous point to meet General Leia Organa so they can aid her cause in freeing the galaxy from the tyrannical First Order. After hustling into an Intersystem Transport Ship, guests blast off Batuu with Poe Dameron as their wingman in his signature black-painted X-wing starfighter. 

Oh, and that bad feeling guests might feel … yeah, that’s true, too. Before guests know it, a First Order Star Destroyer is right on top of them and pulls their ship into its massive hangar bay via tractor beam. From that point on, their mission is to escape the clutches of the First Order before Supreme Leader Kylo Ren can catch them and rip General Organa’s hidden location from their mind. 

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is immersive storytelling on a cinematic scale – this attraction truly feels as if guests have stepped right into a Star Wars film. They’ll see a docked TIE fighter, dodge two AT-AT walkers, scurry past huge turbolaser cannons and dodge blaster fire from First Order Stormtroopers as they search for a way off the Star Destroyer aboard special troop transports. 

It’s an all-encompassing journey, and guests’ reactions are amazing – everything from tears of joy to uproarious cheers to stunned amazement.

Because the Force is strong with this one

Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ started out with a bang in November of 2019.

That’s because of a few factors. First of all, it’s really cheap—just $6.99 a month for the same 4K / 4 device plan that Netflix charges $15.99 a month for. Perhaps more importantly, The Mandalorian—the flagship Star Wars live-action show on Disney Plus—was really, really good.

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