Walt Disney Co. stock has had a magical effect on investors’ portfolios over the long term. It’s returned 234% over the 10-year period through Oct. 12, more than twice the S&P 500’s 96.4% total return.
MEET PRINCESS ELENA OF AVALOR AT MAGIC KINGDOM PARK BEGINNING NOVEMBER 24
Today, we’re excited to share some exciting news about the newest member of Disney royalty, Princess Elena of Avalor.
Beginning Nov. 24, 2016 Princess Elena of Avalor – the first Disney princess inspired by diverse Latin cultures – will begin to greet Guests alongside other royal friends at Princess Fairytale Hall at Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World® Resort. At Princess Fairytale Hall, your Clients can choose between a meeting with Elena and Cinderella or a visit with Rapunzel and Tiana. FastPass+ reservations for dates that include Elena appearances will become available today, Oct. 14, 2016.
Princess Elena of Avalor first made her grand debut at Magic Kingdom Park back in August, with Cinderella officially welcoming her to the kingdom in “The Princess Elena Royal Welcome” show. You can continue to experience this show throughout the fall.
9 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Disney’s New ‘Frozen’ Ride
If you’re a Frozen fan, it’s not hard to see the appeal of Disney’s new Frozen Ever After ride, which offers visitors to Epcot park a boat ride through the icy kingdom of Arendelle.
ALL-NEW HOLIDAY NIGHTTIME SPECTACULAR “JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BAM!” COMING TO DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS NOVEMBER 14
The all-new “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” holiday spectacular comes to Disney’s Hollywood Studios® at Walt Disney World®Resort on Nov. 14, 2016. Santa Claus is missing and the search-and-rescue mission to get The Big Guy back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve is all part of the fun. The show comes to life on, above and around the Chinese Theater with state-of-the-art projections, special effects, fireworks and a rousing seasonal musical score.
Led by elves Wayne and Lanny, the duo from ABC/Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated special “Prep & Landing,” the spirited yuletide adventure to the North Pole features memorable holiday moments from Disney films including “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Pluto’s Christmas Tree,” “Bambi,” Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and more, all building to a festive finale that’s “So tinsel!”
A sweet way for your Clients to enjoy this new holiday spectacular is with the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Dessert Party, which includes reserved viewing, desserts, specialty beverages and more. Each dessert party guest will get a pair of 3D HoloSpex® glasses to use while watching the show. The glasses create spectacular holographic illusions of gingerbread men, candy canes, snowflakes and ornaments on any bright point of light.
Memorable, heartwarming, and enchanting for the entire family, these one-of-a-kind holiday experiences will dazzle your Clients at Disney’s Hollywood Studios through Dec. 31, 2016.
Disney’s Pete’s Dragon on Digital HD, Blu-ray, DMA, DVD and On-Demand Nov. 29
Pete’s Dragon, a reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film centered on an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. Families will be captivated by this magical movie followed by never-before-seen bonus features, including a revealing look at director David Lowery’s personal diary kept during the filming of “Pete’s Dragon,” the design process behind the lovable dragon Elliot, deleted scenes, a tour of the film’s breathtaking production location of New Zealand, audio commentary by filmmakers and actors and hilarious bloopers. Today’s announcement also ushers in tomorrow’s World Dragon Day and the heartwarming adventure arrives on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand on Nov. 29; just in time to entertain the entire family this holiday season.
THREE NEW FOOD TRUCKS COMING TO DOWNTOWN DISNEY DISTRICT AT THE DISNEYLAND RESORT
Weekends in October will offer plenty of new and original dining options when food trucks arrive serving a varied menu of burgers, tacos, wings and more in Downtown Disney® District at the Disneyland® Resort.
The Habit prepares a range of burgers, including charburger, double charburger, the Anaheim double charburger with bacon and avocado, a veggie burger and a grilled chicken sandwich, along with fountain drinks and sides of French fries or onion rings. Dos Chinos offers a unique menu of fusion taco and burrito options, combining Mexican and Asian ingredients. Among the several selections are the Hollywood Chicken taco (Thai coconut curry chicken with crispy sweet potato strings, tamarind and Mexican crema) and the Angus Asada burrito (Vietnamese-Mexican chimichurri-grilled Angus beef with avocado crema, jasmine rice, Monterey Southeast cheese, Asian salsa verde and, upon request, habanero sriracha). Chicken wings are the signature items at BrewWings, which pairs the wings with such options as Belgian waffles and tater tots. The menu also features a selection of grilled cheese sandwiches, including versions with chicken, bacon and jalapeno.
The Habit Burger Grill and Dos Chinos taco truck will appear in Downtown Disney District on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 7-30, 2016. BrewWings, specializing in chicken and waffles, join the others most days over those same weekends.
The trucks will be located in the Downtown Disney District valet loop the weekends of Oct. 7-9 and 14-16, 2016. For the remaining weekends of the month, October 21-23 and 28-30, they will move to the Downtown Disney District lawn between ESPN Zone, Earl of Sandwich and the Disneyland Hotel.
Disney’s 10 New Rules for Being a Princess Emphasize Character Instead of Beauty
Disney has updated their “princess principles,” releasing a set of illustrated posters to emphasize the ten new rules for joining the hallowed halls of a fantasy kingdom.
Disney and Dole to Launch New Co-Branded Produce Assortment Featuring Iconic Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel Characters
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI) and Dole Food Company today announced plans to launch a new co-branded assortment of fresh produce featuring iconic Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel characters at grocery and retail stores nationwide beginning this fall. The announcement comes ahead of the 2016 Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit Convention and Expo taking place October 14-16 in Orlando, Fla. (Disney booth #409, Dole booth #3043), where both brands will have a presence.
“Disney and Dole have a shared mission of providing high quality produce to help families lead healthier lives,” said Josh Silverman, executive vice president of global licensing, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “As an industry leader in licensed food, we are excited to pair our unrivaled portfolio of brands, characters and stories with Dole’s fresh fruits and vegetables to support parents as they encourage their kids to make healthier food choices.”
“It’s rare that two iconic brands with as much passion and potential for improving the way America and the world eats can come together to make positive change,” said Bil Goldfield, director of communications for the Dole Food Company. “As one of the world’s foremost nutrition leaders, Dole is excited to partner with Disney to take both companies’ commitment to health and wellness to the next level. Together, we can do even more to deliver fun, educational and nutritional information around the power of produce to individuals and families across North America.”
The two brands will launch its first program this fall, followed by a host of other health and nutrition education programs themed around other Disney, Star Wars and Marvel films and characters in 2017. These programs will include consumer promotions, digital integrations, in-store activities, and themed recipes featuring DOLE products to encourage kids and families to adopt a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.
In 2006, The Walt Disney Company became the first major media company to establish a Nutrition Guideline Policy to associate its brands and characters with a more nutritious portfolio of foods and beverages. The company has since marked every year of its Healthy Living Commitment with significant milestones such as becoming the first major media company to launch food advertising standards for kids, launching new content and experiences that inspire healthier lifestyles, and introducing the Mickey Check. The Mickey Check is a quick and easy way for families to identify healthier food and beverage options in stores, on-air, on-line, at Disney theme parks and resorts, and other places where Disney products are sold. Foods and recipes that feature the Mickey Check adhere to the rigorous Disney Nutrition Guideline Criteria. To learn more about The Walt Disney Company Healthy Living Commitment and the Mickey Check, visit Disney.com/HealthyLiving.
For more than a century, Dole has served as an unrivaled health and wellness resource to millions of healthy-eating enthusiasts worldwide. Dole is committed to nutrition and nutrition education, and to encouraging the world to adopt a healthier diet including more fresh fruits and vegetables. Dole believes that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can increase America’s nutritional health and help reverse a number of negative health trends, among them improper diet and inadequate exercise as the leading causes of preventable death. In 2003 Dole established the Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI) specifically to study the health and wellness benefits of fruits and vegetables, and a plant-based diet. Today, DNI remains the world’s most definitive, easily accessible and scientifically validated resource on nutrition and health. In addition, Dole recently established a Director and Department of Culinary Nutrition to translate produce-based research into compelling meals that prove the vital role of fruit and vegetables as the staple of a healthy diet.
Disney Accelerator Showcases Nine Startups at 2016 Demo Day
The Walt Disney Company concluded the 2016 Disney Accelerator program, hosting its third annual Demo Day. At the event, the nine participating companies presented their businesses to investors, Disney executives and other industry leaders.
Demo Day follows the three-month immersive Disney Accelerator program, which gave participants from around the world unprecedented guidance, access and opportunities to work with all divisions of The Walt Disney Company. In addition, leaders from participating companies received mentorship from Disney executives, including Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger, as well as leaders from The Walt Disney Company, including Disney|ABC Television Group, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI), ESPN, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and others.
“Technology and innovation are at the heart of every experience at The Walt Disney Company, and Disney Accelerator puts us on the ground floor with some of the most promising startups in the world through a program aimed at accelerating the future of media and entertainment,” said Kevin Mayer, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of The Walt Disney Company.
This year’s program builds on the success of past Disney Accelerator initiatives, which first launched in 2014. Past participants continue to work with Disney, including Sphero, which created the BB-8 droid toy, the number one Star Wars toy in 2015. Additionally, StatMuse , an AI-powered sports storytelling and knowledge platform, is currently providing ESPN with interactive statistical content, and Israel-based imperson launched The Muppets’ Miss Piggy and Disney’s Zootopia chat experiences on Facebook powered by the company’s artificial intelligence technology.
The Disney Accelerator 2016 companies and their announcements with The Walt Disney Company include:
- Ader – a marketplace connecting advertisers with esports talent. Through the Disney Accelerator, Ader is working on a pilot program with Maker Studios, a global leader in short form content and one of the largest influencer networks worldwide, to together offer unique esports opportunities to the world’s leading marketers. Maker Studios plans to also bring top gaming creators to live streaming through Ader’s marketplace. Additionally, Ader and ESPN are planning to bring some of the company’s top esports talent to ESPN.com in a 2017 pilot program to provide weekly video analyzing key updates to the top esports games.
- Atom Tickets – a new social mobile ticketing app for movies; Atom makes it easy to find your favorite movie, invite your friends, and preorder your favorite snacks. Atom helps you plan your night out to the movies and is available nationwide. Atom Tickets announced today that it will be working with The Walt Disney Studios and DCPI to offer consumers the opportunity to purchase merchandise with movie tickets for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with future titles under consideration.
- Hanson Robotics – a leader in creating human-like robots with a full range of facial expressions. Through the Disney Accelerator, Hanson Robotics is conducting research and development with DCPI and Walt Disney Imagineering to explore bringing Disney characters to life as consumer products that could be sold at retail.
- Jaunt – Pioneering end-to-end solutions for creating and publishing immersive cinematic virtual reality, Jaunt is a leading developer of the hardware, software, tools and applications that put the power of virtual reality in the hands of some of today’s best content creators. Today, Jaunt announced that it has licensed Disney Research’s cutting-edge VR video technology and will be collaborating with Disney Research to integrate it into Jaunt’s Cloud Services. Jaunt is also working with ESPN to film several of this season’s College GameDay stops in VR, offering viewers behind the scenes access to the iconic show, tailgates, interviews and sideline action.
- littleBits – littleBits is a platform of easy-to-use technology kits that empowers kids to invent anything, from a remote controlled car to a dancing robot to a smart home device. At Demo Day, littleBits shared that it is working with DCPI on a potential Star Wars collaboration. Additionally, littleBits announced that the company is working with DCPI to develop a short form online video series that features kids as everyday inventors, premiering this fall with a story featuring Disney characters.
- Nom – Nom is an online community where people who are passionate about food connect through live video and chat. Today, Nom announced it is working with ABC to bring video clips, behind-the-scenes content, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes of The Chew to its audience of food lovers. Nom will also be working with DCPI’s Content and Media sites to feature amazing food videos from Disney Family and Babble. Additionally, Nom and VICE Media will bring the world of Munchies, Vice’s food platform, to Nom.
- OTOY – OTOY is a holographic content platform bringing the power of light field rendering and streaming to virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. Through OTOY’s new ORBX media player, Disney.com, Marvel.com, ABC.com, ABCNews.com and ESPN.com are now available to browse in Oculus Social and Samsung’s Web Browser for Gear VR. Users can now explore these web sites in a VR environment with their friends.
- Playbuzz – Playbuzz is a content-creation and audience-engagement platform that empowers thousands of publishers, marketers and brands to easily create engaging content using mobile-friendly formats that are optimized for social sharing. Through the Disney Accelerator, ABC.com, ESPN.com and DCPI’s Content and Media sites, including Oh My Disney, Disney Style, and Babble are now piloting Playbuzz content formats.
- Pley – a leading toy subscription company that is pioneering the next generation in e-commerce for toys. Pley is exploring an exciting relationship with Disney Store which will aim to bring to market a Disney Princess subscription package.
For more information about the Disney Accelerator program, please visit DisneyAccelerator.com.
WINE BAR GEORGE OPENS FALL 2017 AT DISNEY SPRINGS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
Fans of California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort may remember Master Sommelier George Miliotes from the opening team of the award-winning restaurant when it debuted in 1995. Miliotes returns to Walt Disney World® Resort with his new venture, Wine Bar George, opening in fall 2017 at Disney Springs™.
Wine Bar George will include a food menu featuring small plates designed to complement the wine list. Plus, they will offer more than 100 selections both by the bottle and the glass in a range of varietals, vintages and prices. Your Clients will be able to experience sips from acclaimed wineries as well as up-and-coming growing regions and wineries. Wine education will be served up in an approachable and fun manner, says Miliotes, and he is planning special events and visits from renowned winemakers.
Miliotes is one of just 230 master sommeliers in the world.
