Undercover detectives with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office have filed charges against three people for reselling park hopper passes to Walt Disney World.
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Chicagoland was Disney’s land (and will be again)
Most casual Disney fans know that Walt Disney was a real person and not just a brand name for a major company. Those with a bit more savvy know that Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland is based on an idealized version of the turn-of-the-century town of Marceline, Mo., the place where Walt Disney lived as a child.
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2016 Florida Cup Underway at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
The 2016 Florida Cup is officially underway, bringing world-class international pro soccer clubs to several Florida venues, including the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. The games, which began on Sunday, Jan. 10, mark the beginning of a broader relationship between Disney and the event. As part of its five-year agreement with 2SV Sports, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will be the official main venue for the tournament.
In addition to the games, the tournament featured a panel discussion and press conference on Friday, Jan. 8, featuring club and league representatives discussing a variety of soccer-related topics, including youth development, sports marketing, and global league structures, among other subjects.
The Florida Cup is one of several prestigious soccer events at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is also the official preseason training home of AS Roma. Additionally, there are eleven soccer events that take place at the ESPN sports complex throughout the year including: the Disney Soccer Showcase, the Disney Soccer Academy, the Disney Cup International, the Disney Memorial Day Soccer Shootout, the Disney 3v3 Soccer Championship, the Disney Pre-Season Soccer Kickoff and the Disney President’s Day Soccer Festival.
– See more at: http://disneysportsnews.com/releases/2016/01/14/2016-florida-cup-underway-at-espn-wide-world-of-sports-complex/#sthash.yk8IROGE.dpuf
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Disney Cruise Line Introduces Star Wars Day at Sea on Select Disney Fantasy Sailings
In 2016, Disney Cruise Line guests can celebrate the legendary adventures and iconic characters from the Star Wars saga during a brand-new, day-long celebration aboard eight special sailings on the Disney Fantasy: Star Wars Day at Sea.
Marking the first official appearance of the heroes and villains of Star Wars aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship, Star Wars Day at Sea combines the power of the Force, the magic of Disney and the excitement of cruising for an out-of-this-galaxy experience unlike any other.
Occurring one day during each of eight Disney Fantasy sailings, Star Wars Day at Sea transports guests to a galaxy far, far away — in the Western Caribbean. The event features a full day of Star Wars celebrations, including a deck party, meet-and-greets with favorite characters, Star Wars-themed family and youth activities, unique food and beverage offerings, and special merchandise.
Also featured are exclusive at-sea screenings of all seven Star Wars films and the new Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels.
Throughout the day, Star Wars Younglings, Padawans and Jedi Masters alike can enjoy the immersive entertainment. Intergalactic highlights include:
Force-filled Fun for Everyone
- Darth Vader, Captain Phasma, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, Stormtroopers and other characters from across the Star Wars galaxy are onboard for meet-and-greets, photos and may be seen patrolling the decks.
- “Star Wars Saga: Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away” is an interactive participation show featuring guests retelling their favorite Star Wars stories, with the help of props and special effects.
- Kids and families enjoy friendly competition during Star Wars trivia games, putting their knowledge of the film and television sagas to the test.
- Guests are encouraged to bring their costumes and cosplay and participate in the costume celebration held in the ship’s atrium.
- At noon, guests on deck will be treated to a very special episode – to mark the midday, the Disney Fantasy ship’s horn will resound the opening notes of the “Imperial March.”
- In the evening, The Tube nightclub transports adult guests to another galaxy with Star Wars-themed specialty cocktails, lively cantina music and a super fan trivia challenge.
Younglings Use Their Power
- In “Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple,” Force-sensitive children to learn the ways of the Jedi and put their skills to the test in a final battle with the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
- In “Padawan Mind Challenge,” Younglings participate in a fun, brain-bending battle of wits and trivia to become mind challenge masters.
- Star Wars-themed arts and crafts, games and activities are offered throughout the day in Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab youth clubs.
Star Wars Deck Party and Fireworks
- The day concludes with more intergalactic fun when the “Summon the Force” deck party blasts off to an exciting evening filled with music, dancing and games.
- The party culminates as Star Wars characters converge for a celebration of the saga in an epic show featuring special effects and guest participation.
- The grand finale is a spectacular display of pyrotechnics, lighting, sound effects and a medley of Star Wars
Merchandise, Food and Beverage
- Event merchandise exclusive to Star Wars Day at Sea is available on each sailing, including a range of collectible items, customizable nametags and eight special trading pins – one for each of the Star Wars Day at Sea cruises.
- An epic day is not complete without a feast for the palate so the dinner menu includes creative fare such as Sand People salad, Bantha steak empanadas, Opee Sea Killer shrimp cocktail and Qui-Gon’s crisp chicken. Sweet endings complete the meal with Calrissian velvet cake, Cloud City macarons and a frozen carbonite sundae.
- Specialty Star Wars-themed beverages include the colorful Galaxy in a Glass made with rum, coconut, mango and strawberry and a non-alcoholic Planetoid Punch.
- For sipping, there are non-alcoholic beverages in collectible cups like a BB-8 sipper and Chewbacca stein and for snacking popcorn is served in containers themed to Darth Vader’s helmet or a tie fighter.
Film Screenings
- Guests can watch all seven films in the Star Wars saga and follow Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Rey and Finn along their epic journey.
- Also showing are episodes of the new Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels.
Star Wars Day at Sea will be on Disney Fantasy cruises sailing on Jan. 9, 23; Feb. 6, 20; March 5, 19; April 2 and 16, 2016. Departing from Port Canaveral, the seven-night Western Caribbean itinerary includes Cozumel, Mexico; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay.
Contact Travel Agents, Scott and Becky Donahue, of Wish Upon a Star With Us to plan and book your vacation.
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D’s Throwback Disney – Looking at brief history of Space Mountain by David Caamano
When I was a young boy vacationing to Disney World with my family I was a wuss when it came to thrill rides. My sister was the thrill seeker and showed no fear. So when it came time for me to initially ride Space Mountain, I was doubtful. Put it this way…I was such a coward, that I vomited on my mother’s arms in line to ride Maelstrom at the Norway pavilion because I was so anxious and worked up. At some point in the early 1990s, I finally allowed my mother to pressure me onto Disney World’s classic thrill ride. I am now grateful for this push and since then, Space Mountain has been one of my favorites.
Tomorrow marks the 41st birthday of the first ever Space Mountain; the first indoor roller coaster on the globe and first coaster to be controlled and powered entirely by computers. With five Space Mountains in the world, the Florida version remains a classic and is extremely popular with park guests. Sponsored by RCA at the time, it opened it’s doors on January 15th, 1975 (the same year my parents graduated high school). An astronaut Mickey Mouse joined real life astronaut Colonel James Irwin in dedicating this new attraction and took the maiden voyage into space.
The dedication ceremony was a grand two-day event that was later televised as part of The Wonderful World Disney series. The hour long show aired on March 23rd, 1975 and was hosted by the daughter of tv’s most famous couple from the 1950s, Lucie Arnaz. The celebration began the night before, with an outdoor banquet for thousands of invited guests and was located at the Caribbean Plaza in Adventureland. It was a perfect vantage point from across the park to view the newly improved Tomorrowland. The next day, on January 15th, 50,000 balloons, a 2,000 piece marching band on the tracks of the People Mover and thousands of doves helped kick off the dedication ceremony. In reality, the tv special was a 40 minute commercial advertising the many entertainment and attraction offerings at the resort intertwined with musical numbers and tap dancing by stars of the time such as Tommy Tune. If you can stomach the citrus-coloured outfits of the 1970s, you can find it on YouTube.
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The Good Dinosaur Is Officially Pixar’s First Fossil
While Pixar’s heart is almost always in the right place, it was destined to fail at some point or another. Some thought The Incredibles was the end of the line, before getting a handle on its beauty.
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Disney to hire, train its own security personnel
Disney’s launching another major security change at its Orlando parks nearly a month after metal detectors were put up at the front gates.
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This is what 5 of your favorite Pixar movies looked like in early sketches before they hit the big screen
It takes a lot of work, and a lot of trial and error, to bring an animated world to life.
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2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel Announces Ten New Members and Upcoming Website Makeover
Disney Parks officially announced the ten newest members to its 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel, plus a newly designed website that promises to lend fresh insights and improved accessibility for future guests.
Ushering in a new era for the celebrated online forum, this year’s newcomers are as diverse as Disney Parks’ own culturally rich visitors with bilingual parents, single moms, dads, grandparents, and those with special needs children – all eager to share their trip planning expertise and passion for Disney with like-minded families.
Now in its ninth year, the Disney Parks Moms Panel is an online resource to help guests with their Disney vacation planning using the personal opinions, expertise and relatable experiences of everyday parents and grandparents. With just the click of a mouse or touch screen device, travelers have access to a wide-array of enthusiastic panelists who can share advice on how to maximize their future stay and create lifelong family memories. The multilingual resource, offered in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, can accommodate every Disney trip-planning inquiry imaginable – from the best fireworks viewing spots, tips for traveling with large families and ideal booking windows for popular restaurants, to special dietary dining options, cruise ship itineraries and on-property hotel offerings.
In addition to being well-versed in so many Disney Destinations’ amenities available, all of the panelists are genuine, friendly and excited to share their expertise with others, putting fellow parents at ease during the often stressful and overwhelming process of planning a vacation. Originally created with a specific focus on the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disney Parks Moms Panel has since grown to include members with extensive knowledge of every other unique Disney property and offering, which also includes Disneyland Resort, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise Line, runDisney and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Among the most eagerly awaited aspects of the 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel is the arrival of a refreshed consumer website, slated to launch later this winter. Featuring a sleek new design layout and improved functionality for better user navigation, the mobile-device optimized site will make it easier for guests to plan an unforgettable Disney vacation at home or on-the-go.
Specific updates to the website includes a new topic search structure that will provide guests with easy access to more than 150,000 questions asked by previous visitors and answered by the knowledgeable panelists. With the new feature, guests can quickly sort and filter through tagged topics and find relevant content; and as always, visitors can get their own questions answered using the “Ask a Question” feature. In true Disney style, the website will reflect a sense of community by showcasing trending topics and most popular topics, allowing families to learn from each other’s past experiences and inspire the creation of new memories.
“2016 is poised to be an exciting and transformative year for the Disney Parks Moms Panel,” said Leanne O’Regan, director of public relations for Disney Parks. “Not only are we welcoming ten motivated and diverse professionals to our esteemed forum, but we are also preparing to debut a new website experience in the coming months, streamlining the trip planning process and paving the way for what should be the most magical time of our guests’ lives.”
In September 2015, thousands of hopeful parents worldwide vied for a spot on the coveted Panel, making it the second largest pool of submissions since the program’s inception nearly a decade ago. Following three rounds of interviews, essays and video submissions, a strong group of ten passionate parents and grandparents – including university professors, a physician and nurse, event planner, and an Information Technician specialist – were selected to join the respected forum. Since 2008, more than 130 experienced parents have served on the Disney Parks Moms Panel helping in the planning process for tens of thousands of Disney vacation guests.
Joining the 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel are as follows:
- Brandy Robinson; Euless, Tex. (Disney Cruise Line)
- Erin Karsman; Pittsburgh, Pa. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Jackie Psarianos; Richmond Hill, Ont. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Jennifer Reeves; Columbia, Mo. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Kiki Wong-Yee; Carmichael, Calif. (Disneyland Resort)
- Korliss Datcher; Birmingham, Ala. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Nancy Murphy; Alpine, Ut. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Priscila Noriega; Miami, Fla. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Ricardo Stella; Plainsboro, N.J. (Walt Disney World Resort)
- Sally Bulavko; El Paso, Tex. (Disney Vacation Club)
To learn more about the Disney Parks Moms Panel and meet the newest panelists, please visithttp://disneyparksmomspanel.disney.go.com/. For those interested in joining next year’s panel, application details will be posted on the website in the summer of 2016.
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SWING INTO SPRING AT DISNEYLAND PARIS: NEW & DETAILS!
This is a new release that fell today, unveiling the details of the 2016 spring season will keep the same name as in previous years: Swing Into Spring. And so, discover the novelties of this spring season 2016! The season begins March 5th and ends May 29.
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