The “College GameDay” crew will be visiting the Walt Disney World Resort prior to the anticipated college football game between the University of Miami and the University of Florida. The crew, including Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, and Maria Taylor, will be broadcasting from Magic Kingdom Park this Saturday, August 24.
The crew will experience all that Walt Disney World Resort has to offer while preparing for the broadcast including getting an inside look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
If you are at Magic Kingdom Park on Saturday, make sure to check out the live broadcast on Main Street, U.S.A.
If you’re home you can tune in to the broadcast on ESPN 9 AM – Noon ET on Saturday, August 24.
Walt Disney World’s Epcot has been in an identity crisis for most of its existence. Is it an educational park? A haven for thrill rides? A dumping ground for whatever characters and concepts don’t fit anywhere else? Even those who adore the iconic second gate the Florida resort know that it’s been looking for a clear voice for a few decades now. And it looks like Disney wants to settle on that voice, because the park is getting a number of major upgrades and additions over the coming years.
While we expect to learn more about the future of Epcot in the days ahead, one thing was made clear in the opening night of the D23 convention: Epcot will become “more Disney” than ever before. Starting with a new Moana attraction.
Disney Chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products Bob Chapek told the crowd gathered at D23 (including /Film’s Peter Sciretta) that the next generation of Epcot will be “More Disney, more family, and more timeless.” Take from that what you will, but one thing is clear – Epcot will probably start to have more in common with other Disney parks, shifting away from the science and education-focused attractions of yesteryear and bringing in more recognizable characters and cutting edge experiences.
To make this point clear, Chapek announced a new attraction based on the world of the Disney animated film Moana. Details were scarce, but the experience will be called “Journey of Water” and will allow guests to “interact with water magically.” Here’s the official description of the attraction, along with a piece of concept art:
And this October, guests will be able to visualize all of the exciting plans for Epcot at a new experience center in the Odyssey Events Pavilion, called Walt Disney Imagineering presents the Epcot Experience. Inside this first-of-its-kind offering within a Disney park, guests will discover engaging and interactive exhibits that allow you to step inside the relentless innovation, energy and excitement and see some never-before-revealed details driving the future of Epcot all throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.
The sixth D23 Expo kicks off today and runs through August 25, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
D23 is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name D23 refers to D for Disney and 23 for 1923—the year Walt Disney founded the company.
This is where Disney make some of its biggest announcements for future plans for its Disney Parks, Walt Disney Studio productions and much more. Stay tuned all weekend as we attempt to bring you all of the breaking news from D23 2019.
Full-Immersion…that’s what we have been promised with Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and now also with the building of the Star Wars Hotel. We have documented what that will look like for Galaxy’s Edge when it opens next week, but what does that look like for the Star Wars Hotel that is currently in construction.
The resort will close guests off from the real world with projection windows displaying scenes from outside of the space cruiser, so a transportation system would need to do the same.
Disney has even released concept art of what the shuttle would look like, in story at least:
Well, here’s what that transport actually looks like…
It’s a heavily modified bus. Guests will enter from a jetway which will put them inside the sealed-off center section of this bus. They won’t see a driver, nor the outside world of Central Florida, at least not until they disembark at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
A look inside the transport from above reveals a limited number of seats, all facing inwards.
The inside of the transport is heavily themed, leading guests to believe they are in a space capsule on its way to a day of vacation fun on Batuu.
The experience is completed by large screens that act as windows out into space. This should make for a pretty neat arrival in Black Spire Outpost starting with seeing Batuu from space.
Is this a good decision by Disney to seam the hotel and Galaxy’s Edge together like this?
Staying in a Star Wars hotel is something that all fans of the Galaxy Far, Far Away have been waiting for. With the opening of Galaxy’s Edge just mere days away, this next phase in the Star Wars additions to Walt Disney World is sure to make the experience even more of a fan favorite. But what will the cost look like? WDWNewsToday has sources who have provided some information about what is being discussed about the new WDW resort.
“According to Disney, “This groundbreaking experience is unlike any resort experience you’ve ever seen. From the moment you board your launch pod, it’s a fully-immersive, multi-day Star Wars adventure aboard a luxury starship complete with high-end dining, space-view cabins and all of the exciting action you would expect from an authentic Star Wars experience.”
According to sources, pricing for the Star Wars hotel will be based around the full 2-night/3-day experience rather than per night (you know, like a cruise, but in space). If you’re going to stay here, it will be a time commitment as well as a financial one, as shorter one-night stays will not be allowed. Much like on the Disney Cruise Line, food, select beverages, and entertainment will also be included as part of the experience.
Cabin for one? Pricing for a 2-night/3-day stay starts at $3,300 for one person, or just over $1,000 per person, per day. Cabins do sleep up to five passengers, so there’s also the option of maxing out the cabin occupancy for a relatively cheaper price per person. A cabin with five passengers would cost $7,200, or roughly $1,440 per person, for a more feasible $480 per person, per day price range.
According to sources, rooms come in two sizes: a regular sized cabin and the larger “Captain’s Quarters” cabin. Each floor is set to have 32 regular cabins and two first-class cabins. This pricing is for the general, regular-sized cabins, as pricing on the larger first-sized cabins is still unknown.
Do note that these prices can change as the hotel is still months, if not years away from opening, and Disney Parks and Resorts might scale these prices up or down based on a combination of demand and occupancy projections. However, these numbers are the current ones being thrown around in discussions regarding the resort.”
So, what do you think? Are you excited to visit the Star Wars Hotel at Walt Disney World? Do you think the prices are truly out of this world or are they justified with this being such a unique offering? The good news is, you do still have a bit of time to save before it opens in time for the 50th anniversary of WDW.
