It’s hard to believe Pandora – The World of Avatar opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom three years ago! The two attractions in this land, Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey, are absolutely amazing to say the least. On top of that, the land itself comes to life with a different experience both during the day and at night. Two key people involved in making the Pandora so successful, Joe Rohde and Jon Landau, share a video to celebrate the 3rd years since it’s grand opening. Check out the details and video below from DisneyParksBlog:
To tell that tale, we brought together two of the lead creative partners responsible for developing the land: Joe Rohde, portfolio creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, and Jon Landau, producer of “Avatar” and its sequels. These two visionaries assembled a team of thousands to turn a wondrous cinematic digital world into a complete physical environment that inspires and thrills.
Pandora – The World of Avatar is a wonder of our world and has truly ushered in a new era of immersive storytelling at Walt Disney World Resort.
As you listen to Joe and Jon, you’ll learn how Pandora – The World of Avatar meshes with Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You’ll hear them discuss the similarities between developing a themed environment and a major motion picture. And you’ll gain an understanding of how the stories of the film, the land and the park complement one another.
Loungefly are not only the best at designing the most stunning Disney purses, but they are also the best at representing our most-favorite characters in park-ready accessories.
The bag features classic movie poster designs of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, each layered on the front of different zipped-compartments in the mini backpack. The pictures on the bag are in full color, with gold zippers contrasting the black on the rest of the bag. The designs are dreamy and magical, and we love this old-school Disney Princess representation.
This new backpack by Loungefly is a stunning shade of bright red in color, with a silver shine coming from the zipper and Disney Parks x Loungefly plate. On the front is Minnie Mouse’s iconic autograph, making it a perfectly-approved purse for a day at Disney. Atop the bag is a shimming, oversized, sequinned Minnie Mouse bow, also red with Minnie’s signature white polka-dots.
A LOT is changing right now as Disney does their best to launch a new reservations system and open with CDC guidelines in mind. If you are hoping to visit during the phased reopening of July 11 for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and July 15 for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, you’ll want to keep a close eye on Disney’s newest “Know Before You Go” page which can be found on the Walt Disney World landing page.
The main entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. (Photo courtesy, Walt Disney World)
While this site is filled with all sorts of useful information, one addition that grabbed our attention is that face coverings are now required for guests 2 years and up. It was previously required for ages 3 and up as part of Disney Springs phased reopening. Disney Springs landing page has since changed the face covering requirements to 2 and up as well.
Are you a parent with young children? Do you feel your child will cooperate with a face covering?
Disney has been steadily releasing more information regarding its phased reopening. Today they updated their website to give annual passholders information about what they can expect when the parks reopen beginning July 11, 2020. Check out the full statement below.
Here is the full statement from the Walt Disney World website:
Our Annual Passholders are some of our most loyal and valued Guests. We truly can’t wait to welcome you back—and we will do it with great thought.
With that in mind, when the parks reopen, park capacity will be significantly limited—and may continue to be for a period of time, based on guidance from health experts to promote physical distancing.
We understand how much excitement, thought and time goes into planning your Disney visits and realize some new changes may be disappointing. For example, during this unprecedented time, an annual pass will not guarantee park entry and Annual Passholders will be required to make an advance reservation to enter a park.
Please note that:
During the limited capacity period, it may be difficult for Annual Passholders to get park reservations to visit on certain dates. To help manage capacity, total reservation days held at one time will be limited. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.
Some pass benefits and features will not be available during periods of limited capacity. Also, park experiences and offerings will be modified and subject to limited availability or even closure.
Annual passes are subject to blockout dates. Guests should ensure their pass type is valid for park entry prior to making a park reservation.
As we prepare for the reopening of the parks, we’re planning a special preview opportunity for Annual Passholders. We look forward to sharing details with you soon.
Please know we will be here to help you as we remain focused on delivering a wonderful experience for everyone who visits.
If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. Options to manage your annual pass continue to be available during the closure period.
Here is the Annual Pass Policy Update and Refunds from the Walt Disney World website:
Policy Updates and Refunds
Due to the closure of the Walt Disney World theme parks, some policies were modified to assist Passholders.
If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full: All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.
As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan: On April 5, 2020, we automatically stopped and will waive monthly payments due while the theme parks are closed. We will also retroactively refund payments made between March 14 through April 4, 2020. Payments will resume on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment dates once the parks reopen. Please note, pass expiration dates will not be extended and passes will expire upon their originally scheduled expiration dates.
As an alternative, Guests who are paying for Walt Disney World Annual Passes using our monthly payment program may choose to have their monthly payments postponed starting with payments due April 5, 2020, through the park closure period, and then resumed on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment date once the parks reopen. Postponed payments will be collected in the months following the end of the Passholder’s currently scheduled payment term. The pass will be extended the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the theme parks. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277.
Disney recently announced that with the phased reopening they would be working on “Limited-Contact enhancements,” that would help reduce the contact between Cast Members and guests in dining and retail situations. Disney has now added a couple of great new features to its Mobile Order service to encourages guests to use the service. One of the new features is one that guests have been asking for a long time! Catch all the details below.
D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs is currently offering Mobile Order service, so we can see what the new enhancements are. First up, is a new “Arrival Window” selection. Previously, when you arrived at your quick-service location you would tap the “I’m Here” button. Now, you’ll choose an arrival window of 30 minutes.
What guests have long been asking for were more ways to pay with Mobile Ordering. Now Disney Gift Cards and Apple Pay have been added as payment options. This will allow for more contactless purchasing.
Guests can now add Disney Gift Cards and use Apple Pay when completing a purchase with Mobile Order.
Mobile Order will be the preferred way to dine at quick-service restaurants and we’re excited to see the changes within the app.
