The new year will be here before we know it, so now is the time to plan a visit to the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts debuting Jan. 14! This global celebration of the performing, culinary and visual arts runs through Feb. 21, 2022, as part of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” honoring the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.
And, there’s more good news! The DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series is returning for this year’s festival, where guests can see some of their favorite entertainers perform Disney songs live at America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase. Stay tuned for updates about the entertainers and schedules.
During the festival, art lovers of all ages can enjoy inspirational experiences, such as:
Culinary delights from Food Studios around World Showcase
The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine – a fun food stroll featuring five delicious sweet and savory treats
Chalk artists turning walkways into stunning landscapes and portraits
Photo ops where you can step into famous artwork
A paint-by-number mural
Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt
Performance and visual artists
Special festival merchandise
EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is available with valid theme park admission and a park reservation for the same date. Check back for more details about the festival as we draw closer to Jan. 14.
There’s nothing like a grilled cheese sandwich to raise your spirits. The unique three-cheese sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box is a favorite of many and now we can enjoy this sandwich at home.
From a Disney Cast Member;
In [honor of] National Grilled Cheese Day, we’re sharing a delicious grilled three-cheese sandwich recipe. This yummy recipe comes from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Grilled Three-Cheese Sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Serves 4
This is a great article from DisDining.com about bullying and its effects.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, making this the perfect time for a viral video from 2019 to resurface and finally get the response it deserves. The video in question was recorded and posted online by @mcgui, whose real name is Guilherme Kaue Castanheira Alves. He’s a Brazilian social media star and singer with nearly 8 million followers to his, um, credit. He was 21 years old when he took the video.
He has reportedly risen to fame by creating and stirring controversy, seemingly just for the sake of controversy and shock value.
It’s repulsive.
And the optimism within me wants to believe that there are some things that are strictly off-limits when it comes to teasing, poking fun, and pointing out. However, this particular social media “personality” sees no boundaries when it comes to being hateful toward other humans and causing pain for them, even those who are very young, defenseless, and dealing with really big-time stuff in their tiny little lives.
No one deserves to be bullied. Ever.
But especially not children. For any reason.
@mcgui was aboard the monorail at Disney World when he apparently spotted a young girl who was dressed up as Boo from Monsters, Inc. The young Disney fan is the focal point of the video and is clearly wearing a wig styled like Boo’s hair. It appears that under her wig, she has lost her hair, presumably from treatments for cancer or other serious illness.
In the video, @mcgui whistles at her to get her attention (rude), and the child looks over at the camera before becoming visibly uncomfortable and adjusting her wig, then looking back and forth from the camera to the window to her right.
Then @mcgui utters the words, “It looks like a horror movie.”
I’ve included the video so that our readers can see how truly heartless this man’s actions were. Bullying is real. And bullying causes real pain.
Let’s recap: Social media “star” hones in on a young child–and one who’s clearly been fighting for her life up to that point–then whistles at her and proceeds to bully her and make fun of her publicly–and then posts the video for millions to see.
Disgusting.
Since the video has resurfaced, Disney fans of all ages have shown up in droves to show their support for the little girl and to take a stand against bullying. Disney should be a safe space for people of all ages, but especially for children.
A man named Justin Wren saw the video and was also disgusted by it. You may have heard of him before; he’s an MMA fighter who goes by the name of “The Big Pygmy.” Wren came across the video and took it upon himself to raise awareness about @mcgui’s behavior and about standing up for those being bullied.
Wren is the founder of FightfortheForgotten.org and the “Heroes in Waiting” anti-bullying initiative. After seeing the viral video of @mcgui singling out the young girl and bullying her, he took to social media to stand up for her and against the behavior of the one he calls “a coward.”
On Wren’s Instagram account, he talks about the video and then calls out @mcgui for his actions, telling him not to “ruin his apology with an excuse.” You can read it here:
“This is what bullying a child with cancer at [Disney World] looks like. For me, this was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking to watch. Please stay with me… Why am I posting it? It’s National #bullying prevention month. Hopefully, this will encourage anyone who ever finds themselves as a bystander to do the right thing. I’ll put in the comments the most powerful thing you can do if you ever find yourself in this situation in real life.
This man in the goofy hat is an internet “celebrity” from Brazil. He has 7.8 million followers. He has become “famous” after creating controversy after controversy in Brazilian media, some of which, were also at amusement parks.
In the video, he whistles to get her attention, zooms in, and says, “It looks like a horror movie.” She is obviously wearing a wig, she is visibly uncomfortable. It’s disgusting to make fun of a child while your goonies laugh with you, but it’s in a whole other stratosphere to make fun of a child going thru the biggest fight of their life… And post it on the internet to millions.
I’ve spent time as an official volunteer at @childrenscolo hospital. I’ve been bedside before & after surgery of a girl this age with bone cancer. I’ve pushed children in their wheelchairs. I’ve organized visits from MMA and UFC world champions to go room to room to encourage these little warriors that are more brave than anyone who’s ever stepped foot in the cage.”
Last week, Azul Linhas Aéreas presented an Airbus A320neo plane inspired by the mouse that started it all. The first of four red- and yellow-colored aircraft inspired by Mickey Mouse was unveiled during a magical event held at the airline’s hangar in Campinas, Sao Paulo.
In true celebratory Disney fashion, Mickey Mouse surprised the audience, along with executives from Azul Linhas Aéreas and Disney, to officially welcome “Mickey Mouse Nas Nuvens,” which translates as “Mickey Mouse in the clouds,” to the airline’s fleet.
Azul will debut three additional Disney character-inspired aircraft in the coming months, operating domestic routes through nearly 50 Brazilian airports.
Here’s a special look at how “Mickey Mouse Nas Nuvens” was created!
The launch of the first plane coincides with The World’s Most Magical Celebration, which began Oct. 1 and will continue for 18 months to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.
Many of us have had a trip or two to Disney World during which we felt less than well. Some of us have had trips during which we’ve become ill. And a few of us have probably even had the sad experience of breaking a bone while in the parks.
I hope that hasn’t happened to you, but if it has, know that you aren’t alone. In fact, Disney World sees injuries and accidents frequently–not because it’s not a safe place to be, but because when you have that big of an area with that many attractions being visited by that many people, accidents are bound to happen from time to time.
And as Guests, we don’t hear about those scenarios all the time, but if a Guest is injured or becomes ill while on Disney property, and his or her condition leads to a hospital stay of longer than 24 hours, Disney is required to report the incident, but not the outcome. Details are absent, possibly because health information is protected by HIPPA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that was signed into law in August of 1996.
The most recent report mentions injuries at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World Aquatica. Only one injury resulting in more than a 24-hour hospitalization is mentioned at Busch Gardens Tampa’s Adventure Island, and there were no such injuries reported for Legoland.
According to The Orlando Sentinel, the following injuries were reported at the Most Magical Place on Earth. Remember that the only injuries reported are the ones that result in a hospital stay of longer than 24 hours. The Sentinel states:
“At Disney World last month, a 70-year-old woman fell and hit her nose while leaving Journey into Imagination with Figment at Epcot. Earlier in September, a 68-year-old woman felt light-headed after riding Animal Kingdom’s Avatar: Flight of Passage flying simulator. A 72-year-old man reported feeling nauseous after getting off the Expedition Everest rollercoaster at the same park in July.”
Every 3 months, the report of more serious injuries from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is compiled and made public. It includes Guests’ injuries at theme parks in Florida.
