“it’s a small world” Floods, Holiday Opening Delayed

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized
it's a small world holiday

From mid-November through early January, the holidays take over Disney Parks. Specialty food is available, fun merchandise is for sale, decorations are hung by the castles with care, and festive parades and fireworks shows entertain Guests daily. There are even some attractions that receive holiday overlays — at Walt Disney World, the world-famous Jungle Cruise becomes the Jingle Cruise and at Disneyland Resort, “it’s a small world” becomes “it’s a small world” Holiday, celebrating holiday traditions from around the world.

The holiday season at Disneyland Resort is set to kick off on Friday, November 12, and “it’s a small world” Holiday was also scheduled to open at that time. The attraction is closed for approximately two to three weeks beforehand as Disney Cast Members transform the ride into a colorful holiday experience. Unfortunately, Disney has had to delay the ride’s opening due to some flooding that took place while the Park was closed.

According to a report from The Orange County Register:

Flooding that occurred during the process of refilling the flume on It’s a Small World will delay the reopening of the classic boat ride as Disneyland prepares to kick off the winter holiday season and launch the new Merriest Nites after hours event.

It’s a Small World experienced some flooding that affected machinery used to operate the attraction during the early morning hours on Wednesday, Nov. 10 while Disneyland was closed to the public, according to Disneyland officials.

Disneyland realizes the closure of It’s a Small World is disappointing for guests who look forward to this holiday tradition and has teams working around the clock to get the attraction open as soon as possible, according to Disneyland officials.

it's a small world holiday

Here is more information on “it’s a small world” Holiday from the Disneyland Resort website:

Set sail along a wondrous wintry waterway transformed with whimsical décor. Behold jubilant regional adornments all along your world tour of good cheer. Listen as the costumed chorus of children sings the classic “It’s a Small World (After All)” song and traditional holiday tunes.

The enchantment begins as you approach the iconic façade, which is adorned with thousands of shimmering lights for the season.

it's a small world holiday

While no reopening date has been announced for “it’s a small world” Holiday at this time, Disney may still decide to use the building facade for projections for its Believe…In Holiday Magic fireworks as it has done in the past.

Night of a Million Lights at Give Kids the World Village

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

One of our favorite nonprofit organizations is Give Kids the World Village. It’s an 89 acre complex in Kissimmee, Florida that gives Wish Kids and their families a week that they will never forget. Critically ill children have the opportunity to forget about treatments and tests for a few days, and their parents make memories that will last a lifetime. This is all at no cost to the families. Give Kids the World Village works closely with Walt Disney World, since that is the desired destination for many children. For the holiday season, Give Kids the World Village is even more magical, and the public is invited to be a part of it.

It’s called Night of a Million Lights. The event officially runs from November 12, 2021, until January 2, 2022, but I was invited to a preview on November 9. If you are going to be in Central Florida this holiday season, you will want to check it out for yourself. Last year was the first year of the event, and they welcomed over 92,000 Guests. This season it’s bigger and even better.

Over 3.2 million lights were donated by Walt Disney World. I’ve been told by multiple sources that they were originally from the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Night of a Million Lights has the same feel, without the overwhelming crowd.

There is a beautiful trail of trees that you can walk through, or you might want to take the Village Tram Tour right through the village. That is narrated by Jodi Benson. The cottages around the lake are all decorated, and every few minutes they “dance” to the music. The effect is stunning! There are multiple picture opportunities.

South Pole Marketplace has Give Kids the World and Night of a Million Lights merchandise for sale. There are also places where you can grab a snack or a chicken sandwich. There are strolling entertainers in the area. The best part of South Pole Marketplace, though, is that you can meet Santa in his summer home! You’ll first see the cottage where he and the Mrs. are staying (she’s not there) and then you can meet him in his living room. It’s been years since meeting Santa was a priority for me, but this was a lot of fun.

If you would like an even more immersive experience, you can sign up for a private behind-the-scenes tour. Another option is a dessert party ticket. The cost will include your admission. The dessert party is held in the playground area that is also the world’s largest game of Candyland. Private events are also possible.

Many local companies have helped to make the second year of Night of a Million Lights possible. Walt Disney World has decorated a cottage with an “it’s a small world” theme. The Universal Orlando Resort cottage features minions. SeaWorld, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and some other businesses also have decorated cottages. There are also sponsors on some of the trees along the trail. The sponsorship adds to the fun and can make for some whimsical pictures.

The best part of Night of a Million Lights is that you know that it’s to raise money for a worthy cause. Since 1986 over 177,000 critically ill children and their families have visited for the week of a lifetime. Tickets start at $15 for kids and $25 for adults. Peak nights and holiday nights cost more, but it is still affordable. If you go, please remember that most of the workers who you may encounter are volunteers. This is one holiday event that you don’t want to miss.

Disney Cruise Ships to Sail Out of New Florida Location

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

For years, Disney Cruise Line has been calling Port Canaveral, Florida, its home base. The cruise line, which is headquartered in Celebration, Florida, has been based out of the Port — which is only about an hour from Orlando — since its inception in 1995. However, it looks like the popular cruise line has purchased a second home in an area of the state where cruise ships are the norm — Port Everglades.

Port Everglades is located in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida, which is only about half an hour from one of the biggest ports in the cruise industry, Miami. Disney Cruise Line and Port Everglades recently entered into a 15-year lease agreement that will begin in October 2023. Here is more information on the agreement between the two per The Orlando Sentinel:

Port Everglades has never hosted a Disney ship except for emergency docking.

Disney had been sending its older vessels Disney Magic and Wonder to sail from PortMiami at least seasonally since 2012. It had previously lined up a deal to share PortMiami’s new terminal being built by MSC Cruises for year-round sailing, but the cruise line began shopping around in the last year. In May, the Broward County Commission opened the door for the port and Disney officials to hammer out an agreement, which was finished at the end of October…

The Port Everglades agreement shows the cruise line and port would split the estimated $12 million cost of a redesign of Cruise Terminal 4, which is adjacent to the Broward County Convention Center. Disney would also chip in $500,000 toward $2 million worth of marine-side improvements for the ship berth.

Disney Cruise Line

The Port Everglades terminal that Disney Cruise Line plans to use is currently undergoing construction as it prepares for the new cruise ships to make the area its new home. Construction is expected to be nearly completed on the terminal by the time the lease begins in October 2023, with full completion being reached by the end of November 2023.

The lease does not specify which ships in Disney’s fleet will be docking in Port Everglades. Disney’s fleet currently consists of the Disney Wonder, the Disney Fantasy, the Disney Dream, and the Disney Magic. In May 2022, the Disney Wish will make its maiden voyage and become an official part of the magical fleet.

Protests at Disney Park lead to closure of large Guest area

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

If you think that the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t trickled down through many facets of everyday life–including theme park operations and staffing concerns–you might want to think again.

Shortly after the virus was first discovered among people who were falling ill in China, Disney Parks in Asia closed their gates to Guests. Shanghai Disneyland announced its closure, effective January 25, 2020, “in response to the prevention and control of the disease outbreak and in order to ensure the health and safety of [the park’s] Guests and Cast Members.”

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort closed its gates on January 26, Tokyo Disneyland closed on March 1 in response to the growing spread of the virus. Disneyland Paris closed on March 12, 2020, and Disney’s U. S. parks followed suit only days later.

Initially, the spread of COVID-19 seemed to call for very temporary closures. In the cases of Disneyland Paris and Disneyland Resort in California, the closures lasted longer than anyone had imagined. The Paris park reopened, only to be closed again in the fall of 2020.

And then came the layoffs.

As of October 3, 2020, approximately 37,000 Cast Members–who were not expected to be laid off–were on furlough. And then in late September 2020, Disney announced plans for 28,000 layoffs that would take place in early 2021. Josh D’Amaro, President of Disney Parks, Products and Experiences, said the decision was a difficult one.

“As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy,” D’Amaro wrote in a memo to Cast Members. “For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.”

Of those 28,000 layoffs, 67% were part-time employees, per D’Amaro. But more layoffs followed. In November, Disney added several thousand more layoffs to the initial 28,000.

Cast Members are back to work now, but there is growing unrest over pay that some Cast Members say is not “a living wage.” Some Cast Members at Disneyland Resort in California were so determined in their cause, that they filed suit against Disney, alleging that Disney wasn’t holding up its end of a deal made with the City of Anaheim that would require Disney to pay a minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2019, and then to increase that pay by at least $1 per hour to $18 per hour by the year 2022.

Disneyland

But the judge presiding over the case sided with Disney.

Protests and demonstrations regarding Cast Member pay, benefits and even working conditions have been taking place at multiple Disney Parks. Some at Disneyland Paris went on strike in October outside Disney’s Newport Bay Club Resort Hotel. A protest at Disneyland in California was related to allegedly less than desirable working conditions and understaffing.

And just today, reports have surfaced that demonstrations taking place inside the park at Disneyland Paris have once again disrupted operations. Today’s protests have warranted to closure of the Castle hub at the park, according to DLP Report (@DLPReport) on Twitter.

Today’s demonstration is by Cast Members who are part of the union known as CGT. Cast Members at Disney Parks are represented by multiple unions. Disneyland Paris security personnel have been trying their best to keep anyone from photographing the event, per @DLPReport.

It’s not clear exactly what specific effects these protests will have on operations at the park today. DisneyDining will be following this story and other protests and strikes by Cast Members and keep you updated as well.

Trip to Disney World for 50th anniversary celebration ends in tragedy

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

Though he wasn’t a huge Disney World fan according to his wife, Clemmons, North Carolina resident Brian Long loved his family, and he knew his daughters loved going to the parks, so he was happy to take them to visit.

Brian and his wife Heather had planned a trip to the parks just after the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World with their three daughters, Natalie, Nicole, and Charlee. The three girls had been to the parks with their parents before and had magical memories of cheerleading competitions at the Most Magical Place on Earth, but their trip that began in mid-October threatens to overshadow those happy memories.

The family was excited to be bringing along Brooke Naghdi, whom Brian and Heather considered their adopted daughter, for the first time. The family set out from their home in North Carolina in the late evening hours of October 14 in an attempt to avoid the traffic they anticipated along Interstate 95 as they traveled to Florida.

Around 4:00 a.m., as Brian was driving along a stretch of the Interstate in Georgia, and Brooke was taking her turn in the passenger seat of the vehicle, Brian’s wife Heather says she awoke to the sounds of Brooke yelling for help. Brian was experiencing a grand mal seizure, and the vehicle was hurtling down the road at between 90 and 120 miles per hour because his foot was engaged with the gas pedal and wouldn’t release.

“[Brooke] was trying to get to the brakes,” Heather said. “I threw off my seatbelt and was reaching over Brian to get the steering wheel. I was trying to keep us on the road and not hit anyone else. He jerked one good time and put his foot on the gas pedal and smashed it to the floor while having the seizure. That’s when I knew we were not going to be able to avoid an accident. I thought we were all going to die.”

The SUV in which they were riding went airborne before flipping three times. Heather was ejected from the vehicle as she had removed her seat belt to reach over Brian and get control of the steering wheel.

Sadly, 41-year-old Brian was pronounced deceased at the scene because of the seizure. Heather and Brooke were critically injured because they were tossed about inside the vehicle as it flipped.

At the trauma center in Georgia where Heather was taken, she had to undergo surgery for her broken arm and for broken bones in her face. She also suffered lung damage and broken ribs. It made every breath painful. In the future, she will need additional procedures because of her injuries. Brooke suffered a broken back and will be in a brace for the next three months. She will also have to have future procedures to correct issues caused by her injuries.

Friends have set up a GoFund Me page in honor of the family to help with expenses and to help replace part of the income that has been lost from Brian’s job and since Heather is unable to work right now at the family’s cell phone repair store. Heather was just recently released from Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, and was happy to return home to her kids, but heartbroken over the loss of her husband, whom she’d known since both of them were toddlers.

Services for Brian will be held this weekend. We wish Brian’s family peace in the coming days and months, and we hope their recoveries are speedy and successful as well.