Disney Has Just Given Us a Ton of New Details About “Hey, Disney”

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Resorts, Uncategorized

We live in a world where we have access to everything we could ever want to know at the tips of our fingers. We can program nearly everything to happen remotely — from turning on the coffee pot at a specific time, turning our lights on and off, and even locking our doors if we leave the house and forget to. Disney has slowly been integrating those technological advances into its theme park experience, and soon, more tech will be coming to select Walt Disney World Resort hotels.

Later this year, Disney Guests will have a new — and complimentary — feature in their hotel rooms. It is called “Hey, Disney” — as Disney teamed up with Amazon and its Alexa programming — and will give you a whole new world of features to take advantage of and enhance your Disney experience. Disney Parks Blog shared more information on the fun, new tech coming to the Most Magical Place on Earth.

There’s a magical new digital voice assistant ready to bring Disney characters and stories to life called “Hey Disney!” Using Alexa technology for supported Amazon Echo devices, you’ll be able to ask all the useful questions – weather forecasts, set timers and alarms, etc. – and get answers from more than 25 popular characters including Mickey Mouse, Olaf, Rocket and Groot, Princess Tiana and many more. Plus, when you stay at select Disney Resort hotels, you can use “Hey Disney!” to learn helpful information about your vacation, order room amenities and more. Wondering when the next bus to EPCOT leaves or need to request more towels for your room? Just ask the Disney Magical Companion, a new character who will interact with you via “Hey Disney!”

Hey Disney!’ will begin rolling out in select Disney Resort hotel guest rooms across Walt Disney World later this year as part of our 50th anniversary celebration. Access will be offered as an optional, complimentary feature during guest stays.

Hey Disney

What’s even more exciting, those who have an Amazon Echo device in their home will also be able to take part in the “Hey, Disney” fun! Guests can purchase “Hey, Disney” for any Amazon Echo via the Amazon Alexa Skills Store. If you have purchased Disney’s new Magicband+ — which is not on sale just yet — it will also pair with “Hey, Disney” on your Amazon Echo device.

Hey Disney

Disney has said that the “Hey, Disney” feature is coming to select hotels for the 50th Anniversary. The 50th will only run until March 2023 and Disney has not said if the feature will become a permanent fixture after that. We will just have to wait and see what Disney has to say when it finally releases “Hey, Disney” at hotels.

Disney Confirms Exclusive Annual Pass Event Will Return Later This Year

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

The Disney Parks around the world are continuing to update safety protocols as well as slowly bring back fan-favorite offerings as the world continues to fight against the ongoing pandemic.

Walt Disney World recently announced Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party would return for the 2022 season as well as Oogie Boogie Bash over at Disneyland Resort. Now, another fan-favorite event has just been confirmed to return later this year.

At Disneyland Paris, there are a lot of new and exciting experiences Guests can experience at both Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Park — including the current 30th anniversary, which began on March 6, 2022 and allows Guests to “dream bigger, laugh louder and smile wider than ever before” as they immerse themselves into a spectacular and “one-of-a-kind 30th anniversary wonderland.”

Not only can Guests look forward to visiting Disneyland Paris during the 30th anniversary celebrations, but now they can look forward to attending the exclusive Annual Pass party, which is set to return later this year.

Minnie Mouse and Sleeping Beauty Castle

According to DLP Geek on Twitter, the Disneyland Paris Annual Pass party will take place later this year, but no other details have been released. They Tweeted:

At this time, we do not yet have confirmation on a date, ticket pricing, or any other details, but Inside the Magic will update you as we get information.

Disney Releases New Details on Upcoming Projects at EPCOT

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Walt Disney once said EPCOT “would always be in a state of becoming” as a place that changes with the times. The theme park is delivering on that promise in a whole new way as it continues the biggest transformation in its history. As we near the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in the World Discovery neighborhood, we can now look forward to the next stage of the transformation of EPCOT, the new projects yet to come in World Celebration and World Nature. Disney has released new concept art and details on what’s to come.

From a Disney Cast Member;

As international festivals continue to become more of an integral part of the EPCOT experience, Disney Imagineers are creating new spaces that will bring these events into the heart of the park in the new World Celebration neighborhood. In several new artist concept renderings released today, you can see how the transformation of EPCOT will take shape as you walk past Spaceship Earth and begin your journey through the park.

World Celebration will offer a beautiful hub divided into several different gardens, with a central planter based on the five-ring EPCOT logo. Filled with ample seating and shade, you’ll be invited to connect with one another and the nature around you in this lush new area. Each of these gardens will have their own identities, and they’ll change along with the festivals throughout the year.

At night, the gardens will take on a whole new life, as you can see here. They’re designed to be enjoyed in the round, where lighting immerses you in the nighttime experience that will evolve through the seasons.

This all surrounds CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza, a multi-use facility and outdoor event space, respectively, that bring the park’s international festivals to the center of EPCOT. CommuniCore Plaza will have the flexibility to host intimate musical performances that extend out into the nearby gardens, as you can see in the rendering above, as well as large-scale concerts.

CommuniCore Hall will be a flexible exhibition and gallery space, offering a wide variety of experiences that highlight art, live music, food – complete with a demonstration kitchen – and more. In addition, adjacent to CommuniCore Hall will be a new Mickey & Friends location where you can meet some of your favorite Disney pals.

This new facility, which you can see in the upper-right side of this rendering, is inspired by the original EPCOT aesthetic apparent throughout the park’s transformation, including the timeless triangular geometry most prominently featured in Spaceship Earth. Even the CommuniCore name reaches back to the origins of EPCOT while also emphasizing the park’s central idea of community.

We’ll have much more to share on the transformation of EPCOT here on the Disney Parks Blog as the center of the park continues to develop, so be sure to keep checking back to learn more. And also head over to Instagram where Imagineer Zach Riddley @thezachriddley provides more insight into the work Walt Disney Imagineering is doing at this park we love.

Florida Taxpayers Sue Gov. Ron DeSantis Over Dissolution of Reedy Creek

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

For months, Florida Republicans have been in a heated battle over Florida’s passing of the Parental Rights in Education bill. The Walt Disney Company denounced the bill before its passing and after. Florida Republicans retaliated, passing a bill that will end the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967. The dissolution of Reedy Creek will put an end to Disney’s autonomy and make them beholden to the state for things like building permits. Many are questioning the legality of the bill. And now, another group is getting in on the action — Florida taxpayers.

On May 4, taxpayers who live in the counties surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort — mainly Osceola County and Orange County — filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The taxpayers are claiming that Governor DeSantis violated their rights when he signed the law that would dissolve Reedy Creek.

The news was first broken by The Hollywood Reporter, which reported:

In a complaint filed on Tuesday in Florida federal court, residents who live near Disney World argue they and other taxpayers will be burdened with at least $1 billion in Disney’s bond debt if the state follows through with its plan to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District. They seek to block the law. “It is without question that Defendant Governor DeSantis intended to punish Disney for a 1st Amendment protected ground of free speech,” reads the lawsuit. “Defendant’s violation of Disney’s 1st Amendment rights directly resulted in a violation of Plaintiffs’ 14th Amendment rights to due process of law.”

“Stripping Disney of this special district designation will move these major regulatory burdens unto the county, thereby increasing the Plaintiff’s taxes, and will cause significant injury to plaintiffs,” the complaint states.

Right now, Reedy Creek is able to essentially function as its own government. It pays the state hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, but does not have to get permission from the state for things like construction permits. Since Reedy Creek functions independently, it is also responsible for all the fees incurred for things like police, fire, and medical. It is also financially responsible for all of the repairs that the Walt Disney World Resort needs, whether it is at a hotel, Disney Springs, or anywhere around Disney’s 25,000 acres.

If Reedy Creek is dissolved, all of that financial burden falls on the taxpayers. While residents across the state may see a small increase in their taxes, most of the money will come from Osceola and Orange Counties because that is where Walt Disney World is located. Not only will those counties be responsible for a majority of Disney’s future debt, but they are also responsible for Reedy Creek’s past debt.

Reedy Creek operates at a loss every year and currently has about $1 billion in bond debt. Since those bonds can’t be redeemed until 2029, should DeSantis want to dissolve Reedy Creek early, the state would be legally required to pay off those bonds. DeSantis has said that the state will dissolve Reedy Creek, but will not pay the bonds — he has yet to say how the state will get around the law.

The lawsuit also states that the Florida Supreme Court has created a statute when it comes to people who are not part of a contract suing over that contract. The Florida Supreme Court has allowed taxpayers to sue if a breach of a certain contract will injure them. The taxpayers are also suing over the potential loss of thousands of jobs.

The taxpayers in the lawsuit believe that Governor DeSantis is violating the law — and their rights — because it wants to punish Disney for exercising its First Amendment Rights. Neither Disney nor the office of the Governor has responded to the lawsuit at this time.

Is Disney Working Behind the Scenes With DeSantis to Help Him “Save Face” Regarding Reedy Creek?

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

It has been almost two weeks since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will officially dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District in June 2023. The bill was the culmination of the weeks-long battle between DeSantis and the House of Mouse over Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill. The bill has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and critics believe it unfairly targets the LGBTQ+ community. Disney CEO Bob Chapek has said that Disney will work to see the bill struck down in the courts.

While DeSantis has signed the Reedy Creek bill and said that it will go through, he faces an intense and steep, uphill legal battle to actually made that happen. There are a number of Florida laws standing in his way, and he knows that. Disney also knows that. Disney sent a note to shareholders not long after the bill was signed, saying that it plans to continue with current operations while exploring all the legal options it has available.

Reedy Creek

One of the biggest issues that DeSantis faces in dissolving Reedy Creek is the bonds that were issued by Reedy Creek just 4 years ago. Those bonds cannot be redeemed until at least 2029, so if Florida wants to dissolve Reedy Creek it would be responsible for paying out those bonds — which are more than $1 billion. Florida law dictates that the cost would be passed on to taxpayers, but DeSantis has said he will not do that and that Reedy Creek will pay.

Reedy Creek

In a new report from The Washington Post, insiders are saying that DeSantis knows that he cannot promise taxpayers that they won’t be stuck with the bond debt bill. They claim that DeSantis is working with Reedy Creek, so he can save face with his fellow Republicans and claim victory without that actually happening. Per The Washington Post:

That’s what worries local government officials, who fear that $1 billion in Disney bond debt will be dumped on them. Some analysts say the new law could mean a 20 to 25 percent property tax hike in nearby Orange and Osceola counties, which local government officials said would be “catastrophic.”

Disney has otherwise remained publicly silent about the feud and did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Sources familiar with the negotiations, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations, say the company’s lobbyists and lawyers have been working behind the scenes to find a solution that would allow DeSantis “to save face” and continue to claim a victory over “woke culture,” while in reality doing very little to impede the company’s massive operations in Florida…

DeSantis has brushed aside what local officials say could be calamitous consequences if Reedy Creek, which operates as its own county government, is eliminated. A statement from his office says “it is not the understanding or expectation” that the action will increase taxes. But DeSantis and his Republican allies in the legislature have not explained who will pay Reedy Creek’s $1 billion debt, or cover the $163 million in taxes it collects every year to pay for many of its theme park functions.

Cinderella Castle

At this time, Governor DeSantis has not said how he plans to get around current Florida law when it comes to Reedy Creek’s debt and its bond obligations. However, his spokesperson has said that a plan will be released in the next few weeks. It has also been shared that DeSantis is considering creating a special district headed by his own appointees to oversee Walt Disney World.

Experts are also saying that, even if the taxpayers in Orange and Osceola Counties — where Walt Disney World is located — don’t have to pay the bond debt, their taxes will most likely go up because of the attorney’s fees incurred by the state while they fight Disney.