Disney has announced a welcome limited-time increased merchandise discount for Walt Disney World annual passholders.
Here are all the details from “The Passholder Buzz” on the My Disney Experience App website:
Limited-Time Increase on Merchandise Discount Starting September 14, 2022
From September 14 through October 14, 2022, the Passholder merchandise discount will temporarily increase from 20% to 30% at owned and operated locations across Walt Disney World Resort.* Now is your chance to put together your “spooky season” look with items from the newest Halloween collections or find that special Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration must-have! For merchandise discounts, each Passholder must present a valid Passholder ID and government-issued photo ID at time of purchase to receive the discount.* And here’s a tip: save time at select locations when you scan and pay for merchandise items right on your phone using Merchandise Mobile Checkout on the My Disney Experience app!
*These discounts are for personal use only and may not be used to purchase merchandise with the intent to resell the merchandise. Discounts are not valid on certain items and may not be combined with any other discount, offer, or promotion. Discounts are subject to change without notice. All merchandise is available while supplies last. View the latest details, restrictions and exclusions here.
While people are very grateful for a merchandise discount increase, many would love to see the return of ticket sales for annual passes. The only ticket available for purchase is the Disney Pixie Dust Pass, which is only available for Florida Residents and allows guests to visit on most weekdays throughout the year.
Many exciting things are happening across our parks and resorts in celebration of World Princess Week, and today we are excited to share a first-look at some design details within Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. This upcoming attraction at EPCOT is taking shape before our eyes, as our Walt Disney Imagineering team and crew of artisans have already begun sculpting the rockwork in this immersive exploration trail.
Designed for all ages, Journey of Water will allow guests to explore and engage with water as it travels from our skies to our oceans and back again. Walt Disney Imagineering partnered with artists and cultural consultants from Walt Disney Animation Studios to bring this experience life, and our team tasked themselves with capturing the beauty of the natural water cycle within the attraction. We were also inspired by Moana’s fierce determination to protect her environment – her bond with water is unique, and we are excited for guests to learn about the importance of water and experience its playful personality just as she did.
Fans of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” will be delighted to see familiar shapes and characters carved into the rocks and waterways throughout Journey of Water. A great example of this is Moana herself, who will be positioned proudly – celebrating water’s arrival to our ocean.
As part of our design process, Imagineers create models, mock-ups, and maquettes to bring our beloved characters and stories into the parks in sometimes unexpected ways. Above is a behind-the-scenes look for World Princess Week of Principal Dimensional Designer, Jim Towler, sculpting the foam maquette of Moana for this attraction.
This gives a glimpse into the earliest stages of our design process, before paint and additional details have been added. Once the pose of the character is defined, sculptors add detail and texture until the emotional expression of the carving is just right. We then do a paint study and often create full scale samples to test final materials and carving techniques. This process ensures the production and creative vision for the experience align.
Below is another making-of example, showing a sample from the mountain-like forms that will soon mark the entrance to the attraction. Fans will recognize Moana’s iconic spiral, which we portrayed in one of the first concept renderings for Journey of Water.
Every detail helps tell our story. Here, everyone can see how artisans use paint, scenic treatments, and foliage to bring even more life to our worlds and environments.
It’s certainly an exciting time for our project team as these elements are coming together on site now and in the coming months! Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana will be brought to life within World Nature – the EPCOT neighborhood dedicated to understanding and preserving the beauty, awe, and balance of the natural world. Moana is the perfect role model to inspire us to protect and conserve water and guide us through the Journey of Water.
There’s a lot more to share in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to keep following along here for the latest on this exciting part of the EPCOT transformation!
When Guests arrived at their hotel room at the Walt Disney World Resort, an incredibly unsightly Guest had already made himself comfortable in their room.
Earlier this week, a Guest took to Reddit to share his photo of a “Guest” that was already in the hotel room before he arrived at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
The Guest, who goes by ADeSieno75 on Reddit, found a scorpion in their room at the popular Walt Disney World Value Resort Hotel when he arrived back in his room. The Guest shared that the ordeal was very upsetting to his child, though it’s not clear from the post how many days the Guest and his party had been staying at the hotel when the arachnid was found.
He did go on to explain that they alerted Cast Members at the hotel’s front desk about the scorpion they had found in their guestroom.
According to Florida Pest Control, the Sunshine State plays host to 3 different kinds of scorpions: the Florida Bark Scorpion, the Hentz Striped Scorpion, and the Guiana Striped Scorpion, none of which have a fatal sting.
Thankfully, the Guest says that they received a call from a manager at the Resort Hotel, who was very generous with both apologies and park perks–perks usually reserved for scenarios in which Guests must be evacuated from attractions or similar situations.
“After notifying the front desk, we received a call from the manager,” the Redditor explained, “and they hooked us up with passes for Cosmic, FOP, and ROTR as well as credit on the room. My kid has finally calmed down, so I’m most grateful for that! This has been an entire experience, to say the least!”
Some who commented on the Guest’s post clearly realized the value in the perks that the manager gifted to the Guest and his family: ride passes for Guardians of the Galaxy: COSMIC REWIND at EPCOT, Avatar: Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
While it’s not a common occurrence, Guests have reported seeing pests of varying kinds occasionally during their stays at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel. Guests should never hesitate to report such a finding so that Cast Members can choose to correct the scenario.
Well, it’s official. The sixth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise has been confirmed by the producer of the Pirates films, Jerry Bruckheimer.
Since actor Johnny Depp was first given the boot by Disney, there has been wild speculation about whether Disney would continue on with another film following the fifth installment. The general consensus among fans of the franchise is that they’d welcome a sixth film, but not if Captain Jack and Johnny Depp are absent.
And while there’s no announcement related to a Depp-Sparrow return as of yet, Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that they are moving forward with a sixth film, according to the website, Giant Freaking Robot. Bruckheimer also confirmed that one of the franchise’s original writers, Ted Elliott, will return to write the sixth film as well. To date, Elliot has worked on four of the five Pirates films as a writer.
Bruckheimer shared his excitement about bringing back Ted Elliott during a recent interview.
“I’m very excited; it’s going to be terrific,” Bruckheimer said. “We’re just putting this together right now. We’re still working on the screenplay, but it’s very unique and has one of the original writers who wrote the first one, Ted Elliott. He’s got a great command of the language, and he writes great characters and tells terrific stories.”
But of course, the elephant in the room–or online–as it were, is the continually looming question about actor Johnny Depp’s return and a reprisal of his famous swashbuckling role. And so far, we only see question marks.
Fans of the actor, as well as of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, have wondered whether the defamed actor would be back to create the sixth film in the uber-popular franchise. Rumors have swirled for months about Disney offering a contract to actress Margot Robbie to star in the sixth film and embody a new character, thus steering clear of Captain Jack’s persona altogether.
So, will Johnny Depp return to reprise his famous Sparrow role?
Perhaps no topic has been the subject of more rumors, speculation, and opinion pieces than that of actor Johnny Depp’s victorious return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and that of Depp’s reprisal of Captain Jack Sparrow. As far as is publicly known at this time, there’s no contract between Depp and Disney for him to return. However, based on Bruckheimer’s own words, it doesn’t seem 100% out of the scope of possibility.
According to a July 20, 2022 post on ScreenRant, Bruckheimer “previously confirmed Depp isn’t involved in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 at this point but that ‘the future is yet to be decided.’”
In an era of reboots, take-twos, and franchise reprisals–not to mention the fact that Depp’s contributions led to the Pirates franchise becoming a multi-billion entity–it’s easy to see why Bruckheimer would continue with another Pirates of the Caribbean film. But both fans and critics agree that a Pirates film minus Depp could easily prove disastrous.
Jerry Bruckheimer also produced this summer’s most successful film, Top Gun: Maverick–another title that easily fits into the “reboot” category. The film has grossed $684,219,728 to date, and that number keeps growing. And regardless of Disney’s stance, Bruckheimer has to know that rebooting the Pirates franchise without Johnny Depp would be akin to rebooting the Top Gun franchise minus Tom Cruise.
He also has to know that for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, no Depp cameo will do; they want Captain Jack Sparrow, and they want him now.
But two things remain uncertain: first, whether Disney will ultimately offer Depp a reprisal contract, and second, whether Depp would accept such a contract, especially after Disney stood against, rather than with, Depp during his recent trial.
World Princess Week may already be halfway over, but there is still plenty of time left to celebrate and discover the princess that’s inside everyone! Today, we’re making a very special journey as we embark on the Disney Wish to honor our two favorite queens – Anna and Elsa. These heroines inspire us with their acts of bravery, sense of adventure and sisterhood and stories of love that could melt anybody’s heart.
Speaking of love, guests can now help Queen Anna and Kristoff celebrate their love story during Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure aboard the Disney Wish, the newest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. This first-of-its-kind theatrical dining experience picks up where Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen 2” left off by inviting guests to attend a royal engagement party for Queen Anna and Kristoff! Queen Elsa and Olaf host the celebration with catering provided by their friend Oaken’s “Hearty Party Planning Services.” For the first time in ever, guests can dine inside the iconic Arendelle castle as they enjoy live musical performances by their favorite characters, sparkling special effects and an exciting grand finale that brings everyone to their feet.
Today, we’re sharing a special message from Oaken as he prepares for the festivities and even quizzes the newly engaged couple to find out just how well they really know each other! Check it out below.
