“Tangled” Photos at Walt Disney World Resort

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

One of the many reasons why we love using Disney PhotoPass Service is because of how well the photographers incorporate Disney stories into our photos. One of our absolute favorite Disney stories is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Tangled.” Thankfully, Disney PhotoPass Service has lots of “Tangled”-themed photo ops at Walt Disney World Resort. It’s always a blast to let our hair down and have Disney PhotoPass photographers help us go live our dream of stepping right into the movie. Plus, they always get our nose right.

So guests don’t have to keep wonderin’ and wonderin’ and wonderin’ where they can take these photos during their next visit to Walt Disney World Resort, check out some of our favorites below.

Go on a towering adventure to Corona, all without leaving Disney Springs! Allow us to explain: At the Disney PhotoPass Studio, guests can take photos in front of Disney-themed virtual backdrops, including a few themed to “Tangled”! Guests just need to let the photographer know this is what they want in their pictures so they can set up the shot. Plus, there’s a frying pan prop they can use in their photos. Who knew, right?

Best…Magic Shot…EVER! Go running and racing (not literally, please) to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, where the Disney PhotoPass photographer stationed at the bridge leading from the entrance of the park into Discovery Island can capture this Pascal Magic Shot.

At Magic Kingdom Park, this lantern prop is warm and real and bright. Whether guests choose to smile or smolder, they’ll gleam and glow. It’s available daily after dark in Fantasyland, weather permitting.

*With the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, Walt Disney World guests can access many Disney PhotoPass Lenses in the My Disney Experience app as soon as they enter the park. Select Disney PhotoPass Lenses are accessible only within designated areas of Walt Disney World Resort. Other Disney PhotoPass Lenses will remain accessible in the My Disney Experience app until 5:59 a.m. on the 45th day after the day on which the Disney Genie+ service was used; certain states and localities are excluded. Many Disney PhotoPass Lenses use technology that detects the coordinates of key points on a guest’s face and/or hands and may be used only by guests 18 years of age and older who have consented to use of this technology. Therefore, guests unable to provide such consent, as well as guests under 18 years of age, will have fewer lenses available to use. To access Disney PhotoPass Lenses, an eligible mobile device with the My Disney Experience app with access to the device’s camera and location is required. A purchase of Disney Genie+ service at Walt Disney World Resort does not include downloads of a guest’s Disney PhotoPass photos or videos that were captured by photographers and onboard attractions. Use of Disney PhotoPass Lenses is subject to the Terms and Conditions. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.

New LEGO Disney Set, UP!

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

LEGO’s newest set will feature characters from one of Disney’s sweetest films. This new set is part of the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 100th-anniversary celebration and is sure to be a fan favorite. Plus, we’re also getting figures from movies like Toy Story, Moana, and Peter Pan!

We’ve just learned that LEGO will release a new building toy set featuring the house from the movie Up. Up, which came out in May 2009, has die-hard fans that will go absolutely crazy over this new set. Up is the story of Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old balloon salesman who is mourning the loss of his soulmate, Ellie. Carl, who is tired of being unfulfilled by life, decides to make his lifelong dream a reality. He ties thousands of balloons to his house and takes flight toward the South American wilderness. His plans are interrupted when Carl discovers a wilderness explorer named Russell is a stowaway on his vessel. Carl and Russell go on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, they meet an adorable dog named Dug, and the trio learns powerful lessons about friendship.

Now, Up is getting it’s very own LEGO set! This set includes Carl’s house (adorned with balloons), his yard, and his mailbox. We also get three minifigures: Carl, Russell, and Dug! The minifigures come in their iconic outfits from the film. This set is absolutely adorable and has been one of the most highly requested sets ever.

LEGO up 2

In addition to the showstopping Up LEGO set, fans also get a new birthday train set. The train set is fairly simple, but it includes some awesome Minifigures. This set, which is a 4+ junior creations set, will feature Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Woody, and Moana. All of the minifigures ride on a train card inspired by their movie.

lego train

Fans will be so excited to see these new awesome sets. What other sets would you want to see Disney and LEGO create?

Disney Park Announces New After Hours Events

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Disney fans of all kinds, from the most casual park-goer to the dedicated Annual Pass holders, enjoy the After Hours events introduced at Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort. In fact, some of the most popular and most attended holiday celebrations include Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party/Oogie Boogie Bash and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

However, Disney Parks also offers unique limited-time events for specific themes, such as Villains Nite, Grad Nite Reunion, the all-new Princess Nite, and Star Wars Nite. Each theme park after-hours event typically includes exclusive entertainment, dining, and character interaction experiences at a private party from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

In addition, Guests gain access to Disneyland Park three hours before the event begins, allowing for maximum opportunity to ride some of the best attractions outside of Disney California Adventure! Additionally, attendees receive unlimited digital downloads for Disney PhotoPass locations with special backdrops and effects, along with keepsakes to remember their trip such as an event map and souvenir credential.

Each year, the Disneyland After Dark series presents multiple after-hours events with one-of-a-kind themes, though many Guests hope that some of the more popular categories will return. For example, Disneyland will host its biggest Star Wars Nite ever, spanning four days on May 2, 4, 8, and 11, 2023.

Of course, the event will feature the pyrotechnic spectacular Star Wars: Celebrate the Nite, a Lightsaber Instructional demonstration, close encounters with Jawas and Tusken raiders, galactic churros, and Tomorrowland’s March of the First Order featuring Captain Phasma and her Stormtroopers. Will you be the Resistance spy?

Moreover, Disney Parks announced a second Southern California event, the brand-new Throwback Nite, on April 18 and 20, 2023, an evening of “flashback fashions” from the “debonair days of the ‘50s and ‘60s.” Fans of the Dapper Day Expo will enjoy this soiree that celebrates the classic past of Disneyland Park during its opening decade, along with retro characters and Mickey Mouse and friends.

Plus, Guests can enjoy vintage-style music and entertainment at dance parties around the Disney Park, along with attraction poster backdrops for classic rides like Autopia and the Skyway. Guests can also snack on specialty treats from the Park’s early days while watching Fantasy in the Sky, a nighttime show inspired by Disneyland’s first fireworks in 1957. Even so, many fans are disappointed the throwback event is not a return of the previously popular ’80s and ’90s Nites.

Magic Key Holders gain access to the ticket pre-sale at 9 a.m. PT on February 21, 2023, with general public sales beginning on February 23 at the same time. Tickets are subject to availability but have the added benefit of not requiring a same-day theme park reservation. Click here for more information.

Disney Park’s Most Classic Attraction Finally Received a Big Update

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios has recently opened some instant classic attractions, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

But you can’t beat the classics, and that’s definitely the case for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. However, that doesn’t mean that the classics shouldn’t receive an update here and there.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is easily one of Hollywood Studios’ most beloved attractions. This elevator-style thrill ride captivates audiences with the exhilarating lifts and plunges and the immersive ambiance that genuinely makes you feel as if you’ve entered an episode of the Twilight Zone featuring the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Everything from the Cast Members’ excellent acting to the eerily cobwebbed furniture in the lobby to the haunting music playing in the queue will bring Guests into the fifth dimension. It’s no wonder everybody wants to experience this ride!

However, there are drawbacks to this attraction’s popularity.

Lobby

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is meant to operate four different elevator-style ride vehicles at once, but for months, only two have been operating, leaving the classic attraction at half-capacity. This has led to longer lines and longer wait times, giving fewer Guests a chance to experience this thrill ride.

But reportedly, all four elevator shafts are back in business, meaning the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is up and running at total capacity again for the first time in months!

Tower of Terror

Hundreds of Guests Paid for Disney Trips That Were Never Booked

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

Police were forced to investigate and take action after would-be Disney Guests discovered that parks trips they paid for were never booked.

There’s no such thing as the wrong time to visit a Disney Park. In the summer months, Central Florida humidity can be brutal at the Walt Disney World Resort, and in the winter months, some parks, like Tokyo Disney Resort, experience weather that drapes the parks in a snowy blanket. But even with the weather factored in, there’s simply not a bad time to visit a Disney Park. But for Guests looking to have a different kind of Disney Parks experience, one of the best times to visit is during the holidays.

disney's hollywood studios christmas decorations

Hundreds of would-be Guests apparently had the same thought and set out to make plans to take their families to Disney’s Parisian park and surprise them with the trips as Christmas gifts. But what started out as exciting holiday surprises turned into empty promises and the stuff of nightmares.

More than 400 families had planned to surprise their children with an exciting experience at Disneyland Paris after purchasing trips from a travel company known as Go West with Mickey, which was based in South London. But after purchasing their trips, families found out the hard way that their trips were never actually booked, so there were no trips to be taken. Shortly after families began to realize they had no trips to the Disney Parks near Paris, they discovered that the company had closed, and its Facebook page and website had both been deleted. Additionally, messages from the defrauded would-be Disney Guests were no longer answered.

“I contacted Disney,” said Ali McEvoy, who purchased a trip for her children Owen and Cariad, ages 10 and 7, respectively. “They said nothing was booked.”

The mom of two purchased a holiday package with Go West With Mickey–a four-night Disney trip that included a resort hotel room for the family plus park tickets. She presented the gift to her children for Christmas, and she recorded the experience during which they unwrapped a calendar with the dates of their planned trip in December circled. It was only after this that McElvoy began to read online that the company was allegedly involved in fraudulent practices. That’s when she called Disney and got the worst holiday news she could imagine.

In all, Go West With Mickey had allegedly defrauded paying customers out of £370,000, or roughly $480,000. Police reportedly investigated 419 separate allegations. The owner of Go West With Mickey reportedly cooperated with a voluntary interview related to the allegations but was released without an arrest. He remained under investigation at the time.

Months before the holiday, the firm issued a statement online saying the company was “dead” and that its assets had been frozen. “There have been mistakes, yes, it was a company of five staff who also made mistakes,” read a message on the company’s website, which has now been taken down. “We have always highly compensated for these mistakes.”

The Association of British Travel Agents weighed in on the situation, stating that Go West With Mickey was not a member of the ABTA.

“Operators selling packaged holidays are legally required to provide financial protection for customers,” the organization said in a statement.

The company has virtually disappeared–even online. The only remnants of the organization that referred to itself as an “independent travel advisor” are in the forms of scathing online reviews in which good neighbors have attempted to keep others from falling prey to what some called a “Ponzi scheme.”

disneyland paris castle

One review on TripAdvisor tells Disney trip planners to “Avoid [Go West With Mickey] at all costs,” saying that “most of the reviews on [TripAdvisor] have been done by the scam artist owners of this company using fake profiles.” The review goes on, saying, “They have run off with over £300,000 of customers’ money.”

There’s also talk of the company having changed its name to “ThemeParks4U,” and reviews online warn vacationers to “avoid this one at all costs too.”

When planning a trip to any Disney Parks Resort, it’s important to book only with an authorized Disney vacation travel planner. This is the only sure way to know that you’re getting the trip you’re expecting–and so that you don’t get any “surprises” when you arrive at the parks for your Disney Parks experience.