During the Disney Parks panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe, Imagineer Scott Trowbridge teased new characters coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Though the panelists could not confirm who would be appearing, it was hinted to be related to upcoming media. It’s possible characters from “Ahsoka,” “The Skeleton Crew,” or other new Disney+ original series may visit Black Spire Outpost.
In the past, new characters only appeared at Disneyland park, but recently The Mandalorian and Grogu were added to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The pair also made a brief appearance in Disneyland Paris.
Boba Fett and Fennec Shand were mentioned in the panel, but so far they have only appeared at Disneyland. It’s possible they may be added to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well.
Fans of the Walt Disney Animation film Tangled (2011) will know that it tells the age-old Germain fairy tale of Rapunzel, the girl with the long golden hair.
In Disney’s adaptation of the Rapunzel fairy tale (starring Mandy Moore as the long-haired princess herself), the princess’s magnificent long hair actually has magical healing powers, which keep Mother Gothel young and beautiful as long as she sings the ‘Healing Incantation.’
Rapunzel’s adorable and as sweet as can be, if a little naive from living in a tower away from the outside world for her entire life. In short, she’s a great princess, and many fans love to meet her and her dashing prince, Flynn Rider, when they visit Walt Disney World.
When meeting any Disney Princess, the actresses portraying them do their best to emulate the beloved character. This usually means making references to their films. When it comes to meeting Ariel, she may ask about your gadgets and gizmos or reference a dinglehopper.
When it comes to meeting Jasmine, she may talk about going for an enchanted carpet ride with Aladdin.
When it comes to Rapunzel, she may ask what your dream is, as it was a big part of the film. However, one Guest beat Rapunzel to the question and even made the actors break character when she said this:
The worst part of visiting Walt Disney World is having to leave the Disney bubble and return to reality at the end of your trip. Even though most Disney trips are action-packed and exhausting, it is still so hard to leave the theme Park and go back to normal life. Some Disney Guests love the Parks so much that they even move to Anaheim or Central Florida so they can be close to Disney at all times. Still, there is nothing that compares to an on-property Disney vacation. This brings up an interesting question, if money was no object, how long could you really vacation at Walt Disney World Resort? For one woman, her Disney vacation lasted over twenty years.
Vacationing at Walt Disney World Resort is not cheap. Park tickets, food, merchandise, and accommodations all cost a lot of Disney property. Walt Disney World Resort has lots of different hotels to choose from when planning a trip. There are three tiers of Disney Resort Hotel at Walt Disney World; Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. Even at the Value Disney Resort, the rooms are not cheap and will run you hundreds of dollars a night.
If you were trying to stay at Walt Disney World Resort for an extended amount of time, you might be interested in staying at the cheapest accommodation on the property, Fort Wilderness. Here, you can rent a tent campsite for $76-$105 or an RV site for around $150-$250. While these prices are still expensive, some Disney fans do pay the premium to stay on property for an extended amount of time.
Technically, the longest you can book a room or campsite for is 30 continuous days. However, one woman has continued to extend her camping “vacation” and lived at Walt Disney World Resort full-time. A Reddit user shared the story of this woman.
According to the commenter, the woman has lived at the Fort Wilderness Campground on Disney World Property for nearly 20 years. She even went as far as to try and sue the Walt Disney Company when they wanted to kick her out during the Covid pandemic. Another commenter followed up this wild story with an update that the woman has been evicted from Fort Wilderness Resort and is also no longer a Disney travel agent.
The dispute between Walt Disney World and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to be escalating once again, as he issued multiple threats on the resort in a new statement.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Octavio Jones/File Photo
Politico reports that in a speech delivered at Hillsdale College, a conservative liberal arts college in Michigan, DeSantis said “They are not superior to the people of Florida. So come hell or high water we’re going to make sure that policy of Florida carries the day. And so they can keep trying to do things. But ultimately we’re going to win on every single issue involving Disney I can tell you that.”
DeSantis also promised to double down on his efforts to punish Disney through methods both in the Legislature and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board. Notably, he promised to hike Disney’s hotel taxes and institute tolls on the roads around Walt Disney World Resort property now administered by the CFTOB, among others.
In a separate speech hosted by the Midland County Republican Party in Michigan, the governor said “Disney tried to pull a fast one on the way out the door. That story’s not over yet. Buckle up. There’s more coming down the pike.”
DeSantis v. Disney: Part II
While tensions cooled between the governor and Disney as last year came to a close, the spark reignited once again earlier this year when Disney passed several laws which restricted the power of his newly-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board, designed to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The new board was designed as retaliation for Disney’s outspoken response to a bill last year which restricted educators from teaching any LGBTQ+-related concepts to students.
Through the final meeting of the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board, which was controlled by Disney, the board passed a number of restrictive covenants which handed most of the District’s power to Disney for a period of at least thirty years, but also lasting until after the death of the final living descendant of King Charles III.
The move shocked DeSantis and his board, who expressed disbelief at Disney’s actions and retained multiple law firms to fight the agreement in court. At the time, the Executive Office of the Governor reached out to WDWNT with this statement from Communications Director Taryn Fenske:
“The Executive Office of the Governor is aware of Disney’s last-ditch efforts to execute contracts just before ratifying the new law that transfers rights and authorities from the former Reedy Creek Improvement District to Disney. An initial review suggests these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law. We are pleased the new Governor-appointed board retained multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.”
Disney responded with their own statement:
“All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida Government in the Sunshine law.”
Earlier this month at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, CEO Bob Iger accused Gov. DeSantis of punishing Disney for exercising their right to free speech. “We love the state of Florida,” he said, citing the company’s various investments in the community over the years and saying he respected and appreciated what the state has done for Disney in the past. “Any action that thwarts these efforts simply to retaliate is anti-business and anti-Florida.”
The official Disney Parks Twitter account just dropped the big news: new sales of the Walt Disney World Annual Pass and fans are already thrilled at the prospect of being able to purchase an Annual Pass once again.
Not only do we know when Annual Passes sales will resume (April 20), but we also know the updated prices:
Disney: "As we look to provide a great experience for our Passholders, the quantity of passes will be limited and passes, or a pass type, may become unavailable for purchase at any time."
At the highest tier, the Disney Incredi-Pass will cost $1,399.
The Disney Sorcerer Pass (Florida Resident and Disney Vacation Club Member only) will cost $969, the Pirate Pass (Florida Resident only) will cost $749, and the Pixie Pass (Florida Resident only) will cost $399.
M,ost Disney fans will know that these new Annual Pass sales are returning for the first time in forever, making this more exciting than usual!
Not only that, but Annual Passholders are now able to access certain Disney PhotoPass benefits, and beginning on April 18, Annual Passholders will be able to visit the Parks after 2 p.m. without a Park reservation (except for the weekends at Magic Kingdom). That being said, blockout dates will still apply.
