Disney Announces Price Change for Genie+

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Disney Genie+ was introduced just about a year ago, and due to its popularity, Disney is increasing pricing for the service effective immediately. The paid service allows you to schedule times to skip the line and use the Lightning Lane at certain attractions at each of the theme parks.

Here is the statement from Disney:

Disney Genie+ service continues to be very popular among our guests. As we continue to manage the strong demand we are seeing for this service, we are introducing variable pricing for Disney Genie+, beginning Tuesday, October 11.

At Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Genie+ will also vary in price based on the date a guest is visiting. Similar to theme park tickets, throughout the year, prices may be lower on less busy days and higher during peak periods like Thanksgiving and Christmas. For example, now through the end of October, prices will be $15 per Guest, per day on less busy dates, $22 on some of our busier dates, and somewhere in between on other dates (plus tax; prices subject to change beyond October). As a reminder, single-day purchases of Disney Genie+ at Walt Disney World Resort are only available directly through the My Disney Experience app on the guest’s date of visit.

At Disneyland Resort, Disney Genie+ will now be $25 per day when purchased in advance as an add-on with a new ticket or vacation packages. Single-day purchases for Disney Genie+ through the Disneyland app will begin at $25 per day, and may vary by date, based on demand.

Additionally, WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure at Disney’s California Adventure Park is now part of Disney Genie+, providing guests with even more options to choose from when using this service.

Guest Slammed For Hoarding EPCOT 40th Merchandise

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

For just over one year, Walt Disney World Resort has been celebrating its 50th anniversary. There have been a ton of new food offerings, new nighttime shows, and a lot of great new merchandise. However, Magic Kingdom is not the only theme park that has an anniversary. On October 1, 2022, EPCOT also celebrated 40 years of making magic.

While not as big as the 50th, Disney did release limited-time food offerings and new merchandise to celebrate the EPCOT 40th anniversary — a perfect destination for Disney foodies.

When it comes to new merchandise, there has been an increasing problem — resellers. Resellers descend upon the Parks when new merchandise is released, buy as much of it as they can (even enlisting the help of friends and family), and then sell it online with a massive price increase.

Resellers are becoming the bane of people’s Disney merchandise existence, as they can’t find the one shirt they want the day it is released because resellers have hoarded all the products for themselves.

One Twitter user — MagicalNewsLIVE — is calling out one of those resellers, and people are irate. EPCOT 40th anniversary merchandise was released on October 1 and much of it quickly sold out. And it likely sold out faster because of people like the woman in the tweet, which you can see below.

Twitter users were quick to call out the Guest for her behavior, with some — including Amy Knight —  feeling that the woman should be banned for life from the Parks for reselling the merchandise.

In the tweet, the woman’s face was blocked out. Some users, like Kiwi Hobbits, said that the woman shouldn’t be hidden and should be called out for her “soulless greed”.

Now, some Disney merchandise does have purchasing limits. However, when it comes to things like shirts, the rules typically state that you can buy 2 of each size. So resellers will grab two of each size. Another big problem is that the resellers typically don’t come alone. The purchase restrictions aren’t limited to a party, they are per Guest. So a family of four could end up with dozens of a product because they each purchased the maximum allowed.

Disneyland Paris resellers

While Disney does have rules in place when it comes to reselling merchandise purchased with an Annual Pass discount, the rules are not as strict when it comes to people who have regular tickets.

Disney Parks do appear to be cracking down on personal shoppers, but most people like the fact that there is someone who can purchase merchandise for them if they can’t make it to the Parks. Resellers, on the other hand, seem to be universally despised.

EPCOT’s “Future World Hotel”: New Permit Filed?

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot

A permit has been filed by Buena Vista Construction Company at Disney World in Orange County, Florida, and the address on the permit is reigniting the excitement over the prospect that Disney’s prepping to break ground on EPCOT’s once-talked about “Future World Hotel” inside the gates at Disney World’s second park.

Last month, Disney’s President of Parks, Experiences, and Products, Josh D’Amaro, welcomed fans to one of the last panels of the 2022 D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center inside the location’s Hall D23. Every coveted seat in the house was occupied–all 7,000 of them–by eager and excited Disney fans who waited with bated breath to hear what’s in store for Disney Parks around the world over the next few years, this writer included.

D’Amaro talked about exciting projects in the works at Tokyo Disney Resort, Shanghai Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. He shared exciting updates about happenings at Disneyland Resort, including the arrival of the Hulk and Mando and Grogu at the California parks, as well as the kickoff to Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration, which begins at Disneyland next year on January 27.

When D’Amaro mentioned Walt Disney World, the crowd cheered as many had arrived in Anaheim with their own projections about the D23 Expo reveals for Disney World. (After all, weren’t we all hopeful for the return of the Disney Dining Plan and a fifth park in Florida?)

Disney Dining Plan - Wikipedia

D’Amaro went about his agenda, announcing some surprises for fans about “blue-sky” projects on the drawing board for Disney World, and with each new announcement, the boisterous crowd got just a few decibels louder. But by the end of his presentation, many of us in the crowd began to mull over his announcements and compare them with our individual mental lists of projections, as if it were second nature.

BREAKING: Themed Lands in Development for 'Coco', 'Encanto', Disney Villains at Magic Kingdom

As we recounted what we were told, it became very apparent that the 2019 D23 Expo was EPCOT’s time to shine. While there were a few updates about EPCOT during the panel last month, the big news was largely for other areas. We had hoped we might hear some kind of firming-up or confirmation on plans that were rumored to be in the works in 2021: the first-ever Disney Resort Hotel inside the gates at EPCOT, Disney’s Future World Hotel.

The first talk of an onsite EPCOT hotel surfaced years ago in 2017, and some Disney super-sleuths dug deeper to find that the address mentioned for the location of the new EPCOT hotel was 1474 Avenue of the Stars on the Walt Disney World property, an address that corresponds to a location inside EPCOT. But during the 2017 D23 Expo, CEO Bob Iger furnished zero unveilings about such a hotel.

Talk of this mystery resort hotel at EPCOT continued and finally died down some, leading up to the 2019 D23 Expo, during which Disney’s execs shared huge news about plans to completely revamp the Future World section of EPCOT, as well as plans for a brand-new Moana-inspired attraction, The Journey of Water, a space-themed restaurant next to Mission: SPACE called Space 220, and even a new Mary Poppins-themed attraction that would be constructed in the United Kingdom pavilion on the World Showcase.

Mary Poppins Attraction at EPCOT Cancelled?

Disney Announces Holiday Surprise for Guardians of the Galaxy: COSMIC REWIND Attraction

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Disney World has just made another announcement about the 2022 holiday season at the parks, and this time, it involves one of EPCOT’s newest attractions!

The 2022 holiday season at Disney World is the first one since EPCOT’s long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: COSMIC REWIND attraction opened at the park in late May, following an unauthorized, leaked announcement about the attraction’s projected opening date by a Disney exec over Corporate Affairs.

Sadly, the exec was fired shortly after the leak.

On Friday morning, however, an announcement about a brand-new holiday treatment for the new Guardians-themed attraction was made (and this one was authorized).

Image

Journalist Scott Gustin shared the news in a tweet that reads, “NEW: Disney released new artwork for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind “Holiday Remix” coming to EPCOT later this year. The holiday overlay will feature a “new song” that will feature a “mash-up of seasonal jams.”

NEW: Disney released new artwork for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind “Holiday Remix” coming to EPCOT later this year.

The holiday overlay will feature a “new song” that will feature “a mash-up of seasonal jams.” pic.twitter.com/L0igHEZvaG

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) October 7, 2022

Like many of the attractions at Disney Parks, EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: COSMIC REWIND attraction will get a holiday overlay that will be part of the season at the Walt Disney World Resort, which begins in early November and goes to the end of the year.

More information from Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Producer Wyatt Winter was shared about the new “Holiday Remix” for the attraction as well:

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In the announcement on Friday, Disney Parks made no mention of the date on which the holiday overlay will debut at the popular new EPCOT attraction, but most of the holiday decor and overlays are in place by the date set by the Walt Disney World Resort as the kickoff to the holiday season, which is November 11 this year, so it’s fairly safe to assume the new Guardians holiday treatments will be installed by then as well.

Disney Issues Statement in Hurricane’s Aftermath

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

When the sun rose this morning in Orlando, it was a very different world than when it had set the night before. Hurricane Ian battered the area relentlessly over Wednesday and Thursday. Millions were without power, at least 12 people Western and Central Florida had died and many more faced uncertainties about their homes.

Walt Disney World closed its parks on both Wednesday and Thursday as the storm raged overhead. This morning the storm was gone, it was on its way to the Carolinas for round 3 (having already wrecked havoc in Florida and Cuba). The central Florida area awoke to calm skies once again. Calm skies do not mean all is well though. There is much work to do as historical flood levels recede and people begin to assess the damage and rebuild. 

Disney has released a statement today expressing their concern for the victims. The statement which was posted to The Walt Disney Company Twitter page read, “Our hearts go out to those impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona. We are grateful for all first responders who are doing heroic work, and to our employees who helped keep our guests safe. In addition to providing impacted employees with assistance through our relief fund, we are providing support to the American Red Cross, Feeding America, Heart of Florida United Way, and others working on local relief efforts.”

Recently we reported on how you can help victims of the deadly storm. We are pleased to see Disney has joined in that effort as well. The American Red Cross is accepting not only financial donations to benefit victims, but also good donations to help those who have been injured as well.

Hurricane Ian damage

Our thoughts are also with the victims tonight and we hope for the safety and rapid recovery of all who were in the hurricane’s path.