Meta Quest and ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s award-winning immersive entertainment studio, are presenting a special Quest 2 preview of Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge coming to the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort, Nov. 21, 2021 – Jan. 5, 2022.
This preview version of ILMxLAB’s virtual reality experience expands the world of Batuu like never before! Once inside the Quest 2 headset, Guests will be immersed within sweeping 360 views of the Star Wars galaxy. The adventure takes place on the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu, as depicted in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the immersive epic lands at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The story features both new and iconic characters from the Star Wars galaxy. Gameplay was designed for a variety of players – from Star Wars fans to VR gamers – at home on Quest 2.
In Part 1 of this action-adventure experience, Guests take on the role of a droid repair technician operating near the Outer Rim. When a group of pirates attack and they crash on Batuu, they’ll discover that anyone in the galaxy can become a hero.
Then, Guests can continue their epic journey with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge-Last Call, the recently-released expansion. This new add-on gives Guests the opportunity to expand their virtual reality adventures on the Outer Rim and experience more eras in the Star Wars galaxy.
For a limited time, this complimentary preview experience will be offered daily, Noon – 8 p.m., adjacent to Star Wars Trading Post in the Downtown Disney District. Reservations may be available. A Meta Quest staff member will assist Guests on-site with reserving a time to come back to participate or direct Guests to queue up outside the building, based on availability.
Guests must wear face coverings for this experience. For more information and to view important details, visit: http://disneytraveltradeinfo.com/dlr. Must be 13 years or older to experience. Subject to capacity availability. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.
Today, the U.S. opens its borders to travelers from around the world. And our Cast Members at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California are ready. To all who come to these happy places, welcome!
Our Disney destinations across America have always been a source of joy for all – bringing people together to enjoy happiness, hope and inspiration. So, needless to say, we’re excited to once again greet our many friends from across the globe as they return to experience the magic at Disney theme parks.
No matter where our Guests are traveling from, there are unforgettable experiences waiting for them, brought to life by our Cast Members who continue to be the heart of the Disney magic. Whether it’s a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime 50th anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World Resort or new, heroic adventures and out-of-this-world offerings at Disneyland Resort, now is a perfect time to visit both destinations.
At Walt Disney World Resort, the 50th anniversary celebration is in full swing throughout all four parks and beyond. The World’s Most Magical Celebration launched October 1, 2021, and will run a full 18 months. During this once-in-a-lifetime event, Guests will discover new attractions and entertainment, magnificent Beacons of Magic, celebratory sips and bites, special 50th anniversary offerings, and much more.
Also new is our nighttime spectacular “Harmonious” at EPCOT – celebrating how Disney music inspires and unites people the world over. It’s another big milestone in the park’s multi-year transformation. Taking place on the World Showcase Lagoon, this show is one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney theme park. It features fireworks, floating set pieces, choreographed fountains, lights, lasers and more.
At EPCOT, Guests will also discover the new family friendly attraction, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure! Based on Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning “Ratatouille,” Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is an exhilarating “4D” experience for the whole family that’s part of a newly expanded France pavilion.
New offerings at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park include “Disney KiteTails” where performers fly windcatchers and kites of different shapes and sizes, including elaborate three-dimensional kites – some 30 feet long – that allow Disney animal friends like Simba and Zazu or Baloo and King Louie to soar like never before.
And “Disney Enchantment” at Magic Kingdom Park is a must-see that features spectacular fireworks, captivating Disney music, enhanced lighting, and immersive projection effects that extend – for the first time – from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.
There’s also as an emotional original song, entitled “You Are the Magic,” by eight-time GRAMMY-winner and former Walt Disney World cast member Philip Lawrence.
Also during The World’s Most Magical Celebration, the merriest season of the year at Walt Disney World Resort will feature festive entertainment, whimsical décor, seasonal food and drinks, and holiday-themed merchandise. The celebration begins Nov. 12.
On the west coast, Disney magic is also waiting to be discovered during a visit to The Happiest Place on Earth – the Disneyland Resort. Experience the fun and thrills of Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park, and stay in the magic at the Disneyland Resort hotels.
At Disney California Adventure park, visit the all-new Avengers Campus, where Guests are invited to team up with the Avengers and their allies to live out their Super Hero dreams. The location consists of several heroic locations and the story unfolds with authentic, immersive details.
Ant-Man and The Wasp check in on the latest experiments using Pym particles at Pym Test Kitchen featuring IMPOSSIBLE. Iron Man shows off his new Mark 80 armor. General Okoye and the Dora Milaje arrive from Wakanda to train new warriors, and Doctor Strange steps through a mystic portal and into an Ancient Sanctum. And there’s more to discover!
At Disney California Adventure park, Guests can also experience the fastest attraction at the Disneyland Resort: The Incredicoaster! Step into the world of “The Incredibles” with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Violet, and Dash, along with Edna Mode, as Guests try to catch Jack-Jack. After their daring dash, Guests can explore Pixar Pier to experience more amazing moments with some favorite Pixar pals.
At Disneyland Park, Guests can visit the galactic outpost of Batuu and live out their own Star Wars story at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (also located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort). Join the Resistance in an epic battle against the First Order on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or pilot the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
And this holiday season will sparkle like never before at Disneyland Resort as it transforms into a merry and magical place from Nov. 12 to January 9.
At Disneyland park, nostalgic holiday magic shines brightly with the glistening Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle and a 60-foot Christmas tree on Main Street, U.S.A. “A Christmas Fantasy” parade returns featuring beloved Disney characters joining Santa Claus for a merry musical celebration and other festive experiences that include the “Believe … in Holiday Magic” fireworks spectacular and magical snowfall over portions of Main Street, U.S.A. Guests will also delight in the seasonal transformation of “it’s a small world” Holiday and the 20th installation of Haunted Mansion Holiday.
For the holidays At Disney California Adventure park, Guests can create new memories during Disney Festival of Holidays and discover the sights, sounds and tastes of a diverse season of celebrations, including eight festival Food Marketplaces. “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” features Disney characters hosting a fun street party with Mexican folklórico dancers and Mariachis, Brazilian samba dancers and percussionists, giant mojiganga puppets and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in their fiesta best! For the first time, friends and family are invited to enjoy a celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new musical comedy, “Encanto,” with live entertainment and special appearances by Mirabel, the young hero from the film.
A judge has ruled that Disney and its contractors aren’t bound by guidelines set forth by a ballot measure from 2018 that would have made the House of Mouse increase Cast Members’ pay to a minimum of $18 per hour by next year.
The ruling comes amid outcry from Disneyland Cast Members and their unions demanding higher pay and a “living wage,” in addition to better benefits. The unions representing Cast Members at Disney’s first theme park have backed an initiative that required businesses who receive subsidies from the City of Anaheim, California, to raise the minimum wage of their workers to a minimum of $15 per hour by two years ago, and then to increase that pay by at least $1 per hour to $18 per hour by the year 2022.
That initiative was voted on and passed in November three years ago. But in 2019, because Disney didn’t adhere to the new measure, Cast Members sued the entertainment giant for failure to comply with the approved measure.
Last Friday, Judge William D. Claster, an Orange County Superior Court magistrate ruled that even though Disney had benefitted from arrangements made in 1996 with the City of Anaheim, those particular arrangements aren’t the equivalent of a tax rebate or a subsidy from the City of Anaheim, such as the ones described in the approved ballot measure. The 1996 arrangements called for hotel taxes to be used to pay the debt owed on a parking structure that is used by Guests of the Disneyland Resort.
It’s no secret that just before the ballot measure was to be voted on, Disney canceled incentive agreements it had with the City of Anaheim. Those incentives would have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in hotel room taxes that would have been used to build an upscale hotel.
Mike Lyster, spokesman for the City of Anaheim said, “While we never want to see a dispute like this play out in court, we appreciate the judge’s determination. It validates what we already knew and have said: [that] the City of Anaheim does not provide any rebate or subsidy to Disney.”
When you visit any one of the Disney Parks, one of the first things you want to do is head to your favorite attraction, right? And whether you like the thrilling, fast rides with hairpin turns and 80-foot drops or the slower-moving boat rides that give you the time to nap, contemplate life choices or take photos at an attraction from a new vantage point, for many Disney Parks fans, still the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is a must!
The same must have been true for the swashbuckling Guests who made their way to New Orleans Square at Disneyland Saturday evening and thought nothing of boarding a boat at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. They had no idea what they were in for.
Brian Rokos is a crime reporter for the Southern California News Group, and he just happened to be one of the Guests aboard a boat in the shallow waters of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland when the attraction suddenly malfunctioned, causing the boats to simply stop where they were.
“We were at the point in the ride where the women are chasing the men around in circles, and Jack Sparrow is peeking out of a barrel at a pirate who’s talking about the location of the secret treasure,” Rokos said in an interview. “Then suddenly, we stopped.”
Apparently, after several minutes, the music for the attraction stopped, and an announcement was made, requesting Cast Members to come to the aid of the stranded Guests.
We are stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Boats have not moved for about 10 minutes. pic.twitter.com/ZG0vjKWqMC
According to SFGate, Rokos explained that he had overheard a Cast Member talking about several other Cast Members who had not shown up for work because they were ill, but no one really understood why the ride had malfunctioned or what had caused it to cease operations, except for one Cast Member who mentioned technical difficulties, but didn’t explain any further than that.
Rokos says that after about 40 minutes of waiting in the boats, a Cast Member came to the boat with rubber waders on. He watched as people that were closer to the “land” area of the attraction were evacuated, but he says that he began to feel uneasy as he noticed that he was surrounded by only ride water.
“There’s no way I was going to be able to get out,” he said. “Someone suggested that I should walk the plank, but I had no plank to walk! I had no idea how to get off. We were literally trapped.”
Rokos wasn’t sure what to do.
“I thought, ‘This doesn’t bode well. This is disaster mode,’” he added. “But it turned out to be a good thing.”
In the end, a conscientious Cast Member showed up to push the boat in which Rokos sat, contemplating taking the plunge into the Caribbean waters so that it was closer to the area where Rokos and others could step off “onto dry land.”
The parks are synonymous with magic and memories, but what you might not know is that there’s a mayhem component to the whole Disney Parks experience as well, at least according to recent police blotter reports.
Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park is enveloped in golden accents and pixie dust as though it has been magically enchanted. Here, guests can explore winding passageways where the epic tale of Princess Aurora is told through spellbinding dioramas. Inspired by the film’s original Eyvind Earle artwork, this iconic attraction features 3-dimensional displays, sound and stunning special effects. The climactic final scene features Maleficent’s transformation into a fire-breathing dragon. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
According to a recently released report, the Anaheim Police Department responded to more than 30 different calls at the Disneyland Resort in the month of September for which the end result was some type of action taken on the part of the officers who were on scene. The calls included incidences including assault and battery, grand theft, a bomb threat, and more.
Anaheim Police responded to more than 30 calls at Disneyland in September that resulted in some type of action taken by officers on cases including a bomb threat, assault and battery, and grand theft.
For example, on September 24, police were called and arrived to investigate a bomb threat received at the Disneyland Resort, though it was found to be bogus.
The Anaheim Police blotter reports the following calls for police service at Disneyland and the related police response in September:
