WDW – Page 12 – A Walk With The Mouse

Disney Releases Two New Disney PhotoPass Offers for Spring 2021

Posted on January 6, 2021January 6, 2021 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Ready to make some “picture-perfect memories” at Walt Disney World this Spring? Look no further as Disney is dishing out two fantastic deals for PhotoPass Spring 2021. Check out the details as shared below by DisneyParksBlog.

We’re starting 2021 with even more ways to make picture-perfect memories at Walt Disney World Resort, including the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts returning Jan. 8-Feb. 22, 2021 and the Taste of EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival springing to life beginning March 3. I’m excited to share that Disney PhotoPass Service has introduced two incredible offers that make it easier than ever to download your photos and videos. You can now take advantage of limited-time offers on Memory Maker and Memory Maker One Day. More memories, same prices!

Spring 2021 Memory Maker Extended Capture Offer: Download all your Disney PhotoPass photos and videos captured through June 18, 2021

Activate your Memory Maker now through May 19, 2021 to download all your photos and videos captured through June 18, 2021 (rather than the standard 30-day capture window)!* This offer is a great way to download and share memories from your visit – from attraction photos and Magic Shots featuring favorite characters to Super Zoom Magic Shots that give you a bird’s eye view of the park, family photos at park icons, portraits taken with Disney-themed virtual backdrops at the Disney PhotoPass Studio at Disney Springs, and so much more.

Spring 2021 Memory Maker One Day Extended Capture Offer: Buy Memory Maker One Day, download photos and videos from the next day

Get two full days of Disney PhotoPass photos and videos for the price of one! Activate Memory Maker One Day now through March 11, 2021 to download your Disney PhotoPass photos and videos from the day of your choice PLUS receive photo and video downloads from the following consecutive day too – at no extra cost.**

To purchase Memory Maker or Memory Maker One Day, click here.

With a Memory Maker or Memory Maker One Day entitlement, you’ll want to consider a fun add-on for your visit to Magic Kingdom Park: Capture Your Moment! A Capture Your Moment photo session is the perfect way to mark a special milestone. Your photographer will personalize your session to ensure you capture photos that highlight your style and celebration. Guests can download these photos at no extra cost with an active Memory Maker or Memory Maker One Day entitlement. Sessions are offered daily. Learn more here, and call 407-939-7758 to book your session.***

TRON Lightcycle Power Run Won’t Open in 2021

Posted on January 6, 2021January 6, 2021 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

We have another update regarding TRON Lightcylce Power Run. As Walt Disney World navigates this 50th Anniversary year after coming off a year of closures and shut downs, it looks like the highly anticipated TRON coaster under construction at Magic Kingdom won’t open in 2021.

The new list of attractions coming for the 50th noticeably excluded Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT.

Disney Parks has now taken to Twitter to share the following: “We’ve continued to push ourselves in new directions over the past year and are looking forward to the debut of exciting new experiences at our parks. We can’t wait to welcome our guests back and have so much in store to share! Take a look on @USATODAY.” The tweet links to a USA Today article.

In that USA Today article it states: “Another big-ticket, eagerly anticipated roller coaster, TRON Lightcycle / Run, is under construction next to Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland. The launched ride, which will also include indoor scenes, will be themed to the “Tron” sci-fi movies. The coaster isn’t expected to open during the park’s 50th birthday year.“

Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products is quoted several times in the article but is not quoted directly on TRON details. It is likely however that if USA Today had this information inaccurate, Disney would not post the article on Twitter. Alas, they did, providing further confirmation that TRON likely won’t open in 2021.

The article doesn’t give a time frame for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coming to EPCOT. It states: “The most anticipated new attraction at the park is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, an indoor “storytelling coaster.” It will feature cars that can turn 360 degrees and direct passengers’ attention to the themed sets and scenes they will encounter in the enormous show building.”

Disney Releases 4 New Special Offers Including FREE Tickets!

Posted on January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

The New Year has arrived! Walt Disney World has released 4 new special offers for 2021! Promotion details are listed below.

OFFER #1: Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels for stays most nights April 18, 2021 through July 10, 2021.

Book Through: May 27, 2021
Valid Travel Dates: Stay most nights April 18, 2021 through July 10, 2021
Length of Stay Requirements: Minimum – 1 night; Maximum – 14 nights

Enjoy added peace of mind when booking! You can modify or cancel your reservation with extra flexibility for arrivals through April 30, 2021. This offer is valid for select Disney Resort hotels.

Important Details:

The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room.
Length of stay requirements may apply.
Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than two adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts and Studios at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts.
Advance reservations required.
Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, campsites, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
Valid admission and a park reservation are required to enjoy theme parks and special events and are not included in this offer.
Disney Resort hotel reopening dates are subject to change.

OFFER #2: Get 2 FREE Days Added to Your Ticket on a Select 4-Night/3-Day Room & Ticket Package

Get 2 extra days added to your ticket when you buy a 4-night/3-day room-and-ticket package at select Disney Resort hotels, valid for arrivals most nights January 8, 2021 through September 25, 2021. Want to stay longer? Check about packages for other lengths of stay—and get 2 extra days added to your ticket. Enjoy added peace of mind when booking! You can modify or cancel your reservation with extra flexibility through April 30, 2021.

Valid Travel Dates: Arrivals most nights January 8, 2021 through September 25, 2021
Length of Stay Requirements: Minimum – 4 nights; Maximum – 14 nights

Important Details:

The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
5-day theme park tickets included in this package are valid for admission beginning on date of check-in and must be used within 8 days. Visit disneydestinationstickets.com/usage for more details.
To visit the theme parks, theme park reservations via the Disney Park Pass system AND the tickets included in this package are required for the same park on the same date for each person in your party ages 3 and up. Theme park reservations are limited and subject to availability. View the park reservation availability calendar.
Disney Resort hotel reopening dates are subject to change.
Advance reservations required.
Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

OFFER #3: Florida Residents! Spring Into Magic and Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels

Book Through: July 10, 2021
Eligibility: Proof of Florida residency required at check-in.
Valid Travel Dates: Stay most nights April 18, 2021 through July 10, 2021
Length of Stay Requirements: Minimum – 1 night; Maximum – 14 nights

Florida residents can save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels for stays most nights April 18 through July 10, 2021. Book through July 10, 2021. Enjoy added peace of mind when booking! You can modify or cancel your reservation with extra flexibility for arrivals through April 30, 2021. This offer is valid for select Disney Resort hotels.

Important Details:

The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
Savings based on the non-discounted price a non-Florida resident pays for the same room.
Length of stay requirements may apply.
Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than two adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts and Studios at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts.
Advance reservations required.
Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
Valid admission and a park reservation are required to enjoy theme parks and special events, and are not included in this offer.
Disney Resort hotel reopening dates are subject to change.

OFFER #4: Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket: Purchase a 4-Day Ticket for $50 Per Day Plus Tax ($199 Total Plus Tax)

Florida Residents can purchase a 4-Day Discover Disney Ticket for $50 per day, plus tax (total price $199 plus tax)—or choose from other specially priced tickets. Discover Disney Tickets are valid for admission to one theme park per day (park reservations via the Disney Park Pass system are required) or choose a Discover Disney Ticket that includes the Park Hopper Option. Looking for flexibility? Tickets can be used on consecutive or non-consecutive days.

Explore pricing and dates for Florida Resident Discover Disney Tickets:

2-Day Ticket: $75 per day ($149 per ticket): Ticket valid January 4 through March 11, 2021; subject to the following blockout dates: January 16 – January 18 and February 13 – February 15
3-Day Ticket: $60 per day ($179 per ticket): Ticket valid January 4 through June 18, 2021; subject to the following blockout dates: January 16 – January 18, February 13 – February 15, March 26 – April 11 and May 28 – 31, 2021
4-Day Ticket: $50 per day ($199 per ticket): Ticket valid January 4 through June 18, 2021; subject to the following blockout dates: January 16 – January 18, February 13 – February 15, March 26 – April 11 and May 28 – 31, 2021

Eligibility: Proof of Florida residency required.

Important Details:

For Florida resident tickets, all adults will need to show proof of Florida residency at park entrance.
Both a theme park reservation via the Disney Park Pass system and valid theme park ticket for the same park on the same date are required for each person in your party ages 3 and up. Reservations are limited and subject to availability. View the park reservation availability calendar.
Tickets are not valid on the blockout dates listed above.
Parks, attractions and other offerings subject to availability, closures and change or cancellation without notice.
All tickets and options are nonstransferable and nonrefundable and exclude activities/events separately priced.

Important Details About the Park Hopper Option:

The Park Hopper option allows Guests to visit more than one park per day.
Guests must make a theme park reservation via the Disney Park Pass reservation system for the first park they plan to visit.
After entering that first park, Guests will be able to visit the next park starting at 2 PM until each park’s regularly scheduled closure. The ability to visit a park is subject to the park’s capacity limitations.
At this time a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change.

Joe Rohde Marks Final Day as a Disney Imagineer

Posted on January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Via wdwnt.com

After four decades of creating memorable Disney Parks experiences, Joe Rohde, one of the most prolific Imagineers is marking his last day at Disney. But on his way out, he left the company a gift.

Joe Rohde shared this picture on his Instagram account, sharing a toast with his family to commemorate the day. He also expressed his ambitions for his life after Disney in the post:

“Well. This is it. I will be just Joe Rohde, creative guy, after today. I still plan to work some, but in new areas and new mediums, and I’d also like to just paint. I heard that the postponed Explorers Club expedition to Nunavut, way up north, is back on, so I can prepare for next August when that will happen. Since November when I announced my retirement from Imagineering, I’ve received lots of very nice congratulations and testimonials from people for whom my work has made a difference. That is gratifying and I’m very thankful to all. People have also warned me about feeling bored by retirement… but I truly have so many deferred projects that I know I cannot complete them all in any rational amount of time I may have. Books. Paintings. Sculptures. Plays. Chores. Expeditions, and time to spend with my wife Melody, whom I met when we were still in school and who has been with me through all of this huge adventure…and with my boys, now grown young men starting their own careers. As much as I have enjoyed my work, and the joy it has brought to so many…my family has always been my first and greatest love. Last night we all got together (only one lives off the Rohde campus right now) we raised our glasses and toasted. .. “Here’s to forty years.”

Meanwhile, Imagineer Zach Riddley shared the gift on his own Instagram account. To cap off his career, Rohde donated his pair of work boots, which he wore on every project he worked on, to The Walt Disney Archives. Riddley also mused on Rohde’s impact, sharing:

“Joe Rohde is many things – painter, historian, conservationist, Imagineer, mentor and – most meaningfully – a friend. And that friendship goes to my first days at Imagineering. I met Joe like so many – in the midst of a project. He and his team were working on the design that would become Expedition Everest. My first meeting with Joe he pulled out a clay model he was sculpting to show the team how the rock work of the mountain would be positioned, leading and teaching while his hands moved the clay around the wireframe of the mountain, balancing craft and budget in each movement. In that moment it was clear to me what made Joe such a special Imagineer – leading a creative effort with both sides of his brain at once.

In the years since I have shared many meetings and personal conversations with Joe. He always made time to connect and discuss our work and our world – and I left every one of those conversations with a greater appreciation for what our work brings to the world. And greater respect for what it means to lead teams by example.

Joe always followed his projects to the field. He led from concept to opening day, and fun fact that I learned just recently – Joe wore the same work boots for ALL of his projects, he’d just resole them when needed. That’s what you see in the pictures here – with names of each completed project scribbled on the side, capturing history in the making.

Joe has donated these boots – that touched the ground during some of our most iconic endeavors – to the Walt Disney Archives. They will preserve these boots for future generations of Disney Imagineers, fans and historians.

Thank you Joe for teaching us how to be better stewards of this world and how to create experiences that entertain, educate and inspire. No one can fill your boots, but we are ready to continue the legacy of curiosity and courage that defines your designs and teams.

I can’t wait to see what you do next my friend.”

Thanks to a close up, we can see some of the projects written on the boots, including EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion, Pleasure Island, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and related projects Asia, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, Expedition Everest and Pandora: The World of Avatar, as well as Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii.

Robo Carts Have Arrived at Walt Disney World Golf Courses

Posted on January 4, 2021January 4, 2021 by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Walt Disney World Golf is continually looking for ways to enhance the golf experience and their latest innovation is already turning heads up and down the fairways around Walt Disney World Resort. Check out the details and visit below from DisneyParksBlog introducing the Robo-Cart!

If you’ve ever walked around an 18-hole golf course carrying your clubs or using a push cart, you know that can be exhausting. Disney Golf aims to ease that hardship with the Robo-Cart, a small robotic golf cart that uses GPS and Bluetooth technology to transport your clubs safely around the course.

Golfers merely clip on the cart’s small transmitter (I found that attaching it to your belt behind your back works best), load your golf bag on it and then the autonomous cart follows a few paces behind you wherever you go. If you stop, the cart stops. If you start walking, the cart starts moving (max speed is approximately 7 mph).

Obviously you have to be a little careful when you’re walking across narrow bridges or along any lakes on the course, but Disney Golf officials told me the GPS technology in the carts is very accurate and, as a result, they have not had any incidents of golfers leading the carts into any trouble.

The Robo-Carts, designed by Club Car, are also equipped with all of the amenities that golfers need – beverage cooler, cup holder, sand bottle and even a USB port so you charge your smartphone while you play. The front of the cart has a color GPS screen that gives you all of the standard yardage information typically available on full-size riding golf carts.

Walt Disney World Resort is one of only a few places in the surrounding area where you’ll find these robotic carts in use. They are ideal for Disney’s Oak Trail golf course, a 9-hole walking course that appeals primarily to families and younger golfers, however they are also available if you want to walk the 18-hole Magnolia and Palm championship courses.

The best part is the Robo-Carts rent for only $10 in addition to your green fees. They are available only at the Palm, Magnolia and Oak Trail courses. Check out the Disney Golf website to learn more.

And here’s another tip for you: If you’re interested in playing on Saturday or Sunday mornings, you can book your tee time at least six days in advance to get a 10 percent discount on your green fees ($49 plus tax). It’s part of a new “Early Bird’’ program for weekend tee times before 11:30 am.

These two new features should help elevate your golf experience and maybe even help you get a hole-in-one. If you do, you’ll be added to our new Hole-In-One Club where you’ll be featured on our Hole-In-One Club website and presented with a personalized Hole-In-One Club certificate.

Just book your tee time at www.golfwdw.com and ask about our Hole-In-One Club and our Early Bird program, or rent a Robo-Cart when you check in at the clubhouse. See you on the tee box!