Kevin Rafferty to Officially Retire from Walt Disney Imagineering in April

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Kevin Rafferty, the Walt Disney Imagineer behind Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World and Cars Land in Disney California Adventure (and many, many more incredible projects) has officially announced his retirement.

Rafferty had initially expressed the intent to retire shortly after the grand opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway as his final project, however a week later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and changed the theme park world as we know it. During the park’s extended closure, Rafferty and his team at WDI teamed up with The Muppets to pen and perform the original song “Brave Little Spark”.

130422751_428752731582201_6630457800433323371_n-1805028

Today, Walt Disney Imagineering shared his official retirement announcement via Instagram, featuring the following caption:

After 42 years of creating magical guest experiences as an Imagineer, Executive Creative Director Kevin Rafferty shared his plan to retire April 1, 2021. From his days as a dishwasher at Disneyland all the way through his work on the show writing and creative direction of Cars Land, Toy Story Mania!, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and more, Kevin’s zany personality and humor have inspired generations of Disney Imagineers and guests from around the world. We can’t thank Kevin enough for all of his contributions at Imagineering and wish him all the best in his next adventure!

As mentioned in the caption, Rafferty started out his career as dish washer at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland before applying for an entry-level position at Walt Disney Imagineering (then-WED Enterprises) in 1978 during the massive recruitment period for EPCOT Center. Rafferty also pitched the never-built Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood land for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which included Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride.

Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Djuan Rivers Announces Retirement

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Djuan Rivers’ journey as Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has come to an end, as he has announced his retirement.

The news broke from fellow recent retiree, Imagineer Joe Rohde, on his Instagram account, praising Rivers as “a people person, warm, outgoing, plain-spoken and ready to laugh.”

Rivers became Vice President of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2014, overseeing projects including Pandora – The World of Avatar and the addition of nighttime offerings to make it a truly full-day park. This is the culmination of an over 30-year tenure with Disney, where he has served in such capacities as General Manager of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Vice President of Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs), Vice President for New Business Development of Disney Parks & Resorts, Vice President of Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii, and Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions for Disneyland Paris.

PhotoPass Reveals NEW Taste of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts Magic Shots

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

Disney PhotoPass recently revealed a few of the Magic Shots guests can expect to see around EPCOT during the Taste of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this year.

The Twitter post features three different “drawings” guests can stand in front of to take a unique picture. The photos are shot with a construction wall in the background, but then the art is digitally added to your photo after.

The designs include some of EPCOT’s icons, such as Spaceship Earth and Figment! There is also a rainbow you can stand under. All of the photo-ops have “EPCOT Festival of the Arts 2021” written next to them.

Gideon’s Bakehouse Reopening Today at Disney Springs

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via wdwnt.com

Gideon’s Bakehouse has announced they are reopening today at 10am at Disney Springs following a surprising closure of the new establishment on January 2nd. Their grand opening will take place January 16th, 2021.

The new bakery had only been soft-open for 11 days, but is already renowned for their specialty coffees, cakes and half-pound cookies, as well as 4-hour-long virtual queue times. Luckily, we had a chance to see all they have to offer from the bakery, which happens to be themed as an occult bookshop, before the closure.

gideons-bakehouse-coffee-cake-cookies-review_31

The Grand Opening on Saturday will be quite the occasion according to a Facebook post from Gideon’s:

It’s time! Let’s do a Grand Opening! This Saturday, January 16th, we invite you to join Gideon’s at Disney Springs for an official celebration! Why is this event not to be missed?⁣⁣⁣⁣

#1) Get a free commemorative Limited Edition 11×14 Art Print of our Gargoyle. Each will be signed and numbered by artist Michael Reyes @mreyes.art! They are limited to 1000 pieces and available one per transaction. NOTE: We have discovered our guardian’s secret name, and it will be written on the print. Legend has it that if you can correctly pronounce his name, you will gain his protection. I know it. Will you?

⁣⁣⁣⁣#2) Free 3 x 5 Inch Gideon’s Gargoyle Sticker! One per transaction with each available Gargoyle Print!⁣⁣⁣⁣

#3) FIVE Limited Edition Cookies for a total of 10 Flavors today. Our 6 Per Limit is raised for the first (and maybe last) time ever to 10 per person!! What Limited flavors, you ask?⁣⁣⁣⁣• FRANKENSTEIN!⁣⁣• SANTA’S WHITE CHRISTMAS⁣⁣• COFFEE CAKE COOKIE (Beyond just the morning!)⁣⁣• CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SWIRL⁣⁣• COFFEE TOFFEE CHOCOLATE CHIP⁣⁣Check gideonsbakehouse.com/bakery-menu for descriptions. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

#4) FREE Peanut Butter Buttercream Dip for the first 250 Transactions because it’s fantastic, and you should have it!⁣⁣⁣⁣#5) The release of our new Gargoyle T-shirt!⁣⁣⁣⁣

#6) Cake slices for Red Velvet, Key Lime Pie Cake, and The Peanut Butter Banana Double Frosted Chocolate Cake!

⁣⁣⁣⁣#7) Extended time for Hot Cookie Hour with Homemade Ice Cream!! 7 pm to 9 pm!⁣⁣⁣⁣PLUS! Pair all these goodies with Gideon’s Cold Brew because you can’t leave without trying our locally roasted, carefully blended drinks. The Original Peanut Butter Cold Brew pairs with all things Chocolate! Ginger Snap Cold Brew is pure magic with the Coffee Cake Cookie and the Gideon’s White Cold Brew pairs with everything in life!

⁣⁣⁣🚨 ALL ITEMS ARE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!⁣⁣⁣

See you this Saturday! Be prepared to sign up, in person, for a Virtual Queue. Enjoy Disney Springs while you wait! ⁣⁣

No information was available on the reasoning behind the shut down, but this dark and cookie-less period of Disney Springs existence is now over.

50th Anniversary Park Passes at Capacity for Magic Kingdom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World is gearing up to celebrate their 50th Anniversary on October 1, 2021! As the excitement of the 50th builds for all of us Disney fans, we hope you’ve planned ahead if you were planning to visit Magic Kingdom for the big day. Currently, the Park Pass calendar shows no availability for Magic Kingdom on October 1, 2021.

As you’ll see in the three screen shots below of the Walt Disney World Theme Park Reservation Availability calendar, all three tiers (Theme Parks Tickets, Disney Resort Guests, and Annual Passholders) show Magic Kingdom is no longer available for the 50th:

Did you snatch a Magic Kingdom Park Pass reservation for the 50th? If not, you’ll have to keep checking back in hopes that Disney releases more. In the meantime, you may want to grab one of the other three parks which still have full availability. Happy planning, Disney fans!