Disney News

Our guests visiting the Disneyland® Resort in Southern California now have an second resource for questions in addition to their Magic Maker®.

Disney Imagineers introduced the automated Ask Otto! over the weekend. Otto will be able to assist guests with park hours, show times for parades and fireworks, and dining options. Otto’s biggest feature is being able to access attraction information like wait times and Disney FASTPASS® Service return times! If Otto isn’t able to help you himself, he will transfer you to a cast member for assistance.

Originally introduced on July 21, 1999, Disney’s FASTPASS® Service has become a valuable tool to theme park guests wanting to avoid long lines for favorite attractions. At FASTPASS® attractions, guests can choose  to wait in the regular queue or put their valid theme park ticket into a special machine and receive a FASTPASS® ticket denoting a one-hour window of time when they can return and enter the attraction with little or no wait.

Disney’s FASTPASS® Service is available complimentary to all park guests with a valid theme park admission. Guests may obtain FASTPASSES® at the following attractions:

• Magic Kingdom® Park
  • Space Mountain®
  • Splash Mountain®
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad®
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin®
  • Jungle Cruise®
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Peter Pan’s Flight®
  • Dumbo The Flying Elephant®
  • Town Square Theater Meet & Greets
• Epcot®
  • Mission: SPACE®
  • Test Track®
  • Captain EO starring Michael Jackson
  • Maelstrom
  • Soarin’™
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios™
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
  • Toy Story Mania!™
  • Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
  • Primeval Whirl®
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris® Expedition
  • DINOSAUR
  • Kali River Rapids®
  • Expedition Everest®
• Disneyland® Park
  • Autopia, presented by Chevron
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad®
  • Indiana Jones™ Adventure
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
  • Space Mountain®
  • Splash Mountain®
  • Star Tours®
• Disney California Adventure® Park
  • California Screamin’
  • Goofy’s Sky School
  • Grizzly River Run
  • Radiator Springs Racers (distributed near It’s Tough to Be a Bug!)
  • Soarin’ Over California
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
  • World of Color (distributed at Grizzly River Run)

Disney’s FASTPASS® Service is easy to use:

1. Visit any attraction offering the FASTPASS® Service. The wait time as well as the FASTPASS® distribution times will be displayed. If you choose to bypass the queue and utilize the FASTPASS® Service, simply insert your theme park ticket into the FASTPASS® machine. You will receive a FASTPASS® ticket denoting a one-hour window for you to return — for example, 10:45-11:45 a.m. In this example, you cannot enter the attraction using FASTPASS® before 10:45 but can return at any time during the designated one-hour window.
2. Upon returning at the designated time, head straight for the FASTPASS® entrance and proceed directly to the attraction pre-show or boarding area with little or no wait.

Guests are able to get several FASTPASSES® throughout the day in the Disney theme parks. However, you cannot immediately obtain multiple FASTPASS® tickets. Your FASTPASS® will contain the time in which you can obtain an additional FASTPASS® on the bottom of it. Select attractions, like World of Color at Disney California Adventure® Park, is excluded from this restriction.

Please consult your Magic Maker® for full details on how you can maximize Disney’s FASTPASS® Service to your benefit on your next vacation!

In the past couple weeks, both the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida and the Disneyland® Resort in California have hosted events for USA Olympic athletes hoping to make their dreams come true at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

A send-off party for Brittany Viola, a U.S. Olympic Diving Team member, was held inside Planet Hollywood® at the Downtown Disney® Area of the Walt Disney World® Resort. Viola will perform in the women’s 10-meter platform this August. During Trials, she qualified with almost 60 more points than the second place qualifier!

This past Tuesday, the Anaheim-based men’s and women’s USA Volleyball teams were the stars of a special cavalcade on Main Street, U.S.A® at Disneyland® Park. With Mickey and his pals by their side, the teams walked to the beats of the Disneyland® Resort All-American College Band while being showered with red, white and blue confetti. The U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Volleyball Teams are ranked #1 and #5 in the world respectively.

These patriotic tributes were a great way for Disney Parks to recognize the dreams of all U.S. athletes who are on their way to represent our country in the Olympic Games.

Enjoy this video of the send-off cavalcade at Disneyland® Park

By Magic Maker Heather Straight

It’s hard to say who was more excited about visiting Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa on the island of Oahu in Hawaii – me and my husband, or our two young boys. Certainly my husband and I had always put a visit to Hawaii high on our travel “Bucket List,” and our boys, ages eight and five, had been hooked from the first look they had of pictures of the lazy river, the water slides, the pools and the many water play areas. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Honolulu, and were greeted with smiles and fragrant lei in the Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa lobby, we knew we were in for the vacation of a lifetime.

Everything about Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa tells a story – the story of Hawaii, its people, its culture, its landscapes – and it’s all done with an attention to detail that Disney does so well. From the exquisite murals lining the beautiful lobby to the colorful photos taken by local Hawaiian children that form a work of art behind the front desk, from the sweeping views of the Pacific ocean on one side to the volcanic mountains on the other, everywhere you turn you immersed in the beauty and history of the Hawaiian islands. Combined with the exceptional service that they are known for, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa is a truly remarkable family vacation destination.

The boys divided their time between Aunty’s Beach House and the Waikolohe Valley. Aunty’s Beach House is a major family perk of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, a complimentary kids’ club for children ages three and up, staffed with excellent, well-trained youth counselors that keep children engaged and safe. Aunty’s Beach House features areas for dress-up and imaginative play, arts and crafts, computers, a TV room, an outdoor play area, a magical fireplace for storytelling, and much more. Kids can make volcanoes erupt or concoct “Space Goo” with Stitch, and several premium programs are available for an additional fee. Our boys did Aunty’s Make Believe Magic, a half-day program that included lunch and a magical treasure hunt through Aunty’s Beach House.

The Waikolohe Valley is essentially a 7-acre water park, with pools, slides and a lazy river surrounding the centerpiece, the Pu’u Kilo Volcano. Our whole family spent hours floating on the lazy river, swimming in the pools, rocketing down the water slides, basking in the sun and searching for hidden animals and sea life carved into the sides of Pu’u Kilo Volcano. It was nearly impossible to draw our youngest away from the Menehune Bridge, an immense water play area inhabited by the mischievous “menehune” – the Hawaiian equivalent of a leprechaun. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy could be found hosting poolside parties, and Chip and Dale made regular appearances at Rainbow Reef, the man-made snorkeling lagoon full of colorful fish where the whole family can try their hand at snorkeling.

One afternoon while the boys were playing at Aunty’s Beach House, my husband and I visited the Lani Wai Spa for Lomi Lomi massages (a Hawaiian technique using hot stones and a special massage stick carved from the lomi lomi tree) and relaxation in the outdoor hydrotherapy garden. I consider myself something of a spa connoisseur, and try to fit in a spa visit on every vacation. Lani Wai Spa was easily the most amazing spa experience I’ve ever had, from pools and showers in the hydrotherapy garden to the excellent facilities in the locker and relaxation rooms. I highly recommend the Lomi Lomi massage, a very relaxing experience.

The Pau Hana Room, the community room, offers complimentary daily Hawaiian craft classes (we made floral lei, fern bracelets, kukui nut bracelets and sea turtle pendants) as well as a place for the family to play Wii or Playstation games, catch a movie, send home a video post card or learn the basics of hula. It’s also the place to pick up a hand-held device (similar to an iPhone) and set off on the Menehune Adventure Trail, an interactive adventure through the grounds of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa.

While we did set off for adventures around Oahu, such as Pearl Harbor and the North Shore, we could have easily stayed our entire week at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa and never been bored. Playing on the beach with sand toys and boogie boards (complimentary for Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa guests), stand-up paddleboard and outrigger rentals, and a host of excursions offered by Adventures by Disney have something for all ages. Nightly story telling, star gazing, and an amazing show called the Starlit Hui carry the entertainment well into the evening hours.

I could go on and on for pages and pages about Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, the service, the food, the spacious and comfortable rooms, the friendly and helpful Cast Members, the adventures and more, and still not be finished describing what was, so far, the most magical family vacation we’ve ever taken.

The highest compliment I can pay is this – scarcely a day goes by that my boys (and often my husband!) don’t ask when we’ll be going back to Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa.

Epcot® has announced the addition of two new events for this year’s International Food & Wine Festival.

The Marketplace VIP Access Chef Tour will provide guests with tastes from five selected marketplaces around the World Showcase and a behind-the-scenes interaction with the chefs. The two hour tour will include five preselected dishes and five adult beverages and is available every Wednesday starting at 10:30am. Cost is $90 plus tax and requires separate park admission.

An Italian Regional Food & Wine Luncheon will creatively pair wines with casual, authentic dishes for its guests. The luncheon will take place Wednesdays and Saturdays from noon – 2pm at Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar inside the Italy Pavilion. Cost is $75 plus tax and requires separate park admission.

Many of your favorite events from past Food & Wine Festivals will also be returning this year. We will bring you more details on the Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival as they become available. Bookings for all Food & Wine Events open on 8/14 at 7am, so be sure to contact your Magic Maker® to discuss your event options.

Did you know that Disney FREE Dining is available for select dates of Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival? Request a free no obligation quote now!