Disney News

On Monday, the Disneyland® Resort opened its newest Starbucks® on-property location in the Downtown Disney® District. Near the World of Disney® store, this new location will be a convenient stop for the millions of guests who visit the Disneyland® Resort annually. Before its opening, guests could only recharge with Starbucks® signature beverages and pastries at locations inside the gates of the theme parks – at Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Café in Disney California Adventure® Park and the Market House at Disneyland® Park.

The new location engages guests with technology and content that was designed specifically for this store. A selection of some of the rarest coffees will be available to guests from the Starbucks Reserve® coffee line and Clover® brewing system. And an amazing “green wall” containing over 1,000 plants in the shape of a coffee cup serves as the centerpiece of an outdoor patio and a perfect backdrop of photos.

Five additional Starbucks® locations are in the works for the U.S. Disney Parks.  Plans call for an additional location in the Downtown Disney® District at Disneyland® Resort, two locations at Downtown Disney® (the future Disney Springs) at the Walt Disney World® Resort, and a locations inside both Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park and Disney Hollywood Studios® at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Last week, Disney Parks created the “Ultimate Tweet” to help announce their upcoming 24-hour bicoastal Rock Your Disney Side Party this coming Memorial Day weekend. The “Ultimate Tweet” consisted of 140 Disney characters gathered at one time inside the Magic Kingdom® Park to form a hashtag. With 140 beloved Disney character all in one picture, it quickly started trending and making its way through the various social networks.

Take a behind the scenes look at the “Ultimate Tweet” photo shoot!

Click here for more information on the Rock Your Disney Side Party.

While many of us across the nation are still scraping the ice off of windshields and knocking the snow from our boots, things are now in full bloom at Walt Disney World® Resort for the 2014 Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival Presented by HGTV from March 9^th to May 18th!

Spring may not have ‘officially’ sprung yet, but you wouldn’t know it when you visit Epcot®! The park is now filled with colorful and whimsical topiaries, as well as Outdoor Kitchens around World Showcase that feature seasonal foods from around the world.

As you look for a late winter or early spring escape, Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival has just want you need to beat the winter blues!

We wanted to provide you with a quick guide to some of the magic that there is to experience at the 2014 Epcot® International Flower & Garden! The first thing you will notice is that everywhere you explore you will see Disney personalities coming to life as beautiful topiaries around the park!  Featuring favorites such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Pluto as well as some of your favorite Disney•Pixar characers, Disney classic characters and more, a new surprise awaits around every corner! Be sure to check out some of the newest topiaries in 2014, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, between the Italy Pavilion and Germany Pavilion!

Exploring the Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival Presented is certain to work up an appetite within you, and the Outdoor Kitchens are just the flavors you need to satisfy your hunger! Featuring spring-inspired flavors, fresh garden-grown treats and flavorful meats; 12 different Outdoor Kitchens are cooking up special snacks around World Showcase to keep you going.

After you have filled your belly, you can groove and swing to the rockin’ tunes at Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival’s Flower Power Concert Series. Featuring a variety of acts on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, this lineup of entertaining artists will leave you dancing your time away! Be sure to check out the full line-up here!

With special gardens, activities and exhibits for your children as well as special presentations from HGTV featured personalities, there is something to engage the whole family!

The Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival is a welcome blossom in the middle of a harsh winter. Contact your Magic Maker® today to help you pack away your winter gear and head to where the flowers are in bloom at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida!

The amazing crew of Disney Cruise Line has done it again!

Cruise Critic® recently announced the winners of the 2014 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards and it’s no surprise to our Magic Makers® that Disney Cruise Line was this year’s big winner! With over 13 first-place awards and a total of 29 awards overall, this is the most awards Disney Cruise Line has received at a single time.

Among Large Ships (2,000+ passengers), Disney Fantasy came out on top in the following categories: Best Overall Ship, Best Cabins, Best Dining, Best Entertainment, and Best Service. The Disney Wonder took first place for Mid-Size Ships (1,200 – 1,999 passengers) for: Best Overall Ship, Best Entertainment, and Best Service. Additional first place wins include the Disney Fantasy being recognized as Best for Family, Best Cruises to the Caribbean, and Best Cruises from Florida while the Disney Dream was names #1 as Best Cruises to the Bahamas.

Have you experienced the magic of a Disney Cruise Line vacation yet? Contact your Magic Maker® today and start planning!

On Sunday, Mar. 9, Magic Kingdom® Park will debut their newest daytime entertainment, Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade. Replacing the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade that ended last year, this new parade brings the classic stories of New Fantasyland® to life on the streets of the park.

Before the big debut, we wanted to share another behind-the-scenes look at all the hard work that is being done to make this new parade a reality. We previously shared two other videos that talked about the parade design and costuming, but today’s video looks at the hours upon hours of training those talented performers have completed to bring the magic alive. Take a look!

Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade will typically run once daily at 3:00p but is subject to change. Please contact your Magic Maker® or consult your Daily Times Guide for more details.

If someone were to ask you why you vacation together as a family or with your friends, and you could only use two words to answer, what would your answer be?

Think about it. What compels you to make a large financial investment in a trip? What entices you to leave your work, your home and your network to travel to another destination for a few days…or weeks?

For myself, the answer is shared experiences.

Sharing new, unique and exclusive experiences together as a family is what pulls us away from our home time and time again.

We are a family all of the time; we cannot turn that off (nor would we want to). We go through our same daily routines together. We share the same meals together. For the most part every day is business as usual.

But something happens when we begin to experience new things together, our relational dynamic changes. We bond as our experiences shape our relationships and ourselves. There is a kindredness that happens through sharing the same experiences and creating these memories together.

With new ‘shared experiences’ being our number one reason for taking a family vacation you would think that we would choose a new destination each year, yet we continue to return to Walt Disney World® Resort time and time again.

On Sunday we returned from our fourth trip to a Disney Destination in 13 months. Repetitive, right? Wrong! The reality is, there is so much to do between Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort that each time we visit we always experience something new, for the first time, together.

In fact, I have been traveling to Walt Disney World® Resort since I was a young boy and I STILL experience ‘firsts’ on each trip. It just never gets old.

If you think that Walt Disney World® Resort’s experiences are limited to the standard theme park experiences so many have come accustomed to, think again!

Did you know that Walt Disney World® Resort has their very own racetrack, Walt Disney World Speedway, where you can wheel a full-fledged NASCAR style stock car or exotic supercar around the track?  If speed isn’t your thing, Walt Disney World® Resort features 3 18-hole championship layout courses to tee off at!

Throughout Walt Disney World® Resort you can catch a movie under the stars with your family, rent a watercraft for some time out the water or relax poolside at one of Walt Disney World® Resort’s themed pools. You can catch a birds-eye view of the property from high above as you parasail on Bay Lake or take in the sights from high atop in the Characters in Flight hot air balloon experience.

Bike rides, miniature golf, shopping, dining, watersports, spa experiences, park attractions…the possibilities are virtually limitless.

We’d love to hear some of your favorite ‘off the beaten path’ activities at Walt Disney World® Resort. Visit our website or Facebook page and let us know how you like to spend your time at Walt Disney World® Resort!

Don’t hesitate to contact your Magic Maker® today to learn more about some of the exciting adventures that wait at Walt Disney World® Resort!

runDisney has just announced they will be expanding their lineup of popular race weekends by adding a new Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland® Resort in California November 14-16, 2014!

Included in the three-day race weekend will be a 5K, half marathon, kids races, a Health & Fitness Expo and a Pasta in the Park Party. The Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend will be the third runDisney weekend to take place at the Disneyland® Resort – joining the popular Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend and the Disneyland® Half Marathon Weekend.

The popularity of this new event is expected to be no different than the other seven runDisney race weekends held annually. In 2013, runDisney race weekends attracted more than 163,900 runners – a 40% increase over 2012! Because many of the runDisney events have sold out in record time in the past couple years, we suggest you be ready to sign up when registration for the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend opens on March 25th!

Contact your Magic Maker® today for additional details on the race and to check on room availability!

The Force will be with you one extra weekend this year! The Walt Disney World® Resort has announced that a fifth week of Star Wars™ Weekends will be added this year. The event now runs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from May 16 – Jun. 15, 2014!

Themed as “Join the Rebellion,” this year’s event will be hosted by James Arnold Taylor and will feature a new evening experience – a special Star Wars™ themed fireworks display high above Disney’s Hollywood Studios®. Although full details are still being finalized for event, you can expect additional special activities like:

• Meet-and-Greet opportunities with many Star Wars™ characters
• Autograph sessions with Star Wars™ actors and creative talent
• Special shows and presentations
• One-of-a-kind Star Wars™ memorabilia

Star Wars™ Weekends is included with regular theme park admission. Great discounts are still available for these dates, so contact your Magic Maker® today to start planning your Star Wars™ Weekends trip to a galaxy far, far away!