Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2022 Edition

[HokieRaven5]

Me. I like the guaranteed entry
Wouldn't really care if they removed it though.

Yeah it’s useful on high crowd days where in the past you’d see phased closures and people would get turned away.

I’m indifferent towards the reservation system and kind of view it as an easier replacement to 180 day ADRs for those of us who planned that far out at least as far as WDW is concerned.

 

[mrsap]

Hey guys! Took some Epcot Construction pics for you this morning! Hope you’re all having a great day!

 

[disney-inspired]

Me. I like the guaranteed entry
Wouldn't really care if they removed it though.

Unless you're going on a holiday like Christmas or NYE, I don't see why you'd get turned away.

 

[starlite_]

Unless you're going on a holiday like Christmas or NYE, I don't see why you'd get turned away.

I've had friends being turned away on December (not on the actual holiday dates) after driving there 3+ hrs. I know the chance is small, specially because we are rope droppers. But having a guaranteed entry to those families that do not drop rope is a nice thing imo. I am 100% behind removing park hopping hours thought.

 

[snikki]

With no park reservations and G+ it could really be a less planned trip. We felt locked into the parks more with FP+ than we did with G+. This past trip we switched our days around a lot. One day we dropped our MK park pass and got Epcot. We changed where we park hopped at night and with G+ we could decide that much easier. We used to always do our FP+ at our evening park so we were pretty much locked in there. I wasn't going to give up FOP that I booked 2 months before even if I wasn't feeling AK that night. We also didn’t book many ADRs to compensate for G+ and ILL so weren’t locked in there much.

The park pass system annoyed me during TS Nicole. That Thursday when the parks opened late our original plan was to do DHS, AK and Epcot. When the late start was announced I wanted to do AK for the evening then hop to DHS around 7ish. Disney would not allow me to change our park reservation so we just went to DHS for the entire afternoon/night. We love AK at night and were sad to miss that extra evening there.

 

[snikki]

I've had friends being turned away on December (not on the actual holiday dates) after driving there 3+ hrs. I know the chance is small, specially because we are rope droppers. But having a guaranteed entry to those families that do not drop rope is a nice thing imo. I am 100% behind removing park hopping hours thought.

There is usually one park that has availability. Were they trying for MK and DHS and there were no more park passes?

I have a family member that did this last year. I told them about the reservation system and I guess they didn't believe me. They couldn't get into the MK because all passes were sold out. They were pretty upset.

 

[starlite_]

There is usually one park that has availability. Were they trying for MK and DHS and there were no more park passes?

I have a family member that did this last year. I told them about the reservation system and I guess they didn't believe me. They couldn't get into the MK.

We are on the west coast The park was Disneyland and pre-covid.

 

[snikki]

We are on the west coast The park was Disneyland and pre-covid.

I didn’t know Disneyland reaches capacity outside of the holidays!

 

[HokieRaven5]

8

 

[HokieRaven5]

9

 

[HokieRaven5]

Volkskunst Clock and Crafts Shop Reopens in Germany Pavilion at EPCOT



After being closed for nearly three years, the Volkskunst Clocks and Crafts Shop has finally reopened at the Germany Pavilion in EPCOT.

 

[Gabby01]

New Chicken and Waffle Bowls Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney World has announced that there will be some new menu items coming to Fairfax Fare starting November 29th. Here’s the announcement and a look at the new menu items:

Starting Nov. 29 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can enjoy one of the three new Chicken and Waffle bowls at Fairfax Fare!

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I did not realize I needed this in my life!

 

[BrianL]

I did not realize I needed this in my life!

Yeah, they look tasty and a unique offering from Fairfax Faire.

 

[Gabby01]

Hey guys! Took some Epcot Construction pics for you this morning! Hope you’re all having a great day!

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Thanks for sharing! I spy some progress on Moana . . . was planning on waiting until it’s done and then doing all the new-to-me stuff in Epcot in one fell swoop. But on the other hand, maybe I should go now before prices go up again . . .

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney World Cast Member unions to begin week of negotiations

Bargaining sessions are scheduled for November 29 and December 1, with wage increases, healthcare costs, and retirement top of the agenda.

The existing contract being negotiated expired on October 1, 2022, with both the union and Disney agreeing to extend the agreement while negotiations continued.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney World Removes Mention of Courtesy Parking Lot Trams From Website as Deadline for Announced Return Looms

Disney World has removed mention of its courtesy parking lot trams from its website as the deadline to bring back trams to make good on an earlier promise looms. Disney World has previously said that they will bring back parking lot trams to all four Walt Disney World theme parks in 2022, but so far they’ve only brought back trams to Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Parking lot tram service for EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios remains suspended as Disney struggles with staffing and “meaningful efficiencies” (budget constraints). A message on the Disney World website previously read:

Courtesy trams have returned to Magic Kingdom park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park-and they’ll return to other Walt Disney World theme parks throughout 2022. Where available, this convenient mode of transportation will whisk Guests from the theme park’s parking lot to its Main Entrance and back.

It’s unclear if the removal from the website was intentional and Disney World no longer plans on bringing back parking lot trams to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios this year, or if it was removed in error.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney World to Begin Installing Amazon Alexa Service in Some Hotel Rooms

Disney is going to start installing Hey Disney! in select hotel rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!

Moana-Themed Rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Guests at the resort received this letter saying that “Cast Members may be entering your Guest Room for a short period of time between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm to install ‘Hey Disney!'”.


Disney announced that Hey Disney! would be available by the end of 2022 in Disney World and Disneyland, and we even got a sneak peek of how it will work. It brings the same features as Alexa like setting timers and alarms or checking the weather, but with a fun Disney twist! You’ll get to hear the voices of popular characters like Olaf, Mickey, C-3PO, and more.

 

[disney-inspired]

Disney World to Begin Installing Amazon Alexa Service in Some Hotel Rooms

Disney is going to start installing Hey Disney! in select hotel rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!

Moana-Themed Rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Guests at the resort received this letter saying that “Cast Members may be entering your Guest Room for a short period of time between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm to install ‘Hey Disney!'”.


Disney announced that Hey Disney! would be available by the end of 2022 in Disney World and Disneyland, and we even got a sneak peek of how it will work. It brings the same features as Alexa like setting timers and alarms or checking the weather, but with a fun Disney twist! You’ll get to hear the voices of popular characters like Olaf, Mickey, C-3PO, and more.

Is there an option to disable this service?

 

[Just654]

Is there an option to disable this service?

I am sure you can unplug the Alexa or just not Say “Hey Disney”.

 

[disney-inspired]

I am sure you can unplug the Alexa or just not Say “Hey Disney”.

Like with other Alexa products, that thing is always listening so just knowing I can mute it or unplug it is fine.