News Of The World (WDW) !

[Travisma 1,317]

https://wdwnt.com/2018/12/new-personal-shopper-service-testing-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

NEW PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICE AT HS

Having trouble finding the right gifts this season? Not sure where to find that one specific toy your child mentioned earlier in your vacation? Just don’t feel like lugging your purchases around the park? Then Hollywood Studios’ new “Complimentary Personal Shopper” service might be right up your alley.

Inside Mickey’s of Hollywood, located on the main drag at Hollywood Studios, you can find a handful of cast members with iPads. They are there to help you through the entire process of finding whatever it is you’re looking for. According to the cast member I spoke with, they can help you locate any specific item in their system via the aforementioned iPad. She said they would also physically show you to where the item is. You can also have all your selections held for you until later, at which point you can purchase them all at once. Or you can purchase them as you go and they will send all the items to package pick-up at the front of the park.

The personal shopper cast members are not available all day, though. I was given an estimate of about 10:30 in the morning to approximately 4:00 in the afternoon. You can expect the availability to shift depending on the day. It is unsure if this is just for the holidays, or if it will roll out to other parks at any point. I’m sure it all depends on if guests and management consider it a success or not.

This really seems to be an amalgamation of several different services Disney has always done. Obviously, any time you purchase something you can opt to send it to package pick-up for later. You can also find specific item locations via the Shop Parks app on your phone at any time. This is just a consolidated version of those services for the less savvy among us. If you plan on doing quite a bit of shopping in Hollywood Studios, it might make sense to track down one of these personal shoppers. It’s free, after all.

 

https://wdwnt.com/2018/12/disneyland-addresses-souvenir-resale-issue-by-allegedly-revoking-annual-pass-privileges/

Disneyland Addresses Souvenir-Resale Issue by Allegedly Revoking Annual Pass Privileges

Have you ever sacrificed a significant portion of a Disney Parks visit to acquire a must-have, limited edition souvenir? Have you ever had this effort prove entirely fruitless as the shop, Tiki bar, or outdoor vendor sold out of your sought-after item right in front of you? A collectible mug, pin, and popcorn bucket may be worth a half-day investment. Explaining to your kids how you squandered a massive share of your roller-coaster window, and still didn’t get the cool new Funko you promised them is a tragedy.

 

Whether you hold Disney, or the throng of Philistines pushing past you with their ten bags of undeserved good fortune, responsible, the resultant disappointment can be enough to ruin your day. The notion that some are likely reselling the surplus, rather than gifting it graciously to grandchildren, might strike outside observers as uncool. Disney clearly agrees.

According to a feature in the Orange County Register today, the Disneyland Resort is pursuing a means to curb the longtime practice. Compiled in the article, the OC Register has identified a number of private Annual Passholders who have had their Disneyland passes canceled. The common thread is that each individual in the story engaged in the reselling of items purchased at an annual-pass discount. A Disney no-no.

The individuals in the story are understandably displeased. However, each admitted they understand what they did to be a legitimate violation of the Disneyland Annual Passport Terms and Conditions, which it is. Disney has yet to release a statement regarding the revocations, nor even to confirm that they are indeed taking place. This seems odd. Public knowledge that you can actually lose something as dear as a Disneyland Annual Pass could prove quite the deterrent for unwanted activity. Awareness of the one particular former passholder who admits she lost her admission privileges, but still has to pay off her pass, might just eliminate the dubious practice altogether.

 

Terms of the agreement are clear, if not universally known or heeded. Even in the abridged admonishment posted online, Disney warns against commercial chicanery:

Merchandise discounts, as applicable..are for personal use only and may not be used to purchase merchandise with the intent to resell such merchandise.

Whether this is part of a policy intensification, or larger crackdown, is unknown. As a flood of collectible Star Wars merchandise is set to soon arrive at a galactic outpost near you, it’s hardly surprising that Disney is looking to discourage competition for its own product. Disney’s playing hardball, for sure. If it helps get more limited edition items into the hands of appreciative grand kids, so much the better.

 

https://wdwnt.com/2018/12/imagineering-stolport-complex-set-for-expansion-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

Imagineering STOLport Complex Set for Expansion at WDW, Hints at Magic Kingdom Expansion

 

The Walt Disney World STOLport (short for Short Take-Off and Landing airport) is located adjacent to World Drive across from the Magic Kingdom parking lot. The STOLport itself dates back to the 1960s, when Walt first assembled land for Walt Disney World. Walt and other company officials would often fly in from California to oversee construction work.

The STOLport hasn’t been used for airplanes in a long time. It has frequently been used as a staging area for major projects such as the Bay Lake Tower construction, and a number of trailers have been installed as office space for Imagineering and other contractors working on these projects.

According to recently-filed permits, it now seems this office space trailer complex is about to undergo a big expansion.

Plans show two big 12-wide trailers and twelve smaller trailers of various sizes, along with sidewalks and parking.

It is likely that this expansion will be used to support the TRON Lightcycle Power Run construction as well as construction of Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Resort. Perhaps even some yet to be announced projects…

https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/wine-bar-george-at-disney-springs-nominated-in-usa-todays-ten-best-new-restaurants/

Wine Bar George at Disney Springs Nominated in USA Today’s Ten Best New Restaurants

 

According to the National Restaurant Association, the United States is home to more than a million different restaurants, with hundreds of new locations opening up every year.

USA Today asked a group of food and travel experts to nominate their 20 favorite new restaurants which opened in the past year. The nominated locations range from “chef-driven fast-casual concepts to high end dining with a focus on hyper-local and sustainable ingredients.”

Wine Bar George at Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort is among the nominees!

Readers can vote for their favorite once daily until voting ends on Monday, January 7 at noon Eastern. The 10 winning restaurants will be announced on Friday, January 18, 2019.

 

https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/new-star-wars-galaxys-edge-information-announced/

 

New Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Information Announced

UPDATE 12/4/18: According to a tweet from a New York Times reporter, the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction will have the capacity to handle 1,800 guests per hour.

I tried a test version of the Millennium Falcon ride as part of reporting. Built in a CA warehouse. I must say, pretty amazing. You’re in the cockpit with only a few others. But they will have enough pods to handle 1,800 people/hour. https://t.co/sZqTbu9n7b

— Brooks Barnes (@brooksbarnesNYT) November 16, 2018

 

 

https://wdwnt.com/2018/12/photo-skyliner-testing-seen-near-caribbean-beach-resort/

PHOTO: Skyliner Testing Seen Near Caribbean Beach Resort

 

Though the official opening of Disney Skyliner is just under a year away, we’re already seeing some testing of the system.

Here we see testing of the cable lines at the Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort station. Though these aren’t the actual gondolas that will ultimately be used, mock gondolas are being used to test the cables’ strength, and to see how they will handle once the Skyliner opens.

When open, Disney Skyliner will connect several Walt Disney World resorts, including Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and the upcoming Disney’s Riviera Resort, to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Keep reading WDW News Today as we report on preparations for Disney Skyliner’s opening.  

(My 2 Cents  These also might be used by the construction crews ?)

 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-cfb-lawsuit-vicki-denton-20181212-story.html

Disney lawsuit dismissed over scooter crash allegations

A legal fight in which a woman sued after she says she was run over by a scooter at Walt Disney World has ended, court documents show.

Vicki Denton, who sued Disney in May for an incident that allegedly occurred in 2016, has voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit, according to court documents filed this month in Orange Circuit Court. Each side is responsible for its own legal bills, the filing said.

A scooter driver tried to go in reverse but mistakenly moved forward in a gift shop at Hollywood Studios, according to the suit. The driver hit Denton, pinning her against a checkout counter, and Denton fell over the scooter, her lawyer, Michael Sanchez, had previously said.

Sanchez declined to comment Wednesday. Disney did not immediately have a comment.

The incident had involved a personally owned scooter, a Disney spokeswoman said earlier.

Court records show Disney requested multiple times for Denton to release produce medical records without getting a response.

 

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/deputies-disney-world-worker-steals-almost-49k-from-company/887935122

Deputies: Disney World worker fired after stealing almost $49K from company

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A Walt Disney World hotel worker was arrested Monday after stealing almost $49,000 in 2016, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Between April 2016 and December 2016, Jamaica Hall, 31, of Kissimmee, issued fraudulent credit card refunds to hotel guests, which he transferred to his checking account, investigators said.

Deputies said Hall worked as a front desk concierge host at multiple Walt Disney World hotels.

No hotel guests were affected by the $48,531 in fraudulent refunds, investigators said.

He was booked into the Orange County Jail on charges of grand theft. He is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bail.