News From the World of Disney - July 18-31, 2015 -

Written by Sue Nowicki

July 18 – New tour beginning at Disney’s Contemporary Report will Escape to Walt’s Wilderness. The tour includes breakfast, a horse-drawn wagon ride, an archery lesson, and a tour of Tri-Circle-D Ranch. The cost for this tour is $109 plus tax. (Link)

July 20 – Several new offers were announced such as a ‘Kid-Size Package’ for $889-903 for a family of 3 (8/16-12/10) and up to 30% of select rooms (8/15-10/3). (Link)

July 21 – Glidden will be sponsoring a new exhibit, Colortopia, at Innoventions. The interactive exhibit will include hands-on activities focusing on color. (Link)

July 21 – Two of the six ‘Enchanted Windows’ are complete on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland. These windows feature the stories of Peter Pan and Cinderella while the remaining windows will focus on Frozen, The Princess & The Frog, Toy Story and Aladdin.

July 21 – What could this be? Another live action remake of a Disney animated classic? Why yes it is. This time it is The Sword & The Stone. The kicker is that is being written by ‘Game of Thrones’ writer Bryan Cogman. (As long as he includes that Jon Snow is still alive I will be happy.) (Link)

July 22 – Veterinarians working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom don’t exclusive deal with the exotic animals from far off lands. Recently, these dedicated professionals nursed an injured gopher turtle back to health. The turtle had been hit, possibly by a car, and lost the use of his back legs. These out-of-the-box thinkers took a Lego block with wheels and attached it to the underside of the shell. It worked like magic. He was up and going in no time. The staff have now lovingly named him Wheels. You can see Wheels at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. (Link)

July 22 – An Oakland, CA couple snuck their wedding (and 25 guests) into the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. Not wanting to pay the exorbitant fee to have a traditional wedding at Disney they timed out the entire adventure to take place in the four minutes between when the doors to the Tiki Room opened and the show began. After the ‘I dos’ they even had time for a few pics before the show started. (Link)

July 23 – Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out has reached the $500M mark worldwide. (Link)

July 23 – Do you have what it takes to be the next Disney Channel star? Video tryout are taking place now through August 6. The monologue and guidelines for the audition video are available online along with tips from a couple of actors currently in the Disney stable, Paris Berelc and Jacob Bertrand. (Link)

July 23 – Disney researchers are working to protect the coral reef around Disney’s Castaway Cay. Some innovative ways they are doing this are adding sea urchins to the reef which increases healthy algaes as well as growing coral reef in nurseries then transplanting them to the reef around the island. (Link)

July 24 – The Orlando Business Journal created a list of the three things we can look forward to at this year’s D23 convention in Anaheim. They include: (1) a bigger presence of movie characters in the Disney parks, (2) Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars and possibly a new Star Wars trailer and (3) Disney’s Hollywood Adventure – Star Wars Land – whatever you want to call it, something big is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (Link)

July 24 – The Vice Presidents for the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are switching roles. What does this mean? Maybe nothing. Or it could mean they are moving someone with experience in park expansion (New Fantasyland) to a park that is expanding. Just a thought. (Link)

July 25 – How many MagicBands do you have? Could you decorate your Christmas tree with a chain of Magic Bands? If so, Disney has just added the option to decline MagicBands on your MagicBands orders. (Link)

July 25 – While Disney Visa Cardholders got a couple of extra days, reservations for the special Epcot Food & Wine dining events are now open to the general public. (Link)

July 27 – A preview of the new merchandise exclusive to the 20th annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival is currently on the Disney Parks Blog. The line includes hats, clothes, mugs, housewares and NEW DOONEYS! (Link)

July 27 – Disney CEO Bob Iger says ESPN could be delivered direct to customers like HBO instead of being part of traditional cable packages. Relax ESPN fans, this will likely not happen within the next five years. (Link)

July 28 – The long-in-development “Bob: The Musical” now has some serious Hollywood heavyweights rumored to be close to signing on, the biggest of which is Tom Cruise in the lead role of ‘Bob’. (Link)

July 28 – Beginning on November 8, the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot will now be hosting Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Breakfast Harvest Feast. Menu items include biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon and, of course, Mickey Waffles all served family style. You can begin making Advanced Dining Reservations now. (Link)

July 29 – Ticket are now on sales for Disneyland’s Mickey’s Halloween Party (Link)

July 29 – Several small constructions projects are taking place at Walt Disney World. These include minor repairs at Le Cellier, Castle Couture, Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Backlot Express Restaurant and Columbia Harbor House. (Link)

July 31 – A new primetime show will be debuting tonight on the Disney Channel. The Descendants will tell the story of the children of Disney most infamous villains. (Link)