MickeyBlog Disney Parks News for April 11, 2018
MickeyBlog News is all about the parks this week! There’s a lot going on, so let’s get right to it!
Monorail! Monorail!
Pixar Fest is just a couple of days away. In anticipation of this groundbreaking event that will set the stage for Pixar Pier, Disney’s gussied up the monorail line!
Yes, you’ll see new skins on a couple of your favorite vehicles in the fleet! Monorail Orange is currently sporting a design based on The Incredibles, while Monorail Blue has a (fitting) Finding Nemo look.
Like other monorail movie prints, these covers won’t last forever. You’ll want to enjoy them while you can.
Speaking of Pixar…
Today, we know a bit more about Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Specifically, we know how the FastPass tiering system will work for the next year at the park.
As you’ve heard, some Club Level guests can book FastPasses 90 days in advance. So, they’ve already had their FastPass window open. They’ve reported that a change is in the offing at Hollywood Studios. The obvious part is that Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers are now both a part of Tier 1. They join Toy Story: Midway Mania! to give the park three Toy Story attractions in Tier 1.
The fallout from this change is that a former top tier option slides into Tier 2. You will get to choose Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith on the same level as Star Tours or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I’ll make a future post about how this changes FastPass strategy at Hollywood Studios, but let’s cut to the chase. It’s huge that a topflight roller coaster is now a Tier 2 attraction at Hollywood Studios!
There’s conflicting information about whether the shows that were in Tier 1 have dropped to Tier 2. We’ll monitor that part of the situation in future updates. For now we know that you’ll have to pick your favorite Toy Story attraction ahead of time if you want a FastPass for it.
One Other Toy Story Land Tidbit
The Disney Parks Blog recently unveiled the menu on tap at Woody’s Lunch Box. It is absolutely adorable! Disney execs understand that they’ll have a massive portion of kids swarming the place, and so the aesthetic here is tasty, fun comfort foods.
Sandwiches and bowls are plentiful, with a heapin’ helpin’ of tater tots (*ahem* potato barrels) on the side. The stars of the menu are the dessert tarts, which look like plussed versions of Pop-Tarts…complete with bacon bits on top! Children are going to love this place so much that you may have problems convincing them to eat anywhere else.
Meanwhile at the Parks…
As summer approaches, Disney’s started to reveal some of their biggest new additions for 2018. The hugest of them, literally if not figuratively, is a Pandora Utility Suit. Remember the giant mechs in the movie Avatar? Yes, those! Well, kind of. Since Pandora at Disney is from the future rather than the movie universe, these aren’t war mechs. Their purpose is scientific in nature.
At Pandora – The World of Avatar, one of these mechs will wander the themed land. A human inside will guide it, and it will have an unexpectedly green-friendly purpose. The Pandora Utility Suit and its human host will relay information about the Pandoran environment. How much guests will pay attention to this message is up for debate since they’ll be staring at a 10-foot-tall mech the whole time. Seriously, this thing is ten feet tall!
Here’s a snippet from the Orlando Sentinel about the mechs:
““These are not the AMP suits that you see in the movie, but these are actually suits that have been developed by the scientists to go out into the wilderness to go out and explore the plant life and the animals,” said Laura Offerdahl, an executive producer with Disney Parks Live Entertainment. “There’s so much detail, and I think a lot of people miss that.””
More Conventional Character Meetings Are Also Coming Soon
Sure, giant robots are cool, but they’re not the meet-and-greets that you expect at Disneyland. Since 1955, it’s been home to all the beloved characters from the Disney entertainment division. Today, said division includes Marvel, which means that superheroes are a part of the Happiest Place on Earth today.
As Disney California Adventure (DCA) evolves into a Marvel/Pixar-centric theme park, more characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are popping up at the park. Walt Disney World fans already met Doctor Strange in 2016, and he’s now teleported over to Disneyland Resort.
At DCA, Guests can interact with the man who once trapped the dread Dormammu in a time loop. Doctor Strange is a kind if cocky man, and you’ll love interacting with him. Just don’t touch the giant red cape. If you’re lucky and respectful, he might even teach you some magic.
Speaking of Disneyland…
Yes, all the stories tie together this week! In this case, Disneyland’s adding something else previously seen at Walt Disney World. Mobile Ordering is coming to the Happiest Place on Earth!
The Disney Parks Blog announced that several counter and fast casual restaurants on the Disney campus will add this feature soon. The Disneyland app, the equivalent of My Disney Experience, will have similar Mobile Ordering functionality. I’ll let them describe it:
“Using the new mobile ordering service, guests will be able to easily search for a participating location, select an arrival time window for pickup, choose items from the menu and place their order. As an added convenience, Annual Passholders will be able to apply their discount to meal purchases using the app. Guests notify the restaurant of their arrival on the app and within minutes, an app notification indicates the meal is ready to pick up at a designated window – without ever waiting in line to order and pay.”
To me, the new service sounds like a virtual copycat of the Walt Disney World version. We’ll know in a few weeks whether this is true or not. What I have told my many friends in the greater Los Angeles area is that Mobile Ordering should revolutionize their Disneyland experience. It’s terrific at Walt Disney World, but since so many locals spend their off-days at the Happiest Place on Earth, grab-and-go service is especially beneficial.
All in all, this was a terrific week for Disney News!
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