Huge Disney Updates in This Week’s MickeyBlog News
This week’s edition of MickeyBlog News features cute baby animals, clever introductory videos, lots of movie tidbits, some price increase information, a new Disney resort, and Disney Cruise details. It’s a full week, so let’s get started!
An Okapi Is a Forest Giraffe
A couple of Okapi at Disney’s Animal Kingdom apparently felt the love tonight, presuming tonight was July of 2017. You see, the Okapi have a gestation period of 15 months between impregnation and birth, and…you can figure out the rest.
On World Okapi Day, which is apparently a real thing, park officials confirmed a rarity. Earlier this month, a baby Okapi was born at Animal Kingdom. The “little” tyke weighed 54 pounds, which means mommy Okapi must have been tired afterward. Speaking of which, mommy is named Zelda while daddy is Mandazi.
Junior doesn’t have a name yet, but the foal owes his existence to the Species Survival Plan. Since the Okapi are an endangered species, Disney takes on certain responsibilities to keep them in captivity onsite. They picked Zelda and Mandazi to bring the baby Okapi into the world, thereby boosting the number of forest giraffes in the world by one. It may not sound like much, but these creatures are down to a population of only 20,000.
You can watch video of the adorable lil dude here.
The Skyliner Is Coming!
We’re roughly a year away from the debut of the Disney Skyliner. In anticipation of its impending arrival, Disney has created an introductory video to hype the new form of transportation. If you like catchy tunes and gondola facts, this is the YouTube clip for you!
Seriously, it does highlight the fact that the new Skyliner system is about to revolutionize the way that you do Disney. With connections at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and the upcoming Disney’s Riviera Resort, it will empower guests staying onsite in a new and unprecedented way. You can soar over the Disney campus on your way to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the International Gateway at Epcot.
Should this form of transportation prove successful – and it will – Disney may expand the gondola network to other locations. Let’s all root for that! Anything that lessens people’s reliance on Disney buses is a good thing.
Disney Movie News
We recently learned three interesting things about Disney movies. The first of them is hardly surprising. Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of Black Panther, will return for the sequel. The first film earned roughly $1.35 billion against a budget of $200 million, making it one of the most lucrative movie projects ever. There was no way that Coogler would pass on the sequel, as Disney almost assuredly made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse.
While Black Panther is the shocking success story of 2018, another Disney project will follow suit in 2020. Yes, Jungle Cruise was recently delayed from its projected late 2019 release until the summer of 2020, specifically coming out on July 24, 2020. The movie starring The Rock and Emily Blunt has already finished principal photography.
Presumably, the cause for the delay is CGI-related, as special effects take a loooong time these days. It’s also possible that Disney is demonstrating confidence in the project. They’d previously scheduled a Marvel Cinematic Universe release for the following weekend. They’re using Jungle Cruise to fill that financial void, which is a strong indicator that they have full confidence in the film’s box office potential. The last eight (!) Marvel movies have earned at least $200 million domestically. My guess is that they expect a similar performance from Jungle Cruise.
The final movie news item is really more of a park item. Fans of Wreck-It-Ralph will soon receive a sneak peek at the upcoming sequel. Disney’s Hollywood Studios will host a preview of Ralph Breaks the Internet starting on November 2nd at Walt Disney Presents. The following week, Disneyland’s Tomorrowland Theater adds the sneak preview on November 9th. The second Wreck-It-Ralph film opens in theaters on November 21st.
Price Increases
It’s the worst time of the year for Disney theme park fanatics. The company’s raised the prices on several aspects of park visits. Annual passes increased between $20 and $45, depending on the type of pass you prefer and whether you’re a Florida resident. Parking fees increased, too.
The cheapest parking now is $25 for regular cars while oversized vehicles cost $30. Preferred parking went up from $45 to $50. These changes happened in addition to the increases for admission tickets. Honestly, your best bet at this point is to speak to an authorized Disney agent at MickeyTravels to find out the best ways to save money on your vacation.
Another Disney Resort Is Coming
While The Walt Disney Company has officially canceled its previously announced Downtown Disney resort, the news is much better at Walt Disney World. In addition to the aforementioned Riviera Resort near Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, the company recently confirmed a second rumored project.
Last year, Disney got insiders speculating when it finally decided to drain the water around the prior Disney’s River Country water park. It was the first water park at Walt Disney World, but it started to show its age by the turn of the millennium. Disney mercifully closed it in 2001, and the grounds have remained abandoned ever since then.
Once Disney removed the water, it became clear that they were moving forward with some construction project. Speculation centered on a new Disney resort. Sure enough, one will debut to the public in 2022. Its location is between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Lodge & Campgrounds, which also explains some rumors about Disney temporarily shutting down some restaurants in the Fort Wilderness area, too. Those rumors are as yet unconfirmed.
The new resort will have a nature theme, an understandable choice since it’s already nature-friendly due to 15 years without Disney development. Disney’s promised 900 new rooms at this property, a modest amount by Walt Disney World standards. With so much activity in the area, this new resort makes a tremendous amount of sense and should become a popular option with guests.
Another Castaway Cay?
Disney Cruise Line already owns a private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. Thanks to a recent agreement from the local government, they may own a second port soon.
After years of negotiations, Disney’s earned approval on a new project. Despite local pressure from the country’s residents and some environmentalists, the Bahamas agreed to move forward with this new tourism project.
The agreement allows Disney to build a 746-acre development on the southern tip of Eleuthera. At this spot, the company will create an entertainment district including a marina, a few piers, and many shops and restaurants. Basically, Disney’s going to build a second Castaway Cay in the Bahamas. It would give guests on the Disney Cruise Line another place to spend a day during a cruise.
I should note that despite tentative government approval, the deal could still fall apart. The National Economic Council (NEC) approved what Disney is calling the Lighthouse Point project. Parliament has final say on these matters in the Bahamas, although they rarely go against the NEC. Stay tuned to find out if Disney cruises are about to get even better!