MickeyBlog News for February 4, 2019
Check your calendars, everyone. Love is in the air! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and a few Disney locales are getting into the holiday spirit. Also, those of you who’ve wondered about what a Super Bowl-winning athlete does when they say, “I’m going to Disneyland,” you’re about to find out. Yes, February is here, the groundhog is calling for an early spring, and you’re ready for the latest edition of MickeyBlog News.
Time to Find a Date, Everybody!
The most manufactured holiday of the year is almost here. With Valentine’s Day only a few days away, Disneyland Resort has gotten into the spirit. The complex will celebrate Valentine’s Day all the way through February 18th, which puts a lot of pressure on single people. Is there a dating app just for Disney fans? If not, there should be!
But I digress.
The point is that the Happiest Place on Earth is themed with lots of pink and red hearts for the time being. You can wander the park, holding hands while admiring the romantic decoration. You can even participate in a limited time scavenger hunt for lovers. Oh, and some places are selling romantic snacks, too.
At Walt Disney World, you can now book Valentine’s Day at The Edison. The hottest (and only) nightclub at Disney Springs will feature a special lover’s menu for the holiday. The highlight is a special version of DB Clothesline Bacon, one with milk chocolate because it wasn’t decadent enough before.
The Edison WILL sell out for Valentine’s Day, but it’s currently not selling an upcharge ticket package. So, get an Advanced Dining Reservation and then impress your date with your steampunk industrial dancing. If that doesn’t work, the milk chocolate bacon may save you.
More Fun at the Happiest Place on Earth
Disneyland Resort has a couple of other fascinating additions coming soon. At Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa, the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures character meal will have a soft opening on March 28th and 29th. Afterward, it will open to the public on March 30th. The event is available from Thursday through Monday each week.
Since the restaurant hosting the event is Napa Rose, this particular character breakfast isn’t cheap. Anyone aged 3 and up must pay $125, which means this is the expensive event of its type in Disney history. Part of the reason for the price is that space is extremely limited here as opposed to most character meal locations. Plus, it’s one of the most expensive restaurants at one of the most expensive Disney resorts on the planet.
I should add that princes and princesses who participate in the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures get a prize! Princess fans receive a tiara necklace, an autograph book, and a pen, all of which are wrapped up in an adorable cinch sack. Prince fans substitute a (presumably plastic) sword and shield for the jewelry.
At Disneyland Park, plenty of changes are coming. Imagineers are currently implementing a park-wide renovation that they’ve named Project Stardust. As part of the changes, Disney will renovate Sleeping Beauty Castle and thereby freshen up its appearance.
You should watch this video to get a taste for what’s in store for the original Disney castle. Combined with the opening of Star Wars Land, Project Stardust will modernize the Happiest Place on Earth for the next generation of Mickey Travelers.
I’m Going to Disneyland!
By the time you read this, the Super Bowl will be over. You’ll know who has won the Super Bowl (hopefully the Rams) and which player has proclaimed that they’re going to Disneyland! Well, if a Los Angeles Ram says it, they’re getting hosed since they already live in the area and can visit anytime.
Again, I digress.
The point is that one of the seminal marketing promotions of the last 30 years involves Disney. They cleverly convinced Joe Montana to utter the phrase in the aftermath of his Super Bowl victory. Ever since then, this commercial has become an annual tradition. For 2019, you can follow more carefully than ever before. Disney will run a livestream of the player of the game parade at some point on Monday. They’ll announce when in the aftermath of Super Bowl LIII. Look for the hashtag of #DisneyParksLIVE.
This seems like a good time to remind you that the Atlanta Falcons were robbed in Super Bowl LI. Not that I’m still bitter. Yes, I am.
Terrible News about the Kitchen Sink
Fans of Disney’s Beach Club Resort know about one of the best-kept secrets at Walt Disney World. A friendly little restaurant named Beaches & Cream celebrates the 1950s malt shop concept. It’s a burger joint where the star is the dessert. The ice cream here is decadent, and the most over-the-top of all Disney treats is only available here. I’m speaking of the Kitchen Sink, which features ALL of these ingredients.
Alas, no one will get to enjoy a Kitchen Sink this fall. Disney plans to renovate this restaurant starting at some point in August. It will remain closed until December, which will break the hearts of a lot of frequent guests at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
Many people stay at either Beach Club or Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and have made a meal here part of their annual tradition. While the temporary closure is frustrating, it’s totally worth the aggravation if Disney can add a few more seats to one of the smallest eateries at Walt Disney World.
PhotoPass Changes
Disney’s PhotoPass system is constantly in flux in that new photo opportunities pop up every couple of weeks. The backbone of the site had remained the same throughout the Magic Band era, though. Well, that’s no longer true. Disney has modified the official website from MyDisneyPhotoPass.Disney.Go.Com to disneyworld.disney.go.com/photopass.
The new site has a modified style and a streamlined one at that. It mimics the appearance of PhotoPass in the My Disney Experience app. I must admit that while I was initially skeptical of the change, I came around when I pulled up my current PhotoPass library. It loaded seamlessly and much faster than on the old PhotoPass site. It seems quite a bit more user-friendly, too. Color me impressed.
The Chocolate Flip-Flop
Let’s close out this week’s edition of MickeyBlog News with a silly story that reinforces the power of the people. Someone in a corporate boardroom at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company found a way to shave a few dollars off the 2019 budget. They decided to stop giving away free samples at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop at Disney Springs.
The change seemed innocent enough, except that person in that boardroom didn’t allow for the passion of Disney fanatics. They complained immediately and LOUDLY. It became the talk of Disney Springs livestreams, as everyone who broadcast from there brought up the topic.
Ghirardelli executives quickly realized that the few dollars they were saving in chocolate manufacturing were excessively counterbalanced by all of the negative press. The store seemed cheap and petty, and the lack of samples likely impacted the bottom line, too.
After all, samples are a proven method to entice customers to spend money on products. So, after only a few days of Chocolate Outrage, free samples returned to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. Our brief Disney crisis is over!
