MickeyBlog News for February 6th, 2023

Disney’s Hollywood Studios somehow got even more incredible this week. I’ll explain in MickeyBlog News!

New Character Greetings at Hollywood Studios

When February started, Disney’s Hollywood Studios offered a shock to guests. Suddenly, several new characters appeared at the parks.

Max at Hollywood Studios

MickeyBlog’s remarkable crew – I’m so proud of you all! – caught word of these appearances and quickly took advantage of the new offerings.

Those of you who follow us on our socials – and that should be all of you! – caught images of formerly rare characters like Powerline Max.

During Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, this version of Goofy’s son worked as one of the biggest draws at the paid event.

Now, you can meet Powerline Max for free whenever you want at Hollywood Studios!

Similarly, several other characters from The Incredibles are now holding court at this park.

Frozone

We met Frozone and Edna Mode from The Incredibles franchise as well as Goofy and Max. Then, we noticed something unexpected.

Disney has cleverly turned these into permanent character interactions.

As we all know, Hollywood Studios has soared in popularity since the introduction of Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

These new character greetings provide park guests with more options.

With more people at character greetings, the wait times should decrease at other attractions. So, it’s win/win for Disney fans!

You’ll find updates on character schedules for The Incredibles on the My Disney Experience app.

Thus far, Disney isn’t showing Edna Mode or Frozone, but that can and hopefully will change.

The presence of The Incredibles — plus Goofy and Max! — at Hollywood Studios will go a long way in making park experiences better for all guests.

Photo: Disney

Of course, I’m incredibly biased here as The Incredibles is my favorite Pixar movie.

EPCOT ROCKS!!!

When the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival opens next month, it’ll host many of your favorite returning activities.

Photo: Disney

One of them is the Garden Rocks concert series at America Garden Theatre. You’ll find this outdoor concert venue at The American Adventure pavilion.

Starting on March 1^st, you can watch live concerts starring many of your favorite recording artists, presuming that A) you’re over 30 and B) you haven’t outgrown them.

Disney’s festival concerts possess a long-established habit of hiring acts whose glory has faded a bit.

Photo: Disney

Still, if you’ve still got these bands on your playlists, you will love hearing them live.

In fact, you’ll enjoy better seats than you ever did at a concert for these acts when they were hot!

Credit: Disney

For example, Rick Springfield once used all 6’4” of me as a human shield back in the day. Now, you can sit right beside him at Garden Rocks!

This Year’s Garden Rocks Lineup

Credit: Disney

Here’s the list of this year’s performers:

• March 3-4 – Journey former lead vocalist STEVE AUGERI
• March 5-6 – Daughtry
• March 10-11 – Tommy DeCarlo
• March 12-13 – Smash Mouth
• March 17-18 – Mike DelGuidice
• March 19-20 – Blue Oyster Cult – NEW
• March 24-25 – Berlin
• March 26-27 – The Pointer Sisters
• March 31 – Luis Figueroa – NEW
• April 1-2 – Piso 21 – NEW
• April 3 – TBD
• April 7-8 – STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
• April 9-10 – Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles
• April 16-17 – Switchfoot – NEW
• April 21-22 – A Flock of Seagulls
• April 23-24 – Jo Dee Messina
• April 28-29 – Ambrosia with Peter Beckett, The Voice Of Player
• April 30, May 1 – Kool and the Gang
• May 5-8 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
• May 12-15 – The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
• May 19-20 – A.J. Croce: Croce Plays Croce – NEW
• May 21-22 – Casting Crowns – NEW
• May 26-27 – Jason Scheff, longtime lead singer of Chicago
• May 28-29 – Rick Springfield
• June 2-5 – Plain White T’s
• June 9-10 – The Spinners
• June 11-12 – The Commodores
• June 16-17 – Vertical Horizon
• June 18-19 – Tony Orlando
• June 23-26 – Simple Plan
• June 30, July 1 – Living Colour
• July 2-3 – Wang Chung

About Garden Rocks Dining Packages

Credit: Disney

I dunno about you, but I hadn’t thought about Wang Chung in a long time. Seriously, though. This event is free and wildly popular.

In fact, if you have your heart set on watching Vertical Horizon sing Everything You Want – and you really should! – you’ll need a dining package.

Disney starts selling the Garden Rocks dining packages on February 9^th, which is this Thursday.

Photo: Disney

This year’s packages start at $35 for adults and max out at $94. You can choose the quality of the restaurant where you book your package.

Options include:

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Biergarten Restaurant
• Coral Reef Restaurant
• Garden Grill Restaurant
• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Regal Eagle Smokehouse
• Rose & Crown Dining Room
• Spice Road Table

You should speak with a MickeyTravels agent to determine the best dining package for your needs.

These experts know more about the Garden Rocks series than anyone you’ll ever meet, and their services are entirely free to you.

Plus, Disney has listed MickeyTravels as a Diamond Level Authorized Vacation Planner, Disney’s highest rankings.

Photo: Disney 

Only a select few agencies earn this prestigious Diamond Level each year. So, you know that you can trust MickeyTravels!

Disney Miscellaneous News

We’ve got several stories to cover from the past 10 days or so, as the Disney100 event took up most of last week’s coverage.

Trail’s End Disney

For starters, Trail’s End Restaurant will close this spring. The staple of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground will undergo a conversion of sorts.

Disney will switch this place from Table Service to Quick Service. That’s probably smart with Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue back in business.

Disney also revealed a first-person perspective of the upcoming Tron Lightcycle Power Run. Here it is:

Meanwhile, a few users snuck some full-length videos during an early cast member preview.

So, if you don’t mind being spoiled, here’s the entirety of Tron Lightcycle Power Run:

Yes, the roller coaster is short, with a ride length of no matter than 115 seconds and arguably as little as 85 seconds.

That description may remind you of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.

Also, there are some early concerns about the comfort level for wider-hipped guests, but we’re only hearing anecdotal comments so far.

Tron

Other than these two criticisms, Tron works flawlessly as a shiny, thrilling attraction. It’s breathtaking at times, and that ending derezz is sooo satisfying!

While we’re examining videos, here’s one from Disneyland Paris:

That’s Avengers: Power the Night, which uses drones to recreate Mjolnir, display a bedazzled Nick Fury, and a bunch of other stuff. That’s the future of nighttime presentations right there.

The Magic Key Update

Photo: Disneyland

Finally, we’ve got a Disneyland Magic Key update. Two weeks ago, I mentioned that the three Magic Keys available for purchase hadn’t sold out yet.

This news surprised and pleased Disneyland fans, as the previous Magic Key sales had lasted less than a day.

Well, during the past two weeks, the Believe Key and Enchant Key have sold out.

Photo: Disney

However, the Imagine Key, the most expensive one with the best benefits, remains available for purchase.

Disneyland has obviously changed its approach to annual pass sales. Otherwise, all the Magic Keys would have sold out in a matter of a day or two.

Photo: Disneyland

The fact that any of them remains available nearly three weeks later is remarkable and frankly unexpected.

Even better, the “sold out” passes are still available for renewals, which is all many Magic Key owners wanted for the body of 2022.

Photo: DIsneyland

Disney is clearly listening more now that Bob Iger is back in charge.

Photo: MickeyBlog

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Feature Photo: Disney