MickeyBlog News – Magical March 12 Edition
The most recent week is one of the biggest of the 21st century for The Walt Disney Company. Disney released the heavily anticipated follow-up to The Avengers: Infinity War. As if that wasn’t enough, they revealed many tantalizing tidbits about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. And there was some other stuff in there, too. Let’s get you brought up to speed in the latest edition of MickeyBlog News.
Captain Marvel Dazzles
Okay, let’s talk Captain Marvel to start. The film just became the latest blockbuster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), opening to an astounding $153 million domestically. Its worldwide box office total of $455 million means that it’s already a profitable film given its modest budget of $152 million. The general rule of thumb is that a film must earn box office of three times its budget. Captain Marvel did that in only one weekend in theaters!
I must admit that I have to be careful with the wording of Captain Marvel as a follow-up to The Avengers: Infinity War. As anyone who watched that film knows, one of the credits scenes built a direct tie-in to Captain Marvel. The latest MCU film is somehow a prequel set in the 1990s but also kind of a sequel to Infinity War. I can’t say more without spoiling a lot from both films. But the payoff is quite satisfying.
Clearly, the tie-in created a sort of opening weekend rush for Captain Marvel, although its female empowerment message would have resonated with most fans of superhero movies anyway. Audiences adored Captain America, giving it an A Cinemascore, the second-highest possible grade under that system. It’s the same grade that Infinity War received last year. Disney’s never been hotter with their MCU titles.
By the way, a friend at Exhibitor Relations points out that the 21st film in the MCU will trigger a remarkable milestone tomorrow. It should earn enough to give the MCU an incredible $18 billion in global box office to date. This seems like a good time to remind you that Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009. Ten years later, it looks like one of the best intellectual property acquisitions of the modern era.
Star Wars Land Is Nearly Here!
Speaking of smart purchases, Disney later picked up Lucasfilm for roughly the same price as Marvel. They’ve already seen plenty of dividends from this acquisition, but one matters the most to theme park fans. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is coming to both of Disney’s theme parks this year…and now we know when!
Star Wars Land will open at Disneyland on May 31st. Disney’s requiring a special process to enter this particular themed land. PLEASE read this article so that you understand how it works. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Galaxy’s Edge will debut on August 29th. Both of these dates are well ahead of schedule.
Those of you want to visit Star Wars Land immediately should contact a MickeyTravels agent right now to book. Hotel occupancy will be at 100 percent these weeks, and sellouts should happen quite soon. Please don’t delay and accidentally get shut out of your dream vacation.
MickeyBlog has blanketed our site with Star Wars coverage in anticipation of the opening of Galaxy’s Edge. You should read all of these articles, too. Yes, we are Star Wars-intensive right now! Trust us to keep you up to date on all of the important news about Galaxy’s Edge!
Disney Does Some Good
We’ve talked about some truly happy stuff thus far, and the last thing that I want to do is bring you down. Without going into depressing detail, I’ll simply state that the Orange County area currently has a problem with homelessness. Some of the unfortunate souls stuck in such dire straits are cast members, a point that became clear last year during labor negotiations.
Disney thankfully increased the pay of its employees to $15 an hour starting in January of 2019. That was a substantial first step. Now, your favorite company is doing even more. Disney just announced a $5 million donation to fund housing in Orange County, California. The goal of this charitable contribution is housing constructed explicitly for the homeless in the area. Disney’s trying to do the right thing here, and I commend them for it.
Have Captain Hook Babysit Your Children!
Okay, that sounds like a horrible idea, but please hear me out. Disney received rave reviews last year for a paid amenity at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The Pixar Play Zone gave children a fun way to spend a few hours while their parents did adult stuff at Walt Disney World. Rumors abound that the Pixar Play Zone is ending soon, although that has yet to be confirmed.
we just learned is that Disney will offer a similar experience at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and the adjoining Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. Children aged 4-12 will get to spend time with Captain Hook’s Pirate Crew. Think of the event as themed babysitting wherein your kids play with pirates while you play with your date.
The cost of the event is $55 per child for 3 ½ hours of entertainment. Depending on the price of babysitting in your area, you may find the prices quite reasonable by Disney standards.
Head Straight to the Water Park!
Starting on March 17th, Disney resort guests will discover a welcome change to the bus transportation system. Historically, when vacationers wanted to travel to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach, you had to take multiple buses to reach your destination. The general practice was riding over to Disney Springs or Disney’s Animal Kingdom and then grabbing a bus from there to your water park of choice.
Thankfully, those days are ending this week. From now on, Disney will provide direct bus routes from the official resorts to the water parks. Now, you should understand that the buses will share some of the same routes, meaning that you may experience multiple stops. For example, a bus would stop at each of the All-Star Resorts on the way to the water park.
Also, some of the larger resorts will have a dedicated stop for the water park. For example, Disney’s Old Key West will use its main stop at Hospital House as the pick-up and drop-off point for the water park. The new system makes perfect sense and should reduce your aggravation in trying to get to the lazy river and wash your problems away.
Spend Spring Break with Aunt Polly!
Let’s close this week’s news with a time-sensitive update. While the exact dates for Spring Break vary around the country, many schools are closed this week. In anticipation of larger crowds, Magic Kingdom will do something unusual.
Aunt Polly’s, the seasonal Quick Service establishment at Tom Sawyer’s Island, will open for lunch this week. The opportunity to eat here has become rare in recent years. It’s a shame because Becky’s Butter Biscuit BBQ Sliders are really, really good and a tremendous value at $10.49. That price even includes Cajun chips!
Alas, you must act fast if you want Aunt Polly’s for lunch. Disney will close the joint again on March 17th. So, this is a now or never situation.