Travisma
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Posts posted by Travisma
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19 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:
Not specifically Disney, but also The Princess Bride is coming to D+ May 1st.
Which means I can watch it another 419 times. 🤗
I saw that the other day and sent it to my granddaughter.
Best movie ever...
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Be Our Chef
- ON AIR -4.0 Avg User RatingRate This ShowAir Dates
Mar 27, 2020 - Present
Network
Disney+
Genre
Reality
Cast
Host - Angela Kinsey
A competition series where families create dishes inspired by the world of Disney.Angela Kinsey hosts this cooking competition that tasks families with creating tasty dishes that are inspired by elements of Disney.
Each episode features two of the families facing off at Walt Disney World to determine which of one can create the most magical food item.
The two families with the most wins at the end go head-to-head in an epic finale to determine who takes home the grand prize.
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Prop Culture
- COMING SOON -Air Dates
May 01, 2020 - Present
Network
Disney+
A reality series that looks at well-known props from Disney movies.Film collector Dan Lanigan hosts this series that ventures deep inside the Disney archives to unearth some of its greatest treasures.
Beloved props, costumes, and artifacts from fan-favorite Disney films are showcased and explored in-depth, as Dan welcomes special guests and the creators of the pieces into the discussions.
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I had read the reports from the financial experts that Disney may not open this year as PGHfiend had posted.
I had also seen a couple more that their plans are to stay closed for 6 months.
There were also other reports form "insiders" that they will be opening May1, June 1, July1, throw a dart at a date and see what comes up.
Until Disney makes an announcement no one will know.
And something to think about, if the parks do open, who knows what they will be like.
Maybe some or all of these, temp screening, mandatory masks, facial recognition (instead of fingerprints), given bottles of sanitizer, longer waits because of cleaning each ride between guests, taking handrails down and replacing with chains so people don't hold onto them, signing a waiver that you can't sue if you get infected while at the park, and so on.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed nearly two dozen lawmakers and business leaders to form a task force to work on re-opening the state's economy.
The task force announced Monday includes:
• Jeanette Nuñez, Lieutenant Governor of Florida
• Jimmy Patronis, Florida Chief Financial Officer
• Ashley Moody, Florida Attorney General
• Bill Galvano, President, Florida Senate
• Jose Oliva, Speaker, Florida House of Representatives
• Sen. Wilton Simpson, President-Designate, Florida Senate
• Rep. Chris Sprowls, Speaker-Designate, Florida House of Representatives
• Richard Corcoran, Commissioner of Education
• Jamal Sowell, President & CEO, Enterprise Florida, Inc.
• Carlos Gimenez, Mayor, Miami-Dade County
• Dale Holness, Mayor, Broward County
• David Kerner, Mayor, Palm Beach County
• John Couris, President & CEO, Tampa General Hospital
• Josh D’Amaro, President, Walt Disney World Resort
• Todd Jones, CEO, Publix Super Markets
• Syd Kitson, Chairman, Board of Governors for the State University System• Paul Reilly, Chairman & CEO, Raymond James Financial
• Alex Sanchez, President & CEO, Florida Bankers Association
• Eric Silagy, President & CEO, Florida Power & Light Company
• John Sprouls, CEO, Universal Orlando Resort, Executive Vice President, Universal Parks & Resorts
• Patrick Sunderlin, Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Joe York, President, AT&T Florida and CaribbeanDeSantis said the task force would create short, medium and long-term recommendations for reopening the state after weeks of shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
DeSantis told the committee they will meet daily by phone through Friday, when he hopes they will have recommendations they can present. There will also be subcommittees that will report to the executive committee.
The state's largest economic sector, tourism, has crashed and most of its largest employers have shut down because of the crisis, including the theme parks and cruise lines. Restaurants have been limited to takeout and delivery and nightclubs have been closed. More than 650,000 workers have filed unemployment claims since March 15, according to the state.
DeSantis told the committee the state will reopen in stages and not all at once. He said a key will be the ability to test workers for the disease and get quick, accurate results.
“If you have somebody in a business and they get tested and you get results in six days, that's not efficient and effective,” he said.
The Florida Democratic Party criticized DeSantis' selections, saying it is the “expected cadre of donors and DeSantis loyalists.” It also blasted him for not appointing Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat elected statewide, while including the two Republican members of the cabinet, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
“Fried oversees the second largest economic driver in the state and she should have a seat at the table,” party chair Terrie Rizzo said in a statement
There are no medical experts on the task force only the CEO of Tampa General Hospital
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From Inside the Magic site
https://insidethemagic.net/2020/04/closed-disneyland-video-tm1/
Follow the link for the video
It can be hard to imagine and accept it, but the Disneyland Resort has now officially been closed for more than an entire month. The gates remain locked, construction is at a standstill, and the streets are empty. But how does the park look after being closed for so long? Well, we found a video to answer just that.
YouTuber @JustinScarred took it upon himself to stop by the Happiest Place on Earth during a leisurely stroll around Anaheim, and he decided to document his adventure for all of the Disney fans to see.
In the video caption he wrote:
Disneyland is still closed. Nearly everything around it is shuttered. But one of the few things we’re allowed to do during the current stay-at-home situation is take occasional walks. Well after being indoors for a straight week without a break, I’m ready to stretch these legs out, and what better way than a long walk around the Disneyland resort perimeter, to see how my hometown is faring during the closures, and who better to take along than you?
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Looks like they're concentrating on builds that will make them $$.
There's plenty of smaller projects they could be doing while staying in compliance with county ordinances like getting that castle painted and fixing the Haunted Mansion!
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https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/topics/magic-moments/
Lead page is mostly dedicated to in home activities and stories.
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3 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:
Looks like construction is still happen at Universal.
There were earlier reports that Universal has gone forward with construction at all of their parks especially the new one at Orlando.
And they are still working on Reflections
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https://www.wesh.com/article/video-disney-universal-empty-coronavirus/32159921
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. —
Aerial video of Central Florida’s theme parks provides a stunning look into the empty attractions.
Walt Disney World and Universal closed in mid-March because of the spreading new coronavirus. It’s unknown when they may reopen.
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Someone else had posted about the new permits being filed, but I couldn't find the post to add this to it.
The lodging industry is taking a beating thanks to the global pandemic, but one of the few positive segments may point to the future of Disney hotels. Economy extended-stay hotels with kitchenettes and other residential-style amenities saw only a 14% drop in March compared to the nearly 49% drop across the industry as a whole. This may explain why Disney is moving forward with their Reflections resort at Walt Disney World, despite the souring global economic outlook.
Many expected Disney to behave as they did after 9/11, when they postponed a large hotel project that was already well underway. The belief was with so much uncertainty regarding coronavirus and the corresponding economic recession, Disney would pause or even cancel projects around the resorts. This seems true for some projects within the parks, but for hotels, the company hasn’t acknowledged any such move.
On the shores of Bay Lake, there have been no indications that the Reflections Disney Lakeside Lodge timeshare resort is being canceled – multiple permits relating to the project have been filed in recent days. Disney Vacation Club rooms often share the same residential-style amenities that are popular at extended-stay hotels, though the construction and residential clientele typical in extended-stay hotels are far from the upper-middle-class families who frequent DVC resorts. The multi-room suites that DVC resorts offer are also more in line with the demands of the always coveted millennial consumers, who now, with both aging parents and kids of their own, are looking for vacation options the entire family can enjoy together. This demand for multigenerational family vacations is likely to grow even more in the post-coronavirus world. One recent study found time with family and friends is the second most missed activity right now, just behind going out to eat.
Reflections can provide Disney with a new resort to market as the economy rebounds, while also not straining WDW resources thanks to its central location on Bay Lake. The calming ecological focus of the resort will also likely resonate with many folks who are stuck inside in quarantine right now. A modern lobby is bathed in natural light, thanks to floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake, and "conversation booths" inside wicker orbs are scattered around. The lobby also has various table games and a health-conscious counter-service café. As witnessed in the lobby, the resort draws inspiration from nature while also presenting a more modern alternative to the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness campground that bookend it.
A lakefront restaurant with a muted Princess and the Frog theme will offer panoramic views of the lake, similar to Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian but with more natural tones and larger windows. The restaurant, like the rest of the resort, will take cues from other recent Disney World projects, such as the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs, where Disney characters are introduced in more subtle, adult-friendly ways.
The River Country water park that was previously located on the site where the hotel now sits will live on via multiple nods in the pool area.
Out of the 900 suites at the resort, only a handful will offer only one bed, with most offering two or more beds spread across multi-room suites. Similar to other Disney resorts, the artwork and decor in the rooms will draw inspiration from Disney films, with characters such as Bambi and Pocahontas adorning the walls. Natural wood and stone give the bathrooms a spa-like ambience. Some rooms will be multi-story.
Waterfront A-frame bungalows are expected along the lakeshore at Reflections. Rumor has it Disney is also looking to add waterfront and over-the-water cottages to other resorts, including Reflections, the Contemporary, and possibly another yet-to-be-announced resort near the TTC.
Disney isn’t finished once Reflections opens. A spree of recent land purchases seems to point to a reworking of the Magnolia golf course, which could indicate the company is once again moving forward with a long-shelved multi-tower expansion of the Polynesian resort. Two more sites in the Magic Kingdom’s vicinity are also being looked at for an ultra-boutique luxury resort, potentially with direct access into the park, and there are still plans for a third tower to eventually join the two current ones at the Contemporary.
Reflections is expected to open in 2022. Other resort projects are still in the early stages, with any potential opening many years away. -
The former C.E.O. thought he was riding into the sunset. Now he’s reasserting control and reimagining Disney as a company with fewer employees and more thermometers.
The Walt Disney Company turned franchises like Marvel and “Star Wars” into the biggest media business in the world, and last fall it was putting the finishing touches on the image of a storied character: its chief executive, Bob Iger.
In late September, Mr. Iger, 69, published “The Ride of a Lifetime,” an engaging work of self-hagiography. The handsome executive, who seriously considered running for president this year, spent the next month on the kind of media tour that Disney is known for: he reveled in the successful start of a streaming service that immediately rivaled Netflix, was hailed as “businessperson of the year” by Time and described as “Hollywood’s nicest C.E.O.” in an article in the The Times by Maureen Dowd. Even his friends wondered if the soft-focus Instagram ads produced for his MasterClass on leadership were a bit much.
It all went so well that Mr. Iger decided it was time to do something he had postponed four times since 2013: retire as C.E.O.
In early December, Disney executives say, he told his board that he was ready to leave. Around that time, a handful of people in Wuhan, China, began developing mysterious coughs.
At the end of January, a few days after Disney was forced to close its Shanghai theme park as the coronavirus spread, Mr. Iger and the board stuck with their plan, agreeing that he would step back to become executive chairman and that the low-profile head of the parks and cruise business, Bob Chapek, would take over immediately as chief executive. They finalized the arrangement even as the stock market began to shudder. And on Feb. 25, they shocked Hollywood with the news that Mr. Iger’s 15-year run had ended.
The seemingly abrupt announcement prompted intense speculation about the reasons for Mr. Iger’s exit. “Sex or health?” one media executive who knows him texted another that night. Two weeks later, a different question emerged: Had Mr. Iger, with his deep ties to China and legendary timing, seen the coronavirus about to devastate his global realm? Did he get out just in time?
Mr. Iger, who has always carefully managed his image, told me in an email, there was no more than met the eye.
“No surprises … nothing hidden … nothing different or odd to speculate about ….,” he wrote, ellipses and all.
In fact, people close to Mr. Iger and the company said in interviews that the real question wasn’t whether he saw the crisis coming — but whether his focus on burnishing his own legacy and assuring a smooth succession left him distracted as the threats to the business grew. No big media company is more dependent on its customers’ social and physical proximity than Disney, with its theme parks and cruise lines. Few have been hit harder by the pandemic.
And now, Mr. Iger has effectively returned to running the company. After a few weeks of letting Mr. Chapek take charge, Mr. Iger smoothly reasserted control, BlueJeans video call by BlueJeans video call. (Disney does not use Zoom for its meetings for security reasons.)
The new, nominal chief executive is referred to, almost kindergarten style, as “Bob C,” while Mr. Iger is still just “Bob.” And his title is “executive chairman” — emphasis on the first word.
Mr. Iger is now intensely focused on remaking a company that will emerge, he believes, deeply changed by the crisis. The sketch he has drawn for associates offers a glimpse at the post-pandemic future: It’s a Disney with fewer employees, leading the new and uncertain business of how to gather people safely for entertainment.
“It’s a matter of great good fortune that he didn’t just leave,” said Richard Plepler, the former HBO chief. “This is a moment where people first and foremost are looking to an example of leadership that has proved itself over an extended period of time — and Bob personifies that.”
The story of the Walt Disney Company since Mr. Iger’s predecessor, Michael Eisner, took it over in 1984 is one of astonishing growth that has become the model for the modern, global media business. The company turned its tatty icons like Mickey Mouse into cash cows. Mr. Iger has spent more than 40 years working for companies that are now part of Disney, and has earned his reputation through bold acquisitions. He bought Pixar, then Marvel, then Lucasfilm, for single-digit billions, and quickly created many more billions in value with them. Mr. Iger had the greatest job on earth, ruling not just a company but a “nation-state,” as California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, described Disney recently.
But Disney’s much-imitated model was almost perfectly exposed to the pandemic. The shift from on-screen entertainment into in-person experiences helped Disney become the biggest media company in the world. But those businesses have been impossible to protect from the pandemic. The company’s largest division brought in more than $26 billion in the year ending last June by extending its brands to cruise ships and theme parks. Those are all shuttered now. It has three new cruise ships under construction in Germany, their futures unclear. The jewel in its second largest division, television, is ESPN, which in a sports-less world is now broadcasting athletes playing video games. The third group, studio, had expected to bring in most of its revenue from movie openings in theaters, which are now closed.
There has been a glimmer of good news in the introduction of Disney+. The company’s troubled share price jumped about 7 percent in after-hours trading last Wednesday on the news that the streaming service had attracted 50 million subscribers. But the project is still an investment, years away from generating revenue that could replace a big movie opening in theaters. And the service is desperate for new content — at a time when television and film production has ground to a halt.
This all means the company is losing as much as $30 million or more a day, the media industry analyst Hal Vogel estimated in an interview. The company borrowed $6 billion at the end of March, a sign both of its desperate plight and lenders’ confidence that it could rebound.
In an emergency like this, Mr. Iger said, he had no choice but to abandon his plan to pull back.
“A crisis of this magnitude, and its impact on Disney, would necessarily result in my actively helping Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it, particularly since I ran the company for 15 years!” he said in his email.
That realization appears to have hit just after the company’s March 11 annual shareholder gathering in Raleigh, N.C., which served as Mr. Chapek’s debut and was staged as a carefully scripted handoff.
“I’ve watched Bob [Iger] lead this company to amazing new heights, and I’ve learned an enormous amount from that experience. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to work closely with him during this transition,” Mr. Chapek said at the meeting. (A Disney spokeswoman declined to make Mr. Chapek available for an interview.)
The men flew from there to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to meet executives worried about the effect of social distancing on their business; they announced the park’s closing the next day. Then, they flew back to Los Angeles and on the way, said a person familiar with their conversation, they discussed the depth of the crisis. Mr. Iger made clear that he would remain closely involved.
The next day, March 13, was their last in the office. In early April, Mr. Chapek sent a bleak internal email announcing a wave of furloughs. He pushed immediate cuts and freezes on everything from development budgets to contractors’ pay.
The company employed 223,000 as of last summer, and won’t say how many workers are furloughed, but the numbers are huge. It includes more than 30,000 workers in the California resort business alone, according to the president of Workers United Local 50 that represents some of those workers, Chris Duarte. Another 43,000 workers in Florida will be furloughed, the company confirmed on Sunday. All the workers will keep their benefits, but their last paychecks come April 19.
The mood at Disney is “dire,” said a person who has done projects with the company. “They’re covering the mirrors and ripping clothes.”
Mr. Iger, meanwhile, is trying to figure out what the company will look like after the crisis. One central challenge is to establish best practices for the company and the industry on how to bring people back to the parks and rides while avoiding the virus’s spread — using measures like taking visitors’ temperatures.
Mr. Iger also sees this as a moment, he has told associates, to look across the business and permanently change how it operates. He’s told them that he anticipates ending expensive old-school television practices like advertising upfronts and producing pilots for programs that may never air. Disney is also likely to reopen with less office space. He’s also told two people that he anticipated the company having fewer employees. (Mr. Iger said in an email on Sunday evening that he had “no recollection of ever having said” that he expected a smaller work force. “Regardless, any decision about staff reductions will be made by my successor and not me,” he added.)
Mr. Iger’s own narrative had been written to a neat conclusion. Now, his legacy will probably be defined in the unexpected sequel of one of the great American companies fighting for its life.
And Disney’s endlessly troublesome question of succession — which had finally, for a couple of weeks, seemed settled — may be open again. One person close to the company said Mr. Iger assured Mr. Chapek that the extraordinary circumstances would be taken into consideration in the board’s evaluation of Mr. Chapek’s performance. But in reality, two hard, unpredictable years will determine if he can hold the job. Two other executives who were passed over for Mr. Chapek — Kevin Mayer and Peter Rice — remain at the company. Nobody knows when Americans will go to the movies again, much less get on cruise ships.
And nobody knows when — or whether — Mr. Iger will have another moment to leave on top.
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1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:
I’ve seen some rumors floating around that WDW could be reopening in late April or at least sometime in May.
Nope.
Up to this week, they were still housing about 1000 international CM’s from Italy, France, and the UK, which I took as a sign that they were hoping to reopen sooner rather than later. That changed this week, and they all got noticed they were canned and would need to vacate the premises by next week.
Also this week, they officially canceled all College Program arrivals for May. Not postponed. Canceled. Those kids were told that they will not be working at WDW unless they reapply for a future date.
This means they really can’t reopen in May, because they won’t have a workforce in place. It also means that if they do open in June, it would have to be in a very limited capacity because they simply can’t staff all of the parks and resorts.
And, without the DCP kids, that will be a problem all summer
TCD
Well there are plenty of out of work people in that area.
But they may not want to work for low wages, and they may not meet Disney standards
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April 8, 2020, 10:05 PM · The Tokyo Disney Resort announced today that it will not reopen April 20, as earlier planned.
In a statement released on the Oriental Land Co. website, the owner of the Tokyo Disney Resort said that a determination about an opening date for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea will not be made until mid-May.
The Tokyo Disney parks closed in late February, with plans to open in the middle of March. But the resort extended the downtime and now has extended it again, this time with no planed reopening date.
Japan earlier this week declared a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures that made an extension of the theme parks' closure inevitable. The postponement of Tokyo Disney's reopening also effectively postpones the debut of the expansion at Tokyo Disneyland, which will include a new Beauty and the Beast-themed trackless dark ride, a Big Hero 6-themed spinner ride, and a Broadway-style theater for new musical productions.
With this action today, all Disney theme parks around the world are closed now until further notice, with no announced reopening dates.
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Parents, rejoice: A new website to entertain your children is here!
The Walt Disney Company is launching DisneyMagicMoments.com, a home for some of the best Disney content, stories and resources – for free – for kids, families and fans to fill their time.
Expect offerings from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios, National Geographic, Disney Parks and beyond.
Some of what to expect includes:
National Geographic
National Geographic is bringing its iconic storytelling and science-based educational and entertaining content to parents in a new world dealing with COVID-19. Leaning into the unique partnership between National Geographic Society’s education experts and Nat Geo’s ability to inspire, entertain and educate through storytelling, the company is offering parents an unparalleled destination -- one their kids will like as much as they will."At Home with Olaf"
Disney Animation will be sharing an original animated content series, featuring 20 unique vignettes with dialogue provided by Josh Gad and directed by the supervising animator of Olaf from the first "Frozen" film. These will feature sweet moments with Olaf that celebrate his character’s optimistic way of seeing the world."Storytime With ..."
Nothing is as good as cozying up with a good book, and Disney invites you to join stars John Stamos, Ming-Na Wen, Jeff Goldblum and Yvette Nicole Brown every day as they share their favorite stories.#VoicesFromHome: Everything Is an Instrument for the JAMMitors
Check out the JAMMitors, everyone’s favorite funky group of janitors-turned-percussionists. Normally this funky group of janitors-turned-percussionists would be sharing their syncopated sounds at Epcot using all sorts of different items they find around the park. Today, they are sharing their #VoicesFromHome -- using pots and pans, trash cans and even an old tire!
1:27Disneyland and Main Street U.S.A. might be closed but the Disney Dapper Dans found a way to bring some magic to us at home.
"It’s a Small World" Virtual Ride-Through Video
Gather around with your family and watch this virtual ride through the timeless Disney Parks attraction, "It's a small world," a beloved favorite at many Disney parks around the globe.Disney Channel "We're All in This Together" Dance Montage #WAITT
An exuberant song and dance montage from Disney Channel, set to its iconic "We're All in This Together" anthem, encourages kids of all ages to get up and move, and to embrace self-expression and connection, hallmarks of the Disney Channel viewing experience.Disney Broadway: Instagram Live Workshops
On Mondays at 12:30 p.m., Disney on Broadway teaching artists will conduct 15- to 20-minute workshops based on in-person Broadway programming. The first workshop included music and choreography from "Frozen" on Broadway. Next up is "Newsies."Disney on Broadway Get Up & Go!
These videos include cast from current and previous Broadway shows teaching choreography to folks at home. Originally released in support of first lady Michelle Obama’s healthy living campaign, these videos focus on using dance and theater to support an active lifestyle. Obama intros some of the videos.#DrawWithDisneyAnimation In these special videos, animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios show fans how to draw their favorite characters from "Frozen 2."
Virtual celebration of "A Goofy Movie" D23, Disney’s fan club, has your 1990s nostalgia ready to go, hosting a virtual viewing party to celebrate "A Goofy Movie"'s 25th anniversary with never-before-heard stories from members of the film’s cast and creative team, including director Kevin Lima; writer Jymn Magon; Jenna von Oy, the voice of Stacey; Disney legend and the voice of Goofy, Bill Farmer; and more!
"Pixar in a Box"
"Pixar in a Box" is a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar artists do their jobs. You will be able to animate bouncing balls, build a swarm of robots and make virtual fireworks explode. The subjects you learn in school -- math, science, computer science and humanities -- are used every day to create amazing movies at Pixar. -
click to enlarge
As of this writing, it's been over 500 hours since I last set foot inside a theme park. That's the longest I've gone without since moving to Orlando almost 24 years ago. I'm far from the only attraction junkie jonesing for a Fantasyland fix, judging by the recent flood of #HomemadeDisney viral videos, featuring fan-made ride re-creations. As much fun as that low-tech social media trend has been, I recently discovered a high-tech substitute for my attractions visits with the help of an old friend and a new toy, as the worlds of Minecraft and Disney collide in virtual reality.
My Oculus Quest VR headset, which I picked up on a whim when it was released last year, has proved to be my most prescient pre-pandemic purchase. Straight out of the box, the $299 stand-alone devices – which are currently in short supply, but show up sporadically on Best Buy's website – are ideal for enjoying the free VR videos of the theme parks that can be found on YouTube. Start by checking out Attractions Magazine's playlist of 180-degree 3-D clips for some excellent examples, which can also be viewed with cheap cardboard smartphone VR goggles.
click to enlarge
- Screengrab from Imaginears Club via Seth Kubersky
Although VR video can provide a visceral experience, it lacks the freedom of movement and interactivity needed to truly immerse yourself in a virtual theme park visit. For that, you'll need to dig into an online world where communities of volunteer crafters are using the popular sandbox-style game Minecraft to rebuild their favorite attractions brick by digital brick. Thanks to their unpaid efforts, I recently became one of the first people ever to saunter up Main Street U.S.A., take a spin on Space Mountain and even swim to Tom Sawyer's Island – all while staying safely socially distant in virtual reality.
While there have been several attempts at building virtual theme parks, the story of Minecraft and the Magic Kingdom really begins and ends with David "Duckie" Wasman. Longtime Live Active Culture readers may remember him as the winner of a rare jug of Rick and Morty-related McNugget Szechuan sauce (that was a thing back in 2017, believe it or not), but he's been building digital Disney doppelgängers since long before then. "I started playing Minecraft when it was a browser-based game," Wasman recalled in a recent email interview, adding that he initially began building his first Magic Kingdom in it "due to a combination of being too poor to go to the real parks and needing a creative outlet."
That early attempt eventually grew into MCMagic, a multi-park reproduction of Walt Disney World which attracted over a million unique visitors, won three consecutive Guinness World Records, and "inspired real-life friendships, jobs and marriages" before being sold in 2016 to Palace Networks, which continues to operate it as MCParks. Wasman calls that sale "a heartbreaking decision," and about six months later he quietly started rebuilding Walt Disney World on a private server with even more detail than before. Since then, he's put countless hours into the project, which he's dubbed Imaginears Club. More than 100 people have volunteered as "cast members" since Imaginears went public last year.
One of the things that distinguishes Imaginears Club from similar efforts is its emphasis on user safety. "With so many game servers, there's almost always the threat of trolls or people digging for personal information," says Wasman. "Our suite of tools allows us to monitor chat and clear it when needed, or remove unruly guests without anyone seeing it, thereby keeping guests focused on the enjoyment rather than the drama. We're able to keep chat 100 percent safe for folks of all ages."
Another difference is the accurate attention to detail, with "1 to 1" reproductions of both familiar guest-facing locations and employee-only areas like the Utilidors and Disney University, where new "cast members" go through an in-depth "Traditions" training class. Many of the virtual attractions, including Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight and the PeopleMover, are fully functional, allowing you to pick your seat for a blocky first-person-perspective, complete with synchronized sound via an optional audio server. Restaurants offer cheeseburgers and corn dogs that can be consumed, and more than 100 Hidden Mickeys are secreted around the map.
Amazingly, all of this effort can be enjoyed for free. Wasman says, "We have never thought of what we do as a business" – the server costs are covered by his "menial paycheck or the one-time contributions of a generous group of valued guests and cast members." His eventual goal is to complete the Magic Kingdom, followed by the rest of Walt Disney World Resort property, including all backstage areas. "Walt famously said Disneyland would never be completed and that technology would exist to improve the parks," says Wasman. "As Minecraft continues to evolve, our parks will improve."
A new utility now allows users of Minecraft's "Bedrock" version on smartphones and consoles to stroll around the Imaginears Club map, but the full experience requires the Java edition for Windows PCs. To explore in virtual reality, you need a SteamVR compatible headset (including a Quest with an Oculus Link cable or Virtual Desktop software), the free Vivecraft software from vivecraft.org and a beefy computer; my ninth-generation i7 with RTX graphics struggles to maintain a steady framerate inside the more intricate attractions. Log into the server at iears.us, and visit imaginears.club for more info. I'll see you online at the churro stand!
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3 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:
Here’s a copy of the email I received from WDW concerning passholders.
Important Walt Disney World Passholder Update Dear Valued Annual Passholder,
This is a truly unprecedented time for all of us, and we want to thank you for your patience as we work through the many details related to the temporary closure of the theme parks. We recognize this may be a challenging time, so we wanted to share how we will assist our Annual Passholders.
Active Walt Disney World Resort Annual Passes who have paid in full will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the theme parks.
As an alternative, in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the theme park closure period. Information will be provided soon on how to choose this option.
Our Annual Passholders are some of our most loyal guests, and we stand ready to help during this incredibly uncertain time. If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
Disney DestinationsI called this morning before this came in my email, but did call that VIP # For my pay by month. It answered as that line, then routed me over to the regular reservation line twice. The first time they transferred me to the VIP line and it looked me right back to the reservation line. The second time the CM stayed on the line when she transferred me and took my name and email. After 45 minutes the VIP answered, said I understand you wanted the Second option. I said yes, he asked for both passes, again yes and it was done. 45 minute wait and 1 minute to take care of it.
I was given this # by the CM in case I got disconnected 888-701-4100, this is the pass holder payment center group.
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2 hours ago, lightbikes said:
I find this both nice, but incredibly sad! It's terrific of Disney, and all the other companies to do these things.
HOWEVER, I find the simple fact that the hospital workers, doctors, nurses, EMS folks need to rely on rain ponchos for protection, literally around the world, is unbearably depressing.
There was a FB post early in February showing someone making masks out of folded, pleated, paper towels and rubber bands stapled on to go over your ears.
I'm hoping it was just a joke, but the way things are going you never know.....
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1 minute ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:
That really seems to have been the smart thing to do.
But it still hasn't stopped the flood of FB posts asking when the parks will open, and the others whining because they miss Disney soooo much and can't stand not being there.
I like Disney also, but geez folks get a life! Be happy you and your family are safe, don't have the virus, have food, a place to live, a job and TP!
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Looks like Universal goofed
Stay-at-Home Order Scuttles Universal Orlando's Reopening Plans
Just in case anyone thought it might happen, the Universal Orlando Resort's plans to reopen on April 20 pretty much just disappeared.
Florida's governor has issued a 30-day "stay at home" order for the state, starting tonight (4/2) at midnight. That order would preclude Universal Orlando from opening its theme parks during the month of April.
Last month, after initially announcing that its parks would close through the end of March, Universal extended the closure through April 19. Meanwhile, other theme park companies extended their planned temporary closures into mid-May, while Disney just stopped playing that game and declared that its parks would be closed until further notice.
No one who has been following this pandemic closely believed that Universal would be able to reopen its theme parks by mid-April. Especially not in Florida, where officials' refusal to move swiftly to order people to stay at home has primed the state to become a hotspot for an outbreak. Florida currently has the fifth-most cases in the United States and has been moving up that list rapidly.
As for Universal Studios Hollywood, California has been under an indefinite statewide stay at home order for two weeks now. We will update this post if we hear anything new from Universal.
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33 minutes ago, ThemeParkCommando said:
That'll give a bit of humor to the grim situations. If you see a doctor or nurse wearing a poncho with the mouse, you can honestly say: " what kind of Mickey Mouse operation is this?!"
Some hospitals in NYC got Yankees ponchos. Someone posted at least it wasn't a Mets poncho
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Isn't that in the same area they bought some late last year?
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It's about to get real in the Sunshine State (and it's about time)
Coronavirus in Florida: Gov. DeSantis will issue a statewide 'stay-at-home' order
All Floridians will be told to remain in their home except for "essential services."1:20 p.m. (April 1)
Governor DeSantis announced Wednesday he will issue an executive order to enact a statewide 'stay-at-home' order.
When the order is put into effect, all Floridians will be told to remain in their homes except for "essential services."
The Department of Homeland Security's official list of essential services and professions can be found here.
The governor said he would sign the order today and it would take effect at midnight tomorrow. (4/2)
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10 minutes ago, djsamuel said:
The horse barn was so close I would think they would finish that. It would really be a shame to let it sit after being so close. Of course the staff to take care of the horses is probably minimal and not enough to move them in.
Not to mention all of the construction fencing that would need to be relocated and access roads/paths opened over to the barn that would miss all of the construction.
WDW Closings due to COVID19
in WDW and Disney Park Discussions
Posted
Unless Disney puts in some sort of residency check in place, the parks will fill up to whatever capacity is decided on by people from all around the globe.
A lot of the "experts" have been saying all along that people will be reluctant to visit the parks until there are some sort of method to make them safe.
These "experts" obviously don't belong to any of the Disney FB pages or blogs. Most of those people are chomping at the bit to go and could care less about social distancing, cures, or anything virus related.
Heck, if they were told they had to lick handrails to gain access they would do it!
I like Disney, but I'm not in the same class as those fanatics.