12 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Typical Tampa Bay Times. WDW has not been selling new APs since July. 

TCD

Weren’t they just suspending sales previously?  Looks like they made a decision to end sales now.

11 hours ago, AuburnJen said:

Someone needs to learn how to write a title to an article to a story.  That story was all about California.  Ugh

The article was about DL refunding APs, and WDW not selling new passes.

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/entertainment/theme-parks/2021/01/15/disney-stops-selling-new-annual-passes-in-florida/

12 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Here's hoping, but I have been seeing rumors that the whole "park scheduling" thing may stick around in some form even after all the changes due to COVID are gone.

I had mentioned that a couple of years ago as a way that Disney could keep the crowds in check.

A lot less $$$ than building a new park somewhere else in the US or South America to draw crowds away, or even adding on to the MK.

Walt Disney World Resort will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary Celebration this year, October 1, 2021. Unfortunately, if you did not get a Disney Park Pass we can now confirm that they are all fully booked for the time being.

Disney separates their Park Pass availability into a few different categories, Hotel Guests, Annual Passholders, and Ticket Holders. For October 1, 2021,  all of the passes in all categories are no longer available.

This only applies to the Magic Kingdom, as currently, the other three parks are available on that date.

1 hour ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

Not a rumor. Posted on the Parks Blog and sent out to TA's

When I first saw the article it was the only one I could find.

You just can't believe everything you see on the interweb!  

About 10 minutes after I posted it more outlets started posting a similar story.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-08/what-quarantine-is-like-at-the-most-magical-place-on-earth

This was posted somewhere else before Bloomberg posted it, so I'd be a little leery of the story. How would Disney find out your party had Covid unless you told them.

Walt Disney Co. is used to managing large crowds in tight places. In Florida, the theme-park giant is also figuring out how to handle guests who test positive for Covid-19: quarantining some at the company’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

Such cases have been extremely rare, Disney said. But tourists who have the misfortune of testing positive for the coronavirus while vacationing at Walt Disney World may be moved to the 750-acre site, where they can be isolated from other visitors.

While many states are discouraging travel during the current winter surge in Covid-19 cases -- and airplanes have been the focus of recent incidents involving sick travelers -- there’s been little discussion of the dilemma hotels face when guests test positive. Some people may be able to drive home and quarantine there. Others are stuck in limbo, with air travel out of the question.

Unlike California, Florida has no travel restrictions in place. Non-Florida residents accounted for less than 2% of the more than 1.3 million Covid-19 cases reported, according to the state’s health department.

Disney reopened its Florida theme parks in July. Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek said in November the parks were operating at about 35% of capacity. Guests submit to temperature checks at the gates and are required to wear masks. The company also has made hand-washing stations plentiful.

Websites such as the Disney Food Blog have weighed in on what guest should do if they feel sick. InsidetheMagic.net recommends getting tested at a local urgent-care facility. The state has also opened a testing center nearby.

InsidetheMagic also suggests negotiating with Disney, which may let guests reschedule their theme-park visits. A Disney World vacation for a typical family of four costs thousands of dollars. The company says it will work with customers whose trips are interrupted by Covid-19.

Len Testa, president of TouringPlans.com, which helps park visitors find the best days to go, heard that Disney employees are informally referring to sick guests as a “code 23-19,” the term for an emergency in the 2001 Disney film “Monsters Inc.” when a human object inadvertently gets into the world of Monstropolis.

 Nowadays, Disney has taken steps such as wrapping shampoo containers and even the TV remote control in plastic to let guests know they’ve been cleaned since the last visitors.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/os-et-disney-ends-extra-magic-hours-magical-express-bus-20210111-n74artglrffcvkvnrh6nptx4e4-story.html

Wonder what $$$$ making scheme they will come up with to replace it?

The most recent adaptation that Walt Disney World has decided to implement is the retirement of the popular Magic Kingdom theme park interactive game Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Disney representatives confirmed this information with Inside the Magic and provided the following statement:

Our mobile devices continue to play a vital role in the Disney theme park experience, and we are constantly innovating with new, on-the-go digital experiences, such as Magic Mobile, Play Disney Parks app and additional enhancements to My Disney Experience. With the changes in how our Guests use mobile technology in mind and decreased demand for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, we will be retiring this interactive experience on Jan. 24. Guests will have until then to cast their final spells and help Merlin to defeat the notorious Disney villains. 

We thank our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom fans for their dedication and hope they’ll remember this fun experience. And of course, we thank our Cast for helping recruit sorcerers and sending them on their adventures.

With the times changing and technology adapting, and smartphones being used for nearly everything, Disney is continuing to adjust theme park offerings so they adapt to the new era, and this game seems a bit outdated, even with its loyal fanbase.

The game used paper cards and some advanced technology as the screens read which cards Guests would use, however, with so many things moving to smartphone use as well as to the My Disney Experience app (or the future Disney Genie), it looks as though this game doesn’t make the cut. And as Disney representatives have shared, “with the changes in how our Guests use mobile technology,” it is time to wave goodbye to the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and see what the future holds for the theme park’s offerings.

1 hour ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

But they don't get them any earlier than anybody else.      He could sleep in then too!  

True, they probably (but who really knows with Disney) don't get them earlier.

But with multiple people booking for clients, they can process a lot more requests then one person in the same amount of time.

23 minutes ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

I think Jason will probably disagree with that. If that was the case he wouldn't be up at 12:01 am looking for reservations.  He always posts when reservations will open up and tells everybody to let him know so he can book.

I think some of the TAs have a large amount of staff members that all start booking sites as soon as they open.

So they do scoop up a bunch of reservations as soon as they can.

I'm sure if Jason can get that lazy cat of his trained to use a PC, he could book more sites... 

51 minutes ago, Disneybishops said:

Am I the only one who misses the old way we made reservations at the fort?  I can remember getting reservations for Christmas most anytime during the year. Yes you had to be creative but you could get a site.  
 

Now they give all the sites to travel agents and they are gone in one day. I just liked the old way where I controlled my reservations.  
 

sorry to ramble just my 2 cents

I liked the real old way. 

When you drove into World Drive just before the parking ticket booth, there was a sign on the right that would say that the Fort had campsites available for that night.

It may be a true observation, or nothing but click bait...

https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/tron-coaster-at-magic-kingdom-sealed-shut-signaling-mickeys-running-out-of-money/

Before we start this article, we need to do a quick primer on what’s been going on for readers to understand Disney’s situation. There’s been a huge buzz lately around Disney changing strategies in regards to Star Wars (and soon other parts of the company), and I think you’ll see their money situation is the reason why.

First, we reported in September that Disney wanted to have a substantial 2021 opening of attractions, shows, and parades in order to bring back massive crowds once the pandemic was over. The caveat was that if the pandemic didn’t seem to be coming to an end, that plan would have to be scrapped. Our reporting on that was part of information we had received about Cosmic Rewind (another coaster in Epcot) going significantly over an already massive budget.
Disney Originally Planned a BIG 2021

Then, in October, word came out that Disney might actually be moving to halt construction on Tron in the Magic Kingdom. While we couldn’t verify at the time the length of the interior construction stop, we were able to independently verify that it would, indeed, be paused. And the reason for the delay? Money. Our report was even more significant because while we were reporting that Disney couldn’t even finish a marquee, E-Ticket attraction, they were simultaneously telling everyone that it was full-steam ahead on changing Splash Mountain for controversial, social reasons. Maybe the investors should be checking in with us more often to see what’s really going on.
Our October Report that Disney Was Planning to Delay Tron

Now today, on the second day of 2021, we can report that Tron’s construction is almost certainly coming to an end for a very significant amount of time.

Some might say, “well, many projects get placed on a delay for one reason or another.” They’d be right. But typical delays don’t involve companies sealing the project shut. Disney has officially removed Tron from the list of attractions / shows opening in 2021, and they made every visible indication that our reporting was correct. They are likely going to finish the exterior of Tron, but the interior has or is stopped until late 2021. That means we’ll be seeing the opening of Tron in 2022 at the EARLIEST, and Cosmic Rewind is almost certainly behind Tron.

So, you probably can start to understand that the investor’s call, the inflated stock value, it’s all smoke and mirrors at this point. If Disney had the money to finish Tron and have it ready to open Day One of lessening restrictions, you’d better believe they’d do it. They’ve already sunk massive money into the attraction, they’ve got a construction nightmare in Epcot that already consumes much of their bandwidth, and it would be nice for the company to get one E-Ticket out the door to bring back the crowds when crowds are allowed.

They can’t do it.

Here’s what I’m going to say. If Disney can’t finish Tron, and then they start to make multi hundred million dollar changes to Splash Mountain, they deserve whatever financial crash they land in down the road. Because that’s gargantuan level stupid. If Disney lets the Pablo Hidalgos and the Kathleen Kennedys continue to drive Star Wars into the ground instead of throwing everything they’ve got to Favreau-Filoni, then they deserve to continue having massive attraction facades standing with nobody allowed inside. Disney has lost their cruise lines, they’ve lost all their parks but Disney World (and they don’t make much off of the Asian parks anyway after Beijing gets their cut). Essentially everything is shot for Disney except for Walt Disney World and Disney+. Only one of those two is currently profitable. It isn’t Disney+.

So get ready, because Tron is the one big visibility staring at everyone saying “the emperor has no clothes”, only in this case, it’s “the mouse is out of cheese”. If they could finish it in a financially safe manner with all that cash they’re holding, they’d do it. In the meantime, the Walt Disney World Railroad will continue to be stationary and the suits in Burbank should start getting nervous — we’re almost in the “execs lose money” stage. And really, maybe it’s time considering they’ve fired nearly everyone else they can.

Help them Luke Skywalker, you’re their only hope.

On 1/3/2021 at 7:21 AM, djsamuel said:

I was really surprised to see them allowing people to park on the surface lots.  It explained why it was so crowded.  There were more people there than I remember during previous Christmas seasons.  They were limiting the number of people inside the buildings, but that was about it.  The line for Gideon's Bakehouse stretched past Morimoto Asia and around the corner.  They finally switched to a virtual cue for that.

Don't have to fret about that now, Gideon's is closed. 

Posts don't know if there was a problem, or if they just had the soft opening for the Christmas season, and are now closed until their official grand opening at a later date.

There is another Gideon's here

EAST END MARKET

3201 Corrine Dr
Orlando, Fl 32803

Ever since it reopened back in July Walt Disney World has encouraged social distancing at its theme parks, not only by spacing guests apart in queue lines, but also by physically separating guests on attractions as well. However, with crowds increasing over the past few weeks due to the busy holiday period, Disney is ending social distancing measures on several rides to increase capacity, including the following: 

• Slinky Dog Dash: Every row is now being loaded, and there is no spacing between parties. 
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: Ride vehicles are being loaded with a maximum of two parties, plexiglass separates rows. 
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: Parties are now being grouped together in cockpits, with a maximum of two parties now able to share a ride vehicle. Some guests have reported that they are able to opt out of sharing.  
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Every row is now being loaded, and there is no spacing between parties. 
• Avatar: Flight of Passage: Riders are now being seated at every link chair with no space between parties. 
• Expedition Everest: by loading every row: Every row is now being loaded, and there is no spacing between parties. 

• Though vaccines for COVID-19  are beginning to roll out across the US, many health experts are warning that until most of the population is widely vaccinated, distancing efforts should continue, which makes this a curious decision for Walt Disney World to wind down social distancing efforts before any large public immunity threshold is reached. 

  Of course, Walt Disney World is still taking major precautions with regards to the COVID-19 Pandemic, with masks required at all times when not actively eating or drinking, distancing encouraged in queue lines, and limited capacity both in the park and on attractions. In addition, almost all live performances in the theme parks have been suspended until further notice and face to face character interactions are not expected to return until next year. 

Walt Disney World Resort's Blizzard Beach water park is finally going to reopen in early 2021, Disney representatives confirmed on Tuesday.

The water park has been shuttered for the better part of a year, but will open its doors again on March 7, 2021, according to Disney's website. Blizzard Beach closed along with all other Disney parks when the coronavirus pandemic hit Florida in March of this year.
 

Word on the street was that one of Disney's two water parks would reopen sooner than later next year, and it looks like Blizzard Beach beat out Typhoon Lagoon.

"The wait is finally over! Cast members will begin returning soon to prepare Disney’s Blizzard Beach for its scheduled reopening on March 7, 2021," exclaimed the official Disney Parks blog. "First opened to the public on April 1, 1995, this spring will kick off Blizzard Beach’s 25th season."

Keep an eye on the Blizzard Beach website for updates on opening and ticket availability.

A feel good story...

With nearly 20,000 Walt Disney World employees laid off this year, we've heard heartbreaking stories about cast members desperately seeking food and shelter, while Mickey's stock price (and executive compensation) soars. But despite the dire situation, there are still die-hard Disney employees spreading joy and inspiration on their own time, just like Walt would have wanted.

Chief among them is entertainer Billy Flanigan, a 39-year veteran of WDW's stages, who spent his furlough pedaling around Central Florida and across the country, delivering musical "Flanigrams" to over 524 friends and family. His 6,000-mile-plus journey is the subject of Billy Flanigan: The Happiest Man on Earth (instagram.com/thmoedoc), an upcoming feature-length documentary from local producer Andrea Canny and director Cullen Douglas, which will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

How did you originally come to Orlando?

I was a senior at the Boston Conservatory of Music. I went to my Shakespeare class and I was the only one in there, and the teacher said, "I think it's odd that you're not at the Disney audition." I didn't even know there was one.

I went there, signed up, and I was one of three or four people that were left at the end of the night. Myself and one other girl from the school both got hired at the same time, so we came down together, and that was in 1982. We came down two weeks before our graduation ceremony, and then both flew back to graduate, and then came back to finish our rehearsals.

We did all of the grand openings at Epcot, which was awesome and amazing and incredible. I was there opening day, performing right in front of Spaceship Earth, with all the publicity and the balloons and the birds and just the thousands of people that were clamoring to get in.

From there I went from show to show to show to show, and ended up being at one point what they call the "park swing," where I knew all the shows at Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.

What was your most memorable performance?

When I was at the Hoop-De-Doo Revue [dinner show], Princess Di and Harry and Prince William came to the show. And I kind of broke all the rules that they told us not to do: Stay away from their table, don't go near them ... Those two boys wanted to just be like everybody else, and everybody was walking around them and kind of ignoring them, so I went over and talked to them because I just thought it was the right thing to do. ... [Diana] stopped me and she said, "Thank you so much for treating us like normal people," and that just meant the world to me.

Your least favorite performance?

Stitch's Supersonic Celebration. It opened in Tomorrowland, and it maybe lasted six weeks before it closed. It was a really fun, well-written show [and] it was a really fun show to do. But the thing was, we rehearsed everything at night. ... Then when we opened it, it was in the day and ... people were sweating and trying to sit underneath the PeopleMover to get in the shade, so it was not well-planned.

How did you become Disney's longest-running consecutively contracted performer?

I have been available! In the beginning, in 1986, I had six days off the entire year, because I was always available; if they called, at the drop of a hat I would do it.

What's the future of live entertainment at WDW?

I have no doubt that they are looking to bring all of the entertainment back.

They know they need entertainment for crowd control, because as you're walking through the parks you see these thousand people that would be in Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, that are now just roaming in the park. So they need it. It's not that they're ever going to get rid of it. I 100% believe that all of these shows will be back up and running, and they are really working hard to do that.

Where did your "Flanigrams" greetings come from?

I would bike every day on the trail [during Disney's closure] but everything was like a ghost town. I had not seen people in a couple weeks, so I said, "I'm just going to knock on some doors of people who live off of the trail."

I knocked on a door and I backed up (because social distancing), said a little hello, and she just broke down in tears. ... I took a picture of us, and then she posted on her Instagram and Facebook that I had stopped by to do a "socially distant hello," and how much it meant to her. It was such a small thing, but it really meant the world to her. Another girl responded to her and said, "I want one of those," so I saw her response and went to their house the next day. And then it just started.

How did Flanigrams go nationwide?

I drove [from Florida to California], and along the way I stopped in Texas, in Phoenix, Arizona, and then obviously Los Angeles. I used to work at Disneyland for two years, so I was able to Flanigram a lot of my cast from the old Golden Horseshoe show. ... I flew back from California, and then I drove up to Massachusetts to visit my mom and Flanigramed all my family and friends from high school. I just love doing what I do, and I do it just to make people happy; I don't do it for fame or glory or anything like that.

Flamingo Crossing was a hidden gem. 

Just had to make sure you purchased your snacks before heading out there unless you wanted to pay Disney type prices for a bag of chips!

When Walt Disney World was first proposed in the late 1960s, the area around what is now Disney Springs was to be a mixed-use development with residences and offices within a short walk or PeopleMover ride of the commercial district. Just like its sister city, Bay Lake, where EPCOT was to be located, those plans were never realized. Instead, Lake Buena Vista became just another corner of the massive vacation resort.

In the early 1990s, the idea of a planned community in the shadow of the Vacation Kingdom was revived when the Celebration community opened on land in Osceola County that was once part of Disney World. A year after its opening, Orange County vowed to create its own Celebration-style communities and earmarked 23,000 acres on the west side of Disney World as what is still known as Horizon West.

New Urbanist design standards were used as inspiration for this sector plan, as they were in Celebration. Multiple neighborhoods were conceived for the area, with every two to four neighborhoods forming a village where commercial, educational, and office uses could be found. The entire project would be walkable, with bike trails and sidewalks on almost every road. Smart growth tactics would ensure large swaths of land would remain untouched and most residents would live within a short walk of a commercial district.

Since then, multiple developers have worked with the county to realize the plan. However, the county has frequently bent to these developers' demands, rather than staying true to the original vision. In the process, the walkability originally envisioned for the area has been nearly forgotten, and the town centers earmarked within the project have slowly evolved into traffic inducing suburban-style strip malls.

With the Disney-developed Crossroads Plaza, just east of Disney’s Lake Buena Vista, soon to be demolished to make way for improved interstate access, the Mouse looked at its western entrance to create a town center of its own. Despite its car-centric design, Flamingo Crossings is the closest thing to the original plans for Walt Disney World since at least Celebration.
 

Local favorites Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co., Ellie Lou’s Brews & BBQ, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ and Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi will be among the national chains in the retail complex.tweet this

The mixed-use development — announced in 2007 but just now being realized — will become the new budget-friendly shopping village for Disney visitors who are looking for an offsite value-oriented alternative. It will also be home to the Disney College Program housing when that program returns post-COVID.

• Image via Crossman & Co | Disney
• A 2019 design for the center used in marketing materials for potential retail clients.

At full buildout, Flamingo Crossings will host 1,750 hotel rooms across seven hotels and nearly a quarter-million square feet of retail, and more than 10,000 college students will call it home. A gigantic Target will anchor one end of the retail section, found within the heart of the development and encircled by the hotels. The 200,000-square-foot retail center will also have dozens of smaller tenants, including numerous local small businesses.

• Image via Crossman & Co | Disney
• A 2019 design for the center used in marketing materials for potential retail clients. The project has been slightly altered since this plan to now include the large Target in the top right corner of the retail center.

Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co., known for its DeLand and downtown Orlando locations, will open their first Four Corners location within the complex. For those wanting some BBQ with their beer, Ocoee-based Ellie Lou’s Brews & BBQ might be a good choice. Other dining options within the complex will include Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, PDQ Chicken, Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Ben & Jerry’s, Dunkin, Wendy’s, Domino’s, Firehouse Subs and Pieology Pizzeria. Beyond the Target, other retailers confirmed for the complex include Five Below, the UPS Store and Walgreens.

While accessible for pedestrians, the area has the same parking lot moats that surround most shopping plazas in Central Florida, with little resemblance to the walkable town centers once envisioned for Horizon West, even as marketing material for the development notes that many of its 10,000 college student residents will not bring personal vehicles. Instead, the estimated 40,000 vehicles passing through the development each day are celebrated in bold letters and mentioned multiple times.

Many of the Flamingo Crossing hotels are already open, but the rest of the complex is planned to open in the next few years. 

45 minutes ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Wonder how Disney can be sure all the merchandise in the bag was scanned?

I think they are going to have checkers at the exits like SAMS/COSTCO.

The World of Resellers: Disney Fights Back Against eBay Flippers

Picture this: you’re visiting your favorite Disney Park, meandering a gift shop, when you glance over at the register and spot a Guest purchasing several of the same items. Or maybe you are walking from one area of the park to another and you spot another Guest carrying large bags full of merchandise. Maybe even you spot a group of people purchasing as many seasonal popcorn buckets as they are allowed to.

Chances are, you’ve seen several Disney resellers during your time at the Disney Parks. And, once you know what a reseller is, they become that much easier to spot.

Resellers are, quite simply, people who resell items. Often, when it comes to Disney Parks merchandise, resellers (AKA “flippers”) will purchase limited edition or highly coveted merchandise items and with the intention of reselling on websites like eBay for a much higher price in an effort to turn a profit. For example, an eBay reseller may purchase a popcorn bucket for around $20 at a theme park and resell it online for upwards of $100. Another person may buy bags and bags of merchandise from an attraction that will soon be closing forever; they will, in turn, attempt to resell all of the items for hundreds or even thousands of dollars online.

So, what’s the problem?

One of the issues with this is a moral one. Often, it can be disheartening to see Disney Guests buying up several items with the intention of reselling them, therefore taking away another Guest’s ability to purchase the item. There are Disney fans who will wait for hours to purchase the latest limited edition item, like a tiki mug from the Disneyland Hotel that will later be listed for hundreds on eBay. Those who purchase items they have no intention of collecting are taking away the opportunity from those huge Disney fanatics who just want to get a new item for their collection. And that can sting.

This tweet is sponsored by my anger that I’m not able to get the Walt funko pop unless I wanna spend $2000 on eBay

 

But the other issue is perhaps a lot simpler: if you are an Annual Passholder using your AP discount to purchase merchandise with the intent to resell it, then you are violating your AP contract.

The Annual Passholder programs at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort have specific rules in place against reselling. The Annual Passholder agreement states that “benefits and discounts are for personal use only and may not be used for any commercial purpose including, without limitation, to obtain or purchase items or services with the intent to resell such items or services.”

But, all too often, the APs who become resellers don’t read the fine print…or just don’t care. Why? Reselling is lucrative — and it’s pretty easy. A person can head to Disney World — or a reservation-only Disneyland shopping event — to purchase the latest in limited-edition merchandise. They, they can almost immediately list the items for sale on eBay — sometimes before even leaving the theme parks. Those who cannot get to the theme parks or resorts themselves can find the items significantly marked up online, and there are collectors who are willing to shell out the big bucks to get the most highly coveted items, even if it will cost them a pretty penny. And if someone is willing to pay that much money for something, isn’t that the buyer’s decision, anyway?

Still, if you have a Disney discount and you are using that discount to purchase items that you intend to resell online, you are in violation of the contract. And Disney is no stranger to cracking down.

We have reported previous instances of Disney cracking down on resellers in the past. During the 2018 holiday season, we shared an article on “flippers” — resellers who attempt to purchase several of the same item with the intention of marking up the price to make a profit. And earlier this year, when Guests flocked to Magic Kingdom to purchase as much Splash Mountain merchandise as they could, we shared an article reminding resellers that they were putting the validity of their APs at risk.

Splash Mountain merch going fast! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/wZnKvAGRuo

— Mickey Views (@MickeyViews) July 9, 2020

 

When the theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort and Downtown Disney at Disneyland Resort reopened in July amid the ongoing pandemic, reselling was still alive and well. But now, as the Disney Parks continue to adapt to this new era, they have implemented a new shopping tool — one that may have thrown a wrench in resellers’ plans.

Within the past few weeks, Disney Parks and Resorts have introduced a mobile checkout feature that allows Guests to shop for items in person and check out using their mobile device. Currently, the My Disney Experience app for Walt Disney World is testing the mobile checking shopping feature at two locations: Mouse Gear in EPCOT and Everything POP at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Over on the west coast, the Disneyland app is testing mobile checkout at World of Disney at Downtown Disney.

The feature is beneficial for many: it allows more and more people to use a method of contactless purchasing, therefore reducing the number of people you may come in contact with when visiting a public place like Disney World or Disneyland during an ongoing pandemic. As long as your Annual Pass is linked to your app, you can apply the discount to your purchase. But since purchasing limitations are in place for certain items, resellers won’t be very successful with obtaining merchandise items using mobile checkout.

Orlando Weekly points out that, while resellers have been able to work around the rules when shopping in person, mobile checkout would put limitations on how much they are able to purchase. The site reports that some resellers are frequent visitors to the parks and have regular locations where they have been able to skirt the rules without getting in trouble. However, with automated shopping with Disney apps, this may not be possible in the future.

Some resellers visit multiple locations to get around the limits. There are also occasional reports of some store managers holding back items for resellers they know will be visiting. This symbiotic relationship between managers and resellers help keep sales at those locations up, as resellers seek out these managers who are more likely to let them skirt the rules.

As more of the shopping experience becomes automated via the app, these loopholes may become less exploitable.

As long as there is limited edition merchandise, there will be eBay flippers looking to turn a profit. It may become more and more difficult for resellers to purchase items over time, their Annual Passes may be revoked if they are caught, and they may be the punchlines of jokes (or fall victim to dirty looks and snide comments when bulk purchasing in the theme parks). But as long as Disney continues to be the iconic brand it is — and continues to create highly desired, limited-edition merchandise — there will be people who will want to buy these limited-edition items, even if it means they have to wait to find them on eBay.

Not many Disney shops doing this yet.

The mobile self-checkout is currently available at Epcot's MouseGear, Everything POP at the Pop Century Resort, and the World of Disney at Downtown Disney in the Disneyland Resort. More stores are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Most of our Sams Stores have had this feature for about 2 years.

• According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Tatiana Siegel, the administration of President-Elect Joe Biden is considering The Walt Disney Company’s executive chairman and former CEO, Bob Iger, for ambassadorship to either the UK or China, reportedly being “at the top of [their] wish-list”

3 hours ago, MouseHouse said:

Hello Fellow Campers and Glampers!

Will be camping with the family at Fort Wilderness from Dec 27-29 and was wondering if anyone knows of a “wandering” firepit we can use for the couple of days? 

There used to be a wandering firepit FB group that kept track of a couple pits.

Not sure if it's still active.

Didn't see this listed on any blogs/posts, but the delicious ice cream sandwich was back at Dino-Bite Snacks in AK.

It's big enough for two to share and a bargain at $6.99.

We were too busy eating them to take pictures!

9 minutes ago, PghBob said:

While we were at the Fort in November, there were CMs posted at the 4 way stop and another at the cart path leading to the Settlement Trading Post, checking cart riders for masks.  They did call out to riders who were either mask-less or did not have the mask on correctly.

As an aside, I talked with a Disney bus driver on a near empty bus, and asked him how he felt about working during the pandemic and being around so many people.  His reply was essentially, "I have no problems coming to work here, it is probably the safest place on earth right now.  You should see how serious they are about this and how much time they spend cleaning and sanitizing everything".

My wife felt safer there a couple weeks ago than any store we have been to.

We were waiting in Pandora for my nephews family and were sitting in an alcove with smooth flat rocks for seats.  As soon as another family left the area a CM came over and sprayed down the seating area.

We had seen the same thing earlier, as soon as someone left a table it would get sprayed down.