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Post by Admin on Jul 20, 2020 9:09:40 GMT
Presumably “whistle while you work” is still acceptable, but add “eating and drinking while walking” to the list of things you can’t do at Walt Disney World in the pandemic era. Like some Las Vegas casinos, the park has banned consumption of food and drink on the move in order to ensure masks are worn at all times. http://instagram.com/p/CCzQySbjTno Disney World has been under fire in some quarters for reopening at a time when COVID-19 cases are spiking, particularly in its home state of Florida. To minimize the potential spread of the disease, the theme park has instituted many new rules on social distancing, capacity, and cleaning. It is also requiring masks to be worn at all times. Popular Disney blogs Walt Disney World News Today and Mickey Blog report guests are now required to remain stationary while sipping or snacking. Walt Disney World updated its official policy to indicate the change. It now states that “you may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.” Walt Disney World News Today asked an EPCOT Cast Member about the new policy, who informed them that “guests are now being asked to find a safe spot six feet from other guests before removing their masks to eat and drink.”
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Post by Admin on Jul 30, 2020 5:05:11 GMT
Best day ever! We're sharing a special presentation of Disney Cruise Line’s “Tangled: The Musical.” Plus, check out the blog for some crafty bonuses. Now, from our crew to yours, enjoy the show! Gather the family and get ready to have the best day ever as we celebrate our favorite crafty princess. Today we are excited to bring you a great lineup of fun activities and entertainment inspired by Disney Cruise Line’s “Tangled: The Musical.” You are invited to virtually step into the beautiful Walt Disney Theatre for a special presentation of our Broadway-style production, “Tangled: The Musical.” This previously recorded video features the original cast from the show’s opening.
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2020 4:55:08 GMT
Remember that prom dress you had in 1997 that changed depending on which way you turned? Purple to blue to green and back again? It seems that the new Cinderella Castle paint job in Magic Kingdom is akin to this. It’s more than meets the eye! Cinderella Castle Paint Job Twitter user @bioreconstruct, who takes awesomely informative photos across Walt Disney World Resort, has recently started taking photos mere seconds apart at Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom, showing how simple cloud movement and sun exposure can change the way Cinderella Castle appears. The new paint job shows blue and then suddenly glimmers in purple 8 seconds later, showcasing the true nature of the Cinderella Castle paint job. His Disney Park related tweet is below. Showcasing each photo individually, Disney fans can see the royal makeover in honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary is nearly finished with not only speckled bricks for added dimension, but the rooftop color is more than just a brilliant blue. There is a touch of iridescence that comes alive when sunlight permeates the clouds and shines down onto it. The first photo (seen below) shows what we understand to be Disney Parks Blog’s “base” concept art colors for the Magic Kingdom park icon. @bioreconstruct goes on to give us a close up of the castle turrets complete with magical makeover renovation, and we can easily see the base blue shining with iridescent purple on top. If you as a Disney fan were privvy to the goings on at the 2019 D23 convention, you may know about the color choice announcements fo the 50th anniversary. While we are seeing a gold trim tribute to a classic “50th wedding anniversary,” what we also note is Disney’s mood board celebrating iridescent rainbow.
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2020 19:11:08 GMT
Almost as soon as Serena Lyn stepped back inside the Magic Kingdom, she burst into tears. It’d been four months since the theme park and crown jewel of Walt Disney World’s Florida stronghold had shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Before the parks closed, Lyn had been visiting them twice a week; it was part of her job as a Disney blogger and an Instagrammer with more than 71,000 followers. As a devoted Disney fan who’d moved with her husband, two kids, and dog to Orlando, close enough to the parks to see their fireworks shows every night, not being able to set foot inside Disney World had been painful. So when the employees—“cast members,” in park parlance—greeted Lyn and her fellow returning annual passholders on July 9 with a warm welcome outside of the shops along Main Street, Lyn became overwhelmed. “I was bawling,” she said when we FaceTimed a week after she attended Disney World’s grand reopening. “I looked around, and everyone was crying.” In that moment, the stress of the pandemic disappeared as the atmosphere of the parks wrapped her in “a sense of security and happiness,” she explained. “I think the world needs Disney right now.” Not everyone would agree, judging by the reactions to the parks’ reopening. To those who have never or rarely visited the parks, going now, amid a spike in cases in Florida, seems a reckless venture—an excellent, expensive way to put oneself at risk. Comedians took aim at the visitors. Satirical sites, too. Twitter users even turned Disney’s earnest “Welcome Home” video into a warning, with the masked cast members urging viewers to “stay at home.” Lyn groaned when I mentioned the video. After years of posting to an audience who’d cheered on anything Disney-related, she’d begun to receive a sprinkling of negative, judgmental comments about her choices. “For the first time, I kind of felt like I was talking about a subject that was controversial,” she said. “That was definitely new and uncomfortable for me.” http://instagram.com/p/CCbNzWzHcT0 Disney’s theme parks are meant to serve as pockets of utopian fantasy, unchallenged by the stark reality of the outside world, says Stephanie Williams-Turkowski, a recent doctoral graduate who studies fan culture. “The real world somewhat disappears around you [when you’re in the parks],” she explained to me over the phone. “All of your senses are impacted. You are hearing the music, you are smelling the smells, you are seeing the sights, and you can touch things, and that allows you to mentally escape and become a part of the story itself.” Indeed, each immersive element of the parks contributes to removing pieces of reality: The meticulously manicured spaces around attractions—dining options that fit the theme, roving characters that encourage face-to-face engagement—can transport visitors across space and time, to faraway countries and nostalgia-drenched eras. Obviously, that’s all changed; things are strange in the parks right now. Masked guests wait in socially distanced lines. Character interactions have been modified. Live performances and fireworks shows have been canceled. Visitors hurtle down roller coasters in empty cars.
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Post by Admin on Aug 5, 2020 5:39:25 GMT
The Disney fandom, observed Williams-Turkowski, differs from many pop-culture followings in its sheer size and scope of involvement: Disney as an entity cultivates fan loyalty through its various franchises. When I went down the rabbit hole of Disney subcultures, I found fans of Disney history, Walt Disney himself, Disney photography, Disney style, Disney fan fiction, and more. An Instagram spokesperson told me it’s impossible to track just how many Disney-focused accounts exist, given the overwhelming amount of dedicated fan interests under the Disney umbrella. Most Disney fans tend to have had formative exposure to Disney media and products. Each one I spoke with traced their love of Disney to when they were children, collecting VHS tapes and dressing up as their favorite characters for Halloween. Over time, they found that Disney helped them build friendships and online communities, and, for those with children, Disney easily became an intergenerational obsession. http://instagram.com/p/CDcZLgeje6F Making it to the parks, therefore, remains the ultimate goal in cementing a fan’s Disney identity: There, they enjoy an unparalleled immersion rare in other fandoms, perhaps rivaled only by Harry Potter enthusiasts and the Wizarding World theme parks. They enter a real-life Neverland, a place where time stands still and childhood can last forever. Still, why is a trip to the parks now, amid a pandemic, so necessary to fans that they’re willing to risk exposure to the virus? How does one become the type of fan for whom recreating the parks inside Animal Crossing or making Mickey Mouse–shaped waffles isn’t enough? What about the parks makes them not just attractive, but vital? http://instagram.com/p/CDblC2PjEkt The fans I spoke with discussed Disney with nostalgia; each remembered a moment when the parks became more than a physical space, a touchstone for a distinct memory. Some involve celebrations: Marian Perez told me she’d always been a Disney fan, but when she got engaged at Cinderella Castle, her fandom “ignited” into an obsession that led to a Disney-inspired wedding and Disney-related decor in her home. Others involve finding refuge: Rachael Reyna, who grew up visiting the parks twice a month, began frequenting them as an adult after an ectopic pregnancy in 2016. “Something about being at Disney makes all your worries fade away,” she told me in an email. “I would spend days at the park by myself just to escape my depression. It’s impossible to be sad at Disney. It might not make sense to people, but it’s my happy place.” In that sense, the parks serve as a reminder of personal joy, a physical totem of their bliss. I visited the parks too, and grew up with a similar appreciation for Dole Whip and hidden Mickeys. But where my impression of the parks faded and blurred over the years, these fans’ memories are as clear as glass slippers. A trip to the parks is never a mindless gesture for them; it’s fandom as therapy. “Disney fans,” Williams-Turkowski explained, “are resilient about keeping the happiness going.” http://instagram.com/p/CDJs9oBj1vf Indeed, they persist, even if it means donning masks in the Florida heat and feeling occasional pangs of anxiety. “There were times when I would get on a ride and the first thing I would think is, Oh! Let me get my wipes and wipe it down,” Michel, one of the Instagrammers, said. “But just being there, it was nice.” In fact, Lyn explained, it’s comforting to know the Disney parks are sacrificing signature elements of the experience to mitigate risks. “If you went and it wasn’t different, you wouldn’t feel safe there,” she said. “We’re in a place where everything we do is different. Everything.” Every type of leisurely haven this year has been tainted by the pandemic: the pleasures of cheering on a sports team, of sharing a laugh with a friend at a bar, of catching the latest superhero film at a multiplex, of perusing the racks of a fast-fashion store. Some people have either taken part in reopenings, coped by adapting to new experiences, or continued to wait for a solution. These Disney fans are simply doing the same, chasing a raw gratification they don’t feel anywhere else.
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