This is the weekly news, rumors and refurbishments update for Walt Disney World for the week of June 15, 2014.
Here are the three biggest updates from around the resort for the past seven days…
1. Disney wants you to ‘Rock Your Summer Side’ at Hollywood Studios
From now until August 22, 2014 Disney is adding another dance party to their line up. Every evening from 6pm to 10pm The Hollywood Rockers live band will take the stage in front of the Sorcerer Mickey’s Hat.
© Disney
I’m not a fan of the stage (or the hat), but here’s what the Disney Parks Blog had to say.
“Between sets with the band, our DJ spins hot summertime hits, and you can get up and dance with some of your favorite Disney characters. Mickey and the gang will be dressed for fun in the sun, ready to rock their summer side, too!
Nearby, you’ll even find a giant postcard set up to mark the occasion. It’ll be a great spot to snap a selfie and share the fun with all your friends and family.”
Did you hear that, you can even take a selfie, take that Diagon Alley!
2. Disney Outfitters at Animal Kingdom is expanding
© Disney
Disney Outfitters is a retail store located in Discovery Island. The store will be expanding into the existing tip board location. The tip board will not be replaced and guests are encouraged to use the My Disney Experience app to locate wait time information.
The expansion is likely due to a Starbucks that is rumored to go into the other retail location, Creature Comforts.
3. Guests with MagicBands will now have attraction photos automatically linked to their account
If you have a MagicBand and have purchased the Memory Maker package, attraction photos will be automatically linked to your my Disney Experience account. This is the first time Disney is making use of the MagicBand’s long-range RFID capabilities.
It’s finally a benefit to have a MagicBand.
The guest will no longer need to visit the photos desk to link their attraction photos. Thanks to the MagicBands (not the cards), Disney will know what attraction vehicle you boarded and will send the correct photo to your account. Nothing has to be done by the guest. The attractions that offer this are:
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
- Test Track
- Rock n Roller Coaster
- Tower of Terror
- Dinosaur
- Expedition Everest
This is also the first time MagicBands provide an advantage over the RFID cards. Previously, the only advantage was for convenience. Expect more uses for the MagicBands long-range capabilities as Disney continues to rollout MyMagic+.
