Mears offered an “Express Connect” service for up to 4 people for the price of $200, each way. As of this morning (1/11/22) the price of the Express Connect has increased to $250.
Category: Disney History
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Mears Raises Prices In Less Than a Month
For those that may not know, Disney has cancelled its FREE shuttle service from Orlando International Airport (MCO) earlier this month. The service was replaced by several third-party vendors, the largest being Mears Connect. -
Will Bob Iger Return as Disney CEO
Image from Flickr Is there a change brewing at Disney Headquarters? Rumors are swirling that recently retired Disney CEO Bob Iger may be returning to gain control of the company that seems to be swirling out of control.
Current CEO Bob Chapek has endured some catastrophic failures while in the driver’s seat of the House the Mouse Built, and, not all of the failures have been Chapek’s fault, Disney stock has dropped almost 20% in the past year, the investment and what seems to be the imminent failure of the Galactic Starcruiser Hotel and Genie+ with pay-per-ride has caused a lack of confidence in him. Things have gotten so bad for Chapek that Disney has started a PR campaign to boost his image. The straw that seemed to break the camel’s back is when Chapek decided to miss D23 this year. For those that do not know, D23 is the largest convention for die-hard Disney fans. The event is held each year with information about upcoming projects, releases and news of everything Disney. It was found out that Chapek did not attend D23 in Florida because he had a dinner party scheduled in California that evening.
Now the reports of Bob Iger returning and taking over from Bob Chapek are just rumors and were reported in this article on cnbc.com.
Whether Chapek stays or Iger makes a return, something needs to be done. The Disney Company is currently in a tailspin and if they wait much longer, they may not be able to pull out of it.
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Trying to Get Boarding Passes For “Rise of the Resistance”? Let us show you.
BOARDING PASSES ARE NO LONGER NEED FOR THIS RIDE!!!
So you’ve been trying to get in a boarding pass for the “Rise of the Resistance” attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and have not had any luck. Don’t feel bad, many veteran Disney fans have not been able to get a boarding pass either, even though it has been months since the attraction opened to the public.
We have a trick, or shall we say a work-around that helped my family gain two boarding passes on the two days that we were visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios on our recent visit to Disney World during July, 2021.
OK, there are actually two steps in the hack to get a boarding pass the the “Rise of the Resistance” attraction in Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And to make it even better, they are very easy to do.
The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you wake up with enough time to grab your boarding pass in time. As you know, they go very quickly. On our trip, we made sure that we were up at least an hour and a half before Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens to visitors.
In the past, you actually had to be inside of Disney’s Hollywood Studios gate to gain a boarding pass. Disney has since relaxed this to where you have to actually be on Disney World property. Whether in the parking lot or at one of their resorts (We we able to get both passes from our room at Pop Century).
About 5 minutes before an hour, before the park opens, turn off Disney WiFi on your mobile device. You want to turn off the WiFi and make sure that you are on LTE, 4G or 5G, depending on your phone. You want to do this for two reasons. Number one, Disney World’s WiFi is horrible. Number two, there are going to be thousands of people trying to get only a couple of hundred boarding passes. This amount of traffic will bottleneck Disney World’s WiFi and slow your mobile device down to the point that you will probably not get a boarding pass.
And the last thing that you will want to do is at one hour before the park opens, start hitting the MyDisney app on your mobile device. If you even wait 2 or 3 minutes, you may not get a boarding pass and have to wait until the afternoon when more boarding passes are usually released.
If you are unsuccessful first thing in the morning, try this system again when more boarding passes are released in the afternoon (usually 1PM). The biggest key to this hack that not many know about is turning off the WiFi.
Good luck and enjoy the ride. It is VERY good and worth the wait.
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Disney Guests Will No Longer Receive Magical Express Confirmations
Beginning on July 1, 2021, Disney Guests that opt to use the Disney Magical Express will no longer be mailed confirmations. Instead, they will need to use either their Magic Bands or the MagicMobile App to check in at Orlando International Airport.If a Guest does not have either, they will be checked in manually by using a Government issued ID.
As reported earlier here on DisneyDawgs.com, Disney will be discontinuing the Magical Express in 2022. You can read that post here
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Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser Hotel
Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser Hotel is now displayed on the MyDisney App
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A Kiss Goodnight.
A Kiss Goodnight is a presentation in Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida that happens roughly an hour after official park closing. It is a sweat show that is about 10 minutes and thanks guests for visiting the park.
A Kiss Goodnight is a Thank You from the Disney Castmembers and even the big Mouse himself. 
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, on behalf of everyone here at the Magic Kingdom, we thank you for joining us today for a magic gathering of family, friends, fun, and fantasy. We hope your magical journey with us has created wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.
Walt Disney said that the Magic Kingdom is a world of imagination, hopes, and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, magic and make believe are reborn, and fairy tales come true. The Magic Kingdom is a place for the young and the young at heart. A special place where when you wish upon a star, your dreams can come true.
Until we see you again, have a safe trip home. Thank you, and goodnight.”
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Is FastPass+ Coming Back???
Below is a screen print from MyDisney Experience at 9PM on June 20, showing a greyed out icon for FastPass+ and text on the bottom stating “We cannot display FastPass+ details right now. Please check back later.”Could this mean that FastPasses will be returning very soon?
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Disney World Parks Extend Summer Hours.
With the return of nightly firework shows at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, Disney has extended park hours at three of the four Disney World parks.
Magic Kingdom
- June 27-30 Extended to 8am to 9pm (Originally 9am – 9pm)
- July 1 – 10 Extended to 9am to 11pm
- July 11 – 31. Extended to 9am to 10pm
EPCOT
- July 1-30 Extended to 11am to 10pm (Originally 11am – 9pm)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- July 4 – 31. Extended to 8am to 7pm (Originally 8am – 6pm)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- NO CHANGES (9am – 8pm)
At Magic Kingdom, “Happily Ever After” will begin at 9:15pm and in EPCOT, EPCOT Forever will be shown at 10pm.
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All Disney Parks World-wide Are Now Open
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic started 19 months ago… ALL Disney parks world-wide are now open! It has been quite a while and we have had some openings and re-closings throughout that period, but as of right now, they are all currently open.- Shanghai Disneyland
- Hong Kong Disneyland
- Disney World Florida
- Disneyland California
- Disneyland Paris
Disney Cruise Line is expected to resume operations sometime during the fall
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Fireworks are Coming Back to Disney World and Disneyland
Disney announced today that both Magic Kingdom and Epcot will be resuming fireworks on July 1, 2021 -
Disney World Has Updated Its Mask Policy
Starting May 15, masks are no longer required in common areas and pool decks
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2021 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Disney has announced that the 2021 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will start on July 15th. Featuring many returning favorites from Canada, Greece, Germany and more.There are many family-oriented events to partake in including Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak which will send you on a scavenger hunt to find Remy statuettes that are hidden throughout Epcot.
There are going to be many lecturing chefs throughout the Festival along with delicious samplings of food from throughout the world. And not to mention the various souvenirs that will be available for purchase.
The 2021 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival runs through November 20, 2021.
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