Disney has filed a patent for a Virtual World Simulator that will allow it to simulate augmented digital worlds without the need for users to wear headsets or glasses.
Disney Enterprises was approved for a “virtual-world simulator” patent during the last week of December. The technology would project 3D images and virtual effects onto physical spaces, according to the US Patent Office.
The technology described in the patent would not be geared for large audiences but would instead track individual visitors around the parks and project images specifically for them on nearby objects, buildings and walls.
Visitors could be tracked through their smartphones or other devices they are carrying so that the tracking information could be relayed to a computer connected to projection devices located throughout the theme parks. After locating the visitors, the “Virtual World Simulator” could project an image of a Disney character in front of the guests, with hidden speakers providing voices for an immersive experience, according to the patent.
The Virtual World Simulator would use a SLAM technique — which stands for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping — to continuously track the ever-changing point of view of a visitor moving through a real-world venue.
What’s This? What’s This? The Jack Skellington Annual Passholder Popcorn Bucket has finally arrived at Disney World just in time for the spooky season.
Shaped like Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, the popcorn bucket sells for $20.00. It features a purple strap with the Annual Passholder logo on it and it even lights up.
The Popcorn Bucket is exclusive to Disney Springs and will be available at the Popcorn locations in Marketplace, The Landing & West Side. Take a closer look below:
This Jack Skellington Popcorn Bucket—available only to @WaltDisneyWorld Annual Passholders—is exclusive to #DisneySprings. Get yours starting today, Sat., 9/4, while supplies last. (Tax inclusive price is $20. Limit 2 per Passholder.) pic.twitter.com/GqbfYONIEK
Disney revealed on Wednesday the retirement of it’s FastPass program in favor of a new service calle Disney Genie+ and will cost $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort.
Guests will be able to choose one attraction at a time and select the next available arrival window for the Lightning Lane entrance.
Disney Genie is intended to make planning easier and add more flexibility to those who visit parks and resorts by reducing time in lines and helping you “discover magic around every corner.” Take a look below at a few more features:
Get Itinerary Updates from Morning to Night: Disney Genie will continue to update your itinerary throughout your day, so you can be more spontaneous and go with the flow.
Find Your Favorites at a Glance: Create your very own personal tip board to instantly see your favorites. It will display current AND forecasted future wait times, helping you predict when you might experience quicker entry to attractions.
Enjoy More Flexibility and Fun: Disney Genie brings existing planning features together in one place. Join a virtual queue at certain attractions, make dining and experience reservations, mobile order food at many locations, get help from a virtual assistant and more.
For even more convenience and flexibility, there are two other options for enjoying our theme parks, through a queue we are introducing called the Lightning Lane entrance that also saves you time in line:
Disney Genie+ service (available for purchase): For the price of $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort, choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions and experiences using the Lightning Lane entrance. You can make one selection at a time, throughout the day – from classics like Haunted Mansion to thrill rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and newer favorites like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (attractions subject to limited availability). This convenient option is the next evolution of the fan-favorite Disney MaxPass service from Disneyland Resort. Disney Genie+ will also include Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories – augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from your day if you are visiting Disneyland Resort.
Individual attraction selections (available for purchase): Schedule a time to arrive at up to two highly demanded attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance – like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure park (subject to limited availability; attractions not included with Disney Genie+). Pricing for this option will vary by date, attraction and park and will be announced closer to launch.
Lightning Lane selections will be made on the same day of your visit and can be used across multiple theme parks, great for those who love the Park Hopper option. Attractions continue to offer a traditional standby queue, or a virtual queue at certain attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – to maximize flexibility.
“While the FASTPASS, FastPass+ and Disney MaxPass services will be retired, we’re incredibly excited about the flexibility and choices Disney Genie service provides. You can choose from all of our new options, a mix of them or none at all, and continue to have a great experience no matter how you decide to plan your best Disney day,” Disney said.
Disney fans LOVE a good recipe so Delish and Disney have teamed up to create a special magazine featuring iconic Disney recipes!
Available only on Amazon, Delish Loves Disney is 100 glossy pages specifically created and curated by the editors at Delish, who have been writing and producing content about Disney Parks Food & Beverage for almost a decade.
Delish Loves Disney features more than 50 recipes from our parks and resorts around the world – including 15 never-before-published – with a mix of scrumptious entrees, iconic Disney Parks’ snacks and some of our most beloved items that feature a variety of healthful ingredients.
It showcases how food and beverage is an integral part of the experience at our parks and resorts and we constantly strive to surprise and delight our guests with food and beverages that celebrate a variety of nutritious ingredients – such as seafood, legumes, and veggies – in a delicious way.
Disney chefs and Disney Parks Food & Beverage professionals around the world chose all the best dishes to spotlight, including Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup from Le Cellier at EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Ratatouille from Bistrot Chez Remy at Disneyland Paris and Filmore’s Pot Pie from Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort.
The editors of Delish filled Delish Loves Disney with memories, anecdotes and feature stories about their experiences visiting and reporting on Disney Parks. There are pages featuring home-inspired Disney products that readers can use to make their favorite recipes from the book and a ton of “fun facts” about the recipes.
To accompany the book, the Delish team also has created a special landing page on their website which provides a sneak peek at the book, with links to videos and articles from their years covering yummy food & beverage offerings at Disney parks around the world.
As more communities adjust and ease COVID-19 guidelines, Disney theme parks has been gradually bringing back more park experiences and now Disney has officially announced the return of fireworks this summer!
At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, July 1 marks the start of nightly fireworks performances at Magic Kingdom Park and EPCOT.
A Disney tradition since 1957, fireworks shows are what Walt Disney called the perfect “kiss goodnight” at the close of a magical day, and this summer the skies above Disney theme parks will sparkle with color once more. Disney made the announcement in a video as you can see below:
“Happily Ever After” will transform Cinderella Castle with lights, projections and pyrotechnics, as moments from favorite Disney stories encourage you to grab hold of your dreams and make them come true. And as part of the ongoing transformation of EPCOT, “EPCOT Forever” will produce a spectacle of fireworks, music and lighting effects over World Showcase Lagoon, highlighting the themes of innovation, exploration, imagination and celebration at the core of the park’s past, present and future.
As Disneyland park in California welcomes back all guests, the fun starts July 4 with “Mickey’s Mix Magic” presented nightly throughout the summer. State-of-the-art projections, show lighting and lasers will transform Main Street, U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle and the façade of “it’s a small world” into a dazzling, family fun dance party that goes sky high with fireworks to celebrate the leader of the club, Mickey Mouse.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek, participated in a virtual Q&A session at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference and predicted that Disney World could be at full capacity by the end of the year.
Chapek said his team anticipates “low double-digit growth” as the company follows federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus operating guidelines.”
Since reopening in Florida last July, the company has slowly expanded the daily number of people allowed to access its Florida parks. Disney hasn’t released any attendance numbers, however.
He also hinted its parks’ mask mandates could be lifted by the summer, saying not having to wear masks would be a “bigger catalyst for growth in attendance” and “make for an even more pleasant experience,” Chapek shared durring the company’s second-quarter earnings call early this month.
Disney World in Orlando, Florida, a state with fewer COVID-19 restrictions, has been operating at a lower-than-usual capacity since July 2020.
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, reopened on April 30 after a 13-month closure. For now, the park and neighboring Disney California Adventure are restricted to operating at 25% capacity under state health rules, but the state of California is aiming to fully reopen June 15.
Parks were forced shut a year ago March and devastated financially. Disney took a $6.9 billon hit in parks last fiscal year
It’s time for the world to meet Disney nuiMOs featuring miniature plush, outfits and accessories with a fashionable twist – and these little friends don’t skimp on style. The Micro-Plush craze is now going global and is now expanding to North America and Europe.
Since originally launching at Disney stores in Japan, followed by Disney stores in China, Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Disney nuiMOs quickly gained popularity on social media as fans styled and took their plush on adventures during everyday life; be it to a Disney theme park, the beach, a shopping trip or anything in between.
To help kick off the launch in style, celebrity stylist Maeve Reilly created four signature Disney nuiMOs looks for Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse by mixing and matching clothing and accessories from the new lines. Check them out below:
Now, Disney nuiMOs plush characters will be available for the first time in North America and Europe beginning Jan. 19 on shopDisney.com and shopDisney.co.uk, Disney stores in North America and Europe, as well as select Disney Parks around the world.
The first release includes Disney nuiMOs plush of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Stitch and Angel, along with an assortment of fashionable outfits and accessories for fans to mix and match to create their own unique styles.
“Disney is unique in its ability to create a phenomenon in one region and expand the excitement to other parts of the world,” said Stephanie Young, president, Consumer Products, Games and Publishing. “Bringing Disney nuiMOs to North America and Europe, while maintaining the authenticity that made these plush so beloved in Asia, will enable millions of additional fans to express their love for our characters and stories while celebrating their own individuality by creating personalized looks.”
The name nuiMOs is a blend of the Japanese words nuigurumi, meaning plush, and moderu, meaning model. Disney nuiMOs are meant to be an extension of one’s self, with the flexibility to change their looks to suit one’s unique personality and taste. Disney nuiMOs are flexible and can do a wide variety of poses. Adding along their pocket-sized and portable characteristics, they are the perfect companions and models.
On the first Monday of each month, beginning Feb. 1, new accessories, outfits or plush will be released to keep up with the latest trends, including co-brands with Loungefly, Spirit Jersey, Ashley Eckstein and more. Disney nuiMOs plush retail for $17.99 USD each, with outfits and accessories starting at $12.99 USD.
Just in time for the new year, the all-new Disney Parks Reigning Cats and Dogs collection features two new Loungefly Mini Backpacks that are both the cat’s meow and doggone amazing!
The entire collection will be available at Walt Disney World Resort, Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort and online at shopDisney.com beginning Dec. 28.
This all-new assortment is the first-ever collection from Disney Parks for pet owners and pets alike with apparel, accessories and more! Take a closer look at the Loungefly Mini Backpacks below:
Life will be a walk in the park with this mini backpack by Loungefly that keeps your essentials safely stowed under the watchdog eyes of three of Disney’s canine characters: Rolly, Lady and Pluto. Fetch on this paw-some accessory that’s really something to bark about.
It’s exactly two months until Christmas for those counting the days and in honor of the occasion, Disney has given us a first look at some merry merchandise coming soon to shopDisney.com and select Disney Parks around the world.
Whether you are visiting Disney Parks this holiday season or just looking to bring the holiday magic home, there are some festive new collections featuring apparel, accessories and even homeware, coming your way.
Take a closer look below:
Disney Parks ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Collection- Select products available beginning Oct. 26 and throughout the holiday season at shopDisney.com, Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort & Walt Disney World Resort
The latest spirit jerseys, headbands, mini backpacks by Loungefly and face masks are sure to be on your Christmas list this year! From peppermint plaid to an all-over print wonderland, you’ll love these spirit jerseys perfect for the wintery weather. Don’t miss out on the peppermint twist cloth face mask and bold red and green cloth face mask by Spirit Jersey.
For the headband and mini backpack collector, the newest additions are sure to be coming down your chimney this holiday season. Just look at that all-over print mini backpack from Loungefly and adorable gingerbread Minnie Mouse ear headband!
The kiddos can get in on the jolly fun as well with new spirit jerseys, hats, sweatshirts and cloth face masks! Oh, and did I mention the first-ever snow blower?! Perfect for those in the South wanting some wintery fun!
Holiday traditions with your family don’t have to stop in the Parks… Get the whole family together in the matching onesies featuring Mickey and Minnie ears, and complete the look with fuzzy clogs by Crocs!
Cuddle up with loveable plush like Forky or Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in gingerbread form (bonus, they smell like gingerbread too!)! Then bake your own gingerbread with an adorable baking set complete with a bowl, spatula and cookie cutters of course, plus a matching apron and kitchen towels!
Disney Parks Silver and Gold Collection- Select products available beginning Nov. 2 at shopDisney.com, Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort & Walt Disney World Resort
Those looking to don their holiday finest, will love the all-new Silver and Gold collection featuring spirit jerseys, a Minnie Mouse ear headband and more. It’s perfect for walking in a winter wonderland or around the Parks!
Disney Parks x BaubleBar Holiday Collection – Available beginning Nov. 2 at the Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort and online at shopDisney.com
Disney Parks x BaubleBar is back with an all-new collection themed to the holidays. Get ready to deck your ears, arms and neck with festive earrings, a sweet necklace and a jolly bracelet!
Aloha Kalikimaka from Aulani! I don’t know about you but growing up in Florida, my holidays were spent lounging on the warm sand watching waves crash upon the shore and looks like our Disney friends over at Aulani Resort in Hawaii feel the same way! Check out this all-over print spirit jersey, plushie headband and colorful ornament featuring ‘Olu Mel and StellaLou.
Disneyland Paris 2020 Holidays Collection- Coming this Nov. to Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is preparing for the holidays with an assortment of adorable décor! My favorites include ornaments celebrating “Bambi” and “Brother Bear,” a figurine featuring Mickey and Friends caroling and the mischievous Stitch wishing everyone a ‘Merry Stitchmas’ on a mug perfect for hot cocoa.
Tokyo Disney Resort 2020 Holidays Collection- Coming Nov. 2 to Tokyo Disney Resort
Those located near Tokyo Disney Resort can prep for the holidays with new products to enjoy at the park and even at home including a peppermint-twisted take on the classic Minnie Mouse ear headband, an adorable Mickey ear Santa hat and even a huggable plush of Pooh himself.
Shanghai Disney Resort 2020 Holidays Collection- Coming Nov. 3 to Shanghai Disney Resort
Shanghai Disney Resort also has a plethora of holiday cheer with new Minnie Mouse ear headbands, plush and so much more waiting for you in a winter wonderland.
Get ready for festive fun this holiday season with the latest products from Disney Parks. We can’t wait to see you rock them and add them to your collections. Whether you’re at home or visiting one of our parks, we wish you a very happy holidays!
From Millennia Pink to Purple Potion, Disney is known for it’s trend setting Minnie Ears and the new silver sequined Minnie ears now available on shopDisney are totes adorbs!
This sparkling sequined Minnie Mouse ear headband with silver ears and rose gold polka dot bow is the champagne of Disney Parks headwear.
If you thought Rose Gold was cute, then wait till you see it on the bow adorning these cute new sequined Minnie ears. Take a closer look at the stylish new ears below:
The sequined headband comes with non-slip velour interior and a sequined rose gold polka dot bow. You can find them here on shopDisney for $29.99.
With Disney World back open there has been no shortage of trendy new Minnie Ears and these are sure to be the next must have merch.
