The trip back home to Texas from a school trip to Walt Disney World ends in tragedy. The bus carrying Texas high school band members crashed into a ravine off the side of an Alabama interstate. According to authorities, the accident happened just before dawn at 5:33 a.m. killing the bus driver and injuring multiple passengers.
First responders used ropes to rappel down the 50-foot ravine in the middle of Interstate 10 to reach the bus, and then had to cut some of the victims free from the wreckage, said Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack, who confirmed the fatality.
Only hours before the crash, the band’s Facebook page had been updated to show a large group posing outside Disney World.
Forty students and six adults were on the bus at the time, according to the school district. In the video below you can see just how steep the embankment is.
RAVINE CRASH: The driver is dead and dozens of students injured after a bus carrying a Houston-area high school band back from Walt Disney World crashed down a 50-foot ravine in Alabama, with emergency crews and investigators on the scene. https://t.co/GkD90rD9gJpic.twitter.com/U3wQJsTGfD
Emergency units were dispatched to evacuate and extricate the passengers. Some were carried out by police deputies, others were brought to the surface by firefighters who rappeled down the ravine.
The interstate was closed down in both directions as the injured were flown to hospitals including emergency rooms in Mobile and Pensacola, Florida, plus a free-standing emergency room in rural Baldwin County, said Chris Elliott, a Baldwin County commissioner who helped out at the county emergency management center following the crash.
Walt Disney World will begin charging resort guests for overnight parking beginning next week. The company has officially announced the change today after months of speculation.
Effective for reservations made March 21, 2018 and thereafter, standard overnight self-parking is available to registered Guests for a fee that will be applied to their hotel folio upon check-out. All parking fees include applicable tax.
Standard Overnight Parking charges per Resort Category:
Disney Value Resorts: $13 per night
Disney Moderate Resorts: $19 per night
Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $24 per night
Complimentary standard parking is available to Guests staying at the Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. Each campsite provides parking space for one motorized vehicle.
Valet Parking is still available at select Disney Deluxe Resorts and Disney Deluxe Villas but will see an increase to $33 per night (sales tax included).
Disney Vacation Club members will not be charged for standard overnight self-parking when staying at a DVC Deluxe Villa, regardless of whether they use vacation points or another form of payment. Members also will not be charged to park when using vacation points to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel.
For day guests complimentary standard self-parking is still available while enjoying select dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation experiences at Disney Resort hotels.
By now most Disney fans have heard about the picture perfect Purple Wall trend, especially with the release of the “Meet Me at the Purple Wall” Limited Release MagicBands. But there are quite a few other popular Insta-worthy “Disney Walls” out there located throughout Disney Parks.
They’ve got color and quirky style, which is why “Disney Walls” have become unofficial fan-favorite photo locations for many guests visiting a Disney theme park. Photos with vibrant or multicolored “Disney Walls” as a backdrop have been a growing trend on Instagram and Twitter this year – some walls even have their own guest-created hashtags!
Snapping a picture in front of a Disney Wall is a must-do during a visit for some and for others it’s a fun sort of photo scavenger hunt just to find these walls in the parks. Finding the perfect wall to show off your Disney Parks #OOTD is the latest Instagram and Twitter trend at the moment and here are 9 of the top Disney Walls to get you started.
1.Magic Kingdom Park #PurpleWall – Walk down the ramp from Tomorrowland Terrace toward the entrance to Tomorrowland. Right when you hit the turn into the land, you’ll see the #PurpleWall on your right.
2. Epcot’s #BubbleGumWall – Guests will find this wall by simply turning right or left just outside of the exit of Spaceship Earth.
3. Epcot’s #BlueberryWall – Leave the #BubbleGumWall and take two more steps to find the bright #BlueberryWall.
4. Epcot’s #ToothPasteWall – While at Epcot, head to The Seas With Nemo and Friends pavilion. You’ll find the #ToothPasteWall upon exiting the pavilion.
5. Disney’s Animal Kingdom #MossWall – Head into Pandora – The World of Avatar and walk towards Satu’li Canteen. Just opposite the restaurant’s front door is the newest popular “Disney Wall,” which you can spot on social channels under the hashtag #MossWall. Tip: The Flight of Passage attraction’s exterior queue also offers some very Instagrammable backdrops.
6. Disney’s Animal Kingdom “You Are Most Beautiful” Wall – No hashtag for this one yet, but it’s still a super popular stop for guests visiting Harambe Marketplace in the Africa section of the park. Look for it on the park-side of a cast members-only doorway.
7. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Harambe Market – Just outside Harambe Market, look for a wall that sports quotes and a painting of Mickey Mouse.
8. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Harambe Market – Harambe Market, located in the Africa section of the park, serves up soulful street food and fun photo opps.
9. Mission Space Wall – Mission Space, located in Future World at Epcot.
There are quite a few other picturesque walls out there. Which “wall” do you love at Disney Parks? Let us know in the comments below.
It seems like Disney may finally be looking to do something with the area near Ft. Wilderness which is still home to the former rustic waterpark — now abandoned — known as River Country. According to permits filed Monday they are looking to do some geotechnical borings in the area which could indicate new development for the area. What could it be!?
According to the new permits filed with the South Florida Water Management District, Disney is looking to “Conduct geotechnical investigation to assess the suitability of subsurface soils”. In layman’s terms, they are asking for permission from the state to drill and evaluate the soil conditions at the River Country site.
Specifically, the applicant is evaluating current conditions in Wetlands 7.1G, 7.1K and 7.22. and they are requesting the ability to permit temporary wetland impacts to allow for entry by sub-aqueous geotechnical drill rigs to collect data and assess the suitability of subsurface soils, documents state.
Known as Project 89, the documents also say the type of authorization being requested is “Construction or operation of new works, activities and/or a stormwater management system; or a new Conceptual Approval”.
This process is usually used to find out if an area is suitable for a new construction project. This could be anything from a new theme park to a new resort, but at this point there is no telling what Disney is up to. However these types of permits often indicate the first stages of future development and since Disney probably isn’t considering any type of new theme park anytime soon, the most likely answer could be a new Magic Kingdom area resort.
Disney’s River Country was the first water park at Walt Disney World. It opened on June 20, 1976, and closed indefinitely on November 2, 2001. On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently.
Along with Discovery Island, it is one of only two Disney parks in their history to close permanently. Both were left to deteriorate rather than be demolished. Take a look at the video below to get a sense of what it looks like today. Keep in mind that it’s in a restricted area and trespassing is strictly prohibited. It can also get you banned and it’s not a bright idea to go exploring if you want to be able to keep going to Disney World.
You can still catch few glimpses of the old park from non restricted areas of Ft. Wilderness and you can see some of it when traveling by boat on Bay Lake. It’s a bit of an eye sore, but even in its current state it’s still hidden jewel for Disney history buffs.
One rumor for the closure was that it closed down due to rare but deadly disease, amoebic meningoencephalitis, caused by an amoeba which lived Florida’s fresh-water lakes.
In 1980, a child died while swimming at River Country. The amoeba entered his nose, traveled through his naval passage and attacked the nervous system. There were no other deaths from amoebic meningoencephalitis linked to River Country and it remained open for another 21 years!
Health officials stated that there was no reason to blame Disney World for the tragedy, because the amoeba can breed in almost any freshwater lake during hot weather.
The real reason the park didn’t reopen was because of low attendance and two new bigger water parks that had opened on Disney World Property. In 1989, Disney opened a second water park, Typhoon Lagoon. It had much more parking, many more slides, newer amenities, and was much larger. In 1995, Disney opened a third water park, Blizzard Beach, which was also much bigger than River Country.
As it did every year, River Country closed at the end of the warm-weather season in November 2001, with the expectation that it would reopen in spring of 2002. That never happened.
On April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported that “Walt Disney World’s first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen.” Disney World spokesman Bill Warren stated that River Country could be reopened if there’s enough guest demand.
The attraction may also have been affected by a change in Florida laws, which prohibited unchlorinated natural water bodies from being used for water park attractions. River Country never reopened.
Although it’s mostly out of sight from the public, it was only a matter of time before Disney decided to start exploring its options and imagining a new future for the area is really exciting. Whatever Disney is planning for the area, we can’t wait to find out, so keep checking back because we will be following this one closely.
We still have no official announcement from Disney about Club 33 coming to Walt Disney World, but it certainly seems that it’s inevitable at this point. Today there is some more conformation that not only is it coming, but the posh club will most certainly have a location in all four parks. Recently some new clues may have tipped off the location of the club planned for Hollywood Studios.
It has been rumored that the location for Disney’s Hollywood Studios Club 33 will be the former Catwalk Bar located behind The Hollywood Brown Derby and now after WDW News Today posted a picture on Twitter showing a speaker system next to the entrance it seems that inevitability is getting closer and closer.
The speaker is used to communicate with guests coming in and it is a very similar system set up outside Club 33 at Disneyland. This intercom set up with a doorbell is also very similar to one just found installed at The American adventure in Epcot. That setup had a MagicBand reader and even though there doesn’t appear to be one here, you can clearly see where one might go in the further.
There is no official word on where the various locations will be, but in addition to this location at Hollywood Studios and the one at Epcot, other rumored locations include; the Adventureland Veranda at the Magic Kingdom and a back room at Tiffins at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
So far the rumors have been pretty accurate if the rather obvious assumptions for speaker systems turn out to be true.
As we previously reported, a version of Disneyland’s Exclusive Club 33 is making its way to Walt Disney World. In fact, the plans are to have one in each of Disney World’s four theme parks and it now seems we may have the location of entrance to the club planned for Epcot.
One rumored location for the club has been the upstairs lounge at The American Adventure in Epcot’s World Showcase and in a recent picture posted on Twitter by WDW News there seems to be some clues that may prove this rumor true.
Seemingly out of nowhere; a doorbell, a speaker and a MagicBand reader appeared recently next to the entrance to The American Experience.
It’s not official word from Disney, but there is a very similar system set up outside Club 33 at Disneyland. Suspicious much? Maybe… But due to the exclusive nature of the club things aren’t exactly revealed, but often just discovered. It’s part of the mystic and fun, but keep an eye out for the official Disney World Club 33 Logo to eventually adorn this new addition.
The speaker is used to communicate with guests coming in and this setup has a MagicBand reader which means members will have easy access after ringing the doorbell.
There is no official word on where the various locations will be, but in addition to The American Adventure—which now seems likely—other rumored locations include the Adventureland Veranda at the Magic Kingdom, the former Catwalk Bar at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and a back room at Tiffins at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Membership sales are expected to go on sale to the general public soon, but residents of Walt Disney World’s upscale community Golden Oak are already able to apply for membership for the Walt Disney World version of the secret club.
The cost of registration is $25,000 with annual dues of $15,000.
If you have never been to Victoria & Albert’s then you have to try it. Its Walt Disney World‘s most exclusive gourmet restaurant. So fancy that children must be at least 10 years of age to even enter. Well, the multi-award winning restaurant as just added a few more to their resume.
Two prestigious awards have just been bestowed this month on Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. For the 18th consecutive year, the restaurant has received the AAA Five Diamond Award and, for the first time ever, the coveted 2018 Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award.
There are only 68 Five Diamond restaurants in North America, and only 64 Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star restaurants out of over 1,600 restaurants across the globe. Victoria & Albert’s now stands as the sole restaurant in the state of Florida to receive both the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star awards.
AAA Diamond Ratings represent a combination of overall food, service, décor and ambiance. A Five Diamond restaurant provides leading-edge cuisine of the finest ingredients, uniquely prepared by an acclaimed chef, served by expert service staff led by a maître d’ in extraordinary surroundings.
Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings verify luxury and represent outstanding, iconic properties with virtually flawless service and amazing facilities. Using the most exacting standards in the industry, this year’s list evaluates properties in over 160 destinations across 50 countries.
Every night, Victoria & Albert’s brings guests the ultimate in fine dining with classic Victorian elegance, haute American cuisine and an atmosphere of refined opulence. The esteemed restaurant features three unique dining experiences: the main dining room with the choice of a 7-course menu or 10 course Chef’s Tasting Menu; the intimate Queen Victoria’s Room offers a 10-course Chef’s Tasting menu with tableside presentation and optional wine pairings; and the highly sought-after 8-seat Chef’s Table located in the restaurants kitchen, where guests can get an exclusive look at their dishes being crafted by the culinary team. Victoria & Albert’s also has an incredible wine cellar with over 700 wines from over 35 regions.
“This has been a monumental year for the entire Victoria & Albert’s Team. They have developed a culture of success, which is over twenty years in the making. Every single member of the team is fully invested, combining the perfect formula of creativity, knowledge and passion for service. Our focus remains: Aim for perfection and settle for nothing less than excellence”, said Grand Floridian Resort & Spa General Manager Cosmo Kapoor.
Congratulations belong to Executive Chef Scott Hunnel, Chef de Cuisine Aimée Rivera, Master Pastry Chef Erich Herbitschek, Maître d’Hôtel Israel Pérez and the entire Victoria & Albert’s team for earning these illustrious awards.
Were back with some more construction updates on Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and one of the most recent installations is one that will get fans excited. It seems they have been moving along at hyper speed as pieces of the Millennium Falcon ride were spotted being lowered into place.
These close up shots of the work really give a sense of how the construction is coming along thanks to Yensid 55 who has been monitoring the progress of Star Wars Land construction on his YouTube channel.
Every piece put into place is an important one, but seeing what is clearly a piece of the inside of the hull of the Millennium Falcon is really exciting.
Thats right… For those who haven’t heard yet, one of the land’s two signature attractions will put you in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, piloting the ship, shooting blasters or preparing for hyperspace – all while completing a critical mission.
At Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, guests visit Batuu, a remote outpost on the galaxy’s edge was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes, but its prominence was bypassed by the rise of hyperspace travel. Now home to those who prefer to stay out of the mainstream, it has become a thriving port for smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers traveling between the frontier and uncharted space. It’s also a convenient safe haven for those intent on avoiding the expanding reach of the First Order.
If you want to see more of the progression they have made so far take a look back here. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set to open in 2019.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom revealed news about a baby Nile hippopotamus born at the park on January 13. As part of a magical moment on the theme park’s Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction, roughly a dozen Guests were the first to learn that the hippo calf is a boy, and his name is Augustus. Weighing in at 168 pounds, Augustus is the first hippo born at the park in 13 years. He is often seen staying close to his mom, Tuma, and is already winning over Guests with his playful nature.
The birth of Augustus marks another success for the dedicated and highly trained team of animal care experts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it is an important contribution to the worldwide conservation and understanding of these amazing creatures. Nile hippos are a vulnerable species with a declining population.
Augustus’ parents, Tuma and Henry, were chosen to breed through the Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The SSP ensures responsible breeding so there will be healthy and diverse animal populations for years to come.
Guests will see Augustus on Kilimanjaro Safaris and also during the Wild Africa Trek experience and be inspired to take action to protect hippos and other at-risk animals in the wild. To learn more about hippos, visit DisneyAnimals.com.
Tickets are now on sale for Star Wars: Galactic Nights, the one-night special event will return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 27.
In case you aren’t familiar, Star Wars: Galactic Nights is a thrilling Star Wars-themed event held after park hours from 7 p.m.-midnight. It celebrates the entire Star Wars saga with out-of-this-world entertainment, special photo opportunities, event-exclusive merchandise and F&B, and encounters with rarely seen characters that guests can only experience during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Here’s a look at other event offerings:
Star Wars: Galactic Destinations Projections Transform The Hollywood Tower Hotel – Visible on the Sunset Boulevard area of the park the facade of the Hollywood Tower Hotel will transform via stunning projection technology to showcase familiar locations from across the galaxy. Favorite film moments, special effects, lighting, and of course the stellar Star Wars cinematic score supports each galactic location moment all night long. Star Wars Galactic Destinations is currently an event exclusive.
Existing Star Wars Entertainment Will Debut New Enhancements – The park’s existing Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks and the Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away stage show will both debut new saga elements for the first time during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Special Photo Ops – Throughout the park, guests can step into immersive and iconic scenes from their favorite Star Wars films in a series of incredibly detailed photo locations. These special photo ops will only be available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during Star Wars: Galactic Nights
Character Encounters – Expect to encounter Star Wars characters from throughout the galaxy. Guests will also be able to view an Imperial Stormtrooper March with Darth Vader.
Exclusive Food & Beverage offerings – Taste your way around the galaxy with specialty food and beverage offerings created for Galactic Nights. Inspired by the stories and iconic characters of Star Wars, these tasting-sized sips and bites bring a delectable addition to this event.
Enjoy park attractions – Select attractions will be open to all guests – and some may even offer a special Star Wars twist on May 27 only.
Tickets are on sale now, with discounts available for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members. In addition, intergalactic foodies attending Star Wars: Galactic Nights can now purchase the Galactic Tasting and Viewing Package, featuring Star Wars-inspired food and beverage and reserved seating to a panel providing an inside look of the making of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The Galactic Tasting and Viewing Package is now available for $30 per person.