They may not have won the national championship, but UCF has won the respect of the nation as well as recognition from Walt Disney World. The mouse welcomed University of Central Florida Knights, Sunday, after their impressive undefeated season this year.
It was black and gold as far as the eye could see at Magic Kingdom Park as they celebrated UCF’s amazing football season with a magical parade at the Walt Disney World Resort.
The parade for Orlando’s hometown team follows a January 1 victory in the Peach Bowl that capped the Knights’ undefeated 13-0 season. Along with University of Central Florida student-athletes, today’s Magic Kingdom Park celebration included UCF cheerleaders and The Marching Knights, the university’s official band.
As you can see, the parade route down Main Street U.S.A was decorated in University of Central Florida colors, including black-and-gold balloons on lamp posts. And many guests wore UCF black-and-gold team shirts and jerseys to honor the team.
After closing to some guests earlier today, Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is once again open to all guests.
In their most recent Twitter update, Disney said, “As of 5:30pm Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park are available to all Guests.”
Magic Kingdom was temporarily closed at 11:30am today. It was a Phase B closure which means no admission of guests with one day tickets, and no re-entering or crossing over from another park unless they are staying on property, have an annual pass and a few other exceptions.
Guests will again start pouring in to ring in the new year so don’t be surprised if there is another closure before the night is through. Or in this case before the year is through.
A revised Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom just reopened less than two weeks ago and as expected it has been met with mixed reactions. Wednesday, a guest identified as Jay Malsky filmed himself yelling “Lock him up” throughout the Trump’s speech at the Disney World Hall of Presidents.
The outburst directed at Trump was caught on video Tuesday and has social media buzzing.
In the video above a robotic representation of Donald Trump was set to give a speech on stage in front of 44 other animatronic presidential audio figures. All of the presidents are introduced before Donald Trump begins to speak. He can barely even get his name out before Malsky starts chanting “Lock him up!” repeatedly without pause. The disruption obviously frustrated the other guest trying to enjoy the attraction.
Many guests try shushing him while others start yelling back at him. The cast member inside the attraction got on the loudspeaker to remind everyone to “please stay seated throughout the duration of the show”. The best part is when one guest can be heard yelling, “He’s not real!”
It continues for close to a minute before Malsky is escorted out of the building.
Though it was rare, it should be noted that similar outbursts also occurred when President Obama headed the stage.
Since the attraction opened Disney’s security and Orange County Sheriff’s officers have been stationed at the attraction and it looks like this would be the reason why.
Trumps addition to the attraction has been the center of controversy since his inauguration with petitions circulating and calls for Disney boycotts. Like it or not, it’s called the Hall of Presidents and he is there to stay. People have a right to protest, but this clearly isn’t the place to do it. Regardless of your opinion on it, an attraction in the middle of the Magic Kingdom isn’t the place for politics and you could always just skip that attraction.
The Hall of Presidents carries a legacy and passion for American history that has been part of Disney Parks for more than 50 years. It’s meant to honor more than 200 years of the American story. The epic theatrical production was envisioned by Walt Disney himself to honor the country by honoring the presidents of the United States.
New Year’s Eve is fast approaching and if you’re looking for fireworks to ring in the New Year with then you no one does fireworks better that Disney. You can watch the amazing New Year’s Eve fireworks display right from the comfort of your own home and we will be streaming it right here live from Magic Kingdom.
The #DisneyParksLIVE stream will take place New Year’s Eve at 11:45 p.m., when we’ll begin the countdown to 2018 with a special performance of “Fantasy in the Sky” fireworks live from Magic Kingdom Park.
Where in the world will you watch the show from? Tell us in the comments section below.
Reaching capacity on Christmas Day, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom temporarily closed its doors to some guests. Disney’s closure had guests burning mad, but it’s the Christmas Crowd sizes that set the internet on fire.
Disney made the announcement on their twitter feed at 12:30pm stating that the park would reopen by 5:30pm. It was actually only closed for fifty minutes as they posted at 1:20pm that all “Walt Disney World Parks were open again to all guests”, but the crowds remained packed all day.
It was only a phase B closure so basically only guests not staying on property who had a one-day tickets were not allowed to enter. “Imagine traveling to Disney for the holidays only to be told you can’t enter magic kingdom because it’s packed to capacity.” one twitter user posted. It definitely conjures to mind some images of the Griswold’s family road trip to “Walley World“.
Some guests inside the most magical place on earth guest took to social media to air their frustrations over the crowds. Take a look below at what they had to say with some guests going so far as to say it was “unsafe.”
Grit lock at magic kingdom park so packed no one can move. Hopefully no emergencies. Unsafe. pic.twitter.com/i5RY8vCRQm
Wondering if it’s crowded at the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day? It’s only noon and look at the crowds. Park closed to new gusts at 12:30 PM pic.twitter.com/p5swEaOUvl
Really it’s very typical for Magic Kingdom to fill to capacity on Christmas and should be expected. And a 50 minute closure isn’t that long in retrospect. But the initial disappointment for some folks is understandable.
It’s definitely something that’s worth experiencing at least one to cross off the bucket list and with a few good tips you can alleviate some of that crowd frustration. A few of the easiest ways to avoid some of the crowds is to get there right when the park opens and do as much as you can, make an advance dining reservation at a nice sit restaurant for lunch or early dinner and consider ending the night viewing the fireworks from one of the nearby resorts.
Christmas Day is always super busy at Magic Kingdom as crowds descend on the most magical place on earth. And as expected the park has temporarily closed after reaching capacity Monday.
Magic Kingdom is currently at a Phase B capacity closure. Disney announced that no new guests will be admitted to the Magic Kingdom until 5:30 p.m. at the earliest.
UPDATE: All Walt Disney World Parks are currently open to all guests as of 1:20pm. Keep checking back as they could easily reach capacity again.
Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all remained open to additional guests so those are always a great place to spend some time while your waiting for some space to open back up at Magic Kingdom.
“Barring unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate Magic Kingdom will reopen by 5:30 p.m. today,” Disney said on its Twitter feed.
Monday was a Star Studded day for Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Both Katy Perry and Matthew McConaughey spent the day at the park enjoying the magic.
Superstar Katy Perry dons her finest Disney couture for a ride aboard the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel at Magic Kingdom Park Monday.
David Roark
The “Chained to the Rhythm” artist enjoyed Walt Disney World Resort with her “Witness” tour cast the day after performing in Orlando. In March, Perry will join Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie at the judges’ table for ABC’s first season of the iconic music competition series, “American Idol.”
Actor Matthew McConaughey, his wife Camila and their family share a special moment with Mickey Mouse and his Toy Soldier pals at Magic Kingdom Park. McConaughey is spending time at Walt Disney World Resort during the holidays while on break from filming.
Steven Diaz
Actor Matthew McConaughey shares a special moment with Mickey Mouse and his Toy Soldier pals. McConaughey is spending time at Walt Disney World Resort during the holidays while on break from filming.
It looks like we’ll be saying aloha to Stitch’s Great Escape for the last time very soon. The attraction in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will close permanently after this final seasonal opening.
Opening starting December 13, 2017 through January 6, 2018, the attraction will then close forever. Disney has not yet officially confirmed the permanent closure, but “it is expected to occur very soon.”, according to a report from Kenny the Pirate. Disney is expected to announce a new attraction for the space.
For the past few months, the outer lobby area has been used as a Stitch meet and greet space. During Christmas break Stitch will move back to his former location near Space Mountain, but there has been no word on the future of his meet and greet beyond early January 2018.
The closing has been predicted for quite a while now and many ideas have been thrown around about what might replace the attraction. Among a host of reports, a Wreck-it Ralph themed attraction has been considered, which is set to release a new movie March 2018.
Hopefully they have another plan as that doesn’t really feel like a good Tomorrowland fit.
Walt Disney World is always moving forward and recently filed permit applications show they are doing just that with their Tron Coaster plans for the Magic Kingdom. The Park will get its version of the “Tron” ride next to Space Mountain, said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, during D23, the official Disney fan club, in July in Anaheim, Calif.
Days after filing permits for a Ratatouille ride, Disney has some more attraction plans on the books. New permit documents filed Nov. 20 show the location of a planned Tron coaster in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.
A concept map for MK2 — the working title for Walt Disney World’s Tron coaster — shows it will be adjacent Space Mountain on its north side.
The coaster will be modeled after Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland. The coaster-style attraction invites guests to board a train of two-wheeled Lightcycles for a ride through Tron’s high-tech universe.
Orlando-based design firm Heery International Inc. is listed on the designs. Illinois-based engineering firm Professional Service Industries Inc. is conducting geotechnical work on the site.
In a letter to Walt Disney Imagineering, an engineer from Professional Service Industries noted,
“At this time, we have no information on the building size and column/foundation loads. Additionally, there is no information on the finished grades of the floor slab. We would expect foundation loads to be moderately heavy and similar to other attractions in the area.”
The permit for the Tron coaster is bundled into a permit for The Main Street Theater (labeled “MK1”) that will occupy most of what is now a parking lot southwest of the Carousel of Progress and behind the shuttered Galaxy Palace Theater.
This falls in with Walt Disney Co.’s plans to invest in more projects around its Orlando theme parks in the coming year.
On select very busy evenings at the Magic Kingdom between November and December 2017, some guests will receive a bonus “surprise” FastPass to use on select attractions. We imagine this is not on nights where Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is taking place.
The secret fastpass distribution is on Tom Sawyer Island and it is extremely limited! In fact, it is so limited that you might want to think about being the first one over to the island the minute that they open. Heaven forbid, but if you don’t know where Tom Sawyer Island is… It is located between Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and The Haunted Mansion. The only way to get there is to travel by raft across the Rivers of America in Frontierland.
According to an inside source from the folks at Disney Every Day Here’s the secret… Cast Members will hide up to five whitewash paintbrushes in various places throughout the island. If you are lucky enough to find a brush and present it to a cast member, you will receive a Special Fastpass. What a great idea! You know where you can find me the next morning I open up the Magic Kingdom. Catch me if you can!
