It was announced today by Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Garcia via Twitter that the strict “Disney Look” policy that all cast members must abide by has been revised once again. Cast members will now be allowed to don beards while onstage.

Several years ago Disney revised their original “look” by allowing cast members to have mustaches. This expanded the hiring pool for the Disney parks. Now, the pool can expand even further.

It must be noted that there are guidelines to the new beard allowance. Bearded cast members must keep it trimmed down to a quarter-inch length.

What do you think of the new “look” revision? Will allowing cast members to have beards ruin the “Disney look”? Leave me some comments below.

As if we weren’t already busy enough obsessing over the Fantasyland expansion…now news has come out that the $360 million luxury resort will begin construction in December.

The process started in 2008, when Disney approached the Four Seasons about putting a resort on Disney property. Why would Disney do this? Clearly they are proud of their own brand of hotels and offer perks to those staying at those resorts, so why reach out to Four Seasons? The answer can be summed up in two words, “Golden Oak“. This property is near the Golden Oak subdivision, and having a luxury hotel such as the Four Seasons will entice buyers (hopefully!).

The state of the economy stalled progress but now everyone is ready to move forward and break ground.

The Four Seasons will be a 444-room hotel, with up to 40 time-share units and 90 private residences. A restaurant on the roof of the hotel will offer views of the Magic Kingdom and a “lazy river” is in the plans as far as pools and water features go.

Expected to open in 2014 this Four Seasons is expected to be a mix of business travelers (its usual crowd) and “leisure travelers” (that’s fancy talk for “WDW peeps”).

Related articles

• Early Buyers Prepare to Move in to Golden Oak Homes (chipandco.com)
• Four Seasons Hotel at Disney World won’t open until 2014 (chipandco.com)

It’s almost that time! Time for a spook-tacular time at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!

I hear that among all your favorite party past times there will be a few new additions to the party this year.

Don’t hold your breath for anything drastic, the party hasn’t undergone an overhaul, just a few minor adjustments due to the Fantasyland expansion and the non-existence of Mickey’s ToownTown Fair.

Alice & Mad Hatter’s Treat Trail, which used to start in Toontown and end in Tomorrowland, obviously had to be relocated so it’s also been re-imagined. The treat trail is now Br’er Rabbit’s Candy Patch and is near Splash Mountain Frontierland.

Character hunters, keep your eyes on Town Square Theatre (Mickey’s new meet n’ greet home) this is where you’ll find Disney Princesses. Outside near the flagpole you’ll find Duffy the Disney Bear and Winnie the Pooh and Friends. If you seek the fairest of them all and her Seven Dwarfs, you’ll find them in Frontierland as well.

The dance parties will still take place throughout the park, this is a fun place to get a unique interaction with your favorite characters. The Villain Mix and Mingle has a few “tweaks and shrieks” as well as musical changes and new costumes.

If you’re planning your party transformation to happen in the parks you need to book ASAP. The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the Pirates League are incredibly popular on party days and even with the extended hours (8pm) they still fill fast. Call 407-WDW-STYLE to arrange for your transformation. A credit card hold is required but no charge will be made to your card. Cancellation less than 24 hours prior to your scheduled time will result in a $10 cancellation fee being charged to the card on file.

Related articles

• Top 5 Things You Should Know: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (chipandco.com)
• 2011 Magic Kingdom Halloween Decorations and Merchandise (easywdw.com)

According to the Orlando Sentinel the president of Walt Disney time-share business was fired Friday, according to several people familiar with the move.

A spokeswoman for Disney confirmed late Friday night that Disney Vacation Club President Jim Lewis was no longer with the company. She declined to discuss further details.

“We wish Jim Lewis well in his future endeavors and we plan to announce his successor in the near future,” spokeswoman Rena Langley said.

Lewis had been president of Disney’s time-share business since 2006.

Click here to read more.

Related articles

• Disney’s Grand Floridian Vacation Club Villas Construction Video (chipandco.com)
• HOT! Disney Passholder and Disney Vacation Club Sizzling Summer Sale (chipandco.com)

Walt Disney World passholders are invited to enter a new sweepstakes just for them in celebration of the resort’s 40th anniversary. The prize is a much-sought-after stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite at Magic Kingdom.

The package for the winner and three guests also includes breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, a $250 Disney gift card, one-day Magic Your Way tickets and transportation to Walt Disney World if the winner lives more than 250 miles away.

Passholders can enter once a day between Sept. 1 and Oct. 1 by downloading the entry form here and either submitting it at Uptown Jewelers at Magic Kingdom or mailing it to Disney Destinations, LLC, 2011 Passholder 40th Anniversary Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 10000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830.

Passholders have to be in good standing as of Sept. 1, at least 21 years old and legal residents of the 50 United States or D.C. to be eligible. See complete official rules here.

Related articles

• Disney World passholder sweepstakes to award stay in Cinderella Castle (blogs.orlandosentinel.com)

Buyer beware…when it comes to Disney World admission tickets “if it seems to good to be true…” IT IS! Especially in the case of “ticket brokers” along U.S. Highway 192.

The popular route running east to west through Kissimmee is filled with hotels and “discount ticket retailers” (*wink *wink, nudge nudge). During a recent sting operation 3,617 fraudulent tickets were confiscated (that’s over $1 million dollars in tickets!). The tickets were for Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal.

The tickets weren’t counterfeit reproductions, at one point they were legitimate for park entry; and were used by the original purchaser. Remaining portions of the leftover tickets were purchased by these “brokers” for pennies on the dollar, marked up, and re-sold to you with a discount price tag to lure you in.

Yes, this is illegal in the State of Florida and no, these thief’s weren’t hiding in the back corner of a dark alley. They were operating right on the main stretch of highway in plain view.

Here’s what you should know about theme park tickets:

1. You get what you pay for-Some of these tickets that were sold as 4-day passes actually only had 1-day remaining on them. There’s no way of checking the legitimacy of tickets from 3rd party brokers until you try to enter the park, at which time it’s too late.

2. Beyonce sings, “if you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it”, Disney sings, “If you bought it then you should’ve put your finger on it..” The fingerprint scanners at the gate are there for a reason. If the fingerprint of the person who originally purchased the ticket doesn’t match the next person trying to use it…you’re going to be getting a whole bunch of trouble in place of park admission.

3. If you drive to WDW and pass through this stretch in Kissimmee…keep on truckin’. While your desire to save money on your Disney vacation is pure, purchasing tickets from an illegal broker can lead to all sorts of trouble, and I assure you the experience won’t be magical.

4. Be smart-If you don’t purchase your theme park tickets direct from Disney, research the legitimacy of your source before you pay up. Sites like Undercover Tourist have been researched and reviewed whereas individual sellers on Craigslist or E-bay have not.

5. Track the discounts-everyone wants to save money on their vacation, if you don’t have the time or interest in tracking discounts and promotions, get a travel agent who specializes in Disney travel to do it for you. They can do all the work and you can have all the fun.

Related articles

• Osceola County Sheriffs Arrest 10 Vendors on Charges of Reselling Disney Tickets (chipandco.com)
• Ask a Disney Question: E-Tickets (chipandco.com)

According to the Orlando Sentinel Moses Velasquez, 39, is accused of touching the girls in the wave pool at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Here are the details:

A sex offender was jailed today after three girls say he touched them inappropriately at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park Thursday.

Moses Velasquez, 39, is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, according to the Orange County Jail.

Witnesses and the victims told an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy Velasquez was in the wave pool with the children when the incidents occurred.

Click here to read more.

Related articles

• Tips to help you pick a Disney World water park (blogs.orlandosentinel.com)
• Top 5 Disney Water Park Attractions (chipandco.com)

Osceola County deputy sheriffs arrested 10 vendors Thursday and Friday on charges of re-selling tickets to Orlando-area theme parks.

The Sheriff’s Office conducts several joint undercover operations each year with investigators from Walt Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios to stop vendors from selling cut-rate passes to tourists, records show.

Re-selling multi-day theme park passes has been illegal since 1988, when Disney asked Orlando-area legislators to make it a misdemeanor crime.

Ticket vendors along West U.S. Highway 192 in Osceola County openly advertise that they will buy unused portions of multi-day theme park passes from tourists heading home. Paying a few cents per dollar value on the passes, vendors then sell them at a profit to tourists willing to violate the law by buying the cut-rate tickets and try to fool theme parks’ fingerprint scanners.

Click here to keep reading.

Related articles

• Disney Training: Water Parks Fun & More Option vs One Day Waterparks Ticket (couponingtodisney.com)
• Man accused of taking Disney trip on nonprofit’s credit card (chipandco.com)

A woman was arrested at Disney’s Magic Kingdom park on Thursday after authorities say she punched and kicked her toddler in front of witnesses, jail records show.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies were called to the park after witnesses said they saw 26-year-old Jessica M. Lewis repeatedly strike the 1-year-old.

Lewis, of New Orleans, La., struck the child “in the abdomen/stomach area with a closed fist, causing the child to bend over, clutch his stomach, and cry from the strike,” an arresting deputy wrote.

“In addition,” an arrest report states, “the child Victim was also kicked by [Lewis] when the child did not walk properly to [Lewis'] demands.”

Click here to keep reading.

Congrats goes out to Jiko for making Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Restaurants in the US!

Jiko — The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has been named to Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Top 100 best in wine and fine dining in the country. The entire list, coast to coast, of this year’s best wine restaurants is in the August 2011 issue, which is now available on newsstands. Jiko – The Cooking Place fuses the bold flavors of traditional African, Indian and Mediterranean cuisine.

The Jiko wine list features one of the largest selections of South African vintages in North America. The list has won multiple awards, including the Orlando Sentinel’s Foodie Best Wine List Award and the Wine Spectator Excellence Award for Most Outstanding Wine List.

Click here to keep reading.

Related articles

• Disney Dining – Special dining experiences at Animal Kingdom Lodge (examiner.com)
• Tables in Wonderland Restaurants and Lounges (cookingwithmickey.blogspot.com)

According to the Orlando Sentinel the Four Seasons Disney World is still atleast 3 years away from opening.

Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts said this week that the projected opening date for the 445-room luxury hotel has been pushed back until early 2014. The project was first announced in 2007 and was initially scheduled to open a year ago.

The Four Seasons project would bring one of the world’s elite hotel brands to Disney World, which has been attempting to cultivate more offerings for ultra-affluent travelers. The hotel is to be a centerpiece of Disney’s “Golden Oak” residential subdivision, a community of multimillion-dollar homes that is being built near the Magic Kingdom in the northeast corner of the giant resort.

Not that I could afford to visit but would be nice to walk around and dream about moving on up to the east side.

Click here for the full article.

Related articles

• PassPorter’s Free-Book to Walt Disney World Paperback Giveaway (chipandco.com)
• Special Needs at WDW: Tips for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (chipandco.com)

This past Saturday while my wife and I were covering the Pixar Weekend at Epcot I checked my Twitter to find that it was blowing up! Star Tours was indeed doing a soft opening to work out any kinks before the actual opening on May 20th. Unfortunately we didn’t get out of our event in time to ride it that night so we kept our fingers crossed that it would be open on Sunday. We got up first thing and checked our Disney iPhone app and luckily our wish was granted.

We ended up meeting up with MuppetCast host and Sorcerer Radio correspondent Steve Swanson to hop aboard the Starspeeder 1000. The lines were pretty short and I believe we waited less than 30 minutes for the two times we rode the attraction. Both times we ended up doing two very different sequences. I’ll keep this review spoiler-free until for now. The cast members were also really strict and had signage posted prohibiting the use of cameras and video cameras inside the attraction. I’m sure that will change soon as it opens.

Sorcerer Radio's Aljon & Kristen with MuppetCast Podcast's Steve Swanson

Suffice it to say that the experience was amazing. The interior was fresh and completely redone. There were two different cast member costume variations: one for those working the attraction as flight staff, and two, the workers inside Tatooine Traders. They looked amazing! Steve examined the 3D glasses and noticed that they were different than the ones used in Muppet Vision 3D so there could be some new Lucasfilm/Imagineering tech at work. There were only two things I can really mention that I found to be bumps in the road. First, the second time we rode the attraction a few seat belts were malfunctioning. That caused us to be reseated on the next flight out. This seemed to have happened to a few people as well, but I’m sure they will iron out that detail. The last thing Steve and I talked about was the fact there were several management level cast members wandering the corridors assisting the “flight attendance” and they were not dressed in the proper theme. They could have at least worn Jedi robes to cover their dress shirts and docker slacks. That really took away from the “show” that Disney strives so hard to keep “in character.” It was a minor distraction and I’m sure that will cease once the attraction has completed its shakedown.

Yep. It rocks! That’s my spoiler-free review of Star Tours 3D: The Adventure Continues. Did you think I was going to say that is sucked?

I look forward to riding this attraction as many times as I can before the sneak peek on Thursday. Either way I’ll try to report and stream what I can this week so stay tuned! For live streaming video from the parks please visit jedimouseketeer.blogspot.com.

Check out this video from the Orlando Sentinel.

A crash of two Disney monorails back in July 2009, which killed a 21-year old monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg, has been settled.

The mother of the driver, Christine Wuennenberg, filed a suit last year and has dismissed the suit with no eligibility to re-file, but the rest of this case has been sealed.

She claimed Disney was negligent and that the supervisor wasn’t doing his duty since he was allowed to be away while on command using a radio taking a dinner break.

A new position has been created since the incident that monitors all monorail movements.

Disney was also fined $35,000 by Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations.  The National Transportation Safety Board also did an investigation but hasn’t released it’s report.

Arriving in Grand Fashion Tuesday Morning is the long waited Disney Dream. After a long journey across the Atlantic it has made its way to Port Canaveral. Hooray!!

Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel is reporting on this historic news:

Disney’s newest cruise ship, the 4,000-passenger Disney Dream, pulled into Port Canaveral this morning just after sunrise.

The ship, which cost Disney more than $900 million, was met with a water cannon salute and multiple helicopters buzzing overhead. Disney launched firworks from the ship as it entered the Port Canaveral channel and again just before it pulled up to the pier.

Disney has big expectations for the ship, which is about 50 percent larger than the existing Magic and Wonder vessels. Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holz said the company is pleased with the pace of bookings so far for the Dream.

The ship will depart on its maiden voyage Jan. 26.

Click here to keep reading this story.

Photo Credit Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel / January 4, 2011

Related articles

• Finishing Touches: Disney Dream (chipandco.com)
• Behind-The-Scenes Video: Imagineers Adding Finishing Touches to Disney Dream (chipandco.com)

When Caitlin Owens, a 23-year-old attractions worker in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, studies the contract Walt Disney World has offered to its largest labor group, she sees herself losing ground. Owens, who must pay for pricey family medical insurance to cover her husband and daughter, says she would ultimately earn less money, as rising insurance premiums more than wipe out modest annual raises.

“With the resources that Disney has, the almost endless funding that Disney has, they can do better. They’re just choosing not to,” Owens said.

But when Andy Gonzalez, a 41-year-old chef’s assistant in Hollywood Studios, looks at the same proposal, he sees peace of mind. At a time when regional unemployment is almost 12 percent, Gonzalez said Disney is offering 3 1/2 years of job security — plus three raises and a bonus.

“Look at what happened to SeaWorld,” Gonzalez said, referring to the 125 layoffs that the Orlando marine park made earlier this month. “With this economy that we’re going through right now, we’re very happy to keep our jobs.”

Click here to keep reading this article from Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting on the 911 call released in fatal Disney bus crash.

A 911 call made Sunday when a Massachusetts tourist was struck and killed by a bus at Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans resort was released today.

An unidentified caller told a dispatcher the man, later identified by state troopers as 69-year-old Robert Krueger, walked in front of the bus.

“He got knocked to the ground pretty hard. His head’s bleeding,” the caller said.

Krueger, of Yarmouth Port, Mass., on Cape Cod, was walking alone when he stepped into the path of the Disney bus traveling through the resort parking lot about 5:50 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol reported earlier.

Click here to read more.

Related articles

• Man dies after walking in front of Disney bus at Port Orleans resort (chipandco.com)

This article comes to us from the Orlando Sentinel.

A Massachusetts tourist was killed Sunday when he walked in front of a bus at Walt Disney World’s Port Orleans resort, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

According to witnesses, Robert Krueger, 69, of Yarmouth Port, Mass., on Cape Cod, was walking alone when he stepped into the path of a Disney bus traveling through the parking lot of the resort about 5:50 p.m., said Sgt. Kim Montes, a Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman.

The front of the bus struck Krueger and knocked him to the ground, a report says.

He died at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Montes said.

Click here to keep reading.

Related articles

• Room Refurbishments Begin At Port Orleans Resorts (chipandco.com)

This article come to us from Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel.

The Walt Disney Co.‘s theme-park division is eliminating almost a quarter of the jobs within its global business-development group, the unit charged within identifying future growth opportunities for Disney’s $11 billion-a-year parks business.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will cut 14 jobs — including 11 in Orlando — from the roughly 65-person global development team.

Disney said the move is designed to eliminate some of the overlap created nearly two years ago when it merged business development with real-estate development as part of broader corporate restructuring. More than half of the jobs will be culled from the real-estate group, whose Disney World projects include Golden Oak, a luxury-home subdivision being built near the Magic Kingdom, and Flamingo Crossings, a long-stalled retail-and-lodging district aimed at budget travelers.

“This will enable us to better align our approach to business development across the segment, eliminate duplication of efforts, and streamline our decision-making,” Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said Thursday.

Click here to keep reading.

Related articles

• Hero’s Welcome Awaits Chilean Miners and Their Families at Walt Disney World Resort (chipandco.com)
• Disney Legend Hits the Cruise Circuit (chipandco.com)

This article comes from Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel.

Like scores of other businesses and interest groups across the state, Walt Disney World is cozying up to incoming Florida Gov. Rick Scott just before Scott is sworn into office next month.

Disney this month cut a $25,000 check to Scott’s inaugural committee to help the Republican governor-elect pay for a series of public and private events he is planning to commemorate his Jan. 4 swearing-in as Florida’s 45 governor.

Scott’s inaugural committee has raised approximately $2.5 million so far, more than twice as much as outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist spent on his own inauguration in 2006. Universal Orlando gave the committee $25,000 in November. Click here to see the full list of contributors.

Disney spent heavily to defeat Scott this summer when the former healthcare executive was seeking the Republican nomination, opting to back Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum instead. But the giant resort immediately got behind Scott for the general election, in which Scott narrowly defeated Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

Click here to keep reading.

Related articles

• Disney week in review for the week of 12.19.10 (couponingtodisney.com)
• Tuesday Disney Tips: Disney World Surprises – Even for the Veteran Visitor (theaffordablemouse.com)

This article comes to us from Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel.

Walt Disney World and its largest labor group, stuck in deadlocked contract talks, said Wednesday that they have agreed to extend their current pact until after the holidays.

Disney’s contract with the Service Trades Council, which represents about 20,800 full-time workers at the giant resort, will now run through Jan. 20. It had been scheduled to expire Dec. 11.

The six-week extension was driven in large part by the calendar. With Christmas approaching — an intensely busy period of the year for Disney World, as children across North America are out of school — making time for further negotiations or staging a worker vote is becoming increasingly difficult.

Disney and the Trades Council have been negotiating since June.

Source

Related articles

• Disney union produces documentary | Text alerts (orlandosentinel.com)
• Union and Disney still stalled in negotiations (thedisneyblog.com)