News Round Up 2018

[rteetz]

Since I'm still bitter they tore this ride out, it really annoys me they try and profit off it this way. I don't buy these anyway, they aren't my thing, but I hate when Disney puts up Mr. Toad's merchandise...

Well Disneyland does have it still.

 

[YesterDark]

How does Priceline express work? Do you get to pick your hotel or just be told “it is a *** hotel” and you don’t know what it is - and it could be AKL or somewhere else?

Each offer has a resort description that sounds somewhat generic but remains consistent for each specific resort. People have puzzled out which is which.

 

[rteetz]

How does Priceline express work? Do you get to pick your hotel or just be told “it is a *** hotel” and you don’t know what it is - and it could be AKL or somewhere else?

Len has a plug in running on his computer that tells him what resort it is. Usually by description and amenities you can tell if it’s Disney or not. Otherwise yeah you don’t know for sure what the name of the hotel is.

 

[skier_pete]

BREAKING! They are painting the facade at the IG gondola station today!

 

[dlavender]

Each offer has a resort description that sounds somewhat generic but remains consistent for each specific resort. People have puzzled out which is which.

There's also websites out there that help to figure out which is which

 

[rteetz]

BREAKING! They are painting the facade at the IG gondola station today! View attachment 360105

You could be a Disney blogger!

 

[STLstone]

BREAKING! They are painting the facade at the IG gondola station today! View attachment 360105

Yeah, but "will the gondolas have air conditioning???"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Each offer has a resort description that sounds somewhat generic but remains consistent for each specific resort. People have puzzled out which is which.

Len has a plug in running on his computer that tells him what resort it is. Usually by description and amenities you can tell if it’s Disney or not. Otherwise yeah you don’t know for sure what the name of the hotel is.

ah, ok, so while they won't give you the exact name there are more resort specific details vs just a bucket of hotels it could be that you agree to be placed in, got it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah, but "will the gondolas have air conditioning???"

part of me hopes they refer to the first part of the queue as the "Antechamber" and tell people to move into/out of the "AC" just to mess with people

 

[adam.adbe]

ah, ok, so while they won't give you the exact name there are more resort specific details vs just a bucket of hotels it could be that you agree to be placed in, got it

There's a thread elsewhere on Dis where people try to keep track of the likely resort for a given description. They used to be fairly obviously "this Jazzy themed resort" for Riverside/FQ, but seem to have gotten a little more cagey of late. You can still usually work it out though. Sometimes the page also shows a "hurry, someone just got a great deal of The Swan" message, which is kind of a honking big clue.

In general, it's pretty easy to game, which no-one really cares about as this is just a way for hotels to move rooms, without having to adjust corporate rates. I booked blind for stop-over nights in LAX, and both times I could easily guess what hotel I was going to get, before hitting the book-it button.

 

[sachilles]

Back from a quick 4 day trip to wdw, first without our son in the group. Also first visit to Food and Wine. It was a bit warm.

I'm sure it wasn't the busiest it's every been, but I'd be curious to see what the crowd levels were for Saturday. Gorgeous warm weather. I now know what folks complain about when they say there is a lot of drunkenness going on. Mind you it wasn't a frat party, but certainly more than I've come to expect there. Didn't really notice it on Thursday, Friday or Sunday like that. Not anything to dissuade me from going to Food and wine again, but I'd certainly think hard about whether I want to be there on a Saturday. Made for great people watching. The team drinking shirts were plentiful.

I will say Guardians is big. However, Test track and the building behind Canada (Centennial) are just as big in the skyline. I also found it funny, that for as much as we discuss seeing big new buildings in the skyline ruining the theme of an area, it's been a problem from the get go. I had tuned out that you can see the Contemporary resort while sitting/standing anywhere near the river boat station in Frontierland looking back through Liberty Square. The more I looked around, the more I could see. Long story short, Guardians will be tuned out before long.
Also noticed the area buy the solar panels just off the epcot monorail route was actively being worked on for what looks like rain water retention etc(just like the permits). Didn't see much else to indicate anything might be underway for a hotel in that general area.

Spent some time at Disney Springs on a Thursday. That area has developed nicely now, and doesn't feel like a construction zone. We really enjoyed our time down there. Seemed to be a good crowd of people supporting all the shops.

Also our first stay at the Swan, and first time in the epcot resort area. The swan and dolphin are ugly on the outside, but was pleasantly surprised otherwise. Room was good, housekeeping very good(towel animals everyday too), overall staff attentiveness was very good. I now understand their loyal following. The location is great, especially with Food and Wine.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

NEWS

new commemorative pins available for completed Disney Play App quests ... for purchase at a price of $14.99

https://wdwnt.com/2018/10/play-disney-parks-app-offering-pins-for-completed-quests/

 

[rteetz]

News

Limited-Time Mickey Dessert by Chef Pierre Hermé Coming to Disneyland Paris

 

[rteetz]

News

Fire Alarm Test to Take Place at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort on Oct. 23

 

[rteetz]

News

New Designs Introduced for the Disney Vacation Club Van Fleet

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

NEWS

new commemorative pins available for completed Disney Play App quests ... for purchase at a price of $14.99

https://wdwnt.com/2018/10/play-disney-parks-app-offering-pins-for-completed-quests/

I would really like to get these if the games for these attractions were able to be played by 1 person. Whenever I tried to play the games at most of the attractions on the app, I wasn't able to do them since I'm a solo traveler. This app is built more for families than single travelers.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I would really like to get these if the games for these attractions were able to be played by 1 person. Whenever I tried to play the games at most of the attractions on the app, I wasn't able to do them since I'm a solo traveler. This app is built more for families than single travelers.

we used them a few times and definitely was something to help keep my kids busy and something for us to do together while waiting in line

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yeah, but "will the gondolas have air conditioning???"

 

[skier_pete]

You could be a Disney blogger!

Well, some website will post this as big news. Just remember you heard it here first.

 

[writerguyfl]

There's a thread elsewhere on Dis where people try to keep track of the likely resort for a given description. They used to be fairly obviously "this Jazzy themed resort" for Riverside/FQ, but seem to have gotten a little more cagey of late. You can still usually work it out though. Sometimes the page also shows a "hurry, someone just got a great deal of The Swan" message, which is kind of a honking big clue.

In general, it's pretty easy to game, which no-one really cares about as this is just a way for hotels to move rooms, without having to adjust corporate rates. I booked blind for stop-over nights in LAX, and both times I could easily guess what hotel I was going to get, before hitting the book-it button.

Those "Someone recently got..." messages should be taken with lots of salt grains. Here's an example why:

The "Someone recently got" message is about Hyatt Place Orlando Lake Buena. But, that's definitively not the hotel being offered here. The Hyatt Place doesn't have 1, 2, or 3 bedroom villas. (The 3 bedrooms show up lower on the list. I cropped them out to save space.)

That said, you are correct that there can be clues to help divine the property. What's particularly helpful in the Orlando area are the amounts for resort fees. Those are required to be shown in total price. For example, the property above has a $12/night fee. (That's another clue why this isn't the Hyatt Place, as that hotel doesn't have a resort fee.)