2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival Dates Announced

The Disney Parks Blog has announced that the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is set to begin on July 15th at Walt Disney World!

This year’s event will include the return of many guest favorite marketplaces – Canada, Greece, Germany, Hops and Barley, Appleseed Orchard and others. Additional marketplaces will join the international smorgasbord as the festival continues on into the fall before coming to an end on November 20th.

Disney has shared some additional details on the return of some activities and stated that more is on the way.

  • Sample all sorts of delicious cheeses served in fun ways as part of Emile’s Fromage Montage – if you collect a stamp from five different Global Marketplaces, you’ll earn a prize!
  • Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak will send you on a savory scavenger hunt in search of Remy statuettes hidden all over the park.
  • Take a tasty souvenir home from the new merchandise collections, including a festival collection featuring a spirit jersey, baseball cap and so much more.
  • Listen to musical favorites performed by Voices of Liberty, Mariachi Cobre, and the Jammin’ Chefs.

Disney MagicMobile Pass: First Day Learnings

I happened to be sitting at Pecos Bill having an early lunch when I saw all the buzz about Disney’s MagicMobile Pass being rolled out to some My Disney Experience users this morning. Whilst finishing my fajita platter, I checked, and YES, I was able to access this new product.

Rikki and Dani covered the basics in earlier posts. Definitely check out their information on how to access MagicMobile and download it onto your phone; they have the scoop on the basics.

This is a review of the successes and glitches I encountered on the first day.

Problems Linking MagicMobile to Apple Watch

I had zero problems linking MagicMobile to my iPhone (XS Max). The entire process took less than a minute while finishing my Diet Coke. I tapped a few keys and my MagicMobile pass was easily added to the Wallet feature on my phone.

Theoretically, I was also supposed to be able to add the MagicMobile pass to the Wallet on my Apple Watch. I tried this several times with no luck, continuously getting a message saying, “Try again later or contact your card issuer for more information.”

Since Disney was the “card issuer” and I was at Magic Kingdom, I walked over to the guest relations desk at the front of the park. It took four cast members there to find someone who understood my question asking for advice or tips on how to add MagicMobile to an Apple Watch. None of them had any real answers.

I then tried the guest relations windows outside the front gate. A cast member there said that her MagicMobile automatically synched to her own Apple Watch. She speculated that I didn’t have the latest Watch OS and that I should update my phone and my Watch and it should work.

A few hours later I was back in my WDW hotel room and made sure that all my devices were as updated as possible. Still the same message. Sooo…

I tried again to get advice, this time at Disney Springs guest relations. A supervisor there asked me how old my Apple Watch was. BINGO. I do indeed have an ancient Apple Watch, a five year old Series 2. The supervisor said he had heard reports that MagicMobile was not working with older watches, though he didn’t know exactly which models were the problem. He said to try back in several days in case they find a workaround.

What I learned was — I wasn’t doing anything wrong. If you have a new Apple Watch, it should link automatically. If you have an old Apple Watch, you’re out of luck, at least for now.

Getting into the Parks

The main (really only) current use for MagicMobile is for park admission. After speaking with the two Magic Kingdom guest relations desks, I exited the park and attempted to use my phone to tap back into the Magic Kingdom.

The product is advertised as being usable without having to open any apps – just hold your phone to the entry tapstile and it should work.

I tapped my phone on the touchpoint several times, to no avail. I asked for help from a nearby cast member who told my to turn my phone over. I had been tapping with the screen side toward the touchpoint. As soon as I placed the back of my phone on the touchpoint, it lit up with pretty colors and I was admitted to the park. Lesson learned.

I left and reentered the park a few times, alternating using my phone and a MagicBand. Both worked seamlessly. For park admission, you can use both MagicMobile and MagicBands interchangeably.

Sharing MagicMobile

When you activate MagicMobile, you’re presented with an option to “Select Passes to Share.” This feature is useful for parents of young children or for companions of people who don’t have mobile phones.

Along with the share feature is a message that says, “Anyone that receives your shared pass will be able to add the pass to their Apple Wallet and use all of its linked entitlements.”

I found this sentence somewhat ominous and asked for clarification at the Disney Springs guest relations office. Here’s what I learned during that discussion:

  • Currently, you should think of MagicMobile as the same thing as a plastic park admission card.
  • Sharing your MagicMobile with someone is akin to putting your park admission card in their hand. This may make sense for a few family members, but it is not something that you should do with others.
  • Anyone with their own My Disney Experience account should have their own MagicMobile pass in their own Apple Wallet.
  • MagicMobile sharing is not the same as Friends and Family sharing for things like dining reservations. You may have tons of My Disney Experience Friends and Family members, DO NOT share your MagicMobile pass with all of them.

Other Findings

  • The MagicMobile pass does not have all the features of a MagicBand. You cannot charge merchandise items or food directly to MagicMobile, though this is something that Disney resort guests can do on a MagicBand. However, if you have a regular credit card linked to your Apple Wallet, you can use that to pay for many items at WDW.
  • You cannot access a WDW hotel room through MagicMobile. If you’re a resort guest, you can open your hotel room via the My Disney Experience app, but not through MagicMobile in the Apple Wallet.
  • IF (the cast members I spoke with stressed the word “if”) FastPasses return, they would work through MagicMobile. The rationale was that MagicMobile is akin to a plastic park admission ticket and FastPasses can be accessed through a park admission ticket.
  • MagicMobile will, in many cases, alleviate the need for a guest to go to Will Call to pick up up a plastic ticket. They can use MagicMobile instead. However, in situations like activating a voucher for an annual pass, you will still need to stop at Will Call or guest relations.
  • You cannot currently access any food or merchandise discounts via MagicMobile. To get discounts you will still need to show a card such as an Annual Pass or DVC membership card.

As will all brand new Disney technology, consider this product to be in flux. They are clearly working out some first day issues and are still in the process of disseminating information to all cast members. Stay tuned for updates, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

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Disney Drops “Taste of”, EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2021 Begins July 15

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Start whetting your appetites, because the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival begins July 15 at Walt Disney World Resort!  This year’s event will kick off with Global Marketplaces, including the return of many favorites – Canada, Greece, Germany, Hops and Barley, Appleseed Orchard and others. Even more marketplaces will join the international smorgasbord as the festival continues on into the fall before wrapping on Nov. 20. There will be lots of ways for families to enjoy this year’s event (beyond just eating lots […]

The post Disney Drops “Taste of”, EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2021 Begins July 15 appeared first on WDW News Today.

PHOTOS: Repainting of Shimmering Roof Back to Blue Continues on Cinderella Castle for 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World

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Painting is almost complete at Cinderella Castle in preparation for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort. One of the last roof sections has been finished as of this morning. The castle has seen many changes as the Magic Kingdom gets ready for its golden anniversary. The two angled roof segments had been sanded and prepared for paint last week. Now, the top section has a brand new style. The unpainted lower section still shows the old crosshatch pattern […]

The post PHOTOS: Repainting of Shimmering Roof Back to Blue Continues on Cinderella Castle for 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World appeared first on WDW News Today.

Escape to the Wilderness at Disney’s Boulder Ridge: Deluxe Studio Review

Wilderness Lodge is inspired by early 20th century National Parks. If you are looking for a piece of the wilderness in the heart of Disney World, check out details on the DVC Boulder Ridge Deluxe Studios. Disney’s Wilderness Lodge American pioneer and Native American details throughout the resort make an amazing immersive experience. Disney’s Wilderness […]

The post Escape to the Wilderness at Disney’s Boulder Ridge: Deluxe Studio Review appeared first on KennythePirate.com.

CONFIRMED: “Mickey’s Magical Music World”, “Big Band Beat” Stage Shows Officially Opening April 1st at Tokyo Disney Resort

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In the past two days, Tokyo Disney Resort has quietly performed Big Band Beat at Tokyo DisneySea, and as well soft opened Mickey’s Magical Music World at Tokyo Disneyland, both as “open rehearsals”. Now, the shows are officially resuming performances beginning April 1st, 2021! This is in line with the news that briefly appeared on the Tokyo Disney Resort website last week, which stated that these two shows would return. Big Band Beat: A Special Treat Big Band Beat will […]

The post CONFIRMED: “Mickey’s Magical Music World”, “Big Band Beat” Stage Shows Officially Opening April 1st at Tokyo Disney Resort appeared first on WDW News Today.

Event Recap: National Geographic Live “Magnificent Seas” with Diva Amon and David Gruber

What’s at the bottom of the sea? As a kid, a song taught me that there’s a whole lot of things inside including a flea-ridden frog on a log, but the truth is that we still don’t really know. In National Geographic Live’s latest virtual event, titled “Magnificent Seas,” fans get to hear from two experts […]

The post Event Recap: National Geographic Live “Magnificent Seas” with Diva Amon and David Gruber appeared first on LaughingPlace.com.