Shared on his Twitter account, DeSantis made an appearance on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, where he responded to Bob Iger’s recent town hall meeting. At the town hall, CEO Bob Iger spoke about Disney’s ongoing feud with the state of Florida.

When questioned at the recent Town Hall meeting about the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” Bob Iger stated, “I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle, and I have no idea what exactly the ratifications are in terms of the business itself. What I can say is the state of Florida has been very important to us for a long time, and we have been very important to the state of Florida.”

Governor Ron DeSantis replied to this statement as such. “We didn’t drag them in… they went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill, threatened to get it repealed… They brought this on themselves… I don’t care what a Burbank, California-based company says about our laws..”

The two parties, Walt Disney Company and Governor Ron DeSantis, continue to disagree. Back in April, DeSantis signed a bill that enacts the dissolution of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District by June 2023.

There is still no determined fate of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post Governor Ron DeSantis Responds To Disney CEO Bob Iger’s Recent Comments on Florida ‘Battle’ appeared first on WDW News Today.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit many companies hard, and that includes The Walt Disney Company. Even now, when many experts consider the pandemic to be over, Disney is still on the road to recovery.

Disney World Entrance

A report recently filed by Disney shows just how far the company has come in the last year in terms of recovery and profits. Hotel occupancy, per-room guest spending, and more statistics point to some very positive changes for Disney’s bottom line.

Disney filed a report with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and part of that report included statistics on the Disney Parks hotels. This includes hotels at Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney’s international theme parks.

Disney’s Grand Floridian

According to this report, the occupancy at domestic Disney parks hotels nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022, going from 42% in 2021 to 82% in 2022. That means Disney is filling many more hotel rooms now than they were a year ago.

©Disney

In addition, the guest spending per room at domestic hotels increased drastically from 1% in 2021 to 19% in 2022, meaning Disney is making more money on those hotel room guests than they were last year. “Per Room Guest Spending” is defined as “total revenue from room rentals and sales of food, beverage, and merchandise at [Disney’s] hotels, divided by total occupied hotel room nights.”

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Internationally, the numbers look a little different. Occupancy is still fairly low in 2022 at 56%, although it’s much higher than the 2021 number of 21%.

Tokyo Disneyland Resort

The reason for the lower occupancy is that Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort have both been closed for several weeks in 2022, and Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort were closed for part of 2021. You can see the total weeks of operation in 2021 and 2022 in the graph below.

©Disney

Elsewhere in the report, Disney stated that “growth in resorts and vacations revenue was primarily due to increases of 51% from higher occupied hotel room nights, 32% from an increase in passenger cruise days, and 17% from higher average daily hotel room rates.” So although the increase came mostly from higher occupancies, Disney has also profited significantly from raising hotel room rates.

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

We’ll continue to watch for more updates from Disney, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news.

Click here to find out how COVID-19 is still impacting the Disney parks.

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The post Disney Reports HUGE Jump in Hotel Guest Spending first appeared on the disney food blog.

It may be hard to believe, but we’ve been celebrating Disney World’s 50th Anniversary for over a year!

Cinderella Castle

We’ve eaten all the snacks, checked out all the new entertainment, and shopped for the BEST merchandise. A few items have been hard to come by and quickly sell out as soon as they’re restocked, and if you’ve been on the lookout for something in particular you might be in luck because a SOLD-OUT 50th Anniversary item is back in stock!

The prettiest mug we’ve ever seen is back in Disney World! We found the 50th Anniversary EARidescent mug at Crystal Arts in Magic Kingdom.

How pretty is this thing?!

It’s glass and features an iridescent shimmer along with Cinderella Castle and the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary logo.

It features the Castle and logo.

You can pick this mug up at Crystal Arts for $24 — but hurry, these sold out pretty quickly last time we saw them! The Cast Member did say they had a few hundred in stock, though.

Crystal Arts

Looking for more Disney shopping news? Check out the latest Disney x ColourPop collab here, and you can see what’s new at Hollywood Studios here.

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney shopping news and more!

ALL the Disney World 50th Anniversary Merchandise You Can Get Online

Do you have any 50th Anniversary merchandise? Let us know in the comments!

The post A SOLD OUT 50th Anniversary Mug Is BACK in Disney World first appeared on the disney food blog.

Many Disney World employees are part of labor unions, and they have recently been in negotiations with the Walt Disney Company over wages, benefits, and more.

Cast Members at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

The unions (and the Cast Members who are part of them) have requested higher pay and better benefits, and now, some Disney World Cast Member unions are holding a rally to bring these issues into the spotlight.

Thousands of Disney World employees will be represented at a rally hosted by the Service Trades Council Union, according to Click Orlando. The rally will be held along U.S. 192 at Maingate Lane in Kissimmee on Wednesday from 4PM to 6PM.

Disney Cast Members

The unions participating represent almost 42,000 Disney world Cast Members, and they’re in negotiations this week with The Walt Disney Company after their contract expired on October 1st. There are still concerns about wage increases, health care, child bonding leave, and more.

©Disney

It’s worth noting that these negotiations come just after Disney filed SEC documents indicating the company was planning on increasing spending on capital expenditures.

According to the report, Disney “planned to spend $6.7 billion in the 2023 fiscal year on capital expenditures for its Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products divisions.” In contrast, Disney spent $4.9 billion in the same division during 2022.

©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters

However, that money is apparently for theme park and resort expansion, while labor expenses are typically covered under operating costs instead of capital expenditures. (Click Orlando).

Cinderella Castle

We’ll keep an eye out for more updates about the union rally and these negotiations, so be sure to keep checking DFB for more.

Disney CEO Comments on Reedy Creek and “Don’t Say Gay” Controversy

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What’s your favorite Cast Member story? Let us know in the comments!

The post NEWS: Labor Unions to Hold Rally Over Disney Employee Pay first appeared on the disney food blog.

Even if you’re not a huge makeup fan, you’ve probably managed to snag some ColourPop collections because the Disney themes are .

©ColourPop

Where else can you find makeup collections inspired by Hocus Pocus, The Muppets, Bambi, and more? But now, ColourPop is dropping a collection inspired by CLASSIC Disney attraction ‘it’s a small world’ — and y’all, we can’t even.

Yep, that’s right. ColourPop just announced that an ‘it’s a small world’ collection is on the way and shared a sneak peek on its Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ColourPop Cosmetics (@colourpopcosmetics)

The Instagram post doesn’t show what the colors will look like, but we’re guessing they’ll be colors inspired by the ride! If you’ve never used ColourPop before, the company uses a lot of vibrant color and sparkle in their shades, which are very pigmented (basically, a little goes a long way).

©Colourpop

If you’re looking to get your hands on the collection, we don’t have a release date yet, but we’ll let you know when it becomes available. Stay tuned to DFB for more!

How to Attend an EXCLUSIVE Disney Shopping Event

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Do you have a favorite Disney Colourpop collection? Let us know what it is in the comments!

The post ColourPop to Release an ‘it’s a small world’ Collection first appeared on the disney food blog.

The holidays are here! Or more importantly — the holiday SHOPPING season has arrived.

Disney Merchandise

Sure, we’re all busy right now trying to finish off our holiday shopping lists, but we’re also treating OURSELVES to some fun Disney merchandise, right? Well, select Disney fans will soon be able to attend an EXCLUSIVE shopping experience where they can pick up all kinds of EXCLUSIVE goodies.

D23 has announced an exclusive shopping event coming to Mickey’s of Glendale on December 11th, which is located on the Walt Disney Imagineering Campus in Glendale, CA. The shop will have some EXCLUSIVE items, as well as plenty of parks merchandise, too!

©D23

So how can you get in? Well, first you have to be a D23 Gold member and get a ticket — tickets, though, are 100% FREE. You can get a ticket by going here to reserve your spot. Each ticket will cover a single 30-minute shopping window from 8AM to 12PM PST. If you want to get your hands on Imagineering-exclusive items, you’ll want an early window because they’re only available while supplies last!

Mickey’s of Glendale

D23 Gold members will need to show their membership card and a valid ID. If you’re not already a Gold Members, you can purchase an individual membership for $99.99 per year or a Gold Duo Plan (for you and up to three guests) for $129.99 per year. 

D23 Gold Member Gift ©D23

D23 Gold Members also get a yearly gift, as well as a subscription to D23 Magazine. Members also get discounts on select dining, entertainment, and other experiences at Disney Parks.

Here Are 5 BIG News Drops That Were Overshadowed at the D23 Expo

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Are you a D23 Gold member? Let us know in the comments!

The post How to Attend an EXCLUSIVE Disney Shopping Event first appeared on the disney food blog.