Are you a Disney+ subscriber?

Do you love watching your favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movies and shows anytime anywhere? Yep, us too! But did you know that as Disney+ subscribers, you actually have access to special perks? Disney+ subscribers get exclusive early access to certain items on the DisneyStore. We’re here to show you what you can get now before anyone else!

To get your hands on these items now, you’ll have to log in using the email associated with your Disney+ account until the end of the day on May 19th. Some of these items are only available for pre-order, while others can be purchased immediately. And if you love X-Men and the new X-Men ’97 show, then you’re going to love these items!

 

Get the X-Men Reversible Bomber Jacket

A bomber jacket is classic. A reversible, X-Men bomber jacket is top tier. We love the cool design of this jacket. One side is black with the Xavier logo on the back, while the other side is blue and yellow with the X-Men logo.

This jacket is currently only available for pre-order, so Disney+ subscribers can head over to the DisneyStore to purchase it now and get it later when it ships.

Get It Here!

Grab the Wolverine Loungefly

You know we love a Loungefly mini backpack! We can’t get over this iconic Wolverine one. It’s so shiny and has all the features of Wolverine including colors and logo on the inside of the bag.

Get It Here!

Get the X-Men Button-Up Shirt

This button-up shirt is classy and stylish, plus you can show off your fandom! You could totally wear this to work with a pair of nice slacks or dress it down for a fun fan outing.

Get It Here!

Get the X-Men ’97 T-Shirt

Your favorite X-Men characters are represented on this shirt. It could be a great park shirt or simply something relaxed to wear at home. One thing is for sure, if you’re a fan of these characters, you need to grab this shirt!

Get It Here!

Keep following DFB for more Disney news!

Don’t miss out on more Disney souvenirs on our Amazon storefront!

The post Disney+ Subscribers Get Exclusive Early Access to NEW Souvenirs first appeared on the disney food blog.

Choosing which Disney World hotel to stay at is no easy decision.

There are 3 tiers of hotels to choose from: Value (most affordable), Moderate (in the middle), and Deluxe (the most expensive and therefore the fanciest). All of them have their own unique theming that may be more attractive to you and your family which could help you make your decision. However, even if you’re booking months in advance, here’s why you ALWAYS need a backup plan for your Disney World hotel.

Let’s say you’ve been planning to splurge a stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge with a savanna view for YEARS. It’s a bucket list item, and you’ve finally planned the trip where you’re going to do it, but you go to book the room and there are no more available rooms for your dates.

Or how about this: you’ve been eying a specific discount on the Walt Disney World website for a while and think it’s perfect to help you save some money at that hotel you’ve been eying but has been out of your budget. So you go to book it and OH, just kidding, your hotel isn’t eligible for the deal, or you have to be staying a certain amount of days.

Or what about when you’ve budgeted to stay in a certain room, but when you go to book, prices are ASTRONOMICAL and not at all what you budgeted for?

These are just a few of the most common heartbreaks we see and hear of happening constantly in Disney World. This is a busy vacation spot, and it’s almost impossible to gauge when your preferred rooms will be available or have a discount that can be applied to them. This precisely is why we say to always have a backup plan when it comes to booking the hotel on your Disney World vacation.

While nothing will be exactly like the hotel room you were looking to stay in, you can have two types of rooms in mind when you go to book. For example, if you’re looking to book at the Contemporary Resort, either have two room types in mind you’d like to book or be open to booking a similar hotel, such as the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. While some hotels don’t have an exact match when it comes to theming or vibes, below is a list of alternative hotels we suggest if you aren’t able to book at the one you were originally aiming for.

• Can’t book at All-Star Movies? Try All-Star Sports or All-Star Music instead (or vice versa), OR jump to Art of Animation or Pop Century.
• While Art of Animation and Pop Century have different theming, both are Value resorts with larger-than-life theming, and we do think they’re most alike each other. They are also both located at the same Skyliner station for easy access to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.
• Can’t book at Disney’s Polynesian Resort? Check out a cabin at Disney’s Fort Wilderness or a room at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge for unique theming that’s geared toward the outdoors.
• Disney’s Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts are right next to each other and share lots of amenities, so if one is not available, try the other.
• If you’re unable to book at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, the Yacht and Beach Club are resorts we recommend checking out instead. Plus, all three are within walking distance to EPCOT!
• Can’t book at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort? We suggest checking out Disney’s Riviera Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, OR Port Orleans French Quarter (or vice versa!)

Additionally, if you need to stay at a different hotel than originally planned, there’s nothing stopping you from resort-hopping and checking out the other resorts you were planning to book. While you won’t be able to walk into any rooms or swim in the pools, you can still snap photos all around the hotels and take in their beauty!

We always recommend booking your trip as far in advance as possible in an attempt to snag that room you’d like, and if a discount becomes available after you book, you can apply it to your existing reservation! If this all seems a little overwhelming, we totally get it — that’s why we recommend using a travel agent like our friends at Small World Vacations!

We’re always here to bring you the latest Disney World news to help you plan your next trip, so stay tuned to DFB!

Check out our ULTIMATE guide to planning a Disney World trip!

We get the appeal of Disney World’s value hotels, and it’s not just about the fact that these are the cheapest hotels on Disney World property.

For example, two value hotels actually have a Skyliner station, making transportation a lot more convenient. We also love the over-the-top theming at the value hotels — and we would argue that we sometimes think Disney World’s deluxe hotels are boring because they don’t have that theming. However, let’s talk about food. There’s a rule we need to tell you about when it comes to eating at Disney World’s value hotels.

Disney’s value resorts only have one restaurant, a quick-service food court. Now, in the past, some of these food courts offered unique meals, but now, most of the food court menus are the same — and most of the menu items are, well, pretty boring  (burgers, sandwiches, etc), maybe even mediocre. So here’s what we’re telling you: don’t eat in the value resort food courts unless you have to.

Here’s the thing, especially if you’re staying at Disney’s Pop Century Resort or Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, you’re a quick Skyliner ride away from some AMAZING dining options. These include a TON of restaurants in the EPCOT area (like the Yachtsman Steakhouse, Trattoria al Forno, and more), but you can also have a meal over at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort or Disney’s Riviera Resort.

However, if you’re staying at any of Disney’s All-Star Resorts, you may find your options a little more limited. If you do want to eat something that isn’t at the food courts, you can always hop on a bus and head to Disney Springs, where the food options are almost limitless.

Okay, so what if you just really don’t want to leave your hotel at all, and you just want to grab something from the food court? What should you get? Well, for breakfast, you can still get Mickey waffles at the food courts, but we’d recommend grabbing the Loaded Totcho Bowl because it’s DELICIOUS.

For lunch and dinner, there aren’t any REAL standouts, but at least the burgers at the food court come with Disney fries — if you know, you know (they’re a lot like McDonald’s fries). However, for snacks, you’re in luck. Many of the food courts have special snacks themed to that hotel. You’ll find themed cupcakes at each food court, but you’ll find Tie-Dye Cheesecake at Pop Century, and that’s always worth getting.

You’ll also often find really good seasonal snacks (that aren’t always cupcakes), especially around holidays. So, if you see a seasonal snack on the menu, it might be worth trying out.

Of course, if you have picky eaters in your party, the food courts will always offer safe bets, including sandwiches, pizza, pasta, and more. So that’s always an option if you just want to please everyone in the party. Also, we have to note that you can get Mickey Celebration Cakes, too, at the food courts, in case you’re celebrating a big occasion.

Finally, food courts are where you can get the Refillable Mugs at the Value resorts. If you plan on drinking a lot of sodas, tea, or coffee during your trip, these could save you some $$$. They are also included with the Disney Dining Plan. Also, note that you can’t refill the mugs in the parks, but you can refill them at ALL Disney World hotels.

However, just know that if you don’t want to eat at the value food courts, you do have TONS of other options.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

Value vs. Deluxe: Disney Adults Are FIGHTING Over This Hotel DEBATE

Where do you eat when you stay at Disney’s value resorts? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Essential Rule You Need To Know Before You Stay at Disney World’s Value Hotels first appeared on the disney food blog.

Disneyland character and parade performers have officially unionized with Actors’ Equity, we reviewed all the food at the new Fantasy Springs land in Tokyo DisneySea, and construction projects continue across Walt Disney World theme parks — all this and more in today’s daily recap for Sunday, May 19, 2024.

Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom

• A section of the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel flooring has been freshly stained during the refurbishment of the Magic Kingdom attraction.

EPCOT

• Construction walls now take up most of the entrance courtyard of the Morcoco Pavilion in EPCOT.

New Merchandise

• A new limited edition pin celebrates 30 years of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. 

Disneyland Resort

• After an election this week, the vote has officially passed and the group of Disneyland Performers known as Magic United have unionized with Actors’ Equity.

Tokyo Disney Resort

• Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea soft opened this week, and first on our list of new food to try was the Roast Beef Popcorn from the Popcorn Wagon.
• During your visit to Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, don’t miss Oaken’s OK Foods.
• Step into the world of “Tangled” with The Snuggly Duckling restaurant, part of the new Rapunzel’s Forest area in Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.
• Join us for a meal at Lookout Cookout, the new “Peter Pan”-inspired quick-service restaurant in Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.
• In the Frozen Kingdom section of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, guests can dine inside Anna and Elsa’s castle at the Royal Banquet of Arendelle.

WDW News Today

• WATCH PARKSCENTER — Disney Investing More in IP in the Parks, Tiana Previews Coming, and a Look at Fantasy Springs

Disney Investing More in IP in the Parks, Tiana Previews Coming, and a Look at Fantasy Springs!

That’s it for today; we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!

The post Disneyland Performers Officially Vote and Unionize With Actors’ Equity & More: Daily Recap (5/19/24) appeared first on WDW News Today.

If you want something cool and sweet during your DreamWorks Land visit, check out Trolls Treats.

Trolls Treats

The snack stand resembles a giant yellow boombox. It serves ice cream as well as sodas.

The two ice cream flavors are Brozone Berry and Poppy-licious Pink. Universal labels them as vegetarian — like most ice creams.

Poppy-licious Pink – $7.49

Pink lemonade soft serve with flower sprinkles

The Poppy-licious Pink ice cream is super creamy and sweet. Kids will definitely love it.

The edible glitter on top didn’t add flavor, it’s just decoration. The sprinkles are also mostly for decoration but give the treat texture. The ice cream melts pretty quickly, plus stains your face and your clothes, so be prepared.

Brozone Berry – $7.49

Huckleberry soft serve with green leaf sprinkles

We prefer the Brozone Berry over the Poppy-licious Pink. In fact, this is one of our new favorite treats at Universal Studios Florida. It’s very creamy and slightly sweet with a huckleberry flavor.

This took us right back to the ’90s, when we ate Nestle ice cream cups with sprinkle candies on top. We say skip the Poppy-licious Pink and go right for the Brozone Berry.

Check out our full tour of DreamWorks Land, Trolls Trollercoaster POV, and DreamWorks Imagination Celebration.

Which Trolls Treats ice cream flavor will you try? Let us know in the comments or on social medai.

For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.

The post REVIEW: Brozone Berry and Poppy-licious Pink Ice Cream From Trolls Treats in DreamWorks Land appeared first on WDW News Today.

In the Frozen Kingdom section of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, guests can dine inside Anna and Elsa’s castle at the Royal Banquet of Arendelle. We enjoyed several meals at the restaurant during the port’s soft opening.

Royal Banquet of Arendelle

The restaurant is beautiful inside and out. It’s like eating inside Cinderella Castle or the Beast’s castle for the next generation. “Frozen” music plays inside.

There are several dining rooms inspired by different rooms seen in the “Frozen” films. Check out a full tour of Royal Banquet of Arendelle.

Calbee, Inc. sponsors the Royal Banquet of Arendelle. There are two adult meals called “Royal Sets”: seafood and beef. Both meals include potato gratin; bread, smoked salmon, trout, and orange salad; Olaf’s Marshmallow Cocoa Mousse; and a choice of soft drink. For an additional ¥390, you can upgrade the soft drink to a draft beer. For ¥340, you can upgrade the drink to wine. We also tried the kids’ meal.

The meals come on trays with golden filigree. All the food except the bread is in a blue square basket, under themed transparent plastic covers. The baskets are stackable — perfect if you’re ordering every meal.

Arendelle Royal Set (Beef) – ¥3,500

The beef set and kids’ set have covers featuring a castle.

This entrée is a beef pie.

The beef pie is decorated with a snowflake stamp. The crust is buttery and flaky.

There’s beef, cauliflower, and pasta inside. The beef is good quality. The pasta is cooked just right. It’s hot — which is a con in a Tokyo summer. But this is a good dish and will make a great winter meal.

The salad’s smoked salmon is solid for a counter-service. Though the description advertised trout, we didn’t see or taste any. There are fresh orange slices. It’s good.

The potato gratin has a nice cream sauce at the bottom but it’s not soaked through the whole dish. The potato is dry. The green bread on top weighs it all down. If the sauce was more evenly distributed, this would be great.

The bread is stamped with a bell image. It’s a nice soft bread. We’re surprised there’s not butter but it’s moist enough on its own.

Olaf is stamped on mochi “floating” in the mousse. The mochi has a surprising lemon flavor.

It’s not bad, just not what we would expect in this dessert. It’s good mochi.

There are lumps of brownie cake and marshmallows in the mousse. It’s a great dessert. We love it.

The pie, bread, salmon, and dessert are good. We wish the potato gratin was better but it knocks a point off the meal.

Rating out of 7: 6

Arendelle Royal Set (Seafood) – ¥3,500

The seafood set’s cover features a fish logo.

This pie is lobster and redfish. It’s decorated with three small snowflake stamps.

There are big clumps of redfish in this pie. It’s a little too fishy but it’s not bad. The fish is flaky. We also found oysters. The sauce is a creamy bisque. Again, there’s well-cooked cauliflower and pasta. We prefer the beef but this isn’t bad.

The potato gratin, salad, and Olaf dessert are the same.

Rating out of 7: 5

Arendelle Royal Set (Kids) – ¥2,000

The kids’ royal set includes meatball stew; potato salad; smoked salmon, trout, and orange salad; fruit jelly; rice flour bread; and apple juice.

There is fresh, well-cooked broccoli and cherry tomatoes in the meatball stew. The meatballs are fantastic. They’re made with high-quality ground beef. The sauce is great. It’s a little sweet and tangy.

The potato salad is visually gray and, frankly, it tastes gray too. There’s a weird sweetness and a saltiness. There’s no flavor to the potato. It’s off-putting and awful. The salad is basically the same as the salad with the adult meals.

The fruit jelly looked about as unappetizing as the potato salad. It’s not as bad as we thought it would be but it’s not good. The fruit inside is nice and fresh but the gelatin is flavorless. We wish it was just a fruit cup.

The kids’ bread doesn’t have the same bell stamp as the adult bread. It’s smaller and, unfortunately, much worse.

It has a doughy, mushy consistency. It tastes undercooked.

We would rate the meatballs a 7 but the salad a 5, potatoes a 0, bread a 1, and jelly a 2.

Rating out of 7: 5

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

The post REVIEW: Every Meal from Tokyo Disney’s Most Expensive Counter Service Restaurant, Royal Banquet of Arendelle in Fantasy Springs appeared first on WDW News Today.

Join us for a meal at Lookout Cookout, the new “Peter Pan”-inspired quick-service restaurant in Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.

Lookout Cookout in Peter Pan’s Never Land

Lookout Cookout is designed to look like the Lost Boys’ hideout. It’s constructed out of found materials and features their doodles on the walls. Check out more photos of Lookout Cookout.

Though this is a full-blown quick-service location, the food is more for snacking. The boxes have a hefty amount of food but aren’t quite full meals.

Lost Kids Snack Box (Butter Curry Chicken) – ¥900

There are two versions of the Lost Boys Snack Box. This one has butter curry chicken while the second set (below) has lemon tea chicken. Both come with seaweed fritters, banana chips, shrimp chips, and unadvertised bread.

The chicken tenders are good quality but the butter curry flavor is too subtle. The seaweed fritters also didn’t have much flavor and were chewy. They tasted like ocean at the backend. The shrimp chips are potent and fishy. We liked the banana chips, which were nice and sweet. The bread is great. It’s soft and flavorful. It reminds us of Yorkshire pudding bread.

The boxes are covered in drawings of the Lost Boys. The butter curry chicken box has a green stripe and zig-zag across the top.

We’re disappointed in this. It sounded good but wasn’t anything to write home about.

Rating out of 7: 2

Lost Kids Snack Box (Lemon Tea Chicken) – ¥900

These tenders have a stronger flavor. It’s not overpowering but you need to like lemon to like the lemon tea chicken. We like them better than the butter curry chicken. The other ingredients are the same, of course.

The lemon tea chicken box has a blue stripe and zig-zag across the top. We would give the packaging a 7 out of 7.

Considering the tenders in this box have flavor where the first didn’t, we rate it only slightly higher. If you’re a picky eater, we might recommend these snack boxes, but we also don’t think most picky eaters will want seaweed fritters and shrimp chips.

Rating out of 7: 3

Lookout Brownie – ¥600

This is just a brownie with a chocolate logo piece on top. It’s moist, fudgey, and delicious. It’s also cheap so we recommend it if you want a chocolate treat. It loses points for lack of theming, including on the packaging.

Rating out of 7: 5

Pixie Dust Soda – ¥750

This is a kiwi-flavored drink with a star-shaped topping that dissolves in the drink. Like most Tokyo Disney Resort drinks, you need to stir it before you drink it. But take your pictures first because it’s prettier before stirring.

Tokyo Disney Resort sparkling sodas are a little sticky sweet but good and this is no exception. There’s a strong kiwi flavor. The carbonation breaks up the sweetness. We wish there was a themed cup.

Rating out of 7: 6

Overall

Lookout Cookout was disappointing. We might come back for a brownie and a soda but the snack boxes are nothing to write home about. Unrelated to the food itself, we also felt the restaurant didn’t have enough seating.

Make sure to also check out our coverage of the new Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure ride.

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

The post REVIEW: Trying Everything the Lost Boys of Never Land Cooked Us at Lookout Cookout in Fantasy Springs appeared first on WDW News Today.

One of the many interactive areas of the new DreamWorks Land in Universal Studios Florida is King Harold’s Swamp Symphony.

King Harold’s Swamp Symphony

King Harold’s Swamp Symphony is a musical interactive element in the Shrek section of DreamWorks Land. There, guests can stomp on lily pads that trigger ribbits from the frogs in front of them. The signage for the area has a hand-painted look, that features King Harold singing a tune in his frog form.

At the center of a log is a statue of King Harold, Fiona’s dad in the “Shrek” films. Around him is a choir of 10 frogs in different shades of green, blue, and orange.

There are 10 lily pads on the ground in front of the frogs. Jumping on a lily pad causes a frog to open its mouth and let out a ribbit. When guests stomp on multiple pads, they create a melody of ribbits. You can even get them to say “Bud” “weis” “er.”

Also check out our full tour of DreamWorks Land, including the rest of Shrek’s Swamp.

For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.

The post PHOTOS: Conducting King Harold’s Swamp Symphony in Shrek’s Swamp at DreamWorks Land appeared first on WDW News Today.