Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is set to reopen almost a month early from its lengthy refurbishment at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. What’s Happening: The popular Disney’s Hollywood Studios attraction has been closed for refurbishment since January 8th, 2024. Disney’s original plans had the attraction reopening on July 27th, however, an update to the DisneyWorld.com refurbishment […]
On a recent trip to Magic Kingdom, we discovered a new Princess Tiana figure and Cinderella’s Slipper available at Crystal Arts on Main Street U.S.A.
Princess Tiana Figure – $36,000
This figure depicts Tiana in her green dress and tiara. She wears long gloves that nearly reach to her shoulder. She admires a water lily that she holds in her hands.
She is standing atop a green crystal lily pad that floats in blue crystal water.
The item was created exclusively for Arribas Brothers and includes a certificate of authenticity outlining how the piece was made. The Princess Tiana figure features over 38,278 hand-set Swarovski crystals. This limited edition piece took artists 240 hours to complete. There are only 200 pieces available worldwide and each is marked by an edition number.
Cinderella’s Slipper – $6,900
The inside of the slipper consists of only gold crystals. The outside of the slipper features blue, silver, and gold crystals. In the center of the slipper is a blue heart. Beneath it is a golden ball. Butterflies, hearts, and stars can be found throughout the slipper.
The crystals stretch around the entire piece. Hearts, stars, and butterflies are even present above the slipper’s long heel.
Crystal Arts is located next to Main Street Bakery on Main Street U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom. In mid-June, a $35,000 Cinderella figure covered in Swarovski crystals became available at Crystal Arts and other Arribas Brothers locations at Disney Parks.
While the refillable mug does offer unlimited refills, they can only be used at Disney World hotels. This means you can’t bring your mug with you to be refilled at any of the four parks.
Between the fear of the mug leaking in your bag and trying to find a way to carry it, going around the resort with a refillable mug can be a pain.
Resort Refillable Mug
The refillable mugs are a good idea if you are planning to take them to the pool for a pool day, but trying to bring them to the parks (where they can’t be refilled) can be a pain.
Drink Station at Caribbean Beach Resort’s Banana Cabana Pool Bar
You Have to Walk to the Refill Station
Some Disney World resorts are spread out and only have one or just a few refill stations. For example, if you are staying at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs, it can be a pain to walk to a refill station.
Drink station
You have to be honest with yourself and ask if you would be willing to wake up earlier in the morning to make sure you have enough time to refill your mug. You also have to ask yourself if you are willing to make the trek to the refill station after a long work day.
Drink station at Art of Animation
Have Groceries Delivered to Your Room
If you and your entire party are looking to purchase a refillable mug, it can get expensive, especially since the mugs are $21.99 each.
Refillable Mug
A popular option is to have groceries delivered to your hotel room. Different grocery delivery apps offer this service. We like to use Kroger Delivery for our groceries when we stay at Disney World!
If you are team refillable mug, we totally get it! When we see these mugs, we feel like we are finally on vacation, and they can even be the first thing that people purchase when they arrive at their hotel. Plus, you can take the refillable mug home with you as a souvenir to remember your trip! For us though, we tend to stray away from buying the refillable mug due to those three main issues.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Do you buy a refillable mug when you go to Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
Yes, just when we thought all the construction in EPCOT was over, we noticed NEW construction walls in World Showcase. The Canada Pavilion has had construction walls off and on for a little while now, but the construction walls were gone, but now they’re back. Yep, there are still construction walls in EPCOT.
Construction walls are back up
Now, we’re not sure what kind of work is going on behind those walls, although it’s probably just Disney doing some sprucing up of the Canada Pavilion. This will still happen from time to time, so construction walls won’t ever truly be gone from EPCOT, but wouldn’t we all love to see an EPCOT without any construction for at least a few months? Wouldn’t that be nice?
Canada pavilion pre-construction walls
Of course, the entirety of Disney World will always be a work in progress, as Walt originally intended, and we’re likely to start seeing even more construction happening in other parks soon, including Magic Kingdom, which is getting a huge new expansion (although we have no idea when that project will begin). There will also be construction walls going up around Disney Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand, U.S.A., as that land gets a Tropical Americas re-theme.
@Disney
So, basically, what we’re saying is that there will always be construction happening in Disney World, but that’s okay because it means that Disney is keeping everything looking good and always giving us new things to look forward to. So let’s look at those construction walls as something positive because when they do finally come down, it will — hopefully — have been worth it.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Have you visited EPCOT recently? What do you think of the transformation? Let us know in the comments!
A beautiful new mural has arrived at the entrance of EPCOT, showcasing a more up-to-date landscape of the park’s entrance. What’s Happening: Located just to the right of Spaceship Earth, this backdrop is occasionally used for character meet & greets, or for just a nice family photo from a Disney PhotoPass photographer. This new backdrop […]
U.S. Army veteran and current Disney Cast Member John Arant was presented with the Purple Heart Medal at EPCOT.
Disney Cast Member Awarded Purple Heart
John Arant received the Purple Heart Medal at the American Adventure Pavilion in EPCOT before the park opened on Wednesday, June 26. Surrounded by the “Portraits of Courage” exhibit, Arant was honored with America’s oldest military medal for injuries he sustained during active service with the U.S. Army in 2007.
Arant’s ceremony was held before his family and other Disney Cast Members, including military veterans. He received the Purple Heart Medal from Jenn O’Rourke, a fellow Cast Member who serves as a Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
During the ceremony, a flag was flown over EPCOT in Arant’s honor. Arant was then presented with notes of gratitude from former President George W. Bush, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, and Chairman of Disney Experiences, Josh D’Amaro.
Arant joined The Walt Disney Company in 2019 as part of Heroes Work Here, an initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring military veterans. He is now senior manager of casting services.
Upon receiving the Purple Heart Medal, Arant had the following to say:
Receiving the Purple Heart is a tremendous honor, and I am humbled that my service is being recognized in such a meaningful way. I could not be prouder to be a cast member because Disney ensured this medal was awarded in a fitting ceremony in front of family, friends, and other cast members. Disney’s commitment to our military, veterans, and their families has been strong for over 100 years and today is another great example of just that.
The Purple Heart was established by George Washington in 1782. The award was initially intended to recognize the heroic acts of soldiers during the American Revolution. Today, the medal is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed in the line of duty.
D23 Members will have the chance to preview not one, but two popular Walt Disney Archives exhibits when they arrive at the Arlington Museum of Art in September. What’s Happening: Don’t miss your chance to be among the very first to journey through the magic and wonder of Disney costumes and storytelling at the Arlington […]
On only its second day of operation, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has yet to begin boarding guests with virtual queue or Genie+ reservations.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Yet to Board Guests
On June 28, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened to the public with no reported issues. However, on just its second day of operation, the ride has not begun boarding guests more than two hours after park opening. As of 11:15 a.m., no virtual queue groups have been called, and the My Disney Experience app says that boarding is paused. The app still lists 1:00 p.m. as the time that the next queue will open, so it seems that Disney is hopeful the attraction will open at some point today.
These technical difficulties are likely to leave many guests frustrated because they cannot hold a virtual queue for both TRON Lightcycle / Run and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the same time. Therefore, guests who prioritized the new attraction will not be able to make a virtual queue reservation for TRON Lightcycle / Run at 1 p.m. unless their boarding group is called before then.
