Tips & News — News

It's official. The Disney MaxPass will be available for use starting July 19^th. If you’re asking yourself, what is the Disneyland Maxpass and why is this so cool, then we’ve got you covered.

The Disney MaxPass for Disneyland is going be similar in feel and functionality to the My Disney Experience App in Walt Disney World. Park goers will be able to download the Disneyland App, register or sign in to their Disney accounts, and then enjoy the incredible convenience of mobile FASTPASS booking and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from the day. If you were not aware, up until this point Disneyland has still been using paper for FASTPASS. So, yeah this is huge!

The Disney MaxPass will cost you $10 for the day. You can purchase directly from the Disneyland mobile App or add it to your ticket price at the time of purchase. Are you an annual passholder to the Disneyland Resort? The MaxPass will run you $75 for the life of your AP or it will be free if you’re a Signature Plus passholder. The old-fashioned way of obtaining your FASTPASS via paper kiosk at the ride will remain free.

In other FASTPASS news Toy Story Mania and Matterhorn Bobsleds were added to the FASTPASS family at Disneyland.

Are you excited for the MaxPass? Let us know what you think.

Disney's D23 expo will take place this weekend in Anaheim and, as always, the rumor mill is swirling. Every other year, Disney execs host the D23 expo to make announcements and showcase their upcoming plans. Let's take a look at some potential big news dropping this weekend.

Toy Story Land

Rumor has it we'll be getting a firm date for the opening of Toy Story Land inside Hollywood Studios within the next 10 months. More information on retail and dining options is also expected. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a look at the recent construction progress and the official logo!

WDW Gondola System

This is now less of a rumor considering construction has already begun at Epcot's International Gateway.  Disney is expected to release more specifics around the timeline for its opening. The route has already been confirmed and will connect Epcot, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation and Hollywood Studios.

Star Wars Land

Currently a simultaneous build going on at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios, Disney is likely to drop some specifics around these two huge expansions. Both are scheduled to open in 2019 with Disneyland finishing first and Hollywood Studios wrapping up later in the year. Although these are expected to be extremely similar, the biggest difference is the rumored boutique hotel at the Hollywood Studios land. Will we be getting confirmation on this hotel this weekend at D23? Let's just wait and see!

The Great Movie Ride or The Great Mickey Ride?

Although the The Great Movie Ride is one of my absolute favorite classics at Hollywood Studios it is rumored to be next in line for replacement. Yes, it will most likely be closed within the next year and a new very similar experience based solely around Mickey Mouse will be taking its place. "The Great Mickey Ride" is rumored to be opening in California Adventure, as well. It is supposed to showcase trackless ride technology and projection mapping. Hopefully we'll get a confirmation and some specifics this weekend.

Here's a shortlist of other rumors swirling around Disney these days. Little to no information can be confirmed just yet.

• Moana-themed attraction in Adventureland
• Tron-themed attraction in Tomorrowland replacing the Speedway
• Ratatoullie ride coming to the France pavilion at Epcot
• Guardians of the Galaxy attractions coming to Future World at Epcot
• Zootopia retail, dining and meet-and-greets in Animal Kingdom
• Brazil pavilion coming to Epcot

The D23 Convention begins this Friday, July14th and ends Sunday the 16th.

Walt said it himself that the parks will never truly be finished!

What changes are you most excited about? Are there any you are disappointed about?

Happy almost Fourth of July! Thanks to the power of the internet, Disney Parks Blog will be livestreaming their amazing fireworks celebration with the rest of the world this Tuesday! The show, “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky,” will take place at Magic Kingdom, of course. You can tune in at 8:55pm EST, and the fireworks will begin right at 9pm. If you’re wanting to avoid the crowds of your local fireworks show, this is a great option (and honestly probably better). Just throw it on the TV and enjoy the Disney magic!

If you’re at Disney World for the holiday weekend, you can actually catch this show on both Monday AND Tuesday. Monday will probably be less crowded, so if seeing the show on the 4^th isn’t extremely important to you, this may be the better option. If you’re going on Tuesday, just make sure you get your spot early!

Disneylanders can catch the show from July 1-4 at 9:30pm over Sleeping Beauty Castle. There will also be an Independence Day themed pre-show before “World of Color.”

You can live stream the celebration here: Disney Parks Blog

We hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

I’m sure you all are well aware of the highly anticipated opening of Pandora last weekend; however, while everyone was flocking to Animal Kingdom, the west coast was concerned with its own new attraction.

It’s called, The Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout and it can be found at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this attraction replaced the beloved Tower of Terror - an announcement that was met with mixed reviews from the Disney community. Whether you’re still sad over losing the Hollywood Hotel or not, The Guardians of the Galaxy have arrived so let’s take a look and the new ride.

In classic Disney fashion, they went big with an elaborate opening ceremony for their new attraction on the Thursday night before the May 27th opening. Even a few stars from the film showed up. Throughout the rest of the weekend the fans didn’t disappoint either. They came in droves, creating some pretty crazy wait times. How about 7 hours long? Yes, fans waited 7 hours to get their turn on the new ride.

I’m not going to try and convince you that waiting in line that long for anything is fun, but Disney has a way of starting the story and experience well before it’s time to ride. Mission: Breakout has some pretty incredible stuff to take your mind off of the waiting and immerse you in the story before you even make it in the building. Outside is the Collector’s garden which has many unique plants, lawn gnomes, and even a few easter eggs.

https://youtu.be/lksnaSwN9H8

Once you’re inside, you will start to appreciate all of the theming and immersive storytelling that went into this attraction. You are now among the Collector’s collection. Here you’ll find Easter eggs and references to the both the film and comics.

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

The pre-ride entertainment is concluded with a video right before you are sent through to the Collector’s office. One last pep talk from Rocket and it’s ride time.

The ride features 6 different experiences. The more you ride, the more you’ll encounter different drop patterns, songs and videos.

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

Whether you’re happy about it or not Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout is here to stay. You can ride it at Disney’s California Adventure park in Anaheim… after a long but entertaining wait.

We want to hear from you!

Who had the opportunity to ride?

What did you think?