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Disney Parks Other

Dreams Within Reach: Celebrating our Graduates

The past few weeks, it’s been especially heartwarming to see people come together from across the world to celebrate 2020 graduates in creative and unique ways.

And we knew we had to celebrate our own graduates— nearly 700 cast members and employees who are proud alumni of the Disney Aspire program, the company’s education investment program that pays for 100% of our hourly cast member and employees’ tuition upfront at in-network schools.

That’s why we are sprinkling some pixie dust from afar, recognizing them for an exceptional job well done and celebrating their incredible achievements in making their educational dreams come true.

From successfully completing trade programs to earning high school diplomas and securing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees — we are so proud of all our Disney Aspire participants who have successfully completed their programs of choice.

Disney Aspire empowers our employees to put their #DreamsWithinReach, and we couldn’t be prouder to see the dreams of our graduates coming true. To all of our Disney Aspire graduates—and to the rest of the 2020 graduates around the globe— thank you for your hard work, dedication, and inspiring all of us to be the best we can be.

Dreams Within Reach logo

Join us in celebrating our grads by using the hashtags #DreamsWithinReach and #DisneyAspire!

To learn more about Disney Aspire, visit Aspire.Disney.com.

From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com
Filed Under: Uncategorized, Disney Aspire

Categories
Disney Food Disney Parks Other

The Four Things in Disney World You’ve Never Done…But You NEED To Try!

Whether you’re heading to Disney World to ride ALL the attractions or to go on some epic snack crawls, there’s a wide variety of things to do in the parks.

Happily Ever After

While we love seeing some of our favorite shows and hugging the characters, it’s pretty easy to get stuck in the same Disney routine as EVERY other guest. But, there are actually unique experiences that most visitors don’t see very often!

So, the next time you visit Disney World, we recommend going on an adventure to check out these 4 things you’ve never done before in the parks!

Disney World Monorail

Behind-the-Scenes Tours

Ever wanted to know how Disney grows some of their own food in Epcot? Or, have you ever wanted to get up close and personal with some of the animals in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Well, you may not know that Disney has a series of behind-the-scenes tours that give you an exclusive look at the parks. Yeah, it’s just as cool as it sounds!!

Living with the Land

Each tour offers a unique experience in one of the Disney Parks (or even ALL of them on some bigger tours) by a VIP tour guide.

You can look at the African animals in Disney’s Animal Kingdom on the Wild Africa Trek, explore behind the scenes in the Land Pavilion in Epcot on the Behind the Seeds Tour, get a peek at the underground tunnel systems in Magic Kingdom on the Backstage Magic tour (!!!), or even take an in-depth look at the World Showcase Pavilions during DestiNations Discovered!

Elephant on Kilimanjaro Safaris

There are SO many tours to pick from that it’s almost too hard to choose (almost).

Spent Time at the BoardWalk

Did you know that although Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is a Disney hotel, it also has an entire BoardWalk area open to the public? The BoardWalk is filled with fun activities, whether you’re looking for a new spot to relax or somewhere to grab a bite to eat.

Disney’s BoardWalk

The inside of the resort actually holds a lot of history you might not know about as well! If you look up on the fireplace of the BoardWalk Inn, you can spot Lucy the Elephant. Over in Margate City, New Jersey (the coastal town that Disney’s BoardWalk Inn pulls its influence from), Lucy is a building that was built in 1881.

It has drawn visitors into the town for years and now this smaller re-creation creates a bit of extra Disney magic at the BoardWalk!

Nanny Chairs and Lucy the Elephant

Even though we know you’re totally getting your steps in traveling the parks (it’s justification for all those snacks ;D), the BoardWalk has surrey bikes that your whole family can rent to travel all the way around the resort area! These can be VERY fun and bring lots of laughter to your family as you work together to bike uphill or cruise around the lake.

Surrey Bike

While there are plenty of places to dine at the BoardWalk, like the Flying Fish or Trattoria al Forno, you can also snag some of the BEST desserts at the BoardWalk Bakery! We’ve tried anything and everything from the Unicorn Cupcake, Valentine’s Macaron, and their classic Cinnamon Roll.

Seasonal Cupcake

Plus, BoardWalk Joe’s just across the way features some great cocktails you can sip on as you stroll around the BoardWalk in the Florida sunshine or the twinkling evening lights.

BoardWalk Joe’s

But, one of our FAVORITE spots in Disney World actually happens to be at the end of the BoardWalk! Jellyrolls is an adult-only dueling piano bar that has tasty drinks and fantastic music.

Jellyrolls

You’re bound to have a wonderful time as the performers sing hit songs (and take PLENTY of requests) that will have everyone partying along with them!

Relaxed at the Enchanted Rose Lounge

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is a GORGEOUS resort that features a live band in the lobby most days, direct access to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot by way of the Monorail system, and the recently opened Enchanted Rose Lounge. This lounge is a true hidden gem in the Grand Floridian!

Enchanted Rose Bar Area

Like its name suggests, the Enchanted Rose features four uniquely designed rooms that are inspired by Beauty and the Beast (can you spot Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts??).

The Library

Enchanted Rose opens at 1PM daily and has a more upscale lounge menu than you might find at other Disney bars, with starters served from 5PM to 10PM along with cocktails, martinis, beers, hard ciders, and wine.

Enchanted Rose Food

Some of the cocktails are inspired by Beauty and the Beast, while others have unique names and flavors! Are you feeling the Envy or Love Cocktail more?? These two drinks are prepared tableside for you!

Preparing Both the Love and Envy Cocktails

Since the monorail connects directly to the resort, the Enchanted Rose Lounge is a hot spot to visit before or after you spend time in Magic Kingdom.

Hopped on ALL the Main Street Transportation

Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom is home to trolleys, horse-drawn streetcars, a fire engine, a jitney car, and more. And, guess what?? You can ride them all!!

Main Street, U.S.A. Horse-Drawn Trolley

The transportation doesn’t just add to the atmosphere (even though we love it) — they’re actually really memorable ways to spend time with your family members or take a break from the hustle and bustle of the park as you go up and down Main Street.

Note that you can’t ride some of the transportation during the Main Street Trolley Show at 9:15AM, 10:10AM, and 12PM! But, you can still ride them at other available times on most days in the park!

Main Street Trolley Show

Note that these vehicles are only out typically in the morning hours, so if you don’t mind Rope Dropping the Magic Kingdom, you’ll be in for a treat when you walk down Main Street!

Disney World is just one of those places that keeps creating new magic every time we go! It doesn’t matter if you’re a new friend or an old pal — Disney keeps on surprising all of us with interesting places and special things to do in the parks!

What are some of your favorite things to do in Disney World? Let us know in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Boardwalk Inn and Villas, Counter-Service, Disney Entertainment, Disney News, disney parks, disney resorts, Featured, Walt Disney World, Backstage Magic, behind the scenes, behind the scenes tours, bikes, Boardwalk, Boardwalk Bakery, Boardwalk Joe’s, destinations discovered, Disney, disney dining, disney news, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Grand floridian resort and spa, Enchanted Rose Lounge, Epcot, Flying Fish, jellyrolls, lucy the elephant, magic kingdom, main street transportation, main street trolley show, Main Street USA, Trattoria al Forno, Wild Africa Trek

Categories
Star Wars

Star Wars Fan Syncs X-Wing Footage to ‘Danger Zone’ from Top Gun

Star Wars Fan Syncs X-Wing Footage to ‘Danger Zone’ from Top Gun. Massive Star Wars fan Jackson McKay has made the ultimate compilation of X-Wing footage from Star Wars: Episodes IV-IX and Rogue One and synced the video to Danger Zone, the iconic Kenny Loggins song from Top Gun.

Jackson shared, “I waited to make this until I could use [The Rise Of Skywalker] footage. X-Wings are my favorite starfighters, so it seemed like a fun project to keep me occupied while we’re all social distancing. Hope you enjoy!”

You can check out the full video below:

The pairing only seems natural given the nature of the song and the parallel to the use of X-Wings in the Star Wars franchise and the fighter jets used in Top Gun. We loved this creative compilation. Thanks, Jackson!

Be sure to check back here at Chip and Co. for all things Star Wars

Featured Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

Source: Jackson McKay

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Star Wars, Video, Danger Zone, disney, Lucasfilm, Top Gun, x-wing

Categories
Disney News Disney Parks

Monorails have started running again at Walt Disney World

Monorails

The monorails are operating once again at Walt Disney World! It’s been over two months since we’ve seen the monorail system running on Disney grounds. Even though we don’t have a reopening date scheduled for Walt Disney World yet, it appears the work crew is testing the monorails with maintenance runs to have them prepared for guests in the future.

You can check out these photos a visitor, Girl Meets Disney World, took of the monorail when it was running yesterday.

And the highway in the sky has returned!!!! So happy to see some rails out on the beams!❤️?❤️?❤️Disney transportation…

Posted by Girl Meets Disney World on Thursday, May 21, 2020

Others have seen the monorail system running and shared their photos on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

 

Starting to run monorails today. #waltdisneyworld #monorail #castmember

A post shared by Sam- Disney World Travel Agent (@sammy_disney_cast_member) on May 21, 2020 at 6:11pm PDT

The monorail is a beloved mode of transportation on the Walt Disney World property. It’s used to transport guests at the Ticket & Transportation Center (TTC) to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

So far, Disney has not yet confirmed a reopening date. Universal Studios Orlando submitted their reopening plans to the Orange County Task Force with intent to open to the public on June 5th. However, the Walt Disney Company plans to submit their reopening plan next week, which means we should have a better idea of when Walt Disney World will reopen once they send it in to the Orange County Task Force.

Source: Girl Meets Disney World

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Rides, Transportation, Walt Disney World, Disney Monorail, Disney World, monorail, TTC

Categories
Disney Movies Disney News Disney+

Walt Disney Animation Studios launched the new, 10-episode animated series called Zenimation on Disney+

Unplug, relax, and refresh your senses for a moment of mindfulness with Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zenimation” – an animated soundscape experience. Whether it’s baby Moana being called by the ocean, Anna and Kristoff walking through an icy forest, or Baymax and Hiro Hamada flying over San Fransokyo, these iconic scenes become an aural experience like no other with the sounds of ocean waves, an icy forest and soaring flight.

“Zenimation” pays tribute to both the visual and sound artists who have created Walt Disney Animation Studios’ legacy of films. Created and edited by David Bess. From Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“Zenimation” is streaming now on Disney+.

To see a preview check out this video

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney & Co, Disney+, News, disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Zenimation