July 9 - 15

I have a dedicated post on the SAG/WGA strikes going on so if you want more info on that and how even you, dear reader, might be affected then you can look that over. This post will focus on news outside of entertainment.

Disneyland Paris

We’re starting in Europe! How lovely. DLP has already had an Annual Pass similar to those in the States, but it’s gotten an overhaul. It is referred to as the Disneyland Pass and has a 3-tier system. I don’t suspect many of my readers are French or go there enough to have a Pass, but it’s the first I’d learned of a pass system outside of the US so for me this is interesting information.

East Coast

• Y’all, there are a lot of reports of physical altercations and guests behaving badly coming out of the parks. I’m not going to cover these as when you have groups of people this large, it’s bound to happen. If you go to the parks, please

  • Stay in the ride vehicle, even if it breaks down and you get frustrated

  • Don’t get so frustrated at a situation that you want to hurt someone, be it another guest or even a Cast Member (one was sent to a local hospital with minor injuries). People will get hurt, you may get arrested and banned from the parks. It’s just not worth it. Be like Elsa and let it go.

    Now that that’s out of the way, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween tickets are on sale and special Dessert Party tickets go on sale July 18th. (Oogie Boogie Bash out in California has completely sold out).

    A squirrel managed to sneak onto Carousel of Progress to wreak havoc…without a ticket. What a scoundrel.

    Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer have announced a merging.

    West Coast

    Congratulations to the Cast Members out here who have won a lawsuit. It was determined Disneyland evaded minimum wage payments and CMs could get a raise!

    It was also announced that on August 31st San Fransokyo will officially open to the public at Disneyland California Adventure.

    Entertainment/Merch

    At long last the full-length trailer for Ashoka is now out. Click here to watch it!

    Disney is known for its themed popcorn buckets but I don’t recall seeing them outside of the parks…until now. Some AMC theaters have a special Madame Leota popcorn bucket!

    SAG-AFTRA is officially on strike. I have a dedicated post to it on the blog. Everything that was in production and was either filming or needed to start filming is shut down. This includes Deadpool 3. Also, this will affect premiers. There were reports of actors leaving the Oppenheimer premier. How Disney will handle the upcoming Haunted Mansion premier is yet to be determined.

    RunDisney

    The medals for the Wine & Dine half marathon races have been revealed. If you want to be spoiled, click here to see them!

    Walt Disney Company

    I think I’ve mentioned it but in case I haven’t, or in case you hadn’t heard, WDC turned 100 and as part of the celebration there are two traveling exhibitions. One is in the US and is currently in Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute. I am going there in August and will have a special report. The other is currently in Munich and it was announced that it will be moving to London in October 2023. Both exhibits have video, interactive attractions, and items from the Disney Archives. The latter items are rarely if ever seen, and the items are different at both exhibits. If you’re lucky enough to be able to go to both, I’d recommend it!

    But who is going to run the company? Well, for another 2 years it looks like Iger is here to stay. He also made some interesting comments about the strikes going on in Hollywood, which came back to bite him.

    Cruise News

    DCL’s newest ship under construction, the Treasure, now has a special page where you can keep up with its progress. It also appears that if you do the Signature Dining on the cruise ships, you can expect price increases.