Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort join Snapchat

Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort announced they have officially joined Snapchat.

“Today, we’re excited to announce a new way to connect with us – on the photo-sharing service Snapchat,” Thomas Smith, Social Media Director for Disney Parks, posted on the Disney Parks Blog on Friday. “If you haven’t used it yet, it’s easy to get started. We’ve created a quick guide showing exactly how to add Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort to your list of Snapchat friends.”

To find Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort on Snapchat, click “add friends” in the app and search for “waldisneyworld” and “disneyland.”

Snapchat is a photo messaging application that allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings and send them to a controlled list of recipients. The “snaps” have a set time limit for how long they can be viewed.

 

Changes to FastPass+ means more attractions, more flexibility

Credit: justinhammer (Instagram) View photo on Instagram

This week, Disney announced changes to FastPass+ that will give guests more opportunities to enjoy attractions and more flexibility during their vacation.

“Starting Monday, after guests have used their first three FastPass+ selections, they will be able to select another one at one of the kiosks located in each of our WDW parks,” Tom Staggs wrote on the Disney Parks Blog. “When they’ve used that one, they’ll be able to select another, and so on, ultimately providing guests with even more ways to customize their Walt Disney World Vacation.”

Guests will also be able to select additional FastPass+ entitlements when they hop to a different park.

The changes were first discussed in early April.

Look for Disney to make changes and minor tweaks to the FastPass+ system as they listen to feedback from guests over the coming months.

Another fake Disney Facebook contest making the rounds – don’t fall for it!

Another fake Disney Facebook contest is making the rounds.

The fake page was created today. The first post on the page is a post that features a fake contest.

“Great news, we’re giving you and 50 other people a chance to win a 2 week Vacation to Florida, Walt Disney World. Each person will receive 4 tickets each, a stay in an all-inclusive 5 star hotel with $5,000 spending money for a date of your choice.

For a chance to win just “Share” & “Like” this photo. (Comment to double your chances).

Good luck, competition ends in 48 hours. Winners will be announced and messaged.”

This is not an official Disney Parks Facebook page. How do we know? Notice the “.” in the “Walt Disney World.” page name? Here’s the official Walt Disney World page.

Magic Kingdom to begin testing charging lockers on April 25

Disney will begin testing “charging lockers” at the Magic Kingdom on April 25.

Charging lockers at Disneyland were added in 2012. (Credit: TouringPlans)

Gary Buchanan, who works in PR and social media for Disney Parks, first reported the news on Sunday.

According to Buchanan, the charging lockers will be located in Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe and the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company.

To activate the charging locker, the guest will swipe their credit card, which acts as an ID for the locker. The door opens and several charger cables are located inside the locker.

Once charging is completed, the door glows green. To open the chamber, the guest will swipe their credit card.

Disneyland has had charging lockers for two years. Those lockers cost $2 per hour and $2 for each additional hour.

The service will be provided by BrightBox. Here’s a video showing the BrightBox charging stations being used in New York:

Disney acknowledges MyMagic+ ‘challenges’ in video to Cast Members

George A. Kalogridis, President of Walt Disney World Resort, acknowledged “challenges” that have come with the MyMagic+ rollout in a recent video shown to Walt Disney World Cast Members.

Kalogridis compared the rollout of MyMagic+ to the opening day at Magic Kingdom, where Disney faced several major “challenges” that made opening day a rough day for Disney.

“The takeaway is that we have faced and overcome more challenges than I can count throughout the history of this resort. We have risen to the challenge each time by simply putting the guest first, having a great attitude, staying flexible and working together,” Kalogridis said in the video.