Egg Displays Bring Touch of Spring to Disney’s Yacht & Beach Clubs

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 14, 2024

 

When you talk about the gorgeous Easter Egg displays at Disney World, most people immediately think of the “Grand Cottage” and the dozens of fanciful chocolate eggs at Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.  Often overlooked, though, are the no less spectacular egg designs at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Clubs, just a quick walk from EPCOT’s International Gateway entrance along Crescent Lake.

Disney’s egg displays are the creations of the dedicated artists wielding culinary paintbrushes behind the scenes.  The eggs are adorned with guests’ favorite Disney characters and movie themes, and are made of such short-lived supplies as modeling chocolate, fondant, Krispie rice, and cocoa butter paint. 

I’ve always been impressed with the amount of talent the culinary teams show off with these sculpted treasures, but I’m also amazed that the teams are willing to put as many hours as they do into bringing these fleeting creations to life.  By their very nature, the fragile quality of these eggs means they might not even be here in a few weeks as temperatures start to rise. And yet, the artists invest hundreds of hours into these delightful decorations.

The egg displays at the Yacht and Beach Clubs may be significantly smaller than the one at the Grand Floridian, but they are certainly just as interesting to look at.  The Yacht Club’s eggs this year are a bit more whimsical than the eggs at the other locations, and are themed to the Disney animated film, Moana.  Pua the pig; Tamatoa the crab (“Shiny”); and the Kakamora coconut tribe will bring a smile to your face.

At the Yacht Club’s adjoining sister resort, Disney’s Beach Club, the egg display will be paying tribute to the neighboring EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.   The Beach Club eggs show off Chip and Dale, doing a bit of gardening; a miniature of Flower & Garden’s teenage Groot topiary (making a mess of a vintage cassette tape); Tinker Bell’s fairy house; and butterflies landing on a giant chocolate egg, among others.

The eggs will be on display in the resort lobbies until April 1, 2024. There is no charge to view the exhibits. Get there before they melt!

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

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Disney and Long-Term Investors Celebrate the Company Turning 100

 by Ray Keating

News/Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 2, 2023

 

October 2023 is a big month for the Walt Disney Company. It marks the company’s 100th birthday. One hundred years in business is truly amazing for any company. But with Disney, of course, we’re talking about one of the largest entertainment companies on the planet, and one that has had a historic impact on popular culture.

Specifically, it was October 16, 1923, when the brothers Walt and Roy Disney formed the Disney Brothers Studio. In 1940, Walt Disney productions issued over-the-counter stock, and later, on November 12, 1957, the company did an IPO (initial public offering) on the New York Stock Exchange at a price of $13.88.

 

Disney has announced that it will be celebrating its birthday throughout October in a variety of ways. For example, Disney+ will be decked out in a special 100 anniversary logo, and will offer a special collection of films and series from throughout the decades. And the short film Once Upon a Studio will make a broadcast debut on Sunday, October 15, during ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration!

 

Also, as part of the celebration, Disney is having theatrical re-releases for The Lion King, from September 29 to October 12, and for Moana, from October 13–26.

 

There’s more about the 100th celebration here.

 

By the way, what would an investment in the Disney IPO in 1957 be worth now? Well, Benzinga.com did the calculations as of November 2022, and it concluded:

 

“Disney shares were priced at $13.88 at the time of the 1957 IPO. A $1,000 investment could have purchased 72.05 shares at the time. Over the years, Disney has completed numerous stock splits. The original 72.05 share investment would be 28,896.18 shares today after stock splits. The $1,000 investment would be worth $2,635,042.65 today, turning Disney IPO investors into millionaires if they kept the investment over the last 65 years.”

 

And when adjusted for inflation that initial $1,000 equates to about $11,000 in today’s dollars – so that’s still a fantastic return on Disney’s stock since 1957.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right? (Keating is a Disney shareholder.)

 

Consider books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here and signed books here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are at www.RayKeatingOnline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Annual Passholder Previews Scheduled for New Moana Attraction

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 8, 2023

 

There’s no waiting in a virtual queue on your computer to grab a spot for the newest Disney offering this time around – you can head right to the attraction, no pre-registration required!

EPCOT’s Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana will welcome guests for a special Annual Passholders preview later this month as the attraction gears up to open to the general public.  Cast member previews have also been ongoing.

The Preview Dates for Annual Passholders will take place at EPCOT from park open to park close on these dates:

• September 24 to September 29, 2023

• October 1 to October 4, 2023

“Journey of Water” harkens back to EPCOT’s mission of education as well as entertainment, and offers guests an exploration trail where they can “connect with water and discover its magical personality.” A series of both wet and dry paths encourage participants to interact with the experience, learning about water’s natural cycle from the skies to the seas. Some of your favorite characters from the film Moana keep an eye out for the guests throughout the lush vegetation and pathways. The attraction is located in the World Nature section of EPCOT, at the front of the park, with its entrance across from the Coral Reef Restaurant.

To participate in this preview, Passholders must have a theme park reservation for EPCOT on the day they would like to attend the preview. Reservations for other parks that day do not count; it must be an EPCOT reservation. Disney also notes that, “If you enter EPCOT without a theme park reservation after 2:00 PM, then you will not be eligible to participate in a preview that day.”  That means that even though Annual Passholders can normally come into the park without needing a reservation after 2:00 p.m., they will be unable to participate in the preview without first holding that EPCOT reservation.

To check in for the preview, head directly to the entrance to “Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.”  There, you will show your active Annual Pass card, Disney MagicMobile pass, MagicBand or MagicBand+, along with valid photo identification to check in.

The preview is limited only to Annual Passholders; you won’t be able to bring guests on your card. Disney reminds, “Everyone in your party must be an Annual Passholder to attend this preview experience.”

“Journey of Water” is currently scheduled to open in late 2023.  There are no age or height restrictions to enjoy the new area.

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Disney to Re-Release 8 Disney Favorite Films to the Big Screen

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 3, 2023

 

While many of us wouldn’t necessarily label them “classics,” Disney certainly calls them so, and has announced that it will be re-releasing eight “classic” fan-favorite Disney films to theatres this summer.

This is a great selection of Disney movies, but none of the films were around in Walt’s day, nor do they span a great variety of eras in Disney’s “100 years of magic,” so it really depends on how you define “classic.”  But that doesn’t stop me from being excited about seeing some of these top-grossing Disney films in theatres again.

To celebrate the Disney Company’s 100th anniversary, eight films from Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation and Pixar will be showing in the United States for a limited period of just two weeks each between July and October.  If you’ve only seen your favorites on your home television, now’s your opportunity to see the films as they were meant to be seen.  Tickets are available through Fandango.

 

The titles being re-released for limited engagement runs include:

 

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (July 7 – 20, 2023)
• Toy Story (July 21– August 3, 2023)
• Frozen (August 4 – 17, 2023)
• Beauty And The Beast (August 18 – 31, 2023)
• The Incredibles (September 1 – 14, 2023)
• Coco (September 15 – 28, 2023)
• The Lion King (September 29 – October 12, 2023)
• Moana (October 13 – 26, 2023)

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

Maui, Moana and Lightening Up

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #83: Give Self-Deprecating Humor at Try – Do you get the feeling that too many people take themselves too seriously? Lighten up with some Disney humor.

The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.

Is “The Wonderful World of Disney” Still Wonderful?

by Beth Keating

Review 

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 21, 2020

When I was a small child, Sunday nights meant curling up in front of the television for the next offering in The Wonderful World of Disney. To a child growing up without cable and perhaps less than a dozen antennae channels to choose from, it was high theatre indeed. When The Muppet Show came on in the Sunday night time slot years later… well, it was nothing short of amazing. (Incidentally, Disney just announced that Muppets Now will debut on Disney+ July 31^st.)

It may not be on Sunday nights anymore, but this week, Disney launched a Wednesday night version of The Wonderful World of Disney. The name of the show has had a number of different incarnations over the decades, but the current iteration is called The Wonderful World of Disney Movie Night, and will air for at least the next three weeks. Moana kicked off the series last night. Thor: The Dark World will air May 27, followed by Up on June 3 and Big Hero 6 on June 10.  All movies air from 8-10 pm (EDT).

So, was the evening worth it? Is Disney’s movie night still wonderful? The answer is: it depends. For those of us who have access to Disney+, it is just as easy to watch the movie commercial free, and on our own timetables, on the streaming service. There wasn’t much magic added to the evening watching it on regular broadcast television, interrupted every 10 minutes by the requisite commercial break.

However, for those of you who exist in the Twitter-verse, there was some added value in that Lin-Manuel Miranda (who served as songwriter for Moana) and Auli’i Cravalho (the voice of Moana) hosted a watch party on Twitter with special guests and behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of the movie. Viewers could follow the stars’ tweets as they responded to the movie unfolding on TV, and there were more than a few interesting tidbits to glean from the creators.

Disney hasn’t yet announced whether there will be additional surprises in store for the next few Wednesday nights. Knowing Disney, it’s safe to assume that there will be, in order to draw viewers’ attention to the programming. 

Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.