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Walt Disney World rolls out user reviews on its own website
DestinationsWalt Disney World in Orlando has just turned on its new beta site, Reviews.DisneyWorld.Disney.Go.Com, where the vacation giant is soliciting user-generated reviews from customers. Right now, most of the reviews are glowing, which in Disney’s Cyber World means a rating of — you guessed it — five Mouse Heads. “For a moment, you feel as [...]
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Disney’s $1 billion gamble on its MyMagic payment bracelet
DigitalEarnings calls are usually heavily scripted, dry and formulaic. That’s why we perked up when we read the Walt Disney Co. conference call transcript last night. In it,Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo laid out in plain terms the thinking behind an interesting new technology push at the entertainment giant known as MyMagic+. In the industry, it’s [...]
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Americans are back at Disney Parks, profits up 73 percent
DestinationsProfits soared across the Walt Disney Co.’s vacation businesses during the first three months of 2013, surging 73 percent on the strength of new investments in cruise ships and theme-park attractions in Florida and California A booming parks business helped lift Disney to 32 percent profit growth during the second quarter of its fiscal year, [...]
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Euro Disney expected to announce lower losses for first half of 2013
DestinationsEuro Disney, the theme park complex on the outskirts of Paris, is expected to announce reduced net losses for the first half of 2013 as a result of a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) debt refinancing deal with its 39.8% shareholder the Walt Disney Company. Since Euro Disney opened in 1992 it has made an annual loss 13 [...]
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Weak Yen will bring Japanese tourist destinations record Golden Week crowds
DestinationsThe weakening yen has turned Japan’s annual Golden Week, a string of springtime holidays, into a boon for domestic tourism. The uptick in the traditional May holiday week points toward one of the best years on record for Japan’s tourism industry, still recovering from the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. The yen’s slide, part [...]
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Disney Cruise Line redesigns 15-year-old Magic, adding a Marvel Comics touch
TransportDisney Cruise Line‘s oldest ship, the Magic, is getting a makeover, with a new water slide and children’s area themed on Marvel Comics superheroes, the company announced Friday. Other changes when the ship goes into drydock in Spain this fall include redesigning cabins, dining rooms, play spaces, and adult areas like bars and clubs. Changes [...]
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After spending $1 billion on wireless tickets Disney lobbies to change Florida laws
DestinationsWalt Disney World has spent close to $1 billion developing its “MyMagic+” system, which includes replacing conventional tickets with wireless-transmitting wristbands that serve as all-in-one park passes, room keys and credit cards. Now Disney wants to make sure those “MagicBands” are protected by Florida law. The giant resort is lobbying the Florida Legislature this spring [...]
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Star Wars park coming to Disneyland? Survey says ‘maybe’
DestinationsThe people who run Disney Parks want to know your feelings on Star Wars. A survey is going around to select Annual Pass holders and other Disney fanatics that asks the question “How interested would you be in visiting a Star Wars themed land at the Disneyland Resort?” Obviously that doesn’t mean you should book [...]
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Orlando theme park battles: Legoland wants some credit
DestinationsLegoland Florida is set to announce details of another park expansion Tuesday, one possibly based on Lego’s Legends of Chima franchise. The Winter Haven theme park said the new area will include a ride and an interactive play area. The park has billed the project as a “major expansion” of the park’s current lineup of [...]
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Walt Disney World turns the iPod touch into a mobile ticket turnstile
DigitalVisitors to the Magic Kingdom in Central Florida will notice that Disney has done away with turnstiles completely at the park’s entrance. Instead, visitors are greeted by the company’s “cast members,” holding iPod touches in their white-gloved hands. The change is part of a larger initiative by Disney known as “MyMagic+,” which has the ultimate [...]
