The Sorcerer's Guide

I'm something of a late comer to Disney World attendance. My home park was Disneyland. I did go when I was little, but my memories are pretty vague. So going back as an adult has been fun, because a lot of the attractions seem new. But, I've been going back through some of the old attractions, trying to get a feeling for what I missed and how the parks have changed. Gran Fiesta Tour is an interesting one for me. I rode it, not knowing that the Three Caballeros were a relatively new addition. I thought it was a cute way to use some old characters. But I was surprised that those characters were there, because the Three Caballeros had always seemed so obscure to me. Don't get me wrong I thought the characters were great, I just didn't think anyone know who they were. Then I found out that the ride had originally been called Rio del Tiempo, I was just about cruise through Mexico. That made sense to me. It's a right showing off the country, which is something that belong...

  Everyone needs some Disneyland tips these days. It's getting harder to avoid spending all day on your phone at in the park.  Genie+ , posted wait times, mobile orders, virtual queues, show times, park tickets, dining reservations, Photo-Pass, and customer service are all handled through the  Disneyland App . It's becoming a frequent complaint from park goers. And since the Disney apps are not well optimized for battery usage either, so many guests have to take battery packs to extend life. Some of it is unavoidable, but here are some tips you can use to reduce the time you spend on your phone. Prioritize experience over recording. There are Point of View (PoV) videos of full ride throughs and shows all over YouTube. You can find a video of just about anything you'd like to see, and it'll be higher quality than you can get. Focus on enjoying the experience, not recording it. Set alarms for Genie+. People using Genie+, the service that gets you into most of the Lightnin...

Disneyland's 4th of July Celebration isn't nearly as as big as it's Christmas or Halloween campaigns. Even Easter gets more attention than the 4th of July. On the 4th of July, there will be a single, 10 minute showing of Disney's Celebrate America! - A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky  at 9:30 PM. This show focuses on the stars and stripes. The celebration also comes with new treats. Disneyland's 4th of July offerings include star-spangled caramel apples, marshmallow wand, rice crispy, and cake pop. Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream at California Adventure will have a limited time Sundae. A few other items are available around the park and at Downton Disney. For more details, check out the Disney Parks blog post . As always, lots of Disneyland is designed to honor America. From the turn-of-the-century Main Street with its Flag Retreat and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln  to Frontierland's Mark Twain Riverboat and New Orleans Square's Antebellum décor. ...

Now that Genie+ and Lightning Lane have been up and running for the better part of a year, Disney has started to tweak the experience at Walt Disney World. Starting June 8th, guests will not be able to purchase Genie+ until the day of their visit. Disney has also stated that the number of Genie+ purchases available may be limited on a given day. Recently, they also updated the product description, which now states that guests should expect to get 2 or 3 Lightning Lanes in a day. This tells us that Disney is starting to recognize a need for change in the way Genie+ runs. This raised the question of whether you need Genie+ to be able to see the park in a day. To test it out, I set out to see all of Epcot without Genie+ in a single day. (Spoiler alert: I saw most of the park without it!) Summary To see how well I did, we’ll be comparing what I did to the list of  65 things to do at Epcot  from Disney World’s Attractions page. Let’s look at some numbers to summarize my day, and th...

 Maintenance is a critical part of ensuring the safety and longevity of Disney rides. Disney parks operate some of the most sophisticated and complex ride systems in the world, and keeping them running smoothly requires constant attention and care. Disney uses teams of engineers and technicians from early design through long-term maintenance to make sure that the rides run as well as possible. They are complex machines that need to be "always available." Maintenance on Disney rides is a multi-step process that involves daily inspections, routine maintenance, and major overhauls. Each ride is inspected every day before it opens to the public, and any issues are addressed immediately. Routine maintenance is also performed regularly to ensure that all components are working as intended and to prevent any potential problems. In addition to daily inspections and routine maintenance, Disney also conducts regular safety checks and major overhauls on its rides. Safety ch...

Star Tours is a popular attraction at Disney parks that takes guests on an immersive journey through the Star Wars universe. The ride has been a staple of Disney parks since its debut in 1987, but continues to grow and develop. Now, Disney has announced that more ride films will be added, coming in 2024 . Unfortunately, they have not yet announced any new missions for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, so we’ll have to rely on Star Tours for our new adventures. Origin The idea for Star Tours first came about in the early 1980s when George Lucas and Disney Imagineers began discussing the possibility of creating a Star Wars-themed ride. Lucas was intrigued by the idea of using the latest technology to create a unique and immersive experience for park guests. The ride was officially announced in 1985 and opened to the public in 1987 at Disneyland. It was an instant hit, with long lines and rave reviews from guests. The ride’s popularity led to the creation of additional Star Tours attract...

 Edison Square was a planned land at Disneyland that was never built. The area was intended to be a turn-of-the-century city block inspired by the inventions and innovations of Thomas Edison, the famed inventor and businessman. Some of it's planning was designed to mesh well with the then-planned Liberty Street, which turned into Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom. Although the land was never completed, it remains an interesting part of Disneyland history and a fascinating look at what could have been. The concept for Edison Square was first introduced in the 1950s, shortly after Disneyland opened. The land was designed to showcase the technological advancements of the early 20th century, with attractions and experiences centered around the inventions of Thomas Edison. The area was meant to be located between Main Street USA and Fantasyland, and would have featured a variety of shops, restaurants, and attractions. Some of the proposed attractions for Edison Square inc...