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Ears the News with Richard

The new Starbucks at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be named "The Trolley Car Café."
Image courtesy Disney Travel Professionals


It will open in February 2015, the new Starbucks will open in the former L.A. Prop Cinema Storage store on the right side of Hollywood Blvd. The building is currently walled off for the remodel.

The Trolley Car Café will be the third in-park Disney operated location at Walt Disney World.


The Harmony Barber Shop on Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom is scheduled for a refurbishment in early 2015. It is expected to be closing on February 2 through to March 30 2015.

Valet parking at Downtown Disney will shift to a length of stay pricing structure.

The pricing will be as follows
.
     2 hours and under $10
     2 to 3 hours $15
     Over 3 hours $20

The previous pricing was a flat rate $15. You can find Downtown Disney valet parking on both the West Side, in front of Cirque du Soleil, and at the Marketplace, just outside World of Disney.


The operating hours of the Downtown Disney internal water taxi service have been expanded.

The boat service between the West Side, Pleasure Island and Marketplace now operates from 10:30 AM through to 2:00 AM, with the last guest pick-up at 1:30 AM.

This change affects only the internal water taxi, and does change the hours for the service to Port Orleans or the other Sassagoula routes which close at 11:30 PM.


“For The First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” has joined the ranks of FastPass+ attractions  at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The show, which takes place inside the park's Premiere Theater, had previously used a paper-ticketed return standby system, but it will now be available on FastPass+ via My Disney Experience. The Frozen Sing-Along joins the FastPass+ ranks as a Tier 2 grouped attraction.

Princess Anna and Queen Elsa join the Royal Historians of Arendelle for a retelling of the history of their kingdom amidst projections, lighting and special effects. Guests are invited to join in special sing-along moments from the film’s soundtrack. The 20-minute show will be presented multiple times each day.

Even though you just turned your calendars over to September and the highs are still in the mid-nineties, fall is in the air in the Magic Kingdom in the form of Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party.

The Boo to You parade has added Wreck it Ralph to the lineup this year. You can see the parade in its entirety in the video below from WDWMagic.com (if you can't see the video, click here to view it)





The Villains Mix and Mingle castle show has a couple of changes in place for this year's Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

The most notable change is the loss of the mingle aspect - the characters no longer appear in front of the castle for meet and greets after the show. Secondly, there are now only three shows each night instead of the usual four shows. Show times are 7:45 PM, 8:55 PM, 10:00 PM.

The characters from the show are now appearing at Club Villain in the Diamond Horseshoe, and for the premium offering Villains’ Sinister Soiree: A Wicked Takeover of Cinderella Castle.

You can view the show at the video below provided once again by WDWMagic (click here if video does not load).






And of course, no Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party would be complete without Hallowishes. The firework show takes place at 9:30 PM on party nights, and features 180 degree perimeter fireworks, surround the park with fireworks during the finale (click here for video)





Image courtesy Disney Parks Blog
 Disney has released two new limited edition MagicBands in time for the Halloween Season.

First up is a limited edition Haunted Mansion MagicBand, which sells for $24.95 plus tax. Featuring the wallpaper design from the Haunted Mansion, the band is on sale now at the Magic Kingdom.

The second MagicBand is a limited edition graphic design for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

 The edition is limited to 5000, and the MagicBand comes complete in a presentation box for $29.95 plus tax.

Both bands require an existing RFID ticket to be purchased. 
Image courtesy Disney Parks Blog





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