Disney’s New Year resolution is to get visitors to the fun faster. Managing over 30 million guests is no easy task but Disney is turning to technology to improve the experience at the “Happiest Place on Earth”.
It seems visitors are less patient than they once were, in this age of “instant everything”, and Disney is responding to restless visitors facing long lines for popular rides.
Beneath Cinderella Castle is their new Ops Center where employees watch color-coded screens to observe wait-time patterns and prevent gridlock before it happens. For example, those monitoring the Pirates of the Caribbean ride can immediately order the launch of more boats when demand turns from green to yellow. Video games have also been added to amuse waiting guests at Space Mountain and the Epcot Soarin’ ride.
In other locations, Disney characters are sent to entertain the lines to deflect attention from the longer-than-acceptable waits. If one area is swamped but a nearby “land” is underused, an impromptu miniparade appropriately called “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!” can be drafted in to divert the crowds to the less busy area.
Future developments are even more sci-fi as Disney experiments with wristbands which will not only charge purchases to a pre-registered credit card but will also have a memory to record your name and favourite Disney character who can make a beeline for fans, and will even greet them by name!
Disney may be 55 years old, but the imagineers still keep it ahead of the game and continue to make it every child’s must-see attraction.
by Gillian @ Luxique Luxury Hotels
Disneyland Paris is planning a themed adventure that will give youngsters the chance to become spies for a day.
Spy Camp – aimed at 8 to 16 year-olds – is scheduled to begin in October next year. There will be induction training in the morning, with more advanced exercises in the afternoon.
Participants will learn the secrets of the world of espionage from experienced trainers, and put their spy skills to the test in a series of specially-devised challenges ranging from code-breaking and surveillance to dodging laser alarms and a combat zone. Those who successfully complete the course will be recognised at a closing ceremony.
Spy Camp at Disneyland Paris is being organised by the UK-based specialist company Spy Games Ltd, which has been running spy-themed activities and events for children and adults since 2001.
The founder, Dave Thomas, a former SAS instructor and surveillance expert, said: “We’re hugely excited to be taking the Spy Camp experience to Disneyland Paris and pulling out all the stops to create a stunning new and immersive experience for children and young people.”
by Andy Moreton
If you’re planning a visit to France’s romantic and historic capital city, browse through Luxique’s unrivalled selection of luxury hotels in Paris.
The Disney company has given the media a first look at the construction of its $600 million (£389 million) beachside resort in Hawaii.
Aulani will sit on 21 acres of Oahu’s Leeward Coast in the Ko Olina development about an hour west of Waikiki. It will have 359 luxury hotel rooms, 481 time-share units, restaurants, a convention centre, a 15,000-square-foot spa and a massive water play area that includes a volcano tube slide and snorkel lagoon.
This is Disney’s first ‘stand-alone’ resort away from a theme park and analysts say it could serve as a model for future projects as the company diversifies and expands its vacation offerings.
The President of Disney’s time-share operation, Jim Lewis, said Hawaii made perfect sense with its rich culture, traditions, warm greetings, family values, friendships and storytelling. “Those are also terms synonymous with Disney,” he said. “And by the way, Hawaii also happens to be one of the most popular vacation destinations on the planet, and that’s the business we’re in.”
Aulani is scheduled to open in August 2011. Luxury hotel reservations will begin next month; time-share sales started four weeks ago.
by Andy Moreton
Check out Luxique’s range of luxury hotels in Honolulu, Maui and Hualalai.
Eurostar – which provides the train service under the Channel Tunnel between the UK and the rest of Europe – has been strongly criticised for the chaos caused by severe winter weather before Christmas.
Five trains broke down in the tunnel and 2,500 people were left for hours without food and water in carriages that were dark and unventilated.
An independent report says Eurostar had not properly prepared its trains for the heavy snow on the French side. The snow got under the trains’ winter cladding and then melted as they passed into the warmth of the tunnel. The resulting condensation caused electrical problems.
The report said Eurostar had no working plan to evacuate multiple broken-down trains. The result was that passengers were left in the dark – literally and figuratively, because they were given little or no information. One of the trains was carrying families back from Disneyland, Paris. Parents had to strip children to their underwear as the heat rose in the darkened carriages.
Eurostar’s Chief Executive, Richard Brown, said the company would be investing more than £30million ($47million) in order to implement all the review’s 21 recommendations.
“I recognise that we let down a considerable number of our passengers very badly with the disruption and breakdowns before Christmas, and, once again, I’d like to say, on behalf of Eurostar, I am very, very sorry,” he said.
by Andy Moreton
A number of visitors riding the monorail at Disney World in Florida on Sunday were trapped for about three hours because of a power failure.
The stranded passengers were either helped to safety by fire and rescue crews or their train was towed back into a nearby station.
“The monorail just shut down and came to a stop,” said a woman who was in one of the stranded cars. “The lights turned off, the air conditioner turned off, and then the pilot said: ‘We’re experiencing technical difficulties.’”
In a statement, the resort said passengers were never in danger. It apologised for the inconvenience and assured visitors that it was continuing to work actively to ensure their safety.
The monorail, which has 15 miles of track, connects the various theme parks and takes guests into the complex from the giant parking lots.
by Andy Moreton
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