It’s time again for a hearty helping of Rope Drop [dot] Net News Nuggets! As you probably saw earlier this week, I have already posted about the Star War related news that came out of Celebration. Of course, the biggest news since the last post was that The Rock was on the Jungle Cruise!. Talk a “plus-ed” experience.

Now, on to the rest of the News Nuggets:

• Planet Hollywood Observatory to create outdoor, quick-service counter at Walt Disney World Resort – If the rumors are true that Plant Hollywood has their donkey-sauced burger pre-made, then they might as well try to offload them as kickin’ “quick service” options as well.
• First Look at Menu for Satu’li Canteen in Pandora—The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – The menu seems interesting, but even more interesting is the Mobile Ordering feature. I would hope that in 5 years, all Disney quick service restaurants have mobile ordering. Speaking of which…
• Full List of 15 Walt Disney World Restaurants That Will Offer Mobile Ordering Starting Soon – This has potential to be fantastic. I can’t even list the number of times that mobile ordering has made my Chick-Fil-A or Starbucks experience significantly better. I hope Disney’s implementation of this works just as well.
• First Listen: Sneak a Peek at Our ‘Happily Ever After’ Theme Song – Huh. The clip of this song isn’t exactly what I was hoping for from the new show. Maybe it’ll be better in context.
• Disney-Pixar’s “Cars 3” Nationwide Tour Kicks off at Disney Springs – Denise over at Mouse Steps has coverage of the “tour” the will be promoting the new movie. It include replicas of the cars, games, etc… Not really my thing, but I can see why people would really like it.
• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” screening, Headless Horseman meet-and-greet Fort Wilderness for Halloween – Huh. Interesting. Another thing not really up my alley, but interesting nonetheless.
• Bob Iger’s Contract Extended to July 2, 2019 – These kind of corporate maneuverings are not usually something I write about, but Iger has had an “interesting” relationship with the parks. To date, I would argue there have been some negatives (e.g., the trend of “up charge events”, lower staffing during certain periods), but we’re about to start on some big changes (e.g. Avatar, Star Wars, Toy Story), so it should be interesting.
• Virtual tours of Copper Creek Villas – I’ve previously said this is where Elyssa & I might buy DVC, but that was before I saw the maintenance dues.
• Registration Now Open for Annual Passholder Previews of Pandora: The World of AVATAR – If you’re an AP holder, you probably already got an email about this (and hopefully booked it…since it’s sold out.)
• Mission Space at Epcot Closing This Summer for Refurbishment – I wonder what’s going on. June 5th through July 31st is a pretty strange time for a refurb.
• ‘The Music of Pixar Live!’ Will Debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios This Summer – This seems like a summer holding area for crowds waiting for the night time entertainment when so much of the park is under construction.
• Learn From the Pros How to Decorate Your Own Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs – $130 is a lot to pay to decorate a cake (even if Amorette’s is pretty tasty.)
• Pandora – Everything You Need To Know – I’m going to leave this here, since I don’t do an “info dump” nuggets. This is a pretty comprehensive rundown from the TouringPlans gang.
• Disney testing Virtual Queues at its Walt Disney World water parks – Just like Volcano Bae!
• Portobello at Disney Springs Closing April 23 For Refurbishment – No surprise here. All previously existing restaurants at Disney Springs need to upgrade to compete with the new comers. The big surprise is that nothing has happened to Bongos yet.
• News: Liberty Tree Tavern Menu Updates (And Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake for DINNER!) – Does this mean all you care to enjoy ooey gooey toffee cake for dinner?
• STK Orlando now offers brunch, including The Ultimate Brunch For Two – The menu looks fine. That said, it stil takes place in STK (which isn’t really the environment Elyssa and I like when we’re at Disney).
• pictures from WDW Magic – Here are some
• Walt Disney World Gondola System Foundation Construction About to Begin – This is really going to maybe, possibly happen, huh?
• New My Disney Experience app Launches, Makes Planning Walt Disney World Vacations Even Easier – I like the concept, but the execution is funky. Standard app conventions say the menu is on the left and you use the “hamburger” icon to open it. This menu launched from the bottom is strange.
• Limited Spaces Remain for Member Event at Markham’s at Golden Oak – Yes, $130 is a lot for this event, but it would be cool to hang out in the Golden Oaks club house.
• Typhoon Lagoon Moonlight Magic registration now open for DVC Members with Reservations – If you’re DVC and staying at a DVC on June 23, 28 or July 5, 13, you can register now.
• Countdown to Pandora – The World of Avatar Continues with First Look at Na’vi Translator Device – Ignore the actual item, and check out the lack of Disney branding on it. It will be interesting to see how that concept applies throughout the land.
• Take A Behind-the-Scenes Look At The Making Of ‘Happily Ever After’ – I am really apprehensive about this show, and I still haven’t seen anything that eases that. I hope the final product ends up looking better than the stuff in the clips they’ve released.
• New Shirts from Star Wars: The Last Jedi to support UNICEF – Elyssa doesn’t love the look, but–at least–it’s for a good cause.
• Leaked (?) Photos from Inside Pandora – The World of Avatar – WDW News Today reposts photos for a guy who is MUCH braver than I am. (I would never blast my Twitter handle against something like that.)
• Tree of Life Awakenings Projection Show is Expanding to the Back of the Animal Kingdom Icon – This could be useful in spreading people throughout the park as it starts to be open later at night.
• Magic Kingdom Party Dates – 53 dates is a lot of dates.
• Light up your visit to the Epcot China Pavilion with a new photo prop from Disney PhotoPass Service – I like these little touches. They’re not particularly complicated, but they do make for some interesting new photos.
• Rumors of TRON Lightcycle Power Run Roller Coaster being Close to Green Light for Walt Disney World, Disneyland – The problem with rumors like this is that you never know if 10 different sites are citing the same “source,” are places like WDW New Today and Jim Hill actually hearing it from different places.
• Fittings & Fairings Gift Shop at Disney’s Yacht Club Temporarily Closed – Something to keep in mind for those staying at the Yacht Club (though there are plenty of options around Crescent Lake for similar things.)
• Ample Hills Creamery extending hours for the next month. – Ample Hills is going to be open until 11:00pm just in time for Elyssa’a and my arrival.
• Rumors of Groot and Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy Coming to The Studios – I hope this is better than the Doctor Strange thing. Also, I wish Disney World was getting Gamora.
• Sign Up Now For The runDisney Virtual Running Shorts Series – Elyssa and I do 1 (or more) runDisney events per year, and–I admit–I did this last year. I just wanted the medals (which I thought looked cool.) I’m not sure I’ll ever do it again (and definitely not for these medals.)
• Four Seasons now selling homes on Walt Disney World property starting at $5 million – But they’ll probably be like only 2-3 million on the resale market, right?
• Grab-and-Go Menu Available at Art Smith’s Homecomin’! – Something to keep in mind if you’re walking around Disney Springs. The to-go menu is available from the Shine Bar (which has a separate entrance you can use.)
• Dry weather limits certain activities at Disney World. – Something to keep in mind if you’ll be down there before Central Florida gets some rain.
• ‘Happily Ever After’ To Feature The Most Advanced Projection Mapping Tech Yet – Disney is really trying to talk up this show. I hope it’s a winner, since people are going to really expect something big if it’s going to replace Wishes.
• Club 33 announced for Walt Disney World, coming soon to 4 new locations – Something to aspire to, I guess. I wonder when I should put my name on the waiting list to have the opportunity to buy in about the time I’ll be able to afford it.
• Walt Disney World’s Uber-Like Transportation Service Slated to Begin Soon – Two Questions: (1) Will it be comparable in cost to Uber?, (2) Will Disney ban Uber & Lyft from property to encourage people to use it?
• Martha’s Vineyard Review at Disney’s Beach Club from easyWDW. – I don’t normally post reviews like this in the News Nuggets, but I found this review of Martha’s “Graveyard” to be interesting for it’s overall positive tone. At a minimum, Josh has a good tip that the beer selection is pretty decent.
• Walt Disney World Plans to Hire 1,000 New Cast Members This Spring – This seems a lot more promising than last year’s staff cuts, etc… (which were rumored to be a result of Shanghai Disney going over budget.)

That’s it for this edition of the News Nuggets! Let’s all celebrate by watching the Blue Angels fly over the Magic Kingdom: