Senior Vice President of Communications Heather Hust Rivera Exits Walt Disney Company
Another of Bob Chapek’s Executives is exiting after almost 20 years at the Walt Disney Company, Heather Hust Rivera is exiting the company after nearly two decades according to Variety.
“I’m grateful for the incredible opportunities I have had in the past 17 years at Disney, working across multiple businesses with some of the industry’s hardest working, most talented, and amazingly creative people,” Hust Rivera said in a statement to Variety. “I wish the team nothing but the best, and look forward to what the next chapter holds.”
Hust Rivera served as a chief communications representative of Kareem Daniel, who stepped down as the chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution in late November.
Hust Rivera is the third high-ranking executive to leave Disney following Chapek’s departure, with the other being Chapek speechwriter Arthur Bochner.
As Senior Vice President, of Communications for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED), Heather Hust Rivera lead the team responsible for developing and implementing strategic programs to drive the segment’s business objectives and build a reputation through corporate communications, public relations, executive engagement, employee communications, business-to-business communications, and social responsibility.
In this role, Heather oversaw global communications for all of DMED, including The Walt Disney Company’s streaming services – Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and the international general entertainment offering, Star+; linear television channels, including ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic; ABC owned-stations; advertising sales; Disney Music Group; content licensing and distribution; and theatrical film distribution.
Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe is Right on Track for the 2025 Opening
Things are moving right along over at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe. According to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, he says the all-new theme park will open by the summer of 2025.
“We’re right on track, literally right on track,” Shell said. “We expect to open it in ’25.”
Shell also provided an update on the progress of Orlando’s Epic Universe saying that construction hadn’t been impacted by major supply chain issues and most of the construction is in the “vertical” phase.
“I was down there a couple of weeks ago and everything’s coming out of the ground,” Shell said. So all the infrastructure is in, a lot of the steel is in, and now it’s just a question of building it out.”
Shell added that Epic Universe’s arrival in Orlando is “perfect timing” amid high tourist demand and the opening of a new terminal at Orlando International Airport.
“There’s clearly a demand/supply imbalance, and I think we’re opening a theme park right at the right time,” Shell said.
Tron Lightcycle Run is Expected to Open with Virtual Queue and Lightning Lane but No Standby Line
Tron Lightcycle Run is expected to open with Virtual Queue and Lightning Lane access but no standby line. The attraction is set to open in the spring of 2023. Multiple sources are saying the ride will only have Virtual Queue and Lightning Lane when it opens.
It appears the queue system for Tron will be the same as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Epcot. Guests will be able to join the virtual queue via the My Disney Experience app at designated times during the day.
Individual Lightning Lane access will also be available. It is expected to cost between $15 and $20 but dynamic pricing means it will vary depending on the day and demand.
Demand for Tron Lightcycle Run is expected to be very high as we’ve been waiting for this attraction for years now. Virtual Queue will most likely fill up as soon as it opens and Lightning Lane will probably sell out just as fast.
Soft openings for the ride are expected to happen in March. Groups like Cast Members, Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club Members, Club 33 members, and D23 members will get to be some of the first to experience the attraction. The official opening date is rumored for April but Disney has not made any announcements.
Are you excited for Tron Lightcycle Run to open?
If you’d like to visit Disney World and experience the new ride, contact me today! I am a travel agent with Destinations to Travel, my services are complimentary, and I’d love to help you plan a magical vacation!
JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season performing at World Showcase Plaza. Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays is going strong. Walking around the World Showcase is festive and joyous, with Santa, La Bafana, Barn Santa, and so many more entertainment options. One of the best shows to get you in the holiday spirit is right as you enter World Showcase is Joyful! A Celebration of the Season. Below you can watch a few moments of the show.
JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season
Experience the joy of Christmas and Kwanzaa with the uplifting Gospel, R&B, and holiday songs of the JOYFUL! ensemble.
Performances begin at 1:15 PM, 2:20 PM, 3:25 PM, and 4:30 PM daily at World Showcase Plaza.
This year, a brand-new light show debuts at Spaceship Earth. Our friends at Walt Disney Imagineering say the light display will invoke some of the sights of winter, including snowflakes, northern lights, and warm candles.
Guests can also take a peaceful cruise through twinkling holiday light displays at Living with the Land – Glimmering Greenhouses. Topping off the Yuletide cheer, guests on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind can experience an all-new holiday remix with a Guardians twist on this intergalactic chase through space and time from Nov. 25 through Dec. 30.
EPCOT once again welcomes back the “Candlelight Processional,” a Disney Parks tradition. This heartwarming production takes place nightly at America Gardens Theatre and features celebrity narrators retelling the Christmas story accompanied by the Voices of Liberty a cappella ensemble, a 50-piece live orchestra with herald trumpets, and glorious massed choirs comprised of Disney cast members and local community groups.
Celebrity narrators making their debut this year include Gloria Estefan, Josh Gad, Simu Liu, Mariska Hargitay, Raúl Esparza, and Daymond John. To see the full lineup of artists, performance dates, and dining package availability, guests can visit EPCOTholidays.com.
Disney News Round-Up: Disney Banned Cameras on Space Mountain, Sesame Street Mourns Death of Longtime Star, Another Celebrity Death, Disney100 Merchandise. Plus lots of Disneyland news today. Welcome to the Round-Up.
Look Who’s Talking Co-Star John Travolta Pays Tribute to the Late Kirstie Alley
Last night we shared the news that Kirstie Alley passed away at 71 years young after battling her recently discovered cancer. Her family broke the news around 8 pm on Monday night.
We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce, and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” Alley’s children True and Lillie Parker wrote in a statement that was shared on Alley’s Twitter. “She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
“Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren, and her many animals, not to mention our eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did,” they added. “We thank you for your love and prayers and ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
Shortly after the news broke friend and co-star John Travolta shared a touching message on his Instagram account for Kirstie.
“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” Travolta’s caption reads. “I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”
John and Kirstie not only starred together in the 1989 film Look Who’s Talking but in two sequels, the 1990’s Look Who’s Talking Too and Look Who’s Talking Now.
She was best known for her roles as Rebecca Howe in Cheers, Mollie Ubriacco in the Look Who’s Talking film trilogy co-starring with John Travolta, and Veronica “Ronnie” Chase in Veronica’s Closet.
For Disney, she made a guest appearance as her Cheers character in a segment of the television special, Mickey’s 60th Birthday, along with the rest of the Cheers cast including Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, and Kelsey Grammer.She also portrayed Sarah Rennell in the thriller, Shoot to Kill and Katherine Lewis/Tooth Fairy in the Disney Television film, Toothless.
Dig in to some of the Foods from Disney California Adventure’s Festival of Holidays
The holiday season is in full swing at the Disneyland Resort and we recently got to try a LOT of the foods from Disney California Adventure’s Festival of Holidays. The festival runs through January 8, 2023, and features food and drinks from diverse cultures at 9 different Festival Marketplaces. Take a look at all of the food and beverages we enjoyed and what we thought about each one!
Chicken Tikka Masala with cardamom basmati rice, lemon raita, cilantro, and garlic naan crumble – $7.50. The flavors were good but this dish was a little too spicy for us. Even the one who loves spicy dishes in our group thought this was a bit too much. We gave it a 6/10.
Grandma’s Recipes
Blood Orange-Pom Limeade: Pomegranate and lime juices with cookie butter and blood orange syrups garnished with a lime wheel – $6.50. We didn’t get any cookie butter flavor in this drink but it was pretty good. A little too tart for me personally, but we give it a 7/10.
Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake: Layers of New York-style cheesecake, pumpkin gooey cake, and graham cracker topped with spiced Chantilly and a chocolate decoration – $7.00. This was like cheesecake and pumpkin pie in one! Delicious flavors and we would’ve gone back for more. 8/10 for this one.
Holiday Duets
Southern Mac ‘n Cheese: Cajun-style mac & cheese with andouille sausage and spiced panko crunch – $8.50. Delicious! It had a great spice but wasn’t overwhelming and the panko crunch was great! We gave it an 8/10.
Making Spirits Bright
Mickey Shaped Gingerbread Cookie – $6.50. Soft, tasty, big gingerbread cookie! Seriously, how do they get the gingerbread cookies so soft? We loved this cookie and gave it an 8.5/10.
Santa’s Milk & Cookies Hot Cocoa: Inspired by the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, whole milk with flavors of cookies & cream and white chocolate topped with flavored whipped cream – $6.50. This reminded us of white chocolate hot chocolate. We didn’t get the cookies & cream flavor and didn’t notice a flavored whipped cream. Not our favorite hot chocolate but was still good. 6.5/10.
Merry Mashups
Esquites Carnitas Mac & Cheese: Esquites-inspired mac & cheese with carnitas, salsa macha, spiced puffed rice, freeze-dried corn, and chopped cilantro – $8.00. I’d go back just for this mac & cheese if I could! Everything combined made it my favorite mac & cheese of the trip. It had great spice, fantastic flavors, and was just delicious! 8.5/10
Turkey Poutine: Layers of roasted turkey, sweet potato bites, cheese curds, and gravy topped with frosted cranberries – $8.00. Make sure you get a little bit of everything in each bite. The sweet potato bites are yummy, then add the cheese, turkey, a frosted cranberry, and a little bit of gravy…YUM! The only critique we had was to thicken the gravy a bit. 7.5/10
A Twist on Tradition
Curry Mac ‘n Cheese with cilantro oil and crispy garbanzos – $8.25. Not our favorite mac and cheese. The spice was a little overwhelming for the dish, and don’t eat the garbanzos on their own! We had someone almost choke from the spice. 6.5/10
Lox & Everything Bagel Nachos: Bagel chips, cream cheese, diced smoked salmon, everything spice, and mixture of onions, tomatoes, and capers – $8.50. We absolutely loved this dish but wished there was more mixture! We ended up with a couple of bagel chips left over with nothing to put on them. 9/10 for us.
Guava-Melon Lassi: Guava nectar, rock melon syrup, nonfat yogurt, and honey garnished with cinnamon whipped cream and honey-flavored cereal – $7.00. This was a light, very tasty drink. We especially liked the cinnamon whipped cream and honey cereal. We gave it an 8/10.
Visions of Sugarplums
Sweet Potato-stuffed Corn Muffin with red beans, rice, and green onions. This was a surprisingly delicious dish. The Cast Member gave us a great tip-crumble up the corn muffin and mix it in with the beans and rice. Everything is tasty on its own but mixing it all together really made the dish! We give it an 8/10.
Chocolate Bourbon-flavored Tart made with TWIX Cookie Bar Pieces: Layers of caramel and chocolate bourbon-flavored mousse made with TWIX Cookie Bar pieces. I was slightly disappointed with this tart. I was expecting more Twix pieces. The mouse was thick and pretty yummy but overall it just didn’t do it for me. My group didn’t agree so we compromised on a 7.5/10 for this one.
Winter Sliderland
Holiday Ham Slider with cranberry-bacon jam and Gruyère on a salt and pepper brioche bun – $9.00. Probably our favorite thing from the Festival Marketplaces! It was like a Thanksgiving dinner on a bun. We LOVED it! Definitely a 9.5/10.
Brisket Slider with smoked onions and horseradish ketchup on a pretzel roll – $9.00. This slider was very good but we didn’t have much ketchup on it. We decided it needed more ketchup or some kind of other sauce. We gave it a 7/10.
Cherry-Mango Punch: Cherry syrup, mango, and peach nectars with lemon juice garnished with a frozen peach – $6.50. A delicious and refreshing drink! Probably our favorite beverage at the Festival. 9/10 for this one.
We tried 16 of the items being offered during the Festival of Holidays. That’s only a small portion! If you want to try a lot of different things, purchase a Sip & Savor Pass. Each pass is $59 and gets you 8 food and/or beverage options (excluding alcoholic drinks) at the Festival Marketplaces and select restaurants at Disney California Adventure.
What food items are you looking forward to trying?
If you’d like to experience the Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure, contact me today! I am a travel agent with Destinations to Travel, my services are complimentary, and I’d love to help you plan a magical vacation!
Actress Kirstie Alley has died at the age of 71 after battling cancer, her family and her manager announced Monday night.
“We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” Alley’s children True and Lillie Parker wrote in a statement that was shared on Alley’s Twitter. “She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
“Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren, and her many animals, not to mention our eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did,” they added. “We thank you for your love and prayers and ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
She was best known for her roles as Rebecca Howe in Cheers, Mollie Ubriacco in the Look Who’s Talking film trilogy co-starring with John Travolta, and Veronica “Ronnie” Chase in Veronica’s Closet.
For Disney, she made a guest appearance as her Cheers character in a segment of the television special, Mickey’s 60th Birthday, along with the rest of the Cheers cast including Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, and Kelsey Grammer.
She also portrayed Sarah Rennell in the thriller, Shoot to Kill and Katherine Lewis/Tooth Fairy in the Disney Television film, Toothless.
Marvel’s Daredevil Born Again adds Sopranos Prequel Star Michael Gandolfini
Michael Gandolfini has been tapped for a key role in Marvel Studios’ long-awaited Disney+ series “Daredevil: Born Again.”
Michael Gandolfini’s breakout role came in 2021’s The Many Saints Of Newark, where he portrayed a younger version of Tony Soprano from the HBO series The Sopranos, a role made famous by his late father James Gandolfini.
For his first Marvel role, he’s working alongside Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, both of whom are reprising their roles from Netflix’s hit Daredevil TV show.
As Deadline outlines, Gandolfini’s character in the Marvel series is “being kept under wraps,” so who he’ll play in the world of Hell’s Kitchen remains a mystery for now. But Marvel fans can certainly guess in the meantime! A popular fan theory suggests he might play Richard Fisk, the son of Kingpin. Only time will tell what character he’ll play in the MCU.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Gandolfini is a friend or foe of Daredevil when Daredevil: Born Again releases in the spring of 2024.
Daredevil: Born Again was first announced at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, and will be 18 episodes long.
Bob McGrath, the actor and musician best known for playing the character Bob Johnson on the long-running children’s show Sesame Street, has passed away at age 90.
The actor’s family confirmed McGrath’s passing on his official Facebook page on Sunday, December 4, writing, “Our father, Bob McGrath, passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family.”
Rest in Peace to our Bob McGrath.
He was so vital in not only our education, but our earliest cognitive memories.
Bob McGrath joined the inaugural cast of “Sesame Street” in 1969 as Bob Johnson, the affable neighborhood music teacher, alongside three other human characters who sang, lived, worked and learned alongside their fluffy, fuzzy — and occasionally grouchy — Muppet counterparts.
Sesame Workshop shared a statement on social media mourning “a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years.”
“Bob embodied the melodies of Sesame Street like no one else, and his performances brought joy and wonder to generations of children around the world, whether teaching them the ABCs, the people in their neighborhood, or the simple joy of feeling music in their hearts,” the Workshop said on Twitter.
McGrath, a father to five children and a grandfather to eight, is survived by his wife Ann Sperry.
Donald Duck looks pretty Festive for the Holidays in Epcot
We love visiting Epcot during Festival of the Holidays! It’s a great time to see Holiday Storytellers and celebrate the season. Even Donald Duck can be seen in festive attire at the Mexico Pavilion!
Donald Duck is wearing a poncho featuring an embroidered poinsettia flower pattern. Poinsettias are one of our favorite flowers, so we love the backdrop and poncho design.
Donald will be meeting guests daily to the right of the Mexico Pyramid. He will be wearing his Christmas outfit through January 1st. Be sure to check the times guide to know when you can meet him!
This Holiday Shake from Beaches & Cream is worth the walk from Epcot. Why walk when you can take the Friendship Boats? Well, the answer is, you are gonna wanna walk the calories off after enjoying this festive treat.
The Holiday Shake is very eye pleasing. The red and green colors in the shake, the red velvet cake on top, the red and white sprinkles around the rim, and the beautifully done green Christmas tree with the yellow star on top all work so well together.
Holiday Shake: Cookie butter milkshake with caramel drizzle and holiday sprinkles, topped with a Christmas tree cupcake for $15.00 and available until December 31st, 2022.
I don’t know about you, but for me, the absolute best part about this time of year is all the yuletide items you can try!
There’s a reason we wait all year for them. All across the resorts, you can unwrap items that will light up your palate with flavors that are sugar, spice, and everything nice.
From the almost too cute to eat (almost) Snowman Chocolate Marshmallow Pie at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to the plant-based and gluten-friendly Santa’s Forest dessert at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and who can forget the classic Christmas Feast at multiple locations, everyone can taste their way through the holidays – one resort at a time.
