Disney Dining Plan goes mobile
Walt Disney World is expanding its program that enables mobile pre-ordering for meals at select restaurants at its four theme parks and at Disney Springs. Folks using one of the three Disney Dining Plan options can now use the service, Disney announced Wednesday.
The system, introduced last year, allows visitors to place orders via the My Disney Experience smartphone app and bypass the line (and register) at the restaurant. Payments are automatically made through registered debit or charge cards and, now, to Disney Dining Plan accounts.
Included in the expansion are the Disney QuickService Dining Plan, the Disney Dining Plan and the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. The dining plans are available for guests staying in resorts on Disney World property and with the Magic Your Way vacation package.
Mobile ordering is available at 23 locations, ranging from Casey’s Corner at Magic Kingdom (which features eight participating eateries) to the Satu’li Canteen, which opened last year in Pandora — the World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The eligible restaurants are all counter-service restaurants. Mobile ordering also works at a single location at Disney Springs: D-Luxe Burger in the Town Center section of the entertainment complex. the company recently announced.
The park typically has a massive hiring campaign annually since attendance fluctuates and the water park is only open seasonally, a company spokesman said.
The open positions are for part-time and seasonal employees for jobs that include admissions, the attractions, food and beverage and retail, according to a job posting that encouraged applicants to apply online.
The Polk County attraction employs about 1,500 people although Merlin staffs additional employees at a Lake Wales production facility and a customer service center in Winter Haven.
Some theme parks have found tight competition to hire employees. In the industry, Walt Disney World recently offered hiring bonuses that ranged from $500 to $1,500 for bus drivers, housekeepers and lifeguards.
A Legoland spokesman said there were no plans to offer a bonus for the latest hiring spree but said the park’s pay is competitive and benefits include free admission to Merlin Entertainment’s attractions worldwide as well as discounts on retail, food and drinks.
In Central Florida, the United Kingdom-based Merlin operates attractions that include the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds Orlando and the Sea Life Orlando aquarium.
An Orlando company that designs and builds attractions has announced that construction is underway for a mixed-use development that will include the first Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in China.
ITEC Entertainment announced work has begun for what will be called Paradise Park in Harbin, China.
Beside Ripley, the complex will hold an indoor water park. Both attractions are expected 2019.
“Rainforest Bay Aqua Park — a multi-story indoor water park with pools and caverns, cabanas and multiple slides, zip lines and elevated activity gazebos — will cater to entire families of wet adventure seekers,” according to a news release from ITEC.
Recently, ITEC executives sat down with the Sentinel to discuss several projects they’re working on Asia, including a $1.8 billion amusement park in China, a castle that houses attractions on a mountain in Vietnam.
“At no time in the past did we have this much diversity of work in the building,” said the company’s president Bill Coan.
Experts have called pointed to Asia — especially China where a growing middle class is emerging — as a hot spot for the attractions industry.
New theme parks are driving growth in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and to open in North Africa, said a report released in late 2017 from the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
“Asia-Pacific and the Middle East/North Africa were the fastest-growing regions in 2016 with increases of 8.1 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, in both cases fueled by new parks,” the report said.
In November, Disney executives credited strong performances from its international parks — including Shanghai — for helping offset the losses from Hurricane Irma. The division’s revenues by 6 percent, to $4.7 billion, at Disney Parks and Resorts. Operating income jumped 7 percent to $746 million in the fourth quarter for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Universal Studios is also building a park in Beijing.