Open hotel rooms with Disney app
Digital hotel keys are on their way to Walt Disney World, the resort says. The technology will allow guests to unlock their rooms using the My Disney Experience smartphone app.
The option is coming soon to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, according to the official Disney Parks Blog.
The digital key does not replace the MagicBand, which has been empowered to open hotel rooms, Disney says.
To use a digital key, visitors will activate the feature in the app on their check-in day.
Guests tap the “unlock door” button and then hold their phone against the door lock.
Digital hotel keys are a recent hospitality trend. In 2014, Starwood Hotels tested the technology in some W, Element, and Aloft Hotels using its preferred guest app. The program has expanded there and also appeared in establishments within the Hilton Hotels, Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels Group chains.
At Disney World, guests also will use digital keys to unlock the hotel’s entrance gate and common area doors (for fitness centers, swimming pools and the like).
Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices with the current version of the My Disney Experience app are required to use a digital key for room entry.
MagicBands will still work there, too, and will continue to be needed for its other uses, including theme-park entry, FastPass+ reservations and room charges.
The new ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ movie will be incorporated into the upcoming Star Wars: Galactic Nights event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park.
The film, a prequel to the original trilogy featuring young Han Solo and Chewbacca, debuts in theaters May 25, two days before the Walt Disney World after-hours event takes place.
Joonas Suotamo, who portrays Chewie in “Solo,” will make a special appearance at the event, according to the official Disney Parks Blog. In addition, moments from the film are being inserted into the Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away stage presentation and into Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, a fireworks and projection show.
Galactic Nights participants will be able to buy event-exclusive merchandise from the movie and a cupcake with a glowing Millennium Falcon.
Star Wars: Galactic Nights runs from 7 p.m. to midnight on May 27 and requires an event-specific ticket. It’s not included in the regular day admission to Hollywood Studios. Admission is $129 per person ($124 for ages 3-9).
For more details and tickets, call 407-934-7639 or go to disneyworld.com.
Groupon and Universal Orlando have entered an agreement in which the online deal-maker will offer theme-park tickets to customers.
The pricing will be similar to that found for advance purchases on Universal’s official website — generally about $20 off the gate price. Groupon will sell single-day tickets to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park as well as multiday passes to two or three attractions.
Groupon also has a limited-time admission offer that’s the equal of a fiveday pass for the price of a three-day ticket. Its cost, which includes the power to go between the two theme parks, is $284.99 ($274.99 for ages 3-9). A single-park version also is available.
Groupon currently sells tickets to SeaWorld Orlando, Holy Land Experience and several attractions along International Drive.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, an attraction on Orlando’s International Drive, is planning a giveaway promotion that coincides with the anniversary of the sinking of the famed cruise liner.
Visitors will have a chance to draw for free prizes including photo booth sessions, gift shop memorabilia, dinner show "golden tickets” and others between April 10 and April 13.
Taken back to April 1912, when the ship embarked on its fateful voyage, participants receive a replica boarding pass, assume the role of an actual passenger and follow a chronological journey through life on Titanic. The exhibition showcases authentic artifacts recovered from the wreck site in the North Atlantic as well as extensive room re-creations.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is presented by Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions Inc., which also developed the neighboring Extreme Dinosaurs: The Exhibition attraction.
Titanic exhibition tickets are $21.95 ($15.75 for ages 5 to 11). Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Tickets to the exhibit and to the attraction’s dinner show, held on Friday and Saturday evenings, are available via premierexhibitions.com or by calling 407-248-1166.