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http://www.thenerdelement.com/2021/01/14/big-disneyland-annual-pass-updates/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=big-disneyland-annual-pass-updates

Hi everyone! Today I have some interesting news about the annual passes at the Disneyland resort. So, let’s get started, shall we?! So, it appears that the annual pass holder program is coming to an end. Passholders will be contacted today and informed that they will be refunded the unused portion of their annual pass contract automatically. Back in October of 2020, we shared information that Tokyo Disneyland was ending its Passholder program due to limited park capacity and the difficulty of guaranteeing park reservations for passholders. At the time, we speculated that the same situation may need to happen at Disneyland as well.  Today, that suspicion was confirmed. 

Ken Potrock, Disneyland Resort President, is in the process of sharing the following letter with all current passholders. The letter explains the reason for the sudden change, addresses what a huge impact this will be for many, and hints that more information is yet to come. The truth is that Disneyland really wouldn’t have been able to uphold their end of the annual pass contract for an unknown number of months after the parks reopen due to expected drastic park capacity limitations. And while Disneyland hasn’t created their new ticket structure yet (they are busy sending surveys right now to figure out what guests want), they know that folks would rather have the guarantee of buying a ticket and gaining access than paying top dollar for an annual pass and not being guaranteed access for something they already paid for.  As a result of the high number of passholders and the low amount of expected park capacity, something drastic had to be done. But don’t despair just yet. Disneyland knows that many of you identify with the parks. It’s an important part of your lifestyle and the thought of not having access is probably causing some tears (or even anger) by those of you reading this. So Disneyland hopes to embrace the fans, continue to offer perks and opportunities, but have a new flexible ticketing structure that will allow Disneyland to control park access, and better serve guests in these difficult times.  What the exact ticketing structure will be isn’t finalized yet. But it will likely be incorporated into the new park reservation system.

What Current Annual Passholders Need to Know

First, and most importantly, you will automatically receive a prorated refund for the number of unused days on your annual pass. If you are curious how much that amount is, you’ll be able to visit Disneyland’s Passport Refund Page which will calculate your refund due.

But even with all Disneyland passes canceled, if you had an active park pass as of March 14th 2020, when the Disneyland Resort shut down, you will continue to receive some benefits. Passholder discounts will continue for the time being at Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street. AND from January 18th through February 25th passholders will receive 30% off at select locations in Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street Mondays through Thursdays (regular discounts still apply Friday through Sunday). 

Disney promises to make sure passholders are the first to hear about the new ticket program as soon as it has been finalized. We’ll be sure to break it down for you and explain the changes right here on Mice Chat as well.

That Disneyland Feeling

They had a few moments to chat with Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock about these changes. It was quite clear that he both understood and was concerned about how these changes would make passholders feel. On the one hand, Disney has done everything it could to grow the program over the decades and make passholders feel special, but current business demands would make delivering the same level of access impossible in an age of social distancing and extreme park capacity limitations.

Ken is committed to creating new ways to engage Disneyland’s best fans and make sure they continue to feel connected. Nothing is off the table right now as they try to figure out exactly what fans want, and how Disneyland can deliver it under very challenging circumstances. If you have ideas about things Disney can do to help you feel the Magic once the parks reopen, please be sure to share in the comments below. Wanting a Passholders program just isn’t possible at the moment, but there are surely things Disney can offer, clubs, special ticketed events, fan merchandise, etc. that will help keep that sense of connection with Walt’s original Disneyland. 

POLL

In October 2020, we ran a poll asking if the Passholders program should be ended as it has been in Tokyo to allow Disneyland to better control park capacity. We were shocked by not only the number of votes and views, but also by the results. 

At the time, over 72% of you voted for some version of ending the program. Only 19% said the program should not be ended or changed. 

Annual Passholders will be refunded and future membership offerings are in the works. Any Annual Passholders who had active passes as of March 14, 2020 will still be able to receive discounts on merchandise, food, and beverages at open locations in Downtown Disney District and Buena Vista Street. Annual Passholders receiving a refund will get a separate confirmation email. Guests who have the Premier Passport with access to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World will receive a refund for the Disneyland portion as the pass is discontinued. Disneyland will continue to offer annual passholder discounts throughout the Disneyland Resort. The Premier Passport will be canceled after March 31st, 2021, which is the pass type that offered access to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks.

Premier Passholders will be able to renew their passes as a Walt Disney World Resort Annual Pass through April 30th, 2021. Orange County opened their first Super POD mass vaccination facility at Disneyland’s Toy Story parking lot earlier this week and plans to vaccinate all residents in the county by July 4th.

Disneyland has not shared any additional information about the new membership program that will replace the Annual Pass in the future.  Disneyland President Ken Potrock has sent a letter to Annual Passholders by email, which has been included below:

    Dear Annual Passholder,

    For nearly four decades, our Annual Passport program has been an important part of connecting with some of our most valued Guests. We are incredibly honored and grateful for that legacy, and the memories and magical moments you have helped us create over the years.

    It’s because you’ve played such an important part in the history of the Disneyland Resort that I personally wanted to share this news with you. In the next several days, we will begin the process of issuing appropriate refunds for eligible Disneyland Resort Annual Passports and sunsetting the current Annual Passport program due to the continued uncertainty of the pandemic and limitations and expected restrictions around the reopening of our theme parks.

    I know that sunsetting the Annual Passport program will be disappointing to many of our Passholders who are just as anxious as we are to reopen our gates and welcome Guests back when the time is right. But we are also very excited about what’s ahead. We plan to use this time while we remain closed to develop new membership offerings that will utilize consumer insights to deliver choice, flexibility and value for our biggest fans. Once we have more information to share about future membership offerings, our Passholders will be the first to hear from us as we embark on this next chapter.

    Annual Passholders who held active Passports as of March 14, 2020 will continue to receive applicable discounts, based on their Passport type, on merchandise and food & beverages at select Downtown Disney District and Buena Vista Street locations, until new membership offerings are announced. As an added benefit, starting January 18 through February 25, 2021, these Passholders will receive a 30% discount on select merchandise at select locations in Downtown Disney District and Buena Vista Street, Monday through Thursday. For more details, visit Disneyland.com/APSpecialOffers. We also encourage you to stay connected with the Disneyland Annual Passholders Facebook page as we plan to continue our Annual Passport communication and digital content with more special opportunities to come, until new membership offerings are announced.

    A pro rata refund will be issued for your Passport, if you are entitled to one. We are committed to processing refunds as diligently and as quickly as possible. A separate confirmation email will be sent once any applicable pro rata refund has been processed. Please visit Disneyland.com/PassportRefund for more information.

    While I have not had the chance to engage with many of you since assuming my Disneyland role in May of last year, I do want to thank you for your understanding during this challenging and unprecedented time. We are incredibly optimistic about our bright future – and look forward to you being part of it.

    Again, thank you for your loyalty over the years and your continued support.

    Ken Potrock

    President

    Disneyland Resort

Some people think that it is very good news and bad news. I think this is actually pretty good to me because I think it could affect people who want to come to Disneyland have to pay tickets and it could possibly be less crowded and not too many people. I know that annual pass holders are not happy about this news, but like the president said, its exciting of what is ahead going forward. I also noted last time that Disneyland has opened up the vaccination site to give people some covid-19 vaccines which is also good news.

All of this annual pass holder news just came today!

So, what do you guys think about this news about Disneyland?!

I would like to hear some comments, opinions, thoughts, or concerns down below!

Feel free to ask me questions if you have any questions!

Stay tuned for more Disney updates.

The post Big Disneyland Annual Pass Updates! appeared first on The Nerd Element.

https://nerdist.com/article/perseverance-mars-rover-landing-animation/

NASA’s Perseverance rover, which will search for signs of life on Mars, is set to land on the Red Planet on February 18 of this year. On that date, the rover will descend onto the Martian surface, hopefully intact, and ready itself to sniff out aliens—or at least microbes. The landing, however, will require a perfect ballet of flight maneuvers, and is, as the below video of the plan shows, itself an event worth looking forward to.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) posted the animation of Perseverance’s landing to its YouTube channel. Other animations of the landing have already been circulating, although this one is special; mostly because it’s in 4K and has ridiculously lifelike detail.

The video shows the key events that make up the rover’s entry into the Martian atmosphere, its descent, and its landing. The entire event, NASA says, will only take seven minutes. And will see the car-sized spacecraft slow down from 12,100 mph at atmospheric entry, to 2 mph upon landing.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

During the landing, the heat shield on Perseverance’s lander (everything but the rover itself), will rise to 3,800 degrees °F. The lander will then deploy the largest and strongest supersonic parachute ever built.

After the lander deploys the parachute, it’ll proceed to detach its heat shield like a camera’s lens cap. The lander will then initiate propulsive thrusters, and lower the rover to the ground via a tether. (NASA refers to this as the “skycrane” maneuver, and is necessary to avoid Martian dust engulfing the rover.)

For anyone who wants to make sure to witness the event in somewhat real time—dang you, speed of light limit!—NASA will be live streaming the landing on February 18. And even though watching the lander from this POV will obviously not be possible, first-person video of the landing should be available. That is, if everything goes to plan, and no surprise Martian Jawas show up looking for ship parts.

Feature image: NASA/JPL-Caltech 

The post Watch Incredible Way ‘Perseverance’ Rover Will Land on Mars appeared first on Nerdist.

http://www.thenerdelement.com/2021/01/12/some-big-disney-updates-and-more/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=some-big-disney-updates-and-more

Hi everyone! Today I have some big Disney updates that I want to share with you all. So, let’s get started, shall we?! At Walt Disney World, Disney World is ending its Magical Express Bus Service starting on January 1, 2022. However, the complimentary service will still be available for new and existing reservations through the rest of the year.

Disney said the change was due to a “shift” in consumer options and preferences.

“Vacationers have more options to choose from that ever for transportation, including ride-share services that save time and offer more flexibility to go where they want, when they want,” Disney said in a blog post.

Other transportation option at Disney World, such as buses, monorails and the Disney Sky liner, will still be available to visitors. In its announcement, Disney didn’t provide an update for its Minnie Van shuttle service, which was suspended in March when the parks closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mears Transportation, which operates Magical Express, sent the following statement regarding Monday’s announcement.

“Walt Disney made us aware of their decision,” Mears spokesperson Roger Chapin said. “While we are disappointed Disney will no longer offer this service, we intend to continue offering transportation services between the airport and all area theme parks and hotels to meet the demand of our visitors now and in the future.”

In November Brightline revealed plans to build a station at Disney Springs for its near-high-speed rail service. The company is currently building a route that will connect Orlando International Airport and South Florida. 

Disney’s Magical Express service launched 15 years ago as a benefit for visitors staying at Disney World resort hotels. Walt Disney World plans to continue to in addition, Disney announced it will offer 30-minute early theme park entry for guests staying at a Disney hotel or select hotels. This new service replaces the Extra Magic Hours benefit that Disney previously offered before the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in it being put on hold.

Walt Disney World plans to continue to operate the service for new and existing reservations throughout 2021, according to Disney. In addition, Disney announced it will offer 30-minute early theme park entry for guests staying at a Disney hotel or select hotels. This new service replaces the Extra Magic Hours benefit that Disney previously offered before the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in it being put on hold.

“The new early theme park entry benefit helps us better spread visitation across all four theme parks, while providing added flexibility by giving guests extra early park time on each day of their vacation and in the park of their choosing,” said a Disney release.

Florida is considering using Disney World as vaccine site. The space of Disney World is appealing, and the company also has refrigerators that could be used to store the vaccine. “It seems like Walt Disney World has the technology to store vaccines and that is a really important dynamic, but also geographically Orange County sits between Polk and Osceola Counties and these are all counties of great need,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando.

Disney World confirmed that it has been in talks with state officials and said they are prepared to support vaccination efforts any way they can. The company said it’s focused on being a good community partner, but didn’t say whether it will become a vaccination site.

“At the end of the day it is smart for us to look at these types of institutions that might already have some of the vaccination structure in place, and Director Moskowitz mentioned some college campuses have this capacity, there are other companies that do,” Eskamani said.

The biggest difference between a potential vaccine site in Florida and the one at Disneyland in California has to do with current operations. Disneyland is still closed, while Disney World is open and operating at a limited capacity.

“There are 4.3 million people over the age of 65 in Florida. We need all hands-on deck if we are going to get these seniors populated and move on to the next population,” Eskamani said.

Over at Disneyland Resort, Disneyland is set to have the covid-19 vaccines that will be administered. It was named the Orange County vaccination site. Health officials will begin distributing COVID-19 vaccines this week at Disneyland, the Orange County Board of Supervisors said Monday, making the resort the first “super” vaccination site in the county.

In a statement Monday night, county supervisors said Disneyland will be one of five large “point-of-dispensing” sites that collectively would be able to vaccinate thousands of residents each day. Arrangements for the other sites are being finalized, the statement said.

Supervisor Doug Chaffee, whose district includes Disneyland, called such large-scale vaccination sites “absolutely critical in stopping this deadly virus.”

Health officials are expected to begin vaccinating people at Disneyland this week, the county said. Those earliest eligible for the vaccine are people in the state’s highest tier of priority, which includes workers in healthcare and long-term care facilities. Most people who are eligible for the vaccine will be contacted through their employer to set up an appointment, the county said. Walk-ups will not be accommodated at the Disneyland site, and recipients of the vaccine must show identification and proof of eligibility before being inoculated.

The vaccine’s efficient distribution depends “on everyone understanding where they fall in the phased, tiered plan,” the county’s statement said.

Residents were urged to visit the OC Health Care Agency’s website, www.covidvaccinefacts.com, to determine when they’d become eligible for the vaccine. Those who try to obtain one “ahead of schedule will overload the system,” the county said, “making it even more challenging to meet this urgent need.” Mass-vaccination sites have opened or will soon open in other parts of California, including at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, San Diego’s Petco Park, and Sacramento’s Cal Expo.

Orange County has a population of about 3.1 million. More than 190,000 people there have tested positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic’s start and more than 2,100 have died, according to county data. About 2,221 people remain hospitalized with the virus, more than 500 of whom are in intensive care units.

The county is currently vaccinating people who fall under Phase 1a — critical and health care workers as well as people 75 years and older. Those who meet the criteria must schedule an appointment to be vaccinated at a Super POD site, the county said.

“It’s important to vaccinate as many willing people as possible for Covid-19, and we need the space to do it,” county Supervisor Donald P. Wagner said in a statement. “I thank Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim for stepping up in the shared effort to give OC residents protection against the virus.” So, I think this is really good news for Disney fans because Disneyland has just stepped up today to open up the vaccination site possibly when Disneyland reopens. I am very happy that they are doing it because I told you all that I think that they should do the same as Walt Disney World. So, very good news!!!

All of this information came from the news I looked at today.

So, what do you guys think about the big Disney updates?!

I would like to hear some comments, opinions, thoughts, questions, reactions, or concerns down below!

Stay tuned for Disney updates.

The post Some Big Disney Updates and More! appeared first on The Nerd Element.

https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2021/01/12/noc-interview-adriyan-rae-and-daniel-kyri-of-nbcs-chicago-fire/

From renowned Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf (Law & Order series) and co-creator Derek Haas, the writer behind 3:10 to Yuma, comes season nine of the high-octane drama Chicago Fire, an edge-of-your-seat view look at the lives of everyday folks committed to some of America’s most demanding professions. The firefighters, rescue squad and paramedics […]