Disney shares Dole Whip recipe while theme parks remain closed

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- While its theme parks remain closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney has started sharing the recipes for some of their most popular snacks.After Disney Parks officials recently posted the recipe for churros, many fans made another request: They wanted to know how to make the famous Dole Whip.The frozen pineapple treat can usually be found in the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland.

It's a girl! Disney's Animal Kingdom welcomes baby porcupine

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Disney's Animal Kingdom has a new addition!In a news release, Disney officials said although the Walt Disney World is closed, it's animal care team is still working hard to make sure its animals are well taken care of.The new baby they're caring for is a prehensile-tailed porcupine.The news release said, "The baby, known as a porcupette, was born to mom, Peri, on Feb. 25.

'He suffered a lot:' California man who died from COVID-19 visited Disney World, Universal Studios

GLENDORA, Calif. -- A California man who died after testing positive for COVID-19 recently visited Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida, it was reported Thursday, March 19.In a Facebook post, family members of Jeffrey Ghazarian, 34, said he died Thursday morning at a Pasadena hospital after being hospitalized for several days, according to TMZ."He suffered a lot and put up a good fight," his sister stated, according to TMZ. "We will miss our Jeff every day, but we are thankful for all the fun, happy memories of the times we had together."According to his family, Ghazarian flew from Los Angeles to Orlando on March 2 for a work conference.

Disney characters say tourists inappropriately touched them

ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney World employees who portray Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck each filed police reports this month claiming they were inappropriately touched by tourists.The woman inside the Mickey Mouse costume went to the hospital with neck injuries caused by a grandmother patting the character's head, while the employees wearing the Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck costumes were groped by tourists, according to Orange County Sheriff's Office reports.The incidents come after a 51-year-old man was arrested in November after an employee portraying a Disney Princess told investigators he groped her breast while getting a photo taken.“Everyone should feel safe at work, and we encourage Cast Members to come forward in any uncomfortable situation,” said Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger in a statement. “We provide multiple resources to protect our Cast Members’ well-being, including on-site law enforcement officers who respond, and are available to them, if needed.”A 36-year-old woman who plays Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom told investigators a woman patted the head of her costume five times, causing it to slide down and strain her neck, the Orlando Sentinel reported.The employee told investigators she didn't believe the woman intentionally hurt her, and the sheriff’s office ruled the Dec. 4 incident a civil matter, not a criminal one.The tourist's family said they weren’t aware the employee had been taken to the hospital until they were contacted by the newspaper Thursday.Boone Scheer told the Sentinel his mother-in-law patted Mickey to prove to her nearly 2-year-old nervous grandson that he shouldn't be scared of the giant rodent.“She barely touched him,” said Scheer, adding his mother-in-law wouldn’t intentionally hurt Mickey Mouse. “It was very minimal.”The family was confused whether Disney has a no-touching rule for the costumed characters since they give high-fives and hugs to visitors, he said.Scheer said no one at the park said anything to them after until hours later when they tried to check into their Disney hotel.

Disney unveils Epcot transformation, new details about Star Wars hotel

Disney unveiled new details about its multi-year transformation of Epcot, its upcoming innovative Star Wars hotel, and several other attractions coming to its parks across the globe during a two-hour panel at the company's D23 Expo in Anaheim over the weekend.Details included updates on a Spider-Man ride coming to Disney California Adventure Park, a Moana attraction and an overhaul of the Epcot theme park in Florida.Here's a breakdown of the major announcements:A Starcruiser with fabulous views

Mom celebrates 1st day of school with solo trip to Disney World

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A Florida mother treated herself to a celebratory trip to Walt Disney World after dropping her children off for their first day back at school.Lisa DiNoto Glassner told WOFL she thought about just going home to take care of some laundry after dropping her boys off, "but I was like, you know what?

Watch: This Connecticut father's Disney World opera debut will blow you away

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Connecticut father and volunteer firefighter is becoming better known as the star of a viral video featuring him singing opera at Disney World.The video, posted to social media almost two weeks ago, has gotten close to 10,000 likes and over 2,000 retweets on Twitter."When I put it on Twitter, it shows every single tweet, so it’s just constant buzz, buzz, buzz," Justin Gigliello said.Gigliello was on an eight-day vacation at Disney World with his family.

Entire Disney collection to be made available on Disney+ streaming service this year

LOS ANGELES -- When Disney+ (pronounced “Disney Plus”) launches later this year, subscribers will have access to Disney’s entire library of movies.Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Friday the company’s entire library will be available on the new streaming platform, Polygon reported.Disney traditionally released films to home video, DVD and BluRay for a limited time before returning them to “the vault,” but with Disney+the entire collection will be at your fingertips.

Mother sues after crash killed 5 children heading to Disney

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The mother of one of the five children who died in a fiery wreck while on their way to Walt Disney World has filed a lawsuit.The Palm Beach Post reports that attorney Joseph Fried filed the lawsuit Thursday in Palm Beach County against trucker Steve Holland and others on behalf of the mother of 14-year-old Jeremiah Warren.Warren and the other children were in a church van from Louisiana on Jan. 3 when they were killed in the crash near Gainesville, Florida.

Retired robot's clothing stolen from Walt Disney World

ORLANDO, Fla. — Authorities say they're investigating the theft of clothing that belonged to a retired animatronic character at Walt Disney World.The Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday that the theft occurred in August.

15 people with minor injuries after Disney World bus crash

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Fifteen people have been taken to a hospital with minor injuries after two buses collided at Walt Disney World.The Florida Highway Patrol says one bus rear-ended another at a parking booth near Epcot Tuesday morning.

Man with ‘Trump 2020’ sign banned by Disney ... again

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Disney has banned Dion Cini from company properties for, once again, displaying pro-President Donald Trump messages, according to WFTV.Back in September, Cini lost his annual pass for unfurling a giant flag at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.The 49-year-old New Yorker told the local news station that he'd had it for 24 years.