Well, things have certainly picked up in the Disney news department, haven’t they?
Disney had its Q4 Earnings Call, Disney+ Day arrived, and the holidays have officially taken over Disney Parks all over the world. And in case you had trouble keeping up with all the news, we’ve got the five biggest Disney stories from the week.
So here’s what you might have missed in Disney news this week.
Disney’s Q4 Earnings Call
In the Q4 Earnings Call, we learned a few new things. First, Disney+ now has 18 million subscribers, up 1% from the subscriber count reported during the Q3 earnings call. It was also announced that the library for Disney+ will continue to expand and by Q4 of next year, the streaming service will have a much more robust schedule for its content.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek also spoke about Disney Genie+, He commented that the response to the new paid service at Disney World was “extremely positive” and remarked that nearly 1/3rd of guests have been adding Genie+ to their park tickets.
We also learned that attendance at Disney World has risen by double digits since the company’s third quarter. We also learned that park capacity is still limited in some way, although the company did not comment on how limited these capacities are.
However, Disney is still concerned about the ongoing inflation and is currently looking at ways to cut costs at the parks, including potentially reducing portion sizes at restaurants.
Reduced Food Portions, Genie+, and MORE Updates You Missed from Disney’s Earnings Call
Disney+ Day
We knew Disney+ Day was going to be off the hook, but Disney blew all our expectations out of the water. The company had already announced that Disney+ subscribers would get some special perks (including early entry) at Disney Parks today, but we also got some huge announcements about some upcoming shows on the streaming subscription service.
We got announcements about 12 upcoming Marvel shows. And we learned more details about other movies and series that will premiere on Disney+ soon.
ALL the Disney+ Announcements That Just Blew Up Your Twitter Feed
Obi-Wan Kenobi First Look
Also, in honor of Disney+ Day, Disney+ subscribers can watch a preview of one of the most anticipated series coming to the service, Obi-Wan Kenobi. And this is a first look that ONLY subscribers can view!
To view the sneak peek, log in to your Disney+ account and you’ll see the preview under the category “Disney+ Special Looks.”
You Need to Know WHERE to Look for the FIRST Preview of Disney+’s ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Series
Disney Very Merriest After Hours
We attended the very first Disney Very Merriest After Hours at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. We took a ton of photos and videos to share with our readers, too! And we even got to see Santa!
We also got to watch the debut of Mickey and Minnie’s Very Merry Memories Stage Show (and it was so much fun), as well as see the first parade at Disney World in over a year (plus Christmas fireworks!). And yes, we even checked out all the party-exclusive treats.
PHOTOS & VIDEOS: All the Holiday Entertainment at Disney Very Merriest After Hours!
A Star Wars VR Experience Is Headed To Disneyland
A new Star Wars virtual reality experience will debut soon in Disneyland. Guests visiting Downtown Disney will get a chance to preview the VR game Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge from November 21st, 2021 to January 5th, 2022.
The story follows your journey after your ship gets shot down by space pirates, after which you’ll explore Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, which as we know, is the setting for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Parks. Sounds like fun!
There’s a New ‘Star Wars’ Virtual Reality Experience Coming to Disneyland!
Those are the biggest Disney news stories of the week, but stick around because we’ll continue to cover all the big Disney news every day!
PHOTOS & VIDEOS: Dug and Darth Vader?! Special Characters Have Appeared in Disney World Today!
Which new upcoming Disney+ series or movie are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
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Just came back from a one week stay, and I have to say the food quality has slipped dramatically. I used to brag to my friends that most Disney park/resort food didn’t taste like park food. It was vey good. However, they have successfully brought it down to amusement park level. We noticed we actually ate much less this trip because it just wasn’t good. I even noticed the drastic slip in quality at places like Yachtsman and California Grill.
As far as Genie+ goes, we asked several cast members if it was popular and they all said that the Lightning Lanes were not seeing that many guests go through.
Well, Mr. Chapek does not hold the same vision of Walt Disney World as prior CEOs have; that has been obvious for some time now. The price increases are beyond ridiculous and the comment that there are many positive reviews of Genie+ is hard to believe. We just returned from a 13 day trip (DVC) to WDW and we did not speak to one person who was in favor of this additional cost. We waited in line for the rides and we noticed that there really weren’t many people going through the “Lightening Lanes”. We also spoke to many employees who told us about the overwhelming negative comments about Disney’s Lightening Lane and Pay to Go rides and they would know. They are in contact with the real people and not the “imaginary” people Mr. Chapek has been speaking too. So, I believe his comments are completely false. As far as commenting on the waistlines of other people, Christine attempting to explain away the raising of prices and providing smaller portions as doing Disney guests a favor (is this a “service” she is supplying to all of us for free?) RUDE……. We have been DVC members since 1997 and have usually visited WDW several times a year. All during that time we have never gotten the impression that Disney was blatantly increasing prices on everything while reducing the quality and quantity of their product, as they are doing now under this new CEO.
We’re also DVC and frankly have zero plans on going back to the parks. We use our points for cruises and other things now. Maybe at some point they’ll get a CEO that has vision of something other than quarterly reports.
Totally agree with using points elsewhere. we had annual passes left over from pre pandemic times. They will be ending soon and so will our trips to the parks.
Chapek is doing nothing more than manipulating the public through the media. You don’t ever have to actually tell the truth these days, you just tell the media what you want them to put out there for your benefit, and it’s a done deal. No one other than the well to do folk actually LIKE Genie+. BUT that doesn’t mean that they won’t suck it up and pay for it anyway. People like to be told what to do, so we should expect for it to stick around. The consumer has always been in control but don’t go thinking that people these days will know that.