The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Extensive hands-on experience with Next.js and Vercel for high-traffic websites
• Creation and maintenance of headless WordPress installations
• Experience with all aspects of WordPress including the WordPress API
• Thorough understanding of the WordPress architecture to enable rapid troubleshooting of a variety of common and not-so-common issues

In addition to the above requirements, experience with any or all of the following would be a plus:

• Experience with the WordPress Media Library and third-party replacements
• Customization of the WordPress backend, to optimize workflows for writers and editors
• Identification of commercial plugins that could increase efficiency
• Development of bespoke WordPress plugins for specific use cases where commercial plugins do not exist
• WPEngine or other WordPress hosting services
• AdThrive, Google Ads, AdMob, and other advertising partners
• SEO and Google Search Console
• Zapier
• AWS
• PHP, CSS, HTML, and other languages

Salary is commensurate with experience and is negotiable.

Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@wdwnt.com.

The post WDWNT is Hiring a Next.js/WordPress Engineer appeared first on WDW News Today.

During our recent journey aboard Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Disney Wish, we splurged on the upcharge dinner experience at Enchanté. Like Remy aboard the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, Enchanté intends to deliver a service-focused, high-end tasting menu experience. The cuisine is contemporary French devised by Chef Arnaud Lallement and focuses on classic French ingredients and preparations, enhanced by modern presentations. Chef Lallement has earned three Michelin stars for his L’Assiette Champenoise restaurant in France. However, he has seemingly traded those Michelin stars (at least in principle) in order to participate in Enchanté, a venture that falls far short of a fine dining experience.

Interior

In terms of ambiance, Enchanté is themed after Lumiere, the candelabra from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

In fact, a not-so-hidden Lumiere is featured in the passageway into the dining area, which itself is decorated with a variety of candelabra.

Curiously, the theme of the restaurant is also inspired by champagne, with a central feature of the dining space being a chandelier that resembles champagne bubbles, and has the added (and likely unintentional) benefit of constantly shaking and vibrating as a result of transferred vibration through the ship.

Unfortunately, this same intense vibration has caused a number of the fittings in the dining space to have already fallen off during our cruise, exposing the unfinished bolts and fasteners that ostensibly held these decorative elements together. Somewhat surprising was our server’s decision to blame these missing features on prior guests who had allegedly removed them during test cruises. I guess it’s easier to blame the conduct of the guests on the media and cast test cruises than to question the design and craftsmanship of the newly minted Disney Wish.

The Experience

In earlier cruises, the dining experience at Enchanté was progressive in nature, meaning that guests moved from area to area in the dining room as the dinner unfolded. We had heard that guests were welcomed to the restaurant in the lounge area and seated at circular tables there for the amuse bouche and a glass of champagne to begin the meal, and then they moved into the main dining room for the rest of their tasting menu experience. In our case, though, we were informed that this progressive dinner model had already been scrapped such that we were left sitting at cocktail tables in the foyer of the restaurant for our entire tasting menu. Meanwhile, our allegedly intimate dining experience was “enhanced” by a parade of visitors taking photos with the champagne-themed chandelier directly next to us the entire time.

Here’s what the main dining room we never ate in looks like:

The Menu

In addition to a la carte options, there are two tasting menus guests are encouraged to order at Enchante. First, there is the “Passion” menu, which is a five-course meal for $125 per person, consisting of a selection of dishes listed on the a la carte menu.

Second, there is the “Collection,” which is a nine-course meal priced at $195 per person, which purports to be a “surprise” for diners that is based on the freshest and most seasonal ingredients available to the chef. There are also champagne and wine pairings available with the tasting menus, $140 per person for champagne, and $115 per person for wine.

We opted for the nine-course “Collection” menu in order to get a complete understanding of what Enchanté has to offer. Though listed as nine surprise courses that take advantage of seasonal and available ingredients, we found that this was little more than the five-course option somewhat randomly augmented by four additional dishes, most of which are already listed on the à la carte menu. As such, it was not so much of a “surprise” as a “there you go.” As a result, the courses and flavors never really made sense or told a comprehensive story in how they were coursed, but instead seemed to be a tasting menu with some additional bells and whistles.

The fact that a member of our party chose to add the wine pairing made this “there you go” approach all the more apparent. In our case, the wine pairing available was only based on the five-course Passion tasting menu and resulted in five sporadic pours of wines that arrived at equally sporadic times throughout the meal. In some cases, the wine was provided halfway or even three-quarters of the way through the dish that it was purportedly paired with. This is the sort of lapse in service that our party had never experienced aboard the Disney Cruise Line, and certainly, something that we would never hope to experience in a restaurant that purported to be as service-focused as Enchanté advertises itself to be.

Bread Service

We were provided with bread and butter for the table, both of which were lovely. We particularly enjoyed the smoked sea salt provided along with the butter.

Indeed, if the meal had culminated with bread and butter, it may have been for the best.

Collection Prix Fixe Menu

Amuse-Bouche

Tartlet trio

The amuse-bouche consisted of three pairs of small bites — an herb tartlet, a tartlet with shaved cheese curls, and a falafel bite. The herb tartlet was particularly sharp and not something that one would call an inspiring introduction to the tasting course.

The falafel with a citrus reduction was our favorite of the three but was utterly forgettable, and we’ve certainly had better falafel. Finally, the shaved cheese tartlet presented beautifully with soft curls of cheese that resembled the delicate finishing of a dessert. This, too, was fairly basic in flavor and tasted much like you would think bits of cheese in a small, crispy shell should taste.

Beeswax with Lemon Accompaniment

Next up was a crisp piece of beeswax and lemon accompaniment, topped with edible flowers as a garnish. The accompaniment was sort of soup-like; it was lemony and light. The beeswax was more like a cracker and did little to add to the experience.

Soil Grown Tomatoes

12-hour butter-poached tomato confit, bread and tomato vinaigrette, tomato water

We were next provided with the “soil-grown tomatoes” dish that is listed on the á la carte menu. This dish consists of three preparations of tomatoes: (1) a 12-hour butter-poached tomato “confit,” (2) a tomato vinaigrette served with a hearty slice of bread for dipping, and (3) a glass of tomato water served in stemware.

The butter-poached tomato, a classic French preparation, is where the lack of skill of the kitchen at Enchanté became truly apparent. What should be a tender, buttery explosion of savory tomato flavor was, in fact, tough, chewy, acidic, and generally awful. We were tremendously disappointed by this dish. The tomato vinaigrette was neither significantly different in its flavor nor much better in its preparation. It was instead a tomato soup-like dish, only far more acidic, and lacked the complexity that well-selected vinegar could add to the dish.

Finally, though, the tomato water proved a surprise highlight for the table. This savory, herbal flavor bomb is delightfully masked behind a nearly clear liquid, and we would have happily traded a multitude of courses for another glass. It was everything good about the best dill pickle, the best Bloody Mary, and the freshest bites of garden produce that you have ever experienced, all rolled into one sip. It was simple, fun, and genuinely good — definitely the best dish of the night.

Caviar

Smoked haddock, fondant potatoes

The next course was caviar on top of sour cream, vodka, chive, and onion base, topped with — yes, you guessed it — a warm potato sea foam. Admittedly, this dish was one of the better ones of the evening, combining caviar that was of sufficient quality with the familiar Crème Fraiche-style accompaniment. As our second foam of the evening, we began to question whether we had missed a memo as to the return of foam to fine dining restaurants from a decade ago.

Stone Crab Tartlet

Langoustine jelly

Continuing with the “tartlet” theme for the tasting menu, the next course was a stone crab tartlet covered in a langoustine jelly and topped with stone crab mayonnaise, edible flowers, and microgreens. This salute to new French cuisine circa 1995 simply didn’t make sense as a dish. The pastry base was tough and overcooked, the stone crabs — despite being a local ingredient for a ship that spends its time in the Caribbean — were of mediocre quality, and the langoustine jelly was, quite simply, inedible. The flavors and textures of this dish didn’t work and were not aided by the addition of a seemingly random sauce.

“In Homage to My Father”

Maine Lobster

Next, the dinner progressed to more substantial dishes, beginning with a dish titled “In Homage to My Father.” This is one of Chef Lallement’s more personal dishes, though judging by the quality of the lobster that was served, it’s apparent that the Chef may not actually like his father very much.

The dish consisted of an open lobster ravioli and a piece of lobster meat, again topped with microgreens and edible flowers. It was enhanced by the tableside addition of — you guessed it again — lobster stock foam. In this case, the ravioli was tough, bordering on inedible (if only they had asked the pasta-makers at Palo for a pointer or two). The lobster itself was shockingly bitter, having none of the sweet or bright seafood quality that one would expect from Maine lobster.

Wild Halibut

Onion confit and vermouth

A wild halibut dish was next. The fish was accompanied by “onion three ways,” including onion confit, an onion gratin, and a sprig of spring onion on top. It was completed with the tableside addition of a vermouth reduction.

The fish in this dish was exceptionally well cooked — tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. However, the dish overall was incredibly salty. Don’t get us wrong, we typically love salty flavors, but this one overwhelmed an otherwise nicely executed dish.

Squab Pigeon Fermiere

Puff pastry with dried tomato, foie gras, pigeon, and turnip relish

A squab pigeon fermiere was presented as our main course. This modern take on a rustic-style savory pastry pie included dried tomato, spinach, pancetta, foie gras, and pigeon inside a pastry shell, and was accompanied by turnip three ways. The turnip three ways was forgettable, and that makes it, hands down, the best part of this dish, since the rest was truly awful. As an aside, this table of diners has experienced squab, foie gras, and a number of other “exotic” ingredients before. While the waitstaff was eager to explain away certain flavors in this dish as “exotic,” “interesting,” and “not for everyone.” That was simply not the case here. Rather, what was presented in this squab pie was nearly impossible to choke down. The squab was gamey to the point of being bitter, the foie gras was of such middling quality that it presented an almost chemical aftertaste, and the spinach and tomato were dry and at times overpowering. Even if the ingredients here were good on their own (which they certainly were not), the flavors of the pie as a whole senselessly competed with one another in an unorchestrated fashion. This was the worst dish of the night.

Salad with Brisket

Fortunately, the truly random combination of ingredients that came next was a distraction, though not necessarily a pleasant one. We were presented with a dish consisting of approximately a tablespoon of braised beef topped with a random handful of greens covered in a champagne vinaigrette. The beef was akin to barbecue and was not altogether unpleasant, though the combination of it with an overdressed side salad made little sense. Thankfully, it was served in such a small quantity that one need not think about it for long.

In order to complete the “what the heck is this” portion of the meal, it was accompanied by what was described as Chinese bread with a mango puree, served on a separate plate. The bread was overtoasted and tough to the point of needing a knife to cut it, and the puree’s only purpose seemed to be to add a little bit of moisture and distraction from the rest of the dish. If you drunkenly stumbled into the kitchen in the middle of the night looking for a snack, this is what you might come up with.

Cheese Cart

Our next course consisted of a visit from the cheese cart. If you’ve been to Remy, you surely have fond memories of the cheese cart and its limitless array of delicious French cheeses. Enchanté’s take on the cheese course is not substantially different, though our service experience with the cheese cart left something to be desired.

In this case, minuscule crumbs of cheese were served up with a healthy dose of condescension. Each diner is permitted to select up to 6 different types of cheese, which are accompanied by a selection of dried fruits and honeycomb.

The cheeses themselves were predictably delicious, but the question from our server at the conclusion of the course (“Do you like French cheese now?”) fell predictably flat. It would be helpful in the future for Enchanté’s dining staff not to approach each diner with the assumption that he or she has lived under a rock prior to miraculously emerging for a voyage on the Disney Wish in order to experience French cheese for the first time.

Petit Fours

Coffee Tartlet, Lemon Dome, Olive Oil White Chocolate Dome, Raspberry Jelly Roll-up

We finally made it to dessert. Immediately preceding dessert, though, was a combination of petit fours served in round, basket-like plates.

These consisted of a coffee tartlet, a lemon dome, an olive oil white chocolate dome (with hidden Mickeys on the bottom), and a raspberry jelly roll-up.

All of the petit fours were well-flavored and a welcome relief.

Dessert

The pleasant upswing of the petit fours did not last long and did not prepare us for the dessert that was to come. Served in three parts on three separate plates were a combination of genuinely questionable flavors and terrible textures.

The main part of the dessert course was a honeycomb-flavored cake-like dish that was most reminiscent of Styrofoam. While the flavor was inoffensive, the texture was off-putting at best. The dish was enhanced by the addition of fresh raspberries, and a raspberry reduction served tableside. These were the sourest raspberries anyone at our table had ever tasted. Clearly, Enchanté is not procuring the finest raspberries to use in this dessert.

The next phase of dessert was a raspberry sorbet accompanied by our last dose of foam for the evening. The sorbet was tart but nevertheless served as a welcome reprieve from the jarringly sour raspberries.

Finally, the last component of dessert consisted of a hexagonal honeycomb-shaped base with a crispy rolled wafer on top, again garnished with edible flowers. This was truly the surprise of the evening, and not in a good way. What resembled a delightful honeycomb cookie was actually some sort of wet, thin layer of custard or mousse. Its flavor was equally thin and left us all wishing for the cookie that could have been.

Overall

Our takeaway is, quite simply, that there are better upcharge experiences available to guests aboard the Disney Wish than Enchanté presently provides. If this was your first foray into French cuisine or fine dining, it would most certainly be your last. The Walt Disney Company’s knack for making cuisine comfortable, approachable, elegant, and ultimately satisfying is, sadly, entirely absent here. Instead, the service and setting seemed deliberate in their attempt to render an elegant dining experience unpleasant. Even still, if the food was good, then we might consider a visit worthwhile. Here, however, in conception and execution, the overwhelming majority of the dishes fell meaningfully short of enjoyable, with some approaching genuinely inedible. Enchanté was simply disappointing.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post Enchanté on the Disney Wish is a Rare Disappointment for Disney Cruise Line’s Fine Dining appeared first on WDW News Today.

Here is the current event schedule:

July 7th, 2022

9:00 PM – 3-Hour Special WDW News Tonight*

Includes Liquid Magic, WDWNT: The Match Game, 1st Annual Theme Park Electric Scooter Rodeo, and More!

12:00 AM – WIGS Postshow

July 8th, 2022

8:30 AM – WDWNT: The Birthday Breakfast at Boma (Separate ticket purchase required)

11:00 AM – Join us at EPCOT for group rides and other fun!‡

• CORAL!!! Group ride on The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Don’t Touch The Cucumber Challenge on Living with the Land
• Count the Malfunctions on Journey into Imagination with Figment
• Cool off with Beverly at Club Cool
• Donde Esta Maintenance? Group ride on Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros
• Celebrate 15 years of the triangle version of Spaceship Earth group ride

6:00 PM – WIGS Ultra Exclusive Dinner Event

8:00 PM – The WDW News Today Podcast Reunion 

Includes Back to the Future – The Complete History of The Country Bear Jamboree, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” – Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, The Golden Age – The WDWNT Era, and More!

July 9th, 2022

1:00 PM – Nerd Alert Live! – Thor: Love and Thunder Roundtable Discussion
2:00 PM – An afternoon of fun & games, including:

• “Tony Party”
• Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics
• WDWNT: The Map Game
• Premiere of a new WIGS-Exclusive show hosted by Jason Diffendal

6:00 PM -The Roast of Nick LoCicero with Dinner**

8:00 PM – Tom Unplugged: The Stories We Can’t Air

Tom Corless shares “war stories” of the last 15 years regarding controversies, memorable moments, and more from the history of WDWNT. Will include a Q&A session as well.

July 10th, 2022

9:00 AM – Join us at Magic Kingdom for group rides and shows!‡

• “Last Chance to Splash” Splash Mountain group ride
• Group rides/shows on the PeopleMover, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
• Sonny Eclipse Appreciation Lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (~11:00 AM)
• #SaveTheJamboree at the Country Bear Jamboree

8:00 PM – ParksCenter

9:30 PM – WIGS Postshow & Farewell Party**

More to be added!

Registration for those to wish to attend in-person is available at events.WDWNT.com. Tickets for just the July 7th episode of WDW News Tonight are available at WDWNewsTonight.com.

If you can’t make it in person to our 15th Anniversary event in Celebration, Florida, we’ve got the ticket just for you! A ticket for the livestream, that is! For the low price of only $7.00, you’ll have access to the livestreams of most of the segments of the event! And for our WIGS Members, you’ll enjoy a $5.00 discount, making your cost only $2.00!

The schedule of live-streamed sessions are as follows:

July 8th, 2022
8:00 PM – The WDW News Today Podcast Reunion including Back to the Future – The Complete History of The Country Bear Jamboree, “The Good Bad and Ugly” of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, The Golden Age – The WDWNT Era, and More!

July 9th, 2022
1:00 PM – Nerd Alert Live! – Thor: Love and Thunder Roundtable Discussion
2:00 PM – An afternoon of fun, including “Tony Party”, Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics, WDWNT: The Map Game, and More!
4:00 PM – Premiere of new WIGS-Exclusive show hosted by Jason Diffendal
6:00 PM – The Roast of Nick LoCicero

Get your livestream access pass here: https://wdwnt.ticketspice.com/wdwnt-the-15th-anniversary

We hope you will join us for this momentous anniversary celebration!

The post Join Us In Person or Virtually for WDW News Today’s 15th Anniversary Celebration July 7-10, 2022 appeared first on WDW News Today.

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• 5 – 7 years of hands-on WordPress experience in a high-traffic environment.
• Thorough understanding of the WordPress architecture to enable rapid troubleshooting of a variety of common and not-so-common issues.
• Experience with the WordPress Media Library and third-party replacements.
• Customization of the WordPress backend, to optimize workflows for writers and editors.
• Identification of commercial plugins that could increase efficiency.
• Development of bespoke WordPress plugins for specific use cases where commercial plugins do not exist.

In addition to the above requirements, experience with any or all of the following would be a plus:

• WordPress API
• Headless WordPress installations
• SEO and Google Search Console
• AWS
• PHP, CSS, HTML, and other languages

Salary is commensurate with experience and is negotiable.

Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@wdwnt.com.

The post WDWNT is Hiring a Senior WordPress Engineer appeared first on WDW News Today.

Before You Go

Cabin Types, Amenities, and Pricing

There are three cabin types: Standard Cabin, Galaxy Class Suite, and Grand Captain Suite. The voyage price varies depending on the cabin type and number of guests.

Standard Cabin

For a full photo and video tour that explores all the details of the standard cabin, click here.

Galaxy Class Suite

We also took a full photo and video tour of the Galaxy Class Suite, which you can check out here. There are some spoilers for fun “Star Wars” elements within the cabin in this article.

Grand Captain Suite

Extras & Upcharges

One of the extra add-ons aboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is the special Captain’s Table add-on. This add-on started at $30 per person, plus tax, on one night, but went up to $50 per person in 2023.

Guests can also add experiences to their Batuu excursion, including building a droid at Droid Depot, building a custom lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop, or securing a reservation at Oga’s Cantina.

A private PhotoPass opportunity, the “CSL Portrait Experience,” is available for $399 and must be pre-booked.

Guests can also book an “Image Design” face painting session to turn them into an alien species.

Using Disney Vacation Club Points to Book a Stay

Disney Vacation Club members must book at least one person in their party using points. Two nights in a standard cabin will start at 295 points per adult. The exact points cost will go up depending on the day of the week, the time of year, and cabin type.

In November 2022, Disney Vacation Club Members began receiving e-mails offering 30% off original Points Chart values on select cruises. Bookings can be made with points or a combination of points and cash.

Dietary Restriction Consultation

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser guests with special dietary or allergy-friendly requests will need to visit the Crown of Corellia Dining Room between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the first day of their voyage for a consultation.

Pre-Purchase Your Star Wars Costumes

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser guests can purchase exclusive costumes and other items to be shipped to them prior to their cruise, so they can arrive “in-character” if they wish.

All the Characters You Can Meet on the Halcyon

Disney released a list of characters that guests can meet onboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Guests will be able to interact one-on-one with many of these characters as the story of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser unfolds.

Learn the Halcyon’s Backstory

“The Halcyon starcruiser is the jewel of the Chandrila Star Line. Onboard the 100-cabin Corellian MPO-1400 model starcruiser, you’ll voyage to the far reaches of the galaxy in legendary comfort and style. Recently refurbished and reoutfitted, the Starcruiser combines modern conveniences with the romance of the age of exploration.” ― Chandrila Star Line. Learn the ship’s full history in our article.

Check Out a Map of the Halcyon

The map will be available to guests on their “Datapad.” Guests have access to “decks” 4 – 7. Cabins are located on decks 4, 5, and 7. The atrium and most public areas are on deck 6.

Full Voyage Itinerary Example

The example itinerary shows when certain activities, meals, and more may take place. As it is just an example, the itinerary might be slightly different on your cruise. It will be available to guests on their “Datapad” prior to boarding and throughout their voyage.

Learn About Activities On Board

Disney released full descriptions of the activities available onboard the Halcyon, which include lightsaber training, bridge ops training, Sabacc lessons, and a costume fashion show.

Learn How to Use Your Exclusive Databand / MagicBand

Included with every Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyage is an exclusive MagicBand, which will be used as a “databand” during the immersive experience. Click here for a spoiler-free guide to show you what the band looks like and how to use it during your stay.

Datapad

Download the Play Disney Parks App to Access the Datapad

Guests can use the Play Disney Parks app on their personal phone to access the Datapad, but we were actually given a phone to use as the Datapad for the duration of our trip.

The Datapad Plays a Huge Role on Your Journey

The Datapad not only holds the trip’s itinerary and map but can also be used to interact with different areas of the ship and complete missions. You can read all about how to use it right here.

Arrival

Checking In at the Starcruiser Terminal

To get to the Starcruiser, you’ll follow directions to the Starcruiser Terminal. When you arrive, you will receive complimentary valet parking and crew members will handle your baggage to ensure its safe delivery to your cabin on the Halcyon.

Another crew member will get you swiftly checked in and set you up with MagicBands and Datapads.

For a full overview of the process, click here.

Security

Once you enter the terminal, you tap in with your MagicBand and go through security. Cast Members (in regular Disney Security Cast costumes to avoid confusion) go through your personal bags and direct you through the scanners.

Launch Pod Experience

Safety Video

Before boarding the launch pods, a safety video is played. It goes over the procedures in case of an emergency onboard the Halcyon. The video gives very clear examples of how to tell the difference between an actual emergency and an in-story “alert.”

The Launch Pod

The launch pod experience is short as the pod takes you up into space to dock at the Halcyon. Each pod holds approximately 18 people maximum, so it’s not just your party, but it wasn’t too crowded. Once it “docks,” the doors on the opposite side open directly into the Atrium, where crew members are waiting to greet you.

To see the full safety video and launch pod experience, click here.

Food and Drinks

Welcome Lunch Buffet

After checking in and settling in, it’s time for the Welcome Lunch Buffet in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room.

You can read about all of the options available and our review on all of the food here.

Dinner on Night 1: An Evening With Gaya

Dinner is also in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room. At dinner, you are treated to a performance by galactic superstar, Gaya.

You also have the option of dining at the Captain’s Table. The Captain’s Table is an upcharge experience that must be booked in advance. It costs $30 per person and includes six courses.

Day 2 Breakfast

The next morning, you can enjoy a breakfast buffet in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room.

The breakfast buffet blends inventive options with classic fare, such as waffles, fruit, and eggs.

Day 2 Lunch

For those who return hungry from Batuu or remain on the Halcyon, a lunch buffet is served in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room on day 2 of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

Cocktails at Sublight Lounge

Between the excursion to Batuu and dinner, guests are invited to cocktails in the Sublight Lounge.

We reviewed all of the cocktails and snacks unique to the out-of-this-world lounge. Please note, alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic specialty drinks are not included with your cruise but are available for an additional charge.

The “Krayt Reactor” cocktail for four was added later.

Cantina Chronicles

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser passengers can also participate in a drink tasting called Cantina Chronicles on the second day of their voyage.

Day 2 Dinner: “Taste Around The Galaxy”

Dinner on the second night of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is themed to a Taste Around the Galaxy, featuring the infamous blue shrimp. Check out our thoughts on each item served here.

This meal is served family-style with a fair bit of fanfare as each dish is introduced. You can purchase the Captain’s Table upgrade for this dinner as well, but you cannot purchase Captain’s Table for both dinners.

Sweets & Treats Buffet

Passengers can enjoy a Sweets & Treats buffet in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room before bed on their final night aboard the Halcyon.

Breakfast Buffet on Disembarkation Day

Day 3 onboard the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is departure day and much like Disney Cruise Line voyages, disembarkation is bright and early. However, there’s time for one last breakfast buffet at the Crown of Corellia Dining Room.

Some of the offerings are the same as on day 2, but there were some new intergalactic treats as well.

Activities

Missions & Reputation

Different characters will assign you missions and invite you to secret meetings during your voyage. Your “reputation” will grow depending on who you help. Read our spoiler-free guide to missions and reputation.

Mandatory Ship Muster

Like all cruises, your journey on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser includes a mandatory ship muster on the first afternoon. We were given important information, both for the reality of our stay and for the story set-up.

We gathered in the Atrium on Deck 6 just before the muster was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. You’ll meet many of the characters onboard the Halcyon and share a toast to your voyage with the other passengers.

Cruise Director’s Toast

The cruise director’s toast is hoasted by Lenka Mok at the end of your first night aboard the Halcyon, and a few twists and turns in the story might happen during it.

Lightsaber Training

Depending on your pre-assigned time slot, which can occur on either day one or two, you will then take part in Lightsaber Training.

The Lightsaber Training Pod is located on Deck 4 of the Halcyon. And your time slot can be found on the itinerary in the Datapad.

A Guide to Sector Set — Space Bingo

One of the activities on the first night of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is Sector Set, billed as a Halcyon-exclusive game featuring planet matching.

Bridge Training

Like Lightsaber Training, your Bridge Ops Training is pre-scheduled for either day one or two. When it comes to your assigned time slot, you’ll head to the bridge to learn how to operate and defend the Halcyon in Bridge Training.

Training simulations include Loaders (using droids to capture cargo of different sizes), Shields (rotating the shields to deflect incoming debris), Systems (repairing damage taken by the ship during maneuvers), and Weapons (firing on practice droid targets).

For an in-depth look at Bridge Ops Training, click here.

Transport to Batuu

On the second day, an excursion to the planet Batuu is scheduled. When it’s time to board the transport shuttle to Batuu, guests are directed to the transport dock.

Prior to boarding, the crew gives guests a special pin to wear (which cannot be replaced) on Batuu and then they board the infamous “box truck” to Batuu. Click here to see the full experience and themed interior of the shuttle.

The last shuttle from Batuu back to the Halcyon departs at 4:00 p.m., so don’t be late!

Shore Excursion to Batuu

Guests who stay at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser get a “shore excursion” to Batuu (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios) where they may complete missions on behalf of the Resistance or the First Order. It turns out these missions change if Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is down.

Whether or not guests complete missions, they can use experience redemptions to ride Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

Climate Simulator

Guests who get a little “cabin fever” and need a little fresh air onboard the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser can make a visit to the “climate simulator.”

Halcyon Celebration

The Halcyon Celebration, including a simulated fireworks spectacular, is held on the final night of the cruise after the story is wrapped up in a final battle.

Shopping

No Disney Cruise would be complete without exclusive merchandise, and the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is no exception. We’ve compiled a full list with prices of all merchandise available from the Chandrila Collection gift shop on the Halcyon.

The onboard Chandrila Collection may offer all your in-universe merchandise needs, but if you’re looking for Galactic Starcruiser-branded items, look no further than a kiosk outside the exit.

More Chandrila Star Line and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser branded items have been released in the months since opening.

Should You Book the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Before, During, or After a Walt Disney World Trip?

If you’re planning on visiting Florida for a Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyage, you might be wondering how to fit it into the rest of your Walt Disney World vacation. Should you book Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser for before, during, or after the rest of your trip? Read our thoughts here.

Keep checking back for more coverage as we keep updating this post.

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The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Extensive hands-on experience with all aspects of WordPress.
• Thorough understanding of the WordPress architecture to enable rapid troubleshooting of a variety of common and not-so-common issues.
• Experience with the WordPress Media Library and third-party replacements.
• Customization of the WordPress backend, to optimize workflows for writers and editors.
• Identification of commercial plugins that could increase efficiency.
• Development of bespoke WordPress plugins for specific use cases where commercial plugins do not exist.

In addition to the above requirements, experience with any or all of the following would be a plus:

• WordPress API
• Headless WordPress installations
• WPEngine or other WordPress hosting services
• AdThrive, Google Ads, AdMob, and other advertising partners
• SEO and Google Search Console
• Zapier
• AWS
• PHP, CSS, HTML, NodeJS, and other languages

Salary is commensurate with experience and is negotiable.

Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@wdwnt.com.

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Currently we are looking for people having experience with:

• Studio-based livestream broadcast productions, on YouTube and Vimeo platforms
• Video switching and production on the NewTek TriCaster platform
• Audio mixing on the Behringer X32 digital mixer
• Video camera operation
• Studio lighting with DMX controllers

A successful candidate will:

• Be self-motivated, and willing and able take on assignments with minimal direction
• Be extremely flexible and able to respond quickly to production issues and technical problems
• Be creative in designing solutions to unfamiliar and unexpected problems
• Be highly organized and able to multi-task
• Be able to work within a team to achieve a common goal quickly and efficiently

We have a specific need for audio, video, and production support during the live broadcasts of WDW News Tonight on Thursday nights. The required hours would be 6 PM to 11 PM in our studio in Celebration, Florida. Attendance at additional preparatory meetings and rehearsals in addition to the live broadcast will be required. Specific timing of these meetings will be coordinated once the team is assembled, but will likely be weekday evenings.

Depending on the candidate and role, these positions may be part-time employee positions, or independent contractor positions, and hours will vary. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

If you are interested in these positions, please fill out our application below. If you would like to also submit a resume for consideration with your application, please email it to jobs@wdwnt.com with your last name and “Studio productions” in the subject line. If you meet our initial qualifications, we will contact you for additional information.

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Tune in live at 8:00 PM EDT on our YouTube channel or watch below.

The post WATCH: Pressing Issues Tonight at 8PM – DVC Discussion Special Episode – The Panel Answers Viewer Questions About Anything Related to Disney Vacation Club appeared first on WDW News Today.

• The EPCOT Creations Shop
• Maskless Photos
• Disneyland Tickets on sale
• Blue Bayou serving alcohol
• Trader Sam removed
• Photopass watermarks

Tune in live at 8:00 PM EDT on our YouTube channel or watch below.

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Currently we are looking for people with experience in:

• All aspects of WordPress administration, management, and development, especially experience building headless WordPress sites
• Building single-purpose bespoke automation functionality in various programming languages on various platforms
• Integration of multiple platforms via APIs 

A successful candidate will:

• Be self-motivated, and willing and able take on assignments with minimal direction
• Be extremely flexible and able to respond quickly to meet the needs of the company
• Be creative in designing solutions to unfamiliar and unexpected problems
• Be highly organized and able to multi-task
• Be able to work within a team to achieve a common goal quickly and efficiently

Depending on the candidate and role, these positions may be full-time or part-time employee positions, or independent contractor positions. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

If you are interested in this position, please fill out our application below. If you would like to also submit a resume for consideration with your application, please email it to jobs@wdwnt.com with your last name and “Tech Team Application” in the subject line. If you meet our initial qualifications, we will contact you for additional information.

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Duties will include:

• Administrative duties including scheduling meetings, coordinating staff activities, working with vendors, providing customer service, etc.
• Office Manager duties including maintaining a clean and well-supplied office environment, working with landlords and maintenance personnel, office security, shipping and inventory of merchandise, etc.
• Executive Assistant tasks including making calls, sending emails, and maintaining a calendar on behalf of the CEO, booking travel, local shopping trips and errands, etc.
• Production Assistant responsibilities including scheduling on-air talent, creating props and other items for production use, writing scripts, etc.

A strong knowledge of and familiarity with the Walt Disney World Resort is required. Previous experience in most or all of the above areas is strongly preferred.

A successful candidate will:

• Be self-motivated, and willing and able take on assignments with minimal direction
• Possess excellent writing and communication skills
• Be extremely comfortable and personable interacting with staff, guests, vendors and others
• Be highly organized and able to multi-task
• Be able to recognize needs of the company and the staff and respond quickly to meet those needs

This position is a full-time employee position, not an independent contractor position, providing 30-40 hours per week or occasionally more. Evening and weekend availability is required. Compensation starts at $15 per hour and is commensurate with experience.

If you are interested in this position, please fill out our application below. If you would like to also submit a resume for consideration with your application, please email it to jobs@wdwnt.com with your last name and “Executive Assistant Application” in the subject line. If you meet our initial qualifications, we will contact you for additional information.

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• The Announced Expansion of the Disneyland Resort
• Disney is Hiring a Principal Fireworks Designer
• Facial Recognition at Park Entrances
• and more!

Tune in live at 8:00 PM EDT on our YouTube channel or watch below.

The post WATCH: Pressing Issues Tonight at 8PM – Disneyland Expansion, Fireworks Designer, Facial Recognition appeared first on WDW News Today.

• One of our panelists went to Touch of Disney and gives a full report
• Chapek claims Guest Satisfaction is up
• MobileMagic – a suitable replacement for MagicBands?
• Moana Tiki Room overlay concept art
• and more!

Tune in live at 8:00 PM EST on our YouTube channel or watch below.

The post WATCH: Pressing Issues Tonight at 8PM – Touch of Disney California Adventure, MobileMagic, Moana Tiki Room appeared first on WDW News Today.

• One of the panelists gives her take on EPCOT Food & Wine after a recent visit
• Universal Studios Hollywood leads the way on California Parks reopening
• MobileMagic – a suitable replacement for MagicBands?
• and more!

Tune in live at 8:00 PM EST on our YouTube channel or watch below.

The post WATCH: Pressing Issues Tonight at 8PM – Another Take on EPCOT Food & Wine, Cali Parks Reopening, MobileMagic Rollout appeared first on WDW News Today.

• That Giant Thing in World Showcase Lagoon that everyone’s talking about
• Grand Californian DVC Reopening in May
• The $75 DCA Hard-Ticket Event that includes no rides or attractions
• Universal’s Mardi Gras Festival and how it compares to EPCOT festivals
• and more!

Tune in live at 8:00 PM EST on our YouTube channel or watch below.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRIVd5Ci1bTQqJB_T4q_Jgg

The post WATCH: Pressing Issues Tonight at 8PM – Monstrosity in World Showcase Lagoon, DCA Hard Ticket Event, Universal’s Mardi Gras appeared first on WDW News Today.