#epcot update august 2023

[samsdisneydiary]

Exclusive Monorail View: Epcot's Transformation Update August 2023 | Journey of Water

[cosmicwitchgod]

Disney wants wrongful death suit thrown out because widower bought an Epcot ticket and had Disney+

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

3 minute read

Updated 8:09 PM EDT, Wed August 14, 2024

"A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle: Disney is trying to get it thrown out of court and sent to arbitration — because he signed up for Disney+ years earlier.

Court documents show that the company is trying to get the $50,000 lawsuit tossed because the plaintiff, Jeffrey Piccolo, signed up for a one-month trial of the streaming service Disney+ in 2019, which requires trial users to arbitrate all disputes with the company.

Company lawyers also claim that because Piccolo used the Walt Disney Parks’ website to buy Epcot Center tickets, Disney is shielded from a lawsuit from the estate of Piccolo’s deceased wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, who died of a reaction to severe food allergies.

In a legal filing responding to Disney’s claims, Piccolo’s lawyer Brian Denney called Disney’s argument “preposterous” and said that the notion that signing up for a Disney+ free trial would bar a customer’s right to a jury trial “with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience.”

Walt Disney Parks and Resort is “explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever prosecuting a wrongful death case against it in front of a jury even if the case facts have nothing to with Disney+,” Denney wrote in court papers as a response.

Piccolo is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 pursuant to Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, as well as damages for mental pain and suffering, loss of companionship and protection, loss of income and medical and funeral expenses.

“We are deeply saddened by the family’s loss and understand their grief,” a Disney spokesperson said Wednesday. “Given that this restaurant is neither owned nor operated by Disney, we are merely defending ourselves against the plaintiff’s attorney’s attempt to include us in their lawsuit against the restaurant.”

In October 2023, Kanokporn Tangsuan, her husband Jeffrey Piccolo and Piccolo’s mother dined at Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, which is part of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida. They chose to eat at the restaurant, the lawsuit states, because they believed it would have proper safeguards against serving dairy and nuts to Tangsuan due to her allergies.

Signing up for Disney+ should shield the company from court trials, Disney said.

Signing up for Disney+ should shield the company from court trials, Disney said. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

The waiter guaranteed the couple that certain foods could be made allergen-free, which the two confirmed “several more times,” according to the lawsuit. She also ordered a vegan fritter, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd’s pie.

Although some of the food delivered lacked allergen-free flags, the waiter again assured them it was allergen free, but after dinner, Tangsuan, 42, went shopping in the Disney Springs area and began “suffering from a severe acute allergic reaction,” according to the lawsuit.

Despite self-administering an Epi-Pen, Tangsuan died from “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system,” the lawsuit said, attributing the information to a medical examiner’s investigation."

— CNN’s Ramishah Maruf and Maria Sole Campinoti contributed to this report.

[adisneydreamingdarling]

Wondering what time of the year to go to Disney? As a young girl we always went at Christmas time because it wasn't as busy as other times of the year. In the early 2010s I always took my daughter the months of Jan and Feb because again, it was the slowest time. ENTER 2020 that threw everything off! More recently, there is NO time that is a Disney "Downtime". The parks are as packed as ever. SO in order to plan more effectively, you should look at the season Calendar to get a good idea about when you think the large crows MAY be less or to make sure it's a group of people or event that will jive with your family.

These may help:

1. Crowd Control - For 2022 here is a general overview of a "crowd" predictor that may be helpful.

2. Official Disney Events -

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival — March 2 to July 4, 2022

Disney H2O Glow After hours run May 28 - Aug 27

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival — March 2 to July 4, 2022

Disney After Hours Boo Bash (Magic Kingdom) — August 10 to October 31 2022

Disney Very Merriest After Hours (Magic Kingdom) — November 8 to December 21 2022

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays (EPCOT) — November 26 to December 30 2022

Holiday Celebrations at Disney's Animal Kingdom — November 12 to December 30 2022

Holiday Celebrations at Disney's Hollywood Studios — November to December 2022

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts — Mid-January 14 - February 21 2023

3. Are you the running type? There are multiple Marathons at Disney...

- runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend — March 31 to April 3, 2022...this one has a different theme each year that incorporates a run and fun activities!

- Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend — Jan. 4 to 8, 2023...huge action packed weekend with fun runs, kids runs and distances.

- Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend — November 4 to 7, 2022....participants celebrate the run the next day at the food and wine festival!

- Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend — Feb. 23 to 26, 2023

3. Did you know there are "unoffical" themed days? Here are a few I found.

- "Dapper Days" are days that people dress their best to go to the parks. Think the "Main Street Trolley Show" at Magic Kingdom, a barbershop quartet or Kentucky Derby comes to Disney.

Sat April 30, 2022 EPCOT with Flower & Garden Festival!

Sun May 1, 2022 Disney's Hollywood Studios

- "Gay Days" - June 2 - June 5 2022

Gay Days at Disney is one of the biggest PRIDE celebrations in the country. There are a variety of activities ans events around the Orlando area. For a full listing check out this website

- Bats Day - You heard that right BATS like the flying, mysterious creature...they inspire the culture of this day. Inspired by Goth culture, think Disney meets Dracula but not in the Halloween sense. For more information check out the website...

There are some unoffical days that have been present in the past like Rave Day at Disneyland and Harry Potter Day at Magic Kingdom however, I haven't found any updates about those returning to the parks in 2022.

Disneyland - I don't post much about Disneyland BUT of course in typical LA style, Disneyland has a lot of events surrounding "Disney After Dark" which have themes as well and special GLO features/performances. As you would assume Disneyland has different events and different calendars than Disney World. You can find some of those listed here:

Hope this helps with your planning. There is ALWAYS more to do at the parks other than "just" a theme park. With the specialized days, if it's your thing...there is a cool sense of community.

#disneyland #disneylove #disneymagic #snowwhite #disneyig #magickingdom #disneyphoto #thehappiestplaceonearth #instadisney #disney #fun #trip #visit #myhappyplace #disneyparks #disneypic #cool #travelling #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #love #adventure #happy #disneylife #disneyxmas #disneyaddict #visiting #intags #disneyside #amazing

[theredheadwhoblogs]

LIFE UPDATE- first post of 2020

oh hai!

It’s been a while since I last blogged on this platform, sorry! Just thought I would give some updates:

- I have started University and am loving it so far: it’s challenging but rewarding

- I went on my very first ‘big’ solo trip to London in late August to see the Disney West End exhibition, and to FINALLY explore the Disney store down Oxford Street

- I went to see Toy Story 4 3 times at the cinema over the summer (something I am NOT ashamed of!)

I have also started to think about the realistic goals of this new decade, which is mainly things that I wanted to do for myself but to also push myself within my boundaries. One of the BIGGEST things is to travel solo.

Because I have reached my twenties (aka the best years of your life), I really want to push myself into proving myself that I can do way more than what I have already accomplished over the past couple of years. 

So I’m planning to go to Disney World on my own after I graduate (so possibly early 2023?). This is something that I have always thought about, even before I went on my first visit with mum and Alice (I wnt on Christmas week 2016, and was SUPER BUSY!). I am thinking about visiting in mid-January when the festival of the arts at Epcot will take place, and is also a quieter time of the year. this is still quite early (as I’m writing this the date is 9/2/2020), and so have a lot of saving to do, but I am positive that this will happen in reality and not just as a subconscious thought. 

I will update you further about this in the future.

[walks-the-ages]

Disney has asked a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this year regarding a woman who passed away due to anaphylaxis after a meal at Disney Springs, citing an arbitration waiver in the terms and conditions for Disney+. Disney Springs Wrongful Death Lawsuit Update Disney seeks to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit due to a Disney+ arbitration clause. According to Newsday, Disney has asked a Florida court to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Piccolo, husband of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at NYU Langone in New York City, who passed away after eating a meal at Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs in October 2023. Tangsuan had a severe dairy and nut allergy and informed the waitstaff at the restaurant of her dietary needs, and was “unequivocally assured” they could be accommodated. She ordered and ate the “Sure I’m Frittered” vegetarian broccoli and corn fritters, the “Scallop Forest” sea scallops appetizer, the “This Shepherd Went Vegan” entree, and a side of onion rings. After their meal, Piccolo returned to their hotel room, and Tangsuan and her mother-in-law continued to shop at Disney Springs. later that evening, Tangsuan had an acute allergic reaction in Planet Hollywood, self-administered an EpiPen, and was transported to a local hospital, where she later died. In the latest update for the Disney Springs wrongful death lawsuit, Disney cited legal language within the terms and conditions for Disney+, which “requires users to arbitrate all disputes with the company.” Disney claims Piccolo reportedly agreed to this in 2019 when signing up for a one-month free trial of the streaming service on his PlayStation console. In the May 31 motion filed to move the wrongful death lawsuit to arbitration, Disney attorneys said that the Disney+ subscriber agreement states that any dispute, except for small claims, “must be resolved by individual binding arbitration.” Disney says that similar language was agreed to by Piccolo when he used the My Disney Experience app to purchase tickets to visit EPCOT at Walt Disney World in September 2023. Tangsuan died before she and Piccolo could use the tickets. “Whether Piccolo actually reviewed the Disney terms is also immaterial,” the motion says. Arbitration is defined by the Legal Information Institute as “an alternative dispute resolution method where the parties in dispute agree to have their case heard by a qualified arbitrator out of court.” Attorneys for Piccolo called Disney’s latest motion “preposterous,” and that it’s “‘absurd’ to believe that the 153 million subscribers to the popular streaming service have waived all claims against the company and its affiliates because of language ‘buried’ within the terms and conditions,” according to Newsday. The notion that terns agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement. In that same August 2 filing, attorneys for Piccolo cite that Piccolo is serving as a plaintiff in this case on behalf of his wife and her estate, not as an individual, and that his wife’s estate did not exist at the time of him signing up for a free trial of Disney+. Piccolo’s attorneys claim that Disney is “attempting to enforce an agreement that it never signed against a party who also never signed.” “This argument borders on the surreal,” said Piccolo’s attorneys in the filing. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and their attorneys declined Newsday’s request for comment.

this is wild