It’s been a tough year for everyone. And the Class of 2020 certainly deserves recognition for missing out on the traditional celebrations that normally coincide with graduating high school or college. To help the Class of 2020 celebrate their accomplishments, you may want to consider some of the merchandise available at Disney Springs and on shopDisney online.
At World of Disney we found Class of 2020 plush with Mickey, Minnie, and Stitch each in cap and gown regalia. The gown has theme park icons printed in a pattern on it, and a little diploma is in each character’s hand. Each one is priced at $21.99. We also found some Class of 2020 novelty socks for $14.99. The Class of 2020 mouse ears that were released in January are back in stock, too.
Class of 2020 Mickey Mouse SocksClass of 2020 Mickey Mouse PlushClass of 2020 Minnie Mouse PlushClass of 2020 Stitch Plush
Will you pick up any of these items for your favorite graduate?
A few weeks ago, the Disneyland Resort put forth its proposed reopening date for its theme parks – July 17. Disney submitted their plans to the local and Californian governments and unfortunately, I am the bearer of bad news. Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will now, officially, not be reopening on that date.
According to Disney:
We previously announced a proposed phased reopening of our theme parks for July 17, pending government approvals. We developed enhanced health and safety protocols for both cast and guests at Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort that have been approved, allow us to reopen in a responsible manner and bring our cast members back to work.
The state of California has now indicated that it will not issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4. Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials. Once we have a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date.
Our Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9 as previously announced with health and safety protocols for our cast members and guests. The opening of our Downtown Disney District has been previously approved in line with restaurant and retail openings throughout California. The Master Services Union, which represents our retail cast at this location, previously signed an agreement for members to return to work.
In order to reopen our theme parks we need to negotiate agreements with our unions to return employees to work. We have had positive discussions and are very pleased to have signed agreements from 20 union affiliates, including the Master Services Council, which represents more than 11,000 of our cast members. The signed agreement details plans that include enhanced safety protocols that will allow us to responsibly reopen, and get thousands of our cast members back to work.
We thank our cast and guests for their patience during the unprecedented time while we await approval from government officials.
When Disneyland Resort does get those final approvals, much like Walt Disney World Resort, due to theme park capacity being significantly limited to comply with governmental requirements and promote physical distancing, the Disneyland Resort will manage attendance through the Disney Park Pass reservation system that will require all guests, including Annual Passholders, to obtain a reservation for park entry in advance.
In addition, as of right now, the Walt Disney World Resort is still on track for July 11 and July 15 reopening dates.
A brand new store is coming to the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort. California Sole, which is formerly known as Sanuk, is a footwear location that features fresh, modern, and some of California’s most iconic shoe and sandal brands.
California Sole is slated to be a California-inspired, full-service footwear store. The staff is knowledgeable and can provide personalized service, according to Wayne Heck, owner of California Sole.
This new shop will feature Vans, Sanuk, OluKai, Reef and Havaianas, along with Stance socks, Pura Vida bracelets and other accessories.
As far as the new store is concerned, it’s goal is to replicate that carefree, California lifestyle. The new store will be light, bright and modern with iconic California artwork. Doors will stay open to appreciate the perfect weather.
While the Downtown Disney District will begin reopening on July 9, California Sole will not be opening on that date. Stay tuned for more information about an opening date.
Effective at 11:59 this evening, Thursday, June 24, 2020, travelers to the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut tri-state area, will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they have visited a state with a high incidence of COVID-19 cases.
So, you’re asking, how does this impact my Disney World trip? Well, if you don’t live in the tri-state area and you don’t have an upcoming visit to that area in the works, the new rule (announced by NY Governor Cuomo this afternoon) does not affect your Disney World visit. Move along, nothing to see here at this time.
However, if you are, like me, one of the millions of NY/NJ/CT residents who visit each year, this could be a problem.
The quarantine order will apply to people who have visited states which have a 10% COVID-19 positive test rate on a seven-day rolling average. According to Gov. Cuomo, as of today, that includes nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah, Texas, and Florida.
COVIDactnow.org map, July 24, 2020
So, if you live in NY/NJ/CT and you visit Florida, you’ll be required to quarantine at home for 14 days upon your return. For some folks, this will make little difference in their lives, but if, for example, you have a Disney trip planned toward the end of the summer and you want to head back to work or have your kids head back to school in the early fall, the two weeks stuck back at home could have a real negative impact on your life. A Disney vacation may not make sense if you have to restrict your movement when you get back home.
It’s worth noting that Florida has had a similar quarantine restriction for visitors from New York. Throughout the spring, New Yorkers traveling to Florida were asked to isolate for two weeks before going out. While there is still some confusion about the issue, we believe that the Florida rule for New Yorkers is set to expire on July 7. This means that it’s theoretically possible that you could go from New York to WDW today (as some of the WDW resorts are now open), have to quarantine at your hotel for two weeks, and then return back to NY and have to quarantine there for an additional two weeks. Sigh.
According to USA Today, if someone is caught in NY violating a quarantine rule, they could be subject to a $2,000 fine for the first offense.
As with everything else in the brave new world of Coronavirus, this is all a moving target. There is no specific date for the quarantine rule to end and the rules are subject to change.
If you live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, does this change your thinking about a Disney trip? Do you have a trip booked this summer? Will you still go? Let us know in the comments.
A brand new restaurant is coming to Disney Springs! Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew will of course, offer donuts and coffee and according to Disney it will be where happiness is glazed daily!
Guests will be able to find out more about this new dining establishment here, however as of right now, the site is pretty basic.
We’ll be sure to share more details about this new location when we learn them.
Disney also recently announced within the past week that Gideon’s Bakehouse will also be coming to Disney Springs later this fall.
