Ahoy, mateys! I’m Heather, and I’ll be bringing you the up and coming on all things Disney Cruise Line. Welcome back again this week. Let’s see what’s new in the DCL world!
What’s New
On Friday, the CDC extended the No Sail Order through September 30. And that brings us the latest in cruise cancellations. The newest cancelled sailings are: Disney Dream September 18, 2020 – 3-Night Bahamian
September 21, 2020 – 4-Night Bahamian
September 25, 2020 – 3-Night Bahamian
September 28, 2020 – 4-Night Bahamian Disney Fantasy September 19, 2020 – 5-Night Western Caribbean
September 24, 2020 – 5-Night Bahamian
September 29, 2020 – 4-Night Bahamian Disney Wonder
September 18, 2020 – 5-Night Baja
September 23, 2020 – 4-Night Baja
September 27, 2020 – 7-Night Mexican Riviera
The October 2, 2020 Disney Dream is also showing as being unbookable. Since the Dream is scheduled for a dry dock refurb this fall, the next bookable sailing on the Dream is November 1.
The Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany is due to shut down for 6 weeks – yet another result of COVID-19 difficulties. While there’s no official word, the expectation is that the completion of the Disney Wish will not meet the January 2022 expectation. Booooo! Bummer, but she will certainly be worth the wait!
Weekly Specials
There are some great new offers this week – including a number of options for travel between Christmas and the New Year! Most every week of the year, Disney Cruise Line releases special offers for Florida Residents and U.S. Military Personnel. There are also frequently IGT/OGT/VGT rates available for all guests to book. These offers are extremely limited in availability, and all come with certain restrictions, but the prices are amazing! You can book these online, on the phone, or with your travel agent. These are the current offers available this week:
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At Main Street Emporium at Magic Kingdom, we spotted some new art and back-to-school supplies. There are Disney Princess selections – with modern, upbeat messages like “Live Your Story” and “Make Waves”. Then there are Spider-Man and Toy Story 4 options.
30 Piece Art and Supplies Set $24.99
Pencil Case $14.99
10 Piece Art and Supplies Set $19.99
Disney Art Supplies and StationeryBelle Pencil CaseToy Story 4 Art Supplies and StationeryToy Story 4 Art Supplies and StationerySpider-Man Art Supplies CaseSequin Minnie Pencil CaseMermaid Pencil CaseMarvel Spider-Man Art Supplies KitMarvel Spider-Man 10 Piece Supplies KitDisney Princess Art Supplies CaseDisney Princess 10 Piece Supplies KitDisney Princess Art Supplies and StationeryBuzz Lightyear Art Supplies Case
You can find many of these items, and more art supplies at shopDisney, and some of them are on sale!
These art supply kits are a great gift even if you’re not heading back to school. Any child will appreciate having tools to bring out their creativity. Will you pick up any of these items for your little artist?
From our friends at touringplans.com Filed Under: Magic Kingdom, Merchandise, disney art supplies, disney princess, marvel merchandise, pixar merchandise
I’m loathe to say anything positive about a world health crisis, so let’s stipulate that almost every aspect of the Coronavirus pandemic is horrifying and heartbreaking. There is nothing good and everything awful about illness, loss of life, job loss, and forced isolation.
On a much more prosaic level, while theme parks are certainly not essential (unless, of course, they’re your employer), for fans of the parks, Disney World’s four-month shutdown has been a time of melancholy and worry. Would our beloved happy place be unrecognizable when it returned?
Now that the parks have reopened to all guests, there are a host of changes in place. Some are sad or frustrating, but not all the news is negative. There are some aspects of the COVID-era parks that, dare I say, make things better than “Before.” Here’s the silver lining in the new Walt Disney World.
Princess Anna takes a drive through newly reopened Epcot.
The parks are clean. Like really, really clean.
Though Disney has always had a reputation for cleanliness, any frequent park-goer has seen more than their fair share of overflowing trash cans and sticky toddlers licking handrails. Now that extra sanitation teams have been dispatched throughout the parks, the facade of clean has been replaced with actual clean. The goo is gone!
Standby lines are shorter.
With park capacity now limited to an estimated 1/4 to 1/3 of previous limits, the crowds of yesteryear have vanished. Since the parks have reopened, the longest posted wait we’ve seen for any attraction is about an hour (with most at far, far less than that). The days of four-hour attraction waits have vanished.
Smaller crowds means less overall congestion.
In addition to reduced attraction wait times, the crush of crowds in walkways is now gone as well. You can get from point A to point B without bobbing and weaving. We’ve also seen fewer strollers, wheelchairs, ECVs, and other conveyances in the parks recently, so you’re less likely to get your toes crushed by wayward steering.
Pooh explores the natural elements of Future World.
You can sleep later.
Gone are the days of the 5:00 a.m. wake-up call to get you up for morning Extra Magic Hours. Some parks are opening as late as mid-morning, with no early entry for resort guests. You could wake up at something approaching a normal hour, eat a leisurely breakfast, and still make it to the parks at opening time.
There’s more opportunity for spontaneity.
FastPasses are gone for the time being. This means that there’s no pressure to run across the park in a mad quest to get to the ride you made a reservation two months ago that you maybe aren’t really in the mood for right now. You can do what you want, when you want, without pressure to guess in advance where you’ll be. That said, a good touring plan can still help you make the best use of your time.
The characters are having more fun.
With standard wait-in-line character meet & greets now paused, Disney has sent some characters into the parks for lighthearted adventures. We’ve seen Winnie the Pooh trying to catch butterflies, Merida on horseback, Anna riding in a carriage, Donald & Daisy on a boat ride, small cavalcades of characters on single floats, and a host of other appearances. These are charming, unpredictable, and just plain fun.
Ducks on the river at Animal Kingdom.
There’s less waiting for food.
Mobile order is the order of the day now. Rather than standing in a line to request food, guests now primarily request food via the My Disney Experience app. You’ll get pinged when it’s ready!
The food might be better.
Touring Plans’ fearless leader Len Testa has been raving about the quality of Disney’s food since the resort has reopened. The chefs are now able to give each meal more attention rather than just working to dish out volume.
There are incredible photo opportunities.
If you like taking atmospheric photos of the parks, there has rarely been a better time to do so. Fewer guests means more chances to capture wide exterior shots with no pesky people in the background.
This is also one of the few times you’ll easily get on-ride photos with just your party. For example, Disney is only loading one party in each Test Track vehicle.
And if you’re into cosplay or Disney-bounding, the mask mandate means you can now work characters with face coverings into your repertoire. I wanna see those Vader masks in Batuu!
There are fewer points of sensory overload.
We’ve heard many guests complain about the pause on evening fireworks, but for travelers with sensory overload issues, the ceased fireworks are a boon. There’s less noise and vibration to unsettle nerves before bedtime. The slower pace overall makes meltdowns less likely.
You might save money.
Many of the Disney World “extras” such as backstage tours, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and the Halloween parties now on hold, there are simply fewer things to spend your money on. Additionally, with the parks less crowded, it’s likely you’ll be able to experience all the park attractions in a shorter amount of time, meaning that you might not need as many park days or hotel nights.
Though we certainly miss many aspects of pre-pandemic Disney World, in this brave new World, there might be an actual vacation within your vacation.
I’m loathe to say anything positive about a world health crisis, so let’s stipulate that almost every aspect of the Coronavirus pandemic is horrifying and heartbreaking. There is nothing good and everything awful about illness, loss of life, job loss, and forced isolation.
On a much more prosaic level, while theme parks are certainly not essential (unless, of course, they’re your employer), for fans of the parks, Disney World’s four-month shutdown has been a time of melancholy and worry. Would our beloved happy place be unrecognizable when it returned?
Now that the parks have reopened to all guests, there are a host of changes in place. Some are sad or frustrating, but not all the news is negative. There are some aspects of the COVID-era parks that, dare I say, make things better than “Before.” Here’s the silver lining in the new Walt Disney World.
Princess Anna takes a drive through newly reopened Epcot.
The parks are clean. Like really, really clean.
Though Disney has always had a reputation for cleanliness, any frequent park-goer has seen more than their fair share of overflowing trash cans and sticky toddlers licking handrails. Now that extra sanitation teams have been dispatched throughout the parks, the facade of clean has been replaced with actual clean. The goo is gone!
Standby lines are shorter.
With park capacity now limited to an estimated 1/4 to 1/3 of previous limits, the crowds of yesteryear have vanished. Since the parks have reopened, the longest posted wait we’ve seen for any attraction is about an hour (with most at far, far less than that). The days of four-hour attraction waits have vanished.
Smaller crowds means less overall congestion.
In addition to reduced attraction wait times, the crush of crowds in walkways is now gone as well. You can get from point A to point B without bobbing and weaving. We’ve also seen fewer strollers, wheelchairs, ECVs, and other conveyances in the parks recently, so you’re less likely to get your toes crushed by wayward steering.
Pooh explores the natural elements of Future World.
You can sleep later.
Gone are the days of the 5:00 a.m. wake-up call to get you up for morning Extra Magic Hours. Some parks are opening as late as mid-morning, with no early entry for resort guests. You could wake up at something approaching a normal hour, eat a leisurely breakfast, and still make it to the parks at opening time.
There’s more opportunity for spontaneity.
FastPasses are gone for the time being. This means that there’s no pressure to run across the park in a mad quest to get to the ride you made a reservation two months ago that you maybe aren’t really in the mood for right now. You can do what you want, when you want, without pressure to guess in advance where you’ll be. That said, a good touring plan can still help you make the best use of your time.
The characters are having more fun.
With standard wait-in-line character meet & greets now paused, Disney has sent some characters into the parks for lighthearted adventures. We’ve seen Winnie the Pooh trying to catch butterflies, Merida on horseback, Anna riding in a carriage, Donald & Daisy on a boat ride, small cavalcades of characters on single floats, and a host of other appearances. These are charming, unpredictable, and just plain fun.
Ducks on the river at Animal Kingdom.
There’s less waiting for food.
Mobile order is the order of the day now. Rather than standing in a line to request food, guests now primarily request food via the My Disney Experience app. You’ll get pinged when it’s ready!
The food might be better.
Touring Plans’ fearless leader Len Testa has been raving about the quality of Disney’s food since the resort has reopened. The chefs are now able to give each meal more attention rather than just working to dish out volume.
There are incredible photo opportunities.
If you like taking atmospheric photos of the parks, there has rarely been a better time to do so. Fewer guests means more chances to capture wide exterior shots with no pesky people in the background.
This is also one of the few times you’ll easily get on-ride photos with just your party. For example, Disney is only loading one party in each Test Track vehicle.
And if you’re into cosplay or Disney-bounding, the mask mandate means you can now work characters with face coverings into your repertoire. I wanna see those Vader masks in Batuu!
There are fewer points of sensory overload.
We’ve heard many guests complain about the pause on evening fireworks, but for travelers with sensory overload issues, the ceased fireworks are a boon. There’s less noise and vibration to unsettle nerves before bedtime. The slower pace overall makes meltdowns less likely.
You might save money.
Many of the Disney World “extras” such as backstage tours, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and the Halloween parties now on hold, there are simply fewer things to spend your money on. Additionally, with the parks less crowded, it’s likely you’ll be able to experience all the park attractions in a shorter amount of time, meaning that you might not need as many park days or hotel nights.
Though we certainly miss many aspects of pre-pandemic Disney World, in this brave new World, there might be an actual vacation within your vacation.
If you enjoy the exotic and vibrant look of the animated classic The Jungle Book then check out the new set of Dooney and Bourke bags available on shopDisney online. Each bag is full of bright colors and perfect depictions of beloved Jungle Book characters.
The Jungle Book Dooney and Bourke CollectionThe Jungle Book Dooney and Bourke Tote BagThe Jungle Book Dooney and Bourke WalletThe Jungle Book Dooney and Bourke Zip Satchel
Are you going to make everyone want to be like you with one of these bags?
