Category: Other

There’s a new rumor circulating about the status of a future Disney Vacation Club property. The current concern is that Disney may have quietly canceled the construction of Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge.

The rumor began when some local Disney fans noticed grass seed arriving to the site. They also claim to have seen concrete and rebar being removed from the work site. Grass is typically added at the end of the construction and not during the middle of a construction project. It is also rather unusual if concrete and rebar are indeed removed. The DVC Lodge was currently in mid-construction earlier this year, so there’s question if the plans changed due to COVID-19. It would be surprising if the economic effects of the pandemic resulted in the cancellation of a DVC property. For now it’s just a rumor though.

For those looking to learn more about the plans for Reflections— A Disney Lakeside Lodge, the deluxe resort will house more than 900 rooms including DVC villas. It is currently being constructed on the former site of Disney’s River Country. Disney’s River Country was the very first waterpark at Walt Disney World. River Country opened in 1976 and closed permanently in 2005.

This hotel will be in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area which leads us to believe you will be able to utilize boat transportation to and from the Magic Kingdom when staying at this resort. It was originally stated that the anticipated completion date for the resort is 2022.

The new resort will be nature-inspired and nestled in between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Terri Schultz, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Disney Vacation Club, stated, “ This resort experience will be a celebration of Walt Disney’s lifelong love and respect for nature, with some fun and even surprising accommodation types that families will find irresistible.”

Photo Credit: Bioreconstruct

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Places to Stay, Resorts, DVC, DVC Resort, Reflections, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, River Country

When it comes to Disney World, the only constant is change! And due to the historic closures that started in mid-March, we anticipated some pretty BIG changes were on their way.

Some of these, however, completely blew our minds! Even WE didn’t see some of these changes coming! Let’s dive into the weirdness, shall we??

The NBA and MLS are calling Disney World home!

Perhaps the strangest change coming to Disney World is that for the next few months, they will be the home to two major sports leagues! Talk about worlds colliding!

The NBA is all but certain to resume their 2019-2020 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. In addition, the MLS is also making moves to play out the rest of their season at Disney World, too!

While the NBA moves in, the players and staff will occupy three Disney World Resort hotels. This would be for the duration of their season, which includes gameplay from July 31 through October 12.

Catch up on the news that the NBA will resume their season at Disney World!

The DVC Resorts are opening before the theme parks…and all the other resorts!

A common and understandable theory amongst fans was that Disney World would possibly reopen the theme parks first — before any resort hotels — to control crowd levels. With limited park capacity assured, keeping the resorts closed for the time being seemed like an obvious way to mitigate large amounts of visitors.

But it seems as though that guess was FAR off the mark!

Disney announced that their Disney Vacation Club resorts at Disney World, in addition to Fort Wilderness Lodge, would reopen on June 22, nearly three weeks ahead of the theme parks reopening.

The announcements surrounding Disney World’s hotels got even more surprising from there! We recently learned that Guests can modify their existing reservations (a first since Disney announced their reopening dates), but with a huge catch: they are required to rebook into a DVC Deluxe Villa, or a cabin at Fort Wilderness. As of this writing, new bookings for hotel reservations are still unavailable.

Once Guests arrive at the resorts, their stay will look very different from previous visits to Disney World. Resort hopping will not be an option, unless you have a confirmed dining reservation at the resort you’d like to visit. Other experiences and amenities will not be available initially, including spas, playgrounds, arcades, and character experiences.

Read more about the changes coming to Disney World Resort hotels here!

FastPass+ is temporarily suspended altogether.

One of the most shocking announcements that has been made in recent weeks is the total suspension of FastPass+, which resulted in all existing FastPass+ reservations being canceled.

While this announcement came as a surprise, once it was explained, we could see how this was a necessary decision! Disney mentioned in their announcement that the additional queue space will help in managing and maintaining the physical distancing necessary during this initial reopening period.

Additionally, the parks will be open to such a limited number of people, FastPass+ won’t really be necessary according to our calculations.

At this time we do not know how long FastPass+ will remain unavailable. This is definitely a major shift in how guests will be planning their days at the Disney World parks for the time being.

Read more about Disney’s decision to temporarily suspend FastPass+ here!

The Disney Dining Plan is temporarily suspended

In addition to the announcement that FastPass+ would be temporarily suspended, we also learned that the incredibly popular Disney Dining Plan would also be suspended for the time being.

This announcement came when we also learned that all existing Advance Dining Reservations were canceled. With limited capacity enforced at Disney’s restaurants, we weren’t too surprised to learn about those reservations needing to be reconfigured. Any guest who had an impacted reservation will have the ability to rebook at a later date.

To hear that the Disney Dining Plan is being completely halted was a shocker to us! We have no information at this time as to when the Dining Plan may resume.

Learn more about the suspension of the Disney Dining Plan here!

Extra Magic Hours are temporarily suspended

Another major announcement that surprised us quite a bit is that Extra Magic Hours will be temporarily suspended. This came as a shock to us because major theme parks like Universal Orlando are continuing some version of extended park hours for their hotel guests.

Extra Magic Hours are a great tool to disperse crowds, especially when it comes to those morning arrivals. It’s also at least one free perk Disney can still extend to their resort guests, who are seeing more and more amenities being suspended or limited ahead of the parks and resorts reopening. It’s unclear why Disney has made this decision to halt this resort perk for the time being.

Learn more about Disney’s decision to temporarily halt Extra Magic Hours here!

The theme parks are reopening sooner than we thought

Ultimately, the string of changes coming to Disney World that have surprised us are all within the context of the theme parks reopening. In the bigger picture, we are a bit surprised at how SOON the theme parks are reopening.

Part of our surprise comes from the fact that Disney World’s sister park, Disneyland, has been pretty quiet in their reopening plans. Just last week Disneyland announced their reopening timeline weeks after Disney World announced their plans.

When states are slow to reopen much smaller businesses like movie theaters and gyms, it seems as though something as huge as Disney World wouldn’t be so quick to open their doors again. However, what we have observed in recent weeks is that Disney is taking EVERY precaution to keep its Guests and Cast Members safe.

Catch up on many of the changes coming to Disney World when they reopen mid-July here!

It seems like every day there are new, surprising announcements ahead of the theme parks reopening! Disney certainly knows how to keep us all on our toes, and we are learning more and more about what the theme park experience will be like with every new headline! Keep an eye on DFB as we continue to provide you with the most up-to-date coverage on Disney World’s historic RE-opening!

See all the reopening details of Disney World here. 

What announcement has surprised YOU the most? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Featured, Walt Disney World, disney dining plan, Disney Vacation Club, Disney World, Disney World reopening, DVC, extra magic hours, FastPass+, mls disney world, NBA Disney World

In recognition of Pride Month 2020 and in honor of the Rainbow Disney Collection, Disney is donating $100,000 to GLSEN, a leading education organization working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ+ students.

Here is a little information about GLSEN…

GLSEN was founded by a group of teachers in 1990, we knew that educators play key roles in creating affirming learning environments for LGBTQ youth. But as well as activating supportive educators, we believe in centering and uplifting student-led movements, which have powered initiatives like the Day of Silence, Ally Week, and more.

GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. We are a national network of educators, students, and local GLSEN Chapters working to make this right a reality.

Our research and experience has shown that there are four major ways that schools can cultivate a safe and supportive environment for all of their students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney & Co, News, 000 to GLSEN, disney, Disney Donates, Disney donates $100, GLSEN, Rainbow Disney Collection

The King Arthur Carousel Minnie Main Attraction has been revealed! This is the 7th theme in this very popular collection. This collection is inspired by the Carousel at Disneyland, but also has elements of the one from Walt Disney World too.

King Arthur Carousel Minnie Main Attraction

Originally slated for a July release, it looks like this collection may be a bit postponed. On the shopDisney Minnie The Main Attraction page they have posted that the collection will be paused for the summer for series 6-12. Although we do not know when the collection will resume, or how it will resume. This is probably in response to how competitive the online purchases have been for the limited edition items on the website recently.

The collection will include Minnie Ears, a pin set, a mug, and a plush as usual with a Loungefly bag. The carousel collection’s Loungefly will be a backpack again! It looks like we won’t see many fanny packs for this series.

What do you think of the new King Arthur Carousel Minnie Main Attraction collection reveal, and postponing of the limited releases online?

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Shop, Disney Handbags and Accessories, Minnie Mouse Ears, carousel, King Arthur Carousel, King Arthur Carousel Minnie Main Attraction, Loungefly, minnie ears, Minnie Main Attraction

Get ready for a mad tea party, because Loungefly has revealed it’s newest collection! The new Alice In Wonderland Loungefly Collection features several of our favorite tea party guests, and even the host himself the Mad Hatter! These whimsical new bags debuted on Loungefly.com Monday, and quickly sold out! No worries though, they’ll be in stores very soon!

Alice In Wonderland Loungefly

In addition to the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and March Hare a new version the Cheshire Cat backpack was also introduced! The collection has two backpacks, one for Cheshire, and one for the Mad Hatter, a wallet featuring the March Hare, and a card holder of the Dormouse. We have seen the Cheshire Cat as a Loungefly backpack before, but this time around it got a fanciful upgrade. The bag has a new design with the way the stripes and face are positioned, and also a fluffy tail! Yup, the new Cheshire Cat bag will also feature a fluffy tail attached!

While the collection did sell out quickly on Loungefly.com, there are a few pieces still available for pre-order at Entertainment Earth. Plus the collection will also be heading to retail stores soon too!

What do you think of the new Alice In Wonderland Loungefly Collection?

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Shop, Disney Handbags and Accessories, Alice In Wonderland Loungefly, Cheshire Cat, Disney Backpacks, Disney Loungefly, Loungefly, Mad Hatter, Mad Tea Party, Mad Tea Party Loungefly