A Blog About Disney Stuff

Select Disneyland Hotels Are Now Accepting New Reservations Starting August 1st

Post author By disneyfoodblog.com
Post date July 7, 2020

Last month, Disney announced its proposal to reopen Downtown Disney on July 9th, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure on July 17th, and select hotels on July 23rd.

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland

And while Downtown Disney will be moving forward with its plans to welcome back guests starting this Thursday, the other Disneyland Resort reopenings have been delayed.

Since it is unknown when Disney’s Californian Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier Resort will reopen, we chatted with a Disneyland Resort Cast Member who confirmed these hotels are no longer accepting new bookings for the month of July. The earliest new reservation you can now make is August 1st. It is also still unknown when the Disneyland Hotel will reopen.

Screenshot From Chat with Disneyland Resort Cast Member

The Cast Member also informed us that the standard reservation cancellation policy has been re-instated.

Screenshot From Chat with Disneyland Resort Cast Member

Previously, the policy stated Disney would waive cancellation fees through July 22nd. Now the policy says they will work with guests that may have been impacted by the closure with no specific date listed. As of today, here’s how Disneyland Resort’s cancellation fee policy now reads on its website.

Screenshot From Disneyland’s Website

The friendly Cast Member also informed us it is still unknown at this time when Disneyland Resort’s theme parks and hotels will reopen. We’ll continue to keep an eye on Disneyland’s homepage for the most up-to-date information regarding Disneyland’s phased reopening and we’ll let you know as soon as Disneyland releases more information soon!

Are you thinking about going to Disneyland this summer? Let us know if you’re hoping the theme parks and resorts will be reopening soon in the comments below.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: disney california adventure, Disney News, Disneyland, Disneyland Column, Disneyland Resort, Featured, Grand Californian Resort, Paradise Pier Hotel, august 1st, cancellation policy, Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian Hotel, hotels, pardise pier resort, reopening, theme parks

Tags august 1st, Cancellation Policy, Disney California Adventure, Disney News, disneyland, Disneyland Column, disneyland hotel, Disneyland Resort, Featured, Grand Californian Hotel, Grand Californian Resort, hotels, Paradise Pier Hotel, pardise pier resort, reopening, theme parks

Disney Parks

Here’s What It’s Like to Ride the Monorail in a Reopened Disney World!

Post author By disneyfoodblog.com
Post date July 7, 2020

This is a big week for Disney fans as Walt Disney World is preparing for its phased reopening of the Resort’s four theme parks which begins this Saturday, July 11th with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, followed by EPCOT and Hollywood Studios on July 15th.

Monorail

One big topic we’ve been exploring is what getting around the property will look like. We’ve taken a look at buses with the recent reopening of select Resort hotels, but what will it be like to ride the Disney Skyliner, the boats, and (of course) the Monorail? Well, we took our first cruise on a reopened Monorail today (with thanks to a friend who invited us to a Cast Member preview which is currently taking place) and we’re here to tell you what it was like!

We took the Monorail from the Transportation and Ticket Center to Magic Kingdom. The Transportation and Ticket Center (or TTC, for short) serves to offer parking for Magic Kingdom guests in addition to transportation options to the park itself. (The picture below, just for reference, was taken during a previous visit.)

Monorail Station at Walt Disney World Ticket and Transportation Center

It’s worth noting that the Tram vehicles — which guests can ride from the parking lots to the TTC in order to shorten the walk — were not in operation this morning. However, we’d like to remind that today is a cast member preview, so things may work differently when the parks officially reopen. (P.S. Ferry Boat transportation was also available.)

Approaching the Monorail station, numbers are placed on the ground, giving guests the ability to easily spot where they may stand in order to keep a safe distance from other groups. (We’d like to thank @aleyafromdisney on Instagram for sharing the picture below with us!)

Physical Distancing Stickers

Number signage is also put in use as guests await the arrival of the next Monorail to carry them along the “Highway in the Sky” that leads to the Magic Kingdom.

Monorail stickers

A cast member gave us a number to stand on prior to boarding, which helped not only with traffic flow but also with the ultimate purpose of dispersing guests — keeping appropriate distancing in mind — throughout the cars themselves.

Cars are now split with physical distancing barriers, and our car was limited to us and one other party of four.

Monorail partition

Overall, it was nice to ride along the “Highway in the Sky” once more. We’d like to state again that, because today was a Cast Member preview, things may change when Magic Kingdom reopens to guests this weekend. So be sure to stay tuned to DFB this week for all of the HUGE new Disney World updates!

Have any specific questions about riding the Monorail in a reopened Disney World? Ask them in the comments and we’ll do our best to get you answers.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, disney parks, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, disney transportation, Disney World reopening, health measures, monorail, monorail health measures, monorail reopening, transportation and ticket center

Tags Disney News, disney parks, disney transportation, Disney World reopening, Featured, health measures, magic kingdom, monorail, monorail health measures, monorail reopening, transportation and ticket center, Walt Disney World

Other

You’ve Got to See How LONG The Line Was For Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom This Morning!

Post author By disneyfoodblog.com
Post date July 7, 2020

If there’s one ride that’s been the talk of the town while Walt Disney World has been closed, it’s Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain

Disney recently announced that the attraction would be getting a full re-theming inspired by “The Princess and the Frog.” Although Walt Disney Imagineers are already hard at work on the new project, Disney told fans of the attraction they would get an opportunity to ride Splash Mountain before it shutters temporarily to make way for the overhaul. Today, some guests are getting that possible LAST chance to ride Splash Mountain in its present state during Walt Disney World’s reopening of Magic Kingdom for a special Cast Member preview, and we were there to check it out!

Even though Disney hasn’t announced when Splash Mountain will close for refurbishment, this morning it appeared folks weren’t taking any chances! Most of Magic Kingdom’s attractions had very short lines with wait times of only 5 to 10 minutes. Splash Mountain, however, was a different story.

Splash Mountain Wait

We’re LIVE inside Magic Kingdom today for the park’s reopening! Follow along here!

Even though the posted wait time at the standby entrance said 15 minutes when we got in line, we thought we might be biding our time for much longer than that once we saw the crowds lined up.

Splash Mountain Attraction Line

The line actually moved pretty swiftly. Even though the queue was backed up well beyond the entrance to Splash Mountain, guests were socially distancing themselves appropriately which made the line seem much longer than it actually was.

Splash Mountain Line

At times, the line stopped moving and we heard an overhead announcement stating there would be a brief pause while Cast Members cleaned the ride vehicles. We also noticed Splash Mountain wasn’t giving out its free Ziplocs today. They don’t have them every day, so we’ll let you know if they return during Annual Passholder preview days or once the park opens to the general public!

Splash Mountain Line

It ended up taking us about 35 minutes to get through the line. Once we made it to the loading area, we could see why. Cast Members wearing face shields and masks were thoroughly disinfecting the ride vehicles between guests by spraying them down with sanitizer. Meanwhile, they were only loading one party per log. Even small groups (of just two people!) were given their own log to ride.

Sanitizer

Cast Members didn’t say anything about letting us remove our face masks, so we kept them on the whole time. Luckily, the water cannons aren’t on, so we didn’t get too wet — you still get a little wet, though, so it’s a good idea to have an extra face mask on hand if yours gets too wet on the ride.

Once we exited off the ride, we were routed past the Splash Mountain gift shop, but you can also get in line to shop for some Splash Mountain march — which has been FLYING off the shelves lately — before it’s gone for good! We’ll let you know what we see once we’re INSIDE!

Click here to see what it’s like to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in a newly reopened Magic Kingdom!

What’s the first attraction you’ll ride at Magic Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, Disney World, line, long queue, moving quickly, reopening, social distancing, splash mountain

Other

Orange County might give Universal Orlando $5 million towards new theme park

Post author By chipandco.com
Post date July 7, 2020

Orange County might give Universal Orlando $5 million towards new theme park Orange County

There’s a chance Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings could vote to spend up to $5 million for helping Universal Orlando build their upcoming Epic Universe theme park. With this proposed deal, Orange County would give Universal Orlando up to $5 million in credits against future utility connection charges to help the company with the cost of relocating an existing wastewater pipeline.

Universal Orlando needs to relocate the line as part of the construction of Epic Universe, which would be its third theme park. Construction of the new park, which was initially slated to open in 2023, has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

County commissioners have already agreed to give Universal as much as $125 million to help pay for a new road through the property. Orange County officials said Universal Orlando representatives came to the county with the plan to share the cost of relocating the pipeline. County staffers said the deal will save the county from incurring other easement, design and engineering consulting charges, and that the agreement is broadly “in the public interest.”

“Orange County has determined the developer’s improvements will provide certain public benefits including, but not limited to, enhanced tax revenues, enhanced wastewater fees, and increased employment opportunities,” Raymond Hanson, Orange County’s director of utilities, wrote in a memo recommending the mayor and commissioners approve the $5 million deal.

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said the agreement means Universal will end up replacing a 35-year-old existing utility pipe “that would have to be replaced at some point anyway.”

“We will spend between $13 million and $14 million to provide the materials and do the work and receive $5 million in future impact fee credits,” Schroder said. “This is frequently how the county gets developers to help replace aging infrastructure.”

Source: Orlando Sentinel

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Universal Studios Orlando, Other Orlando Attractions, Universal, SeaWorld, Legoland and More, Epic Universe, Islands of Adventure, Orlando Theme Parks, Universal Orlando, Universal Studios

Other

We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!

Post author By disneyfoodblog.com
Post date July 7, 2020

When Walt Disney World announced that the theme parks would be reopening, they also shared that select experiences such as fireworks, parades, and character meet and greets would be temporarily suspended.

We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!

Magic Kingdom

Although Disney has put these experiences on hold, for now, they told us that guests would STILL be able to see some of their favorite characters in new and exciting ways! TODAY, during Cast Member previews at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we got to see some of these new entertainment offerings for the first time EVER!

We’ll keep updating this post as we spot more of Disney World’s new Character Cavalcades, but this morning, we’ve already had a chance to see this adorable Pooh & Friends Cavalcade riding down Main Street, U.S.A. on a horse-drawn trolley! No sign of that silly old bear yet, but Piglet, Eeyore, and Rabbit all made cameo appearances!

Pooh’s Friends

Everybody got their ears on as the Mickey & Friends Cavalcade made the rounds in front of Cinderella Castle! Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto were wearing their special 90th-anniversary celebration outfits!

Mickey & Friends Cavalcade

Over in Frontierland, we ran into the Main Street Philharmonic! They were marching on through while playing their brass instruments and drums at full blast!

Main Street Philharmonic

Jack Sparrow was hanging around Adventureland today! While you couldn’t go up to him, you could interact with the notorious Captain Jack from afar!

It’s Jack Sparrow!

Other Magic Kingdom entertainment offerings guests will be able to check out include:

The Royal Princess Processional
Fantasyland Friends Cavalcade
A Goofy Cavalcade
Tinker Bell & the Lost Treasure

Mickey & Friends Cavalcade Performers

And don’t forget EACH of the newly reopened Disney World theme parks will have their own unique Character Cavalcades which we’ll be hoping to see in the next few days and next week when the remaining theme parks welcome guests back!

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests will be able to spot their favorite characters as they cruise down the Discovery River. Today we’ve already spotted Pocahontas and Meeko waving to guests from their riverboat.

Pocahontas and Meeko cruise Discovery River.

We also spotted Chip and Dale in their Donald’s Dino-Bash! costumes along with Goofy looking VERY DAPPER.

Chip and Dale and Goofy cruise Discovery River.

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests can watch:

Discovery River Character Cruise
Discovery Island Drummers
Donald’s Dino Boat Bash!
Mickey & Friends Flotilla

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

If you find yourself in Disney’s Hollywood Studios next week, you can see Character Cavalcades throughout the day, with favorite Disney friends appearing along Hollywood Boulevard, including:

Disney Junior Stars Motorcade
Mickey & Friends Motorcade
Pixar Motorcade

Disney’s Hollywood Studios entrance

And if you’re in Epcot, be sure to check out:

Frozen Promenade
Mickey & Friends World Tour
Princess Promenade

Spaceship Earth

Don’t forget Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will kick off on July 15th — the same day the theme park reopens to the general public. Check out which 20 food booths we’re hoping to see return this year HERE!

We’re LIVE inside the Magic Kingdom today — follow along here!

When are you planning to visit Disney World? Let us know in the comments below.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Animal Kingdom, disney parks, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, character cavalcades, Character meet and greets, Disney characters, disney news, disney world parades, entertainment, Epcot, Hollywood Studios