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What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Disney World is going to look pretty different when it reopens on July 11th, and the guests aren’t the only ones who are going to see new health measures.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Mickey Mouse

Our favorite Disney pals in the parks are going to have to make some changes, too! Disney has announced that character meet and greets and character dining (except for one modified version at Topolino’s Terrace in Disney’s Riviera Resort) won’t be a part of the reopened parks at first. Still, that doesn’t mean we won’t see those iconic friends during our Disney day. We’re diving into what character interaction might look like when the parks reopen!

You might meet your favorite characters from a distance.

First up, you might meet your favorite characters from farther away than usual. In Disneyland Shanghai, you can still see characters but you can’t get close to them. This is to keep up physical distancing requirements for both Cast Members and guests.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Universal Orlando Spider-Man

We’ve also seen this method used at the reopening of Universal Orlando theme parks. The characters are stationed on blocked off platforms and areas that make sure guests are more than six feet away. You can still wave and interact with them (and snap a selfie!), but no getting close and no hugs! It’s also important to note that a few of the face characters in Universal were wearing masks!

You may be eating without company from your Disney pals.

Character dining is typically a big piece of a Disney trip, but that won’t be true when we first return to a reopened Disney World. Disney has announced that character dining will be mostly suspended initially.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Topolino’s Terrace Breakfast a la Art Characters

Notice we did say MOSTLY. There is one character dining experience that will be reopening. Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera at Riviera Resort will be offering their Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends but it will be a modified experience. Disney has yet to share details on what exactly these modifications will be but this is good to note.

There might be new ways that characters make their appearance.

On the other hand, we’re not just LOSING character meet and greets altogether. Disney may release some NEW ways to interact with characters that are super cool. Like we’ll see in Disney World, Shanghai Disneyland reopened without parades or meet and greets — but they’ve got a pretty neat replacement.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Shanghai Disneyland

Multiple times throughout the day, a Character Procession drives through the streets of Shanghai Disneyland. This is essentially like a mini-parade that allows guests to see and interact with iconic characters without gathering in large groups or getting too close to the characters.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

©ShanghaiDisneylandResort on Instagram

You can also spot groups of characters greeting guests at the entrance to each land in Shanghai Disneyland. We actually think it would be super cool to see groups of characters all together so this would be a fun option to see in Disney World.

Maybe they’ll bring back the Epcot double decker buses for characters!

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Omnibus in Epcot circa 1985

You might have to forego some favorite souvenirs.

Keep in mind, you may have to miss out on some typical souvenirs. A big part of meeting characters are the souvenirs that you can get from doing so. Some favorites include pictures of you or your kids with a classic Disney character or a signature for your autograph book.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Autograph Books

You can still photograph these characters, but it will be at a distance. So that photo of your little one posing with Mickey might not be as easy as we’d want it to be. Plus, Disney hasn’t said how autograph books will work! There might be a system where characters can give their autograph, but it’s also possible that we won’t be able to collect those signatures for a while.

What Could Character Interactions Look Like When the Parks Reopen?

Meet and Greets for Onward in Disney World

Keep in mind that Cast Members WON’T be able to help snap those family photos for you once the parks reopen, so you’ll need to come up with your own way of capturing those memories with everyone in the photo!

Whatever the case, character interactions are sure to feel a little weird when we get back to Disney World. Perhaps we’ll be hugging Mickey again sometime in the future, but for now, we’ll stay back and pal around with the Mouse from afar.

How do you feel about the changes to character interactions? Tell us in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney Entertainment, disney parks, disney resorts, Featured, Walt Disney World, Character Dining, Character Meal, Character meet and greets, Disney characters, Disney World characters, meet and greet

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Disney News Disney Parks

NEWS! Disneyland Announces That Certain Entertainment Will Be Suspended Upon Reopening

As of today, Disneyland has proposed a plan for reopening!

NEWS! Disneyland Announces That Certain Entertainment Will Be Suspended Upon Reopening

Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle

Several days ago, we reported that signs indicated that Disneyland might reopen in July. And our suspicions were confirmed today when Disneyland proposed a reopening date of July 17th for both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure!

As with the reopening plan for Disney World, there will be a number of new health and safety measures implemented when the parks begin to welcome back guests.

NEWS! Disneyland Announces That Certain Entertainment Will Be Suspended Upon Reopening

©Disney

As part of the new health and safety measures, experiences that draw large group gatherings like parades and nighttime spectaculars will be temporarily suspended. These performances will return at a later date, although an exact timeline has not been determined. This mirrors what we’ve seen announced for Disney World. 

NEWS! Disneyland Announces That Certain Entertainment Will Be Suspended Upon Reopening

Coco Float in Magic Happens Parade in Disneyland

Character meet-and-greets will also be temporarily unavailable, although according to Disney, the characters will be in the parks, “in new ways to entertain and delight guests.”

NEWS! Disneyland Announces That Certain Entertainment Will Be Suspended Upon Reopening

Mickey Mouse

The Disneyland reopening plan needs to be approved by the state and local governments before it is finalized, so we’ll continue to keep an eye out for any updates!

Do you plan on visiting Disneyland when it reopens? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: disney california adventure, disney parks, Disneyland, Disneyland Column, Disneyland Resort, Featured, Character Meet and Greet, Character meet and greets, disney parades, disneyland parade, disneyland reopen, Disneyland reopening, nighttime spectacular, no parades

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Parades, Fireworks, and Character Meet and Greets Will Be Suspended Upon Disney World’s Reopening

Now that Disney World has announced it plans on reopening Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11th along with Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15th, we also know some of the modifications the parks are planning on implementing.

Magic Kingdom Sign

According to Disney’s reopening proposal which took place this morning, Disney World’s theme parks will temporarily suspend its parades, fireworks displays, or character meet-and-greets upon reopening.

Disney World presented the following chart at this morning’s Orange County Economic Task Force meeting where it proposed its gradual reopening plan including tentative reopening dates. Due to social distancing concerns, Disney World has decided to “temporarily suspend its parks, fireworks, and other events that create crowds.”

©Disney

Disney World stated they will also be “temporarily suspending high touch experiences such as meet and greets and playgrounds.” Disney has also shared that “characters will still be in our parks to entertain and delight our guests.”

It’s Mickey!

At this time, we don’t know when Disney World plans on resuming these guest experiences or if substitutions will be made. When Shanghai Disneyland opened earlier this month, parades, fireworks, and other entertainment offerings were suspended initially, but some stage shows have already resumed while new character processionals had been added throughout the day.

See what progress Shanghai Disneyland has made since its reopening here!

Happily Ever After

Disney World’s gradual reopening plan has been approved by the Orange County task force, but must be reviewed and finalized by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ before it’s official. We’ll let you know more details as soon as Disney provides additional information.

Disney World plans on using a new reservation system upon its reopening! Learn more about it here!

Are you surprised Disney World isn’t planning on offering these guest experiences right away? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Animal Kingdom, Disney News, disney’s hollywood studios, Epcot, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, cancelled, Character meet and greets, character meetings, crowd levels, crowds, Disney World, distancing practices, firework shows, fireworks, modified guest experiences, no parades, now fireworks, parades, performances, reopening, shows, social distancing, suspended performances, temporary closure

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Disney Parks

How Could Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Be Different This Year in Disney World??

Even though it’s still the springtime, we’ve got Halloween on our minds!

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

The spookiest holiday of the year starts early in Disney World with the first day of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party set for August 13th. How we love a late-summer Halloween! That early start might mean that there are some changes to the way the party works this year. If new measures are still in place by August, how might Mickey’s Not So Scary be different? Let’s take a look!

Adults might get to wear masks — just not the fun ones.

If you’ve been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party before, you know that it’s the only time that adults are allowed to wear costumes in Disney World. One of the rules though? “Masks of any kind may not be worn.” Hmm…something tells us they might amend that rule this year!

Now, we’re not saying that you can break out that Frankenstein mask, but it could be recommended (or even mandatory like they are in Disney Springs!) for guests to wear face coverings in the interest of health. After all, August isn’t too far off and according to the phased plans being discussed in Florida and in California, it’s going to take some time for all precautions to be lifted. Health concerns will likely still be a thing!

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party = Costumes Galore!

Now, that’s not to say that your mask will have to be boring! Maybe spruce it up and get one themed to your costume (if Disney allows it). It could be a fun excuse to upgrade your Halloween look in an unexpected way.

There could be some changes to Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular and other entertainment.

As we know, the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland is showing us some changes in the way that entertainment works in the park. As Shanghai becomes the first Disney theme park to reopen, fireworks and parades are not initially returning.

If a similar tack is taken in Disney World, what does that mean for Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular and the Boo-to-You Halloween Parade?

Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular

After all, these events often result in large gatherings of crowds, which may still be advised against come August. If social distancing regulations are still in place, then these shows might be swapped out for some smaller featured entertainment.

In Shanghai, the daily parade is being swapped for a periodic character processional, and in lieu of fireworks, the castle comes to life with music and lights in the nighttime.

Boo to You

If necessary, we could see these changes made at Not So Scary. We could definitely imagine something similar to the Villains After Hours Villains Cursed Caravan!

Cursed Caravan

If the shows are not canceled, there may be alterations. Choreography in the show may be altered to allow dancers to distance from one another and there may be little to no guest interaction with parade performers. As for how Disney could regulate crowds to encourage distancing, that remains unknown at this time.

Character meet and greets might be different or be removed altogether.

Speaking of distancing, there may be changes to the way that character meet and greets work to keep guests and Cast Members safe. Shanghai’s reopening already showed us that characters will still be in the park, but at a distance. Could this mean we won’t be able to get our pic with Jack and Sally?

Jack & Sally

The interesting thing about this change is that meeting rare characters is a BIG draw for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Meeting villains and collecting pics and rare autographs can be quite the experience. If characters are removed or meetings have to happen at a distance, the appeal might be lost on some guests.

Seven Dwarfs at MNSSHP

Even if these greets do continue as usual, we may see some changes to the way you wait for them. Those waits for the rare characters can be looooong, and that’s a lot of people close together. Perhaps Disney will opt to tape off queue areas to space out guests, like in Shanghai, or possibly even opt to use Virtual Queues for the popular characters!

There could be fewer tickets available.

On top of all these measures, the capacity for the entire party may be lowered. Typically, the parks are still pretty crowded on Not So Scary evenings — especially as you get closer to October. It’s possible that Disney will work to increase distancing by limiting the number of tickets sold for this event.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

In this instance, it might be more difficult to get a ticket for your preferred party night. On the bright side, there would be fewer people in the park so you could have a less-crowded experience.

Still, if Disney looks to lower capacity they may run into some issues. Tickets have been on sale for some time already. Would they need to revoke tickets from those who have already purchased them?

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

On the other hand, parties already have a lowered capacity from a regular park day so it may be that Not So Scary fits into capacity parameters without changes.

Trick-or-treating might not be quite the same.

There have been lots of calls to limit the spread of germs and we might see some efforts made with how trick-or-treating is handled. One big draw of the Halloween parties is the ability to trick-or-treat around the parks, but with queue lines backing up it could be a physical distancing nightmare. Maybe Disney will look to change this process.

Trick-or-Treating Might Change in the Magic Kingdom

It’s possible Disney could utilize pre-packaged bags of candy that you pick up the entrance instead of the trick-or-treating process. Or there could just be changes to the way that Cast Members handle the candy to limit exposure.

It’s possible the lines for trick-or-treating will be distanced like other areas of the park. Nothing has been announced by Disney at this time, but it seems likely some changes could be made to this process.

Whatever happens, brace yourself that things might be different! We can still expect Disney to bring some serious Halloween magic, regardless of the limitations in place. It’s possible the changes will be subtle so the party isn’t overwhelmed by the new precautions. Whatever happens, we’ll keep an eye on the situation and update you as soon as news is released ?.

Are you planning to head to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party this year? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: disney parks, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, Character meet and greets, Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular, face coverings, face masks, Global health crisis, health and safety measures, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, trick or treat