Tag: Featured

We’ve Gotten a LITTLE Hint About the NBA’s Housing at Disney World!

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

The NBA has OFFICIALLY made an agreement with Disney World that it will resume its season on July 31st with a 22-team format!

NBA Experience

While we know the playoffs are coming to Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, there hasn’t been a definite answer regarding where the players will stay when the season begins after the parks’ grand re-opening.

According to a recent report from ESPN, NBA players will be “contained to three specific hotels within the Disney complex.” While there is no definitive statement about which resorts the players will be staying at, there IS information regarding how the players would be following health and safety protocols on Disney property.

NBA Experience

The players will be tested every night and receive the results in the morning.

NBA Teams Playing

Players who test positive will be quarantined for a minimum of seven days. If a team is required to pull in another player from an inactive roster, the NBA would have that player quarantine for a week prior to joining practices and games.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

While NBA and Disney have come to an agreement regarding the season, there are still plenty of details to work out surrounding how things will operate. But you know we’ll keep you updated!

Take a look at how the NBA was welcomed back in the most Disney way possible!

Will you be watching the NBA season when it picks back up in Disney World? Let us know in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney Entertainment, Disney News, disney parks, disney resorts, Featured, Walt Disney World, Disney, disney news, Disney World, Disney World reopening, ESPN Wide World of Sports, NBA, NBA at Disney World

Tags disney, Disney Entertainment, Disney News, disney parks, disney resorts, Disney World, Disney World reopening, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Featured, NBA, NBA at Disney World, Walt Disney World

Disney Food Disney Lists Disney Merch Disney Parks Other

Seven Strange Things You May See Happen When Disney World Reopens

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

When Disney World announced their plan to reopen July 11th, they emphasized an increase in the amount of “contactless experiences” for their guests.

Contactless Payment Sign

One of the major areas that will be impacted by this are character meet and greets, which will be temporarily suspended. But what other things could be gone for the time being?

Paper Park Map Use Could Decline

While we may not see those paper park maps vanish completely, we will most likely see them drastically reduced as guests are encouraged instead to use digital park maps on their mobile devices via My Disney Experience.

Animal Kingdom Park Map

We’re already seeing map alternatives emerge at other theme parks. Universal Orlando has installed temporary sandwich board signs that include park maps for Guests to reference.

Signage with a park map included at Universal

At Universal, traditional paper park maps are still available but in limited quantities and at limited locations. Guests can visit Guest Services, or they can pick up maps near the front of the parks. But again, we learned from Universal that theme parks will probably strongly direct guests to use digital maps.

Check out everything we noticed at Universal Orlando, which may offer us hints for what we can expect at Disney World!

Reusable Menus Can Be Hard To Find

Disney has already been promoting contactless menus via QR code at some of their dining locations, including Wine Bar George and Frontera Cocina.

Wine Bar George QR Code for Digital Menus

Many restaurants nationwide are temporarily adopting a paper disposable menu system per CDC recommendations. Seeing how widespread this trend is, it makes total sense that the theme parks would follow suit! We don’t expect to see those viewfinder menus at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort’s World Premiere Food Court any time soon!

Free Buttons and Stickers Could Be Less Prevalent

Those free celebration buttons Cast Members hand out are a great complimentary way to let everyone know about your birthday, honeymoon, or any other special occasion you may be celebrating in Disney World! There’s a chance, however, that we could see this lessen temporarily to promote that contactless experience between Cast Members and guests.

Grab your Celebration Button!

There could be some possible workarounds. Buttons and stickers could probably work if a Cast Member hands them out in some sort of sanitized manner. However, these are one of those low hanging fruit that could easily be suspended for the time being to mitigate contact between Cast Members and guests.

Shanghai Disneyland is already making progress in the few weeks since they reopened. Read more here!

Refillable Mug Process Could Change

One of the things that took us by surprise when Disney Springs reopened was the drink fill and refill policies. At counter service locations, guests could not approach drink stations to fill their cups. Instead, an employee was present to fill their cup for them.

Earl of Sandwich

It’s possible we could see the refillable drink stations at the theme parks and resorts mimic the drink stations in Disney Springs. Since Disney seems to be clamping down on refillable drinks, that could mean a temporary suspension of the refillable mugs.

Disney World Refillable Mug

With Disney Dining Plans being canceled from guests’ reservations, it further increases the likelihood that the refillable mugs may also disappear for a while since all Disney Dining Plans include a refillable mug per guest.

Refillable Resort Mugs

Already we’re seeing Starbucks temporarily refuse to refill reusable mugs (though they will still offer you the discounted refill price if you present your reusable cup!). If a guest has a refillable mug at some locations like Wine Bar George, the drink will be served in a disposable cup and the guest can fill their mug themselves.

Condiments and Toppings Bars Could Change

The condiments and toppings bars at counter service locations are typically high-touch areas that are often unsupervised by Cast Members until it’s time to replenish a particular food item.

Toppings and Condiments at Cosmic Ray’s

What we may see instead are pre-packaged condiments being distributed that you would need to get from a Cast Member. We’ve seen this in action at multiple quick-service locations in Disney Springs.

Take a look at how dining is different at Disney Springs here!

Old Utensil Dispensers Will Be Replaced With New Models

We’ve already seen a new, more sanitary way of dispensing plastic utensils at The Daily Poutine.

New sanitary utensil dispenser at Daily Poutine

These have slowly started to make an appearance nationwide over the last few months, so we could definitely see these being widely adopted at Disney World’s other counter service locations (we just spotted them last week at reopened Amorette’s Patisserie!).

Fork from the new utensil dispensers

In addition to counter service locations, we could also see this being adopted at the Food & Wine Festival this fall.

Check out these new utensil dispensers here!

Refillable Shampoo & Conditioner Bottles May Change

The final item we may see go away, at least temporarily, are those refillable toiletries at the resorts. These were heavily rolled out at many of the Disney World Resort hotels last year to generally mixed reviews.

Refillable Toiletries

They came about in an effort to go “green” throughout the resort, but these efforts may have been short-lived. It might be too difficult to sanitize the reused bottles between guests, and Cast Members will have to handle them often to refill.

Only time will tell how many of these we actually see return to Disney World when the theme parks reopen in July. Some of these changes we have already spotted in Disney Springs, while we might gain more insight on others when some of the Disney Vacation Club resorts reopen June 22nd. It is almost certain, however, that the theme parks and resorts will look very different than what we remember from before the closures!

Learn more about Disney World’s plans to reopen their theme parks on July 11 and 15 here!

What other items do you think may go away temporarily when the parks reopen? Do you think any of these things will go away forever? Share your thoughts in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Featured, Walt Disney World, buttons, celebration buttons, counter service dining, dining, Disney World, Disney World reopening, refillable mugs, refillable toiletries, utensils

Tags buttons, celebration buttons, counter service dining, dining, Disney World, Disney World reopening, Featured, refillable mugs, refillable toiletries, utensils, Walt Disney World

Disney Guides Disney Parks Other

Here’s What It’s Like To Wear a Mask in a Theme Park All Day!

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

Disney Springs and Universal Orlando’s CityWalk reopened last month and brought about several big changes — some of which are taking a little more getting used to than others!

Universal Orlando

Both shopping and dining districts mandated the use of masks for both guests and employees. Making the change to wearing masks in daily life has been a bit of a transition — but add a little Florida heat and walking around all day to the mix and things start to get a little swampy pretty FAST.

Our Disney Springs days while wearing face masks were good practice (and gave us some idea of what to expect!) but now that Universal Orlando theme parks have reopened, we can finally give you the official scoop on what it’s like to wear a face mask at a theme park ALL. DAY. LONG!

Masks vs. the Heat

We’d be kidding ourselves if we said wearing a face mask wasn’t really, REALLY hot at times. It definitely the hardest part of the whole face mask-wearing lifestyle we’ve recently procured for ourselves (along with everyone else)! Mid-day when the sun is beating down (not to mention Florida is VERY humid) we’ve been noticeably sweating uncontrollably!

Universal Lines

But here’s the thing — if you’re like us, you’re already used to shvitzing half of your body mass in sweat and having your clothes cling to your body! Being outside this time of year can be hot, sticky, and uncomfortable even without a mask.

Universal

Luckily, we did a little pre-theme park conditioning before we hit Universal Orlando — and we highly recommend taking some long walks outdoors with your face masks and see how well you handle the heat. Chances are you’ll find it tolerable — but you’ll probably have to work up to it!

Click Here For Suggestions To Find The Most Comfortable Masks

Masks vs. Thrill Rides

We weren’t exactly sure what would happen to our face masks once we went on a rollercoaster for the first time since we know what usually happens to loose articles! Bye-bye favorite sunglasses!

The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Check out 6 things that really surprised us about Universal’s reopening here!

But with face coverings that fit snugly against your nose and mouth, this isn’t an issue! The only time we felt our mask start to slide was on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit — one of Universal’s more-intense rides. And even then, our face mask stayed in place. We recommend giving your mask a quick tug to make sure it’s secure before take-off!

Mask vs. Excitement

Does wearing a face mask take away from rides? This was something we were the MOST curious to find out!

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

So what did we think? We still had a great time on the rides, despite wearing face coverings. In fact, on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and The Incredible Hulk Coaster, there were moments we totally forgot we were wearing them!

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

Check out 6 things we learned at Universal this week that you’ll need to know for Disney World’s reopening!

But here’s the thing — if this is your first time visiting Universal Studios or experiencing these rides, you might not get the full experience! We’ve been on the rides before, so for us, it’s just exciting to get to enjoy them again. If you’re only planning on visiting Universal (or Disney World) once, you might want to wait until face masks aren’t mandatory.

Masks vs. Eating

We weren’t about to let a face mask stop us from consuming as much Butterbeer (and Butterbeer Ice Cream!) as Muggle-ly possible! And like our experience at CityWalk and Disney Springs, eating and drinking with a face mask isn’t much of an issue.

Universal

Guests are allowed to lower their masks while eating or drinking and since tables at restaurants have been spaced apart, you’re free to remove your face covering while you enjoy your meal. Universal employees were keeping a watchful eye on everybody and any time a guest had their mask lowered but wasn’t holding a snack or drink, they were asked to re-cover.

Masks vs. Breathing

Getting in some practice with wearing a mask definitely helped us get more acclimated to breathing through a mask while outside. We also noticed the material of your face mask will make it easier or harder to breathe. Click here for some suggestions as to the most comfortable face masks you can choose.

U-Rest Area

Universal has set up several U-Rest Areas (two inside each theme park and one at CityWalk) where guests can remove their masks temporarily while social distancing. You can stay in these areas for however long you need to get a break.

Click here to learn more about Universal’s U-Rest Areas!

Masks vs. Children

We didn’t have any children with us on our trips to the theme parks this week, but we understand many of our readers are concerned about being able to get their young children to wear face masks for the duration of their visit. The kids we’ve seen so far have been doing a really good job keeping their face masks on, and waiting until they got to a restaurant or U-Rest Area before taking them off!

Line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

While we think this will be a matter each parent will need to address with their children individually, we think having the flexibility to remove face coverings when sitting down for a meal or in a designated U-Rest Area will provide some extra relief for families with younger kids. It’s also possible you might need to plan shorter park days than you’re used to — at least for the time being!

Honeydukes

Overall, face masks do take some getting used to. But that being said, wearing a mask in a theme park didn’t feel TOO much different from a mask all day at Disney Springs. We found out some lessons the hard way, so we have some top tips for wearing a face covering here!

Our most important tip is probably to have back-up. Bring at least two masks (and maybe three) for each person in your party, just in case one does fly off on a ride, or you’re stuck in a rainstorm and the mask you’re wearing is no longer effective.

Thunder Falls

And remember — YOU get to decide when you’re ready to go back out in public and if you’re ready to go to a theme park right now. But we were pleasantly surprised that face coverings didn’t actually put too much of a damper on our day!

Check out all of our live coverage from Universal’s reopening here!

Do you have any questions about wearing a mask in a theme park? Please let us know in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Disney Springs, Featured, News, Disney, Disney reopening, disney springs, face covering, hulk, Islands of Adventure, Mask, reopen, reopening, theme park, Universal, Universal Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort

Tags disney, Disney News, disney reopening, Disney Springs, face covering, Featured, hulk, Islands of Adventure, Mask, news, reopen, reopening, theme park, Universal, Universal Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort

Disney Lists Disney Parks Other

The Top 10 Most Evacuated Rides in Disney World!

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

Disney World can seem like the perfect place in theory, but that’s not always the case.

Frozen Ever After

Sometimes things just happen to go wrong — yes, even in Disney World! It’s happened to most of us. We’re pumped for our favorite ride only to find that it’s inexplicably closed. Or perhaps we’re halfway THROUGH our favorite ride when it randomly STOPS! Whatever the case, we know big breakdowns happen. Let’s check out the top ten most evacuated rides in Disney World!

This data is pulled from an Orlando Sentinel report on the Reedy Creek Fire Department (Disney’s own!) reported evacuations from July 27th, 2016, through July 18th, 2018. Keep in mind that these dates WOULDN’T catch newer rides like the popular (and often reported to break down) Rise of the Resistance!

10. Spaceship Earth

Coming in at tenth place for most evacuations we have the most iconic and recognizable ride in Epcot — it’s Spaceship Earth! In the measured period, this ride had 15 evacuations. Not too bad, but there are a whole lot of rides that had fewer!

Spaceship Earth

Though the report does not include the causes for breakdowns, Spaceship Earth is an original 1982 attraction with some significantly complex ride pathways through the sphere. Its age and complexity could be part of the issue.

Is Spaceship Earth NOT closing for refurb now?? Click here!

9. Toy Story Mania!

Just BARELY beating out Spaceship Earth is the relatively new Toy Story Mania! in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This attraction racked up 16 evacuations in the two-year period.

Toy Story Mania

Toy Story Mania! is a super technologically advanced ride so a failure of the software could potentially be a reason for evacuation. Still, Disney doesn’t report the reason for evacuations (unless there’s an injury) so it’s hard to say.

Want to get the highest score in Toy Story Mania? Click here!

8. Splash Mountain

Next up on our list is Splash Mountain! This beloved attraction (one of the favorites among our readers) had 21 evacuations in the period reported. We’ve definitely been on this one more than a few times when it’s broken down for a while!

Does Everyone Want To Ride Splash Mountain??

Splash Mountain might be prone to big breakdowns simply thanks to the fact that it is a water ride. Log flume rides are notorious for being difficult to maintain. Maybe when things go wrong at Splash Mountain, the fixes aren’t so easy.

To learn how Splash Mountain stacks up with other attractions, click here!

7. Peter Pan’s Flight

A little bit of a jump here as this next attraction had about ten more full evacuations than Splash Mountain. Peter Pan’s Flight came in at 31 evacuations in the two years.

Peter Pan’s Flight

Surprisingly, this is the ONLY opening day attraction to make this list (guess those other OG rides really hold up)! Not only is Peter Pan’s Flight an older ride, but it also uses a unique suspended system. That’s why people love it so much, but it’s also what makes it a little more challenging to run.

Click here to check out some SWEET upcoming merch inspired by Peter Pan’s Flight!

6. The Barnstormer

The Barnstormer starring the Great Goofini (previously The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm) is a favorite for many little ones thanks to it being an easily conquerable rollercoaster.

Barnstormer

Still, despite not being as impressive as the other coasters of Disney, this one has some of the most evacuations with 32 in the period. Why? We’re stumped!

Want to see how our readers feel about The Barnstormer? Click here!

5. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Alright! We made it to the top five! Just barely edging out Barnstormer and Peter Pan’s Flight is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh with 33 evacuations in the period.

Winnie the Pooh at The Crystal Palace

There are few incidents reported for this ride and it is a traditional dark ride. Maybe it’s just the wily Heffalumps up to no good!

To find out which Tiger King person we matched up with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, click here!

4. Kali River Rapids

We’ve got a pretty big jump for this next one again — and get used to it, because the evacuation counts on the final three are gonna climb quick! Not quite in the final three is Kali River Rapids with 44 evacuations in two years.

Kali River Rapids

Kali could suffer from the water ride maintenance woes as part of the reasoning behind the frequent evacuations. There have also been reports of monitoring sensors being triggered on this ride. These are triggered when the ride system thinks someone isn’t where they should be or something is wrong and it automatically stops the ride, per WESH.

Click here to read about our Kali River Rapids MISTAKES!

3. Space Mountain

Okay folks, we’ve made it. Let’s talk about our top three. We’re talking about our BIGGEST breakdown offenders. Taking the third spot is Space Mountain with a leap up to 64 evacuations in a two year period!

Space Mountain

Though the ride had no reported injuries in the measured period, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t medical reasons for stopping the ride. Space Mountain can be intense and it has had some incidents reported in the past. Plus, Space has been around since 1975! That’s an old coaster! Sometimes, things just might need some extra attention for the ride to get up and running again.

PRO TIP: If this ride DOES break down for a prolonged period, hop on the PeopleMover. It travels through Space Mountain even if it’s closed and you can possibly get a really cool look at the ride with the lights on!

Want to see come collectible Space Mountain merch? Click here!

2. Pirates of the Caribbean

Our runner up for most breakdowns is Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, wouldn’t you know it! Another water ride — and an old one too. Pirates of the Caribbean has been around since 1973. That’s a lot of time, a LOT of animatronics, and a lot of water making some room for things to go a little sideways.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Maybe those are the reasons that Pirates of the Caribbean is dealing with a HIGH record of evacuations. We’re talking really high — like 72 evacuations in two years high. Maybe it’s that tricky ghost George that’s to blame! Shockingly though, there is one ride that has MANY more evacuations than even this number.

To learn how Pirates of the Caribbean makes us feel things, click here!

1. Frozen Ever After

Coming in first place, the NUMBER ONE MOST EVACUATED RIDE is Frozen Ever After! On paper, that might sound surprising since it’s so new, but most of us have witnessed Frozen Ever After closed for downtime at some point or another. Just how many evacs did it have, you ask? 113 evacuations in two years! Phew!

Frozen Ever After Ride

Again, Disney doesn’t release the reasoning behind these evacs but we have some theories. The ride ticks a LOT of the boxes that we’ve mentioned as breakdown potential.

Water ride? Check. Older ride? Frozen is new but it’s predecessor Maelstrom opened in 1988 so…check! Complex technology? Definitely check! This was the first ride to use the new animatronics (ever ridden the ride mid-breakdown and see Anna and Elsa with their faces TURNED OFF? We have!). That sounds like a pretty decent recipe for high evacuations to us!

Click here to learn how you can ride Frozen Ever After — after hours!

So now you know the top ten most evacuated rides at Disney! To quote a Disney statement, “Our rides operate at a high degree of reliability, and while occasional downtimes and full-ride exits are a part of normal operations, they represent a very small part of the total operating day and overall guest experience.”

Despite some of these trickier ride systems, Disney actually had a pretty great track record with keeping rides running smoothly. Still, it makes for a unique story if you’ve ever been evacuated from a ride! Maybe we’ll go hop on Frozen Ever After…

Love in-ride photos? Click here to see what rides we think NEED one!

Have you ever been caught on a broken-down ride? Tell us in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Animal Kingdom, disney parks, disney’s hollywood studios, Epcot, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, Frozen Ever After, kali river rapids, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ride Evacuations, space mountain, Spaceship Earth, splash mountain, the barnstormer, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story Mania

Tags animal kingdom, disney parks, disney's hollywood studios, epcot, Featured, Frozen Ever After, kali river rapids, magic kingdom, Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ride Evacuations, space mountain, Spaceship Earth, splash mountain, the barnstormer, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story Mania, Walt Disney World

Disney News Disney Parks Disney Vacations Other

NEWS: Disney World Asking Guests To Change, Confirm, or Cancel Reservations Between June 22 and July 4th

Post author By disneyfoodblog.com
Post date June 6, 2020

It’s been a busy news day for Disney World!

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

While Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties at Walt Disney World and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground are scheduled to reopen on June 22nd, Disney has not yet announced when the other hotels on property will reopen.

And based on experience from our team, it appears that Disney has started to send emails to guests with reservations at resorts which are not yet scheduled to reopen.

A member of our team currently has a reservation for Disney’s Contemporary Resort with a check-in date of July 1st. The subject line of the email indicates that action is required.

©Disney

The message then informs us that there will be a number of operational changes in place, and asks the reader to review these changes and then confirm, modify, or cancel the reservation.

©Disney

The email also states that if the guest holds a reservation at a hotel that will not be open, Disney is able to help modify the reservation.

©Disney

At the end of the email, there is a blue button that guests can click to review and confirm their reservation. It indicates that action is required by June 12th.

©Disney

Upon clicking the review and confirm button, we were taken to a page that provided us with the option to confirm, modify, or cancel the reservation.

©Disney

When we selected the option to confirm the reservation, we received the following message.

©Disney

When we selected the option to modify the reservation, we received a message that it could not be modified online, and we would need to call Disney.

©Disney

As our team member holds a reservation at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which is not among the first group of hotels to reopen, we will continue to provide updates about our experience with the modified reservation!

Get ALL the details about Disney World’s reopening proposal here.

Do you currently have a Disney World Resort hotel reservation? Share your experience with us in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Contemporary Resort, Disney News, disney resorts, Featured, Walt Disney World, disney world hotel, disney world hotel cancellation, Disney World Hotel Closure, disney world hotel reopening, Disney World hotel reservations, Disney World reopening, Disney world reopening plan, Reservation Modifications

Tags Contemporary Resort, Disney News, disney resorts, disney world hotel, disney world hotel cancellation, Disney World Hotel Closure, disney world hotel reopening, Disney World hotel reservations, Disney World reopening, Disney world reopening plan, Featured, Reservation Modifications, Walt Disney World