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Disney News Disney Parks

Disney World Theme Park Hours Reduced at Reopening

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Disney announced its reopening plans for Walt Disney World Resort yesterday. The phased reopening is scheduled for July 11 and the Disney World website now shows reduced operating hours for July through October this year.

The website and My Disney Experience App show that Magic Kingdom will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting July 11. EPCOT will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting July 15.

Disney’s water parks, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Disney’s Blizzard Beach, will also be reopening in July. Along with reduced hours, the parks will other restrictions and guidelines in place for reopening.

We will continue to update as more information is released!

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney World, animal kingdom, Disney World, Disney World Reopening, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, reduced hours, Walt Disney World Resort

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Disney News Disney Vacations Other

More Disney Vacation Club Details Released — Including ANOTHER Extension of Their Temporary DVC Points Policy!

Now that Disney World’s theme parks have proposed a reopening date of July 11th and July 15th, several Disney World hotels have also confirmed they’ll be reopening starting in June for Disney Vacation Club Members.

Disney Vacation Club Kiosk at Animal Kingdom

The purchasing of park tickets and hotel reservations has been temporarily paused while Disney World prepares its new reservation system, but we did just receive an email from Disney with additional information for DVC guests.

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties at Walt Disney World and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen to members and guests on June 22nd. Additionally, DVC properties in Vero Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina will reopen on June 15th.

Spare Tire Covers at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Disney has shared the following safety measures will be implemented upon guests’ arrival:

  • Enhanced cleaning of all rooms prior to arrival, including additional measures for dishware and appliances for Disney Vacation Club units, along with the standard Disney Vacation Club housekeeping services during your stay
  • Increased cleaning and sanitization in high-traffic areas
  • New hand-sanitizing stations in key areas
  • Physical distancing at restaurants, lobbies, pools, fitness centers and other public areas, including reducing capacity where appropriate

Disney is also strongly encouraging guests to utilize mobile check-in via the My Disney Experience app as well as contactless forms of payment while on property. All Cast Members and guests will also be required to wear face masks in public areas of the hotels for the duration of their stay.

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Reopening dates for The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa as well as Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina Hawai’i have not been determined yet, but Disney will be providing updates about those resorts as soon as information becomes available.

Aulani Resort

Finally, for DVC guests concerned about their unused points, Disney is changing and extending their temporary policies regarding expiring points again.

According to Disney, “April, June, and now August, September, and October 2019 Use Year points that are set to expire in 2020 and that were used for reservations during the closure period will be extended for one year from the current expiration date.”

DVC Suitcase

You can review Disney’s former temporary DVC refund policy here!

“Additionally, April, June and now August, September and October 2018 Use Year points that were banked into 2019 Use Years and used for these reservations will now all expire November 30, 2020. This temporary policy only includes expiring points that were used to book a stay arriving between March 12 and the end of the closure period and that involve a reservation cancelled after February 29.”

general exterior

Grand Floridian Resort in Disney World

We’ll provide you with any and all additional details regarding Disney World’s phased reopening plan for its theme parks and hotels as soon as more information becomes available, so stay tuned!

Learn more about Disney World’s proposed reopening plan for July here!

Are you a Disney Vacation Club member? Let us know if any of your vacation plans have been impacted by the parks’ temporary closure in the comments below.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Animal Kingdom, Disney News, disney parks, disney’s hollywood studios, Epcot, Featured, Fort Wilderness Resort, magic kingdom, News, Disney Vacation Club, Disney Vacation Club members, disney vacation club points extension, Disney World, Disney World reopening, DVC Members, DVC points, dvc points extended, dvc policy, face masks, health and safety measures, points policy extended, reopening, safety measures, temporary closure, temporary policy extended

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Disney News Disney+ Other

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals Gets a Disney+ Release Date!

This summer is shaping up to be EPIC! Between Disney World’s intent to reopen the theme parks and all the exciting content coming out on Disney+, we’re ready for all things Disney in the coming months.

©Disney

One of the original movies coming to Disney+ has an official release date, and we’ve already marked our calendars!

Society of Second-Born Royals will debut exclusively on Disney+ July 17, 2020!

©Disney

The film follows a group of second-born royals (naturally) who discover they have superpowers from a genetic trait attributed to those born second in royal lineage! The story is an inspiring tale about creating your own legacy and discovering your secret powers within. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, the trailer also dropped! Check it out here:

Get the popcorn ready because on July 17, it’s time for some royal superhero action!

Check out all the upcoming June releases on Disney+ here!

Are you going to watch Society of Second Born Royals when it arrives on Disney+? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney Entertainment, Disney News, Disney+, News, Disney, Disney media, disney movie, disney original movie, disney plus, disney plus streaming, disney+ streaming service, Secret Society of Second Born Royals

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Disney News Disney Parks Disney Vacations

Disney Vacation Club Phased Reopening Announcement

Disney Vacation Club

In an email, to Disney Vacation Club Members Terri A. Schultz Senior Vice President of DVC shares with us more information on what to expect when Disney World reopens this July.

Let’s take a look…

Dear Disney Vacation Club Member,

A little more than two months ago, I shared with you the details of our company’s plans to temporarily close our parks and resorts, pause cruises and make other changes because of COVID-19. While this time apart has been challenging for all of us, physical-distancing efforts around the globe have helped slow the spread of the virus and have allowed Disney to plan for a gradual reopening.

We began earlier this month with the phased reopening of Shanghai Disneyland and Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort. Today, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced additional plans including the expected reopening of Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort on June 15 and all Disney Vacation Club properties at the Walt Disney World Resort on June 22.

This is fantastic news and yet another positive step forward – for our Members, guests and our Disney teams.

As we prepare to welcome you home, we have assessed every aspect of the resort experience – from pre-arrival to housekeeping to recreation – with your safety and that of our Cast Members as our top priority. A summary of what you can expect during your next visit is posted here. Some of the operational adjustments include:

  • Enhanced cleaning of all rooms prior to arrival, including additional measures for dishware and appliances for Disney Vacation Club units, along with the standard Disney Vacation Club housekeeping services during your stay
  • Increased cleaning and sanitization in high-traffic areas
  • New hand-sanitizing stations in key areas
  • Physical distancing at restaurants, lobbies, pools, fitness centers, and other public areas, including reducing capacity where appropriate

Our Members and guests will also play an important role in helping prevent the spread of illness. Like our Cast, all Members and guests will be asked to wear face coverings in public resort areas when not eating or drinking and to respect physical distancing. Members and guests are also strongly encouraged to check in remotely through the My Disney Experience app, frequently wash their hands and use cashless payment options. More details about these operational adjustments, including offerings that may remain temporarily suspended at individual resorts, are available online at disneyworld.com. While these adjustments may make the places you call “home” feel a little different for the time being, we will continue to make adjustments as the situation evolves.

As you may be aware, it was also announced today that Walt Disney World Resort submitted a proposal to government officials in Florida describing our approach for a phased reopening of Walt Disney World Resort theme parks planned to begin on July 11. Reopening dates for The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa as well as Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina Hawai’i have not been determined, and we will share updates about those resorts just as soon as we’re able. Members wishing to alter their existing resort reservations may do so online at disneyvacationclub.com or contact Member Services for assistance.

Finally, as part of our continued efforts to provide flexibility during these uncertain times, we are further changing and extending our temporary policies regarding expiring points. April, June and now August, September and October 2019 Use Year points that are set to expire in 2020 and that were used for reservations during the closure period will be extended for one year from the current expiration date. Additionally, April, June and now August, September and October 2018 Use Year points that were banked into 2019 Use Years and used for these reservations will now all expire November 30, 2020. This temporary policy only includes expiring points that were used to book a stay arriving between March 12 and the end of the closure period and that involve a reservation canceled after February 29. Additional information on these policies is available at disneyvacationclub.com.

All of us at Disney Vacation Club thank you, not only for your patience and understanding but for the many well-wishes we’ve received during our closure. The reopening of these resorts is an encouraging step forward, and our Cast couldn’t be happier to welcome you home. To borrow words from a familiar tune, there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, and tomorrow is just a dream away!

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney & Co, News, Vacation Club, disney, Disney News, Disney Vacation Club, Disney World Reopening, DVC

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Disney Business Disney News Disney Parks Other

Disney CEO Bob Chapek talks to CNBC on Disney World Reopening

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Today Disney submitted their plans for reopening the Walt Disney World theme parks. Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke to CNBC to talk about those plans.

Chapek said he would like the reopening experience to be as “quintessentially Disney” as possible. He also stated that Disney wanted to proceed with the reopening in the most responsible way possible.

Chapek did not discuss any specific number or percentage in terms of what “limited capacity” constituted, but this is because there is no government guidance as to theme park density. The number of people Disney allows into the park will be a function of the CDC’s 6-foot social distancing rule.

Observations and guidance in the first phase of reopenings will help determine increasing the number of guests allowed in the parks in later phases. Overall Disney doesn’t expect demand to be impacted.

Walt Disney World hotels are scheduled to reopen July 11 but Chapek did say not all hotels will reopen then. Disney is temporarily pausing new ticket sales and hotel reservations in order to focus on guests with existing tickets and reservations.

You can watch the whole interview below:

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney World, bob chapek, CNBC, Disney World Reopening