Author: disneyfoodblog.com

We’ve got some NEW updates from the Disney World hotels!

Though some Disney World resort hotels are already open, there are a bunch that we’re still waiting on. The next hotels on the docket for reopening are Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Contemporary Resort on July 10th. Well today, we just got an update for EVERYTHING that’s opening at Pop Century Resort! Check it out!

Have no fear, Everything POP Shopping & Dining WILL be opening so that you can get your snack and your spend on. This food court and gift shop combo is a HUGE asset to guests staying at Pop Century so we’re glad to see that it will be open.

All three pools will be open — Hippy Dippy Pool, Bowling Pool, and Computer Pool — and you’ll be able to grab a sip or snack at Petals Pool Bar. Like many of the other resorts, guests will be able to enjoy poolside activities and movies under the stars.

The update today also confirms that Pop Century guests will be able to access buses to Disney Springs and the theme parks (when they open), plus the Skyliner to the reopened theme parks. Keep an eye on DFB for ALL of the latest reopening updates!

Click here for the FULL LIST of reopening resort dates!

Headed for a stay at Pop Century? Tell us in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, disney resorts, Featured, Pop Century Resort, Walt Disney World, Bowling Pool, Computer Pool, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Everything POP Shopping & Dining, HIppy Dippy Pool, Petals pool bar

Many Walt Disney World Resort hotels have reopened in preparation for the theme parks phased reopening beginning this Saturday.

Shades of Green Resort, the Walt Disney World hotel reserved for members of the military, closed temporarily in March. The closure was scheduled to last until July 1st and was later postponed to July 15th.

Shades of Green announced another delay in opening and has decided to extend the closure again. The resort is now scheduled to remain closed until August 12th. 

Shades of Green released the following statement: “The safety of our guests and staff is our primary concern at AFRC Resorts. Shades of Green will temporarily remain closed through August 11th, 2020 to ensure the health and well-being of service members and their families.” “Shades of Green will continue to accept reservations for new arrivals beginning August 12th, 2020. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will make a determination to reopen when it is safe for our guests and staff.”

The hotel cancelation will not affect guests who already have Disney World park reservations. Shades of Green guests have the option of booking an overflow resort during the closure by contacting Shades of Green at (888) 593-2242. As always, we will continue to update you as we learn more about closures and extensions.

Learn more about traveling to Disney World in 2020 here!

Are you planning on visiting a Disney World hotel soon? Let us know in the comments below.

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Featured, Shades of Green, Walt Disney World, disney closure, disney hotels, disney park reservations, disney re-open, disney re-opening, disney resorts, Disney World, shades of green resort

We’re inching closer and closer to Disney World’s grand reopening this weekend!

Along with things like Disney World transportation and many in-park dining locations resuming operations soon, we’ve now learned that a few more restaurants are reopening as well!

Disney World just recently reopened dining reservations to the general public, and now they’re also adding MORE restaurants to the list of spots that are open or will be opening soon! Here are the big ones!

Chef Mickey’s

This is one restaurant a LOT of readers were wondering about. The UBER popular all-day character dining spot at Disney’s Contemporary Resort WILL be reopening — but possibly without characters.

While Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera and Garden Grill Restaurant have both been confirmed to be offering “modified character experiences,” there is no mention of a similar experience at Chef Mickey’s. We don’t have an official reopening date yet, but we’re excited for the return of this spot!

California Grill

Sticking to the Contemporary Resort, we’ve got another fan favorite coming back. California Grill WILL be reopening for dinner! This Signature Dining location will be offering a limited menu, like most other locations we’ve seen. The biggest bummer we spotted? The wonderful Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli is MISSING from the menu.

This could be a temporary change (after all, this appetizer has been on the menu since California Grill opened!), but for now, at least, we’ll all be missing that goat cheese ravioli AND the spectacular nightly fireworks view, for which California Grill is so well known. Fireworks are on hold for now around Disney World along with a number of other guest experiences. We also don’t have a reopening date for this spot yet, but you’ll be the first to know when we do!

We’ll keep you posted if any new restaurants are added to the list. In the meantime, check back for our continuing coverage of Disney World’s reopening!

Here’s everything you need to know about reopened Disney World!

Are you happy to see these locations reopening? Any you’re still waiting for? Let us know in the comments! 

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Contemporary Resort, Disney News, Featured, Table-Service, Walt Disney World, California Grill, Chef Mickey’s, Disney World, Disney World reopening, disney world restaurants

We’ll be honest, there were a few modifications we were already a feeling a little apprehensive about before we arrived at Magic Kingdom yesterday.

One of the biggest changes we were having a hard time wrapping our heads around was the new Character Cavalcades at Disney World. A while ago, Disney told us they would be replacing their standard entertainment offerings with these unscheduled performances since character meet and greets, parades, and firework shows will be returning at a later time.

Disney assured us characters would still be “very present” even though they’ve had to modify several guest experiences — including character dining as well. We totally get why Disney has had to make these necessary changes and how important they are to the health and safety of Cast Members and guests alike — but would Disney World still be FUN without parades or character meet and greets?

We’ve seen from afar how other Disney parks have incorporated characters into their phased reopening plans in other parks like Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and most recently Toyko Disneyland. Characters typically wave to guests from balconies or moving vehicles to give folks a glance of their favorite pals in passing instead of character greetings, parades, and shows.

Yesterday was our first chance to experience a few of the new Character Cavalcades at Magic Kingdom for ourselves! While the Festival of Fantasy Parade and Move It! Shake It! Mousekedance It! Street Party left some pretty big shoes to fill, we actually feel like the new Character Cavalcades turned out…pretty great!

That’s right — consider us SWAYED! We were finally able to put our nervous feelings aside when we saw just how frequently and, frankly, pretty impressive these new Character Cavalcades turned out to be! There were even a few rare Disney characters thrown in the mix like Winnie the Pooh’s pal, Rabbit!

To us, many of these new Character Cavalcades felt like mini-impromptu parades! Yup — they actually LOOKED and FELT like tiny parades and were happening through the park — even if they were just baby versions of the real thing! There was plenty of pageantry, music, and TONS of Disney characters to watch go by! The mixture of characters on the Fantasyland Cavalcade was an interesting mix up — Alice, Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, Alladin, and Mary Poppins! Wow!

And we even saw some unusual stuff we weren’t expecting to see — like when Merida and Gaston rode by us on HORSES!

Originally, Disney gave us a list of Character Cavalcades to be on the lookout for throughout the day. We were told a Royal Princess Processional would be roaming Magic Kingdom’s parade route sporadically along with Tinker Bell, Goofy, Fantasyland Friends, Mickey-themed caravans. Performances would be unscheduled so that crowds wouldn’t congregate.

But we spotted way more Disney characters than just those dudes and dudettes. Captain Jack Sparrow was out in Adventureland looking for treasure — or rum. On second thought, probably BOTH!

Experiment 626 was yucking it up with Stitch fans over in Tomorrowland — Buzz Lightyear also stopped by!

Plus the Main Street Philharmonic is still drummin’ and blowing up a storm! We spotted them heading out through Frontierland.

And although we didn’t have a chance to make it over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom yet, our reader @allisonxella on Instagram sent us this pic of Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto going for a boat ride! Ah — this is AMAZING!!! Watercraft and Disney characters?!? She also spotted Chip, Dale, and Goofy in their dino best floating by to music later in the day!

Because the new Character Cavalcades are incorporating lots of unexpected elements (so far we’ve got rare characters, horses, and boats [oh my!], but we’re sure they’ll be even more surprises thrown into the mix!) and can seemingly happen at any time, we’re pretty into these Cavalcades right now! Not having to stake out a parade spot or wait in line to meet some of these characters is also a major upside too!

Read more about the new Character Cavalcades we spotted yesterday here!

Even though you can’t run up and hug your favorite Disney characters right now or ask them to sign your autograph book, most of the characters we saw were super attentive and will happily wave back at you (or blow a kiss or two!). Until normal character meet and greets and parades can safely resume, these new Character Cavalcades will do us just fine and we’d like to know what you guys think of them too! Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned as we scope out even more!

Click here to learn more about our overall impression of the Magic Kingdom Cast Member preview we attended yesterday!

Have you been to any of the Disney parks yet? Let us know which changes you’re worried about liking the most in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Featured, magic kingdom, Walt Disney World, changes, character cavalcades, differences, Disney World, enjoyed the most, jack sparrow, limited capacity, mini parades, parades, phased reopening, reopening, Stitch, things we liked, Winnie the Pooh

Walt Disney World is preparing to reopen this weekend. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will open on July 11th with Hollywood Studios and EPCOT following closely on July 15th.

Cast Member previews gave us insight into how dining, shopping, and attractions will be handled when the theme parks have officially opened. Disney just released a short video depicting how Cast Members are preparing for the park’s official re-opening the public since the closure in March.

Jeff Vahle, President of Walt Disney World Resort, posted a Welcome Back video where we see Cast Members performing various duties throughout the theme parks. The main focus of the commercial is to display the new sanitation tasks Disney is implementing. We see Cast Members wiping down attraction seats, vacuuming hotel rooms, and wearing face masks.

View this post on Instagram

The phased reopening of our Walt Disney World Theme Parks is about to get underway. Our Disney Cast Members are ready, and as excited as ever, to welcome our guests back to the magic. #WaltDisneyWorld #TheMagicisBack #DisneyCastLife

A post shared by Jeff Vahle (@jeffvahle) on Jul 8, 2020 at 11:53am PDT

 

 

When Disney presented their proposal for reopening they cited specific changes to the theme park’s operations. Guests will be required to get temperature checks, wear face masks, and maintain physical distance from other guests. Increased sanitation and physical distancing on attractions will be implemented by Cast Members as well.

It’s going to be a busy week for Disney news! All four parks will be reopened by July 15th and there are sure to be more updates as it continues. We will be sure to keep you updated with how Disney is handling the new procedures and operations.

Want to see the full list of attractions and restaurants that will be available on opening day? Check it out here!

What do you think of the new commercial? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Featured, Walt Disney World, disney closrue, disney commercial, Disney media, Disney World, disney world closure, disney world re-opening, jeff vahle