Category: Travel Places

Tropical Storm Nicole

Storm forecast

Update 11/11/2022: As of today, all attractions have reopened, Florida airports have reopened, though will likely take some time for all flights to go back to normal schedules, and cruise ports are reopening, though today’s sailings will still have some impacts. Check with your travel sources for the latest information before going.

Unfortunately, Florida is in the path of another tropical storm, which is expected to turn into a hurricane as it makes landfall on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov 9-10, 2023.

Orlando International Airport has announced that it is stopping commercial operations at 4pm ET on Wednesday Nov 8, 2022. Palm Beach International Airport will close at 9am ET on Wednesday also. No information on any reopenings.

Other Florida airports have not announced closures yet but I suspect flights will still be impacted, so check your flight status if you have any travel booked thru any Florida airports this week.

Disney World has already announced phased park closures between 5-7pm ET on Wednesday night, and staying closed on Thursday. Dining reservations will end early as well. All nighttime shows are cancelled.

Fort Wilderness and other resorts that are more exposed to the elements are closing as well. If you had a reservation, you should be contacted by Disney. All other resorts will remain open.

Water parks and mini-golf at Disney World and Universal Orlando will be closing early on Wednesday and staying closed on Thursday also.

Universal Orlando has announced the Universal Orlando Resort parks and CityWalk, will close early on Wednesday, Nov 9th at 5 pm ET. The Universal hotels will remain operational.

Disney Cruise Line has announced itinerary changes for this week’s sailings in the Bahamas and Caribbean. In addition, due to the storm’s effect on the ports, arrival and departures may be changed. If you have a cruise this week, keep a close eye on your emails for updates.

I’ll update here as I hear of other attraction closures, but I think it’s safe to assume that most will do the same, and that anything on Wednesday evening and all day Thursday will have some impact. Check the locations’ websites and social media channels for the latest information.

I will also have updates on my Instagram, ADVENTURES_BY_ANNE, so follow me there as well.

Here are some weather update pages:

If you will be impacted by this, start preparing and stay safe.

Pic ©The Weather Channel

Disney World Updates

EPCOT Spaceship Earth

So many changes have occurred in the last month or two at Disney World in Orlando! Here’s a quick summary. If you want more details on any of them, feel free to contact me.

Dining

  • You can cancel table service dining reservations (besides prepaid ones) in the MDE app up to 2 hours before the reservation now. Previously, you had to cancel by the day before, else you’d incur a $10/person penalty.
  • These restaurants are opening again:
    • Monsieur Paul – Oct 18, 2022
    • Kona Cafe – Nov 1, 2022
    • Akershus Royal Dining Hall – Nov 4, 2022
    • Takumi-Tei – Nov 23, 2022
  • Tusker House all meals and Crystal Palace and Cape May Cafe breakfasts are back to self serve buffets instead of the post-Covid reopening family style.
  • Pooh and friends have returned to Crystal Palace.
  • Stitch and friends have returned to Ohana breakfast.

Parks

  • Fantastic is reopening at Hollywood Studios on Nov 4, 2022! There are some changes and new scenes. Previews of the show look awesome!
  • Blizzard Beach water park is reopening on Nov 13, 2022 with some new Frozen touches.
  • Typhoon Lagoon water park will be closing for refurbishment on Nov 13th once Blizzard Beach reopens.
  • Genie+ pricing is now going to vary based on how busy the day is rather than being a flat $15 each. It can range from $15-25 dollars approximately. You won’t know the exact price until you go to buy it each morning though, so have some wiggle room in your budget. The Individual Lightning Lane prices were already variable but most of those have increased as well.
  • YES! Park reservations are still required and will be required into the foreseeable future, so make sure to make your park selection as soon as you buy your park tickets. You can always change parks later, but this way, you have access to some park each day incase they run out.

Resorts

  • There are currently several discounts for Disney resorts for Disney Visa card holders, Disney+ subscribers, Florida residents, US military personnel, and Annual Passholders thru early 2023. Availability is limited and gone already for some dates, so be flexible and book ASAP.
  • The Disney Skyliner will be closing for routine refurbishment from January 22-29, 2023. You will need to take the Disney free buses instead.

Events

I’ll update as more changes occur. As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about your Disney trip.

Disney Cruise Line Testing Change

Disney Cruise Line just sent this announcement that testing is no longer required before cruises.

Beginning November 14, 2022, for sailings departing from the United States, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests (regardless of vaccination status) to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing. Disney Cruise Line continues to highly recommend that all Guests be fully vaccinated and encourages unvaccinated Guests to take a COVID-19 test two days prior to sailing.

For sailings departing from International destinations, Disney Cruise Line adheres to the local laws, regulations and protocols in place, including those related to health and safety. Guests on these will be notified of any specific requirements closer to their sail date. In addition, we recommend that Guests review and stay up to date with any cruise-specific requirements, restrictions or recommendations that may be in place for travel to destinations outside of the United States. 

As our health and safety protocols and operational guidelines are subject to change, please visit the Know Before You Go section of our website for the latest information and answers to many frequently asked questions.

Guests booked on sailings departing from the U.S. on or after February 1, 2023, may modify or cancel their sailing by November 17, 2022 without any Disney-imposed cancellation fees. Please contact your travel agent for details on how to cancel or modify your booking. Please note that change fees and cancellation fees imposed by third-party suppliers, such as airlines and hotels, as well as travel insurance, are not refundable. Refunds will be processed back to the original form of payment. Standard cancellation policies and terms and conditions apply for any cancellation or modification requests received on or after November 18, 2022.

©Disney Cruise Line

National Park Pass for 4th Graders

National Park Pass

Hey fourth graders! See America’s natural wonders and historic sites for free. You and your family get free access to hundreds of parks, lands, and waters for an entire year. Every Kid Outdoors creates crucial connections to public lands and inspires a future generation of stewards of America’s spectacular national parks and other public lands.

Get passes, download activities, or plan a life-changing field trip for your fourth-grade students at:

Learn about other available park passes at:

Above is verbiage from the National Park Service post regarding 4th grader national park passes.

Now, a few words from me… Even if you don’t have a 4th grader in your family, the regular National Park pass or any other affiliated passes are also a great deal! Depending on which parks you go to, they may pay for themselves in as few as 2-3 visits. Best of all, you’re supporting a great institution and the best national treasures of this country. We love exploring the national parks and hope that you will include them in your future trips too. Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about any of them.

©National Park Service

Universal Orlando phased reopening for resort guests

Universal Orlando

Here is the latest update I’ve seen from Universal Orlando.

Update as of 2pm ET on Sept 30th.

Universal Orlando update

Update as of 9pm ET on Sept 29th.

We continue to conduct assessment and recovery efforts across our entire destination with the safety of our guests and team members being our top priority. We expect to begin a phased reopen of portions of our destination for Universal Orlando Resort hotel guests only beginning Friday, Sept. 30.

We look forward to sharing additional operational updates regarding our reopen, including updates around Halloween Horror Nights and when our destination will be available to all guests. These updates will be shared as soon as possible on our website, social media and via email.

To update travel plans:

Our Guest Contact Center is experiencing high call volume and wait times. The easiest way to modify or cancel Universal Orlando travel plans, including theme park tickets and Halloween Horror Nights event tickets, is to email reservations@universalorlando.com. A Team Member will respond as soon as possible.

We appreciate your patience and look forward to welcoming all guests as soon as it is safe to do so.

©Universal Orlando

*Pic credit to original post online.

Disney World phased reopening

Cinderella Castle

Disney World has announced a phased reopening of the theme parks and Disney Springs on Friday, Sept 30th, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

  • Magic Kingdom
    • 8 a.m. Early Theme Park Entry 
    • 10 a.m. All Guest entry 
    • 6 p.m. Park close for non party guests
    • 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 
  • EPCOT
    • 9 a.m. Early Theme Park Entry 
    • 11 a.m. All guest entry 
    • 9 p.m. Park close 
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios 
    • 10 a.m. Early Theme Park Entry 
    • 12 p.m. All guest entry 
    • 9 p.m. Park close 
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom 
    • 11 a.m. Early Theme Park Entry 
    • 1 p.m. All Guest entry 
    • 7 p.m. Park close 
  • Disney Springs
    • 10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
    • The Drawn to Life 5:30 p.m. show on Friday, Sept. 30 will be rescheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.
  • Fantasia Fairways Miniature Golf Course 
    • 3 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Theme park reservations are required. 

The early theme park entry benefit is available for guests staying at Disney Resort hotels and select other hotels.

Dining

All dining and Enchanted Extra experience reservations prior to the listed park hours above are canceled. 

Guests who have existing dining or Enchanted Extras experiences during the Early Theme Park Entry window will be allowed to enter the parks whether or not they are Resort Guests. 

Transportation 

Transportation will operate as normal, pending our current weather protocols. Transportation will begin operation 30 minutes prior to each park open. Resort Guests are encouraged to take their own vehicles if they choose to visit another location on property. 

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

For Guests with a Friday, Sept. 30 check-in, please arrive at your resort no earlier than 3 p.m. ET; Guests who arrive before 3 p.m. will not be able to check in. Guests may reschedule their trip or cancel their stay with us; any customary cancellation fees will be waived.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will resume operations with voyages departing Saturday, Oct. 1. 

Continued temporary closures 

The following locations will remain temporarily closed:

  • Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground 
  • Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa 
  • Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
  • Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park 
  • Winter Summerland Miniature Golf 

Please note that all reopening timelines are tentative, and subject to safety conditions.

For the most up-to-date information about temporary closures and impacts, check the My Disney Experience app and DisneyWorld.com/Weather

©Disney

Cruises impacted by Hurricane Ian

Disney cruises impacted by Hurricane Ian

Disney Cruise Lines has confirmed that the Disney Wish sailing currently out at sea will be delayed returning to Port Canaveral. Instead of returning this Friday as scheduled, it will now likely return on Saturday or Sunday, depending on when Port Canaveral reopens.

Unfortunately, that means the Wish sailing scheduled to start sailing on Friday will now be cancelled. If you were booked on that sailing, you should’ve gotten an email from DCL today with details on refunds and credits.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has also cancelled it’s Thursday sailing on the Norwegian Getaway.

Carnival Cruise Line cancelled its sailings out of Tampa and Jacksonville scheduled for Thursday on the Carnival Paradise and Carnival Elation.

The sailings of those ships that are out at sea now are going to be extended until their ports reopen as well.

Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Celebrity Cruises have announced route and port changes to several of their ships currently out at sea. I imagine most cruise lines with sailings thru the Caribbean will have route and port changes as well.

Chances are, if you have a sailing into or out of ports in Tampa, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville this week, you will be impacted. Check with your cruise line for the latest changes.

Florida theme parks announce closures

Disney World

In light of the impending landfall of Hurricane Ian thru central Florida, most major theme parks have announced closures for Wednesday and Thursday. So far, Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Legoland have confirmed closures of all of their Florida parks, as well as Disney Springs and CityWalk.

I expect that all other area attractions will be closing soon as well. Depending on the results of the hurricane, the closures may be extended. Double check before you go, if you still plan on going this week.

Stay safe!