Tag: Disney

Mickey’s Toontown reopens March 8, 2023

Mickey's Toontown

In honor of Mickey’s and Minnie’s birthdays today, Disneyland Resort has announced the official reopening date of Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland Park in California. It will reopen on March 8, 2023!

Mickey’s Toontown is undergoing an ambitious reimagining, and will reopen with some all-new experiences for families and young children to have more opportunities to play together inside Disneyland Park.

The reimagined Mickey’s Toontown will provide open, grassy play spaces and interactive play areas for everyone to unwind, starting with CenTOONial Park, the first space guests will see when they enter the land.

In addition, you can step inside Mickey’s, Minnie’s, Goofy’s, and Donald’s houses for additional interactive fun.

Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin will return, where Guests can board Lenny the Cab and spin through the streets and alleys of Toontown as they follow the adventures of Roger Rabbit.

Climb aboard Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster, where Mickey’s Toontown’s favorite tinkerer, Gadget Hackwrench, has created a one-of-a-kind, fun-sized coaster for the town’s tiniest citizens.

Two new places will satisfy your appetites in the land: Café Daisy, where acclaimed culinary expert, Daisy Duck, serves up diner classics at her sidewalk table eatery; and the Toontown Farmers Market at Good Boy! Grocers, a friendly roadside stand, offering grab and go drinks and treats.

It will also be home to the new attraction, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway! Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open sooner, on Jan 27th, when the Disney 100 Years of Wonder Celebration comes to life at Disneyland Resort!

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about planning a Disney trip.

©Disney

Holidays at Disney World

Disney World Holidays

The holidays have arrived at Disney World in Orlando! All of the parks and resorts are decked out in their holiday finest.

Cinderella Castle is providing a gorgeous backdrop for holiday projections. Huge Christmas trees and gingerbread houses have sprung up everywhere! Christmas music is pumping thru the speakers. The smell of holiday treats is wafting thru the air. Can you picture it now?

The Magic Kingdom is hosting the Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights. I did a post on it awhile back so I won’t rehash everything here. Check out the party post.

EPCOT will be hosting the Festival of the Holidays and the Candlelight Processional with tons of fun foods and new narrators, respectively. Check out my festival post about this also.

There will also be new entertainment and holiday storytellers around the World Showcase, including Canadian Holiday Voyageurs, Las Posadas with Mariachi Cobre, the Chinese Lion Dance and more.

The exciting new ride, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, will even have a new seasonal playlist! Have you ridden that yet? It’s such a cool ride!

Make sure to catch the Santa Claus Merry Motorcade, where old St. Nick will travel up Hollywood Blvd at Hollywood Studios.

At Animal Kingdom, see the Tree of Life Awakenings – Holiday Edition, where the iconic tree shimmers each evening to holiday music. The flotillas will also have holiday touches and the Merry Menagerie puppets will again roam Discovery Island. They’re really amazing!

Many resorts will also have holiday decor, treats, and gorgeous trees or gingerbread houses. Be sure to go resort hopping. You don’t need to be staying there to visit them.

Disney Springs is also joining in the festivities with many shops and restaurants offering holiday specials. You can also partake in a Christmas tree scavenger hunt with the Christmas Tree Stroll.

The PhotoPass service will also have special holiday themed shots. Don’t forget to ask for them.

As you can see, there are so many ways to celebrate the holidays at Disney World. I haven’t even mentioned all of them. For more details, visit the Disney World Holidays page.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about your Disney trip. We’re in the process of planning our own holiday Disney trip. We love the holidays at Disney! So excited!

Pics ©Disney

Holidays Begin at Disneyland

Disneyland castle in holiday lights

The holidays begin today at Disney! Let’s see what Disneyland in California has to do offer. The celebration runs from November 11, 2022 – January 8, 2023.

The Christmas Fantasy Parade will take place at Disneyland Park each day, usually at 3:30pm and 6:30pm, though check your app for the latest showtimes. Your favorite Disney characters will join Santa Claus for a merry musical celebration down Main Street, U.S.A. Gotta love those toy soldiers too!

Small World holiday facade

Some rides, including the Haunted Mansion, “it’s a small world”, Mater’s Jamboree, and Luigi’s Rollicki’ Roadsters, will have holiday overlays.

Of course, there will be holiday decorations all over the parks and resorts too. Sleeping Beauty’s castle will be extra shimmery!

Don’t miss the nighttime shows! Disneyland Park will have the “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks and California Adventure Park will have the “World of Color – Season of Light” spectacular.

World of Color

California Adventure Park will host the Festival of Holidays, a celebration of diverse cultural festivities with music, food and fun from the traditions of Christmas, Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three King’s Day.

Of course, there will be plenty of other holiday foods and seasonal merchandise around both parks.

Holiday cookies

For more details, visit the Disneyland Holidays page.

If you want to chat about planning a Disney trip, feel free to contact me. We’re in the midst of planning a trip ourselves for the holidays! Hope to see you there!

Happy Holidays!

Pics ©Disney

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 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

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!

Orlando international airport closures

Orlando international airport closures

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), working in conjunction with more than 40 airlines that service Orlando International Airport (MCO), has decided that out of an abundance of caution in anticipation of Hurricane Ian, the final commercial flight at MCO will depart tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m.

If you have a flight scheduled after this time, you’ll have to work with your booking source to reschedule. Orlando is currently under a Hurricane Watch status.

Other Florida airports are due to close or have altered operations as well. Double check if you’re due to fly this week.

For more details on Orlando:

© Orlando International Airport

Updates to Disney Cruise Line Health & Safety Policies

Disney cruise ships

Disney Cruise Lines has announced that beginning Oct. 14, 2022, for Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish sailings and Nov. 7, 2022 for Disney Magic sailings, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time of sailing, however, it is highly recommended.

All Guests ages 5 years and older who are not fully vaccinated (Unvaccinated Guests) will need to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken 1-2 days before the sail date. So, if you are vaccinated, you will no longer need to test before sailing. Guests ages 4 years of age and younger do not require testing either.

To be exempt from testing requirements, fully vaccinated Guests must upload their proof of vaccination to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight prior to embarkation day. Unvaccinated Guests must upload a negative COVID-19 test result to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight prior to embarkation day. Uploading proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test result is a requirement for adults and children, except for those ages 4 and younger. 

Fully vaccinated Guests are not required to be tested between back-to-back sailings anymore. Guests ages 5 years and older who are not fully vaccinated and traveling on back-to-back sailings will be required to complete a COVID-19 test between sailings, arranged by Disney Cruise Line.

If this changes your mind for a currently booked sailing, guests booked on the Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy or Disney Wish October 14, 2022, through January 31, 2023, may modify or cancel their sailing by October 11, 2022 without any Disney-imposed cancellation fees. You should’ve received an email this morning from DCL with this information as well.

Visit the Know Before You Go section of the DCL website for the latest information and answers to many frequently asked questions. These requirements can still change anytime.

If you would like to chat about this or anything related to Disney cruises, or would like me to help you plan your next Disney cruise, feel free to contact me below. We can’t wait for our next sailing!


©Disney Cruise Lines

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

Disney World has announced the 2022 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays! It will begin this year on November 25, 2022 with additional holiday foods, activities, and merch.

One of the most popular events of the festival is the Candlelight Processional. You can see “a celebrity narrator tell the story of Christmas, recounting the biblical tale of a savior born in Bethlehem. Woven into the production are stirring songs of hope and joy performed by the orchestra and massed choir.”

Shows take place at 5:15 PM, 7:00 PM or 8:30 PM at the America Gardens Theatre at EPCOT at no additional cost besides your park ticket. It is a very beautiful production!

The schedule of celebrity narrators is subject to change, but here are the ones that have been revealed so far. Certain ones can get very popular so plan to line up very early or book a dining package that includes tickets to the show.

  • 11/25 – 11/26: Simu Liu
  • 11/27 – 11/29: Chita Rivera
  • 11/30 – 12/1: Raul Esparza (NEW)
  • 12/2 – 12/3: Whoopi Goldberg
  • 12/4 – 12/6: Isabella Rossellini
  • 12/7 – 12/9: Daymond John
  • 12/10 – 12/12: Josh Gad (NEW)
  • 12/13 – 12/14: Gloria Estefan (NEW)
  • 12/15 – 12/18: Neil Patrick Harris
  • 12/19 – 12/20: Mariska Hargitay (NEW)
  • 12/21 – 12/23: Cal Ripken Jr.
  • 12/24 – 12/26: Marie Osmond
  • 12/27 – 12/28: Courtney Vance
  • 12/29 – 12/30: Angela Bassett

Note: narrators can change. Check the official Disney festival page for the most recent updates on the schedule and additional details about the festival.

This is another fun EPCOT festival that we love. Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about this or if you want me to help plan your trip.

Happy Holidays!

Candlelight Processional

©Disney