65 years of magic calls for a fitting celebration . . . but that will have to wait for Disneyland. The park hits a milestone this week on the 17th, the day the Resort was announced to have reopened before Coronavirus cases spiked across the nation. But there is some exciting news from the Resort, including a partial reopening. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, Walt Disney World reopened this week. . . and we were there to cover it for you . . . but was it too soon?! There’s some news coming out of Hong Kong Disneyland which might put pressure on Disney to make changes in Orlando as well.
We’ll wrap up or Monday Disneyland Update with a heartwarming reader tribute to the Happiest Place on Earth. Closed or not, the park deserves a happy birthday . . .
Downtown Disney Reopens!
After months of . . . nothing . . . a bit of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim reopened on the 9th of July. Downtown Disney, the Resort’s shopping and dining district welcomed back guests for the first time since mid-March. But, as you might expect, the first day was something of a madhouse, with loads of passholders, bloggers, influencers, and Disney-starved fans flooding the area for a long-awaited Disney fix.
Like everything else, new safety guidelines have been instituted to help keep you as safe as possible. Disney announced the new guidelines and operational changes for Downtown Disney ahead of the reopening. Here’s Disney’s “Know Before You Go” reminders:
With this information in mind, we made it to the Disneyland Resort around 8am on opening day, July 9 – a full two hours before the announced opening. And despite being early, we were still stuck in a massive line of other guests trying to park. All roads leading toward the one open parking lot (Simba), were completely stopped bumper to bumper.
Hundreds of guests swarmed through the new health and safety screening checkpoint near the Disneyland Hotel. There are now 4 stages to the process: 1) Temperature check 2) K9 Screening 3) Bag check 4) Metal detector . . .
Disney has partnered with Hoag Hospital to staff the temperature check and wellness tents.
There were three lines to enter the tent.
Keep your distance . . .
The actual temperature check was contactless, quick, and easy.
It was followed by a new type of screening . . . K9 inspection . . .
Yes . . . K9 as in dog . . .
Then to the modified bag check, where plexiglass screens have been installed to help protect the screeners.
And finally, the metal detectors . . .
Let’s be really honest here, these are very unsettling times. We were all sheltering in our homes for 4 months during much lower cases of infection. Now that cases are rising rapidly, suddenly Disney is opening. Shopping and outdoor dining is open widely across the region, so Disney certainly isn’t the only one reopening. Knott’s Marketplace, Universal CityWalk, all the major malls in Orange County, have all reopened. Disney further justifies their decision based upon their new health and safety procedures, so you’ll see the signs and reminders EVERYWHERE:
There was a general lack of entertainment in the area. The stage was empty. Of course, this is to keep crowds from forming.
Lego has altered their operation to keep kids from playing with the Lego building pit outside the store.
All shops are limiting the number of guests inside. That means that popular stores have lines. Some of them were quite long.
The line for the Dress Shop wrapped around the corner. Eventually, they had to cut off the line until they’d moved through their existing queue before adding new guests in.
While Disney was keeping track of attendance, it almost felt like a normal day in some places. Though, there really were fewer people than on an average day.
At opening, everyone headed straight for World of Disney, so most stores had the doors open and no guests for a little while after opening.
But that didn’t last long. Within an hour or so, lines had formed everywhere.
The line below is for Marceline Candy Company.
When the lines get long enough, some of the Disney-owned stores implement a virtual queue. You give a castmember your phone number and they text you when it’s your turn to enter the store.
Other stores have their own procedures.
At Salt and Straw, they’ll have you scan a QR code to order online. It’s as easy as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. . . now there’s a marketing slogan you don’t hear every day.
Starbucks is easy. Order your drink in their app and they notify you when it’s ready and bring it out to a little cart in front of the store. No need to go inside at all.
Downtown Disney Dining Reservations: The restaurants which are open are only allowed to do table service outside due to state order. So availability is VERY limited. Both Uva and Naples are doing reservations at this time!
And then there are the things that aren’t open at all. Although you see a line below that looks like it’s for the VOID, it’s actually for the Disney Home store further ahead. The VOID is out of business in their Disney locations. What’s missing from the Downtown Disney mix that you’d like to see fill the . . . um . . . VOID?!
It also looked like Splitsville was open because there were people eating on the patio. However, Splitsville is still closed. Those are guests of Black Tap looking for a spot to sit.
Many of the food service locations aren’t open yet. Tortilla Joes, Catal, Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Napolini, La Brea Bakery, Ballast Point, many of the vendor carts, and Sprinkles Cupcakes were all unavailable.
The real star of the show was the World of Disney. There were so many people waiting in line that it stretched from the store, all the way to the ticket booths on the Harbor Blvd side of the Esplanade and back again, twice!
To find the end of the line, look for the cast member holding the “End of Queue” sign. Then wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. . .
Once inside, there are far fewer guests, but it can still get crowded in places. But we found more empty spots than busy ones.
Keep an eye on the cash registers and use the ones with the shortest lines. On one end of the store they were packed, while on the other there was hardly a line at all. Social distancing markers help keep you separated in line, then stand on the circle in front of the register you are sent to. Plexiglass shields separate you from the castmember.
Here’s a quick video walkthrough of the store from Dusty:
OK, we’ve scared you enough. This was all on opening day folks. Weekends will probably continue to be on the busy side, weekdays should be less so. Though, just yesterday, Disney had to suspend parking for a while.
Not Much of a Celebration So Far
Disneyland’s 65th Anniversary is on July 17 and to help celebrate the occasion, Disney has announced a new merchandise collection . . . and that’s it. Currently, there have been no other official plans revealed to honor the anniversary. That doesn’t mean other events or activities won’t happen in the future, of course. But we certainly aren’t privy to any of them yet.
As for Disneyland’s 65th Anniversary Collection, some of the items have already made their way to World of Disney in Downtown Disney. However, in keeping with Disney’s new policy of limiting limited-edition merchandise to online release only, some of the pieces will be sold at an online shopping event on July 14 at 10am Pacific. You can find out more about the items available and how to purchase them here:
Disneyland 65th Anniversary Merchandise Takes the Party Online
Walt Disney World Reopens!
Both of Disney’s US resorts closed in mid-March, but only one has since reopened. Walt Disney World in Florida celebrated a “welcome back” to guests starting July 11 in a phased reopening. Despite all odds (and perhaps all logic) WDW has found a way to reopen its theme parks in the middle of a pandemic. And for the most part, Disney’s guidelines are successful, but where it starts to break down is guest compliance within the resort and just about everywhere outside the resort that Disney can’t control, such as airports, car rental facilities, shuttles, gas stations, etc. Here’s a brief overview of the opening of Walt Disney World.
Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World is opening in phases, with its theme parks opening on two different days. The first day was July 11 when both the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom reopened. Next, EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will reopen on July 15th. We were at Magic Kingdom on its reopening day to bring you coverage of the new park operations.
The park is operating at a significantly reduced capacity, so it feels almost lonely sometimes having entire attractions to yourself. Popular attractions like Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, and Peter Pan were all walk-ons. The longest line we waited for was The Seven Dwarves Mine Train, and that was really only a 15-minute wait. According to the My Disney Experience app, the longest posted wait that day was for Splash Mountain with a 45-minute wait, but we suspect it was significantly shorter than listed.
Throughout the park, there are safety reminders posted and overhead announcements that ask guests to follow the guidelines. For the most part, queues are spaced out to allow social distancing (though Disney uses a different term, physical distancing. Similarly, masks are always referred to by Cast Members as face coverings) and there’s plenty of hand sanitizer available to frequently disinfect. Join Dusty for a full tour of Magic Kingdom, plus a frightening incident during a character cavalcade in the video below (when the horse Merida is riding suddenly becomes spooked in front of guests).
One of the things that shocked us when we visited was how Cast Members were operating high-touch attractions. In the Mine Train queue, all the interactive portions of the queue were roped off or turned off, but just around the corner, the Mad Tea Party was operating as usual. Likewise, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters was also in operation in Tomorrowland. Attractions are not being cleaned after every ride through (according to a Cast Member we spoke with, vehicles are cleaned every hour on some attractions), so keep in mind that riding any attraction is based on your comfort level and discretion. There’s no FastPass right now, so all attractions in the parks are standby. (That will change when Rise of the Resistance reopens on the 15th).
For more about the reopening of Magic Kingdom and a close-up video of the cavalcade incident, read our write up below.
Animal Kingdom
For the time being, Park Hopping is a thing of the past with the new Park Pass reservation system. This new change meant we couldn’t visit both newly reopened parks on the same day because you now need to make an advance reservation in addition to having valid park admission. However, we were able to secure a July 12 reservation for Disney’s Animal Kingdom for its second day of operation.
Animal Kingdom is a sprawling park with 580 acres (comparatively, the entire Disneyland Resort is roughly 510 acres), so you’d best be prepared to spend a lot of time walking! Although we found Magic Kingdom the day before to be bearable, even if hot and muggy while wearing a mask, Animal Kingdom was much harder to handle in the heat. But it was also less crowded (not that Magic Kingdom was crowded by any stretch). Animal Kingdom has far fewer attractions than Magic Kingdom, so we think they have set the daily attendances cap much lower here. And given the huge size of the park, it just feels mostly empty. Here’s a point to drive that home, at 3pm in the afternoon, Flight of Passage and Pandora River Journey were both 5-minute waits. These are two of the busiest attractions in the entire resort on a busy day.
After Dusty’s tour of Walt Disney World’s reopening, here’s his personal tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Follow the link HERE to see highlights from our trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on MiceChat’s Instagram! You’ll note Dusty’s tips to not be first to the parks (to avoid the morning rush) and to go with your gut and just stay away from anything that makes you uncomfortable. At one point, he abandons plans to take the viewers on a journey through one of the animal trails when he spots a large group of guests entering the trail without masks.
For more about the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, check out Chloe’s reopening article below:
Was the Reopening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom a Roaring Success?
One of the biggest changes coming to WDW has to do with Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the attraction that consistently brought hoards of people at rope drop in the hopes of getting a boarding pass. Starting with the park’s opening on July 15, that process will change. Guests will now have the chance to reserve a boarding group at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm. That means you don’t need to arrive at rope drop any more in order to ride! Would you like to see this change at Disneyland?
In the short time that WDW has been open, MiceChat authors have been cranking out content. Take a look at the articles linked below, and keep an eye out for more Walt Disney World Updates this week!
Cinderella Castle gets a new look:
Here’s what Disney’s idea of character dining looks like in these challenging times. It’s a lot of money for characters so far away:
Mickey From a Distance: The Modified Disney Character Dining Experience
Virus Spikes and Their Potential Effect on Parks
As you are no doubt aware, Coronavirus cases have spiked in many states, with Florida and California leading the way on the bad news meter. This is a serious issue that affects every facet of our daily life. The number of new reported cases seen in California on Saturday was a whopping 8,460, but there have been several recent days over the 10k threshold. Here is a look at the upward trend in cases in California, as reported by the state.
Florida is in a similar situation. They had 15,299 new cases reported yesterday, a record. Just a week ago they were reporting record cases around 10,000 per day. Here is a look at their upward trend.
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure’s reopening was postponed because the California government had not yet approved health and safety guidelines for theme parks. But since the number of cases are worse now than they were in June when the delay was announced, could this push the Parks’ opening back even further? And while Walt Disney World is currently in the process of reopening, could the massive rise in Florida cases eventually force another closure? And if not, will the guests eventually stop showing up on their own, forcing Disney to scale way back or suspend operations anyway? These are all questions we have and are closely watching. Ask a dozen Disney employees, and you’ll get a dozen different answers. These are volatile times with unpredictable outcomes.
But one sign that once a park is open doesn’t mean it will absolutely remain open . . . we are hearing that Hong Kong Disneyland, which reopened on June 18th, is closing again due to an uptick in COVID cases. After months of cases near zero, Hong Kong is seeing a spike in infections.
With Disneyland California remaining closed and Hong Kong Disneyland closing again for fewer cases, is the writing on the wall for Walt Disney World, which is operating in an area with far more cases than either of those other two Disney resorts?
Park Health and Safety Measures Detailed by Disney
To prepare for Walt Disney World’s reopening, Disney shared the new health and safety measures that would be in effect on their properties. This quick video summarizes their approach.
Disney’s approach is split into five parts: Health & Wellness, Cleaning & Disinfecting, Technology Solutions, Cast Member Training & Workplace Safety, and Working Together. You can also read a more in-depth look into these new measures (and even see some of them in action) here:
Disney Shares Details on Park Health and Safety Measures for Reopening
65 Years of Magic . . . Interrupted
This should be Disneyland’s big week. But life has thrown us a curveball. So, while the Mayor of Main Street won’t be able to read a proclamation, no flash mob of 65 characters will surprise guests in Town Square, and no blue cupcakes with printed white chocolate castles on top will be baked . . . we still think that something needs to be done to mark the occasion . . . which is why we asked you to help us celebrate the thing that is the very reason for this website, the thing that brings us all together. So We asked:
“What Does Disneyland Mean to You?”
Successfully turning 65 is not a small feat. But with each passing year, more and more people have fallen in love with the unique charm of the original Magic Kingdom. While it’s sad that Disneyland fans can’t be at the resort in person this year, we asked our MiceChat Facebook group to share a photo of what Disneyland means to them. We got an immense response, and here are just a few of the highlights from that thread! Take a look and then share your own thoughts on what Disneyland means to you as well.
Thank you all for opening up about the special place Disneyland holds in your hearts! Disneyland has been closed for almost 4 months now, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. To see more of our readers’ photos of the significance of Disneyland, be sure to join our MiceChat Facebook group and like our Facebook page!
Keep an eye out on MiceChat’s social media for the theme for next week’s reader photo theme! And share your own thoughts on what Disneyland means to you below.
FuelRod Controversy Ended
Last year, the popular portable charger kiosk FuelRod switched from free unlimited swapping to a fee-based model. And let me tell you, people were up in arms about the change. In fact, there was a class action law suite brought against FuelRod. The good news is, the litigation has been settled, and customers that are eligible for “FuelRod Founder” status will continue getting free unlimited swaps, even after they start charging. For more information about the brand-new program and the drama that led up to it, read the article below:
Let Us Help
Theme parks are reopening, and whether you are ready to travel yet or not, there’s no better time to lock in low rates on future travel. But waiting on hold and not knowing what questions to ask isn’t the magical part of a vacation. That’s why MiceChat has partnered with Get Away Today to handle all the difficult stuff for you . . . all for no extra cost. That’s right, they do all the work and it doesn’t cost you extra.
Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you with your theme park booking and rescheduling plans. We know you’re as uncertain about the future as we are. That’s why Get Away Today is offering the most flexible Disney travel options available. Ask about:
Price Protection – If a better special comes out after you have booked, you’ll get the better deal.
Peace of Mind – Make hotel changes, reschedule dates, drop nights, change ticket vouchers and more, as many times as you’d like for a small, one-time fee.
Layaway Plan – Lock in your 2020 or 2021 Walt Disney World Resort vacation for just $175 down. By booking early, you secure your availability and have the flexibility to pay as you go. Make as many interest-free payments as you’d like, whenever you’d like, with final payment due just seven days prior to travel.
Give your family something to look forward to:
- Visit Get Away Today HERE
- We are expecting high call volume as Disney resumes hotel bookings and tickets sales. So, please fill out our request form and a vacation advisor will call you back: Vacation Information Request Form HERE
Let’s Hear From You
It’s almost Disneyland’s birthday. Who would have thought in March that the park would still be closed. But even as we all deal with these emotional and challenging times, the thought of Disneyland still brings us joy. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the reopening of Downtown Disney and Disney World, the FuelRod controversy, the potential for a much longer shutdown . . . and what Disneyland means to you personally.
-Disneyland-
To all that come to this happy place
– Welcome –
Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past… and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
July 17, 1955
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