Disney World Update – Nostalgic Return, Magic Cuts, Park Reservation Tip

Disney World has hit a lull. The initial frenzy to get a limited spot has died down. It’s now possible to get a reservation for the next day for most of the parks, we’ll tell you how. Meanwhile, Disney has come to terms with the entertainment union and is making new progress on various Epcot projects. We’ll share the latest updates with you and end with a little tour of what’s going on at Epcot . . . 

Disney World Park Reservation Tip

If you look at the Disney World website, you might think that the parks are full . . . don’t let that deter you. Guests with day tickets and hotel reservations have nearly full availability to visit just about whenever they want. It’s passholders who see limited availability in the Disney World park reservation system. . . at least on the surface. Here’s the view for the rest of August for passholders: 

But don’t believe it. The parks aren’t full on most days, and there IS still availability, even for passholders. You simply need to log in to the website and click through to the actual reservation system. We checked last night for today and would have been able to book any of the 4 parks for today . . . even though the park availability calendar shows only 6 days at the end of the month with partial availability.

At midnight, Disney’s Hollywood Studios (and all of the other parks) were still available for today for passholders:

As you’ll see from our Epcot photos below, if you can make it to the parks during the weekdays (weekends are almost always busier), you’ll likely be rewarded with nearly empty parks.  

 

Labor Day Irony – Reduced Hours

Disney is celebrating Labor Day this year by significantly reducing their theme park hours the next day . . . and thus their labor expenses. Daily operating hours for all four theme parks will be reduced for a total labor savings of 6 hours per day starting September 8th. Here’s how it breaks down per park: 

• • Magic Kingdom: 9AM – 6PM (previously 9AM – 7PM) -1 hour
  • EPCOT: 11AM – 7PM (previously 11AM – 9PM)  -2 hours
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 10AM – 7PM (previously 10AM – 8PM) -1 hour
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9AM – 5PM (previously 8AM – 6PM) -2 hours

Both Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close an hour earlier, while EPCOT will close two hours sooner. Disney’s Animal Kingdom will both open later and close earlier, shaving off two hours from it’s already reduced operating schedule.

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Employee Testing & The Return of Equity Actors!

After a two-month battle over how performers can safely return to work, Walt Disney World and the Actors’ Equity Association have finally reached an agreement. That means many of the resort’s shows may soon be able to return.  

Disney and their actors union had been at odds over the testing of performers. Disney finally agreed to provide a free COVID-19 testing site for Disney Cast Members and their immediate families, guests, and Florida residents. The testing site will be run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and will be located on Disney World property. The Actors’ Equity Association then signed an agreement with the resort to allow its performers to return to work at the parks.

The testing site is located at Disney’s Maingate Complex, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The site features a drive-thru setup, with self-administered nasal swab tests that are supervised by trained medical staff. Results are expected to be delivered within 3-5 business days.

This is a step in the right direction for the many working Cast Members and Equity Actors who can now return to work. No return date has been announced for actor-staffed shows just yet, or which shows might be able to return.

UPDATE: Disney sent us the following statement regarding the addition of the new testing location: 

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An Empty EPCOT Expedition

This week, we briefly ventured into EPCOT to see what’s new… 

A piece of EPCOT history has returned! The prism has been added to the main entrance fountain after a long 20-year hiatus. The renovated fountain is still behind a construction wall, and is expected to be fully revealed later this year. In the meantime, check out these pretty pylons!

  

We can’t wait to see the prism fountain finished, especially at night!

Heading under Spaceship Earth, the Pin Traders shop received some decals to clearly mark the new pin trading headquarters.

Inside, plenty of new and throwback EPCOT merch is available. 

I’m honestly surprised these limited edition EPCOT logo pins are still available. They won’t last long!

Limited edition pins for Flower & Garden are available here too:

  

Back outside, a pinboard with updated pandemic-friendly trading etiquette:

 

Heading back out… one last look at the prism?

Spaceship Earth was a walk-on, how can I say no?

Maybe it’s the 3-month break from riding . . . or limited maintenance . . . but the track feels like it’s in rough shape to me. I also noticed quite a few animatronics and lighting effects were not on or working properly as well.

Though our hearts are still broken about those indefinitely-postponed projects, let’s take a look at what we know is still coming to EPCOT in the near future. Making our way to the new home of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, previously known as the Universe of Energy:

Work continues on the roof and interior:

Just next door, work also continues on the PLAY! pavilion’s roof:

Let’s check into the temporary location of MouseGear:

This new spirit jersey is bright and playful, matching the new fruity parks collection:

I spotted some newer face mask designs; Frozen 2 and “Together Again”

Flower & Garden merch can still be found at multiple locations throughout the park. Looks like they’ve run out of the Orange Bird juice glasses and spirit jerseys so far:

The Child is alive and well at EPCOT:

This Minnie headband features glitter-filled bubble ears:

Back out in the park…

Looking at attraction wait times, they weren’t too bad. Frozen Ever After consistently had the highest throughout my time there, fluctuating between 20-40 minutes.

While this year’s Food & Wine Festival is considered a hybrid with Flower & Garden, the vibrant flower beds around Future World are sorely missed:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the park this empty. Without the buzzing guests and added kineticism of the monorail overhead, it’s starting to feel eerie:

 

Though the Food & Wine merchandise hasn’t arrived just yet, you can tell by the banners and decor that this year’s theme is Ratatouille. Since Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure was originally set to open in June of this year, it would have worked out perfectly. Buzzing rumors suggest the ride will be ready for an October opening – what do you think?

Heading into the World Showcase, here are the most guests I saw in a hot minute – which isn’t saying much:

I’ve heard nothing but good things about the World Showplace offering festival favorites. This is the large event building between the U.K. and France pavilions. 

Let’s take an A/C break and eat things… Once inside, you can tell where everyone’s been hiding:

I tried the “Gourmet Mac & Cheese” with Boursin Garlic — not my favorite as the Boursin Garlic was just a hunk of room-temperature cream cheese atop an already-delicious dish. Although, y ou can rarely ever go wrong with macaroni and cheese, right?

As always, the liquid-nitro booth caught my attention:

This year, they’re offering chocolate cake pops. I opted for the mini M&M’s one – this was yummy! Cake pops have doughy centers; this one reminded me of cold and chewy brownie dough. I only wish it stayed cold a little while longer, since it warmed up and started to melt within minutes of this photo:

I didn’t want to fill up on too many snacks, as it’s pretty hot and humid outside. Heading into France, we can start to see more of the Ratatouille expansion area popping up behind the pavilions forefront:

That Ratatouille entrance is calling our names…

Soon, Remy, soon.

Before we head out for the day, I wanted to see what Ratatouille construction was looking like from the Skyliner…

Workers are present, bit by bit we’re seeing more progress to the expanded area:

Here’s what it will look like complete, not far off . . . 

Back into EPCOT we go…

The clouds are getting dense and dark – time to slowly make our way out…

 

Future World is all walls. Seeing active construction workers at Ratatouille, Guardians and the PLAY! pavilion gives us some hope those areas are progressing as well.

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Let’s Hear From You! 

Are you glad to see the restoration of the fountain in front of Spaceship Earth? What shows do you think are most likely to return under current social distancing procedures? Given the recent lack of crowds, are you surprised that Disney is reducing park hours? And does an 8 hour day of fun sound long enough to build a trip around? Let us know in the comments below! 

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