The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, but the news at Walt Disney World never stops! Last week we were inundated in the sorrow of thousands of cast members. But due to some power-bargaining, there’s now renewed hope for many. Meanwhile, the parks are having a successful Halloween season and are ramping up for what may be a very well attended holiday season to come. Plus, we have all sorts of news and wrap up with a beautiful photo tour of all four WDW parks! Well, what are we waiting for . . . we’ve got news to uncover . . . 

A Silver Lining for Some Cast Members

After the devastating news of 28,000 cast member layoffs, the Walt Disney World unions have been very successful in protecting full-time union employees and their benefits. Furloughed full-time employees represented by the following unions will not receive permanent layoffs:

, Walt Disney World Update – Silver Linings and Increased Crowds Ahead

“On September 29th, 2020, Disney notified the STCU that they had made a decision to change the employment status from furlough to layoff for 5,299 Full-Time and 8,857 Part-Time Cast Members. After several days of negotiations, the STCU is proud to announce that no Full-Time Cast Members will be forced to layoff status.”

Whenever these protected cast members return, they will receive their full seniority. And if their role was eliminated and no longer exists, they can apply for other roles and maintain their seniority. While this is great news for qualifying full-time cast members, over 8,800 part-time cast members are still facing layoffs. However, even the part-time employees being laid off will qualify to be hired back into the company at their previous seniority and pay before Disney hires someone new off the streets (until at least October of 2022). Our hearts go out to all of you facing job losses at this difficult time.

For more information about the layoffs and the toll it’s taking on Disney cast members, please be sure to read last week’s MiceChat Disney World and Disneyland Updates, companion pieces about the incredible pain in the Disney community on both coasts. If you had trouble accessing the site last week, it’s because a record 1.5 MILLION of you all attempted to access MiceChat in just two days. There are a lot of you out there who care deeply about the cast and crew of the Disney Parks. We thank you for your big hearts. Here’s what you missed:   

Walt Disney World Update – The Long Goodbye

Disneyland Update – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye


Fresh & Frozen

Frozen Ever After continues to be popular among EPCOT guests, typically hosting the longest standby wait time at the park. If you’re planning a trip to EPCOT during the first week of November, you may want to adjust your park plans…

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Disney has announced a planned refurbishment for Frozen Ever After, and will be closed November 2nd – 6th. It’s unclear what updates (if any) are taking place during the short 4-day closure.

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Still looking for some Frozen fun? Anna & Elsa made their Sing-Along return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios just last week, and you can still wave to the sisters during surprise cavalcades around EPCOT’s World Showcase promenade.

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The popular Frozen Sing-Along

New Baby for Animal Kingdom 

It’s a… Masai Giraffe! Look at that sweet face and long lashes! A little girl giraffe was born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom late last month. You just might see her on your next Kilimanjaro Safaris adventure! (We JUST ran an article about the incredible Kilimanjaro Safaris last week, catch it HERE). 

, Walt Disney World Update – Silver Linings and Increased Crowds Ahead

For more giraffe goodness, including this new baby’s mother, Mara, and grandmother, Kenya; check out the Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom now streaming on Disney+:

Lions, and Tigers, and Sharks, Oh My! The Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Disney+


More Extended Park Hours

Disney has updated their park hours for the holiday season (through Saturday, December 26th). The schedule now reads 10-hour days for Magic Kingdom, 9-hour days for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and 8-hour days for Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

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December 20th-26th Park Hours

We also found some dates through October, November and December where park hours have been extended later into the evening— Disney is clearly expecting extra guests for the holiday season: 12-hour days for Magic Kingdom, 11-hour days for Epcot (it’s unusual for Epcot to be open past 9pm, other than Extra Magic Hours, even in normal times), 9-hour days for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and 12-hour days for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. 

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November 22nd-28th Park Hours

The newly-released hours include Magic Kingdom closing at 8PM on several nights in November and 9PM during the week of Thanksgiving, EPCOT now closing at 10PM on Halloween and Thanksgiving week, and Animal Kingdom closing at 8PM during Thanksgiving week. If you’re traveling to Walt Disney World during the holiday season, expect the busiest conditions since the parks reopened. 

Last week we asked you to let us know what crowd levels you are comfortable with right now. Nearly 12,000 of you took the time to make a selection: 

If you haven’t taken the poll, here’s your chance: 

Attendance Poll Results

The results show that over 63% of you (mostly theme park fans) are uncomfortable with crowd levels above 50% capacity, with an additional 11% not feeling safe at any level. Approximately 36% are comfortable with crowd levels above 50% capacity, with just 22% comfortable with normal or even maximum capacity. Disney could very well risk their recovery by pushing park attendance increases too quickly in the current environment. We hope any expansions for the coming holiday season don’t create negative buzz for the resort, as some parks are already reaching uncomfortable levels and waits (especially on the weekends). 

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WDW Snapshots

I’ll be returning to the Orlando parks next week, scored my reservations, and ready to go. In the meantime, we have some gorgeous Disney eye candy for you! One of our west coast contributors, Trevor, captured these beautiful shots during his recent Walt Disney World visit. Enjoy these photos from all four parks!!!

Magic Kingdom

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Mickey pumpkins put a smile on our face!
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Cinderella Castle’s recent makeover is made for photos and filters. Look at that detail!
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Villains continue to [occasionally] take over the Kingdom. Characters appear randomly on rolling parade floats. 

EPCOT

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Let’s take a grand and miraculous adventure. 
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Besides Spaceship Earth, Mission: Space is one of the most photogenic attractions of EPCOT
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Mickey & Minnie wave from the World Showcase!
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Princess processional – plastic panels protect the un-masked princesses from each other. 
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Stopping into the EPCOT Experience, we’re really looking forward to the France pavilion’s expansion…
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Speaking of France . . .
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This is as close as we can get to the new Ratatouille area of the France pavilion (there’s a construction wall just below this sign). We just want to take a peek. 

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Trevor found the new Remy shoulder plush! He was released for EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival, but this also would have aligned with his namesake attraction’s original opening date, which has been delayed due to the COVID closures.

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Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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Hooray for Hollywood!
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This park continues to feel the most crowded. Sometimes uncomfortably so. 
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“Nothing can stop us now!”
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Character cavalcades do perk things up. Unfortunately, it forces all those people who were in the middle of the street onto the same tight sidewalks together.
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Still an AMAZING attraction after all these years.
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Checking in?
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“Hey, howdy, hey!”
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Toy Story Land. Folks seem to love or hate this land. Which camp are you in? 

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Muppets Courtyard
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Grand Avenue Entrance to Galaxy’s Edge
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Black Spire Outpost. For someone who practically lived in Galaxy’s Edge in California last year, the Florida version seems much more colorful. 

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The fastest hunk o’ junk in the galaxy!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Adventure is out there . . . 

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A quiet morning stroll through the Oasis

In Florida, there’s always a chance for rain. For a photographer, wet pavement is irresistible and really adds dimension to a shot. 

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, Walt Disney World Update – Silver Linings and Increased Crowds Ahead
Pandorian waterfalls

Wildlife closeups…

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And . . . Animal Kingdom’s castle . . . er . . . tree . . . 

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The Tree of Life is one of Disney’s most beautiful icons, and perhaps the most underrated as well. The level of detail on this massive structure is simply astounding.

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Thank you for the fantastic photos, Trevor! Please come back soon. 

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Time To Make New Magic

While Disneyland remains firmly closed, there are theme parks now open in Florida. And whether you are ready to travel yet or not, there’s no better time to lock in low rates on future travel than right now. 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. In fact, it can actually save you money.

Get Away Today

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 – When you book a Walt Disney World Resort vacation that includes a minimum of 2-nights Disney hotel and at least two theme park tickets with Get Away Today, if a better special that you qualify for comes out after you have booked, they’ll automatically it. 
  • Concierge Service – Get detailed planning assistance with all qualified Walt Disney World Resort vacations. A certified Disney Travel Agent is more valuable now than ever before as there have been many changes to the Park experience.
  • Flexible Payments – Lock in your 2020 or 2021 Walt Disney World Resort vacation for just $200 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 30 days prior to travel.
  • Flexible Dates – If you’re traveling in 2020, you can make any changes up to 24 hours prior to check-in with no penalties. In 2021, you can make changes up to 30 days prior to check-in with no penalties.

Give your family something to look forward to


Let’s Hear From You

Although the number of layoffs at Disney are heartbreaking, were you happy to hear that full-time employees have renewed hope due to union negotiations? What do you make of the expanded Thanksgiving hours for the parks? Are you afraid that Disney has perhaps vastly expanded park capacity as well? And how about that magical 4 park photo tour from Trevor?! Please join us in thanking him for scratching our Disney itch. 

We’ll be back with you tomorrow for a Disneyland Update, so please be sure to check back soon! 

Meanwhile, don’t miss the latest news items: 

Disneyland News – Bob Iger Leaves State Taskforce in Advance of Disadvantageous Theme Park Reopening Guidelines

War of Words and Disneyland’s Legal Case for Reopening!

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Chloé Ferreira
Chloé loves ‘90s EPCOT, roller coasters, kitschy dark rides, a good background area music loop, Hot Butterbeer, and all things Halloween. You’ll mostly find her wandering around Orlando’s biggest theme parks snapping pics and sharing tips… or probably talking about The Great Movie Ride.