Well, we’ve made it to August. And while we have some exciting news for Disney with more things reopening and big plans for the 50th celebration, we’ve gone backwards recently as well. Due to the Delta variant of the number of COVID-19 cases rising in Florida Disney has gone back to requiring masks indoors. I know at this point everyone is frustrated, but the only way we’ll get back to a point of normalcy is if enough people get vaccinated. While I don’t expect Disney to shutdown again, until we have better vaccination numbers more things like this may happen. I am not going to preach to everyone to get vaccinated but this is just fact. I truly hope we see the tides change soon and the numbers come back down so we can all go back to our magical place in comfort.
Disney news
- Over in California a number of things reopened in the month of July, including the Disneyland Hotel, Carthay Circle Restaurant, and Storyteller Cafe with character dining.
- Disney World has seen a number of reopenings as well, including Trader Sam’s, Yachtsman Steakhouse (August 5th), and Toledo – Tapas, Seafood, and Steak (August 5th).
- Disneyland will be hosting their Oogie Boogie Bash this fall and tickets are now on sale.
- The menu at Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge got some changes and updates.
- The Epcot Iternational Food and Wine Festival has begun, and will be going until November 20th.
- Mickey’s Philharmagic is getting some updates, with a scene from Coco being added. This new scene has already debuted in California Adventure and Disneyland Paris, and will be coming to the Magic Kingdom later this year.
- We finally have reopening dates for all of the Disney World resorts. All-Star Music will reopen September 16, Port Orleans Riverside on October 14th, Port Orleans French Quarter on October 28th, and All-Star Sports on December 9th. That means going in 2022 all Disney World resorts will be open!
- For the Christmas season, Magic Kingdom will be getting an after hours event called Disney Very Merriest After Hours.
- Disney Cruise Line is officially going to start sailing in the US again, with Bahamian cruises starting this month.
- We got more information on the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience, including an opening timeline of “Spring 2022.” It will be a 2 day, 2 night experience that’s basically like a cruise with amazing food, entertainment, and activities as if you are part of the Star Wars universe. It looks pretty amazing!
- The Walt Disney Company released a statement that it will be requiring all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States who work on site or have an in-person office presence to be fully vaccinated, with medical and religious exemptions for employees who qualify.
- Good news for those staying in the Magic Kingdom area – the Epcot monorail has now reopened.
- Early theme park entry will begin on October 1st – find a list of qualifying hotels and more info here.
- We have a trailer for Disney’s next upcoming animated feature, Encanto.
Disney Rumors
Dining // Disney website now states that “California Grill is currently unavailable for bookings after October 2 as we create a special dining experience for the 50th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World Resort.” Some sort of new dining experience there sounds exciting!
Magic Kingdom // Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor will be reopening on August 5th. There are some rumors that at some point in the next year or so we could see some new segments to this show based on the new Disney+ TV series Monsters at Work.
Annual Passes // Some people are speculating that Disney World might begin selling annual passes again on August 16th. This is based on the announcement that free magic bands would not be provided to AP holders who purchase or renew on August 16th and beyond.
Other Disney blogs
Jenmarie over at Anakin and his Angel has some of the latest Galaxy’s Edge updates in California, including the return of the Darksaber and a new flavor of popcorn at Kat Saka’s Kettle!
Check out Jenn’s perspective on our character breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace over at Fairest Run of All!
Over at WDW Prep School, Allyson has the details on their top 7 Food and Wine booths this year. I can’t wait to try some of these.
For more food news, Tom at the Disney Tourist Blog has his review of the new breakfast experience at ‘Ohana.
My perspective of Topolino’s is: when are we going for dinner? 😀