MickeyBlog News for November 22, 2020
Disney jammed a staggering amount of news into one week.
The company unveiled ride release dates, added new resort amenities, provided video of some coming attractions, and brought back a fan fave.
Photo: Disney
I’ll explain everything in the latest edition of MickeyBlog News.
Park Hopping Is Coming Back!
Okay, this update won’t help you this holiday season…but there are only five weeks left in 2020 anyway!
Then, 2021 will immediately get off on the right foot when Walt Disney World brings back Park Hopping!
Yes, arguably the most requested park enhancement will return on January 1st!
The Disney Parks Blog provided the details, and you should know about some caveats.
You must make a Park Pass for the date that you’ll visit. Then, you must physically enter the first park.
Otherwise, Disney won’t allow you to Park Hop, as you’d mess up the company’s carefully balanced capacity limits.
At/after 2 p.m., guests may switch to any other Walt Disney World park, as long as it’s open.
So, you can take a couple of different approaches here. You can leave your current park early and then be ready to enter another at 2 p.m.
Otherwise, you can stay as long as you like at your current location. Then, once you’re done, you can go to any of the other three that are still open.
Please remember that Disney may adjust its policies in the coming weeks. Currently, you don’t need a Park Pass for your second location.
That could change at a moment’s notice, though. As always, keep reading MickeyBlog for future updates.
A Vaccine in the Offing
Disney has modified its rules based on the current pandemic issues around the world.
Photo: AP
However, something happened this past week that could change everything.
Pfizer and BioNTech, working in tandem, have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.
Remarkably, they’re not the only companies with a viable product, as Moderna has produced a different vaccine that is, if anything, better.
I’ve written a detailed look at what this may mean for Disney and you that MickeyBlog published yesterday. You can find it here.
(Aram Boghosian for STAT)
The gist is that millions of doses may reach the marketplace by the end of 2020.
By the middle of next year, a significant number of Americans should have access to these treatments, each of which is more than 90 percent effective.
Photo: Rutgers
Obviously, the prevalence of these drugs will have a massive impact on how Disney parks operate in the second half of 2021, possibly even sooner.
As for you, if you’re trying to avoid COVID-19, you appear like you’re only a few months away from salvation.
A Florida Man…
When Walt Disney picked Florida as the site for his Project X, he couldn’t anticipate everything.
For example, he couldn’t expect for A Florida Man… to become a meme due to the oddity of some future state residents.
So, Walt Disney World has evolved into a sane, safe space amid a mercurial citizenry.
The latest example of this happened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom…and it involved LSD.
Yes, apparently, LSD is still a thing and not some byproduct of a long-forgotten Grateful Dead tour.
Last month, a South Florida resident decided to take a trip to Animal Kingdom, only he wanted the animals to seem funnier than usual.
The 19-year-old took a hit of acid and headed over to the park. For whatever reason, he wandered through DinoLand U.S.A. and did something odd.
This dude tackled a Disney security cop from behind and held the innocent employee in a headlock.
Park guests noticed what was happening and pulled the stoned teenager off the befuddled Disney employee.
The police arrived, arrested the Florida man, and charged him with battery on a security guard, a minor felony (if any felony can be called minor).
Image: Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Later, the guy confessed that he’d been on acid, which means he confessed to a misdemeanor, too. He doesn’t sound like the brightest.
The entire situation must have seemed surreal, but Simpsons fans can’t help but laugh because it sounds very much like this:
Coming Soon to Disney Parks
Okay, let’s quickly tear through several significant park updates that occurred this week.
For starters, Disney has confirmed that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will debut in 2021, as MickeyBlog had indicated several months ago.
In other “coming soon” news, the big theme park industry event, IAPPA, occurred the other day.
Disney took this opportunity to update fans on several projects.
Image Credit: Disney
The company posted construction imagery from several Disneyland Paris projects, including Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
At Disneyland Resort, Disney updated progress on the West Coast version of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, still scheduled for 2022.
More importantly, Imagineers revealed the ride cart for Spider-Man Web Slingers and showed a video from Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
We also received the first look inside Space 220, which looks just like we’d expected. It’s a giant room full of wall-sized digital screens.
Said monitors project a view of Earth from outer space. This conceit will give the diner the feeling that they’re eating on a spaceship orbiting the planet.
Disney also displayed the first images inside a Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel room.
As with Space 220, Disney deserves credit for delivering exactly what it’d promised. The rooms cabins look just like the artist’s renderings.
@DLPReport on Twitter
In other impacting future park news, Josh D’Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, offered us all some hope.
Disney fully intends to bring back recently canceled shows as soon as the pandemic and finances allow.
So, all the stuff that we don’t have at the moment will eventually return.
We haven’t seen the last of Festival of the Lion King or Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, y’all!
Disney Park Updates That Impact You Now
Okay, that’s enough about what’s coming soon. Let’s live in the now!
Disney has opened the much-anticipated walkway from Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to Magic Kingdom.
Several videos popped up on YouTube over the weekend, and they all show the same thing.
The average walker will need about 10-12 minutes to go from the start of the pathway to the park.
The reverse is also true when you return to the Grand Floridian. So, guests staying at or visiting this resort can now walk rather than ride!
By the way, this technically connects all Monorail Resorts to Magic Kingdom via walking.
There’s already a path from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to the Grand Floridian.
Anyone staying at the Polynesian can walk to Magic Kingdom via this new walkway. It’ll probably take 20-25 minutes, though.
This week, Disney will bring back one of its most popular restaurants as well.
Woody’s Lunch Box will return at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on November 25th.
Nobody’s quite sure how the social distancing will work at one of the most crowded restaurants on the campus. We’ll update you once we know.
Soon afterward, two other Magic Kingdom restaurants will return.
Crystal Palace will come back on December 13th as a family-style meal. And no, it won’t feature Winnie the Pooh and friends at first.
A few days later, on December 17th, Tomorrowland Terrace will come back, too. Notably, it’ll feature lobster rolls.
With Columbia Harbour House currently unavailable, Disney will introduce part of its menu at Tomorrowland Terrace. That’s pretty smart.
Finally, Hong Kong Disneyland unveiled its overhauled landmark, Castle of Magical Dreams. And she’s a beauty.
Disney spent roughly four years doubling the size and majesty of this structure. Mission accomplished.
Okay, that’s everything. Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone! You deserve it!
