MickeyBlog News for July 11, 2021
Some of your favorite resorts are reopening soon. Meanwhile, some of your favorite restaurants just joined (or quit!) Mobile Ordering.
We’ll talk about these changes and provide some information about upcoming Disney Wish amenities in this week’s MickeyBlog News!
Walt Disney World Resorts Reopening Soon
In reading the comments, we know that many of you have missed several Disney resorts that have yet to reopen.
Photo: Disney
Specifically, you’ve frequently asked for updates about the Port Orleans locations. Well, after a year without any news, we finally know when they’ll return!
Disney has confirmed the following resort reopening dates:
- Park officials will open Disney’s All-Star Music Resort on September 16th
- Then, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside will return on October 14th
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter: October 28th
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort: December 9th
So, by December 9th, all Walt Disney World resorts will return to operation, ending the 21-month nightmare that was Coronavirus.
Reservations have already started for these four resorts. You should speak with a MickeyTravels agent immediately to increase your odds of getting a room.
I’ve done some light checking into resort availability during the second half of 2021. The demand for Walt Disney World resorts appears extreme.
You really do need to act quickly to ensure that you can visit between now and the end of 2021. Otherwise, you risk getting shut out.
In one other minor resort update, the lobby at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort will undergo renovations this week. Unfortunately, it’ll remain closed until the fall.
Restaurant Changes Aplenty
Disney has similarly shuffled several of its restaurant plans for the rest of the year.
MickeyBlog readers already know that ‘Ohana has come back after a 16-month absence. Moreover, we can confirm that those noodles taste better than ever!
However, Disney’s doing plenty more to make your next meal unforgettable.
The company has reimagined Citricos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It’s now a Mary Poppins experience with coloring to match the film’s animated sequence.
Citricos will reopen on July 15th, followed two days later by Trail’s End at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
I should mention that some fans sound irritated over management’s decision to remove the popular Fried Chicken dish from the Trail’s End menu, though.
At Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, the Belle Vue Lounge should have reopened by the time you read this, giving you three updated dining options this week!
At Magic Kingdom, Golden Oak Outpost has returned after a prolonged absence as well.
Meanwhile, California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will serve as the temporary substitute when The Wave… of American Flavors closes.
Photo: Disney
Disney will transfer The Wave’s popular breakfast options to California Grill from now until the first-floor space finishes its transformation into a new eatery.
Restaurant Mobile Ordering Changes
Meanwhile, Sunshine Seasons has ditched Mobile Ordering, which I hope is merely a temporary move.
Credit: Disney
You may wonder why Disney has chosen this approach. The answer relies on a rollback to pre-pandemic meal service.
At Sunshine Seasons, you order and pay cafeteria-style once again. As such, Disney hasn’t optimized Mobile Ordering for this method yet.
I sincerely hope that Mobile Ordering isn’t gone for good at Sunshine Seasons.
Disney HAS operated Mobile Ordering here in the past – I mean before the pandemic – which means the restaurant could bring it back.
Conversely, two other EPCOT locations have added Mobile Ordering. You can grab and go at Sommerfest at the Germany pavilion and Yorkshire County Fish Shop at the United Kingdom pavilion.
Similarly, Disney now offers Mobile Ordering for the Joffrey’s Tea & Coffee Company stores at the Disney Skyliner kiosk and Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
We’ve reached a point where every Disney Quick Service restaurant should participate in this service. It’s nice to know that Disney is taking that approach.
Disney Park Updates
We’ve got tons of park updates this week. For example, Princess Jasmine now appears at the Morocco pavilion at the World Showcase.
Like other current Disney character greetings, you can take your photograph with Jasmine in the background. Unfortunately, face-to-face interactions remain unavailable for now.
Speaking of character appearances, let’s switch coasts to Disney California Adventure (DCA), where the Loki Variants continue.
We recently witnessed Loki wearing his Time Variance Authority prison jumpsuit. Now, President Loki is strutting around the place, campaigning and mugging for the camera.
Image Credit: Marvel
Best of all, neither of these appearances spoil anything from the Loki TV series! Instead, they border on random non-sequiturs, albeit wildly entertaining ones!
DCA also just confirmed that other Marvel character greetings are in the offing. Characters from Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will appear this fall.
Presumably, we’ll notice the Shang-Chi crew at the start of September, with the various Eternals arriving in November.
I’m expecting Disney to perform the character interactions to hype the release of the movies. However, it’s also possible that they’ll just show up whenever.
We really don’t have a firm playbook for the various shows and performers at Avengers Campus yet. As such, anything is possible.
While we’re talking Disneyland Resort, Haunted Mansion Holiday is official. Disney has posted it on the Disneyland app!
This fall will also witness the return of Oogie Boogie Bash, which will run from September 9th through Halloween.
Tickets start at $114 per person and go on sale on July 13th. Act quickly to avoid sellouts!
PS: If you’re a D-23 Gold Member, you can ride the newly reimagined Jungle Cruise before it opens to the public.
For $75, you show up early on July 16th and ride it before everyone else!
Other Disney News
Here’s a hurricane update from last week. Thankfully, Hurricane Elsa weakened dramatically before it made landfall on the Northern coast of Florida.
Elsa had already dropped to a tropical storm by then, meaning that the situation never turned dangerous. There were a few companion tornados reported in the south, though.
Meanwhile, we learned more about the Disney Wish, including two new amenities that mirror options at Avengers Campus.
As part of the Worlds of Marvel cinematic dining experience, guests can enjoy the Avengers Quantum Encounter, which looks like it features oversized cupcakes and other food goodies.
Disney Cruise Line also announced Marceline Market and Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods. They’re both dining experiences that encapsulate Disney’s rich history.
At Marceline Market, Disney will theme ten food stalls to various characters from Tangled, Zootopia, Ratatouille, and others.
Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods will feature five food stalls filled with comfort foods like barbecue, pizza, and grill standards.
The Disney Wish sounds like it’s going to be special. Remember that you can still book one of the earliest cruises on Disney’s next signature ship!
Image Credit: Disney
Talk to MickeyTravels, folks! They’re here to help!
Feature Image Rights: Kent Phillips
