MickeyBlog News for December 20th, 2021
This week, fire trucks rolled down Main Street, U.S.A. Also, Disney announced a Lightning Lane change, and Disneyland lost power.
We have an eclectic batch of stories in the latest MickeyBlog News.
The Magic Kingdom Fire
On Tuesday, guests at Magic Kingdom witnessed something rather unusual. A tree caught fire near Cinderella Castle. No, it wasn’t a planned thing.
Apparently, a junction box close to the cast sparked, and some of the embers flew through the air. When they reached the tree, it ignited.
Electrical fires are no joke, as they paid for the college educations of me and my three siblings. So, my dad, an excellent electrician, would have grimaced over this story.
Reportedly, the overworked junction box caught fire as well, although there doesn’t seem to be any video of it.
However, we DID receive the unlikely video of fire trucks driving down Main Street, U.S.A. Here it is:
This is definitely something we have never seen in all our years of visiting The Magic Kingdom… @WDWNT @InsideTheMagic pic.twitter.com/vWR7Cdhzw5
— The Coaster Crew (@Coastercrew) December 14, 2021
Thankfully, no one suffered a serious injury. Unfortunately, one heroic security guard did inhale some of the chemicals from a fire extinguisher in use, though.
This individual went to the hospital for treatment as a precautionary measure.
Disney did evacuate Cinderella Castle and the surrounding area for a while. Beyond that, the mishap was thankfully insignificant.
You may know that Disney wires most of its firework presentations and digital projections on and around Cinderella Castle.
So, we’re all pleased to know that this is an isolated incident.
The last one of its kind occurred when an ember sparked the mountainside of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. That happened in 2014.
Lightning Lane Changes
Here’s a fascinating story that could have long-term ramifications. As of today, Disney has removed four attractions from its Lightning Lane tier.
Park officials chose one ride from each park to switch to Disney Genie+ for the next two weeks.
Yes, from today through January 3rd, a Disney Genie+ purchase will provide you with access to:
- Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Frozen Ever After at EPCOT
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom
By making this switch, Disney will siphon more guests through the shorter line queue, the one we once called FastPass.
So, popular rides like Frozen Ever After and Runaway Railway will provide more throughput during the wildly popular holiday period.
Theoretically, this move should help with attraction wait times across the parks. I say theoretically because it’s a first. We don’t have any basis for comparison.
From your perspective, a single ride on any of these attractions would have cost at least $7 and as much as $15.
For the same price, you can purchase Disney Genie+ for the day and enjoy a substantially better park experience.
The logical question here is whether Disney has done this as a short-term proactive move for Christmas week.
If not, we’d view this decision as a tacit acknowledgment that only a handful of rides at Walt Disney World justify Lightning Lane pricing.
Only one ride per park will offer Lightning Lane for the next two weeks. Those attractions are:
- Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
I think most of us would agree that those are the Lightning Lane options that could justify the price.
Other Christmas Week News
Let’s take the good with the bad in this section. First, Disney just announced that Early Theme Park Entry will last for 60 minutes for the next two weeks.
From December 19th through January 3rd, you may enter the parks one hour earlier, presuming that you’re staying at an official Disney resort.
Disney has done this to reward its customers who are staying onsite.
Presuming that’s you – and it should be – you’ll get a chance to do a lot before the parks officially open to the public. That’s a phenomenal amenity during the holidays.
Disney has also increased park hours for several dates over the next two weeks. Remember to check the park calendar to know the applicable park hours.
Thanks to these two changes, guests visiting Walt Disney World should have a better time over the next two weeks.
That’s the good news. The less pleasant news involves Coronavirus. Orange County, Florida, has earned the dubious distinction of being a COVID-19 hotspot.
I could throw some other scary metrics at you or talk about the Orlando water supply, but let’s just skip to the last page.
Wherever you go during the holidays, you should take steps to protect yourself against Coronavirus. Pretend like it’s December of 2020 again.
Walt Disney World hasn’t changed any of its park policies for guests.
However, a recent California law requires Disneyland to restore indoor face-covering rules.
This modification started on December 13th and should last through January 15th, at a minimum.
You still don’t need to wear a mask outdoors, though. Here’s a livestream from December 14th to prove the point.
Hopefully, that’s as bad as the situation gets. The updated COVID numbers have gotten scary, though.
Disney News and Notes
The other day, Disneyland suffered a morning power outage that reportedly stranded guests on several attractions, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
This hiccup quickly resolved itself, though. A handful of rides remained offline for a couple of hours but were operational again by the early afternoon.
Meanwhile, the park has figured out a strange way to monetize the old version of Mickey’s Toontown before it closes in March.
From January 19th through March 6th, guests can rent out Mickey’s House and throw a 90-minute party.
For a price of $350, up to 10 guests will get facetime with Mickey Mouse. They’ll also have access to a PhotoPass photographer during the event.
Cast members will guide partygoers through some crafts and games before everyone rides Gadget’s Go Coaster.
Really, at $35 per guest, that’s not a bad price for a bucket list item like throwing a party inside Disneyland.
In other park news, Indiana Jones Epic Spectacular! will have opened by the time you read this. Today’s the big day!
Disney Parks posted a hype video on YouTube to commemorate the event:
In restaurant news, Storybook Dining at Artist Point returned the other day, and MickeyBlog was there!
This happened only two days after Boatwrights Dining Hall reopened. We were there for that, too! MickeyBlog ate gooood this week!
Have a wonderful holiday week, my many loves! You deserve these days of joy and contentment!