MickeyBlog News for December 27th, 2021
Happy holidays from MickeyBlog!
We know that you’re busy playing with your gifts and chugging hot cocoa. So, we’ll have an abbreviated edition of MickeyBlog News this week.
Here’s what you need to know!
A Christmas Gift from Disney
Disney has changed so many of its policies over the past 18 months that we’re never quite sure how they’ll approach old rules.
To wit, we’ve always counted on something during Christmas Week. Some of the after-hours events like parades and shows become free this week.
Of course, that’s been the case in past years, but we weren’t certain about 2021.
Well, I’m happy to report that Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is now free for park guests.
Yes, over the past few days, people have watched the afternoon version of the parade. Here’s what the presentation looks like at night:
And here’s the daily version on display through early January:
I also have even better news about the free show. Those of you who purchase Disney Genie+ can reserve a spot on the parade!
Yes, Disney has added the Christmas parade as a Disney Genie+ selection. That’s a significant addition because the parks are so crowded right now.
With a reservation, you’ll guarantee a good view of the proceedings. I do need to add a caveat, though.
Disney Genie and other tech has suffered some recent glitches, another of which I’ll discuss in a bit.
For this reason, you should always make a copy of your reservations. That way, if Disney’s system glitches, you have a hard copy that proves you booked.
A screenshot works well for this stuff. I’ve started taking smartphone screenshots of everything I can for this reason.
Here’s a guide for how to take screenshots on iPhones and one for Android devices.
In other holiday news, Disney has also added Mickey & Minnie’s Very Merry Memories as a free show this week.
https://youtu.be/JN6b7541tiE
This show’s another after-hours presentation we weren’t sure would transition. Magic Kingdom did right by its holiday guests!
Other Holiday News and Park Mishaps
Do you have reservations for Oga’s Cantina at Disneyland in early 2022? If so, you might want to check again.


(David Roark, photographer)
Disney suffered a system glitch that wiped out an entire batch of Oga’s Cantina reservations. Then, the system kept making reservations.
For this reason, the Star Wars lounge is wildly overbooked, and there’s not much Disney can do about it.
This circles back to what I was just saying about hard copies. If you were in the system, you cannot prove it unless you kept a record.
The Amazon Web Services outage has impacted Disney a great deal. So, most of these issues are entirely beyond their control.
Speaking of which, Disneyland Paris has canceled its New Year’s Eve party. Yes, park officials have done that because of COVID.
For the time being, Disneyland Paris has extended its New Year’s Eve hours now that it won’t be closed for the party.


Photo: Disneyland Paris
However, everyone’s on high alert that Disneyland Paris might need to close again.
France is expecting 100,000 (!) new cases a day because of an Omicron outbreak. Presuming that occurs, the park must close again.


Image Credit: Disney
Nearly 80 percent of France’s adult population is fully vaccinated, but it’s still a problem.
Speaking of which – and I HATE to talk about this around Christmas – Florida’s COVID cases have spiked. They’re up 415 percent week over week.


PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
In California, something similar has happened, leading the government to re-enact COVID measures.
Meanwhile, Universal Orlando Resort just brought back its indoor face-covering policy, something I honestly thought would never happen again.


Image Credit: Universal Orlando
We’re probably all wearing face masks at theme parks and other public gatherings. until the post-holiday Omicron wave has ended. Be safe and smart, everybody.
Disney News Tidbits
I’ve got one unexpected news item this week. Disney just revealed the reopening date for its lone remaining closed resort.


Photo Credit: TouringPlans.com
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort will return on March 31st, 2022! At that point, Walt Disney World will be back to full strength.
Of course, the one thing we won’t have in 2022 is Magical Express. So, a new contender has entered the fray as a replacement.
The Sunshine Flyer will operate a fleet of buses that transport guests to and from Orlando International Airport.
Their concept is that their buses look like old-timey trains, and the workers dress up as train conductors.
MickeyBlog had the opportunity to interview one of the company’s executives about the new system, which will cost $17 for adults and $12.50 for children one-way.
You can read the interview here.
Finally, Bob Iger continues his exit interviews as he prepares to leave Disney. He had two particularly interesting comments this week.
Iger indicated that he knew he should leave once he stopped listening to people, which is a solid epiphany on his part.


Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
More interestingly, Iger believes that Apple and Disney would have merged if Steve Jobs had lived long enough to facilitate the transaction.
That’s the second time he’s made the assertion, as he also stated it in his 2019 memoir.


Photo: AppleInsider.com