MickeyBlog News for February 7th, 2022
This week, Disney group vacations grew much easier, while cruise guests must wait a little longer for a maiden voyage.
We’ll talk about these two stories plus some Magic Kingdom showtimes and Mears Connect struggles in the latest MickeyBlog News update.
Credit: Disney
Coming in June July
As a content creator, I live in a world of deadlines. I understand that sometimes life gets in the way, just as I know that my word is my bond.
When I say I’ll have something to a client by a specific date, I will literally sacrifice sleep if needed to make a deadline.
However, I’m only one person, not a leader in charge of a massive project.
As such, I’ve sympathized throughout the pandemic, as I’ve watched people struggle helplessly against the perils of fate.
Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG
Theme parks have taken a beating repeatedly, and I’m not specifically referring to Disney here. In truth, they’ve had a better run than many competitors.
Still, supply chain issues are real, not a media talking point. Similarly, staff shortages due to COVID-19 can wreck a timeline.
That’s what has happened with Disney. Through no fault of its own, the company just canceled the first 12 cruises of the Disney Wish.
The impacted dates are June 9th through July 13th. Therefore, anyone who has booked a trip on the Disney Wish on those dates must adjust their plans.
Image Credit: Disney
The Cause of the Delay
Here’s what is going on. The shipyard manufacturing the Disney Wish, Meyer Werft, had previously told Disney it could make the June 9th date…easily.
Disney felt so confident about the situation that it announced that date almost a year ago.
Credit: Disney
Alas, at the time, the pandemic seemed like it was winding down, which was mostly true.
The number of severe illnesses and deaths diminished thanks to the prevalence of vaccines in 2021.
Nobody could have anticipated the sudden, shocking surge in cases due to the Omicron variant.
After several uneventful months of steady production, the shipyard faced staffing shortages almost overnight.
Meyer Werft went from ahead of schedule to substantially behind. For this reason, Disney delayed the maiden voyage of the Wish until July 14th.
We’re only discussing about 50,000 people impacted by this modest delay.
Still, if you’re one of the affected cruise guests, here’s a link with more information about what to do next.
Image Credit: Disney
Disney should have reached out to you by now anyway.
QR Codes Available on My Disney Experience
I’ve previously mentioned that my wife and I rarely travel to Disney alone. This is because I’m part of a large family and have several friends who love Disney, too.
So, each vacation tends to turn into an epic struggle wherein multiple parties try to coordinate plans. The struggle is real.
In fact, I was thinking about this the other day, as my older brother’s family was texting me pictures from Walt Disney World.
I was at home in 30-degree weather while they were at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Life’s not fair.
Anyway, we frequently travel with them, and the planning phase is legitimately nightmarish.
We all must connect our accounts on My Disney Experience. Then, we have to connect their dining and hotel reservations with ours.
God forbid if one of us hasn’t added our theme park admission yet. The system pretty much locks us out in that scenario.
Frankly, every bit of the fight reminds me that Disney tech has a long way to go.
Thankfully, park officials are aware of that fact and work tirelessly to improve the situation.
Their latest addition is legitimately a game changer, at least for me and my loved ones.
On My Disney Experience, the new option is a QR code that you can display for others.
When they scan that code on their phones, it will automatically link their account with yours.
At that time, you can share all the information to verify that everyone’s going to the right attraction at the correct time.
Let me tell you. Nothing is more demoralizing or guilt-inducing than causing a loved one to run late for a reservation.
Apple App Store
This QR code will solve that problem. It’ll also save you soooo much time and aggravation during the planning phase. Here’s more about it.
Disney Park Updates
The Mears Connect era is off to a rough start. First, the company decided it wasn’t charging people enough and quietly raised some prices by $50.
Now, Mears has taken back one of their earlier promises. The company had suggested that guests would never wait more than 20 minutes for a bus.
When you’re at Orlando International Airport, you want to grab your bags and get to Disney as fast as humanly possible.
Photo: Fortune
So, that 20-minute promise enticed many customers. But, after only a month, it became clear that Mears couldn’t make good on that request.
For this reason, the company quietly updated its terms of service to reflect that you’ll wait as long as needed for Mears to fill up a bus.
I miss Magical Express.
In happier news, we know the initial schedules for two upcoming Magic Kingdom presentations.
The first is the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade, which debuts on February 11th. You can catch it daily at 11:15 a.m., 2:15 p.m., 4:05 p.m., and 5:50 p.m.
Meanwhile, starting on February 25th, Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire will run at 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:35 p.m., and 6:10 p.m. daily.
Disney hasn’t confirmed the start time for the Festival of Fantasy when it comes back next month.
However, all signs point to a 3 p.m. parade. I’ll update if/when we know for sure.
Alas, I’ve got some bad Cavalcade news as well. The glorious Mickey & Friends Motorcade that I’ve raved about for 18 months will end on February 12th.
Mickey will rejoin Minnie at Red Carpet Dreams on February 13th. The Motorcade was fun while it lasted, though.
At Disney Springs, Celebrate Soulfully has returned for Black History Month. You can and should read the full details on the official site.
