MickeyBlog News for February 1, 2021
Disney went nuts with the news updates this week.
I’ll cover one massive story, several significant ones, and a bunch of stuff you should know in the latest edition of MickeyBlog News.
Jungle Cruise Changes Forthcoming
When Disney executives announced the impending re-theming of Splash Mountain last year, many people guessed what would come next.
Jungle Cruise has entertained guests since Disneyland’s opening date in 1955. However, park officials have had to balance several factors over the years.
Disney doesn’t want to touch any of the rides that Walt Disney built beyond the standard plussing of features.
However, many cultural depictions from 65 years ago are no longer appropriate in modern society.
Many theme park insiders expected Disney to address Jungle Cruise at some point, and that time is apparently now.
Park officials announced that Jungle Cruise will change to an entirely new story, one connecting the set pieces together.
Yes, Disney is promising backstory and more modern humor. I presume that Skipper Canteen predicts part of the plan here.
At the Magic Kingdom restaurant, Disney has highlighted the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) aspect while adding new jokes to the script.
I think we all know that Jungle Cruise could use some new ideas, albeit ones that show reverence to Imagineer Marc Davis and his boss, Walt Disney.
Disney promises to broaden the cultural backgrounds of the Jungle Cruise characters.
The surprising part of the announcement involves the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie.
MickeyBlog has monitored a rumor that the re-theme will focus on characters from the movie or tie the stories together somehow.
Well, Disney has chosen not to do that. The applicable quote is:
“I’m sure the film is fantastic and we’re very excited about it, but integrating the film into our classic Jungle Cruise is not part of this effort.”
So, all changes to Jungle Cruise will come from entirely new ideas.
Updated Face Covering Policies
Disney modified its face-covering policy this week while declaring plans for the future as well.
The new update involves transparent face coverings, which have grown in prevalence in recent months.
For many, this isn’t a style choice. The sudden ubiquity of face masks caused additional difficulties for lip readers.
So, some enterprising folks designed transparent covers to enable the continued practice of lip reading.
Disney hadn’t addressed this issue until recently. Here’s the new policy:
“Face coverings may have an integrated transparent plastic panel to aid in viewing the wearer’s mouth. These face coverings must:
- Be a fabric face covering featuring a solid plastic panel containing no openings that is attached to the fabric on all sides using tight knit stitching
- Meet all face covering requirements listed above”
These changes are welcome and will enhance the enjoyment of lip readers. Until now, Disney had addressed transparent face coverings on a case-by-case basis.
The other face covering update isn’t a surprise. Now that some people have received COVID-19 vaccinations, they’ve asked to remove their face masks.
Obviously, that’s not the way this works. You wear a mask for the safety of others, not yourself.
As such, Disney has reiterated that guests must wear face coverings for the foreseeable future.
Yes, this statement applies to guests who have received the vaccination, too.
Disney Pushes for Better Tech
Have you watched any of MickeyBlog’s livestreams? If not, you’re really missing out and should follow us on Facebook.
In fact, on Saturday, we just went live from the new M & M store at Disney Springs.
Influencers like MickeyBlog, Magical News Live, and ResortTV1 love to bring you all the latest from the Disney parks.
Unfortunately, all Disney tourists face the same struggle with internet usage.
The Walt Disney World campus hosts hundreds of thousands of guests each day, causing massive demand for internet bandwidth.
Park officials have done what they can over the years, but vloggers know that certain rides simply cannot service the phone service needs of guests.
Given the growing importance of My Disney Experience, travelers need more bandwidth.
Well, I’m happy to report that Disney has finally taken this matter seriously.
Construction is underway for several 5G towers at various Disney resorts.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will include these towers as part of its renovations.
However, Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Boardwalk Inn have added some, too. Oddly, the 5G “towers” look a lot like tall tiki torches.
Cast members can paint them to match the décor of the surrounding area, which helps to hide them in plain sight.
Presumably, the parks will introduce some soon as well. At that point, vloggers may livestream throughout rides like Haunted Mansion.
Some of these attractions include internet dead spots that cut the signal…but those days are coming to an end!
Disney Travel News
I’m grouping together several different stories here for the sake of brevity.
For starters, larger groups should know about a recent change in ride policy.
When you travel in groups of more than 10, Disney will split you into multiple parties while you wait.
This practice will strengthen social distancing measures for you and the other guests waiting in line.
The rule applies to restaurants and other social spaces, too.
On a sadder note, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom has officially ended its run at Magic Kingdom. *sniffle*
Meanwhile, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover continues to break hearts.
Disney just confirmed that the ride will remain offline through the end of February.
Similarly, Disney Cruise Line announced the obvious. Cruises won’t return until the start of May at the earliest.
In fact, the Disney Wonder has canceled its bookings through May 12th.
If the vaccination process goes well, possibilities open during the second half of the year, though.
Disney Park News
Good news! Disney’s Blizzard Beach will return in a few weeks! Park officials have restored water park admission tickets to the official site.
In other words, you can finally buy tickets to Blizzard Beach again for the first time in nearly a year.
At the Value Tier resorts, Disney has started refurbishing the pools. The Big Blue Pool at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is currently closed.
On February 15th, the Hippy Dippy Pool at Disney’s Pop Century Resort will join it.
The official release indicates that renovations should take three weeks or so.
In restaurant news, The Lunching Pad and Tomorrowland Terrace will have altered operating hours by the time you read this.
Each one has switched to weekend-only service. They’ll open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only, at least for the time being.
On the plus side, Disney has refilled the water at Rivers of America, which had looked quite odd with the reservoirs empty.
Finally, I should mention some Disneyland stuff. Unfortunately, much of it is speculative in nature.
We DO know that California has eliminated its stay-at-home order for the area, which is forward progress.
Now that this order has ended, Disney has recalled 232 cast members to work at the various restaurants and kiosks that had temporarily closed.
Based on recent surveys, we also know that Disney will bring back annual passes at some point.
Until then, the recent owners of Disneyland annual passes hold a new title. They’re Legacy Passholders, and they keep their discounts!
Well, I should say probably. Disney currently gives passholders a 30 percent discount on merchandise through February 25th.
Apparently, a similar (?) offer will arise afterward as a means of Disney thanking its most loyal customers.
I’ll relay more information as I get it.
Have a great week!
Glad Disney is changing waiting in line for large parties. However 10 is still way too many. We have 5 and that’s too many. It’s impossible to get even 3 people on a line, especially the closer we got to the ride. The group of people behind us were always within 2 feet of us. To remedy this, I always stand one line back from the rest of my family in order to give us plenty of room without being crowded by other guests. It worked out well. Gotta do what I can to protect my family.
need to know about an alaskan Disney cruise set for july out of Vancover