29/10/2021
WDW, as of today:
★ New annual passes are on sale.
★ Park pass reservations required in addition to admission. Officially, the park pass reservation system is here to stay.
★ Disney is using finger biometrics at the turnstiles.
★ FastPass+ will not return. Disney Genie service begins October 19.
★ Disney no longer shares detailed information regarding capacity; consistent with Disney policy prior to the pandemic. Disney has publicly committed to aggressively pursue full staffing by the end of December.
★ The new permanent fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom is Disney’s Enchantment.
★ The new permanent fireworks show at Epcot is Harmonious.
★ The Wonderful World of Animation is presented in Hollywood Studios each night, replaced by Disney Movie Magic starting November 7. Not clear whether Star Wars Galactic Spectacular will return.
★ Fantasmic will return at a later date, not yet announced; the theater is currently undergoing major renovations.
★ Rivers of Light ended. KiteTails, live daytime entertainment, is being performed.
★ “Let the Magic Begin” on the castle stage in the Magic Kingdom restarted.
★ A new haunted pre-show for Muppet Vision 3D opened.
★ Adapted version of Festival of The Lion King currently operating.
★ A reimagined “Finding Nemo” musical is coming in 2022.
★ Beauty and the Beast live on stage reopened.
★ Indiana Jones stunt show will reopen December 19.
★ Adapted version of Frozen sing-along currently operating.
★ Feathered Friends In Flight! is currently operating.
★ Monsters Inc Laugh Floor reopened.
★ Turtle Talk with Crush reopened.
★ Drawn to Life presented by Cirque du Soleil & Disney is scheduled to open on Nov. 18, 2021.
★ Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is open in Epcot, with a virtual queue for its standby line.
★ Virtual queuing for Rise of the Resistance is paused.
★ Construction on the new Journey of Water attraction in EPCOT is just beginning.
★ The latest word regarding the Guardians of the Galaxy Roller coaster is from James Gunn, the director of the film series. He reported on October 19 that he and the cast are now filming the video content for the attraction. Disney has officially announced that the opening date will be sometime in 2022.
★ Construction on the Tron roller coaster continues. No opening date. The Magic Kingdom Railroad is currently not operating due to Tron construction.
★ Effective July 16, Rider Swap allows only the waiting guardian and one other to ride.
★ Cavalcades, now scheduled, continue instead of parades at some parks.
★ Distanced character greetings continue instead of photo and autograph sessions with characters. Some adapted, still distanced, personal character greetings were to return in November. Some seem to have opened at the MK already.
★ Live musical entertainment featuring EPCOT favorites and local bands continues in America Gardens Theater and on Mill Stage around the EPCOT's World Showcase Lagoon.
★ Live entertainment returns to the piano in front of Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom; and Alberta Bound in Canada, the juggler in Italy and drummers in Japan in Epcot; live music in Africa and Asia in Animal Kingdom park. Yeehaw Bob returned to Port Orleans. Jellyrolls has reopened. Drummers return to Harambe in Animal Kingdom in November.
★ Special holiday live entertainment will be found throughout the world showcase.
★ Q-1 visas remain unavailable due to the pandemic, so International exchange cast members cannot return to EPCOT nor Animal Kingdom theme park at this time. Country-specific entertainment not being presented.
★ The international tourist travel ban will be lifted on November 8th, so we can expect to see an influx of international guests beginning then and continuing through the fall, reflecting pent-up demand.
★ Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party will not be offered this year. Instead, Disney is offering Boo Bash, an after hours event. WDW ticket offices are reselling tickets that they apparently refunded to other guests. Regular MK fireworks will be presented prior to the park closing to day guests.
★ Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will not be held this year. Instead, Disney is offering the Very Merriest After Hours event with much more limited capacity as compared to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and including a parade and special Christmas fireworks. (This means that there will be two sets of fireworks that night, the regular fireworks before the park closes and then the special fireworks during the event.)
★ Candlelight processional returns November 26, with celebrity narrators including Chita Rivera, Jodi Benson, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lisa Ling, Steven Curtis Chapman, Blair Underwood and Pat Sajak. Candlelight Processional Dining Packages are also returning, and can be booked online beginning Oct. 26.
★ Special fireworks dining packages will be offered at California Grill, Rose and Crown, and Spice Road Table.
★ Dessert parties have returned. Three options in the Magic Kingdom: pre, during, and post.
★ Private dessert parties and private fireworks cruises, MK fireworks cruises, and EPCOT fireworks cruises have all returned.
★ RunDisney events are now again in person.
★ The dining plan will be offered again. Disney withheld details about the plans to be offered and when.
★ Most Disney-run restaurants are operating under pandemic protocols backstage, so we can expect smaller menus and simplified menu items to continue for a while longer.
★ Victoria & Alberts, Takumi-Tei, Monsieur Paul’s, Flying Fish, Jiko, 1900 Park Fare, Akershus, Marrakesh, Artist Point, ESPN Zone remain closed.
★ The Wave was replaced by Steakhouse 71.
★ Limited character dining experiences may be found at Garden Grill, Chef Mickey’s, Topolino’s Terrace (breakfast only), Hollywood and Vine, Tusker House, Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest.
★ Several restaurants have resumed self-service buffets: Boma, Biergarten, Crystal Palace.
★ Akershus and Marrakesh are both operating as rest areas, rather than restaurants.
★ The DVC lounge Top of the World remains closed.
★ Parking lot trams are not operating.
★ Buses from theme parks to Disney Springs, which previously operated only after 4pm and only one way, are not operating at all at this time.
★ Boats to and from Disney Springs on the Sassagoula River are operating.
★ All monorails are operating. All monorail stations are open.
★ Disney's Magical Express continues through the end of this year. Mears Connect replaces it: $16 for adults, $13.50 for children, one way.
★ Brightline train has nothing to do with Magical Express. It is an Intercity train from Miami eventually to Orlando Airport, and the connection between Orlando airport and Disney is up in the air, and at best will open in 2026 or later.
★ All parks now open 30 minutes early for Disney resort guests. Not all Good Neighbor hotels are eligible.
★ Select parks on select nights will remain open for Deluxe Disney resort guests starting in October. (Of the Good Neighbor hotels, only Swan and Dolphin, and Shades of Green, are eligible.)
★ No bounce back offers are being offered.
★ Club-Level is being reintroduced to select Disney Resort hotels through 12/16.
★ All Disney Resort hotels that remain closed, except All-Star Sports, have reopening dates, between now and the second week of December.
★ Souvenir Pick-Up (at the front of the park) and Resort Hotel Delivery for purchases of park merchandise are both currently unavailable. Home Delivery shipping service is available for a fee.
★ DVC 50% borrowing limit remains in effect with no end date in sight. Most likely it will last for years.
★ DVC pool hopping is suspended due to the pandemic.
★ As of July 25, 2021, Disney will no longer transfer perishables between hotels, for guests with split stays.
★ The fifth wave of wide community spread is almost over in Florida. Experts are predicting a smaller sixth wave starting in November and peaking after the New Year.
★ All guests are required to wear face masks indoors and on transportation at WDW.
★ Beware of comment-farming scams. With comment-farming, scammers post an attention-grabbing post trying to get you to like, comment and share their post. The more likes, comments and shares the scammer gets that way, the more likely Facebook will show the scammers’ posts on your news feed. Scammers use this to trick more people out of information and send malicious downloads to more people. On Disney-related Facebook groups, this scam appears as a post from a new member of a group, showing a photo of Mickey and Minnie and a comment saying, “𝘛𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱. 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘠𝘌𝘚 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥,” (or something like that). Please don't respond to such scams.
