We bring you a lot of stories every single day. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. So in case you missed anything from our feed, we have rounded up all our stories in one place to get the news at a glance. Here is your Daily Recap for Friday, January 1, 2021.
Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
- Though Magic Kingdom officially closed at 11:00 PM last night, guests hung around in front of Cinderella Castle until midnight for their own magical New Year’s Eve moment by counting down to 2021 on their own
- It’s a 2021 miracle — the beloved Kakamora Float has returned to Aloha Isle Refreshments at Magic Kingdom
- Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom wrapped up its difficult year of 2020 with an evacuation late on New Year’s Eve
EPCOT
- The new guide map for EPCOT features the upcoming Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2021 and while the festival officially starts on January 8, this map is available now
Disney Springs
- Cirque du Soleil’s new “Drawn to Life” show was slated to open at Disney Springs in early 2020, but unfortunately was delayed repeatedly due to the COVID-19 closure but finally, Disney has acknowledged the upcoming show in Disney Parks Blog’s “21 Ways to Kick Off 2021 with Magic at Walt Disney World Resort”
Other Walt Disney World News
- While Park Hopping has existed for years now, it’s returning in a somewhat modified form to accommodate existing health and safety measures this afternoon, and there are many new questions surrounding the process, like “Can I visit more than two parks a day?” and “How will I know a park has reached capacity?” so we decided to round-up what we know so far after confirming with Cast Members
- Park Hopping has returned to Walt Disney World Resort today, albeit a little different than it used to look and this morning we laid out all of the new information regarding Park Hopping but now that we’ve actually Park Hopped ourselves, here’s everything else you need to know
- Starting January 4, 2021, Florida Residents can purchase specially priced 4-Day Discover Disney Tickets for $50 per day, plus tax (total price $199 plus tax) — or choose from other specially priced tickets
- As was announced last year, MagicBands are no longer provided complimentary to Disney Resort hotel guests with arrivals beginning January 1, 2021 and the plain colored MagicBands that were previously complimentary are now available at a “special pre-order price” of $5
- Though 2020 has caused several delays when it comes to new Disney attractions, 2021 is sure to be a year packed full of excitement and D23 has now posted a list of every Disney attraction slated to open this year, in addition to all of the Disney Parks anniversaries we have to look forward to
New Merchandise
- You’re gonna be shiny with this new open edition glitter-covered pink MagicBand now available at Walt Disney World
- Today is New Year’s Day, so it’s still a few weeks until the Chinese New Year arrives but if you want to get a head start on the Year of the Ox, you can check out the new apparel for the occasion at the Disneyland Resort
The Walt Disney Company
- Ron Dominguez, Disney Legend and former Executive Vice President of Attractions, passed away January 1, 2021 at the age of 85
- Richard Bates, Disney Senior Vice President of U.S. Government Relations, has passed away at the age of 70
WDW News Today
Guests Lead Spontaneous Countdown To 2021 At The Magic Kingdom
First Day of The Return Of Park Hopping – Magic Kingdom Bus Departure
That’s it for today, we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!