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 Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
- Work is well underway on the refurbishment of the Main Street, U.S.A. train station at the Magic Kingdom but thankfully, covering the station in scrim doesn’t mean we have to completely lose its iconic look as a new themed scrim section has been installed replicating the look of the platform when it’s uncovered
EPCOT
- EPCOT’s ongoing transformation has left a tale of two Innoventions: work on the massive refurbishment of Innoventions East continues to move along, while Innoventions West has been stripped down to its bare bones
- Though construction work on EPCOT’s Play! Pavilion has been at a standstill since October, and its omission from press releases has cast doubt on the future of the attraction, work has resumed on the building’s roof
- While on the Disney Skyliner today, we caught sight of one of the new “Harmonious” barges docked backstage at EPCOT, with one side of its screen panels fully lit
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels
- We headed over for another visit to Chef Mickey’s — the popular, now-modified “buffet” dining experience at Disney’s Contemporary Resort — to welcome the characters back to the character dining restaurant
- To help mark Disney’s Riviera Resort’s first anniversary, Disney Vacation Club commissioned The LEGO Group to create a spectacular model of Disney’s Riviera Resort, created in consultation with Disney Imagineers who helped bring the resort to life, and the model will arrive early next year to the Disney Vacation Club kiosk at Disney Springs Marketplace
- The latest Trader Sam’s tiki mug and cocktail have cruised into Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, but into the Tambu Lounge instead of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, as it remains closed
Other Walt Disney World News
- After suspending the Disney College Program at the start of the COVID-19 closures, and cancelling the Fall 2020 program through January, Disney has given an update today regarding program recruitment
- Disney has just announced that the Electrical Water Pageant will “soon” be returning to Walt Disney World
Disneyland Resort
- We were super excited to see that Gone Hollywood has reopened today in Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure with a few newly-redesigned pressed quarter machines
- With the closure of other areas around Disney California Adventure, a new outdoor shopping area has been set up just outside of Stage 17 featuring a variety of holiday and other merchandise
- Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, has been spotted this afternoon at Disney California Adventure taking a look around the Hollywood Land area, which has seen a number of reopenings, even after most of the Buena Vista Street expansion had to shut down after a regional stay-at-home order closed indoor and outdoor dining throughout the county
Tokyo Disney Resort
- The Disney Wonderbles mystery boxes released at Tokyo Disney Resort just a couple of weeks ago and featured special pins, mini plates, stuffed keychains, and drawstring bags themed to six special attractions, and now you can take a look at the actual Wonderble itself in our video unboxing review
Disney Cruise Line
- Just weeks after they announced sailings were cancelled through February, Disney Cruise Line’s shutdown is now expected to last through March 2021
New Merchandise
- As an old attraction once said, “It’s fun to be free, to be on the move…” And now, you can race or glide your way into Walt Disney World for two new toys from the 2021 merchandise collection — the 2021 Disney Skyliner Toy and 2021 Peterbilt Truck
Entertainment and Media
- According to TheWrap.com, Marvel Studios is redesigning its contracts for future projects to reflect possible release strategy changes, including films that are pushed to Disney+ in lieu of a traditional theatrical release
Disney+
- Sadly, it looks like we’ll never know what happened to Lizzie McGuire, as the reboot planned for Disney+ has been cancelled according to the show’s star, Hilary Duff, who confirmed the news on her Instagram account on Wednesday
The Walt Disney Company
- According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Tatiana Siegel, the administration of President-Elect Joe Biden is considering The Walt Disney Company’s executive chairman and former CEO, Bob Iger, for ambassadorship to either the UK or China, reportedly being “at the top of [their] wish-list”
- Walt Disney World veteran and Senior Vice President of Operations Jim MacPhee will be retiring in 2021 after 42 years at The Walt Disney Company
WDW News Today
- Join us for our last episode ParksCenter for 2020 (good riddance!) where we’ll be recapping the top 7 topics of the year, including the closures and reopenings (or lack thereof), what it was like to experience the parks during the pandemic, things we’ve had to do without (like Cast Members, and fireworks), and things we’re looking forward to in 2021
Disney Wonderbles Mystery Unboxing with Spencer – Tokyo Disney Resort
Harmonious Barge Illuminated Backstage At EPCOT
Characters Return to Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Walt Disney World Testing Fireworks, Electrical Water Pageant for Eventual Return – NewsToday 12/16
PETE’S BACK! Holiday Drinks & Eats Around The World!
ParksCenter – 2020 Year End Wrap Up – Ep. 132
Gone Hollywood Reopens in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure
That’s it for today, we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!