During today’s 2nd quarter earnings call, Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, was optimistic about the future of the theme parks. He said research had been conducted on the “intent to visit” Walt Disney World Resort, and results have been encouraging. The levels of those with intent to visit the Florida parks are … Read more
Walt Disney World has already started to raise theme park capacity according to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, and they will continue to do so given today’s new guidance from the CDC. The last we had heard, the theme parks were at 35% capacity, but according to Chapek, this changed at some point to an undisclosed … Read more
Orange County and Los Angeles County, California will both be moving from the red reopening tier to the orange tier as of Wednesday, March 31. With this move, theme parks are able to operate at a 25% maximum capacity instead of 15%. Restaurants and movie theaters will also be able to increase capacity from 25% … Read more
The sun is shining and the crowds are back at the Universal Orlando Resort. The parks were much busier today than the last few days, and both parks would reach capacity before noon. The wait times around the park were some of the longest we’ve seen in a while. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was open … Read more
As Orange County has reentered California’s purple “widespread” COVID-19 tier, shop capacity has been reduced and indoor dining suspended all around the Downtown Disney District. With the restrictions that come with the tier, non-grocery retail stores must operate at a maximum of 25%. Above, you can see how that affects The Dress Shop. When our … Read more
During today’s COVID-19 briefing, California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, finally gave an update on long-awaited theme park reopening guidances. Dr. Ghaly spoke on the visits made to currently-open theme parks, like Walt Disney World, remarking on higher-risk and lower-risk settings that were analyzed by their team: The theme park industry has been … Read more
UPDATE: According to a post on Twitter, it appears that the Orange Garage may be opening to guests to try and help the traffic situation. Despite Walt Disney World park hours being extended for this weekend, it seems many guests have been flocking to Disney Springs this evening, causing it to reach capacity as early … Read more
According to estimates by Thinkwell Group’s Brad Kissling, Disneyland could accommodate approximately 50% of its pre-COVID capacity with social distancing. While Disneyland rarely shares exact figures for park attendance and capacity, an estimated 51,140 visited Disneyland per day in 2019, according to Themed Entertainment Association/AECOM. Kissling estimates Disneyland attracts approximately 60,000 guests on a normal … Read more
Heading into Labor Day weekend, we knew the parks were going to be crowded. Universal Orlando Resort had to close due to capacity, and signage appeared at Walt Disney World warning guests that they needed a Theme Park Reservation to enter the parks, and Park Passes were no longer available for today. Now, it appears … Read more
UPDATE: Rumors initially stated that the Disneyland Railroad would reopen with the park. At this time, it is believed that the Molly Brown Riverboat will be available upon the reopening, but not the train. Further details are expected to be revealed once the official reopening announcement is made on June 22. We have a new … Read more
In light of recent cancellations, Disney is now reaching out to guests who had either purchased the Disney Dining Plan or booked a Free Dining offer for their upcoming trip. It’s also worth noting that while character dining was still available right up until the full closure of Walt Disney World on March 20, it … Read more
UPDATE: After hours of being offline, it seems FastPass+ selections have returned to My Disney Experience. However, we still expect a number of changes leading up to the official reopening, so stay tuned for more updates as they occur. As we alluded to in an earlier post, a lot of things are changing on the … Read more
Walt Disney World has updated its park hours on the My Disney Experience app ahead of phased theme park reopenings. Hours are understandably reduced given the circumstances of the reopening, but interestingly enough, Special Ticketed Events and Extra Magic Hours (for Disney resort hotel guests) are still listed. Shorter hours make sense in this situation … Read more
After months of unprecedented closure, Walt Disney World has presented its plans for a phased reopening before the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force group, the last major Central Florida theme park to do so after finalized announcements from Universal Orlando and Sea World. Walt Disney World plans to begin its phased reopening on the following … Read more
With the phased reopening of Disney Springs now underway, we are one step closer to knowing when Walt Disney World will be reopening. Walt Disney World and Sea World will be delivering reopening presentations to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force group today, respectively. These presentations must include planned reopening dates. You can watch the … Read more
Disney Stores closed in mid-March along with the entire Disney Parks shutdown, but in light of reopening announcements coming up today for Walt Disney World, they have released a set of “Know Before You Go” Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) ahead of their own imminent reopening. The following announcement has been posted on shopDisney: Disney … Read more