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 livestream of the ongoing Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force meeting in the video below:
Reopening plans will require endorsement from the Orange County Mayor before they can be submitted to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for final approval. At this time, all Walt Disney World parks and resort hotels remain closed.
We will be posting the proposed dates from Walt Disney World, as well as any new health and safety protocols announced as part of the presentation, so stay tuned!
Today is the first day that select Disney-owned stores are reopening at Disney Springs. This includes two of the shopping district’s main flagship stores: World of Disney and the Marketplace Co-Op. In anticipation of the large crowds visiting the stores, a new virtual queuing system has been implemented to help manage crowds, and maintain those all-important social distancing protocols.
Cast Members in blue checkered shirts are scattered across store entrances, ready to greet guests. At the dedicated entrance to World of Disney, Cast Members with iPads are taking down details for each party, in order to place them in the virtual queue system. Guests are being asked to give their first and last initials (rather than typing out full names), telephone number, and a count of how many people they will be shopping with.
Upon being successfully registered into the virtual queue, guests receive a text message confirming that they are “in line” and will receive another text when it is time for them to enter the store.
Queues can be seen stretching out along the entrances to both stores as guests clamor to buy the latest Disney Parks merchandise.
The same setup and procedure is available at the Marketplace Co-Op.
Lines continue winding further down as crowds begin to pour into Disney Springs for this second phase of the reopening. The shopping, dining, and entertainment district officially opens at 10:00 AM, but guests were allowed into the Orange Garage for parking as early as 8:00 AM.
Guests will begin getting called to World of Disney and the Marketplace Co-Op starting at 10:00 AM. Capacity for World of Disney is 200, and that is how many guests will be called in at official open. After that, guests will be let in on a one-in, one-out basis. No word yet on how long of a window guests have to return to the store once they receive a text, but make sure to follow our minute-by-minute live updates on Twitter and Instagram for these answers and more.
If you are visiting Disney Springs today, be prepared for crowds. Don’t forget your face mask, and make sure your cell phone is handy to use that virtual system. Happy shopping!
We’re all about WAFFLES! Of course, our favorite kind of waffle is the Mickey Waffles available in the Disney Parks and Resorts. While it’s not the same, we do enjoy a good waffle right from our own kitchen as well! shopDisney has several waffle makers available for purchase. They have added four new waffle makers that are simply must-haves!
The four newer additions of Waffle Makers at shopDisney include The Avengers, Minnie Mouse, Frozen 2 Snowflake, and R2-D2.
The Avengers Waffle Maker:
Mighty Marvel heroes assemble with four different breakfast treats made at one time in this electric Avengers Waffle Maker. Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor will muscle their way to your morning plate! This waffle maker bakes four different waffles imprinted with super hero icons includes imprints of Hulk’s fist, Iron Man’s helmet, Captain America’s shield, and Thor’s hammer. Cost is $39.99 plus tax and shipping.
Minnie Mouse Waffle Maker:
Now you can have a tasty ”character breakfast” at home with our magical Minnie Mouse Waffle Maker, so easy to use you’ll smile the whole day through! This waffle maker bakes one 7” Minnie Mouse character waffle. Cost is $29.99 plus tax and shipping.
R2-D2 Waffle Maker – Star Wars:
Why make humans do all the cooking when you have artificial intelligence to make tasty breakfast treats? This R2-D2 Waffle Maker serves up adorable droid-shaped waffles for hungry Star Wars fans! Star Wars fans of all ages will love waffles shaped like R2-D2. Cost is $29.99 plus tax and shipping.
Frozen 2 Snowflake Waffle Maker:
Once you’ve had a tasty breakfast treat baked with this Frozen 2 Waffle Maker, you’ll never let it go! Rain or shine, handmade snowflake waffles will always be in season. This waffle maker makes one snowflake waffle. Cost is $19.99 plus tax and shipping.
With all the recent changes to Walt Disney World, we’re eagerly awaiting our next WDW trip, when we can try out all the new restaurants and attractions that have opened since our last visit. While many changes continue to be made inside the parks, WDW resorts are not immune to the constant improvements on property, and that’s a good thing! If you haven’t heard the news, there will be a brand-new Disney resort making its appearance in a few years – and we have all the latest info right here!
1. What is It?
It’s called Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge, and when it’s completed, it’ll be the 16th DVC property. A deluxe resort, it will boast over 900 resort rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas, and a pretty cool location!
2. When Will it Open?
2022 is the expected year for the opening of Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, so we still have a few years to wait! There are several other Disney resort projects currently in the works in WDW, and this means we’ll have more than 1700 new resort rooms and villas to enjoy when all is said and done.
3. Where Will it Be?
You may remember visiting Disney’s River Country, WDW’s first water park, before it closed in 2001. Or you may have been intrigued by the idea of an abandoned Disney park (and who could blame you?), and followed the rumors that have been swirling for years about the future development of the site. Well, they’re rumors no longer! Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge will be built on the site of River Country, between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, on Bay Lake. We love the idea of taking a former Disney park that has been rotting away, tantalizingly close to current WDW magic, and turning it into a resort for new generations to enjoy.
4. Theme
We know that A Disney Lakeside Lodge will be themed to complement its natural surroundings. It’ll be inspired by nature and by the artistry of Walt Disney. Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, the design team that brought us Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, as well as several Disney hotels in other countries, helms the project. It seems like Disney is aiming to please as many guests as possible, not just the biggest WDW fans out there, who want to be surrounded by all things Disney at their resort; Lakeside Lodge looks like it will be a more subtle, understated hotel, with natural and rustic touches.
5. Dining
We don’t know too much about the food at Reflections: A Lakeside Lodge, but what we do know is pretty exciting. Plans show a proposed table service restaurant that will be part of a building that juts out from the shore of Bay Lake. If you love waterfront dining (and who doesn’t?), you’ll love this stand-alone restaurant. We can only imagine that the view will be spectacular!
We also recently discovered that the restaurant will be themed around The Princess and the Frog! If it’s anything like the beautiful restaurant Tiana’s Place on board the Disney Wonder, it’ll be quite a stunner. There will be a counter service restaurant in the resort’s main building, and guests will be able to head over to nearby Fort Wilderness or Wilderness Lodge to access even more dining options.
6. Lobby
Concept art depicting the lobby has been released, and what we’re seeing is a wonderfully light and modern space featuring lots of glass, whimsical flowing ceiling decorations (that might be meant to represent wind?), and carved wood to break up the more contemporary materials. It won’t look like Disney brought the forest inside the resort, like Wilderness Lodge; it’s a more liberal interpretation of “inspired by nature” that reads more like a peaceful nature retreat.
There’s a Pocahontas statue in the lobby, complete with windswept hair, and huge windows that promise to let in a ton of light. The intimate spherical structures surrounding different seating areas are wonderfully creative, and seating includes sofas in nature-inspired hues.
7. Construction
While Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge won’t be completed until 2022, that’s not to say you can’t get a glimpse of the construction phase of the project! If you head towards Trail’s End at Fort Wilderness, you’ll see some of the fencing near the bus stop. Anything that remained of River Country has already been demolished, and the land flattened. The whole site is fenced off, and you’ll be able to see some of the fencing at the edge of Trail Blaze Corral.
8. More Details
We love the fun extras in the concept art, like hanging nest chairs and landscape scenes from Disney animated films. Fans of mid-century modern furniture will appreciate the design choices used here, and Disney characters will be subtly worked into backdrops (of unfolded Murphy beds, for example) and furniture. There are retractable side tables in beds and sofas, and plenty of storage built into each piece of furniture. So even though the design is minimalist, you’ll definitely have enough room for everything you need while you’re on vacation. Oh, we can’t forget one of the most exciting elements of Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge – there’s a fireworks viewing lounge!
We are all dealing with sheltering-in-place due to the novel coronavirus in our ways. Baking, reading, hiking, and working on household projects are some of the most popular activities. However, the Westover/Booren family decided to do something much more musical and recreated Disney’s Animal’s Kingdom’s Finding Nemo: The Musical from home.
Sisters Casey and Charlotte and live in the same neighborhood in Springfield, Oregon. When a statewide shelter-in-place was ordered, Charlotte’s brother-in-law, Jared, suggested they put on a family musical. While the family initially laughed at the idea, Casey’s daughter Charlotte, a theater major (who shares the same name as her aunt), took the opportunity to the skills she learned at Brigham Young University – Idaho to choose and direct the show.
Being a Walt Disney World College Program alumna, Charlotte was keen on choosing a Disney musical, but, she wanted to involve her extended family without overwhelming them with too much material. She settled on Finding Nemo: The Musical and assigned roles to the whole family. Set pieces and props were easy to find as the family owns an event company that was temporarily shuttered, and they utilized their homes for rehearsals.
With gatherings being off-limits, they were given permission by their church to use an empty performance space for their final show, which they posted on their YouTube Channel, sans audience of course. You can watch the full performance below and for more on the family and some behind the scenes clips, see the “Meet the Family” video below as well.
Thank you to Westover/Booren family for sharing a little Disney magic at home!
