It’s been a while since we’ve seen new “Park Life” merchandise. This cartoon-ish collection started hitting shelves late last year. A new limited release EPCOT MagicBand has now been added to the lineup.
Mickey smiles at one end with Spaceship Earth behind him.
The other end of the band has a collection of EPCOT icons for different attractions, including Soarin’, Journey Into Imagination, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, and The Seas With Nemo & Friends.
Mulan has taken over Walt Disney Presents at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a limited time sneak peek of the film.
In The Walt Disney Theater, you can see a sneak peek scene and trailer for the film. For now, this is the closest we’ll come to seeing Mulan in an actual movie theater.
Tropical Depression 13 has now strengthened into Tropical Storm Laura, according to the National Weather Service.
https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic/status/1296797119165079552/photo/2
The tropical storm could strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida, though conditions are still uncertain depending on the path it takes. NWS predictions expect tropical-storm-force winds to arrive in the state early next week, with central Florida possibly in its path.
Central Florida recently prepared for the latest tropical storm to hit the state, Tropical Storm Isaias. Thankfully, there were only minor impacts to the region.
Walt Disney World’s Hurricane Policy states that a Hurricane Watch or Warning must be issued for cancellation or change fees to be waived.
While reopening their theme parks is a major step on the road to Disney’s economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s still a long road ahead.
According to StreetInsider.com, Deutsche Bank reported that worldwide Disney Park attendance remains down 80% year-over-year from 2019 per their proprietary geolocation data. For months, parks around the world remained closed due to the pandemic. Park re-openings began in May with Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland in June (though it has since closed again), while the parks of Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World followed suit in July, all with reduced capacity to help socially distance guests. The Disneyland Resort remains closed as of the writing of this article.
Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Kraft explained that Walt Disney World’s attendance may soon rise as Florida’s COVID-19 numbers continue to trend down, saying: “While Disney World appears to be lagging the COVID case reduction, we would expect the data to relieve some of the admissions pressure in the near future.”
Kraft also discussed Walt Disney World’s chief competition in Universal Orlando Resort, who he claimed was having an increase in admissions since they reopened in June, stating “Universal’s Orlando parks continue to see an uplift in admissions with Saturday having the best [year over year] change since reopening, at -64%. Given this ongoing improvement in Universal’s attendance and declining new daily COVID cases in Florida, we believe that Disney World will also soon see some benefit.”
Earlier this month, Disney said on their Q3 earnings call that attendance at Walt Disney World was lower than expected, though revenue still exceeded variable costs.
The wait to see Cirque du Soleil’s new show, Drawn to Life, has just gotten longer.
According to the company’s ticketing website, performances have been suspended through February 10, 2021.
Performances have been delayed through November 17th. The show performs nightly at 5:30 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays and tickets start at $95. The show is currently scheduled through March 31st, 2021.
Drawn to Life was originally meant to open at Disney Springs on April 17, 2020. Cirque du Soleil offered to replace or refund any purchased tickets for showings impacted by the closure.