Top Entertainment Experiences Currently Open or Coming Back Soon

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Via DisDining.com

No one does entertainment like Disney!  So when we visit Walt Disney World, we always fit in as many live entertainment experiences as we can.  Like everything else, the number and kind of live shows available in WDW has changed during the pandemic.  But the good news is that there are many live entertainment experiences currently open, or that will soon be back, in altered formats to ensure everyone’s safety.  Here are a few!

1. Festival of the Lion King

If you’ve been missing Festival of the Lion King, you’ll be thrilled to know that a modified version will return to Disney’s Animal Kingdom this summer. While we have no official start date, Disney has announced a “mid-May” debut! The show has been updated to allow for physical distancing, and you’ll notice a difference in seating arrangements at Harambe Theatre too, with a goal of keeping cast members and guests safe while they enjoy the show. We can’t wait to join the celebration of this spectacular live show!

2. Voices of Liberty

I’ll never forget stumbling onto a live performance by the incomparable Voices of Liberty at Disney’s Epcot – it was an utterly magical moment!  And there are plenty more magical moments in store for guests, as the group performs daily at America Gardens Theatre (with a totally new repertoire, featuring a healthy heaping of Disney favorites!).  If you’ve never treated yourself to the dulcet tones of the Voices of Liberty, now’s the perfect time, and if you’ve been missing their stunning vocal acrobatics, welcome back!

3. Feathered Friends in Flight

The latest in a series of shows featuring live birds at the Caravan Stage Theater in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Feathered Friends in Flight has been entertaining guests since the park reopened in summer 2020.  It’s hosted by actual animal trainers at WDW, and showcases the natural talents and survival techniques used by birds in the wild.  The show features several different bird species, many of which you’ll see flying overhead; you’ll learn a thing or two about our amazing feathered friends while seeing them in action!

4. Cirque du Soleil and Disney – Drawn to Life

If you never got to experience the La Nouba show by Cirque du Soleil at Disney Springs before it closed in 2017, you’ll be just as excited as I am for Drawn to Life!  A collaboration between Cirque du Soleil and Disney (I’m in!), this new live show is a delightful collision of Disney animation and gravity-defying acrobatics.  Performers interpret classic Disney animation through choreography, inspiring costuming and even an all-new score – with classic Disney music as its inspiration, of course.  We’re told the stage is actually designed as a larger-than-life animation table!  While we don’t have an exact opening date to share with you yet, Drawn to Life is coming “later this fall” to Walt Disney World – and we can’t wait!

5. For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration

Do you have a Frozen fan in your household?  If so, you’ll want to head to For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration in Disney’s Hollywood Studios on your next WDW vacation.  Performed several times daily, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to belt out all of your favorite Frozen songs along with Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, and you’ll enjoy your favorite scenes from the movie – wearing a mask and in physically distanced seats, of course, for safety! 

6. Dapper Dans

Ah, Dapper Dans, how we’ve missed you!  Thankfully, this iconic barbershop quartet has returned to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, putting smiles on faces up and down Main Street USA.  You’ll find them in the train station or on a trolley car now, but the stellar harmonies and wacky humor you love are the same as you remember!  The Dapper Dans perform 20-minute shows throughout the day.

7. Grand Floridian Pianist

We’re still mourning the departure of the unparalleled Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, but there’s good news – the Grand Floridian Pianist has returned to the lobby of Disney’s flagship resort!  Safely physically distanced and wearing a mask, this maestro of the keys will entertain and delight music lovers of all ages.  There’s something so magical about live music in the posh lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, and we couldn’t be happier!

New Food and Beverage Offerings Now Available at Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Dining, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World never has a shortage of amazing food and beverage items to try. Disney is always offering new items to entice guests and right now there are a lot of items that you’ll want to check out on your next visit to Walt Disney World.

From a Disney Cast Member;

We have two new over-the-top shakes you have to try! One comes with a chocolate-dipped peanut butter cake and another with three cake pops! What???!!!

Hollywood Scoops at Disney’s Hollywood Studio

  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion Shake – Chocolate ice cream layered with peanut butter sauce topped with whipped cream and garnished with chocolate peanut butter crumbles and a chocolate-dipped peanut butter cake

Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort

  • Wildberry Shake – Wildberry shake striped with pink and purple marshmallow and topped with whipped cream and three cake pops

Check out two new offerings at Disney Springs – one savory and one sweet. The best of both worlds!

D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs

  • Double Bacon Stack Burger – Two-pressed signature blend patties, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and grilled onions on a house-made Parker House roll

Marketplace Snacks at Disney Springs

  • Orange slushy topped with vanilla soft-serve

The Taste of EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival continues through July 5, and the food is fabulous … and the flowers are beautiful, too! Hard to pick favorites, but right now, I am craving these delicious bites from the Festival.

  • Fleur de Lys (France) – Caramelized beignet filled with vanilla cream and glazed with caramel fleur de sel
  • EPCOT Farmers Feast (World Showplace) – Herb-crusted spring lamb with marble potatoes, spring vegetables, and red wine-butter sauce
  • Taste of Marrakesh (Morocco) – Moroccan seafood couscous with shrimp, mussels, olives, preserved lemons, and anchovy breadcrumbs
  • Northern Bloom (Canada) – Griddled maple pound cake with warm peach compote and sweet corn gelato

Whispering Canyon Café at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge has not one but two “hidden Mickeys” in their Kids’ All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Breakfast Skillet! This hearty and delicious kids’ breakfast skillet includes a Mickey-shaped waffle AND, new to the skillet, Mickey-shaped scrambled eggs! In addition to the Mickey-shaped scrambled eggs and waffle, the kids’ skillet also comes with:

  • Country potatoes
  • Hickory-smoked bacon
  • Breakfast sausage links
  • Buttermilk cheddar biscuit
  • Sausage gravy

People who know me know I am very particular about my bread pudding. I like a nice creamy center with plenty of sauce – and hold the raisins, please! So, when I stopped by Banana Cabana Pool Bar at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, I just had to try the Pineapple-Coconut Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and ice cream. My kind of bread pudding – delicious!

Disney Skyliner Gondolas Reportedly “Banged Into Each Other”

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Via DisDining.com

Last night, Thursday, April 22, it was reported that the Walt Disney World Skyliner had an issue with gondolas banging into each other. A Disney fan shared an Instagram story reporting the incident.

As reported via WDWNT: Disney Skyliner gondolas have once again crashed into each other. Instagram user nextstopmainstreet shared a video showing what appears to be two gondolas compressed against each other. Alyssa from nextstopmainstreet reports that two gondolas “banged into each other” and that there is shattered glass at the station. The incident appears to have happened at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios Skyliner station. As of 8:45pm, the Skyliner station at Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopened.

You may remember back in 2019, shortly after the opening of the Disney Skyliner, multiple gondolas piled up at Disney’s Riviera Resort station as shown in the photo above. The incident last night seems to have only included two gondolas. For the full story, visit source WDWNT.

Walt Disney World Cast Members to Receive Complimentary One-Night Resort Hotel Stay

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Via wdwnt.com

Scott Gustin with Nexstar Media Group reported on Twitter that current and furloughed Cast Members at Walt Disney World in Florida will be receiving a complimentary one-night resort stay.

Walt Disney World Bringing Back Cast Members in Preparation of Eventual Increased Capacity

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Dining, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Around the Walt Disney World Resort, “Earning My Ears” nametag adornments have started to pop up along with groups of cast members returning to work and training after being furloughed or displaced last year.

Because the parks are not running their normal operating hours and there are still resorts, shops, and restaurants that are still closed, these cast members have stayed displaced or furloughed until things could start to open back up. The theme park operating hours were recently extended through June 2021 in anticipation of larger crowds and expanded capacity.

As of the first week of April, cast members who decided to return to work in a new area are starting to be recalled to their home location.

Those who have been sitting on furlough are now being recalled to come back to work to help as the parks and resorts start to extend their hours and reopen some locations that have remained closed. Some of those areas include merchandise, food, and possibly entertainment for increased guest capacity this summer.

This week, DisneyCareers.com posted they are hiring some housekeeping and lifeguard roles.