One Disney Cast Member shared an extremely unique Guest story with People magazine — seemingly a Guest decided to channel Tarzan while waiting in line to meet Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
The Cast Member shared:
“A mother climbed a tree and swung down in the middle of another family’s meet and greet with Beast. She didn’t want to wait in line.”
Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and other Disney theme parks globally have rules against line-cutting, so this Guest was clearly violating Park regulations. The Cast Member did not share what consequences the tree-swinging Guest faced after her escapade.
At this time, Disney World visitors can see Beast while dining at Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom Park. He also sometimes appears at special events, such as After Hours.
Princess Belle, however, is available for daily meet and greets with Guests in EPCOT’s France pavilion.
At Disneyland Paris, things are slowly beginning to move back to normal.
At the moment, COVID-19 changes are still very present at Disneyland Paris. We have seen Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disneyland Resort both shut down again due to the ongoing pandemic, however other Resorts like Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort are beginning to look like a much more normal theme park experience with crowds filling the Park’s once again.
The Park that started as Euro Disney and then transformed into Disneyland Paris with Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studio Park has grown so much over the past 30 years, and now as the Park continues to expand we are finally able to kick off the amazing celebrations of the 30th anniversary. Sleeping Beauty Castle is now lit with LED lighting, the decor is in place, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the rest of the gang have their outfits ready, Illuminations returned, and there is an all-new song for the celebration that sends a party down Main Street, U.S.A.! And that is just the tip of the iceberg, we haven’t even discussed the new drone technology that lit up the night sky.
Most recently, we discussed all of the new offerings that Guests can expect to see when they visit. In short, there is new packaging on everything, from water bottles to sandwich boxes, Minnie Mouse is looking chic as ever in her new pantsuit, the After Glow show illuminates Sleeping Beauty Castle with an amazing drone experience, The all-new Dream… and Shine Brighter has also debuted, and so much more.
Right before the beginning of the celebrations, we saw characters meet and greets return for fur characters. Guests were finally able to give characters like Winnie the Pooh a hug after two years. Now, it seems character meet and greets are returning in a bigger way, with face characters!
⚠️ Face Character Meet and Greets are returning to normal on April 1: – Return to normal for all face character meets including Disney Princesses, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel. – The Princess Pavilion will reopen as normal. + Meet Mickey will operate as normal. pic.twitter.com/e8mQJtUci2
On top of that, they also reported that character dining is returning to a few dining locations:
⚠️ Character Dining is returning to Disneyland Paris from March 31, 2022: – At Auberge de Cendrillon for lunch and dinner, – At Plaza Gardens for breakfast and dinner. pic.twitter.com/TQxwxVYVFx
These steps forward mark an exciting time for Disneyland Paris which is slowly returning to a pre-pandemic state after facing multiple hardships and closures from the pandemic.
We’re seeing more and more character greetings return to Walt Disney World theme parks and we’re very excited about it. Last weekend, Olaf returned to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. At EPCOT, two new characters are back and one has moved to their original greeting location.
Donald Duck at the Mexico Pavilion
Donald Duck is back to greeting guests at the Mexico pavilion outside in his normal meet and greet location on the right side of the pavilion.
Vanellope and Joy at ImageWorks in the Imagination! Pavilion
Since EPCOT reopened in July 2020, Joy from “Inside Out” has been enjoying the gardens next to the Imagination! Pavilion while greeting guests. She has now moved back to her original location inside ImageWorks. Vanellope has also returned to ImageWorks.
Do note greetings are still modified (distanced greetings with no direct contact between characters and guests) and hugs and autographs are not available at this time.
While a vacation at Walt Disney World is still different in this new pandemic reality we live in, Disney is slowly bringing back entertainment offerings. Just recently a lot of live entertainment performers returned and Disney has now announced the return of more live entertainment and the return of modified character meet and greets.
From a Disney Cast Member;
It’s an exciting time to be at Walt Disney World Resort! We just launched The World’s Most Magical Celebration, with dazzling new EARidescent experiences in every corner of our world. Of course, our cast is at the heart of everything, and since the reopening of our theme parks, Walt Disney World Resort is proud to have returned more than 50,000 cast members to work. Now, more than 65,000 are working across the resort, and we are hiring hundreds more each week as we continue to open more resorts and guest locations. Today, I’m thrilled to tell you we’re bringing back more entertainment cast members this fall, as we relaunch some favorite live entertainment experiences at all four theme parks and beyond!
Some of our atmosphere entertainment resumed October 1 with the start of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration. Early birds at Magic Kingdom Park are now starting their day with “Let the Magic Begin” on the Cinderella Castle Forecourt Stage, and we’ve welcomed back the ragtime piano player at Casey’s Corner on Main Street, U.S.A. Over at EPCOT, World Showcase travelers are dancing to the Canadian rhythms of Alberta Bound, laughing at the antics of Sergio in Italy, and experiencing the majestic percussion of the Taiko drummers of Matsuriza in Japan.
Next week at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, guests visiting Asia can once again enjoy the music of Chakranadi, and Kora Tinga Tinga returns to the streets of Harambe in Africa. And you can look for the Tam Tam Drummers to come back to Africa in early November. Performers will also soon be captivating guests strolling along the waterfront at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, and the inimitable Yeehaw Bob will have his audience in stitches of fun starting October 14 in the River Roost Lounge at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside.
Over the past year, beloved Disney Characters have been popping up in cavalcades, motorcades, flotillas, and surprise sightings, much to the delight of our guests, and I’m pleased to tell you many of those experiences will be continuing. Although the environment is not right just yet for hugs and autographs, you’ll soon be able to have individualized time with some of your favorite characters, getting to visit with them in a themed location and snap a photo or two. Look for the Disney Princesses to return to Princess Fairytale Hall in Magic Kingdom Park. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll soon find Minnie Mouse at Red Carpet Dreams and the stars of Disney Junior in Animation Courtyard. And when you stop in to see Mickey Mouse backstage at Town Square Theater on Main Street, U.S.A., he’ll be sporting his all-new EARidescent look designed just for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration! Each of these locations is planned to start welcoming guests in November.
November 7 also marks the return of “Disney Movie Magic,” the cinematic nighttime experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrating Disney’s live-action film legacy, and when this projection show resumes, it will feature a new sequence from Disney’s epic adventure, “Mulan.” And be sure to mark your calendars for December 19, when the cast and crew of “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” bring back all the comedy and thrills of that action-packed show.
Live entertainment experiences such as these are among the reasons Walt Disney World Resort truly is The Most Magical Place on Earth. We are incredibly grateful to our cast and guests for the patience you’ve demonstrated as we presented modified forms of some entertainment while continuing to work through the details required to resume others. We’re delighted to be welcoming back so much live entertainment – and so many of our favorite entertainers – this fall and look forward to sharing news about even more additions very soon.
Disney has been making updates to the Morocco pavilion, including a new menu and fresh look at Spice Road Table Restaurant. You’ll also find changes in the shops. The changes started rolling in just after Disney assumed operations of the Morocco Pavilion. More recently, we’ve seen the return of a Disney Princess to this beautiful World Showcase pavilion!
@bioreconstruct took to Twitter to share the update that EPCOT’s Morocco pavilion has once again reopened after Disney closed the Morocco courtyard area for a brief refurbishment.
Now, Alan McDonald (@big_al_guy) took to Instagram to share the following photo with: “LOOK WHO STOPPED INTO MOROCCO at Epcot!!”
Princess Jasmine is once again smiling at guests in the Morocco Pavilion for a modified character experience. Keep in mind, Disney has yet to return the regular character meet and greets. Instead, you’ll find characters are placed in locations that provide guests a chance to see them, but still keep the character at a safe distance. No hugs, high-fives, or autographs are available at the moment.
At different times of the day, you can also spot Elsa and Anna in Norway and Mulan in China.
