Scott Gustin, a regular Disney reporter, took to Twitter to share: “NEW: The EPCOT Monorail will officially reopen on Sunday, July 18. The EPCOT Monorail last operated in March 2020 when the parks closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gustin continues in the Twitter thread: “As part of this change, direct bus service to EPCOT will no longer be available from these hotels (and effective dates):
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – July 25
Disney’s Contemporary Resort – July 25
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – mid-August
Of course, everything is subject to change – but it sure seems like EPCOT bus service at The Polynesian ending in mid-August means Disney expects to have Polynesian monorail service back online by mid-August.”
NEW: The EPCOT Monorail will officially reopen on Sunday, July 18.
The EPCOT Monorail last operated in March 2020 when the parks closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/jZT4ljSgpx
Exciting news coming out of Disney today! Disney is giving us a first look at the new reimagined guest rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. What makes the reimagining extra exciting is yes, the rooms are themed after the Incredibles! The retro-modern aesthetic evoking Tomorrowland with a dash of Incredibles is now unveiled.
As shared by Disney: “Currently all nine floors of guest rooms in the tower are being completely refurbished, and here’s a first look at the new décor debuting this fall. As you can see, these rooms will blend a sleek Monorail motif with some favorite characters from Pixar Animation Studios’ Incredibles films, including Jack-Jack, Frozone and Edna Mode. New custom artwork in guest rooms and along guest corridors will be modern, futuristic and oh so stylish, dahling, complementing the resort’s architecture while putting the Supers’ powers on display.”
Disney goes on to share, “In the lobby, you’ll soon see a collection of modern art pieces as well as historical, behind-the-scenes photographs of Disney’s Contemporary Resort in development and under construction. The resort’s lobby restaurant, The Wave… of American Flavors, will also soon close to make way for a reimagined dining experience in time for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration. And once the tower guest rooms are complete, work will begin on the rooms inside the Garden Wing out on the shore of Bay Lake.”
Disney says they will have more to share on this project in the months to come as they continue to get ready for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” beginning Oct. 1.
The Wave… of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is scheduled for refurbishment this summer. While Disney has yet to release in depth details about the refurbishment, we do know they are working on the space “in time for the 50th anniversary”.
As shared by Disney: “The Wave… of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will be unavailable this summer as we refurbish this space in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort. Reservations will be available through July 15.”
The Disney rumor mill and speculations are hard at work with this refurbishment. Much of the speculations suggest Disney could make this a character dining restaurant with characters from The Incredibles. While we would absolutely love that, there is no confirmation from Disney.
As was revealed this week, the beloved dinner service at Chef Mickey’s inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort will be returning from May 16th, featuring an “all-you-care-to-enjoy” family-style dinner. And at long last, we finally know what will be on the menu when Chef Mickey’s dinner service returns next Sunday!
Starting Sunday May 16th, Guests will be welcomed to dinner at Chef Mickey’s with the following menu. The course costs $55 for adults and $36 for children, tax and gratuity excluded.
For their first course, Guests will be offered a choice of a Seasonal Composed Plant-based Salad, a Citrus-poached Baby Shrimp with creamy cilantro-lime broccoli slaw, greens, avocados, and tomatoes, Chef Mickey’s Caesar, or the Pastry Chef’s Bread Selections.
Plated Signature Items for Guests’ main course will be a choice of Potato Gnocchi with roasted mushroom cream, baby spinach, parmesan, and herbs, Roasted Garlic-Gratin Potatoes with Mickey’s Parmesan Frico, or Plant-based Farro Wheat Fried Rice.
Accompaniments will be Baby Carrots in lemon-tarragon butter and brown sugar or Asparagus with Gremolata.
Protein Selections include a Prime Rib with Mushroom Ragoût and Roasted Onions, Roasted Salmon wit hsweet mustard glaze and Southern-style braised kale, or Traditional Roasted Breast of Turkey with summer succotash and gravy.
Children’s selections are also available, consisting of a fairly standard Kids’ Platter, which includes mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, turkey corn dog nuggets, tater puffs, and steamed broccoli. There’s also Chef Mickey’s Vegetable Dippers with ranch.
For dessert, the Pastry Chef has created a special set of family-style desserts, but no further specifics were given.
Beer, hard seltzer, and ciders are available on draft from $7.50-$10.25 or in the bottle or can from $6.75-$11.25. Inquire with your server when you visit.
A number of cocktails are available to Guests for the dinner service at Chef Mickey’s.
For younger Guests or those looking for something special without alcohol, four mocktails are also available on the menu!
Wine by the bottle or glass is also available.
Chef Mickey’s is set to reopen for the dinner service on May 16th with “no touch” appearances like snapping a selfie or waving hello as Mickey Mouse and some of his favorite pals make surprising appearances in each of the dining rooms. Similar to other character dining locations, Guests will take home a souvenir with character signatures and colorful artwork.
Earlier this year, Disney confirmed that guest rooms at the Contemporary Resort were officially being refurbished, though they did not divulge any details. This refurbishment was scheduled to occur from April 2021 until September 2021, limiting capacity at the resort.
It seems, however, that refurbishment has begun ahead of schedule. A room in the main tower now has its balcony covered. We have seen this before during the refurbishment of rooms at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
So what will the new rooms look like? Well, they will be themed to Pixar’s The Incredibles.
In 2019, it was reported that Disney was testing rooms themed to The Incredibles. While those rooms were gutted and the hallway theming removed, the possibility remains.
With the confirmation of rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort receiving Moana theming, these changes don’t seem like much of a stretch (not for Elastigirl, anyway).
