Disney Gift Cards Temporarily Unavailable On ShopDisney

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

With brick-and-mortar Disney Stores closing on March 17 due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Disney fans looking to shop for merchandise and gifts can still turn to shopDisney.com for all their online shopping needs. However, those looking to purchase gift cards are out of luck, as shopDisney has temporarily suspended the ability for customers to purchase physical gift cards via the website.

Customers are instead encouraged to purchase Disney Gift Card eGifts, which can be loaded onto your smartphone and scanned at various locations, or otherwise used via online checkout on shopDisney. While the reason for this is unknown, this is likely attributed to the current move towards reducing unnecessary contact and encouraging social distancing.

There is no confirmation on when physical gift cards will be available again to purchase via shopDisney.

Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, & Disney Stores Now Closed; All WDW Resorts Will Close March 20th

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Now that all of the parks are closed, Disney Parks has further announced that all Walt Disney World Resort hotels will be temporarily closing at 5:00 PM on Friday, March 20, due to concerns over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Additional closures include all Disney owned-and-operated locations at Downtown Disney and Disney Springs (including the NBA Experience) which started on March 17. Individual tenants will be allowed to make decisions on whether to continue or adjust operations, such as Starbucks’ new “to-go” model.

All Disney Stores also closed on March 17. Guests are encouraged to shop online via shopDisney.

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort will also be closing on March 20. Until further notice, the only two Disney properties that remain open in the US is Disney’s Hilton Head Resort and Aulani. Earlier today, the CDC issued new guidelines recommending against public gatherings of 50 or more people. It was unsure how it would affect the remaining resorts, but it appears that Disney is heeding the CDC’s warnings. While park closures are only scheduled to last through the end of the month, additional recommendations from the CDC recommend closures of 8 weeks. It is not known when the parks and resorts will reopen to guests.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on developments here in Florida and in California, as well as in Paris, and Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong regarding the COVID-19 outbreak’s effect on Disney Parks operations and beyond.

Aerial Shots From Above Disney Parks Shows A Bare WDW

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot, Magic Kingdom

Monday marked a historical day at Walt Disney World, as guests and fans alike awoke to fully closed parks all across the resort, from Magic Kingdom, to EPCOT, to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Thanks to the Twitter account @bioreconstruct for getting an aerial view of the parks and elsewhere. Let’s take you around and show you a rare look into some now-empty parks.

Magic Kingdom

The entrance to the Magic Kingdom itself had only security staff lurking at the MagicBand touch points. A handful of Cast Members are seen in the middle of Main Street, as a few Cast Members were still called in for additional breaking down of the park’s various areas, as well as further sanitation. Otherwise, it’s fascinating to see an otherwise bustling Main Street completely void of guests smack dab in the middle of Spring Break season. Also interesting to note is the raised American flag, regardless of the park’s operational status.

Epcot

And next, we fly on over to EPCOT––the Experimental Prototype City Construction (Project) of Tomorrow. EPCOT is an expansive park, but in this breathtaking shot, we encompass all of World Showcase, Future World, and yes, another empty parking lot.

Disney Springs

Finally, we take a quick look at the West Side segment of Disney Springs, where construction moves slowly on the upcoming new Beatrix restaurant and coffee house.

We’ll continue covering more of what we can from the parks throughout this historic closure. In the meantime we’ll also be keeping our eyes on developments here in California, as well as in Paris, and Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong regarding the COVID-19 outbreak’s effect on Disney Parks operations and beyond.

AMC 24 @ Disney Springs Now Closed Due To COVID-19

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Due to concerns over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the AMC 24 at Disney Springs is closed along with many of the other franchises and Disney owned-and-operated stores.

Staff at the AMC has been informed that the schedule has been cleared for the remainder of the month and that all showings are suspended indefinitely. While theaters initially attempted to limit seating and establish some social distancing, further guidelines against large gatherings of people have made it so that all theaters will now close for the remainder of the pandemic.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on developments here in Florida and in California, as well as in Paris, and Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong regarding the COVID-19 outbreak’s effect on Disney Parks operations and beyond.

Characters Say Goodbye As Walt Disney World Closes For The Rest Of The Month (Video)

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

Yesterday marked a day in Disney history, as all Disney Parks around the globe have now officially closed due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is currently sweeping the nation. Sunday, fans came out in droves (we’re guessing nobody got the note on “social distancing”) to the Magic Kingdom, closing out the park with a special, character-filled farewell.

Watch as a full cast of characters say goodbye to the Most Magical Place on Earth along with guests, all before the park closes for the remainder of the month––if not longer:

We’ll be keeping our eyes on developments in Florida and in California, as well as in Paris, and Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on Disney Parks operations and beyond.

We pray that everyone reading this will stay healthy and calm. God Bless You All!