Disney Cruise Line has not set sail since early last year and most cruises have been canceled through May 2021. During Disney’s shareholder meeting today, Disney CEO Bob Chapek shared that they expect Disney Cruise Line to resume sailing by this fall.
All Disney cruises have been canceled through May, and all sailings on the Disney Magic have been canceled through August. The Disney Wonder Alaskan sailings remain in limbo while Alaska tries to get legislation passed to allow ships to sail without stopping in Canada.
When sailings do finally resume, masks will most likely be required and adjustments may be made to dining and entertainment experiences. There has also been talk of requiring COVID testing at ports just prior to guests embarking. No official announcements have been made at this time.
We recently shared that the state of California updated its theme park reopening guidelines and Disneyland could open as early as April 1, 2021. Now it looks like the resort could reopen by late April. Disney CEO Bob Chapek shared the following at the annual shareholder meeting.
“Here in California, we’re encouraged by the positive trends we’re seeing and we’re hopeful they’ll continue to improve and we’ll be able to reopen our Parks to guests with limited capacity by late April — we look forward to publicizing an opening date in the coming weeks. While last week’s announcement stated that theme parks may open starting on April 1, the fact is it will take some time to get them ready for our guests — this includes recalling more than 10,000 furloughed Cast and retraining them to be able to operate according to the State of California’s new requirements. I am pleased to say the response has been great thus far, our Cast Members are excited to get back to work. And this is also good news for the Anaheim community, which depends on Disneyland for jobs and business generated by visitors.”
California previously announced that theme parks can reopen at 15% capacity in the red/substantial tier 2 COVID risk status and only to California residents. This is great news for the furloughed Cast Members that will be recalled to work!
Disneyland remains in the purple/most restrictive tier right now, so hopefully COVID cases will subside over the next month and the parks can reopen. We will continue to update as Disney releases more information!
Disney+ has surpassed 100 million global paid subscribers in just 16 months since its launch, Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), announced today during the Company’s virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
“The enormous success of Disney+ —which has now surpassed 100 million subscribers—has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content,” Mr. Chapek said.
“In fact, we set a target of 100+ new titles per year, and this includes Disney Animation, Disney Live-Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Our direct-to-consumer business is the Company’s top priority, and our robust pipeline of content will continue to fuel its growth.”
Disney+ launched in the U.S. on November 12, 2019, and has rolled out rapidly across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, and most recently, Singapore.
We are just one week away from St. Patrick’s Day, celebrate it by baking these adorable Mickey’s Shamrock Shorts Cookies!
Our favorite mouse is dressing for the occasion trading his iconic red shorts for green ones to celebrate this day. So join the celebration and surprise your family with this tasty treat that features green icing and white chocolate shamrock buttons. They will love it!
Heat the oven. Working on a flour-dusted sheet of wax paper, roll out the chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use the template piece and a kitchen knife to cut Mickey short shapes from the dough.
Bake the cookies according to the recipe directions and then let them cool completely.
Meanwhile, melt a small handful of white chocolate chips in the microwave according to the package directions. Spread the melted candy on wax paper and set it aside for a few minutes to harden. Once its ready, cut the candy into thin silvers to use for the shamrock stems, and set them aside for now.
Working with one cookie at a time, spread the tips with green cookie icing. Before the icing sets, add two shamrock buttons. For each, press three white chocolate chips (tips down) into the icing, and add a tiny candy stem.
Set the decorated cookies aside for the icing to harden (four hours or so) before serving.
Also opening Oct. 1 will be La Crêperie de Paris, a new restaurant offering both table- and quick-service options.
The menu will feature sweet crepes, savory buckwheat galettes (naturally gluten friendly) and authentic French hard cider.
The attraction, restaurant and pavilion expansion are all part of the historic transformation of EPCOT currently underway, celebrating how the impossible becomes possible through the power of imagination … and a little Disney magic.
We’re looking forward to Remy joining us for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” an 18-month event that will feature new experiences at the four Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond, where shimmering EARidescent décor will appear as if by magic.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure finally has an opening date! This long awaited attraction will be open just in time for the 50th Anniversary Celebration this fall.
Everyone’s favorite “Little Chef” is cooking up something really big for Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary, because the grand opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT is set for Oct. 1 of this year!
That date may sound familiar, as it will also mark exactly 50 years since Walt Disney World officially opened for the first time. So Chef Remy will help kick off “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” in Parisian style.
In this delicious new attraction, guests will feel like they’ve shrunk to the size of Chef Remy as they scurry through Gusteau’s famous restaurant on a wild adventure for the whole family (no height requirement!). Based on Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award®-winning “Ratatouille,” the experience will be part of a newly expanded France pavilion inside EPCOT that will also open Oct. 1.
We are so excited to finally experience this new attraction! Will you be there opening day? If you’d like to experience Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, contact me today to start planning your next Disney World vacation!
Something magical is coming soon to Disney’s Magic Kingdom! Guests are noticing how Disney is currently working on refurbishing the stage in front of Cinderella Castle. The stage refurbishment is to prepare Cinderella Castle for the “EARidescent” transformation for this year’s big anniversary.
Stage refurbishment at Cinderella Castle. Set pieces were anchored where pipes are seen left and right. Note the embedded eyelets and short sections of wire rope. pic.twitter.com/9pKFiwB9AM
The Twitter user @bioreonstruct shows the current work progress of Cinderella Castle’s stage.
Shining at the center of it all will be Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park, which will add to its royal makeover from 2020 with new gold bunting, sparkling golden embellishments, and other new enhancements, including a 50th-anniversary crest warmly welcoming guests to the join the festivities.
We have a photo update on the upcoming Star Wars Resort. The exciting new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is set to debut in 2021 and will connect to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The latest aerial photos show us the progress of the future resort.
Disney is currently adding to the landscaping to the site of this future resort. It’s adding to the “Magic” since the new trees and bushes will help provide coverage around the inclusive resort experience.
A nearly straight-down aerial look at Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser (hotel). Trees are being transplanted to berms to hide the show buildings from view of guests. Guests will see only the stylized wall and Porte-cochère at the traffic loop. pic.twitter.com/M0CjzZTmBP
The Twitter account @bioreconstruct notes the changes in the landscape. Hiding the resort building with a miniature forest of trees will mean that outside guests can only see a stylized wall. But guests will be quite delighted to see the building upon approaching the entrance! Especially since it will feel like you’re entering a Starcruiser!
Guests begin their Star Wars adventure the second they enter the Galactic Starcruiser Terminal. From there, you will be brought into an exclusive launch pod that will transport guests to the Halcyon. The Halcyon is the themed starcruiser where guests will enjoy their two-day cruise across the galaxy.
What’s amazing is how immersive this new resort experience is from beginning to end. The pod that transports guests to the starcruiser will have viewports showing space outside. It will look like you’re actually leaving the planet and boarding a massive spaceship. Also, the level of detail is necessary since this immersive resort is meant to feel like a real adventure!
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts have announced the return of their popular Food & Wine Classic, but for the first-time ever, this new edition will take place in the spring. The Swan and DolphinSpring Food & Wine Classicwill take place Saturday, April 17 as a one-night, limited-ticket event featuring unlimited food and beverage tastings and live music. Overnight packages and tickets are now on sale at www.FoodandWineClassic.com.
The event will offer culinary selections from the hotel’s award-winning restaurants as well as wine samplings from around the world and a selection of other beverages, all amidst a festive backdrop of live entertainment. As a limited-ticket event, guests will be able to socially distance themselves throughout the resort’s expansive, spacious and scenic outdoor spaces.
The event, taking place 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., will feature several themed stations including the Beer Garden, Chinatown and the luau-inspired The Pig & Poke. In total, there will be 12 food stations, including dessert from executive pastry chef and world pastry champion Laurent Branlard and more than 50 beverage selections.
Sweet & smokey St. Louis style smoked ribs with macaroni & cheese from Executive Chef Dan Herman’s Smokin’ D’s BBQ
Salt roasted prime NY strip loin with roasted marble potatoes, onion purée and truffle veal jus from Shula’s Steak House
Vegetarian bao filled with glazed savory jack fruit, green onion, and ginger served in Chinatown themed area
Shrimp & Grits with sautéed Gulf shrimp, buttered white corn grits and tasso ham gravy from Todd English’s bluezoo
Event-only tickets can be purchased online at FoodAndWineClassic.com for $125 per person. Room packages start at $400 and include event access for two adults. To book, call 1-888-828-8850 between 8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. weekdays; 5:00 p.m. on weekends. Events are limited to those 21 years and older.
Among the protocols implemented for the event are: Temperature checks for all attending guests; plexiglass walls for all food service areas; all cast members wearing PPE; socially distanced stations; touchless menus and clearly marked social distancing signage. Face coverings are required for all guests, including those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, and must be worn at all times, except when dining. Guests may remove face coverings while actively eating or drinking but must be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.
The spring event leads the way for the return of the fall Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic scheduled to take place this Oct. 29 & 30. More information to come.
With a variety of restaurants and lounges and a distinguished culinary and beverage team, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts continually earn national recognition for their food and beverage program. The resorts boast numerous certified wine sommeliers and 1,400 wine selections.
Lucasfilm is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021! As part of that celebration, the United States Postal Service is releasing Star Wars Forever Stamps! These stamps will officially launch on May 4th, or like us, Star Wars fans call it, May the FOURTH!
With 10 dazzling new character-inspired stamps, the Postal Service salutes beloved droids from the “Star Wars” galaxy and the imagination that brings these technological marvels to the screen.
The stamps will represent four decades of innovation and storytelling. Droids featured in this pane of 20 stamps include IG-11, R2-D2, K-2SO, D-O, L3-37, BB-8, C-3PO, a GNK (or Gonk) power droid, 2-1B surgical droid and C1-10P, or as Star Wars Rebels fans know him, “Chopper.” I’m personally quite excited for the Chopper one.
Fans can watch the stamps introduction during a virtual ceremony on May 4th too! You can watch it on USPS’ Facebook and Twitter pages that day!
Star Wars Forever Stamps will be available to preorder beginning April 5 either online or by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).
Will you be adding these epic new stamps to your collection? I feel like I will need some to keep and collect, but also some to use for sending awesome galactic letters to friends!
Marvel Fans Are Loving Ripped Natalie Portman in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’. Over the weekend photos from the set of Thor: Love and Thunder gave us a first look at the return of Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson as Jane Foster and Valkyrie.
The photos feature a ripped Natalie Portman, befitting for her role as The Mighty Thor, in the film, as well as what seems to be her transformation moment in the film. Portman seemed to be in good spirits despite wearing several layers of clothing in the Australian heat, but fans are the ones who are feeling thirsty after seeing the set photos with the Oscar Winning Actress online.
44 HQs: Natalie Portman on the set of "Thor: Love and Thunder" in Sydney, Australia.
— Natalie Portman Updates (@nportmanonline) March 6, 2021
Many fans may be questioning why production members may not be masked while filming, but rest assured, Australia’s initial protocols to combat the COVID-19 outbreak has allowed the country to opt out of mask wearing for several months now. The persons in the photos wearing masks are likely international production members for Thor: Love and Thunder or those who would feel more comfortable wearing the masks during filming.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to premiere on May 6, 2022 and will star Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), and the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Christian Bale (Gorr the God Butcher).
Are you excited for Thor: Love and Thunder? How do you think Jane will become The Mighty Thor? (Personally, I think she may get her powers from The Odinforce, but we shall see.) We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Be sure to check back here at Chip and Co. for updates and all things Marvel!
It’s Tough to be a Bug, the 3-D attraction located in the Tree of Life in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is closed for a short refurbishment this week. The attraction is quite a staple of the theme park since it provides entertainment with beloved Pixar characters.
Discover what it’s like to be a bug during this 3D film and live show inspired by the Disney and Pixar movie A Bug’s Life.
The refurbishment is set to take place from March 8 through March 11. The attraction will reopen on the 12th.
We aren’t sure what the refurbishment will entail, but we hope the Hopper animatronic will return soon. He has been missing from the attraction lately. These types of scheduled refurbishments are normal though. Especially since Disney uses such temporary closures to refresh visual details and technical issues that might not typically be handled when the attraction is open.
