Despite the setbacks and impact made by the current pandemic, Disney is turning this into an opportunity to make changes for their theme parks. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Bob Chapek reveals Disney is actively making theme park renovations that would have been more challenging under normal conditions.
“Obviously, nobody wants to have the parks closed for up to a year. But at the same time, we realized that was a unique opportunity maybe to advance some things that would have been difficult, if not impossible, for us to go change in an operating environment. And so we’ve made some moves already, but we’re going to make further moves.”
Chapek says the parks will keep focusing on in-depth storytelling and personalization while using technology. He highlighted the Star Wars: Rise of Resistance ride, which runs on millions of lines of computer code, as what Disney is capable of creating.
During the pandemic re-opening in Florida, Disney has emphasized mobile ordering so people aren’t waiting for their food in line and contactless check-in. Chapek made it clear those will remain going forward. They are using this time to make updates to Disneyland attractions and continue building new features at Disney World.
Epcot Flower & Garden Festival is finally here! The smell of Spring is already in the air at the park that is decorated with beautiful topiaries inspired by your favorite characters all around!
The festival is running from March 3rd until July 5th, so you have plenty of time to visit and enjoy everything it has to offer like outdoor kitchens, live entertainment, fun activities and those famous topiaries everyone loves.
And speaking of topiaries, let’s take a look at them:
FANTASIA
As soon as you walk into the park, you will be welcome by Sorcerer Mickey! This beautiful scene from Fantasia featuring the brooms its the perfect photo op to start the day.
If you look around, you will also find other scenes from Fantasia like the hippos and crocks one, as well as, the ostrich.
MICKEY, MINNIE AND GOOFY
If you keep walking, you will see Minnie, Mickey and Goofy on the promenade between Future World and World Showcase! Looks like they are ready to create some art with those bottles of paint.
PLUTO WITH CHIP AND DALE
Also around the same area you will find Pluto with Chip and Dale! Look how Pluto even has a collar made of daisies, so cute!
BAMBI AND FRIENDS
Near MouseGear you will find Bambi, Thumper and Flower! They were some of the first topiaries to arrive to Epcot.
WOODY AND BO PEEP
In Future World West near The Land pavilion you will find Woody with Bo Peep and her sheep!
THE LION KING
Make sure to look for Mufasa, Simba, Rafiki and Sarabi near the Imagination Pavilion! This topiary is inspired by the iconic opening scene in the lion king! We love it!
FIGMENT
Figment can be found outside the Imagination Pavilion on Future World West.
DONALD, DAISY WITH HUEY, DEWEY AND LOUIE
This year at the entrance of World Showcase you will find Donald with Daisy along with Huey, Dewey and Louie! I think they are ready to do some yard work. They are also surrounded by big beautiful violet flowers! So pretty!
Ps: If you look closer, you might spot Spike the bee.
THE THREE CABALLEROS
Now let’s go around the World Showcase, if you start with Mexico, you will see Panchito, Jose Carioca and Donald singing their hearts out!
FROZEN
Our favorite sister duo Anna and Elsa are waiting for you at the Norway Pavilion!
TROLL
While you are the Norway pavilion, don’t forget to look for the Troll topiary!
SNOW WHITE
Over at the Germany pavilion you will find Snow White and Dopey!
LADY AND THE TRAMP
Of course Lady and Tramp are waiting for you at the Italy Pavilion! Another perfect picture spot with Spaceship Earth on the background.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
At the France pavilion you will see the iconic Beauty and the Beast topiary, a classic that has been here every single year during the festival. A perfect photo op with the beautiful France as a background.
RATATOUILLE
New to the France pavilion is Chef Remy! You will find him near the entrance of the newest Ratatouille attraction! So cute.
BUTTERFLIES
Near International Gateway you will find beautiful flowers and butterflies!
WINNIE THE POOH
Over at the UK pavilion you will find topiaries inspired by Winnie the Pooh! One of them features Pooh and Rabbit with their respective favorite foods.
While the other has Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet!
PETER PAN
Also the UK pavilion you will find Peter and Captain Hook fighting! Also if you walk to the back garden in the UK pavilion, you will find Tinkerbell!
MISS PEGGY AND KERMIT
If you love The Muppets, make sure to look for Miss Peggy and Kermit between the UK and Canada pavilions!
The refurbishment continues at one of Disney World’s monorail resorts! Disney’s Polynesian Resort is undergoing a massive change and the construction is showing quite a difference already. The now have new roof crossbeams above the Great Ceremonial House. Guests can even see that the Polynesian Resort Monorail Station is demolished as part of the ongoing construction work.
Take a look at the photos below to see the construction progress at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.
Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Adding new roof crossbeams is simply part of the overall construction project at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. The future will be delightful with the Moana design!
Changes to the rooms will include a move to a Pacific Ocean-inspired color palette as well as details, patterns, and textures from Disney’s “Moana,” that takes place on the Polynesian island of Motunui.
As they continue to reopen additional Disney Resort hotels to Guests, the company is modifying the reopening date for Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, which will reopen next summer.
This schedule adjustment also allows Disney to complete some refurbishment work at the Resort hotel, including enhancements to the Great Ceremonial House and Guest rooms.
The Villas and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will remain open during this refurbishment.
The work began in early October. However, we look forward to sharing more about these changes in the future!
Universal Studios Hollywood will take its first steps in reopening since its closure a year ago. They are offering “A Taste of Universal”, a lively outdoor dining and shopping experience taking place within select themed lands on weekends—Friday to Sunday from noon to 7:00 p.m.—beginning on Friday, March 12. Here’s a look at what’s being offered at this fun new event!
Universal Studios Hollywood is working closely with local health and government officials to implement new health and safety procedures that include controlled capacity to enforce physical distancing and required face coverings.
This eagerly-awaited experience will invite guests to once again feel the thrill of strolling along the park’s signature red carpet as they pass through its iconic gates to enjoy some of the theme park’s best culinary offerings and premium shopping options along with physically distanced photo opportunities with some of their favorite characters.
Tickets
Admission tickets to “Taste of Universal” include access to select themed areas of the park along with a wide selection of nearly 70choice culinary options, of which 30 are new to the event. Adults can choose five options and kids can choose three with additional food offerings available for purchase. Tickets start at $44 plus tax for adults and $25 plus tax for kids ages 3-9 years. Discounted admission tickets will be available for Universal Annual and Season Pass members. Visit Universal Hollywood for more information and to purchase tickets.
While rides, shows and attractions will not be operational during this experience, guests will be able to take in the incredible environments that surround them as they enjoy the scrumptious food, including vegan and vegetarian options, served within these areas.
The Food
“Springfield, U.S.A.” — Home of The Simpsons featuring Krusty Burger, Suds McDuff’s Hot Dog House, the Lard Lad Donut Cart and Kwik-E-Mart.
“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™” — Stroll through Hogsmeade village and enjoy shops such as Honeydukes™, Ollivanders™, Owl Post™, Zonko’s™ Joke Shop, Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges™, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch’s Emporium™ of Confiscated Goods, and feast on food favorites, including Three Broomsticks™ Fish & Chips, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Butterbeer.
The debut of Minion Cafe, a delicious new dining experience, located adjacent to the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” ride, offering such tasty fare as Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Meatballs, Chicken & Bacon Mac and Cheese, and Nutella Banana pudding.
The Hollywood & Dine section will feature:
Authentic Mexican fare at Cocina Mexicanawith such favorites as Queso Street Tacos, Loaded Nachos all topped with choice of Tinga or Carnita & Birria, Tortilla Cut Chips with Guacamole, Chili Relleno and Elote Corn on the cobb with Lime Crema.
Hollywood & Dine, the establishment located just inside the theme park’s main entry, serving a selection of comfort foods including, Hot Chicken Sandwich, Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bowl, Personal Pizza with choice of pepperoni or cheese, Brisket Sliders with Caramelized Onions, Korean Hot Dog, and mini funnel cake.
City SnackShop offering grab and go treats such as the quintessential NYC Giant Pretzel, Spicy Pomegranate Glazed Turkey Leg, and the debut of the Crepewich, which features sweet (Banana and Nutella, or Strawberry Chocolate) and savory (club or Spinach and Berry vegetarian) temptations. Yum!
Entertainment and Characters
A highlight of the experience will invite guests to preview the very exciting “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” attraction shop, The Pets Store, where guests can purchase favorite TheSecret Life of Pets themed goodies. Minion Way and Pets Place perpendicular streets located adjacent to Illumination’s “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” and all-new “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” rides will take guests on a stroll through the film’s scenic New York City streets as they explore the themed environment.
The Animation Store, home to Hello Kitty® and her friends from Sanrio®, including My Melody™, Keroppi™ and Chococat™, as well as Minions merchandise from Illumination’s, blockbuster Despicable Me film franchise, and DreamWorks Animation franchises including Trolls and Kung Fu Panda, will be among the park’s exciting shopping options.
Physically distanced photo opportunities with select favorite characters will offer guests the chance to reconnect with Universal Studios Hollywood and share their experiences with friends and family via social media.
In addition to this exciting “Taste of Universal” event, guests can extend their day with more shopping and dining at the adjacent Universal CityWalk.
Safety Measures
Universal Studios Hollywood’s new health and safety protocols are outlined below, highlighted in this video and detailed on the Universal Studios Hollywood website.
Temperature checks for all Guests upon arrival. If temperatures exceed 100.4° Fahrenheit / 38° Celsius or greater, Guests will not be permitted to enter.
Face coverings required for all Guests throughout their visit. Face coverings also will be available for purchase.
Controlled capacity within the theme park, and limited occupancy at all CityWalk venues to help enforce physical distancing. Some areas and programs may remain temporarily closed.
Rigorous cleaning and disinfecting at all food locations, restrooms, and all other high touch points.
Physical distancing practices at all locations throughout the park.
Eating and drinking permitted only in designated outdoor dining areas.
Contactless payment options wherever possible.
It’s the first step to Universal Hollywood’s reopening and “Taste of Universal” sounds so delicious! It has some food and beverages that have definitely been missed. Make sure to check out Universal Studios Hollywood’s website to purchase tickets.
Information is from Universal Hollywood press release, all photos are from that release and belong to Universal Studios Hollywood.
A magical new collection has arrived at the Coach store in Disney Springs. The new Goofy And Daisy Disney Coach Collection has arrived and is available exclusively at Disney Springs! Only for a limited time too!
This is a soft pastel collection of blues and pinks. The soft cornflower blue bags feature vibrant images of Goofy. While the powdery pink bags showcase sassy designs of Daisy Duck! Daisy is my fave gal, so I totally need a bag from this collection. There are many silhouettes available including totes, wristlets, and even backpacks!
If you can’t make it to Disney Springs you can call the store to order at (407) 560-0336!
Walt Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley shared a look at the new nighttime lighting for the main entrance of Epcot including Spaceship Earth.
Here is more info from Zach:
This week we debuted new lighting in our main entrance plaza at EPCOT and I wanted to share more behind our design for this nighttime programming. At more than four football fields long, this light ribbon has been present since opening day, but was originally lit by hundreds of fluorescent tubes in solid colors. Now we’ve updated it with highly energy-efficient, programmable LED lighting with nearly 3,000 individually controlled points of light that blend together to create color gradients and patterns.
Color gradients have always been a part of EPCOT’s design legacy from the tiered amber, blue, and purple lighting of Spaceship Earth to the bands of color on the Energy pavilion, to the new color palettes of World Nature, World Discovery and World Celebration, and you’ll see all of that reflected in this new lighting design we’ve created for the main entrance plaza and it’ll continue through the new areas of the park.
And for the first time ever, the main entrance plaza and Spaceship Earth will be unified with dynamic lighting this year. The newly color-coordinated light ribbon around the entire rim of the plaza connects with programming on the new fountain lighting and together will shine in concert when the new Spaceship Earth lighting debuts with the Beacons of Magic for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.
The theme parks at the Disneyland Resort have remained closed since they shut down last March. All of Disney’s other theme parks around the world have reopened at least once since the pandemic started. Last year a protest was held in front of Disneyland to reopen the parks. Now, another rally is being planned.
Former Cast Member, Nicholas Maldonado has created a Facebook event titled “ReopenDisneyland Rally”.
Here is the description:
“Join us Saturday March 13th at 8am outside of Disneyland Resort on Harbor blvd, As We gather Safely together In Solidarity Of All Disney Cast members, All Theme Park workers calling for The Re-opening Of Disneyland& All Theme Parks which by these efforts will boost those small businesses as well Through AB-420.
Required Health&Safety guidelines to be followed:
Masks On at all times.
Keep 6feet apart from eachother.
Sanitizing Of your hands frequently.
We Thank you so much and Hope to See you all there with us. #SafeThemeParkReopening #ReopenDisneyland #DisneyStrong #CMStrong See Less”
California’s theme park reopening guidelines are extremely strict. The parks cannot reopen until the county reaches the lowest tier in the state’s COVID tracking system.
If you’d like to attend the rally, you can find all of the info here.
Today Disney announced plans to focus on its e-commerce business and significantly reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint, beginning with the closure of at least 60 Disney Stores in North America this year.
Over the next year Disney will focus on providing a more seamless, personalized and franchise-focused ecommerce experience through its shopDisney platform which will be complemented by greater integration with Disney Parks apps and social media platforms. This will be coupled with an assortment of new and elevated merchandise from the Company’s full range of brands, including adult apparel collections and artist collaborations, trend-forward streetwear, premium home products and collectibles.
“While consumer behavior has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer,” said Stephanie Young, president, Consumer Products Games and Publishing. “Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney store shop-in-shops around the world. We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected e-commerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises.”
Disney will remain flexible in its approach and continue to evolve its retail strategy to best meet the needs of consumers when and where they want. Guests will continue to have access to Disney shopping experiences in 600+ Disney Parks stores, shop-in-shops, lifestyle and outlet locations, as well as third-party retailers around the world.
Everyone loves a good grilled cheese right? What if we make it even better by adding a touch of Disney magic? Check out this Minnie Mouse Pastel Grilled Cheese we have for you!
Its fun, cute and extremely tasty! It features gooey cheese, crispy bread and beautiful pastel colors perfect for Spring.
Plus making it is super simple, your whole family will for sure love it, just take a look at the recipe here:
MINNIE MOUSE PASTEL GRILLED CHEESE
INGREDIENTS:
2 slices of sourdough bread
Minnie Mouse food cutter set
Butter
Shredded mozzarella
Shredded cheddar
1 slice of cheddar cheese
Pink and purple food coloring
INSTRUCTIONS:
First, make Minnie’s bow and flower. For the bow, add mozzarella and purple dye to a microwave safe bowl. Mix until dyed then melt in the microwave. Roll the cheese into a ball, then place on parchment paper and use spoon to flatten it. Next, cut it out with the bow cutter and let it set.
Cut a piece of cheddar cheese with the flower cutter.
Now, make the grilled cheese. Use the Minnie Mouse food cutter to cut two pieces of sourdough bread, Then, butter one side of each slice.
Separate the mozzarella into three bowls. Add pink food coloring to one and purple to another. Stir to combine.
Set one piece of the bread, butter side down, on a pan. Lay your cheeses in horizontal rows (plain cheddar, pink mozzarella, plain mozzarella and purple mozzarella).
Place your other piece of bread on top, butter side up, and cook on low heat. Once partly melted, flip sandwich and completely cook on the other side.
Inspired by our favorite princess and her magical hair decorated with beautiful flowers, these donuts are delicious and fun! Plus they are super easy to make, so don’t need to worry about getting tangled up in too many instructions, the recipe is super simple:
Today we spotted Epcot flagpoles has new flags! As the EPCOT construction and transformation continues around the park. New flags have emerged to represent each pavilion! Featuring six of the original EPCOT icons on the 12 flagpoles around Spaceship Earth to signify the finishing touches completed on the new entrance plaza.
As you can see from Zach Riddley’s post, the icons on Epcot flagpoles new flags pay homage to the original design philosophy of the park. The colors or palette of the icons on the new flags are inspired by the new PECOT neighborhoods. Even more Disney magic is the further color-coordination of the light ribbon around the rim of the plaza which is matched in the recently received fountain lighting! Together with the new main entrance soundtrack, revitalized architecture, bold green landscape and flowing fountain, the reimagined EPCOT is certainly coming together! Particularly with the continuing construction for both Innovention’s West and Innovention’s East as they too receiving the long await EPCOT revamp!
March seems a very exciting time for EPCOT as construction continues and it’s the start of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, which starts today! The park has made a magical transformation as the park gears up for this magical, seasonal festival! As festivals come and go at Walt Disney World, we all know apart from being there, the most important part must be… the merchandise, so check out the first look at the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival merchandise!
Guests will be delighted to hear their favorite Character topiaries are coming back ! Expect to see Mickey, Donald and friends, to Remy, Anna & Elsa, Lady & the Tramp, Figment and more. The Disney Horticulture team is busy planting, and pruning as we speak. They are planning now for the kaleidoscope of bright blooms and floating gardens scattered throughout EPCOT. You can be each outdoor setting makes a perfect backdrop for family photos since they design beautiful floral displays.
Pixar shares Sparkshort ‘Wind’ in Solidarity with the Asian and Asian American Communities. On February 26th, Disney and Pixar shared the full SparkShort “Wind” on their official YouTube channel in response to an influx in racial discrimination against Asian and Asian America communities. In the video description for ‘Wind‘, Pixar shared a statement of solidarity, writing:
“Pixar Animation Studios and the SparkShorts filmmakers of WIND are in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American communities against Anti-Asian hate in all its forms. We are proud of the onscreen representation in this short and have decided to make it widely available, in celebration of what stories that feature Asian characters can do to promote inclusion everywhere.“
‘Wind’ is also available for streaming on Disney+. Check out the full SparkShort in the video below:
Be sure to check back here at Chip and Co. for updates and all things Disney-Pixar!
