This has been QUITE the week for Disney news!

Magic Kingdom

Just a few days ago, Disney held its Investor Day conference and shared TONS of movie and tv show news for things coming in 2021 and beyond. But, that’s not all. There have also been some major announcements that could impact your Disney Cruise Line and Disney World vacations next year, and today, we’re breaking it all down for you.

While LOTS of important news has been released this week, today we’re focusing on the top 3 items that could impact your Disney plans for 2021 and beyond — whether those plans include a trip to Disney World, a Disney Cruise, or just a subscription to Disney+. Let’s dive in!

1. Disney+ Is Getting More Expensive

During yesterday’s Investor Day, Disney announced that Disney+ prices would be increasing. Right now, a Disney+ subscription costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 per year. Starting on March 26, 2021, however, Disney+ subscription prices in the U.S. will be INCREASED by $1 to $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

Disney Investor Day 2020 ©Disney

The bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will be priced at $13.99 per month. Disney executives had noted earlier this year that the price of Disney+ could go up in the future as content increases, and that content will DEFINITELY be increasing consider ALL the announcements Disney made recently.

Disney+ Streaming Service ©Disney

So, starting March of 2021, it’ll cost you a dollar more to watch your favorite shows, but in 2021 and beyond you’ll have LOTS more shows to watch from Disney animation, Star Wars, and Marvel, Pixar, and more!

Click here to read more about the Disney+ price increase!

2. More Disney Cruise Line Sailings Have Been Canceled

If you’re planning a Disney Cruise Line adventure in 2021, one recent change may have a big impact on your trip. Disney Cruise Line has already canceled all sailings through the end of February 2021, as have other cruise lines, but recently Disney updated their list of cruise cancellations again. The Disney Cruise Line website now says, “based on the conditional sail order provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Disney Cruise Line must cancel sailings longer than 7 nights.” 

Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream

According to the CDC’s Conditional Framework Order cruise ship operators may not “sail or offer to sail on an itinerary longer than 7 days.” This is a condition for obtaining and retaining a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate.

Castaway Cay

You can visit the Disney Cruise Line website to see a full list of all impacted sailings. It appears the furthest dates currently impacted are cruises scheduled for July of 2021.

Castaway Cay

The situation with cruise lines is constantly developing. Disney has admitted that the CDC’s thorough guidelines will delay their return to sailing more than they had hoped. We’re continuing to keep an eye out for more updates and will let you know as things continue to change in the future.

Click here to read more about the Disney Cruise Line cancellation of select sailings longer than 7-nights.

3. Disney’s Multi-Day Ticket Policy Has Been Updated

Finally, Disney has issued an update regarding its multi-day tickets and how that works with park capacity. Right now, in order to enter a Disney World theme park, you must have a valid park ticket and Park Pass reservation for the same day for the park you want to visit. But with some parks reaching capacity and Park Passes being unavailable on certain days, that could cause a complication if you try to buy a multi-day ticket and some of the days during the validity window are already booked up (in terms of Park Passes).

Spaceship Earth

Disney’s updated policy allows guests to “order multi-day theme park tickets, even in circumstances where Disney Park Pass reservations may no longer be available for select days during that guest’s validity window.” Guests will then be able to make Park Pass reservations on days within the ticket’s validity window if there’s availability, but won’t be able to make a reservation on that date if Park Passes are unavailable.

Tree of Life

Disney’s update gives the following example:

• You buy a 3-day Walt Disney World theme park base ticket (where the last day of the validity window is 4 days after the selected start date).
• You select a start date of March 1st, but there are no Disney Park Pass reservations available for March 3rd. Disney Park Pass reservations are, however, available for all of the other days during the validity window.
• You’ll be unable to visit the theme parks on March 3rd (as no Disney Park Passes are available for that date), but you may use your 3-day ticket to get a Disney Park Pass on 3 of the other 4 days within your validity window: March 1st, March 2nd, March 4th, and March 5th.

Tower of Terror

If there are too many days that are at-capacity during the potential validity window, however, multi-day tickets for that time will be unavailable. So, Disney is basically informing guests that they can book a multi-day ticket and make reservations as long as there are enough available Park Passes for the days within their validity window. This is something to keep in mind as we move into 2021 where park hopping will be reintroduced! 

It’s important for any future trip that you take into account Park Pass availability when buying your tickets, and most importantly book your Park Passes as soon as you are able to try to avoid any later issues entering the parks.

Click here to read more about this update!

And that’s our list of the top 3 items that may impact your 2021 Disney plans. But, of course, there’s so much more that’s been shared this week including a Ratatouille the Musical concert presentation(!!) which will be released on January 1, and sneak peeks at Disney and Pixar’s Soul!

©TikTok

We’ll keep watching for more Disney news and bring you all the latest updates, so stay tuned for MUCH more great Disney stories!

Downtown Disney will be closed on Christmas Day — check out more information here.

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Are you planning a Disney World trip or Disney Cruise Line vacation for 2021? Let us know in the comments!

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