covid-19 pandemic | the disney food blog

Disney World Reopened 3 Years Ago and These Photos Are the Only Things Convincing Me It Wasn’t a Fever Dream

So much has changed in Disney World since the phased reopening of the parks began. Following the COVID-19 pandemic closures, health and safety guidelines were implemented to keep visitors and Cast Members safe and they caused us to relearn how to “do Disney World.”

Cinderella Castle

Now that it’s been three years since the parks began opening their doors again, there are still remnants of those safety guidelines throughout Disney World. And so, we thought we’d take you on a journey with us to see how different Disney World was after the historic reopening of the parks!

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4 Important Secrets You Didn’t Know About the Iger-Chapek Conflict

By Samantha Kendall 4 Comments

When Bob Iger stepped up as CEO of The Walt Disney Company for the second time, few knew exactly what had transpired behind the scenes for such a dramatic, Hollywood shake-up to occur.

Bob Chapek and Bob Iger©CNBC

Since then, we’ve learned more details about Iger’s salary, what led to Chapek’s ousting, and the disputes that took place between Disney executives. We know that Iger initially had trouble handing over the reins to Chapek when he stepped down in 2020, but the disagreements didn’t end there. The Iger-Chapek conflict runs deep, and we’re sharing four important secrets you probably didn’t know about it.

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Disney Removes COVID-19 Warnings After President Joe Biden Says Pandemic Is Over

By Sara McOmber 2 Comments

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

The COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020 and led to the Disney Parks closing down for a while. Later that same year, Disney World and Disneyland began phased reopenings, with limited capacity in the parks and some attractions, restaurants, and other offerings not available right away.

Magic Kingdom

We saw many changes at the reopened Disney World, including physical distancing markers, face mask mandates, hand washing stations, and plexiglass barriers in ride queues. Now, almost all of the changes have returned to the pre-pandemic “normal.” However, one subtle addition has only recently disappeared, and the change may have been initiated by President Joe Biden’s recent remarks. [Read more…]

Disney Is Keeping Secrets — This Might Be WHY

By Sara McOmber 2 Comments

We heard a ton of big news at this year’s D23 Expo, including an opening timeline for TRON: Lightcycle Run, a possible expansion for Magic Kingdom, and a potential overhaul of DinoLand U.S.A. in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But there was one very important thing MISSING from most of Disney’s announcements.

D23 Expo 2022

Although we heard about lots of general plans and potential projects, Disney shied away from giving any concrete, specific dates. Even for projects that are happening now and seem to be close to completion, we got very few specific details. So why all the secrecy? Does Disney not have concrete plans in place, or are they just holding back? [Read more…]

What You Need to Know About the “Stealth” BA.2 COVID-19 Variant Before Your Next Disney Trip

By Kelly Oliveros 2 Comments

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

UPDATE: Due to the growing prevalence of other COVID-19 variants and the development of the situation with the pandemic, this post will no longer be updated. For all the latest information about COVID-19 and travel to Disney World and Disneyland, click here.

Mask requirements, distancing, testing — the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire world and continues to impact Disney’s theme parks in the U.S. and beyond. And the situation with the COVID-19 virus and its variants just keeps changing.

COVID-19 Health and Safety Sign

We previously shared all about the Delta variant, and the Omicron variant. We also noted that a subvariant of the Omicron variant, previously deemed “Stealth Omicron,” had been discovered in various spots throughout the world, including Florida. Just what is “Stealth Omicron” and what should you know about this before your next trip, to Disney World or elsewhere? Here’s what we know.

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NEWS: Hong Kong Disneyland Has Extended Its Closure

By Madeleine Zaharchuk 1 Comment

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

Despite the recent health and safety changes in Disney World, the global pandemic continues to take a toll on the tourism industry. Internationally, some of Disney’s other parks are still closed, like Hong Kong Disneyland.

©Hong Kong Disneyland

While Hong Kong Disneyland was expected to reopen on February 23rd, 2022, we’ve got an important update to share.

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NEWS: Florida Hits Milestone of 5 Million Reported COVID-19 Cases

By Robin Burks Leave a Comment

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

Since the beginning of the global health crisis, the state of Florida has seen a record number of COVID-19 cases. As a result, we’ve seen health and safety guidelines at Disney World change and adapt.

Spaceship Earth

Now as the country is dealing with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the state of Florida recently hit a milestone of over 70,000 daily reported cases. And as of now, the state has reached another COVID-19 milestone.

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REMINDER: It’s the LAST Day to Exchange Select Disneyland After Hours Tickets!

By Madeleine Zaharchuk Leave a Comment

There’s something special about visiting the Disney parks at night. Maybe it’s the pretty lights, or maybe it’s the spectacular entertainment you can only see after the sun goes down. If you love Disney nightlife as much as we do, you may want to check out a Disneyland After Dark event! These after-hour events are similar to the ones in Disney World, providing guests with special themes, activities, entertainment, and lower attraction wait times!

Disneyland Park

Due to the pandemic, some people never got the chance to experience Disneyland After Dark! If you purchased tickets to a 2020 Disneyland After Dark event that was canceled, you might want to listen up.

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NEWS: Florida Breaks State’s Daily Record For New COVID-19 Cases

By Robin Burks 2 Comments

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

Since the start of the global health crisis in 2020, Disney World has seen its share of changes to its health and safety guidelines. This has resulted in attraction closures, limited capacity at the parks, and mask policies that change as Disney continues to adapt to new guidelines.

EPCOT

Now as the more infectious Omicron variant has started to account for the majority of cases in the U.S., which recently hit 1 million daily reported cases, the state of Florida has continued to break its own daily records for COVID-19 cases.

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2,500 Disney Fans Say the Omicron COVID-19 Variant Has Changed Their Travel Plans

By Quincy Stanford 9 Comments

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

The Omicron variant has been spreading across the country.

Disney World

We asked our readers if their plans have changed due to the Omicron variant to see how Disney World plans might be affected. 2,500 readers noted that their plans HAVE changed.

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