food IS a theme park
After being closed for OVER a year, Disney’s California theme parks are FINALLY going to be reopening very soon!
Welcome to the Grand Californian!
And soon one of the Disneyland Resort hotels — Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa — will be reopening to guests as well!
2020 was QUITE the year.
Disney World
You may remember the day that you heard Disney World or Disneyland would be closing temporarily due to the pandemic — I know I do. And you might remember watching Shanghai Disneyland reopen, that park being the first Disney park around the world to reopen after the closures. But, did you remember that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened in Disney World literally DAYS before the parks closed? Or that several new movies in EPCOT debuted in early 2020? SO much happened in just one year. And today we’re breaking it all down for you.
The Downtown Disney Starbucks West is officially open!
Downtown Disney Starbucks West
We welcomed back the Starbucks next to World of Disney last month, and now, the second location is back up and running, too! It reopened TODAY, and you know we were in there checkin’ out what’s new. And sure enough, we spotted a special new WandaVision-themed drink!
Last year, the global health pandemic changed our lives — including our lives at Disney World.
Minnie Mouse knows the importance of a comfortable face covering!
After Disney World reopened, the parks were drastically different with new health and safety guidelines, including the requirement of facial coverings for all guests over the age of 2, social distancing, and an increase in cleaning and sanitization throughout the parks.
Things are CONSTANTLY changing at Disney World — some things have closed, some things have reopened, and many things are being refurbished!
Pop Century Resort
Remember in January when we told you about the Hippy Dippy Pool at Disney’s Pop Century getting a refurbishment? Well, we’ve got some great news — the Hippy Dippy Pool is now open again!
It’s been exactly one year since Disneyland Resort closed its doors.
Disneyland Main Entrance, taken just a few days after the resort’s closure began
Several other Disney Parks have opened, although Hong Kong Disneyland has closed and reopened again, and Disneyland Paris has closed and has not reopened again. But, has Disneyland remained closed throughout the year due to California’s strict theme park reopening guidelines.
One of our favorite places to grab a savory snack (you didn’t think we just ONLY ate sweets, right?) is the Spring Roll Cart located near the entrance to Adventureland in Magic Kingdom.
Spring rolls are back!!!
We love nomming on those Cheeseburger Spring Rolls, as well as those Pepperoni Pizza Spring Rolls, and sometimes, we’re eating both! The Springs Roll cart often opens and closes based on seasonal crowds. It closed a few months ago and now it’s open the help out with the Spring Break crowds.
If you’re a coffee-lover going to Downtown Disney in Disneyland Resort soon, you’re in luck!
Starbucks
Not too long ago, one of the two Starbucks locations in the shopping and dining area reopened (and we were pretty happy about it). But now, the Downtown Disney Starbucks West location has announced its reopening date!
Disneyland Paris closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, later reopened, and then closed again. The theme parks are currently set to reopen in April.
World of Disney Store in Disneyland Paris | ©Disney
But, while the Disneyland Paris theme parks are closed, fans can still enjoy a little bit of the Disneyland Paris area by shopping at World of Disney!
A lot has changed at Disney World since the reopening — character cavalcades have replaced parades, socially distanced character interactions have replaced traditional character meet and greets, and nighttime fireworks and shows have been temporarily suspended.
Boo!
Some special events, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, were also canceled last year. But, things have already been changing again in 2021 — there’s increased vaccine distribution, changing mask rules, and more. That has left us wondering…what might happen this year with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party?
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