Opening Disney Resort Dates & Disney Park Restaurants Not Opening
Disney News on Parade, June 23, 2020
So much unfolding as Walt Disney World continues down a course of reopening its resort. We’ll cover all the latest and greatest today on Disney News on Parade for June 23, 2020. You can find our podcast here on Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, MyTuner, and ListenNotes.
Also, at the end of this post, take our survey by June 30th and enter to win a Disney at Play Prize Package!
Hotel Openings
Starting on Monday of this week most Disney Vacation Club resorts and villas re-opened. But Disney has now announced that the following Disney resort hotels will reopen to booked guests on the following dates:
- July 10: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- July 29: Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- August 12: Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- August 24: Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
- September 21: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- October 1: Disney’s BoardWalk Resort
- October 14: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
In celebration of all of this, we have have a special post and podcast sharing what we love most about Walt Disney World Resort hotels.
By the way, Disney has announced that resort airline check-in service will resume on July 12.
Restaurants NOT Re-Opening
In our last Disney News on Parade we spoke of attractions that would not open when the parks did in July. This is our list of restaurants that Disney has not listed as re-opening in July.
Magic Kingdom
- The Crystal Palace
- Tortuga Tavern (usually operated seasonally)
- Golden Oak (usually operated seasonally)
- Westward Ho
- Diamond Horseshoe
- Columbia Harbor House
- Gaston’s Tavern
- Prince Eric’s Village Market (somewhat seasonal)
- Chesire Cafe
- Friar’s Nook
- Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant
- The Lunching Pad
- Cool Ship
Note Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn is open, but will probably be modified considerably.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Caravan Road (typically seasonal)
- Dino Diner
- Drinkwallah
- Eight Spoon Cafe (typically seasonal)
- Harambe Market (Fruit market is open, but not the Harambe Market)
- Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery
- Mahindi (typically seasonal)
- Pizzafari
- Terra Treats (typically seasonal)
- The Smiling Crocodile (typically seasonal)
- Tusker House
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Dockside Diner–Formerly Min and Bill’s
- Toluca Legs Turkey Co.
- Catalina Eddie’s
- Fairfax Fair
- Hollywood Scoops
- KRNR The Rock Station
- Oasis Canteen
- Woody’s Lunch Box–Forgot to list this on the podcast
- Gertie’s Ice Cream of Extinction–Forgot to list this on the podcast, though it is a fairly seasonal offering
- Tune-In Lounge–though 50’s Prime Time Cafe is listed
- Neighborhood Bakery–Home of the Num Num Cookie and an incredible Key Lime Pie on a Stick. Probably An Incredible Celebration is now finally closed
All of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge offerings appear to be open.
Epcot
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Restaurant Marrakesh
- Chefs de France
- Monsieur Paul
- Teppan Edo
- Tokyo Dining
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
- Lotus Blossom Cafe (but Joy of Tea is open)
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Tutto Gusto
- Takumi-Tei, Forgot to mention on the podcast
- Yorkshire County Fish Shop, Forgot to mention on the podcast
Curiously Biergarten is listed to open, and that is the only buffet restaurant I’m aware of throughout Walt Disney World.
Note Space 220 would have been open by now if there had been no pandemic.
Also, in all of these listings, no discussion of water parks.
On the COVID-19 Front
Earlier we mentioned a petition on Change.org to not reopen Disneyland on in July. That has since rallied some 48,000 signatures.
The same is occurring in Florida, but not with the same results. Some 4,000 have signed the petition on MoveOn. They have stated the following:
“While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. Mayors, theme park executives, government officials — please hear what we are saying.”
One of the challenges is that for many Cast Members, unemployment benefits from both the State and Federal government is better than what they were making before. Plus they’re benefits have been covered.
Dan Feldman of Yahoo Sports noted that one NBA playoff team had four positive coronavirus tests in last few weeks.
According to Shams Charania, a writer for The Athletic, the following NBA teams will stay at the following Disney hotels and resorts:
- Grand Destino: Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat
- Grand Floridian: Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic
- Yacht Club: Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards
Meanwhile, the number of positive cases is rising dramatically in Florida. While doctors along with the governor agree that the median age is much lower, and that the impact on younger people doesn’t seem to be the same, it is still uncertain how they might spread COVID-19 unknowingly to more susceptible groups.
Disneyland Paris Reopening
Disneyland Paris announced a phased reopening of the resort as of 15th July 2020, starting with both theme parks, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel and Disney Village. It too has a system by which you register on an online reservation system which will be available in early July. There is also a zen guarantee, allowing flexible booking that provides cancelations or changes up to 7 days prior to arrival.
Don’t forget to check out our “What We Love Most About Disneyland Paris”. It’s packed with great details about one of Disney’s most beautiful parks.
Tokyo Disney Reopening
Oriental Land Co., the local operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort, said Tuesday that it plans to begin welcoming guests back to Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea on July 1. The park had closed on February 29th. Since then its shopping area, Ikspiari reopened on June 1st.
The company plans to limit daily attendance to 15,000 people for the time being. To prevent visitors from congregating around the park gates, tickets will be sold online only, beginning June 25, and each guest will be assigned a set time for entry. Visitors will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures taken upon admittance. Several attractions and live shows will remain closed.
Our friend Chris at TDR Explorer covers this in more detail, and outlines attractions that will be closed that are not closing at Magic Kingdom such as Swiss Family Tree House and Tom Sawyer’s Island. Also, attractions such as Cinderella’s Fairytale Hall and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea are also not going to be operating.
Don’t forget to check out our “What We Love Most About Tokyo Disneyland” and “What We Love Most About Tokyo DisneySea”.
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