Category Disney Springs

Apr 21 2020

M&M’s Orlando Store Coming To Disney Springs

Where are all of my chocolate lovers? So here’s some exciting news for fans of everyone’s favorite chocolate candy, a brand new M&M’s store will be opening in Disney Springs. Currently scheduled to debut later this year in Disney Springs West Side near the NBA Experience, guests will be able to shop and enjoy the colorful fun of M&M’s. Here’s what you can expect once M&M’s at Disney Springs opens according to Disney:

M&M’S Orlando store will be making a sweet addition to our unparalleled mix of shopping at Disney Springs. The new state-of-the-art store will offer an immersive experience that combines the colorful fun that fans of the M&M’S brand enjoy with lasting memories. “Guests will be fully immersed into an interactive chocolate experience that will create more moments and more smiles through the colorful fun of M&M’S,” said Patrick McIntyre, director of global retail at Mars Retail Group.

Next time you visit Disney Springs for some shopping and dining, be sure to you check out the new M&M’s at Disney Springs, and I hope to see ya’ there real soon!

501 WaysHeading to Disney World ?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you excited to shop at the new M&M’s at Disney Springs?
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Mar 31 2020

Disney World Free Dining Recovery Discount

Over the weekend, Disney released a Free Dining Recovery Discount for guests whose vacations have been impacted by the Coronavirus. Let’s take a look at the details and how this discount stacks up.

DISNEY WORLD FREE DINING RECOVERY DISCOUNT DETAILS

Here are the details of this deal according to Disney:

We recognize the impact these uncertain times have had on our Guests. If your recent Walt Disney World reservation was affected, then you may be eligible to enjoy a special summer vacation package offer. After all, summertime is the perfect time to make the kind of cherished memories that we all need—now more than ever.

Eligible Guests can take advantage of a vacation package offer that includes accommodations at a select Disney Resort hotel, park admission and a Disney dining plan—valid for arrivals most nights June 1 through September 30, 2020 when you book through May 31, 2020. This offer is valid only for Guests who previously booked a vacation package or room reservation to stay at a Disney Resort hotel at Walt Disney World Resort for travel dates March 16 to May 31, 2020. Offer not valid for reservations travelling these dates that were cancelled before March 1, 2020.

This offer is subject to availability. Length-of-stay requirements may apply. Everyone in the same room must be on the same package. Theme park tickets valid for admission beginning on date of check-in and must be used within a limited number of days, depending on length of stay and ticket.

HOW DOES THE DISNEY FREE DINING RECOVERY DISCOUNT STACK UP?

How this discount stacks up really depends on your feelings and experience with the Free Dining Discounts in the past. If you’re a fan of the convenience and simplicity of the dining plans, then this is probably a big win for you. If however, you’re looking strictly at the cost, this may not be as good of a deal as it seems at first glance. You’ll want to spend a few minutes actually crunching the numbers to see if it makes sense for you and your family. Remember with the Free Dining Discount, you will be paying full rack rate for your room, and potentially missing out on some sizable room only discounts in the future if Disney reopens and struggles to fill rooms. You’ll also want to keep in mind that value and moderate resort hotels will receive the Quick-Service Dining Plan, while deluxe resort hotels will receive the Disney Dining Plan that includes Table Service meals that require gratuities that will need to be paid out of pocket. Over the years, I have done Walt Disney World vacations with and without the dining plan, and being a small eater, I have always found a room only discount to be a much bigger cost savings while paying for my meals out of pocket. To get pricing for your vacation if you qualify for the Free Dining Recovery Discount, please call 407-939-4251 directly. This discount cannot be booked online at this time.

WHAT I AM DOING ABOUT MY UPCOMING TRIPS

In my recent posts Disney World Is Closed – Now What?, When Will Disney World Reopen, and Disney World Closed Indefinitely, I shared what I am doing about my upcoming Walt Disney World vacations that I have scheduled throughout the rest of 2020.

As a quick update, I am still hanging on to my early and mid summer trips for now. I did reschedule my April trip to September and added an August trip while I was at it. I have several Frontier Airlines flight vouchers that are going to expire by October 1 so I am trying to use as many of them as possible, knowing that is very unlikely Frontier will extend them. As quickly as things are changing now, I currently plan on waiting until a couple of weeks before each trip to decide whether or not to go, unless something else decides for me, like Disney World still being closed, Frontier cancelling my flight, a CDC travel advisory, or the mandatory quarantine of 14 days still being in place when arriving in Florida.

I would love to be able to visit Walt Disney World this year, but looking at the big picture, this really is not a major concern. The most important thing right now, is that we all do what we can to save lives, stay well, and slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Eventually life will return to normal, and we will all be enjoying the magic in person once again!

WHAT’S NEXT?

In the meantime, I will continue to share the latest Walt Disney World news and information here. You can still expect to see several posts a week, filling you in on all of the fun things coming up at the most magical place on earth once it reopens!

Please stay safe and well, and I will see you in the parks real soon!

501 WaysHeading to Disney World?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Will you be booking the free dining discount?
Please leave a comment; we would love to hear from you!

Mar 28 2020

Disney World Closed Indefinitely

Friday afternoon, March 27, 2020, Disney finally made the official announcement that we all knew was coming…Walt Disney World is now closed indefinitely.

WHAT DOES DISNEY HAVE TO SAY?

On Walt Disney World’s official closure page it reads:

The safety and well-being of our Guests and employees remains The Walt Disney Company’s top priority. As a result of this unprecedented pandemic and in line with the direction provided by health experts and government officials, Walt Disney World will remained closed until further notice.

WHEN WILL DISNEY WORLD REOPEN?

While this situation continues to change by the moment and no one knows for sure how this will all play out, we can try to make an educated guess based on the information we have so far. Many medical experts and scientists have shared that they estimate the Coronavirus spread should peak in approximately eight to ten weeks. If that does turn out to be true, and we begin our countdown from when places across the country began trying to “flatten the curve” as March 16, 2020, the day President Trump released his “15 Days to Slow the Spread,” then we can estimate the peak to be around mid to late May 2020.

If we notice as a country that the number of new cases of the Coronavirus are starting to decline, then we could slowly see businesses begin to reopen and restrictions to be lifted. If cases of the Coronavirus do start to decline in May as optimistically predicted and Disney begins to slowly reopen at that time, we could hopefully see the Walt Disney World resort back up and operational at some point during the summer season.

WHAT WILL DISNEY WORLD BE LIKE WHEN IT REOPENS?

In China, where Shanghai Disneyland closed on January 25, Disney has been slowly resuming normal operations since March 9 by opening a limited number of restaurants and shops. All guests are having their temperatures taken prior to entry and are being required to wear masks during their visit. It would be safe to anticipate that Disney may take a similar approach here in the states, slowly coming back on line with restrictions for guests.

Rumors abound about what these restrictions may be from not allowing guests from outside the United States initially, or possibly not even outside Florida. There is also much speculation about how the Disney World experience will be impacted once it reopens. I’ve seen talk about limiting attendance, implementing more virtual queues like Rise of the Resistance for the more popular attractions, keeping character greetings and character dining closed, only opening certain attractions that allow for social distancing while keeping things like Carousel of Progress, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and similar shows shuttered, and only allowing mobile ordering at counter service restaurants with tables spaced six feet apart. While no one knows exactly what a Walt Disney World vacation will look like once this passes, probably not even top Disney officials at this point, I think it is safe to assume that we will see some adjustments and limitations at least initially.

WHAT I AM DOING ABOUT MY UPCOMING TRIPS

In my recent posts Disney World Is Closed – Now What? and When Will Disney World Reopen, I shared what I am doing about my upcoming Walt Disney World vacations that I have scheduled throughout the rest of 2020.

As a quick update, I am still hanging on to my early summer trip for now. I did receive an email from Frontier Airlines recently offering me $200 in vouchers in addition to the credit I would get if I would go ahead and cancel my summer flights. While that is a fantastic offer, I am not willing to give up hope quite yet.

WHAT’S NEXT?

In the meantime, while we wait for things to get back to normal, I will continue to share the latest Walt Disney World news and information here. You can still expect to see several posts a week, filling you in on all of the fun things coming up at the most magical place on earth once it reopens!

Please stay safe and well, and I will see you in the parks real soon!

501 WaysHeading to Disney World?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you rescheduling or cancelling? Have any tips or concerns?
Please leave a comment; we would love to hear from you!

Mar 22 2020

When Will Disney World Reopen

Now that the reality of Walt Disney World along with much of the country being closed is starting to sink in, and we all have some time on our hands as we hunker down at home, the obvious question among Disney fans with upcoming vacations is, when will Disney World reopen?

While no one knows for sure, probably not even top Disney officials at this point, there are some clues that might give us some indication on when we might be able anticipate Walt Disney World reopening.

WHAT DOES DISNEY HAVE TO SAY?

On Walt Disney World’s official closure page it reads:

In line with state and federal guidance, Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney owned-and-operated hotels are currently closed through March 31. All locations at Disney Springs are also temporarily closed.

WILL DISNEY WORLD REOPEN ON APRIL 1?

Based on Walt Disney World’s website, optimistic guests might be hopeful that the resort will reopen on April 1, 2020. Although, no official statement has been released yet, and this is pure speculation on my part, I find it extremely unlikely that this will be the case. Given what is currently happening with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the country and around the world, it is difficult to imagine that Disney World would reopen so quickly.

If we take a look at what is happening currently in the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on March 9, schools are closed across the state until at least April 15, and now public beaches, bars, nightclubs, and restaurant dining areas have been closed indefinitely. Each day as the number of diagnosed cases of the Coronavirus rises in Florida, more restrictions are being put in place and more establishments are closing. With this current trend in the state as well as the country as a whole, I would be shocked if Walt Disney World opened on April 1, 2020.

IF NOT APRIL 1, THEN WHEN WILL DISNEY WORLD REOPEN?

So if it is unlikely Walt Disney World will reopen on April 1, then when might it reopen? While this situation continues to change by the moment, we can make an educated guess based on the information we have so far. Many medical experts and scientists have shared that they estimate the Coronavirus spread should peak in approximately eight weeks. If that does turn out to be true, and we conservatively begin our eight week countdown from when places across the country began trying to “flatten the curve” as March 16, 2020, the day President Trump released his “15 Days to Slow the Spread,” then we can estimate the peak to be around mid May 2020.

If we notice as a country beginning in mid May that the number of new cases of the Coronavirus are starting to decline, then we could slowly see businesses begin to reopen and restrictions to be lifted. In China, where Shanghai Disneyland closed on January 25, Disney has been slowly resuming normal operations since March 9 by opening a limited number of restaurants and shops. It would be safe to anticipate that Disney may take a similar approach here in the states, slowly coming back on line, in case another outbreak occurs and they need to shut down again quickly.

Optimistically, if cases of the Coronavirus start to decline in mid May as predicted and Disney begins to slowly reopen at that time, we could hopefully see the entire Walt Disney World resort back up and operational for the busy summer season.

WHEN WILL DISNEY MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT?

Disney is still slammed with people cancelling and rescheduling vacations that were scheduled during this initial closure period that runs through the end of March.

Disney will most likely make an announcement sometime in the next few days that will extend the closure for another couple of weeks possibly through the Easter holiday. Don’t expect Disney to say they will be closed for more than a two or three weeks at a time. It is much easier for them to manage shorter incremental closures, not to mention, they are undoubtedly wanting to remain optimistic and reopen as soon as possible.

WHAT I AM DOING ABOUT MY UPCOMING TRIPS

In my recent post Disney World Is Closed – Now What?, I shared what I am doing about my upcoming Walt Disney World vacations that I have scheduled throughout the rest of 2020.

As a quick update, I have now rescheduled my spring trip to early fall 2020. It was a difficult decision, I didn’t want to give up hope, but realistically I couldn’t imagine Walt Disney World would reopen at a time the Florida schools were scheduled to still be closed. It took a couple of hours on the phone, but Disney moved my reservation and kept my bounce back offer to later in the year, and Frontier Airlines allowed me to reschedule my flights without having to pay any change fees or difference in fare. So while I am disappointed that my trip was postponed, it didn’t cost any extra to make the changes for which I am very thankful.

I am still hanging on to my early summer trip for now. I did receive an email from Frontier Airlines this weekend offering me $200 in vouchers in addition to the credit I would get if I would go ahead and cancel my summer flights. While that is a fantastic offer, I am not willing to give up hope yet.

WHAT’S NEXT?

In the meantime, while we wait for things to get back to normal, I will continue to share the latest Walt Disney World news and information here. You can still expect to see several posts a week, filling you in on all of the fun things coming up at the most magical place on earth for the rest of the year and beyond!

Please stay safe and well, and I will see you in the parks real soon!

501 WaysHeading to Disney World?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you rescheduling or cancelling? Have any tips or concerns?
Please leave a comment; we would love to hear from you!

Mar 15 2020

Disney World Is Closed – Now What?

This has been an astonishing week across the United States and around the globe as the reality of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has finally begun to sink in. Disney announced late this week that the theme parks at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida as well as Disneyland Resort in California would close through the end of March.

If you’re like me, and you probably are since you’re reading this blog, you probably have a trip planned to Walt Disney World in the near future. So Disney World is closed, now what? Do you wait and see, reschedule, cancel…cry? In this post, I’ll cover what Disney has to say, what I am doing about my upcoming trips, and where we go from here.

DISNEY WORLD IS CLOSED

Well, here’s what we know so far, everything is changing. Every time you turn around, there seems to be more information, restrictions, cancellations, and things to worry about being shared across social media. Hopefully, I can put your mind at ease, at least where your Walt Disney World vacation is concerned.

Let’s begin here…Disney is a strong, reputable company that has been around over 100 years. It is resilient, and I have no doubt, will bounce back from this situation, better than ever. The Disney Company cares about the health and safety of its employees as well as its guests, so I am sure that the decision to close its theme parks didn’t come easily. However, top officials knew that it was the right thing to do given the severity of the situation. Disney’s unprecedented decision to continue to pay its theme park employees during this time, should hopefully give you some reassurance that they will take care of you and your vacation plans, too.

WHAT DISNEY HAS TO SAY

For now, if you have a trip that does not begin within the next 3 days, please wait to call Disney. The phone lines and cast members are currently overwhelmed helping guests that were scheduled to travel during the closure. If you can wait patiently to call closer to your travel date, you will help everyone out. Remember you can access the Disney website 24 hours a day, and many modifications and cancellations can be made there without calling. If your travel dates are within the 3 day window, please call (407) 939-5277 for help, and be prepared to wait on hold for several hours.

In the meantime, if you have a question, here are some common ones that cast members have been receiving, and the official answers from Disney:

PARK TICKETS

May I get a refund on my ticket?

Unexpired multi-day theme park tickets with unused days, or date-specific theme park tickets with a start date on or before March 31, 2020 will automatically be extended to use any date through December 15, 2020. If you are unable to visit by December 15, 2020 you may apply the value of a wholly unused ticket toward the purchase of a ticket for a future date.

What about special event tickets?

Guests who have purchased tickets for Disney After Hours, Disney Villains After Hours and Disney Early Morning Magic from March 16, 2020 through March 31, 2020 will be automatically refunded.

ANNUAL PASSES

How does the closure impact Walt Disney World annual passes?

All Walt Disney World Annual Passes will be extended by the number of days the parks are closed.

RESORTS

I have a future stay at a Disney Resort hotel while the park is closed. What does that mean for my vacation?

Guests who have not checked in for stays between March 16, 2020 through March 31, 2020 may modify or cancel their Disney Resort room reservation or Walt Disney Travel Company package up to their original check-in date. If no action is taken, Disney will automatically process a refund to the original form of payment within seven days of the original check-in date. If you did not book through Disney directly, please contact your travel professional.

What if I want to cancel a Disney Resort hotel reservation after the parks reopen?

Disney will waive all Disney imposed change and cancellation fees up to the date of check-in through June 30, 2020.

DINING & OTHER EXPERIENCES

I have a pre-paid dining reservation or experience reservation like Droid Depot or Savi’s Workshop while the parks are closed. Will I receive a refund?

Yes. All pre-paid dining and experience reservations will be automatically refunded if scheduled between March 16, 2020 through March 31, 2020.

What happens to dining reservations that required a credit card at the time of booking?

Reservations made at locations impacted by the closure will not be charged a cancellation or no-show fee.

FASTPASS+

What happens to FastPass+ reservations made during the closure?

All Fastpass+ reservations during this time period will be automatically cancelled without replacement.

WHAT I AM DOING ABOUT MY UPCOMING TRIPS

So if you’ve read this far, I am guessing you have a trip planned to Walt Disney World too. I understand this is extremely disappointing, and my heart goes out to you and your family. Hopefully, you’re planning to reschedule for a future date, and if so the silver lining might be that one of the new attractions you were going to just miss like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run, or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be open by your new travel dates!

I have a few trips scheduled for the remainder of this year, and I am trying to adjust them one at a time. I have a slightly different approach for each that I will share with you, in hopes that this information will help if you are on the fence as to what to do next.

Epcot Flower & Garden FestivalSPRING TRIP

My next trip is a short three night onsite stay near the end of April. I really want to go on this trip, as I am sure you feel about your trip too. It’s been a long cold winter here in Colorado, and I haven’t been to Florida since December. I was looking forward to some sun, flowers, palm trees, and Mickey Mouse to celebrate my birthday. Realistically, it’s looking more and more like I will need to cancel this vacation. The Disney parks in China and Japan have been closed almost eight weeks now, and have not yet reopened. If our situation here in the US tracks similarly, we could be looking at a closure through mid-May, at a minimum.

Flights

I have airline tickets on Frontier for this trip. While I love flying Frontier for its cheap rates, it is definitely no frills, and often has hefty change and cancellation fees. Because of COVID-19, they are allowing passengers to change or cancel flights during my travel dates with no penalties and giving a credit that must be booked within 90 days and flown on by November 2020. So as long as I reschedule and use the credit by November of this year, I’m not out any money.

Tickets

I have an annual pass, so I am not worried about tickets for this visit.

Hotel

I have a reservation at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in a pirate room. I booked this room with an unbelievably good bounce back offer, so it might be hard to get that rate again in the future.

Bottom Line

It’s a gamble, and I am normally a risk-averse person, but I am not cancelling or rescheduling yet. I was able to make arrangements for my kids in case I get stuck in Florida, or have to be quarantined when I arrive home, since they aren’t traveling with me on this visit. I have no risk of money loss on my admission ticket or hotel, and Frontier will give me a credit on my flight, so I think its worth the gamble. This is normally how I roll with trips scheduled during hurricane season. Last year for one of my visits, I didn’t know until just a few hours before take off, if the Orlando airport would reopen and if I would be able to fly out. So for this visit, I am going to be cautiously optimistic, hoping that something turns around, and that I will be able to travel, but understanding that the odds aren’t great.

Tree of LifeSUMMER TRIP

My next trip is much more complicated. It is scheduled for early summer with the entire family, and whenever there are more people involved, it always get exponentially more complex.

Flights

Again I have cheap, no frills tickets on Frontier. I am currently outside the 60 day window, so I could cancel my flights now for a full credit for future travel. Same rules apply, I would need to book within 90 days and use by November of this year.

Tickets

While I have an annual pass, my kids don’t. I purchased each of them 7-day, 1 park each day tickets that are non-refundable which cost me over $1000. If I have to cancel this trip, it is likely that they will not be able to travel with me for a full week until summer 2021.

Hotel

For this trip, our plan was to stay offsite at a Magical Vacation Homes rental in the Reunion Resort. I love to do this when traveling with my kids. We usually stay at a huge vacation home with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, its own private pool and hot tub, game room, pool table, theatre room, and more, for less money per night than a one bedroom villa at a deluxe Walt Disney World resort hotel or a family suite at Art of Animation. The only thing with this type of rental, is that their policies aren’t as flexible as staying at a Disney resort hotel so there is a risk of money loss if we need to cancel or reschedule.

Car Rental

Because we were planning to stay offsite, we had a car rental booked for this visit. There is no risk of money loss with this since I booked without paying in advance.

Bottom Line

Even though this trip is further out, I have already had to make some difficult decisions and modifications. Hopefully, Walt Disney World will be back up and running sooner rather than later, but it’s impossible to predict exactly when with any degree of accuracy at this point. I am optimistic that my kids and I will still be able to go this summer, so I don’t want to cancel until the very last moment unless I have to, similar to my plan for my spring trip. However, I want to minimize the amount of money I could be out, if a last minute cancellation does need to occur. So even though it was difficult, I let my kids in on what is going on with the vacation plans, telling them I had made some adjustments for now, but that there is a chance that we might have to postpone until summer 2021.

For the flights, I am just going to wait and see what happens. Even though I could cancel now and receive a full credit with no cancellation fee, I am going to take the gamble that if I need to cancel closer to my travel date, Frontier will still have in place their special cancellation fee waivers due to COVID-19. For the park admission tickets for my kids, if Walt Disney World is closed, the same rules will probably apply to my tickets allowing me to use them through December 15, 2020. Even if I can’t reschedule before that date, I will be able to apply that $1000 I spent on the tickets towards new ones to use next summer if I need to move my trip to 2021. The car rental was also an easy decision, I just went ahead and cancelled it this weekend, for no cost.

The most difficult decision was cancelling the vacation home. It cost me a non-refundable 20% deposit (ouch!), but if I don’t cancel now, the amount of money that I could lose just continues to go up from here. Magical Vacation Homes does not allow rescheduling and they do not refund money under any circumstances which is all clearly spelled out in the rental agreement that you sign at the time of booking. Their company is not making an exception due to the Coronavirus. I decided rather than taking the chance on losing the full amount of the rental if I had to cancel closer the to trip dates, I would rather have the flexibility that Disney offers. So after cancelling the vacation home, I rebooked onsite at a Walt Disney World resort hotel for my summer vacation with my kids. Although it is a little more expensive and a lot less space, it gives me the peace of mind that I need knowing that I won’t lose money and that Disney will work with me to modify or cancel my reservation if necessary.

LATE SUMMER AND BEYOND TRIPS

For my trips in July and beyond, I am going to continue to take them one day at a time. I would hope that by mid summer we as a country and as a world are in a much better place both health-wise and economically. I imagine it will take some time to recover, but as things start to calm down and begin looking up, I would expect the parks to reopen and crowds to slowly pick up as people become more comfortable traveling again.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

In the meantime, while we wait for things to get back to normal, I will continue to share Walt Disney World information here. You can still expect to see several posts a week, updating you on the latest news and filling you in on all of the fun things coming up at the most magical place on earth for the rest of the year and beyond!

Please stay safe and well, and I will see you in the parks real soon!

501 WaysHeading to Disney World?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you rescheduling or cancelling? Have any tips or concerns?
Please leave a comment; we would love to hear from you!