If you’ve been keeping up with Disney World’s many health and safety measures, then you probably know about all the changes that have been happening recently!

Guests can now take maskless photos outdoors if they remain stationary and distanced from others.

We’ve seen mask requirements for outdoor areas be relaxed and temperature checks are getting phased out. Now, the verbiage on the Disney World website has changed to indicate that physical distancing measures are being reduced. What could this mean for the future of the parks? Let’s discuss!

First, we need to know specifically what the website now says. The language there has been updated to state that Disney World “will reduce physical distancing measures for guests across many areas with a gradual, phased approach.” There is no specific note on the website about how exactly the requirements will be reduced, but it does note that six-foot distancing measures “will continue in all dining locations, merchandise stores and in areas where Guests can temporarily remove their masks.”

©Disney

So, how will these changes affect the parks? While nothing has been announced yet, we have some ideas on what could possibly happen.

Some Dining Locations May Be Able to Reopen

Right now, some dining locations around the parks are being used for other purposes, including as functioning queue space for rides, attractions, or other experiences. This is the case with Columbia Harbour House in Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square, as the inside of the restaurant has been used to house the line for Peter Pan’s Flight.

Right now this is being used as a ride queue!

We’ve also seen some issues with this over at Casey’s Corner on Main Street, U.S.A., where the line for the Emporium often stretches right past the restaurant’s main entrance area. With lowered social distancing requirements, these queues would likely get shorter (length-wise), and so restaurants like these might have the space to reopen safely.

We miss you, Casey’s Corner.

However, it is important to note that just because physical distancing requirements are decreasing in many places around the parks, this does NOT affect distancing inside restaurants. When guests are dining, they remain stationary without masks for an extended period of time, and that’s still a different scenario than guests moving around outdoors. At this time, guests will still be spread out when eating indoors.  

Here’s Everything That STILL Hasn’t Reopened!

Capacity Increases

As guests are allowed to stand closer to one another, the number of people that can fit in the park increases. This means that it’s possible for Disney World to raise park capacity.

Things could get more crowded!

In fact, Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently announced that the parks are increasing capacity immediately. He didn’t give an exact number or percentage for the new capacity, so how will this capacity increase affect the parks?

Could we see a big capacity increase soon?

First of all, it might make it easier for guests to snag those park reservations. Right now, many days on the Disney Park Pass calendar are filling up far in advance because there’s a high demand and low availability. Also, we’ll probably see crowd levels increase, along with wait times. That’s just what happens when the parks let more people in!

Click Here for 10 Times You Don’t Want to Be in Disney World!

A Less-Confusing Park

With physical distancing measures decreasing, we’ll probably start to see a lot fewer queues spilling out into walkways around the parks. While it probably won’t make your wait times any shorter, you won’t be wandering all over the park wondering where the end of the line for the ride is!

Right now, lines for rides are all over the place!

This means that more walkway space will be opening up for guests to use, and it’ll be a lot easier to get around in general. We expect this change to be very helpful in places like Sunset Boulevard, Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, and Frontierland, where ride queues have been taking up quite a bit of park space!

We Just Made Hollywood Studios 10X Easier to Navigate — Click Here!

Old Favorites Coming Back

Disney hasn’t made any announcements yet, but it’s possible that with decreased physical distancing, some of our favorite offerings could be coming back sooner. If guests and Cast Members don’t have to be quite so far apart from each other, it could open up opportunities for the return of things like fireworks, parades, and other live entertainment. We have seen distancing changing already at shows like Festival of the Lion King and For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. 

We miss full-scale parades!

And with more people in the parks, the need for FastPass+ to return may also increase. Like we mentioned before, the wait times will probably get longer, and bringing back FastPasses will help guest satisfaction. These are the kinds of announcements we’ll be looking out for in the future!

Is This a Sign That Fireworks Are Coming Back? — Click Here!

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for physical distancing changes in the parks, so stay tuned to DFB. We’re visiting Disney World daily to bring you the latest news and updates!

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How do you feel about physical distancing requirements in the parks?

The post The BIG Changes We Could See in Disney World As Social Distancing Decreases first appeared on the disney food blog.

We love visiting Batuu at Disney’s Hollywood Studios if only to see what cool new Star Wars merchandise ends up there.

Star Wars plushes!

And we’ve seen some VERY cool stuff, including Chewbacca socks, a Droid Depot backpack, and some pretty sweet lightsabers! But today, we spotted some brand new items that you might just want to give a big hug!

Yes, these items are NEW plushes! And we spotted some characters we hadn’t seen before, including Darth Maul — and look! He even has  his double-bladed lightsaber. The Dark Side never looked so cute.

Darth Maul

But we also spotted one of the most famous Gungans to ever live — Jar Jar Binks! Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit, he’s a sweet little looking plush.

Meesa Jar Jar Binks

And finally, the owner of one of our favorite antiquities shop, Dok Ondar, has his own plush!

Our favorite Black Spire Outpost retailer

These plushes are currently available at the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge marketplace at Toydarian Toymaker. They’re $22.99 each. And remember, they are now using a virtual queue for guests to enter the marketplace. 

And we’ll let you know if we spot any other cool new Star Wars merchandise!

Disneyland reopened just a few weeks ago, and we’re already seeing some changes in how guests can prepare for their next visit! Like Disney World, there are a few added steps you need to get through before you can even step foot in the parks. Disneyland has implemented their new Park Reservation system, which is required in addition to purchasing valid theme park admission.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

That’s not all! Don’t forget that if you want to visit Disneyland and you aren’t staying at one of their hotels, you need somewhere to park! Right now, the Mickey and Friends parking structure is the only option for guests driving to the parks and looking to park on Disneyland property. While Disney has made strides to make their ticket buying and park reservation process smoother, parking has proven to have a few bumps in the road.

If you’re visiting Disneyland and choose to park at the Mickey and Friends parking structure during your stay, it will cost you $25 for the day. It now looks like Disneyland is adding an option for guests to pre-pay for their parking in the same transaction as purchasing their theme park tickets.

Mickey & Friends Parking Structure

When you go to Disneyland’s website to purchase your tickets, it will ask you to make your Park Reservations at that time. Once you select the date(s) you wish to visit, it brings you to a new page where you can purchase a parking voucher for $25.

© Disney

This new option could potentially cut down on the time it takes to enter Mickey and Friends. Since all guests (including Legacy Passholders) need to pay for parking each time they visit, the lines in the morning can get pretty long!

A line of cars entering the Mickey & Friends parking structure

Note that you do not need to pre-pay for parking at this time — you’ll still have the option to pay once you arrive at the Mickey & Friends structure. But with Disneyland potentially increasing their park capacity in the coming days, it may be something to consider if you want to cut down on the time it takes to park.

LOTS of traffic!

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest news from the Disneyland Resort!

Click here to check out the newest merchandise coming to Avengers Campus at the Disneyland Resort!

Have you visited Disneyland yet since it reopened in April? Let us know in the comments!

The post You Can Now Pre-Pay for Parking at the Disneyland Resort! first appeared on the disney food blog.

Greetings from Disney’s Animal Kingdom! There’s a new dessert on the prowl that we just had to check out! The Cheetah Mocha Mousse brownie features a dome of mocha-flavored mousse on top of a brookie (half-brownie, half-cookie), garnished with chocolate Mickey ears with a cheetah print and golden sprinkles. This definitely gets us in the mood to keep an eye out for animals around the park! As you can see in the above photo, the brownie and cookie are swirled […]

The post REVIEW: New Cheetah Mocha Mousse Brookie Prowls Into Disney’s Animal Kingdom appeared first on WDW News Today.

You know what’s underrated in Disney World? Disney Springs!

Disney Springs!

People tend to focus so much on the parks that they forget all about Disney’s shopping and dining complex — even though it’s full of fun things to do, delicious food, and plenty of activities for the whole family. We stopped by Disney Springs today to check out what was going on and we found something surprising…not one, but TWO locations were closed today!

The first of the two spots that were closed is the popular quick service restaurant, Chicken Guy!

Chicken Guy was blocked off!

This place is usually quite busy with guests wanting to get their chicken tender fix (with 22 different sauces), but when we walked by today it was completely empty. In fact, there was a giant hedge wall in front of the building!

The hedges wrapped around the building.

The sign posted outside said that the restaurant was closed for a private event.

Guess we’ll have to come back later!

And when we headed across the street to the Coca-Cola store, we got a view of the event from the rooftop bar. Celebrity chef and owner of Chicken Guy, Guy Fieri, was there!

Look, it’s Guy Fieri!

We definitely understand why they closed the restaurant for this…there was already a crowd of people gathered on the other side of the hedge wall trying to sneak a peek.

Another celebrity sighting!

We’ll be keeping an eye on this restaurant for more details on the reopening. Hours are showing again for this Friday online.

We’re already missing those chicken tenders!

We also noticed today that the M&M Store on the West Side of Disney Springs was closed.

Well, that’s weird.

A sign posted on the main entrance said that the shop was closed, but it didn’t give any additional details. There were no Cast Members around to ask for details.

They even had it roped off!

We took a peek inside, and things look pretty regular. Guess we’ll have to wait to get more info on this one!

It’s just an empty store.

We’ll be looking out for more details on these closures, and we’ll be checking out the rest of the news in Disney Springs, so stay tuned to DFB!

3 New Donuts Came to Disney Springs — Check Them Out Here!

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Have you been to either of these places in Disney Springs?

The post PHOTOS: Two Locations Were Unexpectedly Closed in Disney Springs Today first appeared on the disney food blog.