Hello and welcome to ANOTHER week packed with news!

Together Again Face Mask

From updates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) on mask guidance for those who are fully vaccinated to BIG news on Disney World capacity and social distancing — it’s been quite the week. Today we’re breaking down some of the biggest Disney-related news stories you need to know!

Let’s dive in!

1. Updated CDC Mask Guidelines

First, we’ll tackle a big piece of news that didn’t come from Disney but could impact Disney in the future. This week, the CDC released updated mask guidelines particularly for those who are fully vaccinated.

According to the updated guidelines, fully vaccinated people can resume most activities (both indoors and outdoors) without wearing a mask or distancing, except in certain places where masks may be required by federal, state, or local laws, or as required by businesses.

©CDC

The White House later issued a statement in response to this new guidance, sharing the update with an image saying that fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks.

Click here to see the statement from the White House.

Keep in mind, Disney has yet to make any official changes to their mask policy and still requires all guests, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear a mask in the parks at all times (except when specifically allowed to be removed). 

©Disney

But, things could be changing there (more on that in a second).

Click here to see more about the CDC’s updated mask guidance.

2. Updates on How Disney is Doing Financially and Disney+

This week The Walt Disney Company held its quarterly earnings call and released its quarterly earnings report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. Thanks to the report and the call, we have a better understanding of how Disney as a company is doing financially right now.

Overall, compared to the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, the Disney Company has actually seen some financial improvement. Income from continuing operations (before income taxes) actually showed a 17% improvement when compared to the prior year’s quarter.

©The Walt Disney Company

Of course, things aren’t back to pre-crisis levels, but it still looks like some things did better financially over the past few months.

Click here to see what you need to know about Disney’s latest earnings report.

When it comes to the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products segment, the company did see a large loss. According to the reports, during Quarter 2 the segment operating loss for this division was around $406 million.

Cinderella Castle

And continued losses are expected in this department.

Click here to see more about how much the theme parks division has lost in 2021.

Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek also made a comment during the earnings call regarding Disney World’s demand levels, comparing them to pre-pandemic levels.

Click here to see more about what Chapek has said about Disney World’s current demand levels.

When it comes to Disney+ we also got a bit of an update in terms of the numbers of subscribers it currently has. The service surpassed 100 million subscribers in March 2021. And as of the end of the 2nd quarter for fiscal year 2021, Disney+ has a grand total of 103.6 million paid subscribers!

Disney+ ©Disney

That’s a lot of people checking out all of the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic content on there!

Click here to see more about Disney+’s current level of subscribers!

3. BIG Disney World Updates on Capacity, Distancing, and More

During the recent earnings call, we also got some BIG updates from Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek, about how Disney is currently handling capacity and how certain health and safety measures may change in the future.

During the earnings call, Chapek was asked about Disney World’s capacity levels and when they might increase. In response, he indicated that they have actually already started to increase park capacities, in line with guidance from the CDC and the Florida government.

Increases in Capacity Are Taking Place

He also indicated that there would be an “immediate increase in the number of folks that [they’re] able to admit into [the] parks” through the Park Pass system.

Click here to see more about how Disney World is quietly increasing park capacity.

During the earnings call, Chapek also commented on the updated CDC mask guidance. Specifically, he said that the guidance released by the CDC is “big news” for Disney, particularly for anyone who has been to Florida in the middle of the summer. He also said that he thinks this will “make for an even more pleasant experience.”

Face Mask

Keep in mind that Disney World has NOT yet made any changes to their mask rules. Masks are still required for all guests ages 2 and up in Disney World, including those who are fully vaccinated. But we’re on the lookout for more updates.

Click here to see all of Chapek’s comments about the updated mask guidance from the CDC.

Earlier this week (not during the Earnings Call) we also got an update from Disney World when it comes to social distancing. The Disney World website was recently updated to note that Disney “will reduce physical distancing measures for Guests across many areas with a gradual, phased approach.” 

Physical Distancing Signs

The typical 6-feet social distancing measures will, however, continue in all “dining locations, merchandise stores and in areas where Guests can temporarily remove their masks.”

Click here to see more about Disney’s upcoming changes to their distancing policies.

4. Festival of the Lion King Has an Official Reopening Date!

Moving on from the financial updates and information about distancing — we’ve got a BIG update when it comes to Disney World entertainment. Over the past week, the Festival of the Lion King’s modified show — A Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King — has soft re-opened!

Celebration of The Festival of The Lion King

While the show has held several soft re-opening performances, it is now set to officially reopen on May 15th!! So, if you’ll be heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom soon, you’ll be able to check out this show once again and enjoy some fantastic music and beautiful dancing.

Dancing birds!

And if you CAN’T make it to Animal Kingdom this weekend, don’t fret! Disney will be live streaming the first performance! We got the chance to experience this show during its soft re-opening phase and see just what has changed.

Click here to see what’s DIFFERENT about the modified Festival of the Lion King show!

5. FOOD NEWS!

And finally, we end our big news round-up with lots of food news! This week, we shared our full review of some NEW menu items at The Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom.

Roast Beef Au Jus

We also tried a whole bunch of NEW menu items at the recently reopened Fairfax Fare in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you love hot dogs, this is a review you’ll want to check out!

Not gonna lie, this is a ton of food.

The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney’s Hollywood Studios also debuted some new menu items this week.

New menu

If you’re a BIG fan of Disney pretzels, you might be thrilled to hear that a very SPECIAL pretzel is available again in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Cheddar-Jalapeño Pretzel!!!

And if you love pretzels with cheese, then you’ve got to see the CONTROVERSIAL snack creation we made this week! (YOLO. It was incredible.)

YUM.

This week we also got the chance to try a BEEF FAT CANDLE at Le Cellier in EPCOT. Yes, you read that right. We ATE a candle. It was awesome.

BEEF FAT CANDLE

Over in Disneyland, we also got a look at the alcoholic beverages coming to Blue Bayou Restaurant, and we finally got word about when Blue Bayou will be reopening!

Blue Bayou

OH OH OH!! And probably some of the BIGGEST FOOD NEWS this week (okay, maybe it’s not the biggest, but it’s still very exciting) is that BEVERLY will be coming back to EPCOT’s revitalized Club Cool when it opens this summer.

Club Cool

And that’s our wrap-up of some of the BIGGEST news stories from this week. But of course, there were lots of other important things shared this week as well. Check out some of them below:

• Disney’s Jungle Cruise film will be released on Disney+ and in theaters SIMULTANEOUSLY
• You could win a FREE trip to Disney World using Instagram
• Disney has posted a special job opening that has us wondering if fireworks could be coming back soon
• Gender-neutral housing will be offered for upcoming Disney World College Program participants
• The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for kids of certain ages

©Walt Disney Studios

• We’ve got an update on when 2 Disney on Broadway shows will be reopening in New York
• Some Disney Springs Area Hotels are offering special rates for educators and first responders
• You can take a look at the current Disney World summer discounts and deals to help you save $$ on upcoming trips!
• Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 dates have CHANGED
• There’s a Disney World hotel savings offer ending soon!

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

• Some Walt Disney World restaurants are hiring with a $1000 bonus!
• Portillo’s (in Orlando near Disney World) has a new opening date!
• Indiana Jones Adventure has joined the virtual queue system in Disneyland
• We got a closer look at Shawarma Palace coming to Disneyland’s Avengers Campus
• And we got news that Disneyland could increase capacity soon!

©Disney

And that’s our list of the news from this week. We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we find!

Click here to see what celebrity chef is getting a documentary on Disney+ (hint: he’s got a restaurant in Disney Springs)

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What part of this week’s news surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments!

The post BIG Mask News, Disney World Social Distancing and Capacity Changes, and MORE This Week! first appeared on the disney food blog.

There have been a lot of changes to health and safety guidelines in theme parks recently.

Cinderella Castle

And, as CDC recommendations continue to change, many theme parks are considering making more adjustments to their policies. We’ve already seen one major theme park in the U.S. allow guests to remove their face masks in outdoor settings, and now another is relaxing their guidelines.

Hershey Park (yep, the one named after the famous chocolate), which is located in Pennsylvania, has updated their safety procedures in accordance with new CDC guidelines released yesterday and will no longer require guests who are fully vaccinated to wear masks or social distance in the park effective immediately.

Operations Update:
Consistent with updated guidance from Pennsylvania and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, face coverings and social distancing for guests who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/Z3NYTt8meh

— Hersheypark (@Hersheypark) May 13, 2021

Hershey Park shared that they will “rely on our guests to accurately follow the guidelines based on their vaccination status” and will still require that all guests two years and older who are not fully vaccinated wear their face mask when not eating or drinking in the park.

©Hershey Park

This comes as many theme parks, like Disney World, are continuing to make changes to their guidelines. Most recently, Disney World adjusted its face mask policy and announced that they would be phasing out temperature checks for both Cast Members and guests and gradually reducing physical distancing measures in the park. At this time, face masks do still remain required in the Disney Parks.

New Mickey Face Mask

We’ll continue to keep you posted as theme park procedures change, so stay tuned to DFB!

Disney CEO Comments on CDC’s Updated Mask Guidance and Its Possible Effect on the Parks