If you’re planning on visiting Disney World this summer, specifically in July, the time to book your Park Pass reservations is NOW!

Earlier this year, we saw a ton of Park Pass reservations filling up for parts of this year. Later, more became available. We especially saw more Park Passes become available following Disney’s announcement that they would be increasing capacity. Slowly, however, things started to fill up again. But now more Park Passes have become available!

A huge thanks to our reader Joe (@schreiberjoe on Instagram) for alerting us to this.

Before

Here’s a look at what Park Pass availability was like just 2 days ago for the month of July. There were a LOT of yellow days (indicating that there was limited Park Pass availability) in the beginning of July for both guests with Theme Park Tickets…

…and guests at Select Resort Hotels. The Fourth of July was already looking pretty full for both guests too.

Things were looking a bit better with Annual Passholders, with a mostly green month (indicating full availability at all 4 parks), except for the 4th of July.

But now things have changed!

The Updates!

Here’s what the calendar looks like now. Guests with Theme Park Tickets now have FULL Park Pass availability at all 4 parks for nearly every day in July except for July 1st through 3rd.

The situation looks similar for those staying at Select Resort Hotels.

Nothing has really changed for Annual Passholders. They continue to have full availability all days in July except for the 4th of July where Park Passes for Magic Kingdom have already filled up for them.

Of course, all of this is subject to change again in the future so if you haven’t already gotten your Park Passes for July, or you were looking to maybe change your existing Park Pass reservations, now is definitely the time to do so!

We’ll keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we find.

Click here to see 10 dates you NEED to book Disney World Park Passes for right now!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Are you planning to visit Disney World in July? Tell us in the comments.

The post NEWS: More Disney World Park Passes Added For July first appeared on the disney food blog.

Memorial Day and Independence Day bring out the red, white, and blue across the United States. Disney fans can prepare to celebrate the patriotic summer holidays with a new Americana clothing line and tie-dyed Crocs. Americana “Star Spangled” Mickey Mouse T-Shirt — $29.99 The red T-shirt features the words “Star Spangled” printed in white. A winking Mickey has stars in his ears. Both the material and artwork are distressed. Americana Drawstring Sweat Shorts — $24.99 The blue shorts have Mickey […]

The post PHOTOS: NEW “Americana” Patriotic Clothing and Tie-Dyed Crocs Available at Walt Disney World appeared first on WDW News Today.

Hello from Disney California Adventure!

We’re visiting Alfresco Tasting Terrace for its grand reopening, and we’ve been chowing down on LOTS of park-inspired eats from the new menu. But while we were sippin’ on pizza Bloody Marys (yes, that’s a thing), we just HAD to try a brand-new secret drink.

You may be familiar with the Disneyland cat that chills around Alfresco Terrace…and she’s the inspiration for this spot’s newest secret drink, The Nutmeg! This sip is BRAND new — it wasn’t around when the terrace closed last year. In it, you’ll find dark rum, half and half, and raspberry flavoring with cinnamon and nutmeg dusting.

This is definitely a dessert drink. It’s tasty, but you may find it doesn’t pair well with every item on the menu! We recommend drinking it after you’re finished eating, so you don’t get a mix of uncomplimentary flavors.

But it is a nice ‘n’ tasty sip! Even if you aren’t the biggest dark rum fan, you’ll find that all of the flavors balance pretty well. You should know, though, that it’s a very “milky” cocktail — so if you usually avoid those types of drinks, you may wanna skip this one.

At $16, this drink is pricey, especially considering you don’t get a lot in your glass! But if you’re a rum fan, a sucker for dessert cocktails, or a secret menu hunter, it may be worth a try. Especially if you love Disneyland cats.

We’ll be sure to bring you a full review soon of everything we tried at Alfresco Tasting Terrace! Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney news.

Check Out Alfresco Tasting Terrace’s Reopening!

Would you try this drink? Let us know in the comments!

The post Review: Disneyland’s NEW Secret Drink Is Inspired by…a Cat?! first appeared on the disney food blog.

A new ice cream place to try!? Don’t mind if we do.

This morning we spotted a sign go up for a NEW ice cream spot at the former location of Ample Hills Creamery on Disney World’s BoardWalk. Well, it didn’t take long for the new BoardWalk Ice Cream to announce its hours and the menu — and now it’s already OPEN! We (of course) had to go give it a try and now we’re bringing you our FULL review.

Like we mentioned, BoardWalk Ice Cream is a new offering located on Disney’s BoardWalk which serves up ice cream and sundaes to go.

Hello from Disney’s Boardwalk where we will be trying the NEW BoardWalk Ice Cream that just opened today! pic.twitter.com/72UOFzUf4D

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 20, 2021

 

It is located in the former spot of Ample Hills Creamery, near ESPN Club.

The treats here are inspired by Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, so we were pretty excited to try them.

Well, what are we waiting for!? Let’s check out this new shop!

Atmosphere

The outside of the shop still has some of the lettering on the sides about ice cream that existed when Ample Hills was there.

Inside, you’ll find some cute, whimsical decor.

There is a line inside with social distancing markers which you will follow until you get to the counter where you can place your order.

There is also a small refrigerator where you can get a soda or other bottled drinks.

Once you reach the counter, it’s time to get some ice cream!

Let’s take a look at the menu.

Eats

Unsurprisingly, this spot serves up a variety of ice cream flavors. Strangely though, the prices and offerings online seem to vary a bit compared to what we saw in the store.

Let’s start with just the ice cream flavors. Online, the following flavors are listed: rainbow sherbert, coffee, chocolate-vanilla swirl, butter pecan, and strawberry.

In the store, however, we saw that the ice cream flavors listed were actually vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, cookies ‘n’ cream, mint chocolate chip, rainbow sherbert, coffee, and the no-sugar added chocolate-vanilla swirl. So, there were actually several more flavors available than what was listed online.

All of the ice cream served here is Edy’s ice cream in terms of the brand, other than the dairy free options (more on that in a second).

In terms of sundaes, the online menu only lists 5 sundaes.

But, when we arrived there were actually quite a few other sundaes available, and the prices were a different.

For example, while the Classic Wave of Double Scoop is listed as $7.00 online, but it is priced at $5.49 on the in-person menu.

The same goes for the Surf’s Up Sundae — Three Scoops. Online it is listed as costing $10. But, in person the menu said it was actually $6.99.

Generally, the offerings were CHEAPER than what was listed on the website.

So basically the moral of the story here is don’t necessarily go by what you see on their online menu!! We expect much of that will likely get corrected in the upcoming days, but for now you can click any of our images above of their menus to see them larger and get a better look at the sundaes that are actually available and what they truly cost!

There are, as we mentioned, some bottled drinks also available here.

There are also some dairy free ice cream options available from the Tofutti brand.

Alright, let’s get to eating!!

First up, we got the Bayside Brownie a la Mode. This treat features a brownie, hot fudge, and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and a cherry.

The brownie that came with this treat was actually SUPER soft, very chocolatey, deliciously gooey, and wonderfully chewy (in a good way)! YUM!

That hot fudge was rich and made everything melt very quickly though, so that’s something to keep in mind!!

If you love brownies and want a nice, simple treat, this might be a good option. You can get it for $6.99.

Next, we got the Strawberry Splash Shortcake. This is made of a vanilla shortcake, strawberry compote, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream.

Personally, we felt like the brownie from the previous treat was better and seemed to taste fresher than the shortcake. The center of the shortcake was alright, but the outside was dry.

This ice cream treat is priced at $6.99.

But wait…there’s MORE! We also got the Thundering Surf Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sundae. This comes with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate morsels, whipped cream, and a cherry!

This treat is priced at $7.49.

This was BY FAR the winner here out of the options we got. Our reporter made it a point to note that this is NOT as good as the All-American Sundae from the Main Street Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (there’s just something extra special about ice cream on Main Street, U.S.A.). But, they did say that this ice cream treat was good!

The combo of peanut butter, chocolate, and vanilla is one that’s hard to go wrong with (if you like those flavors, of course).

Finally, we couldn’t leave without trying the Kids’ Mickey Mouse Sundae! This one comes with 1 scoop of the ice cream of your choice (we went with Mint Chocolate Chip) with chocolate cookies (Oreos) and a cherry and it’s priced at $4.49.

Unfortunately the Oreos in this treat tasted a bit stale, but overall the flavor of the ice cream was nice.

WHEW. Overall, the sundaes (except maybe the Kids’ one) were decently sized and could totally be shared, which is nice! Also, the brownie and shortcake were both served at room temperature so that’s also something to keep in mind.

Now that we’ve stuffed ourselves with ice cream, let’s chat about whether YOU should visit this new spot.

Nosh or Not?

You Should Go to BoardWalk Ice Cream If:

• You’re looking for a sweet treat while walking on the BoardWalk
• You want to grab a simple scoop of ice cream or some simple sundaes
• You need something to help you cool off from the Florida heat!

You Should Skip BoardWalk Ice Cream If:

• You’re looking for a sundae that is SUPER unique and creative — we’d recommend you head over to Beaches & Cream Soda Shop for that
• You don’t like ice cream and want more of a savory treat or a different type of sweet treat — you might want to check out the nearby BoardWalk Bakery for that!

Overall

Overall, nothing really blew us away from BoardWalk Ice Cream. The options were good, but pretty standard. We wish there had been some more exciting or elaborate offerings available. Our reporter also shared how they still miss some of the more unique ice cream flavors from Ample Hills. But, it is nice to have a dedicated ice cream spot on the BoardWalk again.

If you are going to stop by BoardWalk Ice Cream we’d say to grab the Bayside Brownie or the Thundering Surf treats. Those were our favorites out of the ones we had today!

If you’re looking for an ice cream treat, now you’ve got one more option in Disney World to check out. As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest updates from Disney World and beyond!

Click here to learn more about the hours for BoardWalk Ice Cream!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Will you head over to BoardWalk Ice Cream? Tell us in the comments! 

The post REVIEW of the NEW BoardWalk Ice Cream Shop in Disney World! first appeared on the disney food blog.

Lots has been going on in Disneyland lately!

Restaurants have been reopening and the parks have been BACK in action as they continue with their phased reopening. Not to mention, Avengers Campus opens in Disney California Adventure next month! The parks are currently only open to California residents, but with all of these exciting things on the horizon, we’re wondering if that could change soon?! Today, we’re taking a look at when we could expect out-of-state guests to visit Disneyland again.

1. State Guidelines Already Allow It

As a reminder, only California residents are permitted to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure until further notice. However, according to an addendum added to California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, “fully vaccinated persons from out of state may visit or attend activities or events that are restricted to in-state visitors.” That means that, according to California guidelines, out-of-state guests are technically already allowed to visit Disneyland — as long as they’re fully vaccinated.

However, Disneyland has NOT adjusted their policy to align with this addendum. While Universal Studios Hollywood and Sea World San Diego both permit fully vaccinated out-of-state guests to visit, Disneyland does not.

Of course, this addendum means that it is not state policy holding Disneyland back. Disney can decide at any given time to adjust their rules and permit fully vaccinated out-of-state guests. Of course, there’s a chance they’re waiting for ALL out-of-state guests (regardless of vaccination status) to be allowed to visit, in which case they would have to wait for further state guidance.

Read More About This Addendum!

2. Disneyland Could Increase Capacity Soon

California’s reopening plan currently involves grouping counties into colored tiers that dictate that county’s restrictions. We’ve been closely following Orange County’s — where Disneyland is located — progress through these tiers. And as of May 19th, Orange County moved from the orange to the yellow tier.

Under the yellow tier’s guidelines, Disneyland can increase capacity from 25% to 35%. It can also allow walk-up ticket sales and indoor dining at 50% capacity.

Now, Disneyland has not yet announced if they’re increasing capacity in response to this change — but they’re able to do so whenever they want at this point. And if they do, it would allow more space for out-of-state guests to visit the parks.

Learn More About Disneyland’s Potential Capacity Increase!

3. California’s Target Date for Full Reopening

California’s target date for a full reopening is June 15th. On that day, the color-coded tier system will end, and all counties will move together into a final green tier, which permits “normal operations” alongside continued vaccinations and testing. And according to California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, by that date, fully vaccinated people may not have to wear a mask in most settings (both indoor and outdoor).

If June 15th truly marks California’s return to “normal operations,” the state may permit out-of-state visitors, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to visit theme parks. And if Disney is waiting for that change before they lift their California-residents-only policy, we may see a shift in that regard, too.

It’s worth noting that there have been no statements by the California government on if this will be the case — it’s just educated speculation. But a return to “normal” is a good sign that Disneyland’s policies may shift back to “normal,” too.

Read More About California’s Reopening!

4. Disneyland Is Returning to Normal

As restaurants reopen and the parks fill up with guests, we’re seeing a slow return to “normal” in Disneyland. Sure, Disneyland has not made the same changes to mask policies and social distancing measures as Disney World has, but we’ve still got a gradual shift. Not to mention, Avengers Campus is opening on June 4th, and that event will be HUGE.

We’re guessing Disneyland will want to capitalize on their expanding offerings by permitting more guests to visit — especially given the other changes we’ve listed above that will be happening in the same timeframe.

Learn More About Avengers Campus!

Now, Disneyland has NOT set a date by which they will allow out-of-state guests to visit once again. But based on evolving state policies and Disneyland’s reopening progress, we’re guessing it could be sooner rather than later. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any news and keep ya posted, so stay tuned to DFB!

Read About Disneyland’s Current Out-of-State Guest Policy!

Are you an out-of-state guest wanting to visit Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!

The post How SOON Could Disneyland Open to Out-of-State Guests? first appeared on the disney food blog.