Planning to visit Disney World, Disneyland, or even just your local Disney Store soon? Well, there are some BIG things you should know about!

This week, the International Flower & Garden Festival started in EPCOT, tickets went on sale for a super special Disneyland event, and MORE. Check out the 5 BIG Disney stories from this week that you need to know about.

1. The Flower & Garden Festival is HERE!

Planning to go to Disney World in the next few months? Well, one thing you won’t want to miss while you’re there is EPCOT’s International Flower & Garden Festival! The Festival officially began this week and we’ve already chowed down on TONS of delicious food items, checked out the super cute new Orange Bird sipper, looked at ALL of the merchandise, and enjoyed some great entertainment!

Oh, and we’ve gotten a look at those amazing topiaries and gardens too! The Festival is FULL of awesome activities for the whole family to enjoy and beautiful things to look at. Flower & Garden is going on right now until July 5th, so you’ve got lots of time to enjoy it.

Click here to see what you should eat and drink at the Flower & Garden Festival! 

2. EPCOT’s Entrance Looks Great During the Day, But SPECTACULAR at Night!

As you enter the park for all of that Festival fun, be sure to check out the NEW flags that have made their way to EPCOT’s entrance. Just this week, the 12 new flags (6 designs, 2 of each) were installed on flagpoles next to Spaceship Earth. Retro EPCOT fans will LOVE some of the icons featured here.

The flags each have a icon on them representing different pavilions and attractions in the park. Oh, and did we mention that the entrance has new background music too?! Those of you who LOVE listening to Disney background loops will definitely want to check out our video and see what you think of the new tune.

Click here to listen to the new background music and see more about the flags!

And while EPCOT’s entrance is looking pretty great during the day, it’s truly SPECTACULAR, jaw-dropping, stunning, amazing…you get the idea…at NIGHT!

There are now nearly 3,000(!!!) individually controlled points of light on those buildings surrounding the EPCOT entrance plaza that light up and change color. And they are truly spectacular. You’ll totally want to grab a seat or just stand and watch them glow for a bit.

The lights surrounding the area combined with the lights on the fountain and the new entrance music…chills! If you truly want to see something awesome, check out the time-lapse video we got recently of this area. We could seriously just watch it all day.

Click here to see more about this new nighttime look!

3. The Face Mask Policy Update You NEED To Know About

Sticking in Disney World for a second, there’s been an important face mask policy update you’ll definitely want to know about ahead of your next trip. Previously, when you ate at a Disney restaurant, you could take off your mask as soon as you sat down, even if you weren’t eating or drinking at that moment. But, that has changed.

Now, Disney’s policy on their website says that face coverings can only be removed when actively eating or drinking (that’s been there for a long time) AND that “Face coverings must be worn while standing, waiting or sitting in dining locations.” 

Essentially, Disney’s new policy requires guests to keep their masks on while at restaurants unless they’re actively eating or drinking. So, if you’re just sitting at the table waiting for your food, or waiting for your check, etc., and not actively eating or drinking, this policy requires your mask to be kept on. That’s an important thing to keep in mind the next time you visit the parks.

Click here to see our experience dining in Disney World with this new face mask policy.

4. Tickets Were Relelased for a Super Special Disneyland Event!

A few weeks ago, we shared that a new ticketed event would be coming to Disneyland Resort — specifically at Disney California Adventure Park. Since that initial announcement, we’ve got some more details about the event, which is officially called A Touch of Disney. But, this week, tickets for the event finally became available!!

Tickets were priced at $75 each and include admission, parking, unlimited PhotoPass downloads, AND a $25 dining card. The experience to purchase tickets was a lengthy one and at this time tickets are sold out. The event will start on March 18th, and be offered on select days after that.

During the event, you’ll be able to see Disney characters, eat LOTS of classic Disneyland treats, go shopping, walk around Disney California Adventure Park, and more! But, rides will not be open. Still, it’s a huge deal to get access to the park like this again considering that Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park have both been closed since last March. We’ll keep an eye out for more details about this event and let you know what we find!

Click here to see what it’s like to purchase A Touch of Disney tickets!

5. Some Disney Stores Are Closing

Maybe you can’t get to Disney World or Disneyland right now, and you get your little taste of the magic just by visiting your local Disney Store. Well, this week we heard some updates about big changes coming to Disney Stores this year. Disney will actually be closing at least 20% of its Disney Stores before the end of this year.

It’s expected that a minimum of 60 Disney Stores in North America will close as part of this. Why are they closing? Well, it seems that Disney is closing some of its stores to direct the Company’s focus to their e-commerce business. So, you might just have to do a bit more of your Disney shopping online — although that might be something you do a lot of already.

Click here to see more about the Disney Store closures.

And those are our BIG news stories for the week. But, lots of other Disney news was shared this week as well. Recently, we got a peek at the GIANT centerpiece for EPCOT’s new nighttime show, we got to hear Disney’s CEO — Bob Chapek — talk about operational changes and superhero fatigue, a new park map appeared over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and we got a BIG update about some storyline changes coming to the Little Mermaid live action movie (Ursula is going to be Ariel’s AUNT!).

We’ll definitely look for more updates and news all around Disney World. Be sure to come back for come back for all the latest!

Click here to see ALL of our reviews from EPCOT’s International Flower & Garden Festival!

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Are you planning to visit Disney World or Disneyland soon? Tell us in the comments!

The post Mask Policy Changes and Event Tickets — The 5 Latest Disney News Bombs first appeared on the disney food blog.