In this episode we talk all about Disneyland's Fantasyland. We discuss all the attractions, restaurants, music, entrances, theming that goes into the area. Plus some interesting facts, secrets and more. Plus the latest in the Disneyland Resort Current Events.
Disneyland Resort Current Event
***BREAKING NEWS***
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 (Corona) Virus, ALL Disney Parks, Cruise Lines, and Disney Vacation Club Resorts will be closed until further notice:
Disney is over whelmed with people attempting to rebook / cancel so please be patient with them. They are modifying their cancelation policy to accommodate guests. Many booking services can be handled online (links above). They are reportedly going to extend AP's by one month.
Please be sure to follow CDC and your State's guidelines during this crisis. We will get through this.
Shanghai Disneyland Shanghai Disneyland is now open but requires reservations. Please visit their site for details.
Walt Disney World Disney Springs has begun a phased reopening and has begun accepting guets. Please visit their site for details. No date yet for the rest of the resort.
Disneyland Resort has not announced any openings, but has updated their announcement to include warning about potential restrictions that will be in place when they do.
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort has no updates.
Disneyland Paris Resort has no updates, but does have great information if you have already booked a trip.
Disney Cruise Lines - Disney Cruise line suspends cruises through July 27, 2020.
INFORMATION CORRECT AS OF MAY 24, 2020.
Disneyland gets another new president in latest Disney executive shuffle
Ken Potrock was named the new president of Disneyland. Potrock has served as president of Disney consumer products.
By Brady MacDonald
UPDATED: May 19, 2020
"The Disneyland resort will get a new president as the Anaheim theme park’s current leader moves into a new role overseeing the company’s Disney+ streaming service and Disneyland’s former president takes over the reins of Disney’s theme park division.
"Walt Disney World president Josh D’Amaro was named the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences And Products. D’Amaro was the Disneyland president before moving into the Disney World role in September.
"Ken Potrock, who has served as president of Disney consumer products, was named the new president of Disneyland. Current Disneyland president Rebecca Campbell was named the chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international divisions. Campbell replaced D’Amaro during her brief eight-month tenure at Disneyland that included a two-month coronavirus closure of the park."
...
"D’Amaro succeeds Chapek as chairman of Disney’s six global theme park resorts in California, Florida, France, Japan and China. Chapek replaced Bob Iger as Disney CEO in February just before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the Disneyland and Disney World resorts. Chapek still reports to Iger, who now serves as Disney’s executive chairman. D’Amaro and Campbell will report to Chapek.
"Potrock, the new Disneyland president, will oversee a workforce of 31,000 cast members, Disney-speak for employees." .. "Campbell replaces Kevin Mayer, who is leaving the Disney executive suite to become CEO of TikTok."
Orange County Register
Disneyland reveals new details about planned Disney Vacation Club time-share tower
The new Disneyland DVC details were revealed during a town hall webinar for Anaheim residents in the Walnut Street neighborhood next to the planned project on Thursday, May 21.
By Brady MacDonald
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2020
"Disney unveiled new renderings and blueprints for a planned 350-room Disney Vacation Club time-share tower at the Disneyland Hotel that show a tiered section with grand villa rooftop balconies, poolside garden units and an intriguing interactive water feature.
"The new Disneyland DVC details were revealed during a town hall webinar for Anaheim residents in the Walnut Street neighborhood next to the planned project on Thursday, May 21.
"The town hall presentation suggests that the Disneyland DVC project is still in the works despite Disney’s plans to pause $900 million in construction and refurbishment projects at its theme parks as a result of the coronavirus outbreak..."
...
"The blueprints revealed during the town hall webinar show an L-shaped DVC complex with a 12-story tower in the front and a tiered section in the rear that descends to five stories.
"A pool, spa and interactive water feature intended for exclusive use by DVC members are tucked behind the planned tower. A Mickey-shaped spa touted by Disney was not shown in the plans."
...
"The Disneyland DVC tower plans showed a pair of garden units next to the pool.
"Designs for the Disney Vacation Club property at the Disneyland Hotel are still evolving, according to Disney officials.
"A scale model rendering of the Disneyland DVC tower show approximately 10 expansive grand villa rooftop balconies of the multi-level tiered section of the building overlooking the Walnut Street neighborhood."
Orange County Register
Shanghai Disneyland reopens, serving as blueprint for Disney’s California and Florida parks
The Shanghai Disneyland theme park in China reopened on Monday, May 11 with additional health and safety measures including face masks, temperature checks, reduced attendance, social distancing and constant sanitization.
By Brady MacDonald
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2020
"The reopening of Shanghai Disneyland with a host of mandated COVID-19 health and safety measures is expected to serve as a blueprint for how Disney’s U.S. theme parks will need to function if they hope to swing open their gates in the next few months.
"The Shanghai Disneyland theme park in China reopened on Monday, May 11 with additional health and safety measures including face masks, temperature checks, reduced attendance, social distancing and constant sanitization."
...
"By Disney theme park standards, the “sold out” Shanghai Disneyland looked like a ghost town. There were wide open spaces for as far as the eye could see and no crowds in sight. By 10:30 a.m. Shanghai time the wait was still 5 minutes for the Tron Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster and Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for Sunken Treasure — the park’s two marquee attractions.
"Social distancing was enforced in attraction queues and on rides — with riders sitting in every other row and empty seats left between parties. A few fans waited in line for the Fantasia Carousel — with each group maintaining social distance. The merry-go-round was three-quarters full during one ride with the horses naturally spread more than 1 meter apart." ...
"Social distancing was the new normal in Shanghai Disneyland restaurants, too. Dining room occupancy was reduced by 50%. Table tent cards indicated which tables were unavailable. Queues with markers were established outside restaurants."
Orange County Register
Disney parks could burn through $27 million a day amid coronavirus pandemic, analysts warn
An analysts report from Wells Fargo Securities entitled 'Thanos Returns as Coronavirus' estimates that the shuttering of Disney resorts around the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic could cost the Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products division up to $7.5 billion in operating income over the next three quarters.
By Brady MacDonald
UPDATED: May 21, 2020
"An analysts report from Wells Fargo Securities entitled “Thanos Returns as Coronavirus” estimates that the shuttering of Disney resorts around the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic could cost the Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products division up to $7.5 billion in operating income over the next three quarters."
...
"Operating expenses at Disney’s domestic parks run at approximately $1 billion per month, according to Wells Fargo Securities analysts. Furloughing Disney theme park employees and implementing other cost-cutting measures saved the company approximately $333 million a month, according to the report.
"Wells Fargo Securities estimates Disney’s parks division could burn $6 billion to $7.5 billion in operating income over the next nine months. That works out to $21.9 million to $27.3 million per day."
...
"But not everyone agrees with the Wells Fargo Securities assessment.
"The reopening of Shanghai Disneyland is the first of several positive catalysts still to come for Disney parks, according to J.P.Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani.
"'I have a huge degree of confidence in their ability to endure this crisis,' Quadrani told Barrons. 'This is a top-notch management team. And Bob Chapek, whose most recent background has been the parks, is now CEO. So you talk about having an expert in the field running the company.'"
Orange County Register
What an attendance cap could mean for crowded Disney parks in the coronavirus era
Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Legoland and regional U.S. theme parks are expected to operate with social distancing-friendly attendance caps in place once they reopen following their extended coronavirus closures.
By Brady MacDonald
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2020
"Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Legoland and regional U.S. theme parks are expected to operate with social distancing-friendly attendance caps in place once they reopen following their extended coronavirus closures.
"Post-COVID-19 theme park capacity limits will vary widely by state and change over time as each locale gets the coronavirus outbreak under control. But most parks are expected to reopen with limits of 25% to 75% of normal capacity.
"But what does normal capacity mean? Is that the fire code limit for the park? A theoretical maximum capacity? Or the average daily attendance?"
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"Disneyland’s capacity was approximately 75,000 visitors before the addition of Galaxy’s Edge and is approximately 85,000 when you include the new 14-acre Star Wars themed land, according to Touring Plans, which uses big data and statistical analysis to calculate daily theme park crowd sizes.
"An attendance cap of 25% would bring Disneyland’s theoretical COVID-19 capacity down to 21,250 visitors. A 50% cap would work out to 42,500 Disneyland visitors."
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"Disneyland attracts an average of 51,000 visitors per day, according to the Themed Entertainment Association."
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"Disney California Adventure attracts an average of 27,000 daily visitors, according to TEA. Touring Plans estimates the capacity for DCA at about 50,000 visitors.
"DCA could allow 12,500 visitors a day with a 25% attendance cap and 25,000 with a 50% cap, based on Touring Plans estimates."
Orange County Register
Disneyland Update – Weeks, Not Months . . .
By Dusty Sage
May 11, 2020
"Last week’s Disneyland Update focused on California’s 4 phase plan for reopening. We discussed why theme parks are likely to reopen in Phase 3, but with extreme safety measures in place. California entered Phase 2 on Friday the 8th of May. And while we had repeatedly been told that Phase 3 might not come until late summer or later, Governor Newsom reversed himself on Friday and said that Phase 3 of the state’s reopening COULD be less than a month away."
MiceChat
Disneyland Update – Embracing The Spooky Season
By Nathan Villamor
May 18, 2020
"Trick or treat! That’s what it feels like. Life threw us a terrible trick, but hopefully, there’s a worthy treat at the end of this difficult trial. As things start to reopen nationwide, Disney is making strides to getting their resorts back into operation – step by step. And with work resuming in the parks, we have some AMAZING brand new aerial images above Disneyland to see what’s new. We’ll finish up with something we are really looking forward to (if it even happens this year), Halloween!"
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"The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), one of the leading organizations in the theme park industry, partnered with several theme park operators to create a 36-page Reopening Guidance plan. Theme parks like Universal, Cedar Fair, Six Flags and SeaWorld helped devise over 300 guidelines that would help keep guests and employees safe while operating before a vaccine is available. Surprisingly, two big names were missing from the guidebook; Legoland and Disney did not participate in the creation of IAAPA’s guidelines. However, Disney is expected to have plans that meet or exceed the IAAPA recommendations."
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Show Notes for Episode 285
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Disneyland's Fantasyland Overview and Discussion