I know it’s been a while. I hope that you are staying healthy and washing your hands frequently.
Reopening Dates
I am sure that you are aware at this point that Disney destinations worldwide have been closed since at least February 2020. We are sure that you are as excited as I am to know that the Magic is starting to return.
Walt Disney World
On July 11th Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be reopening. On July 15th EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be reopening. Disney Springs is open NOW.
For the most up to date information regarding the reopening and any information regarding policies etc. please visit Know Before You Go
As of right now they are not accepting anymore reservations or ticket purchases for 2020. We are now booking for 2021.
Disneyland
Downtown Disney will reopen on July 9th.
The Disneyland resort hotels will reopen at a later date.
The Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will reopen at a later date, pending state and local government approvals.
Disney Parks Worldwide
Disneyland Paris reopens July 15th
Shanghai Disneyland is NOW OPEN
Hong Kong Disney is NOW OPEN
Tokyo Disney Resort is NOW OPEN
Universal Reopening
Universal Orlando is now reopen including CityWalk. I can book your adventure for this year or next year. Contact me today.
Universal CityWalk Hollywood is now open. An official reopening date for the theme park has not be announced.
D23 is the official Disney Fan club and every 2 years they hold an Expo. Well last weekend was this years Expo. During the Expo there are many presentations about movie news, merchandise news, this year they talked more about Disney+ the streaming service coming in Nov. But the part that I always look forward to the most is the Parks Presentation. During this presentation the news drops on all the new attractions coming to the parks and more.
So let’s take a look at this years announcements:
Walt Disney World
In 2021 the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World will be celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary. However they are extending the celebration to all 4 theme parks and resorts.
Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser- a new 2 night vacation adventure aboard a starship. (This project has been called the Star Wars hotel in the past) On this adventure you will interact with characters and be apart of the story on-board.
EPCOT will become 4 neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods will be World Celebration, World Discovery, World Nature and World Showcase.
Spaceship Earth in EPCOT will get a make over with a new narriator and will feature the story telling that brings us all together.
Dreamer’s Point in EPCOT will have new lush gardens, an interactive Water fountain, a wishing tree and a new statue celebrating the legacy of Walt Disney.
A new home base for the EPCOT festivals will be a new 3 level pavilion. This pavilion will offer amazing views of World Showcase and will be an ideal location to see the all new night-time spectacular.
When the temporary night-time show Forever EPCOT ends the all new show will begin and will be called HarmoniUS.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind located in EPCOT will be a reverse launch family friendly storytelling coaster that will rotate so you can be in the action at all times.
Space 220 a restaurant located as part of the Mission Space pavilion in EPCOT will open this winter. The highlight of the this restaurant will be the daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles up.
Mary Poppins is coming to the UK pavilion in World Showcase as apart of an all new attraction called Cherry Tree Lane.
New 360 degree movies are coming to the China pavilion and Canada pavilions.
The France pavilion will see a “Beauty and The Beast sing along” in January 2020. Remey’s Rataouille Adventure ride and a new restaurant will open in the Spring 2020.
A new film is coming to the Land Pavilion called, “Awesome Planet”
Journey of Water inspired by “Moana” will be apart of the reinvention of EPCOT. Guests will interact with the magical, living water in a beautiful new attraction.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open in the Chinese Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Spring 2020.
A new resort is coming! Reflections-a Disney lakeside lodge
Tron Lightcycle Run is coming to Magic Kingdom.
A new way to plan your Walt Disney Experience is coming with the help of Genie. More details to come when this releases at the end of 2020.
Disney Cruise Line
The Disney Wish will be the name of the 5th ship being added to the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Rapunzel adorn the ship’s stern. The ship will be slightly larger than the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream. Scheduled to start sail in January 2022.
A new tropical destination in the Bahamas, LightHouse Point. Construction will begin late 2022 or 2023.
Disneyland
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is coming in 2022.
“Magic Happens” an all new parade will debut in Spring 2020
The Avengers Campus will open in 2020 in Disney’s California Adventure. This will be home to an all new Spider-Man attraction. Antman and Wasp will be featured at the Pym Test Kitchen eatery, where they will use the Pym technology to grow and shrink food. Phase 2 opening will include another new ride where you board a Quinjet and fly with the Avengers on an amazing journey.
So what are you most excited about? I think I need to start planning a new vacation for Walt Disney’s World 50th and a cruise on the Wish and another trip to Disneyland in California.
Disney vacation planning can be a complicated process, let me know if I can help you make the process easier. Contact me at jen.johnson@magical-vacations.com to start planning your magical Disney destination vacation. My services are FREE to you.
We finally did it! We made it to the parks before it opened to the general public. (Well only by like 15 minutes but it counts) We decided to go to Disney’s California Adventure first thing. They let us through the entrance and from there with the show of our room key they let us bypass the crowd waiting for the park to open.
We went straight to Carsland to ride Radiator Springs Racers again. We literally had a 5 minute wait. Took longer to walk through the queue line. (Don’t worry our car lost again. Pretty sure the key to winning is to not be on the ride with me) By the time we got off the ride the park was open and the wait time was starting to soar.
We then went to ride one of our favorites Luigi’s Rollickin. Roadsters. It’s just a good time and we laugh the entire time. (Eric has been singing Dean Martin’s “Mambo Italiano” since we got back) From there we needed to ride the Incredicoaster one more time. We also enjoyed Jack-Jack’s Nom Nom cookies because why not.
So Eric and the boys ran off to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. (A ride that I am still not brave enough to ride) I took my mom over to explore the Pacific Wharf. We took the the bakery tour hosted by Boutin Bakery and we enjoyed a sample of the fresh baked bread.
After meeting back up with the boys we decided to ride the Monsters Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.
It was time to head back to the Disneyland park. Park hopping is so easy at Disneyland. Once you go through security from the parking areas or hotels you are done. So all you need to do is scan your ticket at the entrances and go.
With Maxpass we had grabbed a fastpass for the Indiana Jones Adventure. My boys missed riding it the day before so we had to take them. It’s so much fun. If you have been to Walt Disney World I compare it to riding Dinosaur only so much cooler.
We rode some of our favorite rides again. The kids decided to go back to the room for a break. They needed some pool time. Meanwhile Eric and I went off to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. After that Eric decided he needed a break. So he headed back to the resort for some pool time and a drink at Trader Sam’s.
Mom and I headed off to ride Buzz Lightyear Space Astro Blasters. I then ran into Dr. Facilier from “The Princess and The Frog” Character interaction at Disneyland is so different from Walt Disney World. Lines are shorter and there is more interaction. There are also no friends of the characters to manage the line. So Dr. Facilier came up to me and another lady who was behind me and said, “You have a VERY important job, you see you 2 will be my last customers of the day. So if someone tries to line up behind you I need you to look them in the eyes and say we are the last customers.” The lady behind behind me had her family join her in line so when I got up to him he said “The line looks longer behind you, do you know what that means? Someone failed at their job.” I just laughed it was hysterical. I then explained that those people were all together.
It was getting close to dinner time, we had dinner reservation for the Fantasmic Dinner package at the Riverbelle Terrace. So we made our way over to Frontierland. We still had plenty of time so we thought we would ride the Mark Twain Riverboat. However there was an issue on the river. The Columbia was stranded with guests on it. Well this was entertaining us so we sat along the water and watched as castmembers tried entertain guests on board the ship. They were eventually able to get The Coumbia back to the dock and get the people off the ship.
Eric and the boys met back up with us right before dinner. We went off the restaurant for dinner. The Fantasmic Dinner package was prepaid before our arrival. We had a prix fix menu. We were able to pick a corn chowder or salad as a starter. Then a entrée and then a choice of dessert. I had the salad, short rib and the maleficient dessert. The dinner package got us tickets to a reserved area to watch Fantasmic that night. We had our choice of the 1st or 2nd showing of Fantasmic. We chose the second showing.
After dinner Dylan really wanted to ride Splash Mountain so off we went. It is slightly different than Walt Disney World. We got wet, Dylan was soaked. From here we did a little souvenir shopping. we stopped to watch Mickey’s Mix and Mingle show on Mainstreet.
Then it was time to see Fantasmic. We were let into a special seating area (lined pavement to sit on the ground) for the diners of Riverbelle Terrace. They also had seating areas for the 2 other restaurants that offer the Dinner Package. We had a great view. The show was delayed because it had started to rain. But once the show started it was amazing. It is slightly different from the show at Walt Disney World and dare I say it, I prefer Disneyland’s version more.
After Fantasmic it was time to go back to the room. We had a very early morning flight and a long travelling day back to Maryland ahead of us.
We packed before bed. The next morning we were on the Disneyland Express to the airport at 6 am. We had some trouble and our flight was delayed in Denver. We finally made it home around 10:30 pm our time.
So there you have you are able to see and do just about everything in a long weekend at Disneyland. We had a great time. I was so happy to be able to have this time with my family. We had an amazing time and we made some great memories of our first trip to California. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would prefer a day of rest built in? Maybe. LOL
We attempted to get up to be at the parks by 7 a.m. for Extra Magic Hours, however the day before was exhausting. (Extra Magic Hours as a resort guest gets you in the park before it opens to the general public) My Fitbit told me I had only slept for about 3 hours the night before. By the time we all got up, got ready, and stopped for Starbucks, we were in the parks about 8:30 a.m.
My family
Because we spent the day before at the Disneyland Park we decided to spend some time at Disney’s California Adventure. I had my concerns because it was Disney Channel’s Fan Fest at DCA park but we needed to go anyway. We also decided we would be taking advantage of Maxpass. (This is Disneyland’s version of Fastpass)(You can find more information on Maxpass under the Disneyland tab at the top of the page)
Once in the park we headed straight to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. This ride was once the Tower of Terror but has since been reimagined. I did not ride this ride, I am terrified of heights and do not like drops so this is not the ride for me. However Eric and my kids enjoyed it a lot. They told me that it is better than the Tower of Terror and so much fun. They claim even I could handle it but I still have my doubts.
I will say that the Disney Channel Fan Fest crowds were noticeable in the area for the Mission Breakout ride but this is because they were lined up for to get first come first serve tickets to the meet and greets with their favorite Disney Channel Stars.
After everyone got off Mission Breakout we went to my favorite area of Disney’s California Adventure and that is Carsland. We had a fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers but we had plenty of time to explore. We also took this time to ride some of the other rides in Carsland. Those include Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. The theming in Carsland is absolutely amazing. I love everything in this area. So much theming you will feel like you are in the middle of Radiator Springs.
Tyler on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Radiator Springs Racers is the best ride. You have encounters with your favorite cars characters before racing another car around the canyon. (this is where I will add that I have ridden this ride 5 times and my car has lost every single time so don’t ride with me if you want to win)
Doc Hudson on the Radiator Springs Racers
From here we went to Pixar Pier to ride the Incredicoaster. I love love love this rollercoaster. This is one of the few rollercoasters that has an amazing story to follow as you ride. Follow the Incredibles as they have to catch baby Jack-Jack who has escaped from his babysitter Edna Mode. By the way the area by Pixar Pier was the only other place in the park that I noticed crowds for fan fest. This was because they had a parade in this area with the stars of Disney channel shows.
Jessie’s Critter Carousel
We were able to grab fastpasses for Toystory mania and then Soarin’ and we rode a few other rides including the all new Jessie’s Critter Carousel. I also ran into one of my favorites Pluto and had to have a picture. The kids decided they needed a break and went back to the room for swimming and napping. (A perk to staying at a Disneyland resort, you are a short walk back to your resort for a break)
It’s A Small World
Eric, my mom and I went back over to the Disneyland Park where we rode the Jungle Cruise. We had lunch at Bengal’s Barbeque. We enjoyed a delightful selection of kabobs. We did mobile order on the Disneyland app so we didn’t have to wait in line for food, we received a text when it was ready for pick up. This gave us time to sit at a table and relax. From here we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and It’s a Small World before we went off to see Mickey and the Magical Paint Brush, its a great show I highly recommend.
Dylan driving at Autopia
Space Mountain
After the show my mom decided she was ready for a break and she went back to the room. The kids met up with us and we went to Toontown to ride Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin. We laughed the whole time on this ride. Honestly I laughed until my sides hurt. From here we decided to go to the Star Wars Launch Bay and while there we made sure to meet up with some of our favorite characters. We also rode Space Mountain and Autopia.
Tyler, Eric, me and Dylan meeting Darth Vader
Eric and I with Chewbacca
We had no dining reservations for this day. We stopped for a hotdog on Mainstreet before heading back to California Adventure to see World of Color. This show takes place over the water in front of the Pixar Pier. There is amazing music, lights and water curtains display scenes from your favorite Disney movies. This was my first time seeing it, as it was down for refurbishment the last time I was there. I will admit parts of this show made me cry.
Mac and Cheese Hotdog
I would say that day 2 was a success. It was my mom’s birthday and she had an amazing day. Stay tuned for Day 3 of our Disneyland Adventure….
Recently my family and I took a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim California. I ventured to Disneyland last year with our travel agency for training and I wanted to share this experience with my family.
When we started planning this trip we discussed how long to go. Disneyland is much smaller than Disney World but packed with so much to do. I suggested we could get it done in 3 days so we made a plan. We already have a busy summer ahead. My oldest son will be off to college this fall and my youngest son doesn’t want to miss any school his senior year next year so it had to be now or never. We chose the last weekend in April because it was my mom’s birthday weekend and I wanted to share this experience with her. But could we do it all in a weekend?
Friday
We left our house at 3 a.m. to go to the airport in Baltimore. Our flight took off at 6:30 am EST and we landed at 9:30 am PST. Most of my family had never been to California so they we very excited. The flight was great although honestly I slept through most of it.
We had pre arranged transportation with the Disneyland Express to take us from LAX to our home away from home the Disneyland Hotel. I had stayed at the Disneyland hotel once before and fell in love with the charm of this resort.
Our room was located on the 8th floor of the Frontierland tower with an amazing view of the pools. If you looked to your right you could also see the Matterhorn.
After checking in and finding our room we headed to the parks. The Disneyland hotel is just outside Downtown Disney. You step out of your room and you can be at security within minutes. After you go through security you can hop on the monorail or walk through Downtown Disney to get to the parks. We chose to walk so my family could take in everything Downtown Disney has to offer.
The entrances to the Disneyland park and California Adventure are directly across from each other so once you arrive you have to make a decision where do you want to start.
As a child my mom had always dreamed of going to Disneyland. She grew up watching “Disney’s World of Color on Sunday” nights on t.v. Occasionally they would show clips from Disneyland. We have been to Walt Disney World so many times we had lost count but she still always dreamed of going to Disneyland. She wanted to walk where Walt Disney himself walked. So we chose to kick off our trip where it all began, The Disneyland Park.
Unfortunately Sleeping Beauty Castle was under refurbishment so surrounded by walls and a printed mural covered the scaffolding to keep us from seeing it. But we didn’t let that get us down.
When you enter the Disneyland Park you can just feel the magic surround you. The sights and sounds of Mainstreet, USA fill the air. The light on in the window above the Disneyland Fire Dept., left on for Walt Disney makes you feel like he is there with you. We went directly to Fantasyland to kick off our day.
We spent our day riding old favorites like Snow White’s Scary Adventures and new favorites like Pinocchio’s Daring Journey. My kids insist that some of these dark Fantasyland rides have scary stories to tell. We also rode the Matterhorn for the first time. We had dinner reservations at Carnation Café.
Then my boys insisted they needed to go back to the hotel for a nap and to go swimming. It had been a very long day. The Disneyland park was open until midnight which would be 3 am our time so I guess sleep was required. We all went back to the room for a nap. My boys never made it back to the parks that night. We ventured back after a few hours rest.
Eric, my mom and I ride rode The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Tours. We watched the fireworks from the back of the park. On our way back to our room we stopped for drinks at Trader Sam’s.
It was a fun but exhausting day. We finally crashed hard at around 10:30 PM
Saturday Disney’s California Adventure Park opened for resort guests at 7 am but would we make it? Stay Tuned to find out………
Princess and the mouse 