Month: March 2020

BREAKING: Disneyland Park, Disney World and Universal Studios Hollywood Temporarily Closing

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

This morning California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he is banning large gatherings of over 250 people in the state, but theme parks, casinos, and movie theaters were exempt. A few hours later, Disney announced that the Disneyland Resort would be closing due to coronavirus concerns for just the fourth time in its history.

A couple of hours later, Universal Studios Hollywood followed suit and announced that it too would be closing its doors from March 14th through the end of the month. This is particular bad for Universal fans as pass member previews were just getting ready to start this Saturday for the new Secret Life of Pets: Off The Leash attraction.

UPDATE: Disney World has now closed effective Sunday March 15th temporarily.

I will update this story as more details become available, but make sure to ALWAYS wash your hands and stay safe and clean!

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Shanghai Disney To Begin Phased Reopening

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Shanghai Disneyland Resort has been closed since late January because of the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China and has spread to many different countries including the United States. Disney announced that beginning yesterday, the resort will be a phased reopening starting with Disneytown and the hotel. No word at this time about when the theme park is going to reopen.

The resort posted this statement to their social media pages:

“In accordance with relevant regulations, every guest entering Shanghai Disney Resort will be required to undergo temperature screening procedures upon their arrival and will need to present their Health QR Code when entering dining venues, and are required to wear a mask during their entire visit. Guests will also be reminded to maintain respectful social distances at all times while in stores, queues and restaurants.”

When guests come to the resort, they will be required to wear a mask and use hand sanitizer. Other International Disney parks are still closed such as Honk Kong and Tokyo. Tokyo reopens on March 15th, while Hong Kong has no end date as of yet. A Disneyland Paris employee tested positive for the virus and France is advising going to large gatherings, but so far Disneyland Paris has not announced any closures yet.

Is the coronavirus making you rethink your travel plans or visits to the theme parks? Let know in the comments below and give this page a follow for all virus and theme park related news.

People Mover at Magic Kingdom Comes to a Halt

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority at the Magic Kingdom has been temporarily closed since 1pm yesterday.

Photo courtesy of wdwnt

This sign was put up by cast members today stating that the attraction will not be reopening today and it is unknown when the attraction will be reopen. It also unknown if this has anything to do with the electrical fire the attraction experienced last year or the incident a few weeks ago where two trains collided.

This has been a very rough week for the Magic Kingdom and Disney World in general as incidents have happened at the Contemporary Resort, Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion.

France Expansion Added to EPCOT Map

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo Courtesy of Blog Mickey

An updated map was installed by Disney for the start to EPCOT’s International Flower and Garden Festival. In this new map you can see that the France expansion has been added and that includes the Ratatouille ride as well as the new courtyard and crepery.

This year’s Flower and Garden Festival runs through June 1st and since these new expansions are on the map it is highly likely that the area before the Festival ends. On May 26th Spaceship Earth will be going under an extensive two year refurb and opening the expanded France pavilion could be a great way to supplement that closure.

Are you excited for the new expansion? Let me know in the comments below and follow this blog for constant theme park updates!

Women Jumps From Walt Disney World Resort

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Earlier today there was a heavy police presence at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort. It was reported a woman jumped from the window of the resort in an apparent suicide. At around 4pm EST the police were called to the area. There is no more information to provide at this time, but this story will be updated as more news develops. This is the latest in a string of weird incidents at the Walt Disney World Resort including a major breakdown on the Haunted Mansion that occurred last night.

Image result for contemporary resort

Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World Closed Indefinitely

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo Courtesy of WDW News Today

Last night at about 9:30 PM EST, the Haunted Mansion was abruptly closed to the public for an unknown reason with cast members stating that they did not know when it was going to reopen. Today photos on social media as well as guest evacuated from the attraction confirm that something was horribly wrong with the omnimover ride system.

Photos posted to social media show the doombuggies (ride vehicles) faced the complete opposite direction in several locations of the attraction. For example in the attic scene the doombuggies usually go on a slope in reverse, but this time they were going down the slope face forward which was quite uncomfortable for riders.

Photo Courtesy of Blog Mickey

It is unclear what caused the rift in the omnimover system, but here’s hoping they can get it fixed sooner rather than later before the Spring Break crowds start to arrive at the resort. This comes after a recent string of bad luck for the Walt Disney World resort where a Jungle Cruise boat sank, a heavy police presence, and today a women unfortunately was killed when she jumped from the Contemporary Resort.