Shanghai Disney To Begin Phased Reopening

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.

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Star Tours Getting New Scenes From Rise of Skywalker Starting Today!

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Every single Star Tours at Disney Parks are getting an enhancement starting today. New scenes from The Rise of Skywalker will be locked into the Star Tours ride sequences for the next few months.

These new scenes include riding the waves of the Endor moon Kef Bir (shown above) and a special transmission from Lando as you are mid ride about to jump into hyperspace. This new scene joins previous Sequel Trilogy scenes such as Battu (Galaxy’s Edge), Crait (The Last Jedi), and Jakku (The Force Awakens).

Do you like that they updating Star Tours? Would you like to see the ride replaced at Disneyland? Do you like Smuggler’s Run or Star Tours more? Discuss in the comments below!

Disneyland Paris Castle Could Go Under Lengthy Refurb

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The most elegant and beautiful Disney park castle of them all, Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty Castle, is rumored to undergo a lengthy refurb starting particularly soon.

This is for now just a rumor since there is no date on the calendar nor has Disney mentioned this refurb, but Disney has mentioned that the castle will not be receiving Christmas lights this year leading some people to believe the refurb will start as soon as next month.

Now this will be a very lengthy refurb as the castle is believed to have structural damage. This refurb would take up to two years and include new tiling, structural improvements, new turrets, and a new and refreshed Castle Stage as well as Castle Garden.

That is all I know at this moment about this rumored refurb, but give this blog a follow for the latest updates to this story. Do you think the castle in Paris needs such a dramatic refresh? Is there anything you would add or take away from the castle or stage area?

Walt Disney Studios Tram Tour Will Be Rethemed to Route 66 This Summer!

Disneyland Paris has announced that their tram tour will not be going away and will be rethemed to the Cars franchise in summer 2020. Guests will be taking a road trip down Route 66 in this new adventure. It was long thought that with their 2 Billion Euro expansion that this attraction would be biting the dust, but then now we officially know it is here to stay. Below is an updated park map including all of the coming expansions.

Photo from LaughingPlace.com

As you can see the park is looking even smaller than usual at the moment with all of the construction and demolition of the Hollywood Backlot area but luckily in just a few short years that will all change. I find it rather odd there will be two cars themed attractions kind of far from each other. If they were to move the existing Cars ride they could form a Cars mini-land.

So what do you guys think of the Tram being rethemed to Cars? Would you rather it go away and replaced with something entirely new like at Hollywood Studios? Discuss your thoughts in the comments below!