Hey there!

Greetings from Myrtle Beach SC! I'm writing from our rooms here where we came to meet up with a bunch of family for a reunion trip.  When I shared this on socials many of you said why would you come up north when you have great beaches in Florida? 😆 But we are meeting at a good halfway point for the family, so this worked best for everyone. We are obviously campaigning pretty hard for the next one to be in Florida and do Disney. We'll see if they go for it. 😉

This week many Disney fans were pretty bummed to learn that Happily Ever After will not be returning after the anniversary celebration is done. And I really do get it. It’s always hard to see things change, especially when it's something you really loved. But I have found over the years that with Disney, the change ends up being for the best in most cases. When talking about nighttime shows, in particular, technology changes so quickly, that every new show takes a big leap in what is possible for them to do.

As much as we all loved Wishes for example, ( and I still miss it!), it would likely feel like going backward if it were to return. I don't think we'd really be that impressed by it. The fireworks were much more simplistic, and there were no projections or lighting effects. It's got a lot of nostalgia for sure, but we've all gotten used to much bigger and better shows. It's likely that Disney Enchantment, the new show starting October 1st, will be another big leap forward from HEA. And Epcot's new show Harmonious is already slated to have technology Disney has never used before.  

So we “keep moving forward” and we really have lots of things to look forward to as the year goes on. At least we now know the final showing date of Happily Ever After now (Sept, 29th) if you want to say farewell before it leaves. 

Okay, let's get to this week's news!

 

• Happily Ever After to End: We knew that we would be getting two new fireworks shows at Epcot and Magic Kingdom beginning Oct. 1st, but we didn't know if Happily Ever After might return after the anniversary show ran for the 18-month celebration. Well, now Disney has confirmed that HEA will not be coming back. They said that "summer will be your last chance to come out and catch the current fireworks shows before they sparkle into Disney history. “EPCOT Forever” will conclude its limited-time run on September 28, and you have until September 29 to take in the spectacle of “Happily Ever After” at Magic Kingdom Park. Here's the full article. 


• More Entertainment Returns: More exciting news as shows continue to return to the parks. A whole bunch of them were announced for the summer:

• Wonderful World of Animation, (the projection show that used to play before the fireworks) will return to Studios on August 1st.
• Monsters Inc Laugh Floor reopens at Magic Kingdom on August 8th.
• Beauty and the Beast the live stage show will reopen at Hollywood Studios on Aug. 15th
• Turtle Talk with Crush returns to Epcot’s The Seas on Aug. 21st.

• Cruise Line Returns: Disney Cruise Line will be starting cruises again on August 9th. They will start with 3 & 4-day cruises on the Dream from Port Canaveral Florida. It's exciting to see cruises return, but they have added quite a few safety rules to make it possible that you'll definitely want to know about. I got the rundown on these from my travel agent Jen Filling. Here's the scoop:

• All Guests must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test (at the Guests’ expense) taken between 5 days and 24 hours prior to the sail date.
• All guests will be required to take a COVID-19 rapid test provided by Disney, in the terminal prior to boarding and comply with other health and safety requirements. The $65 test fee will be charged to the folio of all Guests 12 years and older.
• For cruises departing from Florida through December 31, 2021, guests 12 years and older must provide proof of a valid travel insurance policy.
• Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination in order to be exempt from pre-trip and embarkation testing requirements (unless arriving from outside the United States) and travel insurance requirements.
• Guests ages 2 and older are required to wear a face-covering on the ship and at our terminals, except in designated areas and situations.
• Certain onboard venues, experiences, and other offerings will be modified or unavailable, will have limited capacity and availability, and may be subject to advance reservations.

If you're interested in booking, find more details in Disney's article here, but I would strongly suggest you book through a travel agent. With all these new procedures there will be more paperwork and rules to keep track of, and know them ahead of time will be really important. A good agent will make sure you are prepared and will be an excellent resource for any questions. I always recommend About the Memories travel and you can find a referral form here to get a quote and more info. 


• Hall of Presidents to Reopen: I was actually wondering when this would be coming and we just got word from Disney that Hall of Presidents will be reopening sometime in August with a sneak peek at the new President Biden animatronic. Full article here. 







In case you missed it:

• Park Hours Increased: Hours have been expanded at pretty much all parks so if you're planning a trip make sure you check the current hours for the days you'll be visiting here. 

• Mask Relaxation Continues  Beginning Tuesday, June 15th masks are now optional in most areas of Walt Disney World resort for vaccinated guests. The only areas where they will be required is transportation including Disney buses, monorails, and the Disney Skyliner. See the official update to the guidelines on Disney's site here. 

• Food & Wine Guide: Food & Wine Festival begins this week on July 15th and we got a Foodie Guide to some of the best options we can look forward to trying. Check them out here. 

• Fireworks are back: starting July 1st at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Details can be found here. 

July 15th- November 20th: Food & Wine Festival at Epcot  July 19th: Polynesian Resort reopens August 10th- October 31st: (select evenings) Boo Bash After Hours Party at Magic Kingdom August 26th- Animal Kingdom Lodge reopens Sept. 28th: Final showing of Epcot Forever Sept. 29th: Final Showing of Happily Ever After Oct. 1st, 2021: Disney World's official 50th Anniversary begins

I'll be back at the parks next week but in the meantime, I'll still be posting any news or info that you may need to know on my socials. Until next week, thanks for reading!

 

Serena  ✨🏰✨