Disney World News: Construction Pauses & Resumes, Dining Debut, 40% Capacity
We’re back with our first Walt Disney World news round-up of 2021! This covers a range of stories, from another restaurant opening to a rumored park capacity increase from 35% to 40% of normal attendance limits. Most significantly, we have updates on construction at EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and Wilderness Lodge–including projects pausing and resuming ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary this year!
Let’s start with the construction progress report. Over the holidays, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge and intended upon doing a stay report that included a look at the resort renovations that have picked up steam and moved to the lower levels of the hotel. That report didn’t end up happening, and Christmas-centric content is now stale.
Nevertheless, construction is moving along at Wilderness Lodge. The top three floors are now finished, which is evident from the refreshed hallways and lack of garbage bags or tarps blocking them off from the lobby (see the floor above Whispering Canyon Cafe in the photo above). Meanwhile, we observed a flurry of activity on the lower two levels. If the present pace is any indication, everything should be finished well ahead of the June 6, 2021 reopening date of Wilderness Lodge. Here’s hoping that there’s sufficient guest demand for Disney to justify opening it back up!
In more consequential construction news, a new USA Today article has given credence to rumors of timeline delays on various Walt Disney World projects. Normally, we wouldn’t put much stock in something like this–but the story features an interview with Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences & Products and the story was shared by Disney on social media, suggesting it was written with the company’s involvement and the info is accurate.
That story indicates that TRON Lightcycle Run “isn’t expected to open during the park’s 50th birthday year.” This is not a huge surprise, as we’ve been reporting for months that after the gravity building is fully enclosed and canopy installed, TRON Lightcycle Run construction will pause until at least the next fiscal year starts in October 2021. Given this story and that the building has been sealed with walls around the roller coaster track opening, a pause on the project in the near future now seems highly likely.
That article also indicates that Moana’s Journey of Water will “probably open after 2021.” The big story here is not that the walk-through trail and interactive water feature is delayed until next year (it never even had an opening date/year/season before), but that it hasn’t been cancelled.
In recent weeks, we’ve observed demolition work resume on the Innoventions building that Moana’s Journey of Water will replace, after months of nothing happening with it.
In general, it appears that work has gained momentum on EPCOT’s Central Spine project.
We’ve noticed a lot more construction equipment between the Innoventions buildings, and crews have been actively working–even over the holidays.
New staging tents have popped up, and crews can be seen working on the old MouseGear and Electric Umbrella buildings.
In fact, construction teams have installed floor-to-ceiling windows on the exterior of MouseGear. The interior is still totally gutted (and you can see through the building if walking back by Test Track), but this would seem to bode well for MouseGear hitting its target reopening of late 2021. Having just a little less construction in Future World would certainly be nice.
As reported earlier this week in our 2021 Park Hopping Guide to Walt Disney World, we’ve had the chance to ride the Skyliner several times this year between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, being treated to views of a completed Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Streets of Paris area in the process.
While no opening date has been set for this expansion or attraction, as we discuss in our Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Opening & Info post, it could debut literally whenever. It’s all about what’s most advantageous for Walt Disney World at this point. Hopefully that means soft openings this spring, even if the grand opening doesn’t happen until summer.
It’s not exactly construction news, but the refurbishment of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover has been extended through the end of this month. While we don’t think that’s actually the end date for the ride closure, it’s been reassuring to see maintenance teams actively working on the track, and doing push tests on the ride vehicles. It’d be a tragedy for the PeopleMover to be abandoned in Florida, too.
In more positive news, after being closed for five days of unscheduled maintenance to start 2021, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith has once again been operational at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the last two days.
Next, in addition to the Up to 35% Off Walt Disney World Hotels in Spring & Summer 2021 and Two New 2021 Walt Disney World Ticket Deals released this week, another discount has quietly dropped–albeit a less exciting one on Memory Maker One Day and Advance Purchase.
For a limited time, you can get two full days of PhotoPass photos and videos for the price of one when you activate Memory Maker One Day now through March 11, 2021.
Additionally, any activated Memory Maker purchase from now through May 19, 2021, will receive a free photo and video expiration extension through June 18, 2021. (As opposed to the standard 30-day window.) Other terms and conditions are on Disney’s Memory Maker purchase page.
On a related note, Sarah and I have been “collecting” PhotoPass shots since Walt Disney World reopened, as there initially were some questions about whether Memory Maker is still worth the money right now. Those inquiries have since fizzled out, but we’re nonetheless curious if there’s interest in such a post. Fair warning: many of the photos involve awkward poses, there’s a ton of us and Olaf for some reason (seriously, he’s everywhere), and a bunch of weird “mask to mask” photos.
Next, the newest bakery has opened at Disney Springs with the debut of Everglazed Donuts and Cold Brew.
This shop is located between Splitsville and the AMC Theater in the former home of Pop Gallery near the exit of Orange Garage on the West Side of Disney Springs.
Everglazed just released their official menu, and it’s shockingly extensive (perhaps “bakery” isn’t quite apt) and expensive, with an array of gourmet donuts, plus sandwiches, fries, flavored milks, cold brew, spiked coffee, and beers.
We’ll review Everglazed in the next week or so. I probably first should publish our draft Voodoo Doughnuts review that I’ve left unfinished for months so I have an excuse to keep ordering more there “for the sake of research.” I’m a sucker for doughnuts, and am really looking forward to giving Everglazed a try!
In a bit of a housekeeping note, we’ve been neglecting our “duty” the last couple of weeks, but Walt Disney World has posted more hours to the calendar on DisneyWorld.com through March 20, 2021. Added hours are the same for all dates:
- Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 6 pm
- EPCOT: 11 am to 7 pm
- Hollywood Studios: 10 am to 7 pm
- Animal Kingdom: 9 am to 5 pm
When it comes to these hours, note that Walt Disney World has returned to its normal, pre-closure practice of releasing boilerplate hours “far” in advance. Those hours are then later extended based on attendance and hotel occupancy projections closer to the dates.
In addition to this, Walt Disney World has extended hours for January 10-23, 2021. Now, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT are staying open an hour later, while Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are opening an hour earlier each of those dates.
Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s nice to see extensions–especially since crowds most definitely justify the longer hours thus far in January 2021.
Finally, two insiders are reporting on wdwmagic that Walt Disney World has increased park attendance limits from 35% to 40% of full capacity. This reportedly changed on January 1, and was part of the Park Hopping rollout.
Additionally, all four parks now allow same-day reservations beginning in the afternoon at around 1:30 pm, regardless of what the Disney Park Pass calendar indicates in terms of availability. Even before this unpublished policy change, we’ve found this often to be the case with afternoon availability when the Disney Park Pass calendar showed a park as fully booked.
Anecdotally, we’ve noticed higher “feels like” crowds in the parks this week (even as several attractions have had efficiency improvements), so the capacity increase to 40% wouldn’t surprise us. To the contrary, it would be more surprising if capacity caps have not been increased at Walt Disney World.
Prior to the holiday season, CEO Bob Chapek announced that Walt Disney World increased capacity from 25% to 35%. Even before that, we stated that data from fully booked days over the course of the previous months indicated a capacity increase had already occurred prior to the official announcement. We suspect the same is true here. Disney will discuss fiscal first quarter 2021 financial results on February 11, so perhaps we’ll get official confirmation during that webcast…who knows, the parks might be up to 45% or 50% in another month!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on any of this Walt Disney World news? If you’ve been in the parks since Park Hopping returned, have you noticed heavier “feels like” crowd levels? Thoughts on the construction progress and pausing at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Wilderness Lodge? Excited to try Everglazed, or does it look overpriced/uninteresting to you? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m happy that signs point to the central spine redesign in Epcot moving forward. I was concerned that it would be cancelled and replaced with a slap-dash cost-saving alternative.
I just realized that your photos with Olaf probably represent you shivering in proximity to his coldness as opposed to getting all gangsta up in this.
I’m afraid that’s exactly what it will be. The Central Spine project and death of Future World or as I like to call it, Project Suck, was a massive destruction of what remains of the classic Epcot Center. I agree that things must eventually change over time, but so much has been left to rot or cheapened out that it’s a huge disappointment form the glory of the 80s and early 90s. Moana’s JOW will be pretty cool if they put any effort into it at all and while unorthodox, I was looking forward to the 3 level festivus park pavilion as a Guest, former CM, and a structural engineer. But now that’s canceled and I’m really concerned we’ll end up with a vast paved wasteland like the over-expanded Hub in MK.
The “quietly” (in other words, secretly) increasing capacity leaves a bad taste. I feel like Disney is being deceptive raising park capacity and not telling the public until after the fact. Current capacity limits should be known to us, just like park hours and other health protocols. We were there last week of December into Jan and knew capacity would be full. It was a great trip, masks were reasonable, it sometimes felt too crowded but still manageable. I agree with everything Mickey1928 said. However we won’t go back until things are truly safe, since I’ve lost trust in Disney to be transparent. I appreciate all your trip reports!
I’m writing this in regards to raising park capacity
I’ve been to Disney three times since re-opening. The first time was the first two weeks in August.
It was great. Very safe and the low crowds made it tremendous fun. We stayed at the Carribean as it has a lovely pool which was important since the water parks were closed.
The next time was 9 days from Dec 3rd with one of my sons
and his family. Crowds a bit larger, still very safe, still fun.
The thrid time was Dec 24th to Jan 1st. Very large crowds which was to be expected due to the holidays BUT because there’s still limited entertainment and limited space on those attractions that are open there was a new problem. Lines with careless people.
Disney is very safe BUT you will have to fend for yourself while waiting in those long lines. People aren’t nasty or selfish BUT they are sometimes oblivious to the well defined lines that seperate each party. No one ever becamse nasty or beligerent when asked to please keep back 6 feet. There was one couple who were a bit upset when we wouldn’t let them into the elevator with us but there are signs up about that too. They probably hadn’t noticed it.
I love that they’re doing afternoon park hopping (which will greatly add to dining). I understand why they are going to 40% but with the experiences from this past year I may drop our late 2021 August trip and postpone till more entertainment opens up and perhaps masks can be lowered for photos. I have no problem wearing the mask but looking back at all our photos they really do look awful.
We don’t just go for the parks and rides so we don’t need as much as families with young children but the simple fact is there’s still quite a bit missing for the money and larger crowds with less places to put them increases that “feels like” aspect.
If they are going to let more people in than they have to have more places to put them. I’m not sold that longer park hours and park hopping will solve that.
For instance they’ve got to make use of those two large stage areas at HS. They’ve go to get the people mover up and the Train and Steamboat running, etc.
Should you go? Keep reading Tom’s blogs, they are honest and will give you everything you need to decide for yourself. You’ll also learn a lot from the readers responses.
My own recommendations? Stay where you can use the Skyliner. It’s terrific. If you get a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance buy a lottrery ticket too.
Last thing, A Night of a Million Lights was something I learned about from Tom and it was as great as anythig we did at Disney. Thank you for that bit of advice. It was Gold.
Glad you’ve had good visits and thank you for taking the time to thoroughly share you experiences, good and bad. Should be helpful to others! 🙂
I’ve been visiting about monthly since reopening and I’ve seen each visit get more and more crowded. I would absolutely believe capacity is up to 40% now (we were last there on Saturday). I also think with all the distancing in lines the crowds feel worse than they are – without distancing we wouldn’t be seeing all the people in most of these lines. If they’re going to continue to increase capacity they need to figure out something with the crowds. Its time to figure out how to get some more of the shows and other people eaters open.
Great update! When do you think Splash Mountain will go down for the big makeover?
Hopefully never! My wish is for a new bayou-French Quarter area at eh MK instead, with an awesome new Nawlins-themed restaurant and a new Tiana ride…
An increase of 40% capacity with no fast pass? Yeah I don’t think so. It sucks because I renewed my AP right as things shut down, decided not to get a refund bc the parks were empty in the beginning. Now it’s a horrible hassle to go with insane lines, plus you have to wear the mask. No thanks Disney.
40 percent capacity with the parks as crowded as they are? Who believes this nonsense?
Would love to see a Memory Maker report. It’s even helpful to those of us who have annual passes and want to see the latest offerings.
Also great idea about removing the speaking role for the current president at Hall of Presidents. Just too controversial
Current office holder, current president?
Really?
I’m sure Tom means going forward with all future Presidents to come and not for just these last two weeks.
I agree it would be wise to use a few from the past that hold no baggage like a Lincoln who, incidently, was a Walt Disney favorite.
Yeah, seems Tom has gotten a little too political this year for my tastes. I’ll be getting my Disney park info elsewhere.
Not sure how that’s at all political.
To clarify, I’m suggesting that Biden and every sitting president thereafter–regardless of party, ideology, etc–not having a speaking role. It has been controversial since it started in 1993 with Clinton, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.
If that doesn’t happen, sooner or later Disney will just abandon the Hall of Presidents concept, because it’s not worth the headache, hassles, and (negative) headlines for an attraction that is not particularly popular.
The current president always has a speaking part and that’s been true for some time–it’s been true since I moved to the area during George W Bush’s presidency. It’s been controversial since they started doing that. I think they should stop; it’s too divisive. Just have the animatronic of whoever the current president is without speaking. Use historic presidents like Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Kennedy for speaking parts instead.
Do yo think Splash Moutain will be closing anytime soon? For the retheming….
40% capacity is getting pretty close to “normal attendance” — As normal attendance is about 60% of capacity on average. Normal January attendance is probably closer to the 50% range.
Operational capacity increases are mostly greater ride efficiency — Plexiglass allowing more rows to fill, etc.
But “feels like crowds” could get beyond nightmarish if attendance actually starts to his that 40% number (of they increase it to 50% by Spring) without much greater operational capacity being restored: More dining experiences, shows/entertainment/parades, character meets (though I expect this to be among the last things to return), longer park hours.
….. Other than the rather meaningless restoration of the Electronic Water Parade, we haven’t seen much being restored. Will that start to change as they start increasing the attendance cap? Any rumors of re-hiring plans for equity staff?
Bite yer tongue, heathen! The Electric Water Pageant is awesome! Yeah, I ‘d rather see massive pyrotechnics but the floats are cool. Looking forward to seeing something from our lake view room at BLT!
Will surely comment about crowds when we go in 8 days. Wish us luck!
I’d be interested in your take on Photo Pass and Memory Maker. Worth it with mandatory masks?
I’d love to see the intro to Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster be updated. Waiting in the lobby and seeing them so young looking, I’m sure they could do something more up to date and be a bit more enjoyable for those waiting. 🙂 Just my .02
Might the increased capacity open up some dining availability?
I guess no more progress on Guardians of the Galaxy?
Great update! When do you think Splash Mountain will go down for the big makeover?
My guess would be sometime after the 50th Anniversary celebration–likely in 2022 or 2023, if it happens at all in Florida.
I might be confused on this, but where would the extra people be coming from in regards to the increased capacity? It doesn’t seem like they’re booking as many hotel rooms as they want to, and there aren’t any new APs. December travel seemed healthy, but I can’t imagine that they’ll get near the same level in January and Feb (though 2019-2020 crowds did skew that metric). Would this be in anticipation of spring crowds, or is it just because they CAN keep increasing in an effort to return to normal?
At some point–likely within the next week–they won’t be hitting 40%. It’s just the upper limit they’ll allow the parks to reach, and will be relevant MLK Day weekend and some other dates.
I’m actually surprised attendance levels have increased to the point they have without new APs, with all of the cuts, and low hotel occupancy.
I’m pretty surprised too! The attraction for me at DW is that it’s the safest ‘entertainment’ around the US that is open right now…but that also puts me in the group most hesitant to get on a plane. (I work for an Aerospace company, I know the plane itself is safe…but after being shoved into a closed-end terminal with six planes departing at once in November and people eating food everywhere? I am terrified of airports.)
These two opposing ‘forces’ seem like they should be pushing lower attendance: desire for safe fun among the group least likely to risk traveling, vs desire to not be at parks while masks are a requirement among those who would take the risk. With so many AP-holders seeming to cancel back in September, I just can’t figure it out. WHO is going to Disney World right now enough to drive this attendance?
Maggie, you make such good points. I fall into the category of wanting to travel (with young kids) and feeling Disney is a very safe option. However, it’s our home-state’s mandatory quarantine rules (in addition to the airport point that you made) that is keeping us from booking anything now. I do have friends and relatives that live in states near Florida, and drove to Disney over the holidays. Maybe the lack of “safe” options pushed a higher number of those visitors to the parks over the holidays? Tom, I really enjoy your updates because they provide facts and generate reader feedback that help me make my future travel plans. We’re hoping for November of this year, but there’s so many unknown variables. Thanks so much!
I’m a little worried about “attendance creep”. What’s the tipping point where the parks just feel too crowded without any mitigation by Disney (ie, FP+, more shows, etc)?
Also, I REALLY hope the PeopleMover is up and running in the near future. I would be saddened if it didn’t reopen, though I am encouraged by news of actual construction happening there.
“What’s the tipping point where the parks just feel too crowded without any mitigation by Disney (ie, FP+, more shows, etc)?”
Personally, I think that tipping point was reached in November of last year.
This is my current question. What’s the magic number for them to reinstate fast pass? I understand social distancing but those ride queues can be reworked to it not having the two lines next to each other and plexiglass is up is it not? We go in two weeks so I’m hoping that the lines aren’t completely unbearable.
@Leigh: I wouldn’t expect Fastpass to be fully reinstated until physical distancing requirements can be relaxed. Fastpass, by its very existence, makes standby lines longer. Due to physical distancing, queues are already filling walkways in some areas of the parks. Adding fastpass back into the mix would make these lines even longer, and make walkway congestion even worse.
Until the standby queues can once again hold the number of people they were designed to hold (“filling all available space”), don’t expect Disney to let people cut in front of those lines and make them longer.
I agree with Tom, we are past it.
I just would like to see annual passes for us Floridians.
They need to open up more seats in the theater seating in the shows. Like let people fill in all the available seats in the row except leave one empty between them and the next party and still leave an empty row. If they can increase the number of people in the park, they should be able to increase the number of people in the seats. Right now it’s only about 1/4 of the seating available for each show.
As for the Everglazed, are they really that good? Even Dunkin’ doesn’t charge $4.50 per doughnut. I can get a lot of glazed doughnuts for $4.50. Of course, they have to pay their Disney rent at Disney Springs.
Agreed on more seating for theater shows–and regular attractions, for that matter. My baseline for all of this is indoor dining–if that’s an acceptable risk level (and it is, since Disney is doing it) everything up to that point should be, as well. People can skip the things that make them uncomfortable–that’s what we do!
As for Everglazed pricing, it’s noticeably higher than even Voodoo Doughnuts. I’m guessing it’s a combination of Disney Springs rent and a price floor on snacks at Walt Disney World–the company doesn’t want anything being too inexpensive, even a cheap product like doughnuts!
They have a great cinnamon roll at Gaston’s. It’s huge and o my $4!
Lassie: That cinnamon roll at Gaston’s is only good if you are desperate. When we had it, it was dry as dust, even with tons of icing on top. No flavor other than cinnamon and sweet. Needed more shortening in the dough.
So, do you think the Hall of Presidents will be closed for a while?
Yeah, how long is the big question.
If Hall of Presidents is going to remain, I’d love to see the speaking role for the current president removed. It has been controversial since it was added, and that is unlikely to change in the coming decades. Ideally, Disney would’ve announced this before the most recent election to avoid the perception of bias, but it would still be a wise move.
Agreed on eliminating the speaking role for the current officeholder. Having Washington, Lincoln, and maybe Roosevelt or Kennedy is fine, but not the current president.
@Tom: Agreed, time to retire the current President’s speaking role. Alan Dalinka had a great mini op-ed about how we enter the Magic Kingdom by walking under the iconic “here you leave today…” signs. Regardless of how you’ve felt about the then-current president over the last 28 years, listening to a speech from him pulled you right back into “today.” This is contrary to the whole point of the MK and HoP.
We’ve had two speaking presidents from each party, so the score is “even,” and now is the perfect time to revert to the pre-1993 approach.
ALL THAT SAID, I would have been very surprised if Disney had made any announcements to that effect last fall, with an incumbent running for re-election. Announcing that the attraction was going to change *whether or not* the president changed would have appeared very biased, and amounted to a pledge to silence you-know-who. It would only be safe to make that sort of pre-commitment in election cycles where we know there will be a new POTUS.
I understand for many Disney represents a “feel good” experience. They are energized and their spirits are buoyed from all things Disney.
However, that’s a simple-minded viewpoint that fails to acknowledge the severity of the COVID crisis. Disney locales are a super-spreader, because of lines, rides, common areas, and people whose minds aren’t focused on anything but having fun. I’m with them in spirit!
If there is an end to our social suffering, it requires compliance for behaviors that lessen the spread of the disease.
Legal challenges cannot disregard the disease or its impact. It’s a reality, it’s infectious, and our efforts contribute significantly to ending this dark period. We have a vaccine, and we have the guidelines that support public health. Let’s work together
Rod: You are more than welcome to stay home if you think it’s a problem at WDW. IF they were the super spreader you claim they are, it would be in the news. It doesn’t appear to be that bad in Florida, hospitalizations and deaths are still lower in Florida than other states, especially if most of the guests at WDW are closer to WDW, like locals to Orlando, Florida residents and other nearby states.
Where masks and lockdowns have been mandated, those numbers still seem to climb. ICU bed vacancies are fairly normal for this time of year (ICUs were never meant to have empty beds). When you look at graphs of states with mandates and states without mandates on masks and lockdowns, the graphs are nearly identical, except the states without mandates have fewer hospitalizations, cases and deaths.
I agree on ending speaking roles of more recent presidents. It was bad enough hearing the last one and (still) current one in everyday life. HOP is about our history and the legacy of the events which shaped the world. Kennedy at least got the Apollo program the boost we needed. Since then, the only really superb thing I could think of would be President Reagan telling Gorbachev to ditch the Berlin Wall (and symbolically many other things) which led to healing Europe from the great divide after the war. President Nixon going to China was huge, but I don’t recall any great HOP-worthy speech lines from that and many feel he was not a good president.
Walt wanted to install pride in young people for our great nation. He was shaped by his father’s mistaken political ideals, and firmly believed in this nation. HOP was born from that. People have become too partisan in recent years and having a sitting president fosters discord, where Walt envisioned a park where all families could spend time together, free of this kind of thing.
Rod, stay home if you like. I’m going ‘home’ in 8 days. Haven’t been there since September and I’m looking forward to cooler weather for mask wearing.