Disney World News: 50th Dining Experience, Harmonious Preview, Job Fair

Lots of news this with, so we’re here with a “surprise” Walt Disney World news & rumor roundup. This one offers another sneak peek at Harmonious, special 50th Anniversary dining experience, Destination D schedule, the last piece of Cinderella Castle’s Royal Makeover, and more.

While there’s a lot of hot off the presses Walt Disney World news, we’ll start with the latest release of new and extended operating hours, which just missed making the cut for our last update. All four theme parks have had hours for another week added to the DisneyWorld.com park hours calendar. These hours now run through October 9, 2021. Here are the hours for most dates within that week:

• Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 9 pm*
• EPCOT: 11 am to 9 pm
• Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 9 pm
• Animal Kingdom: 8 am to 7 pm
• Blizzard Beach: 11 am to 6 pm
• Disney Springs: 10 am to 11 pm (11:30 pm on Fridays & Saturdays)

*Magic Kingdom closes at 8:30 pm on Disney After Hours Boo Bash nights that are after September 5. That event runs from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am up until that date, and from 9 pm until midnight after that date.

Additionally, there are some extensions to Walt Disney World’s park hours in August:

Magic Kingdom

• August 2-7: New park hours are 8 am until 10 pm (previously 9 am opening time)
• August 13: New park hours are 8 am until 9 pm (previously 9 am opening time)
• August 14: New park hours are 8 am until 6 pm (previously 9 am opening time)

Epcot

• August 7 & 14: New park hours are 10 am until 10 pm (previously 11 am opening time)
• September 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26: New park hours are 11 am to 10 pm (previously 9 pm closing time)

Animal Kingdom

• August 7, 14: New park hours are 8 am to 8 pm (previously 7 pm closing time)

These extensions–and more–are very much needed right now. In particular, Magic Kingdom and Epcot should both have daily opening times of 8 am and 9 am, respectively. Two days with Epcot opening at 10 am is a start–hopefully the rest of the calendar follows suit shortly.

In related news, Magic Kingdom will gradually move forward the time of Happily Ever After in August and September due to a phenomenon known, technically, as “earlier sunset.” Currently and through August 9, Happily Ever After is shown at 9:15 pm.

August 10 through September 6, it falls forward to 8:45 pm. On September 7 through the remainder of its run, Happily Ever After will be shown at 8:15 pm. As a reminder, Happily Ever After is ending “permanently” on September 29, 2021.

In order to continue extending park hours, reopening restaurants, and operating locations at higher capacity levels, Walt Disney World still needs to hire thousands of Cast Members. Literally.

As Walt Disney World prepares for its 50th Anniversary and the World’s Most Magical Celebration, the company is hosting an online job fair with the intent of hiring thousands of employees for a variety of positions. A variety of jobs at are available with starting wages ranging from $14 to $19 per hour, including culinary, food & beverage, housekeeping, custodial, and more.

A message on Walt Disney World’s job fair website states: “We’re hiring for a variety of roles across our parks and resorts! From Culinary and Quick Service to Housekeeping and Custodial, you could be part of a team that brings one-of-a-kind experiences to life for guests of all ages.

“Looking for a little extra magic? We’re currently offering a $1,000 hiring bonus for full-time and part-time housekeeping positions and select culinary roles.”

We have seen a barrage of “now hiring” advertisements in the Orlando market for the last few months, but Walt Disney World is starting to get more aggressive with only a couple of months to go until the 50th Anniversary. In the last few days, there have been segments on the local nightly news and Walt Disney World has even started to promote job openings on its social media accounts.

The online hiring event site also offers info on pay, healthcare coverage, tuition assistance, and child care support. You can find full details and apply for open positions now through July 31 on Walt Disney World’s job fair site.

Next, we have refill to Disney Park Pass reservations for October 1, 2021 at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Reservations have been replenished for on-site resort guests and regular theme park ticket holders.

The same thing happened last week, and we wrote an overly long article with additional info and strategy for making Disney Park Pass reservations. It’s a decent thing to skim if you want some (subject-to-change) advice on how to tackle Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, in particular.

While we’re on the topic of Disney Park Pass reservations, Magic Kingdom is starting to fill up for the week of Thanksgiving (November 21-27, 2021) for ticket holders and on-site resort guests.

It’s still very early and these reservations will undoubtedly be replenished a half-dozen times between now and then, this should be a “sneak peek” at what’s anticipated to be a high level of attendance for that week and many others during the holiday season. As discussed in our recently-updated 2021-2022 Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World, we’re expecting the last three months of the year to be among the busiest ever.

Those who make Disney Park Pass reservations for Epcot on October 1, 2021 will be treated to the debut showing of Harmonious on World Showcase Lagoon. Walt Disney World has released another new photo and video of the nighttime spectacular, plus a show synopsis.

Harmonious moves through three distinct chapters, inviting us to gather on the shores of World Showcase Lagoon, celebrate the countries and cultures of the world, and ultimately unite to create a bright tomorrow.

“Harmonious” begins with a sunrise, and as the world awakens around us, we set out on a journey that takes us across the globe. It’s a dazzling and diverse feast for the eyes and ears, from the South Pacific home of “Moana” and a Middle-Eastern interpretation of “Aladdin” to “The Jungle Book” in India, China’s legend of “Mulan,” the European nations that inspired “Brave” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and more.

Above is a first look at how Harmonious is coming together, as teams from Disney Live Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering continue working to get “Harmonious” ready for opening night of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.

Speaking of the World’s Most Magical Celebration, a banner has appeared at the top of the California Grill page on DisneyWorld.com with the following message: “California Grill is currently unavailable for bookings after October 2 as we create a special dining experience for the 50th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World Resort.”

Color us intrigued. We will almost certainly do this for the sake of research, pending pricing and other details. Whatever it is, I’d expect it to be over $100 per person. That’s about the minimum for Walt Disney World to justify converting a popular Signature Restaurant into something else. It would not surprise me in the least if it’s significantly more expensive than $100 per person, but that will largely depend upon what it ends up being.

Continuing with news related to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, D23 has released a schedule for Destination D23 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which happens November 19—21, 2021.

Additionally, tickets will go on sale TOMORROW, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 1 p.m. EST / 10 a.m. PST. The Virtual Waiting Room will open at 1 p.m. EST / 10 a.m. PST.

We’ll be sitting out this Destination D, but not because it doesn’t look good–the schedule appears solid. Rather, it’s mostly because we can’t commit to those dates yet and (presumably) the event will sell out before we can.

We’ve done a number of D23 events (including Destination D for Walt Disney World’s 40th Anniversary) and have always had a great time. If you enjoy Disney history, they’re truly fascinating, with semi-candid commentary from retired Imagineers and Disney Legends.

If you’ve ever considered attending one of these, we’d encourage you to do it sooner rather than later. We’ve already lost some legendary Walt-era Imagineers in the past few years, and the window is closing on hearing some of them. This type of thing is not for everyone, but if the concept appeals to you or you’re on the fence, we’d encourage you to do either this or next year’s D23 Expo.

Finally, a look at the completed 50th Anniversary Cinderella Castle overlay:

For the World’s Most Magical Celebration, the Magic Kingdom park icon features 113 pieces of jabots & swag, blue bunting, golden swirls, and a 50th anniversary crest as part of its Royal Makeover. These items were installed gradually during overnight shifts this spring and early summer, and the nearly-finished look has been on display since around June.

The final piece of the puzzle was the large “50” medallion above Cinderella Castle’s balcony, which was installed over the weekend. So if you’re visiting ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary ahead of October, you’ll see the final product!

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

What do you think of this latest roundup of Walt Disney World news & rumors? Intrigued by the special dining experience coming to California Grill for the World’s Most Magical Celebration? Optimistic that the job fair will mean more returning by October? Do you like the 50 crest on Cinderella Castle? How does Harmonious look to you? Feedback or opinions on anything else covered here? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? 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 on-topic thoughts below in the comments!