Disneyland Resort Update for May 17-23, 2021

Disneyland Resort Update for May 17–23, 2021

News and Views

Reservations open this week for Napa Rose, Blue Bayou and more

Online reservations open this Tuesday, May 18 for several popular dining options at the Disneyland Resort, including Napa Rose, Blue Bayou, and more.

Depending on when you read last week's Resort Update, this may be old news to you—but for those who read it last Monday before we had these additional details, here's a recap:

• At Disneyland, the fan-favorite Blue Bayou restaurant will reopen on May 27.
• At Disney California Adventure the Alfresco Tasting Terrace reopens on May 20, but is reserved exclusively for Disneyland Legacy Passholders.
• At Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Napa Rose and Storyteller's Cafe will reopen for table service dining to all guests on May 28. The Craftsman Bar will also open to non-hotel guests as of May 28, and will now accept reservations.
• Online reservations for all of these locations begin May 18.
• Storyteller's Cafe will offer breakfast and dinner, served as “three-course meals” instead of buffet style. Character dining is currently on hold, so don't expect Mickey and friends to join you for breakfast.
• At Napa Rose, Disney says both the prix fixe Vintner Menu and the a la carte menu will be offered, but the popular chef's counter and the Napa Rose Lounge will reopen at a later date. As with other character dining, the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure is still not available.

Orange County to enter yellow tier

[Updated 5/18/2021]

A week after neighboring Los Angeles County moved into the yellow, or least restrictive, tier of the state's Blueprint last week, Orange County has met the criteria to follow suit as soon as Wednesday, May 19. 

The California Department of Public Health announced the tier change on Tuesday. The climb into the yellow tier allows Orange County bars to reopen for indoor service, permits movie theaters and baseball stadiums to further increase capacity, and means Disneyland and Disney California Adventure may increase their attendance from 25% to 35% of the parks' normal capacity.

Disney officials would not say how quickly they might move to increase capacity, saying only, “We continue to work with California and local health officials, and follow their overall guidance, as we implement our health and safety plans and protocols.”

However, it was clear that something had changed on Tuesday, as park reservations became available for days which on Sunday were marked as unavailable.

No change in Disneyland's mask policy

Walt Disney World made big news last Friday when the Florida resort dropped its requirement for guests to wear face coverings outdoors in most circumstances. As news of the change in Florida spread, the Disneyland Resort was quick to issue an update saying there was no similar change for the California theme parks at this time:

“Disneyland Resort’s current guidelines, which require all guests (ages 2 and older) and Cast Members to wear face coverings, remain in effect until further notice. Policies will be evaluated in accordance with state and local recommendations as soon as guidance is released.”

The new policy in effect at Walt Disney World only states that face coverings for guests are optional in outdoor common areas throughout the Resort. The main exception is that guests must wear face coverings while in line for an attraction, starting at the entrance of the attraction and all the way to the exit, even if the queue is outdoors. This also applies to resort transportation and theater attractions.

Visitors to Disneyland must still wear a mask at all times unless eating or drinking in designated location. Photo (c) Disney.

Face coverings are still required for all guests ages 2 and up while indoors, including stores and restaurants, except when the guest is actively eating or drinking while stationary.

Walt Disney World is also gradually reducing physical distancing in theaters, attractions and transportation, but says six-foot distancing is still in place at all dining locations and merchandise locations.

There are no changes to the policies for Walt Disney World cast members, who must still wear face coverings and maintain physical distancing at all times.

Walt Disney World made their announcement a day after the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines for the use of face coverings in public. The state of Florida was one of the first to drop masking requirements, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also prohibited businesses from requesting proof of vaccination from their customers.

California meanwhile is still under a statewide mask order, although California governor Gavin Newsom said last Friday that updated guidelines would be released in light of the new CDC guidance.

Indiana Jones Adventure testing virtual queue

The wait for the popular Indiana Jones Adventure may be a bit easier during your next visit to Disneyland.

Last week, Disneyland began testing the virtual queue system for the Indiana Jones Adventure, hoping to help ease congestion in Adventureland. The attraction can usually accommodate hundreds of people in an elaborately themed indoor queue, well away from the walkways in Adventureland. Due to California's COVID guidelines for theme parks, indoor queues can't be used, and Indy doesn't really have room for a large, physically distanced outdoor queue. The result has been some pinch points in Adventureland, an area that Disney already heavily modified to improve traffic flow before Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened in 2019.

This movie prop is located in the small outdoor queue for the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction. MousePlanet file photo.

Adapting the virtual queue system used for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction, Disneyland will allow park visitors to join a virtual queue for the Indiana Jones Adventure, and claim a place in a boarding group. This is just a temporary test, and will function a bit differently than the Rise of the Resistance version.

For starters, the virtual queue may be deployed at any time during the day, but will not necessarily be offered everyday or all day. Disney says they noticed an opportunity to alleviate the potential for pinch points in the area in front of this attraction at certain times of the day, and will deploy the system as appropriate.

This means there is no set time to try to get into a boarding group as there is for Rise of the Resistance. Park visitors should check the Disneyland smartphone app when they want to ride Indiana Jones Adventure to see if the virtual queue is in use. If so, they can join the virtual queue right from their phones. If not, they can join the regular standby line at the attraction.

Visitors are allowed to enter a boarding group for both Indiana Jones Adventure and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance on the same day, subject to availability. However, unlike the Rise of the Resistance virtual queue, visitors must have used their theme park ticket to enter Disneyland park before joining the virtual queue for Indiana Jones Adventure.

In both cases, riders can only join the virtual queue for each attraction once per day.

Park reservations in flux

Last week saw some big swings in the availability of theme park reservations at the Disneyland Resort, which left readers wondering just what was going on.

Twitter user @FLNicolie alerted us last Monday morning that Disney had just opened up new reservations slots for most of June at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Where on Monday morning both theme parks showed as being booked solid for the first nine days after Avengers Campus opens, by Monday afternoon there was full availability at both parks.

There was a similar change with Memorial Day weekend availability. We speculated that Disney had released additional inventory in anticipation of Orange County entering yellow tier at the end of May, but a Disney representative said that wasn't the case at all.

We shared the news about the added reservations slots via our Twitter and Facebook accounts last Monday, saying we didn't think they'd last very long. Sure enough, as of press time there are very few reservations available for one-park-per-day ticket guests through the end of June, with Disneyland showing as sold out through July 4.

For guests with park hopper tickets, both Disneyland and DCA are showing as fully booked through June 17.

However, if last week was any indication, Disney may adjust inventory at any time, so keep checking back.

This and That…

…We shared last week that the Grand Californian Hotel gate into Disney California Adventure will reopen on May 28. Disney confirms that gate will be available to non-hotel guests who hold a reservation at a Grand Californian Hotel restaurant to enter the hotel from DCA, rather than walking around.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter contains a recap of the week's articles (in case you miss a day), news that may have developed since the weekly Updates were published, and tips for keeping the Disney magic going at home. We'll also include a fun bonus, such as an Eye Spy or a trivia question. To subscribe to our free newsletter, just enter your email in the box below.

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Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Attraction, restaurants, and stores that are closed for refurbishment are noted below. All other closures should be presumed to be due to COVID protocols, and are subject to change at any time without notice as the state of California issues new guidance.

All information was current as of this article's publication date. MousePlanet does not edit past Updates; for the most up-to-date refurbishment calendar, check the most recent Disneyland Resort Update, visit Disneyland.com or use the Disneyland smartphone application on your iOS or Android device.

View the different areas of the Resort by scrolling horizontally and selecting the one you want to read about.

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Resort Events

Check here to see if a large convention, competition, or park event might fall during your next trip to the Disneyland Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail.

New! Just click the year you want to expand (or close).

2021-2022

We also recommend checking the convention calendar at the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau website. When looking at that site, remember to note both the number of people and the number of rooms resulting from each convention. A gathering of 25,000 people booking few room nights (indicating most will be driving in to the area for their meeting) can impact traffic around the resort much more than a crowd of 25,000 staying in area hotels. Of course, that second group is going to make finding a hotel room more difficult (and possibly more expensive), so it's best to book your own room as early as possible if you see that a big convention is in town during your trip.

Non-Disney Resort Events

Notable events at parks and attractions around Southern California. If you know of an event that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail.

Current Discounts and Promotions

Disneyland prices as of February, 2020.

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Disneyland Resort Update. Several current promotions offer discounted admission to the Disneyland Resort. For your convenience, we have grouped the discount offers based on the number of days the tickets are valid. Check out the category that best matches the amount of time you plan to spend at the resort, and pick the offer that works best for you. And keep those tips coming—let us know if you find a better or different offer, so we can share it with other readers!

This first section is a list of discounts on ticket-only purchases. Though it has become more common in recent years, Disneyland tickets are rarely offered at deep discounts unless you are a resident of Southern California or Northern Mexico. For residents outside that area, the best discounts available tend to be simple advance purchase discounts. If you know of any additional discounts, offers, promotions, or contests that should be listed in this section, drop us a line. Note, we are no longer listing offers from the Anaheim-Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, as their convenience fee negates any savings.

Don't get scammed! Never buy tickets from an unofficial or secondary outlet, such as through eBay or Craigslist. Never rent or purchase tickets from people approaching you outside the gates stating they have remaining days or leftover tickets. This practice is against the terms of use for Disneyland admission, and may result in denial of entry. It is also common for criminals to shoplift inactivated Disney theme park tickets from supermarkets to resell them. There is no way to determine if these tickets are valid until you try to use them to enter the parks. Only purchase Disney theme park tickets directly from Disney, an authorized seller, or travel agency like MousePlanet travel partner Get Away Today.

Ticket Prices and Promotions

New! Just click the number of days or ticket type you want to view.

Additional Discounts

Did we miss an offer? If you know of an authorized discount on Disneyland Resort tickets, standing offers for Annual Passholders from non-Disney vendors, or other promotions which might interest our readers, please drop us a note!

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Everyone

Legacy Annual Passholders

Disney Rewards VISA Credit Card Holders

Southern California Residents

Disney Vacation Club Members

Service Members

Hotel & Travel Packages

If you can't see the categories, please let us know!

Park Schedule/Blockout Dates

• DL – Disneyland
• DCA – Disney California Adventure

Early Admission – full description available on the Disneyland website:

• MM – Magic Mornings for 3-plus day ticket holders and promotional “bonus” tickets. (Not currently offered)
• EMH – Extra Magic Hour for Disneyland Resort Hotel Guests. (Not currently offered)

Disneyland Resort Special Events:

• F&W – Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
• GN – Grad Nite.
• OBB – Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure

The Ticket Tier calendar is published on the Disneyland website for the next eight to 11 months.

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