Walt Disney World Resort Update for August 30 – September 6, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for August 30 – September 6, 2016

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News and Views

Disney World goes on the offensive in face of Zika scare | Star chef to craft menu for Planet Hollywood Observatory | PhotoPass find | Views around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Disney World goes on the offensive in face of Zika scare

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control issued new warnings regarding travel to two areas in Southern Florida in response to additional reported cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Though the two impacted areas are in Miami-Dade County, several hours south of Orlando, Walt Disney World has moved quickly to help ease fears visitors may have about travel anywhere in Florida.

On Sunday, Disney began a multi-pronged awareness campaign about “mosquito prevention,” posting signs at theme park entrances, and distributing flyers to drivers entering Walt Disney World theme park lots. The signs and flyers make no specific mention of the Zika virus, and share tips for preventing “any disease spread by mosqutoes.”

Starting this past Sunday, cast members working at the parking lot toll booths gave guests Mosquito Prevention fliers. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

In a step also taken by neighboring Universal Studios and Sea World resorts, Disney World also began offering complimentary insect repellent at locations around Walt Disney World. Several tables are set up inside each theme park, staffed with a guest relations cast member and stocked with spray cans of insect repellent.

Throughout the parks, Mosquito Prevention stations are available that include complimentary insect repellant. This one is located at Epcot's China pavilion near the bridge to the Outpost. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Throughout the parks, Mosquito Prevention stations provide complimentary insect repellant. This one is located next to Epcot's Italy pavilion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A Twitter user posted a photo of her room at Disney's Yacht Club Resort, in which Disney had placed one of the flyers and a complimentary can of mosquito repellant.

The Walt Disney World website is a bit more upfront about specifically mentioning the Zika virus, but makes no mention of West Nile virus. In a FAQ posted to the website, Disney says,

“In an abundance of caution, we are taking additional measures and preventative efforts throughout our property, including providing complimentary insect repellent for Guests and Cast Members. At this time, the Florida Department of Health has reported that there are no reported cases of active transmissions of the Zika virus in the Orlando area and counties surrounding Walt Disney World Resort.”

The FAQ goes on to suggest specific prevention tips, including covering strollers, carriers, and cribs with mosquito netting.

Star chef to craft menu for Planet Hollywood Observatory

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri will craft a portion of the menu for the Planet Hollywood Observatory restaurant currently under refurbishment in Disney Springs. The restaurant is scheduled to reopen this fall. In a press release, Fieri said, “I'm bringing a big time burger and sandwich menu with real deal flavors for everyone.”

PhotoPass find

Contributing photographer Alan Dalinka discovered something new to him this week during a visit to Epcot. Many of the photo booths are now part of Disney's PhotoPass service and photos taken in the booths can be linked to a PhotoPass account. You can still purchase a photo strip for $5.00 and have it printed at the kiosk, but this is a new way to add photo memories to your pass.

Many of the photo booths are now linked with Disney's PhotoPass service and their photos will appear in guests' PhotoPass accounts. Photo strips may be purchased at the photo booth for $5.00. This one is located in the gift shop of the Imagination pavilion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Photo booths that are part of the PhotoPass system have the familiar Mickey head MagicBand touch point along with a card scanner. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Views Around the World

Animal Kingdom

It appears that some of the trees have been cleared from between the Disney's Animal Kingdom's parking lot and the park's Pandora – The World of Avatar construction site, providing a view of additional details of the floating mountains. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A construction tarp blocks views of a construction crane parked near the base of the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The construction equipment and tarp at the base of the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom do not block views of the nighttime “awakenings” projection shows. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Hollywood Studios

A crane in the former backlot area of Disney's Hollywood Studios is visible from outside the park's front gate. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Echo Lake food kiosks have been removed from Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney's Hollywood Studios has begun removing the Streets of America facades. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The removal of parts of the former New York Street and San Francisco Street briefly provided a view of the remnants of the Lights Motors Action grandstands at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

By this past weekend, the Lights Motors Action grandstands at Disney's Hollywood Studios had been nearly completely razed. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

From World Drive, the removal of the Lights Motors Action grandstands and Streets of America now permits a view of the Muppet Vision 3D theater. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Muppet Vision 3D theater is now also visible from the steps of the Writer's Stop inside Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Even after the removal of one side of New York Street, some of the props still remained in place on the other side of the street. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This is one of the last views of the New York Street forced perspective flats before they are torn down. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

As the transformation of Pizza Planet into PizzeRizzo continues, a themed pizza sign now hangs from the building. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The under construction PizzeRizzo pizza restaurant now includes a profile of its namesake Muppet rat. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Construction continues at the future PizzeRizzo in the Muppets Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The exit of Muppet Vision 3D reveals very little of the construction of the future Toy Story and Star Wars Lands behind the wall. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Epcot

Like last year, a large area west of Innoventions in Future World will be used for Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kiosks. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

With just weeks until it starts, many of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival's kiosks are in place around the World Showcase promenade. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Fresh From Florida kiosk for this year's Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is located on the World Showcase promenade along the water, between Future World and the Odyssey building. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Located at the Outpost between China and Germany, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival's kiosk is very colorful. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Located at Italy, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival's kiosk includes the colors of the Italian Flag. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

At Germany, a Brewers Collection kiosk and a food kiosk flank the new performance stage. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Themed beverage taps stand near some of this year's Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kiosks. This one is near Canada. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Another Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kiosk stands closer to the Morocco pavilion along with themed beverage taps. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

…The “rolling refurbishment” of four Walt Disney World golf courses continues this week. Disney's Palm Golf Course is closed August 29 through September 4.

…We have one MousePlanet auction ending this week, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Team Muscle Makers for UCMD, an organization founded by MousePlanet readers Melissa Martin Mayorgas and Lonna Eshelman. Take a look at this week's listing, and we invite you to bookmark the team's eBay for Charity page to be notified when new items are added.

Saving Mr. Banks D23 preview “A Jolly Holiday to All” lithograph by Stacia Martin and four-postcard set.
Click HERE to bid on this item.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter is here! The 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 about what's happening at the Disney theme parks for the coming weekend. 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 e-mail in the box below.

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Crowd Forecast

Join Our Networks

MousePlanet

Resort Events

Check here to see if a park event might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail (link).

2016 Resort events

• Star Wars Experiences – Opened December 1, 2015
• Night of Joy – September 9 and 10
• 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival – September 14 through November 14, 2016.
• Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic – Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30.
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party –September – 2, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 29, 30; October – 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31
• D23's Sip & Scream – Wednesday, October 5. The event is sold out
• D23 Behind-the-Scenes Experience: A Midnight Soirée at the Tower of Terror – Wednesday, October 5. The event is sold out.
• “Jersey Week” – November 6–13. Expect larger crowds this week as New Jersey students and families take advantage of a Fall Break created by their school's participation in the New Jersey Teachers Convention.
• Dapper Day at Epcot (unofficial event) – Saturday, November 12, 2016. More information at the event website.
• Destination D – November 19-20, 2016. D23 Members are invited to join the excitement of D23 Destination D: Amazing Adventures, a celebration of Disney adventures of the past, present, and future. More details at the event website.
• Holidays at Walt Disney World – November 7 through December 31, 2016
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – November 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27, 29; December 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22
• Holidays Around the World at Epcot – November 25 through December 30, 2016
• Candlelight Processional at Epcot – November 25 through December 30, 2016
• MouseAdventure – Saturday, March 4, 2017

runDisney events

If you participate in (or are considering signing up for) runDisney events, visit our Team MousePlanet forum on the MousePad discussion board, where you can join our community of health-minded readers and staff.

2016

• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – November 3–5. All races are sold out, with the exception of the runDisney Kids races. Proof of time deadline has passed.

2017

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 4–8, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by October 4, 2016.
• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 24–26, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by November 15, 2016.
• Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side Weekend – April 20–23, 2017. Registration is now open. Proof of time must be submitted by January 17, 2017.

For current information on registration dates and capacity, see Lorree Tachell's runDisney Race Capacity Updates in the Team MousePlanet forum on our MousePad discussion board.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Events

Check here to see if a sporting competition might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. We don't list all events here, but focus on the larger sport and cheer events that might result in extra visitors to the theme parks, and make it harder to secure a hotel room. The All-Star and moderate resort hotels are often the home base for these larger events, so it's worth avoiding those properties if possible.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex events

2016

• Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic – November 11–12.
• 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl –December 3–10.

2017

• Pro Bowl week festivities – take place the week prior to the 2017 game on January 29. Additional schedule information to be released.

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

2016

• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – closed July 7 – September 24 for refurbishment.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed August 8 – November 18 for refurbishment.
• “it's a small world” – closed August 22 – September 15 for refurbishment.

Epcot

2016

• None scheduled

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2016

• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed for refurbishment. Will reopen in Fall, 2016 as PizzeRizzo

Permanently closed:

• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
• Studio Catering Co.
• Meet & Greet: Mike and Sulley at Streets of America
• Magic of Disney Animation

Dinosaur is closed for refurbishment at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• Dinosaur – closed for refurbishment July 25 – Fall, 2016

Blizzard Beach

• None scheduled

Typhoon Lagoon

• None scheduled

Disney Springs

• Fulton's Crab House – closed for refurbishment. Scheduled to reopen in Fall 2016 as Paddlefish
• Planet Hollywood – closed for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Disney Quest – scheduled to close sometime in 2016.

Resorts

• Wilderness Lodge and Villas – Hidden Springs pool, resort beach, playground, and Recreation fire pit closed. No opening date provided, but the pool is expected to be closed through 2017. Expect construction-related closures and noise due to construction of the as-yet-unannounced Disney Vacation Club cabins.
• Disney's All-Star Sports – the Grand Slam Pool closes in mid-October for refurbishment. The Surfboard Bay Pool will remain open.
• Disney's Pop Century Resort – the Computer Pool closes in late October for refurbishment, and will reopen in late December. The Hippy Dippy Pool will remain open.

Elsewhere

• Disney's Palm Golf Course – closed August 29-September 4 for refurbishment.
• Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course – closed September 5-11 for refurbishment.
• Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course – closed September 12-16 for refurbishment.
• Disney Osprey Ridge Golf Course – permanently closed.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Walt Disney World Resort Update. For your convenience, we have grouped the discount offers based on the intended audience. Check out the category that best matches you, 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.