If you haven't been keeping up with Disney news, here are three updates for your reading pleasure.
1. Stroller, ECV, Wheelchair Resort Delivery Change
As you imagine, in the Orlando area, there are many options for renting strollers, ECVs and wheelchairs for use during your theme park vacation. In the past, vendors could deliver these rentals to Disney resorts and cast members would take possession and assist with deliveries to guests and returns to vendors. This policy has been updated.
Disney has announced that ScooterBug is the featured provider for these rentals to guests. When you rent through ScooterBug, resort cast members will continue to manage deliveries and returns for you.
If you made a reservation for a stroller or mobility device on or before September 30, 2019 with certain vendors, resort cast members will honor their old policy of managing deliveries and returns. If you fall into this category, I would suggest contacting the rental company to ensure you won't run into any issues.
Take note that you are not required to rent through ScooterBug. If you rent from third-party vendors, you simply will need to be present at the resort to take possession from the rental company and to return the item. You lose the convenience factor of having the resort deal with picking up and returning the rental.
2. Skyliner Opening (and Shutdown)
Well, that didn't last long. About a week after the Skyliner gondolas began running, there was an accident and the entire system has been closed to guests until further notice. (Update: Skyliner reopened today!) Disney isn't really saying much regarding what caused the accident, but with social media, Disney fans have been speculating that there was some type of belt malfunction at one of the stations, which caused one gondola to remain in place. Several gondolas rammed into the one which was stuck, breaking glass. No one was injured in the incident, but hundreds of guests needed to be rescued from gondolas and some were trapped for up to three hours. Trapped guests were told they could open emergency kits stashed under the seats in the gondolas. Now the world knows that there are emergency kits and what's in them - water, a notepad and pencil, glowstick(s) and disposal waste cups/packs. (When you gotta go, you gotta go.)
Luckily, this happened at night. These gondolas do not have air conditioning, which personally I think is insane. There are vents, but what good will that do when the sun is beating down on you and the outside real feel temperature is 103 degrees? Since Disney announced this project, I've been somewhat skeptical. Sitting in a sweatbox with the potential for a breakdown doesn't sound too exciting to me. And it happened very early in the game! We shall see what the future holds. I typically trust Disney when it comes to safety, but this has left me scratching my head.
Note that riding the Skyliner is free. It is considered another form of transportation for Disney World guests, connecting four resorts to Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
3. Epcot Overhaul
At the D23 Expo in August, a major overhaul to Epcot was announced. There are so many changes coming that I could write an entire post on just this alone. The main entrance will be revamped, dining and shopping areas will be updated and several new rides and areas (including a new roller coaster, a Moana "living water" attraction and a Mary Poppins "land") will be added.
I visited Epcot in the late 1980s and during our recent trips to Disney, I couldn't help but think of how it hasn't changed very much over the years. Disney obviously knows it needs to keep up with the times in order for guests to remain interested. Disney is very much in competition with Universal, who at the beginning of August, announced that construction had begun on a brand new, massive theme park. There has been a significant increase in competition between the two since Harry Potter joined Universal and Disney has definitely been pushing updates and new rides/attractions. (I'm still waiting for that fifth park announcement.)
2 comments:
That's interesting about Epcot. I grew up in Orlando, and my Mom still lives there and has lived there since before the Magic Kingdom opened. She mentioned recently that Epcot was never supposed to have character rides; it was supposed to be more educational in nature. (Walt Disney actually wanted it to be a real, futuristic functioning city.) My mom is quite scornful of all the character rides popping up at Epcot (Nemo, Frozen, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy one); she thinks it is going to start to feel just like the other parks instead of being unique; her brain might explode when she hears about Mary Poppins land. hahaha
Epcot has definitely gone beyond the original vision for the park.
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