DLW 175: Former Disney Institute Cast Member Jeff

This week, the resort preps for Touch of Disney at the end of this week, browse the menu and pricing before you go, extended hours coming to Downtown Disney, with an extended discount for legacy passholders, we talk to former Disney Institute cast member Jeff, and more! Please support the show if you can by going to https://www.dlweekly.net/support/. If you want some DLWeekly Swag, you can pick some up at https://www.dlweekly.net/store/. Book your travel through ConciEARS at no extra cost to you! Be sure to mention that you heard about ConciEARS from DLWeekly at booking! If you want some awesome headwear or one of a kind items, be sure to visit our friends over at All Enchanting Ears! You can use the promo code DLWEEKLY10 to get 10% off your order!

News:

Disneyland announced their reopening date, along with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. April 30th both parks will reopen. Reservations will be required and only open to residents of California. No fireworks or parades, just like we suspected. Check out the links here on the show notes for all the details. – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/03/magic-is-back-at-disneyland-resort-theme-parks-plan-to-reopen-on-april-30/ and https://dlnewstoday.com/2021/03/snow-whites-enchanted-wish-will-open-with-disneyland-on-april-30th/ and https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/17/news-disneyland-to-use-theme-park-reservation-system-upon-reopening/ and https://dlnewstoday.com/2021/03/the-haunted-mansion-will-return-at-disneyland-with-enhancements-and-new-magic/ Banners are lining the tram route from the Mickey and Friends Parking Garage as preparations wrap up ahead of Touch of Disney, as guests will be walking this path. There are also several speakers that have been installed. Social distancing markers have also appeared in the esplanade. – https://www.micechat.com/285327-disneyland-news-update-its-looking-good/ Inside the park, booths have been set up on the parade route, menus have been posted and even registers are ready to go. Which, is no surprise since everything has to be ready to go by this weekend. Cast member previews have also been going on this week for the event, which starts this Thursday, March 18th. – https://www.micechat.com/285327-disneyland-news-update-its-looking-good/ Ready to start planning all the food you’ll be eating at Touch of Disney? I know we are. The menu and prices are now in the Disneyland app. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/15/menus-prices-added-to-disneyland-app-for-a-touch-of-disney-event/ Another reservation snafu to add to the Touch of Disney list is with dining reservations. Like with admission tickets, Disney didn’t announce a time for anything to go on sale, so anyone looking to grab a seat had to refresh all day. There was also a mixed message telling app users to use a desktop, which turned out to put people at the back of the line. What a mess. – https://www.micechat.com/285327-disneyland-news-update-its-looking-good/ Starting with the launch of Touch of Disney, Downtown Disney will stay open an additional hour for your shopping convenience. The new hours will be 10am to 9pm for that week. And on March 27th and 28th, it goes 9am to 9pm, a full 12 hour day. We haven’t seen these extended hours since the holidays, a likely indication of Disney expecting bigger crowds. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/10/downtown-disney-hours-extended-during-a-touch-of-disney-event/ Legacy passholders will have an extra step to keep receiving discounts at the park and Downtown Disney. Parkholders will need to show a digital discount ticket, their annual passport and photo ID when they make a purchase. If you’ve previously linked your Passport to your account through the Disneyland app, a new discount ticket should automatically be added. If you haven’t look for an email to come from Disney to come soon with instructions. All of this information was included in an email sent to annual passholders. – Coffee addicts have another one of their Starbucks locations back at Downtown Disney. The west location reopened on Monday with hours basically mirroring Downtown Disney’s operation. They also have a special opening week drink. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/10/another-starbucks-location-at-disneyland-resort-is-set-to-reopen-soon/ The hunt is on at Downtown Disney as the Eggstravaganza makes its return. The egg themed scavenger hunt started Monday and runs through April 18, while supplies last. Game boards and stickers are available for about $8 at select locations. Complete your game board and you get a special surprise of one of six collectible eggs. – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/03/kick-off-spring-with-eggstravaganza-and-more-at-downtown-disney-district-at-disneyland-resort/ Some perks to get more time at the parks are going away, for now. Disneyland is suspending fast pass, max pass and both sets of magic hours upon its upcoming return. It’s a similar move to what happened at other Disney parks. In Florida, they also limited park hopping, but that hasn’t been announced for California yet, knock on wood. – https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/12/disneyland-suspends-fastpasses-and-extra-magic-hours-when-theme-parks-reopen/ MiceChat had some great timing on a recent visit to the park. They saw the trolley horses out practicing their routes, something they’ve been doing a few days a week for a while now. The horse drawn street car will probably not return right when the parks open, but it is good to see that the horses are staying fresh with their training. – https://www.micechat.com/285327-disneyland-news-update-its-looking-good/ The Disney Food Blog is helping to bring back a flavor you can’t find at the park any more — the Big Thunder Ribs. This item was at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, which was lost to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. The spareribs feature a homemade BBQ rub in a six step recipe. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/15/disney-recipe-ribs-from-big-thunder-ranch-bbq/

Discussion Topic:

Jeff from DisneyAtWork.com and DisneyAtPlay.com