Disney World News Updates September 2020

Costumes allowed in the Magic Kingdom? It’s true, we checked! It’s all part of the Fall festivities that will be taking place at Disney World this year. We’re looking at restaurants that are re-opening, some resorts that are not re-opening, shortened park hours, and fall festivities, for our September 2020 Disney World News Updates.

Fun Fall Festivities

Despite the fact that Disney felt the need to cancel Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for the fall of 2020, they still plan to have loads of not so scary fall fun sprinkled throughout the parks. The Magic Kingdom will be dressed for fall and your favorite characters will don their favorite Halloween attire.

Beginning September 15th through October 31st this year, all visitors will be able to sport their favorite costumes while visiting the Magic Kingdom as well. This was previously only allowed during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party event, as adults are not usually permitted to wear costumes during normal operating hours.

Disney is planning a special Halloween-themed cavalcade, new Halloween themed merchandise, and magical photo-ops with the photo pass photographers. They’re also whipping up some fantastic, festive fall treats. It’s going to be a magical fall at Disney in spite of all the chaos that this year has thrown upon us.

Restaurants Opening at The Magic Kingdom And Hollywood Studios

On September 2nd, Disney announced that the following locations would be added as dining options for guests this fall.

• Hollywood and Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is scheduled to open on September 25, with food being served directly to the tables in place of the buffet.
  • Minnie’s Halloween Dine will be taking place with a modified character meet and greet.
• Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom will be opening on September 24th. There will not yet be a meet and greet with the Princesses, but you can still enjoy a tasty meal in a one-of-a-kind setting.
• Gaston’s Tavern, a quick service option at Magic Kingdom opened its doors on September 4th.
• ABC Commissary, a quick service location at Hollywood Studios will open for lunch beginning October 8th.

Reservations for the two table service options (Cinderella’s Royal Table and Hollywood and Vine) will be available online beginning September 11. If you plan on making those dining reservations, remember that you must have a park reservation as well as a park ticket to enter the parks. So you’ll want to set those up before making a dining reservation for a location inside of a park.

Resort Re-opening Schedule : Polynesian Resort Opening Delayed

Here’s the list of the currently open hotels that are accepting reservations:

• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

The resorts scheduled to reopen in the future:

• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa – September 21, 2020
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort – October 14, 2020
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – November 1, 2020
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – this has been move to Summer 2021

Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Boardwalk Inn are designated as closed until further notice.

Also, as a reminder, there are currently no Club-level services, in-room dining, in-room celebrations, dry-cleaning, valet laundry, shipping services or extra magic hours at this time.

I am pleased to see that the resorts are continuing to phase back in. It’s good to see continued movement in a positive direction.

Shortened park hours

You may have already been aware of Disney’s recent decision to shorten park hours beginning on September 8th. Originally we saw these reduced park hours populated in the official Disney calendar through November 14. The official calendar has since been populated through November 21, 2020 and these same reduced hours are in effect through that date as well.

Here are the park hours that you will see beginning on September 8th:

• Magic Kingdom – 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Animal Kingdom – 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• EPCOT – 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
• Hollywood Studios –  10:00 am to 7:00 pm

I wouldn’t feel like anyone is throwing a damp towel onto your already crazy 2020 Disney vacation plans with these shortened park hours. The attraction wait times with the limited park capacity has been drastically reduced. With a good plan in place, an hour or two less at the parks shouldn’t have a big effect on your ability to experience the same attractions that you would have prior to the shortened hours.

Disney is doing an excellent job of maintaining that magic for its guests. They’ve got some pretty sweet deals right now as well. You could save up to $500 on a 4-night ticket and room package booked now through Dec 25. Check out Disney’s website for all the details.

Get ready for that next amazing vacation! Start your planning now! Disney has strict safety measures and cleaning policies in place. You’ll probably feel safer inside that Disney bubble than you do at your local grocery store. That’s our Disney World News Updates for September of 2020. Thanks for spending some of your valuable time with us!

Happy planning!