Good afternoon, everyone! Today I want to discuss some Disney news that came out to be pretty interesting. So, let’s get started, shall we?! So, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort announced on Aug. 2 that the parks will be rolling out dining reservation enhancements to “simplify planning and make the guest experience more convenient so guests can spend more time enjoying their visits.” The Disney dining experience is about to become more pleasant for theme park attendees. In the coming weeks, the Walt Disney World and Disneyland websites and mobile apps will show guests all reservations slots that are available to them for their selected restaurant or dining location. Currently, people can only see a few available slots that fit their selected timeframe. Additionally, reservations will be sorted by meal period so that guests can see which menu is being served during the time of their reservation. Once on the updated version, when they pick a time like 4 p.m. they will see if either lunch or dinner is being provided. And that’s not all. Made reservation but need to cancel last minute? Disneyland and Disney World recently expanded the window to cancel dining reservations from 24 hours before the scheduled reservation to two hours before the reserved time at most locations for greater flexibility. They also improved mobile ordering service to “to make it easier to find available and nearby dining options.” This latest news comes months after Disney World resort in Florida was bringing back the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan on Jan. 9, 2024. The blog also outlined four other updates that would be happening in 2024, including theme park reservation requirements for date-based tickets be a thing of the past and a simpler Genie+ experience. Well, I’m sure that Disney fans are really happy to see this change coming as some of them have been frustrated about trying to book dining reservations at the restaurants. I think that Walt Disney World and Disneyland are trying to get more people to come visit the parks and keep them happy. So, it should make people feel better about the dining reservations.
Onto the news of Steakhouse 55… We all know that the restaurant has been closed for a long time since the pandemic came into play. Now, the restaurant sign has been officially removed. Only a small hallway to the right of the curtain remains open, and serves as a path to backstage for Cast Members. The Disneyland Resort has announced that they are going to be turning the restaurant into a flexible lounge space. The sign, which was once located where this curtain stands now, has also been removed. This marks the beginning of construction on what will become a flexible lounge space. Disney had recently announced the former restaurant’s transition into lounge space, which will sometimes operate as an extension of a seasonal bar. Steakhouse 55 has been closed since 2020, when it was initially shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney announced the restaurant’s permanent closure with a statement in the summer of 2021, stating: “At this time, there are no plans to reopen Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel. We are exploring options for this location and will update you when we have news to share.” Construction curtains went up in front of the restaurant in January of this year. I’m a bit bummed to see it go because I loved the restaurant. I loved their medium well steak, French fries, and the Mac & Cheese. These things tasted so good! So, I hope the flexible lounge space is just as good as the restaurant. I think the lounge space can become a restaurant eventually and they want people to get some great experience. Nevertheless, I think that it will be great when it opens up to the public.
So, what do you guys think about the dining reservation changes and the Steakhouse 55 change?! I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions down below!
Stay tuned for Disney updates.
