It was another busy week of news for Disney! While we were all busy baking bread or hunting for our Bunny Day eggs in Animal Crossing, a lot has been announced regarding the Disney Park closures and furloughs. We even got some Walt Disney Studios and Pixar news!

Let’s briefly recap some of the news you may have missed in these past few days!

Face Masks Are Now Required Near Disney World

This week, it was announced that face masks would be mandatory for those going out in public in Osceola County, where Disney World is partially located! This measure went into effect on April 13th with no known end date at this time.

Click here to read about Bob Iger’s thoughts regarding reopening the parks and what it may take to keep guests safe.

Additional Disney Cruise Line Spring Departures Have Been Cancelled

Two major announcements were made this week in regards to Disney Cruise Line. The CDC recently extended their “no sail” order by at least 100 days. The order originally went into effect on March 14th.

In addition to this extension, Disney announced its own suspension of ALL cruise departures through May 17, 2020, and all Vancouver sailings through the end of June 2020. These cancellations specifically impact the Disney Wonder.

Sailings on the Disney Magic have also been affected. Departures for the Disney Magic between now and June 7, 2020 have been cancelled, which included upcoming 7-night European sailings. This also impacts Adventures by Disney Mediterranean Cruise packages as well as the Barcelona Escape packages, which have been cancelled for late May and early June.

Read more about the Disney Wonder departure cancellations here.

More Than Half of Disney World’s Union Cast Members Are Furloughed

In perhaps the biggest development of the week in terms of furloughs, it was announced that Disney World had reached a furlough agreement with Service Trades Council Union, which represents more than half of Disney World’s workforce. The furlough will go into effect on April 19th. During this time, Cast Members can continue to receive health coverage, educational support, and additional employee assistance. 

Learn more about Disney World’s furlough agreement with STCU here

Disneyland Reaches Agreements with Ten More Unions

Over in Disneyland, ten unions representing Cast Members reached a furlough agreement that also goes into effect on April 19. Much of the same benefits will be extended to west coast Cast Members as their Florida counterparts.

Read more about Disneyland’s furlough agreements here

Disney Continues To Make Progress On Projects, Even During the Closures

One bright spot in all of these closures is that many projects Disney has in the works are continuing to make progress! From pivotal parts of the Epcot transformation, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind to new additions coming to the Disney hotel fleet such as Reflections – A Lakeside Disney Lodge, Disney is still showing signs of life and an intent to keep as many projects moving ahead as possible during this time.

Read more about how Disney is continuing to make progress on these exciting projects here!

New Films and Series Announced for Disney+

Two exciting projects were announced for Disney+ this week. The first is Prop Culture, which will give a behind-the-scenes look at the props and artisans behind some of our most beloved Disney films. We don’t have to wait too long for this one since it premiers on May 1, 2020!

The other project is a live-action remake of the beloved Robin Hood! We’ll have to wait a bit longer for this film as it was just recently announced and is currently in the early development, pre-production stage.

Read more about the surge in Disney stock AND in Disney+ subscriptions here!

Two Upcoming Films Have Their Release Dates Delayed

We had previously held onto the hope that we would be able to watch the next Pixar film, Soul, in theaters this June. We recently learned that we will have to wait a few months more, as its premiere was pushed back to November 20, 2020.

It seems like Soul‘s delay has caused a ripple effect in the release schedule for Disney’s upcoming films. Another film from Walt Disney Studios, Raya and the Last Dragon, was originally set to open in theaters on November 25, 2020. We recently shared that its premiere is also getting pushed back, now opening on March 12, 2021.

See what other upcoming Disney films have been delayed here!

Well, that’s all for now, friends! We’re keeping a close eye on all the news being released to make sure you have the most up-to-date and need-to-know information! We hope all is well. 🙂

What upcoming Disney film are you most excited to see in theaters? Let us know in the comments!