food IS a theme park
It might be hard to believe, but Avengers Campus was originally scheduled to open at Disney California Adventure five months ago, in July of 2020! Disneyland Resort’s extended closure may have delayed the opening of this expansion, but we’re still over here geeking out over some of the incredible details that will be a part of this new land!
Avengers Campus Concept Art ©Disney
Let’s do a little recap of what we can expect once Avengers Campus finally opens!
Disney dining can be a curious thing, and at times it can almost seem like a tale of two dining experiences. On the one hand, you can easily find your fair share of cheeseburgers, pizza, plastic cheese, chicken fingers, and corndogs. On the other hand, Disney is no stranger to cranking out solid signature dining restaurants with top-notch service and dishes that would rival many fine-dining restaurants around the world.
Carthay Circle
Our recent visit to Buena Vista Street in Disney’s California Adventure, the newest extension of Downtown Disney to reopen on November 19th, was a perfect example of this juxtaposition. After chowing down on our beloved corndogs over at Award Wieners and eating a rather…sad…cheeseburger at Smokejumpers Grill, we sat down at Carthay Circle Lounge Alfresco Dining for a “total 180.”
For the first time since March, guests are once again able to explore Disney California Adventure! Well…kind of. If you ask Disney, Buena Vista Street (and its immediate surrounding area) has reopened as an extension of Downtown Disney. California Adventure as a theme park remains “closed” at this time.
Storytellers Statue
However, you can’t deny that getting to eat an Original Corndog, as well as dining at Carthay Circle Lounge, doesn’t remind you of what it’s like to eat at a Disneyland park! There’s another dining option available to guests we haven’t shown you yet — Smokejumpers Grill!
Although most of Disneyland remains closed, Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure opened today with limited shopping and dining.
California Adventure
We took the opportunity to nom on our first Disneyland corndog in MONTHS, as well as take a peek at how construction is going on Avengers Campus!
After more than eight months, we’re once again strolling down Buena Vista Street as part of the latest expansion to Downtown Disney! While Disney California Adventure technically remains closed at this time, the shopping and dining district at Disneyland Resort now includes several shops and restaurants from inside the park boundaries!
Award Wieners
One of the biggest surprises ahead of the reopening was that Award Wieners, which typically serves their own assortment of hot dogs and our beloved Filmstrip Fries, would be serving the menu from Corn Dog Castle, which remains closed at this time.
When Disney California Adventure partially reopens for select shopping and dining tomorrow, some things are going to be a LOT different.
Carthay Circle Marquee
For starters, guests can only visit Buena Vista Street for select shopping and dining experiences — no attractions will be open. And some of those stores and restaurants are going to look pretty different than before Disneyland Resort closed.
Disneyland has been closed since March 14th of this year.
Disneyland Main Entrance
Recently, California released its theme park reopening guidelines for Disneyland and other theme parks in the state. Health officials are saying that Disneyland may not open until next summer, so how will this further affect Southern California’s economy?
Earlier today, the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, Josh D’Amaro, made a presentation at the IAAPA Expo about progress on many of Disney’s ongoing projects.
©Disney via IAAPA Expo 2020 Presentation
He shared updates on projects like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Space 220 Restaurant, and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser in Walt Disney World. He also discussed several projects ongoing at Disneyland Paris. And we also got the chance to see several photos from inside Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, which are both still currently closed.
When Buena Vista Street reopens next Thursday, November 19th, it’ll be the first time Disneylanders step food inside the parks in some capacity in over eight months! With the exception of the Stage 17 Backlot Premiere Shop, the parks have been totally off-limits as California is keeping its larger theme parks closed for the time being.
Disney California Adventure Park
Besides the fact that we’ll be able to take in the sights and sounds of Buena Vista Street next week, there are some incredible returning FOOD items that are a HUGE deal to us!Â
On October 20th, the state of California released its reopening guidelines.Â
Disneyland at Christmas
Although Disneyland has not released a reopening date yet, we can’t help but wonder what the west coast parks will look like when they do reopen. Based on the guidelines, this is what we expect Disneyland’s reopening to look like for guests!
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