The Walt Disney World Resort seems to be in the final stages of their phased reopening from the novel coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
Nighttime shows are slowly returning, the final four resort hotels will be open by mid-December, and other restaurants and entertainment are scheduled to reopen in the near future.
The first phase of the 2021 Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival kicks off today, however guests will still not be able to take the monorail to the theme park. All that will change soon.
Yesterday, Disney announced the EPCOT monorail will return to service this Sunday, 18 July after being closed for 16 months. Disney said in a statement, the EPCOT line will be “operating daily, service will begin one hour before [the] EPCOT park open[s] and end one hour after [the] EPCOT park close[s].”
Currently, Disney has been providing direct bus service to the theme park from the Magic Kingdom resorts, however, that will begin to end starting next week. Disney has stated that bus service from Disney’s Contemporary Resort Hotel and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to EPCOT will end next Sunday, 25 July 2021.
Starting this Monday, 19 July, the Polynesian Village Resort will reopen to guests and begin accepting reservations. As the resort reopens, the temporary front desk area at Pago Pago will close, and front desk and concierge services will move back to the Great Ceremonial House. Disney’s Magical Express and valet will be available under the new porte-cochere.
While most of the resort areas and amenities will be available, the renovation of the monorail station continues and monorail service to and from the resort remains temporarily unavailable. The front entrance to the Great Ceremonial House will also open at a later date, and Cast Members will be available to assist Guests in accessing the side entrance to the Great Ceremonial House in the meantime.
In the announcement, Disney said that EPCOT bus service from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will end sometime mid-August. Since last fall, the resort has been undergoing an extensive refurbishment of their public spaces and guests rooms in advance of the park celebrating its 50th anniversary this October. Although Disney has not made an official announcement, it is assumed that the resort’s monorail station will reopen at that time.
