It’s been over a year since the Disney parks reopened after the pandemic closures, and most things have returned to “normal.” Most restaurants have returned, gift shops are reopening, and — maybe most exciting of all — character hugs are BACK! Well…not everywhere.

On some Disney cruise ships, the characters have continued to practice physical distancing during meet-and-greets. However, that’s about to change.

Disney has confirmed that ALL character meet-and-greets on Disney cruise ships will return to normal by August 29th, 2022. That means you’ll be able to hug the characters and ask for their autographs once again. Some of the ships have already started the process of returning these meet-and-greets to normal, but others — including the Disney Wish — have held off.

However, if you’re going on a cruise after August 29th, you’ll be able to hug Mickey and your other Disney friends while on board.

Recently, the CDC announced that they were ending their COVID-19 cruise regulations, meaning that every cruise company can now decide its own policy regarding vaccinations and testing. So far, Disney has kept their COVID-19 testing policy, but they have made some changes to vaccination requirements.

Starting on September 2nd, kids younger than 12 years old will not be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to board. (Currently, all guests ages 5 and older are required to be vaccinated.)

We’ll continue to watch for more updates about the Disney Cruise Line, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news!

Click here to see the COVID-19 testing and vaccination policies for EVERY major cruise line.

Are you going on a Disney cruise soon? Let us know in the comments.

The post CHANGES Made to Character Meet-and-Greets on Disney Cruises first appeared on the disney food blog.