We’re starting off the new year right, at Walt Disney World! With the return of park hopping, a whole world of possibilities has been renewed, and it’s got us feeling pretty hopeful. While that’s a bit of good news, there are also a few changes ahead in regards to planning a future WDW trip… But don’t let that scare you, we’ll walk you through it one step at a time.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Opening Soon?
It sure does look like the “Little Chef” will be joining EPCOT’s attraction lineup VERY soon. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a family-friendly trackless dark ride, which takes guests on a wild chase through Gusteau’s Restaurant.
Just yesterday, the construction walls blocking the walkway into the new France expansion area have finally come down, replaced by temporary rolling planters. That usually means a soft opening could be on the way!
Just past the barrier, an additional standby sign for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is visible near the expansion’s entrance:
From the Skyliner, construction workers are putting on the finishing touches! The new area should be welcoming guests any day now.
Besides Ratatouille, the expanded area will also welcome a new EPCOT dining location; La Crêperie de Paris. Offering both table and quick service dining options, the crêperie’s menu will draw inspiration from the Brittany region of France with sweet and savory options. I’m just as excited for authentic crêpes as a new ride at EPCOT!
Return of Park Hopping
At long last! We can hop from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT and back again!
Park hopping returned to WDW on January 1st and it’s just as easy as before, with one extra step before boarding a park-to-park bus. Park hopping won’t begin each day until 2pm. Upon entering any of the parks’ bus stop area, a Cast Member will verify your ticket includes park hopping and confirm the desired park’s capacity has not been reached… then you’re off! We’ve heard of guests visiting all four parks in one day. Based on capacity, the world is your park hopping oyster once again.
Park hopping distributes crowds throughout the day, rather than being restricted to hang around one park all day. We’re glad to see this option finally return!
Goodbye Free MagicBands, Magical Express and Extra Magic Hours
Within a matter of days, the Disney vacation experience has received some major changes. Just yesterday, it was announced Disney’s Magical Express was ending, and Extra Magic Hours were being replaced.
Disney’s Magical Express is something that sets WDW apart from other vacation destinations. Transporting resort guests free-of-charge between the MCO airport and WDW resorts is one of those magical extras— and something that has become a Disney vacation staple for many families. With the convenience of Magical Express, baggage is delivered straight to the resort room, allowing guests to hit the ground running —or relaxing— the moment they land in Orlando. With the loss of this service, most guests will need to consider ride-share or rental car for now.
But over the holidays, Disney inked a deal with the Brightline high-speed rail project to connect Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs with the Orlando Airport! If all goes well, that project would wrap up in 2022, getting guests out of traffic and to the Disney Resort even quicker than by bus. Once the train arrives at Disney Springs, guests could take a Walt Disney World bus to their hotel or rideshare.
So don’t despair, something quicker, more environmentally friendly, and fun is on the way to replace at least some of Disney’s bus fleet.
Extra Magic Hours Half Hour
Since Walt Disney World’s phased reopening, Extra Magic Hours have yet to return due to limited park hours. Sadly, Disney has confirmed Extra Magic Hours won’t be returning any time soon. However, they will be replaced with Early Theme Park Entry. Billed as being part of WDW’s 50th-anniversary celebration, the new program will offer Disney resort hotel guests (and other participating hotels) 30-minutes of early entry to ANY Disney World theme park, EVERY day. Along with the return of park hopping, this new program should help distribute guests to all four parks more evenly, helping control crowds for the time being.
The positives of Extra Magic Hours were the additional park time, particularly when the Magic Kingdom would tack on 3 extra hours late at night. The downside was it was only one park each day, which tended to cause an attendance surge in that park. The new Early Theme Park Entry system will offer just 30 minutes of extra park time, HOWEVER, every park will offer it every day. That really helps eliminate the surge, but doesn’t give you much of a jumpstart on regular day guests.
MagicMobile Pass Replacing MagicBands
Another Disney vacation element that is starting to fizzle out are MagicBands. As of January 1st, these are no longer complimentary for resort guests. You can still reuse a MagicBand from a previous vacation, or purchase a new one. What’s ultimately replacing MagicBands? We’ve got more on that below.
An image promoting “MagicMobile Pass” popped up on the MyDisneyExperience app yesterday. It looks like your own mobile device will be your next Key to the World . . . no MagicBand required. However, you will continue to be able to buy MagicBands, or receive an RFID enabled card to conduct most MagicBand functions (tap into a ride queue for which you have a FastPass, purchase items in stores and restaurants, enter your hotel room, check PhotoPass photos, etc.
If you see this option on your Disney World app, click the button to enable Bluetooth.
You may also see an option to set up your MagicMobile Pass.
On the MagicBand info page, you can now find info about the new service (I’ve highlighted it in yellow for you below:
Disney has yet to officially announce this product, but we suspect that at least some guests will be testing it soon.
So, would you rather wear a MagicBand or use your existing mobile phone (or perhaps even Apple Watch or other Smart Watch)?
With all these changes, we can’t help but wonder when and how FastPass+ will return in the future. With the parks’ capacity capped at 35%, there are still standby lines reaching 2-3 hours in length. The reintroduction of full FastPass+ would explode those lines even longer. Will Disney restrict FastPass to Disney hotel guests, or perhaps even use the flexibility of the new MagicMobile to charge extra for FastPass (as they do with Disneyland’s digital MaxPass)? Time will tell.
Hall of Presidents Closing Soon
Every time the country gets a new President, the Magic Kingdom has to close the Hall of Presidents attraction to prepare for adjustments to the show and the installation of a new presidential animatronic. Judging from elections past, that could be happening very soon.
But we’re curious if this attraction couldn’t benefit from a complete rethink. A lighthearted Muppet history lesson perhaps? Jump on the Hamilton bandwagon with a short animatronic or even live stage version? Expand upon Disneyland’s Abraham Lincoln centric show with no modern Presidents? Or, perhaps even give up on the idea completely and put something non-historical in the spot.
Register your vote in the poll below:
PeopleMover . . . Moving Again
When the parks reopened after their long closure, one thing that didn’t return was the PeopleMover. It had started refurbishment before the shutdown and just never reopened. Well, after a very long delay, they were testing again yesterday. We sure do hope that means we’ll be gliding high above Tomorrowland PeopleMover again soon!
EPCOT Festival Fare
EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts turns 5 this year! We were there on opening day to take in the beautiful and delicious creations. Here are just a few of my favorites so far!
Deconstructed BLT with Crispy Pork Belly, Soft-poached Egg, Brioche, Watercress Espuma and Tomato Jam. Since it’s deconstructed, it’s your job to mix the “ingredients” together however you’d like, and enjoy! This one is so delicious. The pork belly and tomato jam are the real stars of this plate.
The Sushi Donut (a crowd pleaser!) has made another brilliant return to the festival! It’s donut-shaped sushi featuring Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp, Cucumber and Sesame Seed over a decorated plate of Wasabi Aïoli, Sriracha and Eel Sauce.
The L’Aragosta: Lobster Ravioli with Vanilla Saffron Cream Sauce and Shredded Chili Peppers. Hot, fresh, pasta puffed up and filled with plenty of buttery lobster. And that cream sauce is divine. This dish alone is worth making a visit to EPCOT!
And of course, this festival celebrates the arts, so there’s plenty to see on that front as well. Here’s just a sneak peek:
Chalk art lines the walkway from Future World to World Showcase:
And there are plenty of fine art originals (and prints!) to go home with you after a day feasting around World Showcase.
This was just a little preview of the festival, and there’s a lot more for you to see! Take a look at the article below to read our thoughts from the opening day of EPCOT’s 5th Festival of the Arts!
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Let’s Hear From You
Well, that’s it for this week! There’s a lot of changes ahead, and we’re not entirely sure how we feel about them all… In the meantime, I’ll be spending my days hopping between parks again! Are you pleased to see the return of park hopping? What do you think about the new Early Theme Park Entry? Is it an effective replacement for Extra Magic Hour? Will you miss taking advantage of the Magical Express? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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