Some exciting new changes are happening around the Walt Disney World Resort! With the announcement of some great new guest experience initiatives to a wonderful celebration of May 4th and some interesting construction updates, not to mention the ongoing saga between The Walt Disney Company and the state of Florida, there’s a lot to explore today.
So let’s catch up shall we?
MAJOR GUEST EXPERIENCE CHANGES FOR 2024
As we previously reported, Walt Disney World announced some major guest experience changes set to go into effect in 2024.
PARK RESERVATIONS ENDING FOR DATED TICKETS – Probably the most notable of these is the announcement that guests with dated tickets will no longer need to make reservations to go to the parks as of January 9, 2024. As it stands now, annual passholders and cast members will still need to make reservations after that time. However, the current policy of annual passholder reservations still holds true, according to Disney’s website. That means that annual passholders no longer need to make reservations if they visit the parks after 2pm, except on Saturdays and Sundays at the Magic Kingdom, where reservations will be needed for entry at any time.
GOOD-TO-GO DAYS FOR PASSHOLDERS – Additionally, Disney has announced the formation of “good to go” days, the details of which will be announced at a later date. But the gist of it is that, on certain days and for certain parks, Disney will forgo the requirement of a reservation for annual passholders and cast members. This means they would be able to enter the “good to go” park(s) at any time and without a reservation, allowing greater flexibility for admission.
DISNEY DINING PLANS RETURN – Disney Dining Plans are also making their triumphant return to Walt Disney World in 2024! This product, which has been beloved by many, has been missing since park closures in 2020. Disney will be offering both a Quick Service and a Full Service dining plan option (although no word yet on if the Deluxe Dining Plan will also return). These plans can be added to any resort stay beginning January 9, 2024. Pricing has not yet been released, but we’ll be sure to update you as soon as we get further details regarding the return of the dining plans.
LIGHTNING LANE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS – Genie+ is also getting a much-needed update, in our opinion. Currently, Genie+ and individual Lightning Lane products can only be purchased day of, beginning at 7am, and you need to have valid theme park admission and a valid park reservation to purchase it. This caused undue stress and a mad scramble to get those coveted individual Lightning Lane passes, especially during peak attendance times. Fortunately, Disney has announced that Genie+ and the individual Lightning Lane products will be returning to something similar to the old FastPass+ system, where guests will be able to purchase Genie+ and/or individual Lightning Lane passes prior to their visit to the parks. While the details of who will get to make these purchases and how far in advance it will be available have not yet been released, we’re excited to see this change being made. And we’ll make sure to keep you all updated as soon as we hear about those details.
EXTENDED PARK HOURS (FOR SELECT GUESTS) – Finally, extended park hours for WDW hotel guests will be extended into 2024. Those staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel can enjoy early access to a certain park, which will change depending on the day, and those who are staying at a deluxe hotel or in a deluxe villa will get extended evening hours at certain parks on certain days.
EPCOT CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Work continues on the Journey of Water experience and in the World Celebration section of EPCOT. Eagle-eyed guests (or those who ride the monorail) can see that Journey of Water is almost ready for guests.
Trees have been added, giving the illusion of the lush greenery found on the islands that Moana and her family and friends sail to.
Detail work is also being completed, and you can see fun hints at Moana, like the symbol for the heart of the ocean.
It looks like Disney might be getting ready to open this interactive experience soon, as the attraction name is already on one of the new signs in EPCOT. Although it is currently covered, all Disney will have to do is remove that black tape, and we’ll be good to go!
Work is also continuing on the World Celebration section of the park. This is still under heavy construction, so it’ll probably be awhile before it opens to guests, although we’ve heard that, internally, Disney wanted EPCOT’s transformation to be complete by Memorial Day.
Judging by these construction pictures, they’ll probably make that date for Journey of Water, but not for World Celebration.
Here you can see CommuniCore Hall is still under major construction. CommuniCore Hall is going to house a permanent Mickey and Friends meet and greet and a large performance space.
World Celebration will also feature an exterior performance space and a place for people to gather and relax. These sections seem closer to completion than CommuniCore Hall, but still have a long way to go before guests can experience the location.
This area of the park will also be home to Dreamer’s Point, home to a statue of Walt Disney. Construction for that area seems to be ongoing, and we don’t expect much progress in that area until later in the year, as we get closer to the kick off celebration for Disney’s 100 Years of Wonder celebration.
The statue as seen at the last D23 Expo…
Over in World Showcase, the removal of the Harmonious lagoon structures is still continuing. Most of the structures have been dismantled already, but it takes a few weeks for each structure to be safely removed, so we’ll be seeing some remnants of EPCOT’s previous show for at least a few more weeks.
And outside the parks, progress seems to be moving along nicely in the far west side of the parking lot. While Disney has yet to announce what this could be, and it very well could just be a staging area for future construction, we think Disney may finally be creating a permanent ride share pick up/drop off location, which is much needed at that park.
MAGIC KINGDOM PROJECTS
Work is still being done on Cinderella Castle, as crews are continuing to remove the 50th-anniversary decorations. While the 50th medallion was quick to come down following the end of the celebration, the ribbons and the bunting still mostly remain.
As such, the moat surrounding the castle is still drained, as it needs to be empty to allow the equipment needed for the decorations’ removal to get close enough to the castle.
It also seems as if the moat itself has been cleaned, as it’s looking much nicer than when the water was first drained from it nearly three weeks ago.
Work also continues on Splash Mountain as it transforms into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
The large tree on the top of the mountain was removed a few weeks ago, and it looks like scaffolding is now covering the smaller tree on the side of the mountain, so we expect that it will be taken away soon as well.
New rock work has appeared near the bottom of the drop.
Work is also being done on the flume itself.
Scrim and tarp have covered the entrance of the attraction since construction began, and it still appears to be in place. It also looks as if the rocks around the attraction entrance have gotten a new coat of paint, perhaps to give them more of a bayou look.
We’re excited to continue watching the transformation of this ride, and can’t wait to see what will change next!
MAY 4TH CELEBRATION AT HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Those who are fans of Star Wars know that May 4 has become an official holiday of sorts to celebrate the iconic sci-fi franchise.
Disney has embraced the idea of May the 4th, and has made Galaxy’s Edge the place to be to help ring in this holiday. They debuted unique merchandise for the occasion and even offered support for fan-created gatherings.
Like any unique offering, the lines for Galaxy’s Edge started early, and guests were seen lining up outside Dok Ondar’s so they could be first in line for the new merch.
Disney also opened up Studio One to house the exclusive merchandise, hoping to avoid excessive crowds in Galaxy’s Edge.
However, the guests were still there in droves, and The Market remained packed throughout the day.
Along with exclusive May the 4th hats and t-shirts, Disney released some cool collector’s items for the holiday.
First up, they released a Sith Wayfinder. Those familiar with Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker know the importance of these Sith Wayfinders, and they can now own one for themselves!
The Sith Wayfinder comes in this awesome box, which is almost as cool as the Wayfinder itself.
The Wayfinder also lights up like it does in the film… meaning you, too, can find your way to Exegol and join Emperor Palpatine as he attempts to take over the galaxy once again!
Disney also debuted an exclusive new limited edition collector’s lightsaber for the holiday. This lightsaber belongs to none other than Cal Kestis, and came in a gorgeous box. This lightsaber comes on the heels of the release of the Jedi: Survivor game, so you can play with your lightsaber alongside Kestis himself!
Finally, Disney and Starbucks released a few new mugs in the Star Wars series. Joining the collection are Jakku, Coruscant, and Mustafar. It was a very popular addition to the Star Wars merchandise line.
You can see the entire collection below. We’re going to need a bigger cupboard.
For more info on the massive amount of merchandise available for Star Wars Day (which will be celebrated all month), please take a look at our MiceMerch article:
Disney also helped support a meet-up at Galaxy’s Edge on the evening of the 4th, where fans gathered to display their lightsabers together.
Pretty cool looking, for sure.
NEW CAST NAMETAGS
Disney has debuted new name tags for those working at Walt Disney World. The new name tags have a star background and have a single gold star above the silhouette of Cinderella Castle, which is meant to represent the magic cast members make every day for guests of the resort.
The new design removes the EARidescent look of the 50th-anniversary name tags and removes the 50th-anniversary golden castle at the top.
Interestingly, these new name tags don’t have the same Disney100 logo or design that the ones at Disneyland have, nor do they allow cast members to choose their favorite Disney character to display instead of their hometown.
THE FLORIDA DRAMA CONTINUES
There have been some further developments in the ongoing saga surrounding The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Following the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the installation of the DeSantis-approved Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, Disney and the new oversight board members have been locked in a bitter battle.
As we’ve previously covered, after the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board voted to invalidate the last actions of the Reedy Creek Improvement District board members, which ceded almost all power over the land back to Disney, The Walt Disney Company filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, and the acting secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Meredith Ivey, in federal court, citing their actions against Disney as retaliation that goes against the company’s First Amendment rights.
Following this filing, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members filed their own lawsuit against Disney, though they filed theirs at the state level in Orange County. They are arguing that the move by the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board members was a “backroom deal” and that Disney and the board had no authority to make the deal, nor did they give proper notice about the agreements. They also say the agreements are unenforceable under Florida law.
DeSantis also signed a measure requiring state inspections of the monorail system at the resort, something that has never been required before. The Florida legislature also passed a bill that rescinded the agreement Disney and the Reedy Creek Improvement District made.
DeSantis claims to be looking at ways to punish Disney, including possibly building a prison next to Walt Disney World, his state’s largest employer. At this point, DeSantis seems to be giving Disney everything it needs to make a case against the governor and the state.
In response to these legislative and verbal attacks, Disney has since amended its own federal lawsuit, citing these new governmental measures as “precision-engineered to target Disney alone, just as Governor DeSantis intended and previewed.” The lawsuit is asking the federal courts to invalidate these legislations, as they pertain to and affect only The Walt Disney Company. Therefore, they can be seen as punitive and in violation of Disney’s First Amendment rights.
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LET’S HEAR FROM YOU
What do you think about all these new changes coming to the Walt Disney World Resort? Are you excited about the alterations to the guest experience, including the removal of most park reservations? What about the development of World Celebration at EPCOT? Did you do anything to celebrate May the 4th? Let us know!
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