Walt Disney World Resort Update for April 10, 2024

Writer’s Note, News & Views

Just hours after last week’s Walt Disney World Resort Update was posted on our site, the MousePlanet.com server started having, let’s say, “issues.” As Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix shared in yesterday’s Disneyland Resort Update, to those of us on the MousePlanet staff, it was very much like a belated awful April Fool’s joke. Thankfully, our CTO Tony Phoenix did an amazing amount of work behind the scenes to rescue the decades of articles and photos from the site, and get them over to this new platform. It is still a work in progress, with quite a few things needing to be fixed, replaced or enhanced for this new platform (like last week’s Update which is here), but we’re mostly back up and running. On the upside, the new platform opens up a lot of new possibilities for providing content for you, our readers, some of which I had already been experimenting with as we contemplated a migration in the not-too-distant future (but it was supposed to be a gradual migration rather than an almost overnight shift).

Anyway, as for Disney Parks news, yesterday, Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix shared the details she learned of the upcoming changes to Accessibility Services on both coasts. Adrienne has a great deal of experience navigating accessibility issues with her family and her post includes her insights from experience. The latest program changes go into effect at Walt Disney World Resort on May 20, and the tools and resources guests can use ahead of visits are already available on this page of the Walt Disney World website.

This past week, Walt Disney Imagineering also launched a new YouTube series named “We Call It Imagineering.” The first episode highlights advances in Disney Audio-Animatronics figures, and, in particular, those the team are working on for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The YouTube playlist is embedded below.

On Disney Parks Blog, the imagineers also teased that some of their work may also be shared over on Walt Disney Imagineering’s Instagram page. In the first relevant post there, Disney showed off some of the plans for the reimagination of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. with the Tropical Americas theme that Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro teased last fall at the Destination D23 event.

Of course, we continue to wait for Disney to make official announcements about the plans to “turbocharge” Walt Disney World Resort. The multi-billion dollar capacity expansion has been teased by CEO Bob Iger and Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro for some time now, and there are increasing signs that pieces of the work are getting underway (permits, persistent rumors, and new bits of construction work underway here and there). D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event coming up in August in Anaheim looks like the best bet for where Disney will make many of the details more public.

This past week, though, Disney announced that Test Track at EPCOT will temporarily close starting on June 17, 2024, to make way for the next version of that attraction. Back at the Destination D23 event last fall, Josh D’Amaro announced that Disney and attraction sponsor Chevrolet were planning a new version of the attraction for some point in the future. The last opportunities to ride the current version of the attraction (referred to by many as Test Track 2.0) are expected on June 16, and no further details have been shared yet, though Josh D’Amaro suggested that the next version (presumably, Test Track 3.0) would have some nods to the original omni-mover style attraction which focused on the development and history of transportation, “The World of Motion,” which was sponsored by Chevrolet’s parent company, General Motors, when the park opened back in 1982.

Disney Dreamers Academy 2024 Inspired 100 Disney Dreamers From Around the U.S.A.

One hundred Disney Dreamers selected from thousands of applicants who answered essay questions about their personal stories and dreams for the future, each accompanied by a parent or guardian, concluded an all-expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World Resort on Sunday at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with a heartfelt commencement ceremony. From April 3 to April 7, the Disney Dreamers attended inspiring empowerment sessions, career-related opportunities, and got to have some fun in the Parks and Resorts too, including being featured in a parade through Magic Kingdom (just ahead of a daily showing of Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade).

Drum Major Mickey Mouse leads the 2024 Disney Dreamers in a pre-parade at Magic Kingdom.

Tracey Powell (DDA Executive Champion), Dara Reneé (2024 DreamBassador), Princess Tiana, and a Disney Dreamer ride the parade route in the convertible, followed by more Dreamers on foot.

Some of the Disney Dreamers ride a parade float with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck.

Some of the Disney Dreamers ride the “castle” parade float with several Disney characters.

Photos by Alan S. Dalinka.

TV stars Daymond John (“Shark Tank”), Dara Reneé (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”), Lance Gross (“House of Payne”) and Sanya Richards-Ross (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”) were among the celebrities lending their support and mentorship to the Disney Dreamers. Students attended sessions teaching valuable life tools, leadership skills, effective communication techniques and networking strategies. Workshops introduced the Disney Dreamers to diverse career paths within business, entertainment and sciences, including career opportunities within The Walt Disney Company.

Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot, an electrical engineer who has received more patents than anyone else at The Walt Disney Company, talked to Disney Dreamers and answered questions (via video conference) about pursuing careers in engineering.

As part of his presentation for Disney Dreamers, Lanny Smoot discussed what it means to be a Disney Imagineer.

Disney Dreamers interested in aerospace engineering got to meet with representatives from Axiom Space.

Disney Dreamers interested in marine biology got to speak with some of the Disney Animals team at The Seas pavilion at EPCOT.

Photos by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Disney Dreamers Academy program is part of Walt Disney World’s commitment to supporting diverse communities by encouraging the next generation to think big and to use what they learn in their relentless pursuit of their dreams. The 100 students selected for the program annually are primarily Black teens and students from underrepresented communities. In the 17 years since it launched, Disney Dreamers Academy has inspired more than 1,600 students from across the country, with program graduates having gone on to become doctors, engineers, performing artists, entrepreneurs and more, and some have transitioned into mentors to the Disney Dreamers who followed them.

More Views of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

While we are still awaiting news of the official opening date and any previews of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, this week, Disney shared a first look at the attraction poster for the new attraction. In just the past week, some additional murals have been added as well as a “Main Entrance” sign to part of the exterior of the attraction near the Frontierland Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad.

A new “Main Entrance” sign, a new mural (on the right), and new logo above the entrance have all been added recently at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

The Tiana’s Foods logo is now on the outside of the building.

While Disneyland has announced details for its gift shop at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Magic Kingdom has not shared any so far. The space increasingly looks less like The Briar Patch.

Photos by Alan S. Dalinka.

This & That & Reminders…

…REMINDER: 1900 Park Fare character dining restaurant re-opens today, April 10, at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, with a refreshed look and an updated menu. The dining room now pays homage to the late Victorian period, with art reminiscent of this era. Disney says, “Carousel theming is woven throughout the decor, recalling carefree times spent in gardens and fairgrounds enjoying jolly times outdoors.” Guests can meet Princess Tiana in attire inspired by her soon-to-open new attraction at Magic Kingdom, Aladdin “in his princely finest,” along with Mirabel and Cinderella, during breakfast and dinner service. The updated menu still includes the venue’s “Strawberry Soup,” at both breakfast and dinner service. Morning meals include Beef and Potato Hash, Cinnamon Pull-apart Bread, Classic Eggs Benedict, and Cheesy Potato Casserole. Dinner offerings include Tiana’s Gumbo with Spicy Andouille Sausage, Peel-n-Eat Shrimp, and Porchetta with Hunter’s Sauce. The full menu and more details are posted on Disney Eats: 1900 Park Fare Foodie Guide on Disney Parks Blog. MousePlanet has been invited by Disney to a hosted dinner at the restaurant later this month, and we will post our observations on social media and in a future update.

…REMINDER: Earth Month is now underway! Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and that’s the park that gets most of Walt Disney World’s Earth Month celebrations. Disney Parks Blog has kicked off Earth Month with digital wallpaper offerings featuring photos taken inside Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it is promoting some of the Disney PhotoPass Service Magic Shot offerings too. And what is a celebration without a Foodie Guide too? The guide features not only Disney’s Animal Kingdom specialty food and beverage offerings, but Amorette’s at Disney Springs has The Plant in The Boot Petit Cake (inspired by Wall-e), and a Raindrop Tart at The Mara at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

…UPDATED REMINDER: Star Tours–The Adventures Continue will add new scenes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris from some of the Star Wars series on Disney+, including “Ahsoka” starting April 5, including characters and locations from “Ahsoka,” “Andor,” and “The Mandalorian.” These additions include appearances by Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, and The Mandalorian and Grogu, and visits to the planet Peridea as seen in “Ahsoka.” The new “variables” mean there are now more than 250 possible story lines when you ride Star Tours, but, as in the past, Disney could program the ride to feature the new scenes heavily in the months after they are added.

…UPDATED: Disney cast member lanyard-based pin trading with guests has resumed as of this past Sunday, April 7, 2024. Cast-to-guest pin trading stopped at the onset of the global pandemic, and only some specific pin trading opportunities have returned in recent years, like cork boards supervised by cast members at various locations around the parks. Guests can once again trade pins with any cast member wearing a Disney pin trading lanyard–of course, only authentic Disney pins can be traded. Disney cast members with lanyards may have new “Hidden Disney” pins featuring Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, or other Disney-owned brands. There are also a number of “super chaser” pins available for trade. Disney plans to sell some of these pins in the future, so pin traders, stay tuned.

…REMINDER: EPCOT’s CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, including its new Mickey & Friends meet and greet area are scheduled to open on June 10, 2024.

…REMINDER: Tutto Italia Ristorante at EPCOT Walt Disney World has extended its 20% Annual Passholder discount through September 30, 2024. Although the news we received did not explicitly say so, assume the prior restrictions apply: offer applies to regularly-priced food and nonalcoholic beverages and exempting certain holidays, special events and dining packages.

…REMINDER: Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs has increased its Annual Passholder Discount to 20%. The discount applies to all regular priced food and non-alcoholic beverages during lunch hours, which run from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday through Monday. The offer excludes service at the sushi bar, as well as major holidays, including Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

…REMINDER: Walt Disney World Golf is again offering its series of four-week Junior Golf Clinics during April and May 2024. With on-course coaching and playing clinics and separate skills development clinics, these are two different options for junior golfers, ages 7 to 17. The clinics will be hosted at Disney’s Palm, Magnolia and Oak Trail Golf Courses, and all are led by PGA of America Professionals. For more information, visit this page of the Walt Disney World Golf website.

…Walt Disney World Golf is also hosting a series of Summer 2024 Skills and On-Course Junior Golf Camps from June to August for young golfers ages 7 to 17. The camps focus on full swing, short game, putting and separately, with on-course instruction, led by its PGA of America Professionals. More details are available on the Walt Disney World Golf Blog.

…REMINDER: Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic event nights are scheduled on select nights into the summer of 2024. The complimentary, after-hours events feature select attractions with shorter-than-usual wait times, plus character greetings, entertainment and more. The remaining events are:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – April 23.
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park – June 4 and July 11.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios – August 27.

Early registration opens for eligible Disney Vacation Club members (namely, those that have bought a certain number of points directly from Disney) with a qualifying Disney Resort hotel reservation on the event date(s). Pending availability, all other eligible Members may try their luck at reservations for the event on the other General Registration specified dates. A link to the event registration queue is posted online shortly before the registration windows open. If you are an eligible member and have a hotel reservation for an event date, keep an eye on your email for a registration reminder which also includes the link. All of the relevant 2024 registration dates are now posted on the event website.

The relevant dates for the remaining 2024 Moonlight Magic events are:

Note: Eligible Disney Vacation Club members are limited to attending one Moonlight Magic event per theme park, per calendar year. The Hotel Reservation Finalization (Party Size) deadline is the date by which an eligible DVC member's qualifying hotel reservation has to have the number of guests listed on the hotel reservation that will be the maximum number of Moonlight Magic guests that can attend an event (if successfully registered); the hotel reservation may be modified after this date subject to the usual reservation rules, but those modifications will not increase the number of attendees that can attend a registered event. Canceling a qualifying hotel reservation after registering for a Moonlight Magic event during the Early Registration window will cancel that registration. The DVC member must attend the Moonlight Magic event to check in with all of their guests present.

…REMINDER: Speaking of Disney Vacation Club, over on the Treasure Coast on the Atlantic Ocean, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort returns its popular character breakfast at Wind & Waves Grill on April 20 with a brand new menu. Some highlights are available on Disney Parks Blog. Goofy and Pluto will be making the rounds to visit each table, dressed in their beach best. The character breakfast will be available on Saturdays only from 8 a.m. to noon. Reservations are now open for booking on OpenTable.

…REMINDER And for the next DVC Resort, the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, last week, Disney Parks Blog shared an inside look at their construction along with the local Central Florida business building them. The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, are open for DVC bookings with stays starting September 27, 2024.

…REMINDER: Give Kids the World Village, the 89-acre, whimsical nonprofit resort in Kissimmee that provides cost-free week-long trips to critically ill children and their families, announced that its Gingerbread Run is returning this fall and will take place at night – under the holiday lights! On Saturday, November 23, you’ll have the chance to run, roll or stroll a 5K or family fun run through the whimsical storybook Village illuminated by thousands of holiday lights. Information and registration is available on this page of the Village’s website.

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Resort Reservations, Ticket Advice & Special Offers

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Walt Disney World Resort Update.

The 4-day Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket is $235 ($59 per day), plus tax, and offers admission to one theme park per day. The ticket valid from April 2, 2024 through September 28, 2024, and park reservations are required. The ticket can be used on consecutive or non-consecutive days, and there is no fuse, so you can use the first admission in April and space out your remaining visits over the summer.

A 3-day version of the ticket is also available for $219 ($73 per day).

Both of these tickets also offer optional upgrades:

• Park Hopper Option — $40 More Per Ticket, Plus Tax.
  Visit more than one theme park on the same day.
  
• Water Park and Sports Option — $35 More Per Ticket, Plus Tax.
  Visit one theme park per day. Plus, get a certain number of visits to a water park, golf course or miniature golf course based on the length of your ticket. For example, if you purchase a 3-Day Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket with the Water Park and Sports option, you can visit a Walt Disney World theme park on 3 days with an advance theme park reservation—and visit a Disney water park on 3 additional days by September 28, 2024.
  
• Park Hopper Plus Option — $55 More Per Ticket, Plus Tax.
  Visit more than one theme park on the same day. Plus, get a certain number of visits to a water park, golf course or miniature golf course based on the length of your ticket. This option is a combination of the Park Hopper option and the Water Park and Sports option.

It really is important to stress the necessity for making your park reservations as soon as you complete your purchase. Disney is only setting aside a limited number of reservations for this ticket type each day, and states, “Reservations may be unavailable for any particular date or park, especially as you get closer to the date of visit or ticket expiration date.”

If you are not a Florida Resident, or you are, but park reservations are not available for the dates you want to visit, Disney is also offering the 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket from $99 Per Day, Plus Tax (Total Price from $396, Plus Tax). The 4-Park Magic Ticket includes one admission to each of the 4 Walt Disney World theme parks—Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios—for a total of 4 admissions, on 4 separate days. Limit one admission per theme park, one theme park per day. This is a date-based ticket, so it does not require a theme park reservation to enter a park, but you must pick a start date from April 2 through September 22, 2024, and the ticket must be used within 7 days of the selected start date. This ticket cannot be used to enter the same theme park more than once.

If you are willing to skip Magic Kingdom, Disney is also offering a Special 3-Day, 3-Park Ticket to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT and Disney’s Animal Kingdom only, starting from $89 per day, plus tax (total price starting from $267, plus tax). This is also a date-based ticket that does not require a theme park reservation to enter a park, but you must pick a start date from April 2 through September 24, 2024, and the ticket must be used within 5 days of the selected start date.

Disney+ subscribers can get a FREE dining plan when purchasing a non-discounted 4-night, 4-day Walt Disney Travel Company package that includes a room at a select Disney Resort hotel and theme park ticket with a Park Hopper option. This offer is valid for arrivals most nights July 1 through September 30, 2024. Visit DisneyWorld.com/SpecialOffers for additional offer details!

NEW! Disney Rewards Visa Card users can get a free dining plan when using the card to purchase a non-discounted 4-night/4 day Walt Disney Travel Company Package including room at select hotels and tickets with Park Hopper Option for arrivals most nights July 1 – 31, September 1 – 7, and December 9 – 21, 2024. More details, restrictions, information, and the opportunity to book are on this page of the DisneyWorld website.

New! Florida residents can save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels, valid for stays most nights from July 8 through October 3, 2024. Which resort qualifies for which discount and booking opportunities are available on this page of DisneyWorld.com.

Details and more special offers are available on this page of DisneyWorld.com.

MousePlanet’s travel partner Get Away Today is available to help you book rooms and packages.

REMINDER: Get Away Today’s Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages can now be booked completely on its website! No cumbersome quotes needed! Simply compare all your favorite Walt Disney World Resort hotels and Get Away Today’s hand selected off-property hotels in a few clicks, and then customize for your included tickets for your vacation.

Get Away Today’s Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages now have the option to add Layaway Plans, which allow you to pay the total balance up to eight days prior to travel. You can also add their popular “Peace of Mind Plan” when booking a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, which allows any reschedules and cancellations up to five days prior to travel with no penalty.

When booking with Get Away Today, all Walt Disney World Resort on-site packages include Get Away Today’s e-concierge, which includes its Best Price Guarantee, Dining Reservation Reminders, access to their Concierge Team email for help before and during your vacation, and more.

Looking to go beyond Walt Disney World Resort when visiting Central Florida? Check out Get Away Today’s Universal Orlando Resort ticket offers too.

Only purchase Disney theme park tickets directly from Disney, an authorized seller, or a travel agency like MousePlanet travel partner Get Away Today! As always, we remind our readers that Walt Disney World Resort theme park tickets are rarely offered at deep discounts unless you are a resident of Florida or eligible for U.S. Military Personnel benefits. Historically, non-Florida residents tend to benefit the most by purchasing tickets in advance (and, of course, being mindful of the rules relevant to those tickets). Don’t get scammed! Never buy tickets from an unofficial or secondary outlet, such as through eBay or Craigslist. Never rent or purchase tickets from people approaching you outside Disney property stating they have remaining days or leftover tickets. This practice is against the terms of use for Walt Disney World Theme Park admissions, and may result in denial of entry. There is no way to determine if these tickets are valid until you try to use them to enter the parks.