Walt Disney World Resort Update for March 22 – 28, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for March 22 – 28, 2016

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News and Views

Disney After Hours | Early registration opens for the 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend events | Night of Joy lineup and pricing announced | You've just entered… the Rumor Zone | Views around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Disney After Hours

Updated:

Would you pay $150 to be among a few thousand people to enjoy three hours inside the Magic Kingdom after it closes to the general public? If the rumors are true, a new premium event called “Disney After Hours” may offer you the chance to do just that on select nights on April and May.

The source of this rumor is an e-mail reportedly sent to some cast members on Monday, though Disney has yet to make an official announcement. The exclusive event is scheduled to take place on seven Thursday nights this spring:

• April: 14, 21, 28
• May: 5, 8, 12, 19

Reservations are now open. expected to open on April 6. The cost is $149 per person (ages 3 and older), plus tax. The event includes select attractions and character experiences, along with ice cream novelties and bottled soft drinks from vending carts around the park. 

At first glance, it's hard to see how this offering would appeal to all but a handful of park visitors, especially if they are also eligible for Extra Magic Hours.

Extra Magic Hours offers Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests a 1- or 2-hour bonus before or after park hours at selected parks and dates. On Wednesday, April 13, the Magic Kingdom closes to the public at 11:00 p.m., with Extra Magic Hours offered until 1:00 a.m.

On Thursday, April 14, the supposed first date of this event, the Magic Kingdom again closes at 11:00 p.m., so this Disney After Hours event would likely run until 2:00 a.m.. That timing alone is enough to rule out most families with children.

Of course, Disney could make this experience much more compelling by changing the timing—closing the Magic Kingdom to the general public earlier in the day, creating an “After Hours” event that doesn't run until last call. It's not hard to believe that Disney might tweak the Magic Kingdom's schedule to close much earlier one night each week, especially if Animal Kingdom further extends its evening hours following the debut of the new Rivers of Light show and nighttime safaris.

Update: now that Disney has announced the event to the public, it turns out that the event does include more than 3 hours of admission to the park. Guests who purchase the ticket have access to the Magic Kingdom starting at 7:00 p.m., 3 or 4 hours (depending on date) earlier than the park's posted closing time. The “after hours” portion runs until 3 hours after the theme park closes to the public, so 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. depending on date.

To crunch the numbers, we have to first look at the normal price of admission on one of these event dates. All of these events fall on a “regular” season date, when the price of a one-day ticket is $110.

Again referring to April 14, the park is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., or 14 hours. That works out to $7.86 an hour to share the park with however many tens of thousands of people also visit that day.

The Disney After Hours ticket is valid from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., or 7 hours. It works out to $21.29 per hour, and half of the time you'll have the park almost entirely to yourself. Disney won't officially confirm the number of tickets to be sold each night, but CMs tell us it's about the capacity of Mickey's PhilharMagic (just under 500).

If this number is accurate, you better convince your friends to join you for the event, else you may not see another non-employee the entire night. With just 500 people in the park, you could probably ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as many times in a row as you wanted without ever getting off. With just 500 people in the park, you could have all the face time with Cinderella and Rapunzel that any princess fan could ever ask for. That few people could probably all ride Pirates of the Caribbean at the same time.

So yes, you're spending three times as much per hour to be inside the park, but the longest wait you'd have for any attraction is the time it takes you to walk to it. For the time-is-money crowd, this could be a very attractive prospect indeed. I could see this as being popular with convention-goers, a way to unwind after a long day of seminars and meetings.

Reservations are available by calling (407) 827-7185. [Ask the automated system for “tickets,” because this offering is not yet recognized the by voice response system]

We'll post an update once Disney makes an official announcement.

Early registration opens for the 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend events

Early registration opens at Noon (EDT) today, March 22 for the 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. This early opportunity is for Walt Disney World annual passholders, Disneyland Resort annual passholders, and Disney Vacation Club members. Disney Visa card members no longer receive early registration for runDisney events. General registration opens next Tuesday, March 29.

As we reported last week, runDisney dished up a major change to the event schedule, adding a 10K event on Saturday, and moving the half marathon event to Sunday morning. The abrupt departure from the traditional evening race format has many questioning whether they are going to register for this event, so the pre-registration may not sell out as quickly as usual. Still, we like to share the tips runDisney published last summer to help runners prepare to register as quickly as possible:

1. Create an active.com profile prior to registration opening.
2. Be ready to register at noon ET (9 a.m. Pacific time). Follow rundisney.com and the runDisney social media channels for the registration link.
3. Once you're in the queue, you have 15 minutes to complete the registration process. After 15 minutes, your spot is no longer guaranteed.
4. If you receive an “on hold” message this means the queue is currently full. Continue to check back.
5. Have everyone in your party register only themselves for a faster registration process.

To the runDisney list, we add our own two tips:

1. Log onto your affiliated website before registration opens, so you can access the registration link as soon as it is posted.
2. If you are both an annual passholder and a Disney Vacation Club member, it's better to use the links on the passholder website. The DVC website often posts the links well after registration opens, and in some cases not before the early registration allocation has sold out.

• Walt Disney World passholders
• Disneyland passholders
• Disney Vacation Club members

After you register for your event, come add your name to the Team MousePlanet race roster to connect with other runners and share training tips.

Night of Joy lineup and pricing announced

Disney has released the lineup for the 2016 Night of Joy event, and also provided details of the ticket packages. The lineup includes 15 groups, who will perform on two nights during the expanded event.

• Friday, September 9 – MercyMe, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Francesca Battistelli, Crowder, Matthew West, Stars Go Dim, Zealand Worship
• Saturday, September 10 – newsboys, for King & Country, Young & Free, Switchfoot, Red, Thousand Foot Krutch, Tim Timmons

2016 marks the first year of a new format for the event, with the concerts moved out of the Magic Kingdom and over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. With this change comes a new ticket structure and pricing:

• Friday only – a concert-only ticket is available for $39 if purchased in advance, or $45 at the door (if available).
• Saturday only – a theme park plus concert package, which includes a one-day, one-park ticket to your choice of theme parks and admission to Saturday's concerts. This ticket is $99 in advance, or $114 for same-day purchases (if available).
• Friday & Saturday – Visitors who want to attend both nights' concerts can purchase a 2-day ticket for $119, which includes the one-day, one-park theme park ticket good on Saturday.

There is no concert-only option for Saturday's event—attendees must purchase the package that includes park admission. That park ticket is only valid on Saturday, and cannot be used another day.

Attendees who purchase the 2-day ticket before August 9 also receive one free admission to one of the Walt Disney World water parks, valid September 6–12.

Tickets will go on sale in mid-April, and group discounts will be available.

You've just entered… the Rumor Zone

As a matter of practice we don't tend to discuss rumors posted by other sites, but this particular story has gone viral in the Disney community over the past 72 hours and I'm including it here for reasons I'll get to in a moment.

On Saturday, WDWMagic.com member WDW1974 posted the bold claim that Disney is currently planning a Guardians of the Galaxy overlay for the Tower of Terror attractions at both Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

According to his theory, filled in over a few posts, the Florida version may be just a temporary overlay, like the holiday overlays of Haunted Mansion and “it's a small world” at Disneyland. The complicated agreement regarding the use of Marvel characters in the various Disney and Universal parks in Orlando is too convoluted to get into in this article, but the gist is that Disney can't build a Captain America ride in Florida, or even allow a Monorail bearing the images of Marvel characters to transit the Epcot loop. As such, and without a large Marvel presence in the pipeline, such an overlay would likely only be used for promotional purposes to generate excitement about Hollywood Studios during a time when so very much of the park is closed due to construction of Star Wars Land.

However, WDW1974 claims the plan for California is to permanently convert the attraction to a Guardians of the Galaxy theme, and use the newly reimagined ride as the gateway to an icon of a whole collection (they stop short of calling it a land) of Marvel-themed attractions to be built in the last remaining bit of Disneyland's former parking lot. They claim the rides will include a Captain America-themed roller coaster, said to be on hold due to Shanghai-related budget cuts.

Their theory is that the attraction's building would be re-skinned and restaged as the mansion/museum of The Collector, a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (portrayed by Benicio del Toro in Guardians of the Galaxy). They had no theory about if/how the elevators would be explained in such a scenario.

The rumored timeline for this project, at least in California? Summer 2017. This would fit in nicely with the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the sequel set to open May 5, 2017.

As this rumor spread around the Disney community this weekend, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative, in a way I haven't seen since Light Magic took to the streets of Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland nearly two decades ago. It's the reaction I would expect were Disneyland to announce a Wreck-it Ralph overlay for the Matterhorn Bobsleds: it just doesn't make sense.

In fact, were the rumor posted by any but a handful of people in the Disney fan community it might have been rejected out of hand, because it just seems—well, ridiculous. But WDW1974 has a reputation for being right a great deal of the time, and appears to have well-placed sources who are willing to talk shop before Disney probably wants them to.

I've had an additional day to hash this out with friends since I first wrote about the rumor, and it's clear this can't be just an overlay, a la the Haunted Mansion Holiday; you won't be riding a Guardians of the Twilight Zone attraction. This would have to be an entirely new attraction using the same ride system, just like the conversion of Maelstrom to a Frozen-themed attraction at Epcot. Something would have to be done to convert the distinctive 1930's hotel facade into something more in keeping with the Marvel universe.

Is this really happening? I can't say for sure, but I'm depressingly certain there's more to this story than just blue sky. DCA's version of the Tower of Terror doesn't hold a candle to the Walt Disney World original, and I would not be too upset if Disney were to just tear it out and build a new Guardians of the Galaxy ride to anchor a new Marvel Land. Forcing an ill-fitting overlay onto the California ride is one story; touching the Florida version, on the other hand, would be a travesty.

Views around the World

Contributing photographer Alan Dalinka shares some photos from around Walt Disney World.

Animal Kingdom

Construction walls have finally been removed from Disney Outfitters, making the entry to Disney's Animal Kingdom's Discovery Island completely open for the first time in quite a while. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Tiffins signature restaurant continues to take shape behind Pizzafari just beyond the construction wall displaying art for Pandora: The World of AVATAR. Tiffins is expected to open later this year while Pandora is due sometime in 2017. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Several of the African painted dogs rest in the shade within their habitat on the savannah at Kilimanjaro Safari. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Tarps still surround much of the red clay pits near the elephant habitat as the area is readied for nighttime operation of Kilimanjaro Safari. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

It appears that the poachers have returned to the Kilimanjaro Safari. The safari truck driver did not mention poachers during the ride through the attraction when this photo was taken. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Construction around the Tree of Life trail can be seen along the Discovery River. Disney announced that the Tree of Life will feature new lighting effects sometime this spring when Disney's Animal Kingdom extends its operation into the night. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Refurbishments continue at the Caravan Stage, home of Flights of Wonder, at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Decorative lanterns and string lighting have been installed over some of the seating areas for the upcoming Rivers of Light nighttime spectacular. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Renovations continue in the upper seating area for Flame Tree Barbecue; the seating area nearest the Discovery River remains open. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Finished details are emerging in and around the seating areas for the upcoming Rivers of Light nighttime spectacular around the Discovery River. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The theming of the seating areas for Rivers of Light blends in with Expedition Everest. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Outfitters has emerged from behind construction walls. Inside, like many other large merchandise locations around Walt Disney World, a central set of cashiers is now located along one wall of the store. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A photographic visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom cannot be considered complete without a photo of the current state of the construction of the floating mountains of Pandora. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Epcot

National Park Foundation signage recently was added to the Ranger Mickey topiary display at Epcot. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Some of Epcot's permanent trees are in full bloom just in time to accent the topiaries installed for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Epcot Character Spot devoted to Baymax now has permanent signage hanging in the Innoventions West Breezeway across from the Character Spot for Mickey & Friends. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Magic Kingdom

While the Flower & Garden Festival welcomes spring over at Epcot, the Mickey Mouse floral display at Magic Kingdom's entrance is vibrant with colorful flowers too. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Springs

Disney Springs Town Center bus shelters are starting to get their roofs and the landscaping is being installed as the area and the new parking structure near completion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The view from Village Lake at Disney Springs includes the construction sites of The Edison (former home to The Adventurers Club) and the backside of Planet Hollywood Observatory (which has had all of its Planet Hollywood signage removed as part of its transformation). Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

All of the exterior Planet Hollywood signage has been removed as the building exterior is being rethemed to Planet Hollywood Observatory to fit in within the overall theme of Disney Springs. The restaurant is currently closed for interior renovation as well. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

An artist's rendition of the expected look of the newly announced Coca-Cola Store at Disney Springs now appears on the construction wall near its construction site. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The new Coca-Cola Store at Disney Springs continues to be surrounded by an exterior wall of glass. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

STK Orlando, located in The Landing area of Disney Springs, received an exterior sign. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Town Center at Disney Springs increasingly resembles the artist's rendition on the construction walls surrounding it. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The new Disney TAG shop inside the Marketplace Co-op at Disney Springs sells luggage and other travel accessories. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The TAG shop is themed as a stylized airport of the 1960s. The Departures/Arrivals board contains numerous nods to significant places significant in numerous Disney animated feature films. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The new Disney TAG shop display “windows” feature mannequins dressed in a style reminiscent of flight attendant uniforms of the 1960s. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

…WESH.com reports that a small fire broke out during a performance of The Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom park on Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported, and the fire was quickly extinguished. It is unclear if the show will reopen on Tuesday. Based on a brief video posted by the Orlando Sentinel, it appears the Elephant float may have been the location of the fire.

Magic Kingdom is testing a “Preferred Parking” option this Spring; cost is $35 for some of the spots closest to the TTC which are not already reserved for guests with disabilities. Annual Passholders with parking privileges can choose to pay a $15 up-charge for access to these spaces. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

…Magic Kingdom and Epcot parking lots have been testing a new Preferred Parking option, which offers parking in rows near the spaces designated for persons with disabilities. This preferred parking is $35, $15 more than the normal daily parking rate. Annual passholders who have parking benefit on their pass can “upgrade” to the preferred spaces by paying the $15 difference. One MousePlanet reader notes that drivers of electric cars automatically get free preferred parking, as the parking spaces with charging stations are located in the same area.

Like Magic Kingdom, Epcot is testing a “Preferred Parking” option this Spring. On the day of this photo, those spaces were the first few rows further from the Park's entrance than the area reserved for guests with disabilities. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Ironically, (and as anyone who has parked in the spaces reserved for persons with disabilities can tell you), these “preferred” parking spaces may not be as attractive as you expect. At Epcot, the preferred rows are not serviced by the parking lot tram, which means you get to walk to the main entrance. Likewise at the Magic Kingdom—really the Transportation and Ticketing Center—parking lot. Not only do you have a potentially longer walk to the TTC, but you still have to take the Monorail or ferry to the park.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter is here! The newsletter contains a recap of the week's articles (in case you miss a day), news that may have developed since the weekly Updates were published, and tips about what's happening at the Disney theme parks for the coming weekend. We'll also include a fun MouseAdventure bonus, such as an Eye Spy or a trivia question. To subscribe to our free newsletter, just enter your e-mail in the box below.

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Crowd Forecast

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MousePlanet

Resort Events

Check here to see if a park event might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail (link).

2016 Resort events

• Star Wars Experiences – December 1, 2015 – ???
• 2016 Flower & Garden Festival – March 2 – May 30, 2016
• Dapper Day at the Magic Kingdom (unofficial event) – Saturday, April 16, 2016. More information at the event website.
• MouseAdventure Silly Symphonies (unofficial event) – Saturday, May 14. A puzzle hunt at Epcot and the Epcot Resorts. More information at the event website.
• Gay Days at Walt Disney World (annual unofficial event) – June 2–5. More information on the event website. To whatever degree there are “organized” events, the schedule calls for attendees to visit the parks on these days:
  • Thursday, June 2 – Animal Kingdom
  • Friday, June 3 – Disney's Hollywood Studios
  • Saturday, June 4 – Magic Kingdom (the busiest day of the event)
  • Sunday, June 5 – Epcot
• Night of Joy – September 9 & 10
• 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival –September 14 through November 14, 2016.
• Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic – dates to be announced.
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party – dates to be announced.
• “Jersey Week” – November 6 – 13. Expect larger crowds this week as New Jersey students and families take advantage of a Fall Break created by their school's participation in the New Jersey Teachers Convention.
• Dapper Day at Epcot (unofficial event) – Saturday, November 12, 2016. More information at the event website.
• Holidays at Walt Disney World – dates to be announced.
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – dates to be announced.
• Holidays Around the World at Epcot – dates to be announced.
• Candlelight Processional at Epcot – dates to be announced.

runDisney events

If you participate in (or are considering signing up for) runDisney events, visit our Team MousePlanet forum on the MousePad discussion board, where you can join our community of health-minded readers and staff.

2016

• Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side Weekend – April 14 – 17, 2016. All races are sold out. The deadline to submit proof of time for these events has passed.
• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – November 3 – 5, 2016. Pre-sale begins March 22, 2016. General registration opens March 29, 2016.

For current information on registration dates and capacity, see Lorree Tachell's runDisney Race Capacity Updates in the Team MousePlanet forum on our MousePad discussion board.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Events

Check here to see if a sporting competition might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. We don't list all events here, but focus on the larger sport and cheer events that might result in extra visitors to the theme parks, and make it harder to secure a hotel room. The All-Star and moderate resort hotels are often the home base for these larger events, so it's worth avoiding those properties if possible.

2016 ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex events

• 2016 Atlanta Braves Spring Training – March 4 – April 4. See website for game schedule. Tickets, including season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets are now on sale
• ICU Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship – April 21 – 22.
• USASF Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship – April 23 – 25. This event draws over 12,000 participants.
• Varsity All Star’s Cheerleading Championship – April 29 – May 1.
• Special Olympics Florida Summer Games – May 20 – 21.
• AAU National Club Championship – June 30 – July 3.
• Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic – November 11 – 12.
• 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl – dates to be announced, but likely either December 3 – 10, or 10 – 17, 2016.

Merchandise Events

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

2016

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed April 4 – July 15 for refurbishment.
• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – closed July 7 – September 24 for refurbishment.
• Liberty Square Riverboat – closed August 15 – 21 for refurbishment.
• “it's a small world” – closed August 22 – September 15 for refurbishment.

Epcot

2016

• Soarin' – closed as of January 4, 2016. Reopens sometime in “summer of 2016” as Soarin' Around the World, with a new ride film.
• Circle of Life – closed February 7 through April 2 for refurbishment.
• Maelstrom – permanently closed for construction of Frozen Ever After attraction. New ride expected to open May, 2016.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2016

• Magic of Disney Animation – building permanently closed for future expansion. Part of the space has been converted to the Star Wars Launch Bay.
• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed January 11 for refurbishment. Reopening date TBD.
• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show – closes on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure – closes on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Studio Catering Co. – closes on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Meet & Greet: Mike and Sulley at Streets of America – closes on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• None scheduled

Blizzard Beach

• None scheduled

Typhoon Lagoon

• None scheduled

Disney Springs

• Fulton's Crab House – closes April, 2016 for refurbishment.
• Planet Hollywood – closed January 1 – June 1, 2016 for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Disney Springs Bridge 4 and restrooms on Pleasure Island – temporarily closed for ongoing construction work.
• Disney Springs Lots A-G – closed through August 1, 2016.
• Disney Springs Lots H, I, J, and K (in Westside area) – closed until further notice for construction.
• Cirque du Soleil La Nouba – performs Tuesdays through Saturdays.
• Disney Quest – scheduled to close sometime in 2016. Will be replaced with an NBA Experience venue.

Resorts

• Boardwalk Inn
  • Exterior painting and repair during daylight hours, through May 5, 2016
  • Flying Fish Cafe closed February 1 – September 30, 2016 for refurbishment.
  • Seashore Sweets – closes February 1 as part of the Flying Fish refurbishment.
• Wilderness Lodge and Villas – Hidden Springs pool, resort beach, playground, and Recreation fire pit closed. No opening date provided, but the pool is expected to be closed through 2017. Expect construction-related closures and noise due to construction of the as-yet-unannounced Disney Vacation Club cabins.

Elsewhere

• Disney Osprey Ridge Golf Course – permanently closed.

Current Discounts & Promotions

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. For your convenience, we have grouped the discount offers based on the intended audience. Check out the category that best matches you, and pick the offer that works best for you. And keep those tips coming—let us know if you find a better or different offer, so we can share it with other readers.

Don't keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments.