Walt Disney World Resort Update for October 7-12, 2015

Update for October 7–12, 2015

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News and Views

Walt Disney World hikes prices on Annual Passports | Using your new PhotoPass benefit | Your Table in Wonderland just got more expensive | Disney Cruise Line releases early 2017 itineraries | Views Around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Walt Disney World hikes prices on Annual Passports

Over the weekend, Walt Disney World joined the Disneyland Resort in a reorganization and price increase of the annual passport structure. This is the second price increase for Walt Disney World in 2015, though this increase came with no change to single- or multi-day tickets. Disney discontinued three annual pass options as part of this reorganization, introduced four new pass types, and raised prices across the board. As with the February price hike, this increase came with no official advanced warning from Disney.

Events like the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival are very popular with annual passholders, who now have to pay more to enjoy them. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Gone altogether is the Premium pass, which used to be the highest-priced annual pass for the Walt Disney World Resort. In its place are two new annual passes. The Platinum Plus Pass is $829 for new customers (who are not renewing an AP), a jump of 33 percent compared to the pass it replaces. This pass includes parking, and comes with a new benefit: free digital downloads of PhotoPass photos taken by Disney photographers around the Walt Disney World Resort. This pass also includes admission to Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Platinum Plus Pass holders also receive complimentary greens fees at Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course. This new benefit is in lieu of admission to DisneyQuest , previously included in the top-tier annual pass. Oak Trail Golf Course is a nine-hole walking course, with a typical fee of $40 per adult. Club, shoe, and pull cart rentals are not included, but available at an additional charge. Tee times must be reserved in advance.

A second new pass option, the $749 Disney Signature Pass, also includes parking and PhotoPass downloads, but does not include admission to the water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, or greens fees at Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course. The $80 difference between the two Platinum passports represents a slight discount over purchasing the Platinum pass and adding the Water Park Hopper Annual Pass separately.

The addition of the PhotoPass benefit to the Platinum passes basically means every Platinum pass now comes with a year-long Memory Maker subscription. Disney sells Memory Maker for as much as $199, and an argument could be made that the new Platinum Plus pass costs at most $50 more than it cost to purchase a Premium Pass and one Memory Maker package in 2015. For passholders who actually purchased and use Memory Maker, the six percent difference isn't quite as painful. Passholders who would usually buy more than one Memory Maker package each year (each package is valid for up to 30 days) will actually save money.

However, some passholders feel the addition of a “benefit” they don't or won't use is simply an attempt to justify a massive price hike, which comes as large portions of Disney's Hollywood Studios are closed or will be closing for the Star Wars Land construction project.

Two passes previously offered to Florida residents and Disney Vacation Club members have been discontinued. The new Gold Pass is 14 percent more expensive than the pass it replaces, but now comes with 30 blockout dates. Florida residents who purchase this pass will not be able to use it between December 17 and January 1, and again for two weeks at the end of March during peak Spring Break season.

The Silver pass—the new version of the Florida Seasonal pass—has the same winter and spring blockout dates, as well as entire period between June 6 and August 11, 2016.

Theme park parking jumped to $20 as part of this increase, with the valet fee climbing to $25.

On nights when Epcot's Illuminations: Reflections of Earth and Magic Kingdom's Wishes are shown at the same time, both can be seen from spots along the south edge of the World Showcase Lagoon. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

We noted that Disney specifically called out park hopping and free theme park parking as a benefit of each annual pass. While most annual passes previously included both benefits (the Florida Weekday Select Annual Pass does not include parking), they were not necessarily detailed quite as prominently as they are now.

Walt Disney World doesn't have quite the same parking capacity issues that the Disneyland Resort in California deals with, but there are definitely times when the theme park lots reach capacity, and new arrivals are directed to park in a different lot. Disney is currently expanding the parking capacity in the Magic Kingdom lot, which should help ease congestion there. Still, we plan to keep an eye on this—we wouldn't be surprised to see Walt Disney World eventually go the way of Disneyland by creating a parking add-on for the lower-tier passes.

A full breakdown of ticket prices are as follows, including Florida sales tax, with the old prices and percentage increase in parentheses. Where available, we've listed the renewal price, and any discount offered to Florida Residents and Disney Vacation Club members. Additional discounts may be available to Charter Passholders, or those with Shades of Green eligibility. If you fall into either of those categories, you know who you are, so contact your respective customer service departments for information.

Using your new PhotoPass benefit

While some have scoffed at the addition of free PhotoPass digital downloads as a new benefit, a source tells us this particular feature is often requested in passholder surveys. If you are already hold a Premier annual pass (valid at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World), or have just purchased a new Platinum or Platinum Plus pass, you now have access to this new benefit.

That's right—existing Premier passholders have some access to this new benefit today, without waiting to renew. Better yet, it appears the benefit extends to some PhotoPass photos taken before the benefit became effective on October 4. We successfully linked PhotoPass cards and download photos taken at Disneyland as far back as July 17, 2015, as well as download images and ride photos captured on Sunday, October 4. However, we have not been able to access PhotoPass photos that were scanned directly onto a Premier annual pass card before the benefit was introduced.

We've asked Disney for an official response about how this new benefit is intended to work for existing passholders, and will share their response once available. For now, we recommend that Premier passholders who have not yet renewed have any new photos you take linked to a PhotoPass card, rather than to MagicBand or Memory Maker card. This may be a loophole, but it seems to work.

With Disney charging $14.95 per photo for digital downloads (or as much as $199 for a Memory Maker package good for 30 days), this new benefit offers big savings to passholders who regularly purchased photos. If you never used PhotoPass or Memory Maker before, there's no reason not to try it now if it's included with the pass. However, the new benefit is so rife for abuse and fraud that we expect it to be modified in the near future.

Consider this: there appear to be no restrictions to how many PhotoPass cards a Premier or Platinum passholder can link to their account, nor any rules about whose photos you can link to your card. Just as people would get together with friends and family to “share” a single Memory Maker package, we expect passholders to do the same with this new benefit.

Passholders using their benefit for friends and family without financial consideration is one thing; it becomes fraud when someone decides to monetize the new benefit. For a time, there were a number of companies that made a business of reselling dining reservations at Walt Disney World, whom Disney was finally forced to close. Is it any stretch to imagine someone will set up shop offering PhotoPass downloads to non-passholders at a discount until Disney figures out a way to stop them?

Disney probably has some computerized triggers in place to catch rampant fraud, but it's going to happen on a smaller scale now that some people have a way to get for free what others must pay $15 bucks a pop for. For now, enjoy your new benefit.

Your Table in Wonderland just got more expensive

Tables in Wonderland members were hit with the largest percent increase of this round, with the cost of a new membership jumping by $50, to $175 for Florida residents, and $150 for annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members.

Tables in Wonderland offers a 20 percent discount on most food and alcohol purchases at over 100 table service restaurants around Walt Disney World resort, including theme parks and hotels. It is valid for up to 10 people in a party (assuming the TiW member is present and pays the entire check themselves).

The $50 price hike comes a year after the program added blockout dates for some of the most popular dining locations. The combination of price increase and blockout dates changes the math for many cardholders, and the program may no longer represent the value it once did.

A Florida resident now needs to rack up almost $900 in eligible checks just to break even on the card, much less realize any actual savings. An annual passholder or DVC member has a lower break-even point of $750, but that's still quite a tab. If you don't drop at least $100 at participating restaurants on a monthly basis, there really isn't much point in buying into the program.

Of course, since the discount is honored at quite a few bars and lounges around property, those who like to drink their way around the World may find themselves reaching their break-even point faster than expected. The California Grill (at the Contemporary Resort) may even have a bottle of wine that would let you meet your goal in one sitting.

And while there really is no good comparison between the two discount programs, we should note that annual passholders receive 10 percent on food and non-alcoholic beverages at a smaller list of restaurants, though that discount is valid only during very select dates and times.

Disney Cruise Line releases early 2017 itineraries

Sue from Small World Vacations alerted us that Disney Cruise Line will accept bookings starting today, October 7, for early 2017 sailings on the Dream, Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder Disney cruise ships. DCL is keeping all four ships in familiar waters for the early 2017 voyages, with sailings out of Port Canaveral, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The cruise line has not released itineraries beyond April 2017, but we expect the Disney Magic to return to Europe for the summer, while the Disney Wonder heads west for another Alaska season.

Castaway Club members (people who have previously sailed with the Disney Cruise Line) can book their 2017 voyages today. All others can book starting Wednesday, October 8.

Additional details are available on the Disney Cruise Line website.

Views Around the World

Contributing photographer Alan Dalinka shared some beautiful shots from the Food & Wine Festival, and visited Animal Kingdom this week to catch up on the latest construction projects.

Epcot

The Future World “Next Eats” area is lit as night falls during the 2015 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The Cranberry Bog returned for this year's Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Springs

Walt Disney World's internal road signs now point the way to Disney Springs with last week's official renaming of Downtown Disney. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Construction of the Town Center area of Disney Springs and the Marketplace garage are clearly visible (especially during stop-and-go traffic) from I-4. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Animal Kingdom

From just outside the gates of Disney's Animal Kingdom, construction of Pandora – The World of Avatar rises above Guest Relations. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Inside the gates of Disney's Animal Kingdom, construction cranes building Pandora – The World of Avatar fill the skyline. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Expansion of Disney Outfitters on Discovery Island at Disney's Animal Kingdom continues. The store remains open. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A viewing area for Disney's Animal Kingdom's new nighttime show “Rivers of Light” is taking shape in front of the Theater in the Wild (current home to “Finding Nemo: The Musical”). Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Viewing areas for Disney's Animal Kingdom's new nighttime show “Rivers of Light” are being built along the edge of Discovery River. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

A structure being built for Disney's Animal Kingdom's new nighttime show “Rivers of Light” is getting theming appropriate to its location near Expedition Everest. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

From this perspective, the Tree of Life dwarfs the construction cranes building Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Outside the Festival of the Lion King's Harambe Theater at Disney's Animal Kingdom, the African theming continues around the river bend toward the continuing construction of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Entering the Serengeti grasslands area of Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom, on the left of the vehicle, the new habitat area that has been under construction for the past several months appears to be approaching completion. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

When zebras block the road ahead, nice photo opportunities may arise in the elephant habitat area of Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom. While our vehicle waited, a parade of five elephants passed by. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Pizzafari is now closed and entirely behind construction walls that stretch all the way toward the construction area for Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The adjacent restrooms remain open (as of this posting). Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

..Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe reopened in Magic Kingdom last week with a brand-new menu, following a brief refurbishment. Fans of the often-closed Tortuga Tavern will recognize many of the new entrees, with burritos and rice bowls replacing the burgers and fries previously served. The condiment bar was updated with the same lettuce, cheese and salsa selection offered at Tortuga Tavern, along with sour cream in single-serving squeeze tubes.

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Resort Events

2015

• 2015 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party – September 22, 25, and 27; October 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, and 31; November 1. As of publication, only Halloween night is sold out.
• 2015 Epcot Food & Wine Festival – September 26 to November 16.
• 2015 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – November 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, and 29; December 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 18. As of publication, all nights are still available.
• 2015 Epcot Candlelight Processional – November 27 to December 30
• Holidays Around the World at Epcot – November 27 to December 30

2016

• Season of the Force – January 8 – March 20, 2016

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.

2015

• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – November 6–7. All races are sold out.

2016

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 6–10, 2016. The 5K, 10K, half marathon, Goofy Challenge and Dopey Challenge events are sold out. Registration is still open for the full marathon and runDisney Kids Races. The deadline to submit for these events has passed.
• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 18–21, 2016. All races are sold out. The deadline to submit Proof of Time for these events is November 17, 2015.
• Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side Weekend – April 14–17, 2016. The 10K and Dark Side Challenge are sold out. Registration is still open for the half marathon, 5K and runDisney Kids Races. Proof of Time must be provided between October 27, 2015, and January 19, 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.

Merchandise Events

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

• Diamond Horseshoe – closed through November 19 for refurbishment
• Liberty Tree Tavern – closed through November 19 for refurbishment
• Walt Disney World Frontierland station – closed October 12 to November 21 for refurbishment.
• Walt Disney World Main Street U.S.A station – closed October 12 to November 21 for refurbishment.
• Walt Disney World Fantasyland station – closed October 12 to November 21 for refurbishment.
• The Magic Behind the Our Steam Trains Guided Tour – not offered during Walt Disney World Railroad refurbishment.
• Peter Pan's Flight – closed November 2–7 for refurbishment.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover – closed December 7–10 for refurbishment

2016

• Splash Mountain – closed January 10–15 for refurbishment.
• Space Mountain – closed January 11–15 for refurbishment.
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin – closed January 15 to February 11 for refurbishment.
• Liberty Square Riverboat – closed January 18–22 for refurbishment.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed April 4 to July 15 for refurbishment.
• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – closed July 7 to September 24 for refurbishment.
• Liberty Square Riverboat – closed August 15–21 for refurbishment.
• “it's a small world” – closed August 22 to September 15 for refurbishment.

Epcot

• Soarin' – additional screen under construction. Work has no impact on the existing theaters.
• Innoventions West – Think, presented by IBM; The Great Piggy Bank Adventure; and Where's the Fire? closed. The Disney Visa character experience remains open.
• Maelstrom – ride permanently closed for construction of Frozen Ever After attraction. New ride expected to open May, 2016.
• Innoventions East – Glidden's Colortopia under construction replacing the Test the Limits exhibit. Expected to open late 2015.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

• Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular – closed October 20–23 for refurbishment.
• Toy Story Midway Mania – second ride track is under construction. Work has no impact on the existing ride.
• Magic of Disney Animation – building permanently closed for future expansion.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• Primeval Whirl – closed through November 13 for refurbishment.
• Pizzafari – closed through October 20 for refurbishment

Blizzard Beach

• Entire park closed from October 25, 2015 through January 3, 2016 for refurbishment
• Summit Plummet and Slush Gusher – closed for unscheduled refurbishment as of September 19.

Typhoon Lagoon

• Entire park closed from January 3 to March 13 for refurbishment.

Downtown Disney / Disney Springs

• Fulton's Crab House – closed January 1 to April 1, 2016 for refurbishment.
• Planet Hollywood – closed January 1 to June 1, 2016 for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Downtown Disney Bridge 4 and restrooms on Pleasure Island – temporarily closed for ongoing construction work.
• Downtown Disney Lots A-G – closed through August 1, 2016.
• Downtown Disney Lots H, I, J, and K (in Westside area) – closed until further notice for Disney Springs 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

• Polynesian – ongoing refurbishment of the lobby and pool area.
• Disney's Boardwalk Inn – Exterior painting and repair during daylight hours, through May 5, 2016
• Disney's Boardwalk Inn – Flying Fish Cafe closed February 1 to September 30, 2016 for refurbishment.
• Disney's Coronado Springs – La Vida Health Club and Casitas pool closed for refurbishment through October 12. An alternate fitness center is available for guest use.
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Villas – construction of the as-yet-unannounced Disney Vacation Club cabins begins October 2015. Expect construction-related closures and noise during the project.
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Villas – Hidden Springs pool, resort beach, playground, and Recreation fire pit close October 26, 2015. No opening date provided, but the pool is expected to be closed through 2017.

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.