Best Recent Disney Changes…and One Terrible Choice
Disney theme parks are ever-evolving and constantly improving.
Over the past few years, Disney has introduced several new policies that indicate the company listens to its most loyal fans…mostly.
Here are the best recent Disney vacation changes and one indefensible choice.
Attraction Overlays
Do you know what makes the holidays at Disney even better? The undeniable truth is a holiday overlay.
A few years ago, Disney recognized the ease with which it could temporarily alter some attractions to make them seasonal.
A couple of the attractions like Jingle Cruise add simple touches and a new script to drive home the holiday vibe.
Others like Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark and Alien Swirling Saucers decorate with swirling lights and seasonally appropriate music.
Disney offers multiple versions of Space Mountain overlays, one of which changes the attraction into a Star Wars offering called Hyperspace Mountain.
The other one operates during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and turns the whole backdrop pitch black for maximum terror.
Conversely, during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the roller coaster lights up with a festive white backdrop that will remind you of icicles and snow!
These overlays reinvigorate existing rides with new sensations. Disney can do this without upsetting purists who don’t want any classic ride to change.
Introduction of Disney Genie
No, I don’t mean Disney Genie+. I’m talking about the basic Disney Genie service that remains free to all park guests.
Park officials designed Disney Genie + as a kind of Siri for theme park visits. This one app – really, a part of an app – knows everything there is to know about Disney.
Genie can schedule your itinerary, warn you when the wait for a ride is too long, and even show you the most direct route to the nearest bathroom.
Disney resorts will soon add a variant of this virtual assistant, Hey Disney, in hotel rooms. At that point, you’ll never worry about a Disney vacation again.
You can use the various apps available to provide you with all the information you need!
Introduction of Interactive Televisions in Rooms
Speaking of in-room services, Disney has gradually added interactive televisions to its hotel rooms at Walt Disney World.
This new technology allows you to cast media from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to your hotel television.
You’ll know that you have this technology the instant you turn on your TV.
In the rooms with upgraded tech, the TV will say, “Welcome Mumpower Family” for me and whatever your last name is for you.
You’ll also discover a limited selection of Disney+ and theme park programming available on these new TVs.
You may like your upgraded TV features so much that you don’t want to leave your hotel room!
Lightning Lane Modifications
Folks, there’s nothing more frustrating than recognizing a better Disney Genie+ reservation available than the one you have.
I say this because when you notice a rare Disney Genie+ attraction available, you know that you’ll never cancel your existing one in time to snag the better one.
Actually, I should use the past tense to describe that problem now because Disney finally fixed that problem after 14 annoying months.
During the first year of Disney Genie+, Disney required guests to cancel a booking before making a new one. The same rule applied to Lightning Lane as well.
Thankfully, Disney recently improved its tech enough that it could eliminate that supremely frustrating limitation.
Now, when you notice a Frozen Ever After booking window is available on Disney Genie+, you can drop your current reservation to upgrade.
As an example, I recently wanted a Na’vi River Journey reservation rather than DINOSAUR, as the latter attraction had a 10-minute wait.
Shockingly, Na’vi River Journey was available. However, in the time I needed to cancel one and book the other, someone else had booked it instead.
Thankfully, Disney has streamlined the service now. Under the improved system, I would have switched in a single booking, ensuring I kept Na’vi River Journey.
Trust me, folks. The new way is MUCH better!
Reduction in Lightning Lanes
Along those lines, Disney started its Lightning Lane system with a decidedly greedy approach.
Every Walt Disney World theme park offered two Lightning Lane attractions. Usually, these were the most popular rides at each park.
So, Disney left its guests with two options. They could pay for the two Lightning Lanes or wait in a long line for one/both.
While the dual Lightning Lane options sold well enough to justify their continued existence, Disney took a different approach.
For most of 2022, Disney included only one attraction per park in the Lightning Lane category.
Half the rides that had previously slotted in the Lightning Lane category switched to Disney Genie+, which is a significantly better deal.
Even better, when Disney has introduced new attractions, it moved others from Lightning Lane to Disney Genie+.
For instance, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure started as a Lightning Lane attraction but is not part of Disney Genie+.
Similarly, since Radiator Springs Racers remains so popular, the newest attraction at Disney California Adventure, WEBSLINGERS – A Spider-Man Adventure, has since dropped down to Disney Genie+.
Relaxed Dining Cancellation Policy
Walt Disney World enacted the same cancellation policy for as long as I can remember.
Seriously, I remember vacations from a decade ago when I knew I’d get billed for not showing up for an Advanced Dining Reservation.
Under the previous policy, Disney charged $10 per guest on the reservation if people no-showed their reservations.
Let’s say that I’d booked five people for Chef Mickey’s, something I’ve done countless times.
Now, let’s presume that we got stuck at Disney’s Hollywood Studios waiting for our Boarding Group for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Under the old policy, I’d be out $50. And this has happened to me several times.
Disney required guests to cancel 48 hours before the reservation time to avoid this billing penalty.
Thankfully, Disney has updated to account for the fact that rainy weather and long attraction wait times can disrupt plans.
Now, you can cancel up to two hours before your reservation time and not get billed. That’s 46 hours better, my friends!
As of mid-November, Disney recognized that it can fill those tables anyway.
So, it was petty to charge guests for understandable mishaps on the way to dining reservations.
For all the criticisms of Bob Chapek’s penny-pinching, the Lightning Lane and dinner reservation policy changes came under his tenure. This is our collective shocked face.
And the Terrible Choice: Eliminating Magical Express
Disney ended Magical Express just over a year ago. We’d known about the change long before that, though.
Here’s an article I wrote that’s almost exactly two years old. If anything, I feel more strongly about the subject now than I did in early 2021.
I mean, something I mentioned there was the planned Brightline station coming to Disney Springs. Well, that’s no longer coming.
Disney and Brightline publicly divorced last year, long after MickeyBlog published that column.
As such, there’s even less excuse now for Walt Disney World to leave travelers to fend for themselves at Orlando International Airport.
Disney never should have canceled Magical Express in the first place. However, the justification management used at the time no longer applies.
Now that Bob Iger has returned as CEO, I’m hopeful that Disney will reconsider what is now an indefensible decision.
Disney, PLEASE bring back Magical Express!
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Feature Photo: SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY