MickeyBlog News for April 10th, 2023
This past week, Magic Kingdom opened its first roller coaster since 2014. Somehow, that wasn’t anywhere near the biggest news, either!
Walt Disney World also confirmed that annual passes would finally go back on sale after a prolonged absence.
Also, the relationship between Disney and Florida’s governor took a turn for the John Wick.
This is a historic week for MickeyBlog News.
Annual Pass Sales Return at Walt Disney World
On April 20th, non-Florida residents can do something they’ve desired for a long time now.
After an interminable delay, several Walt Disney World annual passes will go back on sale. Let’s walk through the details you need to know before you buy.
As a reminder, here are the annual passes you may buy at Walt Disney World:
- Disney Pixie Dust Pass — $399
- Disney Pirate Pass — $749
- Disney Sorcerer Pass — $969
- Disney Incredi-Pass — $1,399
Disney only sells the first two passes, Pixie Dust and Pirate, to Florida residents.
The Pixie Dust Pass provides Walt Disney World admission on most weekdays, while the Pirate Pass includes weekends as well.
Non-Florida residents have desperately wanted Disney to reopen sales for the other two passes.
The Sorcerer Pass provides guests with park admission for all but the following dates over the next year:
- November 22nd – November 25th, 2023
- December 20th – December 31st, 2023
- January 1st – January 3rd, 2024
So, we’re discussing all but a handful of holiday week travel dates. Guests who travel during this timeframe can purchase the Incredi-Pass instead.
This annual pass provides Walt Disney World admission throughout the year and doesn’t include any blockout dates.
Disney warns that any of these annual passes can – and most likely will – sell out.
As a word of warning, when Disneyland brought back Magic Key the first time last year, everything sold out in 36 hours.
If you want a new annual pass, you should be ready to act on April 20th.
Remember that you can make a modest down payment and then continue on a monthly payment plan if that better suits your financial needs.
Finally, DVC members can buy the Sorcerer Pass early on April 13th if so inclined.
Disney Declares War
MickeyBlog has covered this story extensively during the past week, but it’s simply not going away anytime soon.
During the 2023 Disney Shareholders Meeting, Bob Iger stepped into the batter’s box and swung for the fences.
For the first time in more than a year, Disney played offense in aggressively attacking Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis.
Iger described the actions of DeSantis as “anti-Florida” and “anti-business.”
That’s akin to pointing to someone holding a hand grenade and telling them they look fat in those jeans. You’re just asking for trouble.
Alas, Disney has finally taken the position that reasoning with DeSantis hasn’t worked.
So, the company has taken steps to protect itself legally in the face of an almost certain legal battle.
National headlines have painted Disney as the winner in humiliating DeSantis through the Reedy Creek legal maneuvering.
DeSantis is currently campaigning as part of a likely Presidential run. It hasn’t gone well, as he has slipped in the polls.
Simultaneously, DeSantis has faced questions at every stop regarding what happened with Disney, as he had previously stated several times that there was “a new sheriff in town.”
Lately, the outlaws in said town have been winning. As such, DeSantis has declared that he’ll “win on every single issue involving Disney.”
Since Florida’s gerrymandered government has followed DeSantis in lockstep during the pandemic, these incendiary words should worry Disney officials.
DeSantis has promised to void Disney’s legal moves via legislation.
Also, he has indicated that he will consider “taxes on Disney World hotels, tolls on roads leading to the theme parks, and developing district property near the company’s resorts.”
Disney has declared war on someone who is coming across as beyond reason lately. As fans, this should concern all of us.
Tron Opens to the Public
If you had told me at any point over the past five years, that this story wouldn’t be the lead update on MickeyBlog News, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Here we are, though. It’s legitimately just the third-most impactful story of the week, even though we’ll remember this one longer.
Disney news is wild right now, y’all!
Anyway, you know the deal here if you’ve read MickeyBlog lately.
Nearly six years after its original announcement, Disney has finally opened Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom. The pandemic delayed progress to a crawl.
Now that Tron is open, nobody cares, though. We’ve got the data to support that.
Tron’s virtual queue system and its Lightning Lane allotment have sold out every day thus far.
In fact, the virtual queue bookings sell out in a matter of minutes. Often, the Lightning Lanes are gone by noon as well. Please plan accordingly during your visit!
Speaking of which, you should understand that Disney enforces its return window policy on Tron.
Once Disney calls your Boarding Group, you should immediately finish whatever you’re doing and head to Tron.
Management has taken a hard line here because some guests tried to wait until after dark to experience Tron. It’s undeniably breathtaking at night.
Unfortunately, that behavior causes a traffic imbalance that Disney must avoid.
So, when My Disney Experience calls your Boarding Group number, you gotta go then!
The other Tron surprise is one that a MickeyBlogger discovered.
Tomorrowland Launch Depot opened late on April 4th, well ahead of what Disney had expected.
You can purchase more than 75 Tron items here and participate in the Tron Identity Disc Program. You’ll definitely want to check out this new store!
Marvel Miscellany
I’ve got a few more stories to cover quickly. The most important of them involves Journey of Water | Inspired by Moana.
The water is now flowing at EPCOT’s next stunning attraction! Disney notes that the water has a lot of learning to do, but it’s getting close to completion.
We should also discuss the Disney Genie+ sellouts happening at Walt Disney World right now.
During Easter Week, park officials priced the service $6 higher than ever.
Then, guests bought the entire Disney Genie+ allotment faster than ever. Make of that what you will.
This was a massive attendance week overall at Walt Disney World. As proof, every Lightning Lane attraction sold out at least one day last week.
For all the online chatter that people won’t pay for Disney services like Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane, the facts show otherwise.
Finally, the next time you use My Disney Experience, you’ll notice a new look for Mobile Ordering. Disney has streamlined the system and made it more efficient.
Okay, that’s everything for this week. If you celebrate the event, I sincerely hope you’re having a lovely Easter holiday.
If you don’t, I hope you’re enjoying all the Disney drama lately! It’s been a lot!
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney