MickeyBlog News for March 11th, 2024
Disney theme parks just announced several exciting changes coming soon…and they already implemented a few others!
We’ve got plenty to discuss in this week’s MickeyBlog News!
Star Wars Updates Coming Soon
Let’s start with some Star Wars news. As diehard fans know, May the 4th is right around the corner.
Typically, Disney adds some Star Wars touches in the days leading up to the unofficial holiday.
For 2024, we’re getting a returning favorite and something exciting as a new enhancement.
The returning favorite is Season of the Force, which Disney has announced is coming back next month.
From April 5th through June 2nd, guests can experience one of Disneyland Park’s most popular overlays, Hyperspace Mountain.
Disney converts Space Mountain into a TIE fighter battle for survival, adding some of the beloved sights and sounds from the Holy Trilogy.
For once, the Space Mountain overlay won’t count as the top Star Wars draw during Season of the Force, though.
Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will upgrade Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! with new scenes.
Disney confirmed these additions last year, and now we’re getting them.
Specifically, characters and locations from series like Ahsoka, Andor, and The Mandalorian will become part of the Star Tours experience.
As a reminder, this attraction utilizes randomization to change the experience for each Star Tour.
Now, you can receive messages from Ahsoka, Din Djarin, and Cassian Andor on your way to destinations like Peridia.
Most excitingly, Admiral Thrawn and Baby Yoda will appear, giving Star Wars fans dream encounters on their Star Tours.
You’ll find these experiences on the ride starting on April 5th. Here’s a quick teaser video:
As a final bit of Season of the Force excitement, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will exhibit its own fireworks on select nights.
Disney Improves Dining Options
One of the most challenging concepts for consumers is the so-called quality-of-life improvement/update.
These changes occur when a company wants to improve the customer experience in subtle ways.
Often, users barely even notice the updates, as has happened a couple of times recently with My Disney Experience.
This week’s update is different, as you cannot help but notice how much better the app has gotten.
The next time you pull up My Disney Experience and search for dining, you’ll notice some improvements.
Specifically, when you check a restaurant, you don’t need to specify an arrival time.
The app will automatically display all the available times for the rest of the day.
When you want to check a more specific dining option, you can still sort by menu, meaning you can prioritize breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
This statement applies to the Disneyland app as well. So, you can check the location you prefer and know where you stand.
If a restaurant doesn’t show any openings, you’ll know that you’re probably not eating there on this given day.
Thankfully, Disney has taken that into consideration as well.
The Upcoming Dining App Update
As part of a future update, you’ll be able to evaluate restaurant availability for up to 10 days in advance.
Words cannot aptly summarize how much of an impact this change will have on my future Disney vacations.
If you’re anything like my family and consider a few restaurants absolute musts, you understand the current frustration.
Let’s say that you want to visit Be Our Guest Restaurant. Until last week, you could only evaluate a few listings at a time.
As of now, you may view the entire day to identify open tables.
Soon, you can check a specific restaurant for the entirety of your Disney vacation, presuming it’s ten days or less.
That’s the kind of quality-of-life app update that dramatically improves your enjoyment while on vacation.
You no longer need to check in three-hour increments each day, reducing the number of searches by, like, 85 percent.
Frankly, this update is looooooooong overdue, but it’s coming soon.
Once My Disney Experience adds this tech, people will struggle to remember “the old days” of the individual searches.
I strongly suspect that the many wonderful MickeyTravels agents are breathing a sigh of relief at this announcement.
By the way, the app has modified one other aspect of Mobile Ordering.
You can now search to learn which restaurants will serve you food the fastest.
While you’re never more than 100 steps from eating at Disney, that’s still another welcome enhancement.
Early in 2024, I mentioned that Disney has prioritized guest satisfaction with its app improvements.
This week’s announcements highlight that reality. So, thank you for listening to us, Disney!
Disney Miscellany
At Disneyland Resort, Magic Key sales unexpectedly returned this week.
As has become Disney’s practice, park officials announced the upcoming sales on one day and started them within 24 hours.
The Imagine Key, the least expensive option, sold out quickly.
As I type this on Saturday, the other three versions remain available.
Notably, Disney added another quality-of-life improvement to the sales process.
You can get an email notification when it’s about to be your turn in the wait queue.
Friends, that may not sound like much, but it dials down the aggravation of this process by at least 90 percent. No joke.
By the way, we also learned the details on the Magic Key class action suit. If you’re affected, you should read this.
At Walt Disney World, you’ll discover several new and return character greetings.
Disney is ramping up for the Easter holiday and Spring Break crowds.
Since these character interactions always draw plenty of guests off the main walking paths, Disney typically hosts more at this time of year.
Our incredible team of MickeyBlog reporters has tracked down character greetings with Donald and Daisy Duck and Chip ‘n’ Dale.
That’s not all! After a too-long absence, I am thrilled to report that Dug and Russell are once again meeting guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
This one’s genuinely top five for me at Walt Disney World, as I’m a Dug superfan.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, your favorite father/son tandem, Goofy and Max, are jointly meeting guests again, too!
Disney Miscellany II
Meanwhile, EPCOT broke out the big guns this week. For the first time ever, Disney projection-mapped a topiary.
Somehow, Dante from Coco glows in the dark! We may be seeing the first hint at the future of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.
Speaking of which, the Colors of the Wind presentation has returned to the Spaceship Earth Beacon of Light. It’s beautiful.
At Walt Disney World’s resorts, we got our first look at the new menu at 1900 Park Fare. Strawberry Soup is nearly back, y’all!
Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort have added their Easter Egg displays.
So, you’ll have plenty of resort hopping to do during your next visit.
Finally, Disney Cruise Line has confirmed that Marvel Day at Sea will return in 2025!
Speak with a MickeyTravels agent to learn more about this always exciting event!
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Feature Photo: DL Paris