MickeyBlog News for November 4th, 2024
Welcome to the holiday season edition of MickeyBlog News! Grab some hot cocoa and a candy cane, and let’s get started!
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
On Thursday, Disney theme parks celebrated Halloween, one of the most popular holidays on the annual calendar.
Disney was revving up for this event since mid-July, and guests relished in the opportunity to spend the holiday at the parks.
Disney Springs Halloween PhotoPass
The Halloween afterglow didn’t last long, though. That’s because invisible elves performed their special dose of Disney magic overnight.
In the final moments of the witching hour on All Hallow’s Eve, Cast Members tossed out their pumpkins and swapped them for Christmas wreaths.
Holiday Decorations in Disneyland’s Frontierland
By the time guests awakened on November 1st, the parks had transformed into winter wonderland.
This conversion is always breathtaking to behold, and MickeyBlog has been on the scene all week chronicling the events.
Here’s one of our park reporters capturing the prep work for the opening of the legendary Gingerbread House at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which is now complete!
I’m at Walt Disney World this week, and it’s remarkable how much can change here in a matter of hours.
You’ll walk down Main Street, U.S.A. and snap some pictures of the decorations.
Then, you’ll return the following day, and there is a LOT more that hadn’t been there before.
Grand Floridian gingerbread house
Cast Members work overnight to maintain the mystery of the updated decorations, at least at the parks.
At Disney’s resorts, watching Gingerbread House construction is a glorious exercise.
Gingerbread Hotel
Several Disneyland and Disney World properties create these constructs during the holiday season, and each one is stunning.
Just last year, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort added a Gingerbread Lighthouse that’s amazing to behold.
Still, my perennial favorites are the Gingerbread Store at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and the Gingerbread Carousel at Disney’s Beach Club Resort.
The most remarkable part is that all the ingredients are edible, yet that carousel spins!!!
Holidays at Disney theme parks are the absolute best.
The Debut of Lightning Lane Premier Pass
While everyone always loves the process, the reality is that Disney changes its holiday décor each year.
This week’s biggest story is one with lingering implications beyond 2024.
Photo: Disney
Disney has officially unveiled the Lightning Lane Premier Pass at Walt Disney World.
Technically, Disneyland Resort debuted its version a week earlier. However, the story somewhat fell beneath the radar at first.
Photo: Disney
Now that we’ve had a few days of usage at Disney World and more than a week at Disneyland, we can draw some conclusions.
First, I should remind you that the Lightning Lane Premier Pass is the deluxe version of the other Lightning Lane offerings.
Photo: Disney
With the Premier Pass, you can enter the shorter Lightning Lane line queue at any participating attraction.
So, the Premier Pass will save you countless hours you’d otherwise spend standing in line at the park.
The chief drawbacks are that 1) you can only use it once per attraction and 2) it’s the opposite of cheap.
As I discussed in detail in a different article, these were the average prices for the first 22 days of service:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom — $143.55
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios — $297.19
- EPCOT — $188.59
- Magic Kingdom — $370.82
Photo: Disney
The chief difference between Premier Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass/Single Pass is that you don’t need to choose a return time.
Instead, you’ll simply enter the Lightning Lane queue whenever the moment is convenient for you. That’s a very nice benefit.
Photo: Washington Post
I’m testing this service and will post a review when I get home. But what I can say is that early reviews confirm the obvious.
Premier Pass is an absolutely spectacular service that Disney has priced entirely too high, at least at Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Disneyland.
Disney Miscellany Part I
Photo: Disney.Dinks2 on TIkTok
We’ve got several other stories to cover this week, starting with the strangest one.
Two Disney barges collided during a performance of Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Photo: Disney.Dinks2 on TIkTok
No one was hurt, and I’m surprised that this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often. In fact, I’ve said as much on several occasions!
This is also permits and construction month at Disney theme parks.
Photo: Disney.Dinks2 on TIkTok
Now that the new fiscal year has begun, Disney has directed its first money toward theme park expansion.
As promised, construction crews have started moving dirt near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and at DinoLand USA.
After years of fans waiting and hoping, the time has finally arrived! The theme parks will improve soon.
Meanwhile, before the Disney World resorts switched to Christmas decorations, they celebrated Halloween the right way.
The monorail resorts hosted pumpkin carving competitions, and this year’s was truly spectacular.
Here are the pumpkins at the Grand Floridan, and here are the ones from Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
But my favorite this year and possibly ever is the Haunted Mansion one at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Amazing.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Merry Menagerie Mural is up.
Let me tell you. This is legitimately one of the most beautiful photo backdrops ever. No hyperbole.
At EPCOT, I’ll gently remind you that the dining packages for the Candlelight Processional are now available.
Photo: Disney
You should speak with a MickeyTravels agent to book one before they sell out, leaving you without a spot at EPCOT’s most popular event.
We’ve also got two restaurant updates. The Cake Bake Shop is now accepting reservations via OpenTable.
Conversely, Vivoli il Gelato suddenly closed for renovations. Thankfully, there’s a snack cart open. So, you can still get your fix.
Disney Miscellany Part II
Photo: Marriott
The other big Disney World news involves a different refurbishment.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin will spend its 25th anniversary adding $140 million in resort enhancements!
New Year’s Eve fans should also know that all the parks have posted their holiday schedules.
Act quickly since some of it is already booking!
The final bit of Disney World news for the week will thrill my wife and other fans of Muppets Christmas Carol.
During Disney Jollywood Nights, Disney will host a photo op based on the film!
Plenty is happening at Disneyland Resort right now, too. For starters, Avengers Campus will add performances of The Amazing Spider-Man!
That’s the stunt show featuring the revolutionary acrobatic Audio-Animatronic, which will add new shows on November 17th.
Photo: Disney
There had been inaccurate reports that the show would close due to budget cuts, but the Orange County Register explicitly refuted that.
Disney also revealed the pricing for Holiday Tea With Santa and Mrs. Claus at Hearthstone Lounge.
Photo: Disney
Finally, we have confirmation that the following Disneyland after Dark events are returning in 2025:
- Pride Nite
- Star Wars Nite
- Sweethearts’ Nite
Dear Disney: Please bring back Disney Channel Nite, too!
MOANA 2 – © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Finally, you should know that Moana 2 tickets are now on sale for Thanksgiving Week.
You’ll want to buy early because its pre-sales have bested those of Inside Out 2, the number-one film of 2024.
Photo: Disney
That’s not to say that Moana 2 will come anywhere near that level of box office, but some analysts are referring to this blockbuster as Moanapocalypse.
You know a film is gonna be big when it gets a nickname a month ahead of time, right Barbenheimer fans?
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