The Biggest Disney Park Changes in 2024
Every year, Disney theme parks change as strategists discover new ways to improve the vacation experience.
Some of the changes prove fleeting in nature, while others become an integral part of a park visit.


Photo: Disney
The past 12 months have proved no different, as Disney regained its identity after a few strange years.
Here are the biggest Disney park changes in 2024.
The Dining Plan Returns


Disney Dining Plan
January 2024 was the most glorious of times for longtime Disney fans.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Disney restored one of its most popular amenities.


Disney Dining Plans
Yes, the Disney Dining Plan returned after a nearly five-year absence. And like many of you, I quickly used it!
In case you’ve forgotten after this long, the Disney Dining Plan provides guests staying at official hotels to pay for their food in advance.


Photo: Disney
The guests in your room all gain two entitlements per day. You exchange these entitlements for complete Disney meals.
Also, you don’t always have to pay for the dining plan. Disney sometimes offers it for free as part of a package.


Photo: Disney
Those vacation dates often book quickly, as guests love getting a deal on their Disney trips.
What I enjoy about the dining plan is that I don’t worry about money while I’m on vacation.
Since I already paid for my meals before arrival, when the bill comes, I simply use an entitlement.
The dining plan provides a stress-free method of Disney dining, and I swear by it. Its return is welcome in this household for sure!
Disney Reboots Aging Attractions



Photo: Disney Parks Blog
I know that some of you were emotionally attached to attractions like Country Bear Jamboree, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, and (especially) Muppet*Vision 3D.
Still, the reality is that none of the three attractions has lived up to its billing for quite some time.
Modern Disney park planners have little patience for underperforming attractions.
Until recently, Disney would have taken the side of historical significance with such attractions.
Starting with the ruthlessly efficient execution of DinoLand USA, the writing has been on the wall that the company has undergone a philosophical change.
In 2024, Disney announced that several other heads were gonna roll.
Alarmingly, some of those heads belong to Muppets, which doesn’t seem very child friendly.
The point is that if a show like Country Bear Jamboree isn’t enticing guests, Disney doesn’t care that it’s been around since 1971.



Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Park officials will reboot an iconic show into an IP celebration of Disney music called Country Bear Musical Jamboree.
Even more impressively, Disney will do a spectacular job with the change.
I defy anyone to say that the new show is anything other than vibrant and joyous.
That’s why I’m trying not to judge Disney prematurely for its more brutal decision to close Muppet*Vision 3D.
I understand Disney’s rationale here, even if I dislike it.
Presuming Disney moves the show elsewhere, it’s no harm, no foul.


Muppets Courtyard
If Muppet*Vision 3D really is going away forever, well, Disney better make sure that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is a masterpiece.
Then again, based on Country Bear Musical Jamboree, it probably will be.


New Country Bear Musical Jamboree attraction poster
To a larger point, Disney has bravely embraced the notion that modern audiences value excitement over vague nostalgia.
And I’m not being controversial when I say vague. The wait times for Muppet*Vision 3D and Country Bear Jamboree tell the story.
Beloved though these shows may be, they are/were NOT popular attractions.
Disney deserves credit for planning future park improvements like these.


Photo: Disney
They could have hidden behind reverence and stuck with lackluster status quo.
Disney Restores True Park Hopping
The pandemic forced several unfortunate changes at Disney theme parks.
Due to social distancing requirements, park officials needed accurate headcounts regarding expected attendance.
Without those numbers, guests would have overcrowded the parks, creating safety issues.
So, the elimination of the established form of Park Hopping made sense in 2020 and 2021. You could even argue the point in 2022.


Magic Kingdom Spring Break Crowds
By 2023, all Disney fans were looking around wondering why the modified system remained in place. It made zero sense.
The reality was that some Disney officials quite liked the new setup, as it gave them more control over guest behavior.


Crowds
But the thing is…those people work for us. I’m not saying that combatively, I swear.
My point is more that all their decisions should prioritize one goal: improving the Disney guest experience.


Magic Kingdom
The altered Park Hopping rules did the opposite. Fans haaaaaaaated it.
Thankfully, in early 2024, Disney switched back to the original rules, the ones we’ve known for so long.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass Replaces Disney Genie+


Disney Genie
You probably feel the same way about Disney Genie+ that I do about the New Orleans Saints. Let’s just say I’m not a fan.
You weren’t big on Disney Genie+, either, partially because of what it represented.


Photo: Disney
During the FastPass era, everyone could enter a digital queue and thereby ride their favorite attractions more quickly.
During the pandemic, Disney ended that program and introduced Lightning Lane instead.


Photo: Disney
I recently kicked the hornet’s nest by arguing why Lightning Lane is better than ever.
That’s a wildly unpopular opinion, but even if you disagree with me on that, you’ll agree about Disney Genie+.


Photo: Disney
The previous system was horrible and confusingly named to boot.
Disney still offers Disney Genie, which is a virtual assistant that has nothing to do with attraction line queues.


Frozen Ever After
Bob Chapek, in his infinite wisdom, gave two entirely different things almost identical names.
Now that Disney Genie+ has gone, Lightning Lane has finally solved the 7 a.m. Struggle.
Guests may purchase and book Lightning Lanes up to a week before park arrival.
That ability solves a problem of Disney’s own creation and makes park visits easier than they’ve been in five years.
Theme Park Reservations Largely Unnecessary
Can I get a hallelujah?!
In early January, Disney ended what was quite possibly its least popular decision this century.
During the pandemic, the other way Disney changed the parks was by requiring theme park reservations.
Again, the decision was wholly necessary at the time. Frustratingly, Disney kept it MUCH longer, though.


Cinderella Castle
This was another example of Disney doing something anti-consumer and then sticking with it for business reasons.
With theme park reservations, management could staff the parks with ruthless efficiency, saving tons of money.


Photo: MCO
For guests, theme park reservations were like having to pick up a friend at the airport.
Nobody wanted to do it, but we didn’t have much choice. That was the case for nearly four years.


Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom
Then, at the start of 2024, Disney switched tactics. Some genius whom I will love forever had an epiphany.
Disney says date-based tickets as its standard form of admission. So, it was already getting accurate headcounts!
The only people who could mess up the calculations were annual passholders and holders of non-standard admission tickets.
The latter category consists of a statistically insignificant number of people.


Photo: Disney
Disney solved the problem of annual passholders by allowing them a series of reservations.
Then, Disney threw in Good to Go Days on slower dates so that passholders could sometimes show up without park reservations.


Timon & Pumbaa Annual Passholder Magnet
The new system still isn’t perfect, I say as an annual passholder, but it’s a night and day improvement from the old one.
Well done, Disney. You listened to fan complaints and introduced meaningful changes in 2024!
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Feature Photo: Disney