MickeyBlog News for July 1st, 2024
If you weren’t reading MickeyBlog this week, you missed A LOT!
While the moral of the story is that you should always read MickeyBlog, I’ve got you covered today.
We’ll cover plenty of ground in MickeyBlog News, as this was one of the most impactful weeks in recent memory. So, let’s get started.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Debuts
We’ve got three massive stories this week, each of which could justifiably be the lead news item.
I’m going with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, even though I’ll cover it the least.
By now, everyone knows the deal here. Disney rebooted Splash Mountain to disconnect from the Song of the South theme.
In the beloved attraction’s place, Imagineers have leaned hard toward kindness and positivity with the new attraction.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure doesn’t even include any appearances from Dr. Facilier. Instead, this ride is nothing but love.
A couple of months ago, I suggested that the attraction would suffer some hiccups during its early days.
Then, during the sneak previews, a couple of quirks unfolded, with the attraction closing multiple times.
Disney added a “Boarding Paused” option for the virtual queue process. As a reminder, this ride doesn’t employ a standby queue yet.
So, nobody was quite sure what to expect on Tiana’s opening day.
Well, I’m happy to report that after two days in operation, at least officially, the new Magic Kingdom ride is meeting the challenge.
Everything went smoothly on Friday, while Tiana only experienced a mild delay on Saturday.
These sorts of issues are status quo with opening weekend attractions, particularly complicated ones.
More importantly, the early reception to Tiana is nothing short of glowing.
Even some former critics have fallen in love after riding it for the first time. It’s just such a nicely intended experience.
Halfway to Christmas
On June 25th, Disney celebrated an unofficial holiday and one of my favorites at that.
That date marks the halfway point in the calendar. We’re now less than 180 days away from Christmas.
So, the marketing team capitalized on this opportunity to reveal everything Disney has in store for us this holiday season.
For starters, Disney confirmed the return of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP), a beloved holiday classic.
Magic Kingdom has offered this event since 1983, although the name technically changed a couple of times during the pandemic.
We’re talking about a 40+ year tradition, and 2024’s party sounds as great as usual.
This year’s event starts on November 8th, with the last performance on December 20th.
As a reminder, MVMCP is a ticketed event that occurs after the park closes to regular guests.
The party starts at 7 PM and lasts through midnight. It’s also decidedly family-friendly.
You’ll have 25 different opportunities to attend in 2024. Here are this year’s dates:
- November: 8th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 27th, & 29th
- December: 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, & 20th, 2024
Let’s say that you’re an adult who wants to do something else. Well, I’m happy to report that Disney Jollywood Nights is back too!
You’ll find this after-hours ticketed event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It debuted last year.
Honestly, opening night was pretty rough but by the final night, fans were begging Disney to do it again. Now, they are!
The 2024 dates for Jollywood Nights are:
- November: 9th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 23rd, 25th, 30th
- December 2nd, 7th, 11th, 14th, 18th, 21st
About the Holiday Events
Tickets for Jollywood Nights cost $159-$179, although annual passholders and DVC Members can save $10 per ticket.
MVMCP increased its prices slightly from 2023, while Jollywood Nights remained the same.
As a reminder, Jollywood Nights targets adults. If you want a child-friendly event, head to Magic Kingdom!
Meanwhile, those of you traveling without children will enjoy the experiential nature of Jollywood Nights.
Here’s a list of attractions in operation during Jollywood Nights,
During regular park hours, I’m happy to confirm that the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will return.
This year’s event starts on November 29th, the day after Thanksgiving.
It’s also less than a week after the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival ends. So, that’s going to be a BUSY week.
Disney understands you want to visit during this time of year. So, it sprinkled a bit of holiday magic.
You can save a lot of money on a holiday trip. Speak with a MickeyTravels agent to learn more, as these deals are already available.
The huge discount is one of many reasons this holiday season will be extra magical.
Disney Genie+ Gets Re-Themed
After nearly three years of complaints, Disney has finally done something to address fans’ frustrations.
When Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane debuted, they solved some park problems while causing others.
The naming conventions didn’t help anything, as people purchased virtual queue spots via Disney Genie+.
Then, they entered the Lightning Lane for various attractions. Meanwhile, Lightning Lane was technically something else.
Oh, and we also have Disney Genie, a virtual assistant that has absolutely nothing to do with Disney Genie+. The whole thing was weird.
I don’t know why management needed so long to solve such a simple problem, but it’s finally happened.
On July 24th, Disney will reboot the entire system, starting with the names. Disney Genie+ will no longer exist on that date.
In place of the poorly named system, Disney creates Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which is really just Disney Genie+ with a better name.
Disney has also slightly modified the list of participating attractions, but that’s a tiny quibble.
Overall, Disney fixes the biggest problem under the old system.
As of next month, guests can purchase and book Multi Passes in advance.
In other words, we’re returning to the former method from 2019.
You can book up to three Multi Passes in advance, just as you could with the previous FastPass system.
So, you don’t need to spend the start of your day fighting your phone to buy and book attraction reservations. It’s a HUGE deal!
For clarity, Disney has renamed Lightning Lane into Lightning Lane Single Pass.
Now, casual guests can distinguish that when you buy the latter, you only get one attraction with purchase. Multi Pass provides many.
This is a welcome change and the kind that makes a park visit substantially better.
Disney Miscellany
We’ve got several other essential stories to discuss, starting at Magic Kingdom.
Disney will close Peter Pan’s Flight for refurbishment for six weeks. The attraction will shut down on July 9th.
Along those lines, Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade has already closed for good.
On the plus side, the park opened a new snack spot in Adventureland.
At EPCOT, Chevrolet has pivoted brilliantly. Its former car showroom closed with Test Track.
However, the car company asked Disney to park its slick vehicle fleet outside, where it’s drawing quite a crowd!
Also, the park’s popular Regal Eagle Smokehouse has added new sustainability features.
Disney has committed to recycling more and avoiding senseless waste. So, this trail could expand to other restaurants if it works.
At Downtown Disney in Disneyland, we just learned that Din Tai Fung will open tomorrow, July 1st.
In case you missed it, MickeyBlog already posted a full review of our first dining experience here. Long story short, we’re in love.
Finally, in case you missed it, the Disney Adventure has unveiled its seven themed areas.
This cruise ship will be the largest in the Disney Cruise Line (DCL) fleet and one of the biggest in the world.
The downside here is that the Adventure will employ a Singapore port as its home, making this a kind of bucket list vacation.
Still, you can tell how DCL is trending. The ships are becoming theme park cities at sea!
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Feature Photo: Disney