It’s Easter Weekend and and that means (among other things, obviously) lots of visitors to Disney World, and a whole bunch of new Disney World News Nuggets.
The biggest news is probably the new “extra” hours opportunities at the Magic Kingdom:
- Disney “After Hours” Event Announced. – 3 extra hours at the Magic Kingdom with a low attendance sounds pretty awesome, but $150 per person is a lot of money for it. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I have the option to go to this. (I’m not the first / only person to say this, but it seems like the DVC Fireworks we saw a couple of weeks ago might be a good fit for this party.)
- Disney adds “Early Morning Magic” to the Magic Kingdom – Rumors are saying that $69 gets you rides on Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, as well as a “breakfast buffet” at Pinocchio Village Haus for 1.5 hours before the park opens to regular guests. I was hoping this would be $50 per person, not $70.
That wasn’t all the news from the past few days, though. Here are the rest of the News Nuggets:
- Disney is actively calling people trying to get them to switch their Magic Kingdom fp+ to another park over the days leading up to Easter – If this is true, it’s just crazy. Have we really got to the point where the Magic Kingdom is that much more popular than the other parks?
- Diamond Horseshoe Table Service Dinner Review – Josh’s review is devastating. I’m really bummed that this place turned out to be no good. (He’s not alone in his opinion, BTW. Tom from WDW News Today also crushed it.
- New Observatory concept art shows the Stargazers patio and new interior design – The new Disney Springs restaurants have set the bar really high. I hope this continues that trend.
- Some FastPass+ attractions eliminating second touch point – This makes sense, especially for attractions where the Fastpass+ is physically separated from the other queue.
- New Walt Disney World Discount for Summer 2016 – I’m glad this discount is back up to 30% after similar discounts were only 25% in the fall last year.
- The Disney Blog gives a “Farewell” Tour of Fulton’s Crab House before it closes for remodel. – Fulton’s is closing on April 6 for extensive remodel, so the Disney Blog created a video walk-through of how it looks in its current. I (perhaps irrationally) have a nice opinion of Fulton’s, so I’m really hoping they come back with something great.
- “Disney TAG” travel accessories boutique opens at Disney Springs. – I’m pleasantly surprised that Disney has continued to update the various mini-stores that are in the CO-OP area. I really thought they were going to put a few stores in there and leave them for years.
- Club Villain at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Extended through the end of May. – It’s going to be just Saturday nights, but this $129 per person hard ticket event is continuing. When the event was first announced (and the price went up), I figured it had to end semi-quickly. Apparently, I got that wrong. That said, I doubt I’ll be pay $129 for sticky “pig wins”, no matter how much The DIS praises it.
- New Disney character inspired food kiosks coming soon to Disney Springs – Disney started building these when we were visiting, and I feel like the exterior of the structures went up over a single night. More importantly, I hope that these new offerings will be higher quality than standard Disney kiosk food. (The AristoCrepes? Really? Could they pick a more adorable name?)
- Additional Nighttime Kilimanjaro Safaris Details Released – One of the best parts of the Wild Africa Trek is having more time to watch the animals while you’re not moving, so I hope the rumor of “longer truck stops” turns out to be true
- Parades and fireworks removed from Magic Kingdom FastPass+ line-up – This has been rumored for a bit, but I guess they finally pulled the trigger. Though I know these weren’t the “best value” for Fastpass reservations, I did use them sometimes.
- Second Festival of Fantasy Parade Added Daily from March 28-31 – You get things like this around the busiest times of the year, and Easter is definitely one of those times.
- D-Luxe Burger Opening This May at Disney Springs – This place sounds right up Elyssa’s and my alley. I hope it will be able to keep up with Disney Springs level crowds.
- Religious Services at Walt Disney World Resort on Easter Sunday – If you’re down at Disney World and want to go to church, here are some on property options.
- MuppetVision 3D and Mama Melrose’s area to be renamed Muppet’s Courtyard – Hopefully this is a sign that MuppetVision will be sticking around, even with Star Wars Land coming.
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Chocolate Easter Egg Display 2016 Includes BB-8, Inside Out, Toy Story Designs (and Many More!) – I know some people aren’t as excited about these smaller events and touches, but I love that Disney still does them.
- April 2016 Disney World Operating Schedule Changes – As Josh points out, the most interesting part of this update is the lack of Animal Kingdom changes related to Rivers of Light.
- Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Spooks Walt Disney World Guests 29 Nights This Fall – That’s a lot of days to have the Magic Kingdom close early for “all” guests. The amount of times the party sold out last year, though, seems to indicate how popular it is.
- Dates Released for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for 2016 – The dates for the Christmas party were released too.
- The Royal Princess Promenade is a little slice of magic at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort – This seems like a nice little addition. I don’t know if I’d plan a trip around it, but if I was already in the area, I might check it out.
- STK sees Disney Springs as fit for entertainment strategy – I think this is supposed to be a high end steak house, but I’m concerned about any restaurant that features a live DJ who it’s going to try access the “mood of the room.”
We’ll end this edition of the News Nuggets with this look at what has become of Disney’s River Country “Watering Hole”. I used to love River Country, and I was sad when it was closed. It’s freaky to see what it looks like now that Disney has abandoned it. Hopefully, the rumors Jim Hill talks about (building a DVC resort in that area) turn out to be true.
See you next time!
