Hello friends and happy Sunday!
I am home from my summer travels and have finally finished all of the laundry! I am working on trip reports and will be sharing those here soon!
Not to worry, I have been keeping up with all of the Disney news while I was away and there is SO much to report!
As always, for more information about anything in this post or for more information about booking your own Disney adventure, email me or complete a quote request form!
Now, on to the news!
MagicBand+ is now available at Walt Disney World Resort!
If you aren’t familiar with MagicBands, these wearable devices are used in place of a physical theme park ticket and room key and can also be used for charging privileges, linking Disney PhotoPass photos and redeeming Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane selections.
MagicBand+ does all of this and also has great new features, including color-changing lights, haptic vibrations and gesture recognition – plus it pairs to a smartphone using the My Disney Experience app.
Some of the new experiences include…
Disney Fab 50 Quest
As part of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration, guests can interact with the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection throughout all four theme parks with the “Disney Fab 50 Quest.” Help Tinker Bell bring the sculptures to life across all four Walt Disney World theme parks using virtual pixie dust from Tink.
Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters
On Batuu, the bounty hunting business is booming. MagicBand+ is the guide to seeking numerous virtual bounties hidden across Black Spire Outpost with the Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters experience. Vibrations and lights on MagicBand+ guide guests down the right path. When you find your Bounty, use the Play Disney Parks app’s augmented reality thermal viewer to reveal who’s hiding in the shadows. Local guild master Raga Bua will reward guests with galactic credits.
Nighttime Spectaculars
MagicBand+ brings the magic of Disney nighttime spectaculars closer than ever before during “Disney Enchantment” at Magic Kingdom Park and “Harmonious” at EPCOT! MagicBand+ complements the magic in the skies, lighting up and vibrating in sync with fireworks, visual effects, and music. Guests’ MagicBand+ will also engage as all four theme park icons transform into Beacons of Magic!
Disney Resort hotel guests may purchase MagicBand+ online at special prices before their arrival. All guests can buy MagicBand+ at select stores across Walt Disney World and online at shopDisney, starting at $34.99.
At Walt Disney World, guests can purchase a MagicBand+ at the following locations:
- Magic Kingdom Park: Emporium
- EPCOT: Pin Traders – Camera Center
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Celebrity 5 & 10 and Tatooine Traders
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park: Discovery Trading Company
- Disney Springs: Disney’s Pin Traders
- Select merchandise locations at Disney Resort hotels
Also announced last week, the changes to Genie+ originally scheduled to occur on August 7th have been cancelled. This means that there is still only one Individual Lightning Lane attraction in each theme park and all other attractions remain available as Genie+ selections.
If that sounds like gibberish to you, don’t worry – book your trip with me and I’ll walk you through all of it!
Themes and race distances were also announced for runDisney’s Springtime Surprise race weekend! The final race weekend in the runDisney racing season will occur April 13 – 16, 2023.
This special race weekend will include:
- Sunrise Yoga in Hollywood Studios,
- A Cars themed 5k,
- A Monsters Inc. themed 10k,
- A Toy Story themed 10 miler, and
- the theme for the 19.3 mile challenge (all 3 races) is Finding Nemo!
Registration opens August 23rd!
Heading out to Disneyland, the Red Car Trolley is back at California Adventure Park!
Modeled after the 2,700 Pacific Electric Railway trolleys that covered more than 1,000 miles of Los Angeles track from 1887 until 1961, the Red Car Trolley pays homage to the 1920s lifestyle that first greeted Walt Disney when he arrived in Southern California in 1923. Today, Guests of all ages can enjoy a sense of forgotten nostalgia while riding the trolley.
Also at Disneyland Resort, dates for the The Merriest Place on Earth celebration have been announced! Disneyland’s holiday celebration will begin November 11, 2022 and will continue through January 8, 2023.
Disneyland’s holiday offerings include…
Disney California Adventure Park
In Disney California Adventure Park, holiday décor will include a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree on Buena Vista Street and automotive holiday embellishment in Cars Land.
The nighttime spectacular “World of Color – Season of Light” will bring holiday magic by fusing cherished holiday music with memorable moments from treasured Disney animated films.
Disney Festival of Holidays will highlight a diverse season of celebrations, including Christmas/Navidad, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day. Festival marketplaces across the park will serve a hand-crafted menu of delectable foods and beverages. As part of Disney Festival of Holidays, Guests may also enjoy a nightly holiday concert at the Palisades Stage in Paradise Gardens Park.
Entertainment choices also include “Mickey’s Happy Holidays,” a procession of Disney and Pixar characters dancing and marching along to the upbeat rhythms of the Holiday Toy Drummers and the “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” street party, featuring Mickey and Minnie donning festive attire and accompanied by Mexican folklórico dancers and Mariachis, Brazilian samba dancers and percussionists and giant mojiganga puppets.
Guests will also have the opportunity to visit with Mirabel from “Encanto” and, of course, Santa Claus!
Last but not least, two Cars Land attractions will receive seasonal transformations: Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl and Mater’s Jingle Jamboree.
Disneyland Park
Disneyland Park will also be decorated to the nines including the iconic 60-foot-tall Christmas tree on Main Street, U.S.A. and shimmering icicles and twinkling lights on Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle.
In Town Square, Guests may encounter favorite Disney characters in their finest holiday attire, and some will be debuting all-new outfits!
Entertainment options include:
- “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade, a daily musical procession of floats, marching toy soldiers, dancing gingerbread cookies and more.
- “Believe… in Holiday Magic” fireworks spectacular, which features magical “snowfall” and colorful projections on Main Street, U.S.A., and the façade of “it’s a small world.”
- Nightly holiday dance parties featuring characters such as Goofy, Pluto, Chip ‘n’ Dale and others at the Tomorrowland Terrace.
Two beloved Disneyland attractions will also receive seasonal transformations. “it’s a small world” Holiday takes guests around the world as dolls and toys representing children enjoying the distinctive holiday traditions of their respective countries. And In New Orleans Square, Jack Skellington and his friends cause a collision between Christmas and Halloween to transform the Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday.
A number of extra benefits have also been announced for guests of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels.
Guests staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel can now take advantage of Early Entry to the theme parks 30 minutes prior to the official park opening time each day and Package Delivery for theme park purchases! Overnight Guests also enjoy:
- Hotel activities like learning to draw Disney characters
- Dining Delivery to a Disneyland Resort Hotel lobby from select restaurants in the Downtown Disney District
- And coming soon, Preferred Dine Access to a limited number of reservations at select hotel table service restaurants during the dates of their hotel stay
Moving now to Disney Cruise Line…
Fall 2023 itineraries are now available for booking! These exciting cruises include Halloween on the High Seas (from mid-September through October 2023) and Very Merrytime Cruises (from early November through December)!
New Adventures Aboard the Disney Dream
Following its inaugural season in Europe, the Disney Dream will set sail from New York City for the first time. Families will enjoy four-, five- and six-night sailings from the Big Apple to Bermuda. Plus, a special four-night voyage on the Disney Dream will transport guests to the charming Canadian seaport city of Saint John.
Starting November 20, 2023, Disney Cruise Line will find a new South Florida home at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, offering four- and five-night cruises aboard the Disney Dream to tropical locales in the western Caribbean and Bahamas. Families will enjoy stops in places like Grand Cayman, Cozumel or Nassau from this first-time home port, along with visits to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island oasis.
Mexican Riviera Adventures from California
Beginning in mid-October 2023, the Disney Magic will set sail from San Diego for voyages ranging from two to seven nights to Baja and the Mexican Riviera. Guests will experience Santa Catalina Island, Calif., Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico. An exclusive seven-night Mexican Riviera sailing will feature the ports of Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.
Tropical Vacations from Port Canaveral, Florida
In the fall of 2023, the Disney Wish and Disney Fantasy will continue sailing from Port Canaveral to tropical destinations in the Bahamas and Caribbean.
The Disney Wish will sail three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas, including visits to Nassau and Castaway Cay.
The Disney Fantasy will offer seven-night cruises to destinations in the eastern and western Caribbean.
In Hawaii, ʻAMAʻAMA, the signature oceanside restaurant at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa will be reopening this fall!
Upon its reopening, ʻAMAʻAMA will feature a new, upscale dinner-only menu with locally-inspired dishes, cocktail, wine, and dessert with the Disney service and attention to detail guests have come to know and love at Aulani Resort.
Last but not least, Adventures by Disney is giving guests a chance to visit a variety of exotic locales around the world with its last chance offer for fall travel.
For a limited time, Guests can save $250 per person on select North America and Central America land departures, including Disneyland Resort & Southern California and Costa Rica, and $350 per person on select International land departures, including Australia, Peru, and Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
Adventures must be booked by December 27, 2022. Travel must be booked 45-60 days prior to the applicable departure date, depending on itinerary. Please note that this offer is valid for new bookings only and is not combinable with any existing offers, discounts or promotions.
