Bitesize Orlando September 2024 – Issue 39

Welcome to Bitesize Orlando September 2024 – your monthly catchup of everything that has been happening in and around Orlando for the last few weeks. This month is a quiet news month after all the announcements Disney gave us with their D23 fan event last month but I’m not done with new attractions announcements for next year just yet. Read on ti find out more.

It’s been a busy month behind the scenes. Work has been continuing on the holiday planning guide refresh and I’m happy with how it’s progressing but not the pace. Unfortunately, everything you see on the website and the free downloads must be created from scratch, so it takes time.

I have updated my complete guide to Epic Universe, adding the last videos released by Universal concentrating on the Wizarding World and Helios Grand Hotel.

This month work continues on the holiday guide and I will start work on next year’s crowd calendars. It’s a laborious process but I can see many of you like them; my calendar pages are consistently some of the highest-performing pages in Google search results so I will keep them updated. Thankfully, last year’s update should make the process this year a little quicker.

I have already started working on more free downloads for Disney’s revised Lightning Lane service now it offers pre-selection. I’m hoping to have a free download available for each of Disney’s parks before we next catch up.

Disney has announced the After Hours events dates for three of its theme parks. Animal Kingdom doesn’t offer after-hours events. I will add these dates to my revised crowd calendar pages for 2025 over the coming weeks. If you would like to book a date you can do so through one of the usual UK ticket brokers or direct with Disney yourself, either on the telephone or on their US website, by using a VPN. International Disney’s international sites do not allow you to book magical extras such as after-hours events due to GDPR restrictions. The dates for each of the parks are below.

Interestingly, Disney didn’t choose D23 to announce another closure in Hollywood Studios. Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy will be closing permanently next weekend on October 7th to make way for a new Disney Villains show scheduled to open in the summer of 2025.

Tucked away behind Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster and the Tower Of Terror attractions at the far end of Sunset Boulevard, Lightning Mcqueen’s Racing Academy has never really been the draw executives believed it would. The building, Sunset Showcase, was designed as a flexible venue and has been home to numerous limited-time activities since it opened in 2015 including “Club Villain”, a cabaret-style show which featured live entertainment with themed food and drinks. Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy has been open since 2019 and features an impressive animatronic of Lightning McQueen as he races virtual opponents.

According to Disney Live Entertainment, the as-yet-untitled Disney Villains show will be set in the Magic Mirror’s mysterious realm where popular Disney Villians will break through the glass to take to the stage in big production numbers. The concept artwork below certainly looks impressive enough and this show has a lot of potential if it has the right budget and time to bring it to life.

Don’t forget though that Disney is spending BIG on a new Disney Villains land at Magic Kingdom and they likely don’t want to dilute the crowds by running two concurrent IPs on the same thing so think of this show as a taster of what is to come at Magic Kingdom in 5 to 6 years. Make no mistake, Disney will be looking at the popularity of the villains in this show to feed into the land in Magic Kingdom.

In the blink and you’ll miss it news segment this month, Disney abruptly stopped using the despised virtual queue system for TRON: Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom.

The standard queue is now in operation. Lightning Lane Single Passes are still being offered but they do sell out quickly. As expected and despite the short ride time, the queue for TRON quickly hits 3 digits and stays there throughout the day during its first few days of standard line operation.

Disney announced this good news at the start of the month and, as promised, the virtual queue ended on the 9th of September. Hopefully, now Magic Kingdom is back down to one Virtual Pass attraction, (Tiana’s Bayou Adventure which is still having problems bedding in despite there being no modifications to the ride system during the retheme) the important guest satisfaction scores won’t be so low now that people won’t have to choose which attraction they wanted to ride on a given day. Remember, you can only have one virtual queue pass at any time. Such is the popularity of the rides that utilise it, it’s unlikely you will be able to snag2 in one day.

We can only hope that the remaining pass for Guardians Of The Galaxy will be done away with soon; Disney even installed an extended outdoor queue line last summer that’s just been sitting there since so plans are in motion but Disney needs to commit. Tiana should stop using the virtual pass when reliability isn’t as much of an issue as it is now.

Disney is making some big changes to it’s mammal roster in the huge 5.7 million gallon aquarium in EPCOT. Due to imminent infrastructure work, Disney will permanently rehome its 3 dolphins, ending the pavilion’s almost 40-year history of rehabilitating dolphins.

Not so significant is the rehoming of fan favourite manatee Lou who has been moved to another Florida facility on the advice of the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership as part of a state-wide manatee initiative. Lou has been replaced by another manatee, Lil Joe, as part of his next step in the rehabilitation process.

Because Disney will no longer house dolphins one of the most popular behind-the-scenes tours in EPCOT has also been permanently retired. Dolphins In Depth will no longer be offered and Divequest will return at some point in 2025 once the unknown infrastructure work has been completed.

As has been the norm now since the world returned from COVID, Blizzard Beach will be taking over the water park reigns for the winter season from Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach will reopen to guests starting November 4th while the last day of operation (likely for the rest of this year at least) for Typhoon Lagoon Will be November 3rd.

Could next year see a return to 2 park operations for Disney’s water parks? Only Disney knows but the excuse that they are having problems recruiting enough trained professionals is wearing thin with fans now we are 5 years removed from COVID.

Disney has released more details of what you will find at this year’s Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios.

Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed 5-hour nighttime event that will take place on select evenings from the 9th of November through December 21st 2024.

As well as the chance to ride some of your favourite attractions with fewer queues than during the day Jollywood Nights features themed food and beverages as plus event-specific entertainment.

“Glisten!” – An all-new ice-skating spectacular right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. Watch international champion skaters perform breathtaking routines set to a holiday soundtrack featuring original songs and fan-favourite Disney tunes. The show will take place multiple times each evening.

“Disney Holidays In Hollywood” – Another brand new show where a contemporary jazz flair meets the old-world charm of Hollywood’s golden era. Join hosts Kermit and Miss Piggy in the Theatre Of The Stars for some toe-tapping fun with surprise Disney guests.

What’s This? Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Sing-Along – Sep into a dark, dreamlike work of Tim Burton in the Hyperion Theatre for a reimagining of his classic “A Nightmare Before Christmas” movie with added sing-a-long-ability! You never know when Jack Skellington or Oogie Boogie will make surprise appearances!

Twilight soirees at the Hollywood Brown Derby and Hollywood Tower Hotel that let you take a step back into the golden era of Hollywood complete with swanky music, vintage cocktails and an air of mystery. The Hollywood Brown Derby is a limited capacity venue so be sure to reserve a spot if you want to visit.

“Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” – The popular fireworks event will now play every night at 10 pm in front of the Chinese Theatre.

To book a ticket for Jollywood nights head to your UK ticket agent who may sell them or you can reserve them yourself with Disney either on the telephone or US website using a VPN. Magical Extras such as these evenings are not bookable on Disney’s international sites.

Universal has confirmed what has long been suspected without going into too much detail. Guests of all 11 onsite resort hotels (including Endless Summer Resorts that are not on-site) will continue to receive early entry access to selected theme parks before general admission guests, including Epic Universe when it opens.

They stopped short of offering any firmer details such as if it will be offered daily, although I would expect Epic Universe will seeing as initially you could only be allowed to enter Epic Universe once even on a multi-day ticket to manage crowds. There was no confirmation about times of early entry nor the attractions that would be participating but these details will be forthcoming once firmer details have been announced about when the park will actually open.

In a somewhat slightly perplexing move, Universal Orlando has also renamed and re-organised the hotels and their associated categories, eliminating one and leaving three distinct categories. The new categories and hotel classifications are as follows.

Universal goes a little further to generalise what you can expect from each of the hotels based on the category they now sit in.

Value Inns & Suites (formerly Value resorts)- “the fun, affordable option offering rooms as well as spacious suites with kitchenettes.”

Prime Value Hotels (no change here, the hotels and category have remained exactly the same) –  “a mix of services and amenities made for comfort and affordability,”

Signature Collection (formerly Premier but Sapphire Falls had its own “Preferred” category) –  “expansive, full-service amenities, exceptional dining, distinguished service, [and] immersive theming.”

The Signature collection has gained 2 hotels while the other categories remain the same hotels. Interestingly, or confusingly, Sapphire Falls has been bumped up to Signature Collection status despite not offering the same amenities or “perks” of other Signature Collection hotels, namely Unlimited Express Passes.

It is also unclear, for now, if Express Passes will be offered for Epic Universe when it opens. Crowds are expected to be enormous and one way of managing pent-up demand, initially at least, is removing all Express Pass options for Epic Universe until the buzz dies down, however long down the road that may be. As soon as Universal confirm more details I will update the website.

Wild Artic’s long-shuttered simulator attraction of the same name has been confirmed to be replaced by a brand-new flying theatre attraction. Check out this short making of video to get an idea of the locations used in the film.

“This indoor immersive flying theater experience reinforces our commitment to education, animal care and research.”

Jon Peterson – Seaworld Orlando Park President

The entire Wild Arctic area has been in need of some TLC for years. Beluga whales and polar bears that once called the attraction home have died off leaving empty tanks and silence where crowds of people used to stand in awe; it was actually tough to even get into the building, such was the popularity of the residents within.

The new flying theatre attraction will be two multi-level theatres each capable of holding 30 guests per show.

To record scenes for the new attraction Seaworld commissioned a new camera rig and an award-winning production crew to bring us footage of the Arctic that is so remote it’s normally inaccessible.

Seaworld’s press release went on to say, “From lush, green landscapes that challenge the typical perceptions of the Arctic to the snow-capped vistas and crystal-clear waters teeming with marine life, guests will be transported to locations that are otherwise inaccessible to most.”

The former Tree Top Trails area within the Jungala section of Busch Gardens Tampa is about to be re-imagined for 2025 into North America’s most immersive, engaging and interactive “adventure realm”.

“Wild Oasis” will breathe new life into an area of the park that hasn’t been open to the public in 5 years. Wild Oasis will feature a new multi-species animal habitat and a re-imagined family drop tower attraction with digital and sound effects. The popular tree-top canopy adventure park from Jungala will be transformed into a new multi-level climbing canopy. An interactive water play area will round out the attractions.

The press release goes on to say, “The all-new Wild Oasis truly offers something for everyone – whether you love the thrill of the ride or learning about animals, getting wet or climbing high, or just cooling off under the shade of the rainforest canopy.”

I know some of you may be disappointed that this isn’t a new roller coaster to replace Scorpion which closed earlier this month but I’m sure we will hear news of a big attraction from Busch Gardens in 2025. The last 2 additions to the park have been to appeal to a wider audience than just roller coaster enthusiasts so Busch Gardens could be gearing up for something big in 2026 or 2027 and the closure of Sand Serpent and now Scorpion could be the groundwork for a new mega-budget attraction.

Area15, the experiential company that has been taking Las Vegas by storm has pulled the plug in its proposed Orlando development despite buying a sizeable 16-acre plot of land near a popular I-4 intersection for almost $25 million in 2022.

Plans were initially announced for a new entertainment district in 2022 set within an expansive 300,000-square-foot building set to open this year but construction never actually started.

Now Area 15 has already removed a 16-foot tall robot named “Mechan 11” from the site and listed it for sale once more. Area 15 CEO Winston Fisher told the Orlando Business Journal that the company may take a look at Orlando in the future but, for now, it was an “an internal business decision” to walk away from their initial plans.

Reading between the lines, Area15 may believe that the return on the significant investment that would be needed to get a new Area15 up and running in Orlando may not be worth it with so many attractions, experiences and theme parks already vying for a slice of Orlando’s tourism pie and tourists keeping tighter reigns on their purse strings as the cost of living starts to bite.

Area15’s initial facility opened in Las Vegas in 2020 to great acclaim. They have already started work on a 35-acre expansion that will be home to Universal Creative’s first permanent scare facility outside of Halloween Horror Nights in its theme parks. The new expansion will also feature a 200-room hotel, 518,000 square feet of retail space and 132,000 square feet of office space.

Personally, I think Area15 would be an ideal fit for Orlando, just as it is for Las Vegas. Still, Orlando would certainly be a tougher market owing to existing businesses and brands already making a name there. We’ll just have to wait a few more years until the market conditions are right for Area15 to perhaps consider an expansion.

That’s it for another month. Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great Halloween whatever your plans are. See you next month!