Bitesize Orlando January 2025 – Issue 43

Welcome to your first update of 2025, Bitesize Orlando January 2025. I hope everyone had a fantastic new year. Disney is wasting no time getting stuck into their promised investment in Disney World and we already have a couple of announcements and closures regarding those a little later on.

It’s been a hectic month behind the scenes. If you have been keeping an eye on Facebook you will already know that my Comparing Orlando Ticket Brokers 2025 article has been live for around a week now. It’s amazing how much data one date generates, it’s no wonder why people get confused with tickets. Taking time to sift through all the figures my year of tracking prices has drawn some interesting conclusions. If you want to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your ticket please make sure you give it a read before you book yours.

Taken in 2024, Disney has shared new aerial footage of Magic Kingdom. Due to a no-fly zone around the park, decent Aerial footage is hard to come by, especially at this low altitude.

The video starts with a slow flight down a deserted Main Street USA early one morning before the park opened before cutting to some close-up shots of Cinderella Castle. Attractions captured include TRON: Lightcycle Run, Space Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride. The video ends with some spectacular shots of the fireworks and the park lit up at night. Check out the full video below.

A few weeks after Disney changed the rules on Lightning Lane Premier Pass to include all onsite hotels, not just DVC and deluxe level hotel guests, Disney has now made Lightning Lane Premier Pass available to all ticket holders regardless of where they stay.

As a quick reminder, Lightning Lane Premier Pass is Disney’s top-level line skipping service allowing one-time access to all Lightning Lane attractions in a given park. You can only ride once, there is no unlimited option available and you can only purchase 1 pass per day for a specific park (no park hopping).

There is no need to reserve your spot on the app in advance, turn up and join the Lightning Lane queue whenever you wish. As you will have realised by now, convenience comes at quite a cost. Premier Pass costs for the next fortnight range from the following in the app.

• Magic Kingdom: $329 – $379
• EPCOT: $169 – $229
• Hollywood Studios: $269 – $329
• Animal Kingdom: $119 – $159

The service is already live in the My Disney Experience app and the cost depends on the park and the day you choose to visit. On-site resort guests can purchase the passes up to 7 days in advance, just like Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass offerings. Off-site visitors can only purchase 3 days in advance.

Disney has shared a few more snippets about the upcoming Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away parade coming to Magic Kingdom later this summer.

Along with the details some new concept artwork has been shared showing a new princess float based around Disney Artist & Legend Mary Blair. The princess parade float will appear to be anchored by a gleaming fountain of light, just like Mary Blair’s original concept artwork for “Cinderella”. We also get to see some Disney cast members working with innovative new lighting techniques that will make the lights on the costumes sync with the floats and music around them.

A new nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom has to be the easiest win for Disney and for fans. Generations have grown up with Spectromagic and the Main Street Electrical Parade but, as good as they were, it’s time to look to the future. Technology is centuries ahead of where it was when those parades were originally conceived and, yes it’s a shame we can no longer see them live, but Disney has an opportunity with Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away to bring the magic back to a whole new generation.

Nobody on this planet can tug at the heartstrings as much as Disney can and does repeatedly. Technologically speaking it wont take much to surpass Spectromagic or Main Street Electrical Parade but everything Disney is saying about this project indicates that it could be the spark of emotion we have all wanted to see down Main Street.

New rides and lands may have been the bombastic announcements of Last year’s D23 but this new Starlight Parade will give Disney a unique opportunity to create a nod to the past while looking at the future and in the process make us all believe in magic once again. I can’t wait for Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away. Can you?

Disney has shared more details about its new villain show, which is currently taking shape at the Sunset Showcase Theatre in Hollywood Studios. The official announcement via Joey McElroy, a communications manager at Disney Experiences reads:

If you asked them, our villains would probably try to convince you that they’ve been treated pretty unfairly over the years. In this show, the Magic Mirror has summoned us to hear them out. Never ones to let a dramatic performance pass them by, fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent will break through the glass and take the stage to prove once and for all why they are the most misunderstood. In the end, it will be on you to make the final call in a delightfully wicked finale filled with dozens of the most infamous evildoers awaiting your decision from within the Mirror’s realm. 

I’ve got high hopes for this show; the concept artwork looks spot-on, but casting for the show is a little leftfield (check out the full list of 59 characters below. There are some glaring omissions (which could be filled in by the time the show arrives) and some odd choices from movies that never really took off. The show only uses Walt Disney Animation Studios or Disney Television Studios villains. You won’t find any Marvel or Pixar baddies here. Considering the clout the Pixar has in the animation biz, and how well-regarded their movies are among Disney fans in general the sweeping omission is a strange choice.

As I’ve said before this show isn’t here for longevity. It’s merely a stopgap or teaser, if you will, for the main course, Villains Land opening in Magic Kingdom but that’s at least 5 years away. Could Disney swap out characters down the line to keep the show fresh and see who fits with the audience better? You bet they probably can. But because they can doesn’t necessarily mean that they will. Have a look at the extensive list of villains so far revealed.

Along with Virtual races and Disneyland Races, Disney has Shared details of 4 new marathon weekend events at Disney World later this year and early into 2026. If you’re planning on visiting around these dates prepare for a busy weekend as many roads in Disney World will be closed leading to traffic chaos and extra time needed to get to your park.

• 2025 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – 23rd – 26th October
• 2026 Walt Disney Marathon Weekend – 7th – 11th January
• 2026 Princess Half Marathon Weekend – Feb 26th – Mar 2nd
• 2026 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend – 16th – 19th April

June 7th will be a sad day at Hollywood Studios as a beloved classic attraction, both PizzeRizzo and MuppetVision 3D will close permanently. This follows the closing of Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano which will serve its last plate of food on May 10th.

The Muppets won’t be disappearing forever. They will eventually be taking over Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster but no closing date has been announced for that attraction in its current form.

The entire Muppets Courtyard area along with what is currently staff parking backstage will become the new Monstropolis land featuring Disney’s first suspended coaster themed to the doors chase sequence in the original “Monsters” movie.

As an opening day attraction at Hollywood Studios, MuppetVision 3D was beginning to show its age. Its popularity has waned considerably since my first visit back at the end of the last millennium. MuppetVision 3D is also the last work overseen personally by Jim Henson before his premature death.

I have no doubt the Muppets’ takeover of Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster will be a huge success, but it won’t have Jim Henson’s personal touch and that’s the problem many long-time fans will have. If you’re visiting Disney World in the first half of this year make sure you catch one last viewing of this attraction before it disappears forever in its current setting.

Universal Stella Nova Resort opened its doors officially on January 22nd. Designed by Universal Creative but, like all on-site Universal Orlando hotels, co-owned and operated by Loews Hotels, the 750-room Stella Nova Resort is designed to reflect the infinite vastness of the universe.

Guest rooms feature space station-themed windows while the contemporary lobby area features the Cosmos Cafe and Market plus the Galaxy Grill. Outside there is a resort-style pool with sundeck and a splash pad for the kids. Neighbouring Terra Luna Resort over the road is set to open on February 25th.

The hotels are linked to Universal’s North Campus by a fleet of electric buses that take a new direct route to Epic Universe and the hotels down the extended Universal Boulevard. The journey takes roughly 10 minutes. Epic Universe and the third hotel, Helios Grand, will open to the public on May 22nd. Below are some official photos released by Universal as part of the opening day press release.

Universal has confirmed the early entry details for Epic Universe when it opens on May 22nd. Early entry is a benefit to all on-site hotel guests regardless of the level of hotel they stay in.

Early Entry at Universal Orlando works slightly differently from Disney World which allows 30 minutes in all parks. Universal Orlando traditionally has alternated between 1 hour inside the Wizarding Worlds at EITHER Universal Studios or Islands Of Adventure, but favours Islands Of Adventure over Studios because of the larger area with more attractions able to soak up more visitors.

When Epic Universe opens it will join whichever park is open in the North Campus with 1 hour early entry. They have also confirmed the following attractions will be open to on-site guests to enjoy.

• Stardust Racers
• Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge
• Yoshi’s Adventure
• Mine-Cart Madness

So, basically Stardust Racers and Super Nintendo World then which is a bit of a shame considering any on-site guest is going to be making a beeline for Epic Universe when it opens. Still, being one of the first people in the park will be pretty special ahead of the main crowds of the day. If, like me, you love to get photos of your adventures, make sure you use this hour wisely!

We’re still a way away from more details about what this year’s Halloween Horror Nights will include but we do know, thanks to and early Universal announcement, that the event will start in August for the first time. Specific dates are yet to be confirmed but we now know, thanks to a Tweek on X, formerly Twitter which you can see below, that Halloween Horror Nights in 2025 will start in Universal Studios Florida on August 29th, finishing on November 2nd.

ur nightmares begin aug 29 😈

— Halloween Horror Nights (@HorrorNightsORL) January 23, 2025

Universal has announced Volcano Bay’s first-ever hard-ticketed nighttime event. The park typically closes at 5 pm so the new event will give visitors a rare glimpse of the park at night.

More details will be released soon but Universal promises an “exclusive nighttime adventure at Universal Volcano Bay, featuring live entertainment, character meet and greets and a big splash of awesome.”

The event will run on the following evenings in April and May.

• April 19th & 26th
• May 3rd, 10th & 17th

You won’t have long for this one as it takes place in a week, February 7th. Kennedy Space Center is staying open late on Friday 7th February for a one-off evening titled ‘Kennedy Under The Stars’, for a galactic glow party!

KSC typically closes at 5 pm but for one night only (currently), all the main campus attractions will remain open from 6:30 pm until 10 pm.

According to a spokesperson, the “venue will come alive with the colours of the cosmos through glow-in-the-dark elements, featuring a DJ-led techno party, cosmic glow miniature golf, vibrant chalk art by local artists and bar and lounge areas illuminated with an array of colours.” Included in the experience is the following:

• Video DJ in the Rocket Garden showing your favourite early 2000s music videos
• Techno DJ dance party in NASA Central
• Cosmic Glow Miniature Golf under the massive Saturn 1B rocket
• Multisensory science experiments from our STEAM Team
• Glowing bar and lounge areas
• Live entertainment
• Chance to meet veteran NASA astronauts Curt Brown and Sandy Magnus

Now, that’s not a bad way to spend your Friday night! If you are in Florida next week and want to go, be quick and book your tickets before they run out. They are $65 plus tax.

It’s not just Disney and Universal that are getting expanded! A new park, new immersive lands not to mention new attractions and experiences designed to keep people coming to Orlando. All these improvements to visitor attractions demand an infrastructure that can handle the extra capacity.

A major part of the infrastructure in Orlando is its main airport, Orlando International Airport (MCO to use its airport code). A major refurbishment and expansion plan totalling $235 MILLION has been approved and will start imminently. If you are arriving at Orlando International from this year until 2028 when everything is finished you will notice some work going on. OK, 2025 and 2026 will see the majority of the work being carried out.

According to the Orlando Business Journal, you will see some or all the following happening during your transit through Orlando International over the next few years.

• 2025 -2027 – Upgrades and expansions of Airside bathrooms in Terminal A/B.
• 2026 – 2027 – Interior upgrades to the airside area serving gates 1-59 including seating, signage, gate counters and better lighting
• 2026 – 2028 – Terminal A/B upgrades to baggage reclaim and car rental areas including seating and lighting
• Mid 2025 onward – More concession partners being added to improve choice
• Mid 2025 – 2027 – New parking guidance system, similar to Disney Springs, making available spots easier to make out
• 2025 onward – Terminal C expansion allowing parking for up to 8 more planes

In the long term, there are also plans for a consolidated car rental facility plus an upgrade to the baggage handling system that should stop many of the delays currently being experienced. Gates 70-129 will also see a replacement of the people mover system, which is due to be completed in 2028.

That’s it for this month. I hope you’ve had a great start to the new year. I’ll see you in a few weeks with another update.