Bitesize Orlando May 2022 – Issue 11

Welcome to another packed month of news from the theme parks in Orlando.

It’s all been happening this month; Disney officially opened one of their most anticipated attractions in years while Universal announced the permanent closure of not one but two popular Universal Studios favourites. Seaworld meanwhile has enjoyed its best quarter ever.

Confidence, and crowds, are definitely back in Central Florida!

Website Updates

Before we get into the nitty-gritty this month I want to update you on the progress I’ve made to the website overhaul.

I know it seems like I have been promising a complete overhaul for months, well, because I have. Great progress was being made until I ran into a few layout glitches that are taking longer than anticipated to fix.

You deserve a website that works on any device you choose to view it on. Currently, the desktop version is looking fantastic, even if I do say so myself. The layout glitches are with mobile screens.

I’ve been desperately trying to get everything sorted so I could announce the refresh has gone live with this newsletter but, alas, I still need around another 2 weeks to make sure everything is looking and functioning as it should.

As soon as I push the update to the live site I will let you know with a quick post on the socials.

Bitesize Orlando May 2022 News

Walt Disney World News May 2022

Disney has been releasing small nuggets of information all month. It’s a wonder their PR department has had time to sleep!

Among the smaller announcements were 2023 hotel and ticket packages will go on sale from June 8th, the same day that a huge change to the Genie+ paid for planning service kicks in, keep scrolling for more information on that.

They have also confirmed that resort hotel guests will still receive early theme park entry throughout 2023 like they enjoy now, that’s 30 minutes early entry into any of Disney’s 4 main parks. That may not sound like much but if you want to bag a couple of big attractions early on without paying, it’s one of the top park hacks if you’re an early bird.

In the Magic Kingdom, the popular horse-drawn Main Street Trolley Service is now back in operation and the Harmony Barber Shop will reopen its doors on 31st July. Yes, you really can get a haircut in the Magic Kingdom!

Disney Genie+ Changes

Disney Abruptly Stops Genie+ Pre Booking

In a move that has caught some people off guard, Disney has announced they are stopping all pre-sales of Genie+.

Up until now, you could add Genie+ to your holiday booking but only for the full duration of your visit. If you wanted to pick and choose which day, you had to wait to add it on through the My Disney Experience app. Initially, Genie+ would never sell out but Disney has also changed the wording of the terms making it all but certain that Disney Genie+ sales will now be capped due to the popularity of the service.

If you are just reading this now and you have your 2022 tickets booked but not yet paid in full, then I am afraid you will only be able to add Genie+ onto your booking on a daily basis through the My Disney Experience app once you are on holiday. If you already have a 2022 Disney hotel booking with tickets including the Genie+ option (in effect a Disney package) and you have only paid the deposit then you are still fine to keep your Genie+ for the duration of your trip.

New hotel bookings going forward will not be able to add Genie+ to the booking. Standard ticket holders that have only paid a deposit will have their Disney tickets with Genie+ cancelled and will be issued standard Magic tickets with a refund of the Genie+ option.

Disney has clearly seen the problems with the service being so popular leading to multiple hours of waits for some attractions. People have been vocal in criticism of the service being nothing more than a cash grab in its current form. Making Genie+ limited and only available on the day is Disney’s way of trying to add a bit of exclusivity back to the service.

Disney, in lieu of scrapping the service altogether, which is never going to happen, is doing the next best thing. Just expect to have a little more to do in the mornings while you have your coffee on holiday. Genie+ can be added on from midnight while your first Genie+ booking can be made from 7 am on the day of your visit.

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Opens To The Public

May 27th marked the first day of official operations for Disney’s most anticipated attraction in years, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind which is now officially open at EPCOT. If the ride is on your must-do list you better rise early to try and bag your slot. Yes, Cosmic Rewind will initially be a virtual ticket reservation only to manage the huge demand for the attraction.

Bag Your (Virtual) Ticket To Ride

As I anticipated late last year, due to popularity, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will not have a standby line for the next few months. If you wish to ride you must either pay for an Individual Lightning Lane Selection (more on that next) and/or grab your free virtual ticket through the My Disney Experience app from 7 am on the day. You don’t have to be in the park but you do have to be in possession of a Park Reservation for EPCOT.

Expect virtual tickets to be instantly the hottest ticket in the park and one of the hardest to get in all of Disney World for quite some time. In anticipation of this Disney limits virtual line tickets to one per ticket holder per day.

To help with demand, Disney will be releasing 2 or 3 specific times you can bag your virtual queue entry ticket per day. Head to the My Disney Experience app to bag your slot from 7 am. Again, you don’t have to be in the park to do this (it usually doesn’t open until 9 am) but you do have to be in possession of Disney tickets and an EPCOT Park Pass Reservation. You are going to have to be quick as slots are initially being snapped up within 1 minute of being made available!

The second slot opens at 1 pm. To join the queue in this slot you must already be inside EPCOT. This is bad news for those wishing to park hop to EPCOT from another park as restrictions on entry are still in place at all parks. You can only enter EPCOT from 2 pm likely missing your chance to bag a slot.

Guests staying in select resorts will have a third opportunity on select nights to grab a virtual ticket from 6 pm. This applies to anyone staying in a deluxe or deluxe villa band hotel plus Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts and Shades Of Green. This will only apply on the nights that Deluxe Resort band guests have Extended Evening Theme Park Hours in EPCOT.

If you want to ride Guardians Of The Galaxy your best bet is to get the coffee on early, fire up the My Disney Experience app and get ready to get in line at 7 am. If you miss your 7 am slot then you always have another chance at 1 pm, or you can pay for an Individual Lightning Lane selection. Speaking of which…

Individual Lightning Lane Prices Revealed

Disney has shared Individual Lightning Lane passes will be priced between $14 and $17 per ride, depending on the date. This is in line, largely, with all other Individual Lightning Lane attractions. Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance over at Hollywood Studios has peaked at $20 per ride on some heavy days so expect this price may rise slightly.

Riding Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind More Than Once

With 5 different music tracks chosen at random each time you ride, it’s obvious people would like to swing by the attraction more than once to try and get another experience with another tune. How can you do it if virtual line tickets are limited to once per ticket holder?

The answer is you will have to pay up for another ride until Disney either relaxes the one limit on virtual passes (certainly not this side of summer) or opens the standby line for the attraction. Again. that’s extremely unlikely to happen for a few months. The only option you currently have left is to pay for an Individual Lightning Lane selection. If you want to go down this route I suggest you book your ILL first before trying to get a virtual ticket. Or, one person tries for an ILL reservation while the other tries to get in the virtual line.

Genie+ Changes In EPCOT

One positive side effect of Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opening as Individual Lightning Lane selection is that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will temporarily move to a Genie+ selection from now until at least 7th August. If you are visiting EPCOT in early summer you won’t have to pay extra to experience this great family attraction.

For more information and a little behind the scenes information on the new attraction check out the Official Disney Fan Club D23 video I have embedded below. It’s packed with interviews and looks forward to what we have in store at EPCOT in the near future plus it features some on-ride footage of Guardians Of The Galaxy towards the end.

2023 Disney Dining Credit Ticket Offer

If you’ve been itching to book your Disney World holiday for 2023, get that booking finger ready because hotels and tickets go on sale from June 8th. This date almost coincides with the return of one of Disney World’s most generous ticket offers.

If you have read the tickets offers page in my planning section you will note that I mention Disney World ticket sales are rare but they do happen. One of the most generous used to be Dinsey Dining Plan. While DDP is still suspended but confirmed to be returning later this year in one form or another, Disney has announced they are offering free dining credits for 2023 bookings from now. This deal won’t be around for very long and when it goes you will very likely not find an offer as generous as this.

An overview of the details is as follows:

• Up to $1,200 Disney Dining Credit Per Room
• 14 Days For The Price of 7
• Up to $250 Disney Spending Money Per booking

For a breakdown, I have included a screenshot of the offer from the attractiontickets.com website.

Remember that the dining credit is per room not per booking and the value of both the Dining Credit and Disney Spending Money will depend on the band of the hotel you will be staying in. 14 days for the price of 7 has been a long-running promotion of UK tickets. When this specific promotion ends you will likely still find 14 days for the price of 7 stays.

Other promotions throughout the year have included adults at kids prices (saving a nominal £20-£40 per person) and Disney Spending Money without the Dining Credit. I’ve said it once and I’m going to say it again if you are looking for the best value Disney World tickets you can get you will find this offer very hard to beat. If you are seriously looking at visiting Disney World in 2023 this is an offer you should think very hard about getting, particularly if you are a family. Even $500 on the value band hotels is not to be sniffed at when lunch for 4 for one day could set you back over $60 while dinner will be $100 or more.

Check out this offer on the Attraction Tickets website. For more information on tickets and an idea of other ticket brokers you can use please check out my Ticket offers page.

Show Black Out Days

Animal Kingdom visitors please take note of the upcoming, “Celebration Of The Festival Of The Lion King” blackout days. The show will not be performed from July 5th until July 15th. If you are visiting between these dates please manage expectations with younger visitors to avoid disappointment.

When the show returns on July 16th we will once again get to see “Festival of the Lion King” with the popular Tumble Monkeys act returning and the show returning to the full version people will remember.

Cirque Du Soleil’s Drawn to Life will also be on a scheduled break later in the year after returning last week from its first hiatus since the show opened. The show will not be performed from September 11th to 19th. If, like me, the show is high on your priority for your visit please make adjustments to your schedule while the cast and crew have a well-earned break.

WDI Shares First Full Speed Test Launch Of Tron

The paint is hardly dry on EPCOT’s newest attraction Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind but Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) has had another huge project in the works in the Magic Kingdom for the last 3 or so years.

Construction on Tron Lightcycle Run was halted as COVID gripped the world but work has been continuing slowly inside and outside the massive show building.

Part of the prep for the attraction has been gradually building up the launch of the ride cars to full speed and WDI shared an inside look at the launch tunnel and the outside section of the track. I have embedded a youtube video of the Instagram post by YouTuber Adam Akmal below.WDI shared this video of the Tron Lightcycle Run cars on their first full speed launch test.

Magicband+ Will Enhance In Park Experiences

When the new Magicband+ arrives in Disney parks this summer they will offer more interactivity than existing MagicBands.

They will continue to let you unlock your room and help with retail spending and dining options plus use Disney’s Photopass Service.

In conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of the resort, Magic bands will let you interact with the 50 sculptures dotted throughout the resort for the Fab 50 Quest. The Play Disney Parks app will also keep track of the sculptures you have found and offer hints to others you have yet to find and offer augmented reality and digital achievements.

In Hollywood Studios, you can join the Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters Guild. Your Magicband+ will let you find virtual bounties hidden throughout the Black Spire Outpost with the band’s lighting and haptic feedback system guiding you to the bounties in return for galactic credits. The Play Disney Parks app also has an in-built augmented reality thermal viewer to reveal your bounty.

Check out the video below courtesy of Disney Lists who were in the resort to hear a preview of how the new system will work.


Magical New Voice Assistant Arriving In Resort Rooms

“Hey Disney”, is a brand new digital voice assistant arriving in select Disney World resort rooms later this year.

Why look at your phone for weather reports when you can ask, “Hey Disney”, for the weather forecast for the day while you are getting ready?!

Powered by Amazon Alexa on supported Amazon Echo devices, Hey Disney will also be able to wake you up so you can get your Genie+ reservations when they are released. Wondering when the next bus to EPCOT leaves your hotel? Just ask “Hey Disney” and receive replies in one of more than 25 Disney characters.

Disney also reports that Hey Disney will also be available for purchase via the Amazon Alexa Skills store on select devices. Sadly, this feature looks to currently be exclusive to USA devices only. Magicband+ compatibility is also reportedly being worked on.

2022 Eat To The Beat Concert Lineup Announced

EPCOT’S popular International Food & Wine Festival is just under 2 months away. In preparation, Disney has released the first lot of acts lined up to entertain park guests. Check out the list below or check the TasteEPCOT website for more guests as they are announced.

• July 14-15 – Baha Men
• July 16-18 – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
• July 29-30 – Taylor Dayne
• July 31-Aug. 1 – Tiffany
• Aug. 5-8 – Joey Fatone & Friends
• Aug. 12-13 – The Devon Allman Project
• Aug. 14-15 – Christopher Cross
• Aug. 19-20 – Journey former Lead Vocalist Steve Augeri
• Aug. 21-22 – Air Supply
• Sept. 2-3 – Southern Avenue
• Sept. 4-5 – Kris Allen & David Cook
• Sept. 9-10 – Hoobastank (NEW)
• Sept. 16-17 – Los Amigos Invisibles (NEW)
• Sept. 23-24 – BBMak
• Sept. 30-Oct. 1 – Stokley (NEW)
• Oct. 2-3 – Sheila E.
• Oct. 7-8 – Mark Wills
• Oct. 9-10 – 38 Special
• Oct. 23-24 – Billy Ocean
• Oct. 28-31 – Hanson
• Nov. 4-7 – Boyz II Men

The International Food And Wine Festival runs from the 14th of July until the 19th of November. Eat To The Beat concerts run for 30 minutes from 5:30 pm, 6:45 pm and 8:00 pm. World-renowned artists are featured Friday to Monday evenings while local performers are highlighted mid-week.

Universal Orlando News May 2022

Superstar Parade To End In June

Universal’s summertime parade, the Superstar Parade, will end permanently in June, just over 10 years since it debuted in May 2012.

The Superstar Parade brought together popular characters from Universal Studios, Illumination Entertainment and Nickelodeon TV.

Superstar Parade was the first parade to return to Orlando post-COVID shutdown last year. Universal has said that the parade shutdown will make way for new entertainment but have yet to release further details of what will be replacing it.

Monsters Cafe Now Shut Permanently

In another surprise announcement, Universal Studios also announced earlier this month that fan favourite quick-service cafe, Monsters Cafe has now closed permanently after over 20 years of serving guests.

The restaurant was quick to embrace vegetarian and vegan palates. Universal has said it will be replaced by another dining experience. With Minions taking over the park entrance area now Shrek 4D has shut and is currently replaced with Minions adorned construction walls opposite the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” attraction, could we see their reach expand further back into the Production Central area?

Mobile Ordering Now Being Enforced At Certain Restaurants

Mobile food ordering is very popular in Disney World. In fact, if you don’t mobile order you may struggle to get anything at all. The situation regarding food ordering in other parks has been much less restrictive.

Universal is now requiring Mobile Food Orders for certain popular restaurants including Thunder Falls Terrace in the Jurassic Park Section of Islands Of Adventure, Captian America Diner in Marvel Super Hero Island, also in IOA, and the Leaky Cauldron in the Wizarding World.

Mobile ordering has been happily co-existing with standard ordering for the last few months at Universal Orlando. The re-introduction of Mobile Food Ordering by Universal could be a sign that the parks are becoming more crowded and the app is being used to manage the crowds.

Some restaurants let you pick up your order from a window but Thunder Falls Terrace, Captain America Diner, Cafe 4, and The Leaky Cauldron are all using table delivery mobile ordering. This means you won’t even be allowed in unless you have an active mobile order through the app.

Even if you have no intention of using Mobile Food Ordering, with Disney all but enforcing it in their parks now, and Universal switching it on to manage crowds at popular times, it will be a very good idea to get your head around how it works in case you are forced to use it during your visit.

Universal Monsters: Legends Collide Maze Announced For HHN

After an accidental leak of this maze for Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal has confirmed the new maze will also feature in the Universal Studios Florida lineup of mazes later this year.

The maze will bring together Universal Pictures’ most iconic monsters including Wolf Man, Dracula and The Mummy. Check out the official reveal and teaser trailer from Universal below.

Halloween Horror Nights will feature 10 mazes in Orlando (8 in Hollywood), on select nights (43 in total) starting 2nd September through the end of October.

Later in the year, look out for my write up on an experience you can get in the UK that I believe surpasses Halloween Horror Nights without all the travel and less than half the cost of entry.

Seaworld Orlando News May 2022

Seaworld Already Teasing New Roller Coaster

The paint is barely dry on Ice breaker but Seaworld has already teased the introduction of another roller coaster coming to the park under the codename of “Project Penguin”.Seaworld’s not so subtle hint at a new roller coaster on Twitter

Seaworld Parks is betting big with new attractions this year. Ice Breaker is one of 11 attractions opening at Seaworld owned parks throughout the US. This teaser proves that their spending spree on new attractions is far from over.

Milestone Reached In Rescue Efforts

Seaworld broke a milestone earlier this month sharing that they have now performed their 40,000th rescue since their mission started in 1965.

Each of Seaworld’s parks has specialist staff and facilities to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need. Seals, sea lions and sea otters are found more on the west coast while on the east coast there are more manatees and dolphins in need of rescue.

For more information and to view more videos check out the original article on Click Orlando.

Seaworld Orlando Name Top Theme Park In The US

According to readers of USA Today, Seaworld Orlando is the top theme park in the US thanks to its yearly online poll.

Seaworld Orlando won 4 awards in total. As well as the best theme park, Ice Breaker was named the best new attraction while Aquatica was named Best Outdoor Water Park. Mako, Seaworld’s hypercoaster took the number 2 spot for Best Roller Coaster.

New Proslide Attraction Makes World Debut At Adventure Island

ProSlide’s Dueling FlyingSAUCER is making its global debut at Busch Gardens Tampa’s Adventure Island Water Park.

During a multi-decade long partnership, Proslide attractions are featured in 5 of Seaworld’s parks around the US. This new Rapids Racer type attraction is the 10th installation of Proslide technology in Adventure Island.

The FlyingSAUCER Attraction combines features of other popular Proslide attractions into one cohesive experience and is, “the next step in competitive water ride racing”.

Riders on the brand new attraction with experience components of Proslide’s PIPEline and FlyingSAUCER attractions with a thrilling competitive twist.

Orlando Area News May 2022

Kennedy Space Center Reveals Opening Date for New Attractions

Kennedy Space Center has revealed 15th June as the opening date for their brand new Gateway attraction.

Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex will explore the present and exciting future of collaborative cosmic travel.

Set over 50,000 square feet on multiple levels guests will, “experience the interstellar travel of tomorrow while celebrating what is happening right now within the space program,”.

Check out the video below for a sneak peek inside the newly finished complex.
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex Opens at Kennedy Space Center on 15th June

That wraps up another bumper edition of news from Orlando for another month. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a brand new website design.