Welcome to Bitesize Orlando May 2023. I know it’s a little early this month but I wanted to keep you up to date about some big Disney World news before I head stateside this weekend. You can follow my trip on my Instagram feed where I will be posting photos from my visit to Universal Orlando next week followed by Busch Gardens, Adventure Island and Clearwater Beach the following week before finishing off with a few days in Key West then Miami before I head home.
Why no Disney this time you may be thinking? I only have 5 days spare and Disney is incredibly expensive for any trip duration but especially if you only go for a few days. I was hoping to visit Blizzard Beach to get some up-to-date photos but Disney has shut it once more for the summer for refurbishment. The only drastically new thing since my last visit last August is the opening of Tron in Magic Kingdom but to visit for a day would cost in excess of $500 for the two of us. I will be back to visit Disney soon but on this trip, I am focusing on other Orlando area attractions. Orlando has so much to offer you can’t possibly do it all in one visit. WOrth remembering when you are planning your trip.
Website Updates
As I promised last month, my visual guide to Universal Studios has been up for a little over 3 weeks and was joined by my visual guide to Islands Of Adventure a few days later. Please click either of the links above to be taken straight to the respective articles. Alternatively, you can view all my visual guides and receive updates when a new article goes live by subscribing to my Exposure channel. My next visual guide will probably be for Seaworld Orlando then Busch Gardens. Look out for at least one of them, hopefully, before the end of June after I return from holiday.
My attention has now moved to the planning section and I am starting to completely rewrite the ‘Booking Your Orlando Holiday‘ article to make it more relevant. I have some exciting ideas for a new section of the website dedicated to information that first-time visitors should know before they book their trips.
That’s enough about the short-term aim of the website. Onto some very exciting news that many Disney World visitors have been hoping for since 2020!
Disney World News May 2023
Disney Scaling Back Reservation Requirements
Starting from January 9th 2024 Disney will no longer require park reservations for date-based tickets (ie; most ticket types). This is another demonstration that Disney is finally listening to feedback about visitor irritations and park reservations have been top of that list since it was introduced in 2020.
The next main irritation is Genie+ planning being only on the day but Disney is also looking at taking some of the inflexibility of that system away although no date or further details have been given. Spontaneity is coming back to your Disney World vacations slowly!
Disney Looking to Allow Genie+ Reservations Before The Day
Disney’s Genie+ premium planning service replaced the free Fastpass+ system in 2021. Early last year the system was modified to only allow the booking of the service and reservations of attractions on the day of your visit. This gets in the way of people making memories and just enjoying their time and surroundings because they are constantly glued to their mobile screens looking for the next availability. Between Genie+ and park reservations, all the spontaneity of a Disney World holiday had been erased.
Disney is looking at introducing a way for visitors to pre-book some attractions reservations before the day to alleviate some of the friction in using the service. Hopefully, this will also mean that you will once again be able to purchase Genie+ before midnight on the day of your visit. As soon as Disney shares more details of exactly how they are going to get this to work I will share it with you here.
Our goal is to give you the opportunity to spend less time planning in the park and more time enjoying your visit with friends and family. While we are not yet able to share specific details, we look forward to sharing more information at a later date.
Disney’s official word on the future of the Genie+ service
Changing Table Service Reservations Just Got More Tricky
On the 5th of May Disney quietly made a change to their table service reservation policy making it harder to modify a reservation if you are within 2 hours of the booking.
Since November 2022 guests have been able to cancel a table service reservation online up until 2 hours before to avoid paying a no-show fee. Existing bookings could be modified right up until 30 minutes out but Disney’s policy shift has now made last-minute changes and cancellations much more difficult by forcing people to call Disney’s Dining Reservation Line. The official wording on their dining page now reads:
Restaurants offering advance reservations do not allow modifications within 2 hours of the reservation time and most charge a $10 per-person fee to cancel within 2 hours of the reservation time, or if you don’t show up for your reservation. Each restaurant’s policies are provided when you make your reservation.
It’s worth noting that not all restaurants in Disney World are operated by Disney, and even those that are could have different booking conditions than others so please make sure you are aware of the restrictions (and also the menus/prices offered which are all listed on the Disney World website) before you go ahead and make that booking.
Disney Dining Plans Are Finally Returning!
One particularly missed part of pre-pandemic Disney is Disney Dining Plans which allow you to pre-pay for meals upfront with your hotel booking. Disney has offered Disney Dining Credits for the last couple of years instead, a monetary value, instead of set meals but has repeatedly said DDP would be returning. Now we know when!
For package stays (hotel and ticket or hotel, ticket and airfare) starting on or after January 9th 2024 Disney Dining Plan will be available to book at the same time as you book your package holiday. This is the only time you can add DDP to your booking so it pays to know if you would be better off with or without it. Ie; your holiday planning needs to start before you even book your trip. I’ll give you a quick heads up though that this may be a nice way to budget for your trip you will almost certainly be paying over the odds by paying for DDP than just purchasing food in the parks. If Disney starts giving away DDP as a booking incentive once more then that’s a different story but they haven’t announced anything as yet.
Currently, only 2 plans will be returning; Standard and Quick Service. Here is a quick recap of what you can get with each of the tiers:
Quick Service Tier: Each guest (ages 3 and up) will receive 2 quick service meals per night plus 1 snack OR 1 non-alcoholic drink per night. These can be redeemed anytime within their stay, they’re not allocated for a day. Guests also receive 1 refillable resort mug (ie you can only refill them in your resorts, not the theme parks) valid for the duration of your stay.
For a typical 10-night Disney World stay each guest will receive 20 quick service meals and 20 snacks OR non-alcoholic beverages to be used at any time during their stay plus a refillable resort mug.
Standard Service Tier: Each guest (ages 3 and up) will receive 1 table service meal, 1 quick service meal and a snack OR non-alcoholic beverage per night of your stay as well as a refillable resort mug.
For a typical 10-night Disney World stay each guest will receive 10 table service meals, 10 quick service meals and 10 snacks OR beverages to be used at any time during their stay as well as a resort-refillable mug.
How do these compare to the previous Dining Plan options that won’t be returning? Let’s have a quick check:
Disney Dining Plan Plus: Included two meals of your choice of table service or quick service in addition to two snacks/beverages and a refillable mug per night of your stay.
Deluxe Dining Plan: The same as above but with a choice of 3-table service or quick service meal options.
All these changes were announced in one blog post on the official Disney World blog ahead of these packages going on sale to the US market on May 31st. Click here to read the article in full.
‘Eat To The Beat’ Concert Lineup Revealed
Hot on the heels of the official dates being announced last month, Disney has now shared the concert lineup for the Eat To The Beat Concert Series, a free entertainment offering during EPCOT’s annual International Food & Wine Festival that is taking place from July 27th through to November 18th.
The America Garden Theatre in the American Adventure Pavilion will host each act thrice daily. There are some big-name stars headlining the stage every weekend while Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are reserved for local talent.
The confirmed lineup so far is:
- July 28-29, 2023: Orianthi (New)
- July 30-31, 2023: For King & Country (New)
- Aug. 4-5, 2023: Southern Avenue
- Aug. 6-7, 2023: Tiffany
- Aug. 11-12, 2023: Ruben Studdard with Haley Reinhart
- Aug. 13-14, 2023: The Bacon Brothers (New)
- Aug. 18-21, 2023: Joey Fatone & Friends
- Aug. 25-26, 2023: Ayron Jones (New)
- Aug. 27-28, 2023: Phillip Phillips (New)
- Sept. 1-2, 2023: Baha Men
- Sept. 3-4, 2023: MercyMe
- Sept. 8-9, 2023: Ray Parker Jr.
- Sept. 10-11, 2023: TobyMac
- Sept. 15, 2023: Celebrity Latin Talent, TBA
- Sept. 16, 2023: Celebrity Latin Talent, TBA
- Sept. 17-18, 2023: Raul Acosta and Oro Solido (New)
- Sept. 22-23, 2023: Los Amigos Invisibles
- Sept. 24-25, 2023: 98 °
- Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, 2023: Boyz II Men
- Oct. 6-7, 2023: Mark Wills
- Oct. 8-9, 2023: Sugar Ray
- Oct. 13-14, 2023: Hoobastank
- Oct. 15-16, 2023: Air Supply
- Oct. 20-21, 2023: Taylor Dayne
- Oct. 22-23:, 2023 Billy Ocean
- Oct. 27-30, 2023: Hanson
- Nov. 3-4, 2023: We The Kings (New)
- Nov. 5-6, 2023: Sheila E.
- Nov. 10-11, 2023: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
- Nov. 12-13, 2023: 38 Special
Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser To Close Permanently
Bob Iger hasn’t taken long to announce another cut to one of Disney World’s most ambitious and immersive experiences. After recently announcing a cut in voyages due to dwindling demand, Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser will close with a final voyage on September 28th.
If you have a cruise booked beyond this date Disney will be in touch but with a price point starting near $6K for two people for a two-night stay I doubt there will be that many people waiting to board.
Don’t take Disney closing this attraction as a failure. The feedback from everyone that has been able to afford to experience is wholly positive. It has garnered some of the most glowing reviews in Disney’s history. The problem here lies partly in its niche subject matter but mainly in its eye-popping price.
One line in Disney’s statement stands out to me:
“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our Guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment. This premium experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our Guests and fans”.
They are going to take what they have learned to “create future experiences that can reach more guests and fans”. In other words, they need more bums in beds but with a sky-high operating cost reducing the cost of cruises in this 100-bedroom experiment is just too costly. Could we see Disney branch out into more immersive storytelling in their hotels? It certainly would add a wow factor and separate their hotels from an increasingly crowded market of hotel rooms that run much cheaper than staying on resort. They are going to need to get the balance of immersion/cost into a price point that many more people would be willing to pay. I’ll be watching new hotel developments and refurbishments with a lot of interest.
Universal Orlando News May 2023
Universal Shares Updates On Minion Land
Work has been progressing feverishly on the new Minion Land area at the entrance to Universal Studios. Ahead of a grand opening later this year Universal has shared some more details about this area enhancement.
As part of the Minions takeover of Production Central new food options and shops will be opening alongside the new Villian-Con Minion Blast attraction that will be opening in the soundstage formerly home to Shrek 4D.
Illumnation’s Minion Cafe will be the new marquee quick-service dining location offering 20 playful dishes inspired by the franchise. I have shared images of three of the dishes below that Universal sent out with the press release. It will have both a covered dining area and an outdoor patio.
Joining Illumination’s Minion Cafe will be the following establishments:
- Bake My Day – Minions-inspired sweets and bakery items plus a small merchandise area
- Pop-A-Nana – Banana flavour popcorn and other popcorn flavour favourites
- Freeze-Ray Pops – For ice-cold refreshments and lollies
Legoland Florida News May 2023
New BMX Stunt Show Debuting In May
If you’re heading to Legoland Florida this summer you are in luck as they are about to debut their new BMX stunt Show called “Go Extreme!”.
“Go Extreme!” includes stunts performed using BMX bikes, scooters, inline skating, a Cyr wheel artist and there’s even a record-holding pogo stick artist on the roster for this new show.
The show’s thinly veiled storyline is that the stunt performers are competing for a spot on next season’s Lego City TV Show “Go Extreme!”. A character called Producer Tom will compare the auditions.
New Breakfast Experience With Peppa Pig
Sticking with Legoland Florida but hopping the fence to sister park Peppa Pig World, visitors will be able to have breakfast with Peppa Pig and friends in Miss Rabit’s Diner.
Aimed squarely at preschool children the experience will run from June the 9th on Friday and Saturday mornings. Visitors will also have the chance to score early ride access on Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster and Grampy Rabbit’s Dinosaur Adventure.
Thats it for this super quick edition of Bitesize Orlando but I wanted to keep you up to date with some important announcements from Disney before I head Stateside. See you on Instagram over the next 3 weeks and I’ll be back with another Bitesize Orlando at the end of June.
