Bitesize Orlando May 2025 – Issue 47

Welcome to Bitesize Orlando May 2025. The month has flown by in a haze of travel, and we are almost halfway through the year. How on earth did that happen?! I’ve got lots of updates planned that I’m still working on, not to mention planning someone’s first Orlando holiday for them, so it may look quiet on the website, but it has been far from that in the background.

I may have been busy planning a lucky traveller’s first Orlando holiday this month, but I have a new planning tool for you to use. Disney’s Lightning Lane paid line-skipping service is more convoluted than it should be, so I have a new checklist with all multi-pass, single-pass, and virtual queues currently in use in Disney World.

They have proven so popular on Facebook that I’ve even received requests for a Disneyland version. I have embedded both below for you to download and print. A PDF version of Disney World will be available on the Lightning Lane page of the website soon.

At the start of the month, Disney updated its online calendar of events up until mid-July. One conspicuous alteration that caught everyone’s attention is Extended Evening Hours, a perk of staying in Deluxe level, Villa and DVC properties. Traditionally, Extended Evening Hours run at EPCOT for 2 hours on Monday nights and at the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evenings.

Starting July 2nd, Magic Kingdom’s Wednesday evening slot has been given to Animal Kingdom. The same is true the following week (which is as far out as the online calendar goes at the time of publication).

Many took this seemingly small, innocuous shift away from Magic Kingdom (possibly for the summer) as a sign that Disney is looking to debut the new Starlight nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom from July; and they were right!

Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away will debut in Magic Kingdom on July 20th.

Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away is the first nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom since 2016, when “Main Street Electrical Parade” was retired, which itself replaced the beloved “Spectromagic”, which was permanently retired in 2010.

Heading into the middle of the month, Disney shared the dates for the 2025 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, EPCOT’s most popular festival that introduces delicious flavours of the world throughout the park, with 35 Global Marketplaces in total for 2025.

In 2025, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival will run from August 28th through November 22nd, right before EPCOT has its Christmas overlay.

Remy’s Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt returns in 2025, a perfect introduction for little ones to learn about all kinds of delicious food. Hunt out ingredients that Remy has scattered all over the park. Once you complete the scavenger hunt and find all the ingredients, a special prize awaits. A map and stickers will be available to purchase in the park.

Your park ticket also gets you entry to the Eat To The Beat concert series featuring an eclectic mix of local and world-renowned bands and singers. Confirmation of bands and dates will be closer to the festival start date.

Hollywood Studios is now home to not 1 but 2 brand new shows, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After and The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, both debuted on May 27th.

I’ve got two official sneak peeks at the brand new shows to whet your appetite before your trip. Not enough to ruin the magic of seeing these shows yourself for the first time, but enough to make you excited to see them on your trip.

If you’re excited for The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, I have more good news for you as it has just been added to the tier 2 list of available attractions in Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane selections.

All the attention may be on the grand opening of Epic Universe, Universal’s third theme park in Orlando, and the largest theme park built from scratch in the US in the last 20+ years, but Universal has snuck a small but important operational update under the radar this month.

Universal confirmed to team members in an internal memo that the previously designated in-park smoking areas have been removed from all theme parks with the only areas now located outside of the park entrances. The only designated smoking areas are now:

• Universal Studios Florida: Outside the park exit, to the left near the Studio Archway
• Universal Islands of Adventure: Outside the park exit, opposite the Islands of Adventure lighthouse
• Universal Epic Universe: Near the park exit by the restrooms
• Universal Volcano Bay: At the Wave Village (East)
• Universal CityWalk: To the left of Red Coconut Club

The Volcano Bay water park will retain an in-park smoking area until October, when the Tapu Tapu system is retired, likely because of a restriction on the hardware being taken out of the park.

Citywalk appears to have had its designated smoking areas cut too, as there were previously two, with one on the lagoon edge in front of Hard Rock Cafe, as well as to the left of the Red Coconut Club, but the Hard Rock Location has now been removed. Universal’s smoking policy also includes the use of vapes and e-cigarettes.

A brief reminder for those heading to Universal Studios in the next couple of weeks: The ET Adventure will be closed for planned maintenance for a short period between June 9th and June 13th.

Just as the month closed out, Islands Of Adventure’s most popular attraction, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, was quietly added to Universal Express Pass, the first time the attraction has officially been included in the Express Pass lineup since it opened in 2019.

Hagrid’s is the world’s first story coaster set in an actual forest of over 1200 trees. The attraction boasts speeds fo up to 50 mph and more than a few surprises along its 1.5 km circuit.

The coaster is consistently one of the most popular attractions in Islands Of Adventure, quickly reaching 2+ hour queues within minutes of opening every morning. The popularity, along with operational reliability, has kept it from being a part of Universal’s Express Pass system until now.

With Epic Universe opening to critical acclaim, the pressure has eased slightly from Islands Of Adventure’s shoulders, finally allowing the attraction to become part of the Express Pass lineup in Islands Of Adventure.

Universal Express Pass Unlimited is included with certain hotel reservations. It can also be purchased as a standalone product, starting from $120 per day for the standard ride one-pass option or from $150 for unlimited rides.

United Parks, Owner of SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and other local attractions throughout the US, has announced ambitious expansion plans to develop 400 acres of underutilised land in its portfolio, specifically targeting its 2 biggest central Florida assets, Busch Gardens in Tampa and SeaWorld in Orlando.

United Parks CEO Mark Swanson emphasised the need for a cultural shift within United Parks to remain relevant and become a key player in the markets they operate in. The development will include new theme park acreage with attractions, plus SeaWorld and Busch Gardens’ first foray into onsite hotel developments; a key generator of returning visitor volume in the increasingly competitive Orlando theme park market.

United Parks is targeting strategic sponsorship partnerships amounting to $ 20 MILLION to help build out the plans over the coming years. A recent internal restructuring has dedicated resources to pursue these sponsorship opportunities going forward. Swanson has indicated that the company is already in discussions with several players to bolseter his ambitious growth plans for the company.

Busch Gardens debuted its new nighttime fireworks show titled “Wild Skies” on May 23rd. The new show is the first to feature drones as well as music, lasers and fireworks.

The fireworks show is the backbone of the popular Summer Nites promotion, which will be running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until August 10th (weather permitting)

“‘Wild Skies: The Summer Nights NEW Drone Show’ will leave guests in awe with a stunning drone display and an explosive firework finale! Set to a perfectly paired soundtrack, it’s an unforgettable experience that will make for a summer night to remember.”

Over the winter, under the new Park President, Jeff Davis, Busch Gardens is almost finished with putting the finishing touches on a $40 million park-wide investment program, including the opening of the newly revamped Wild Oasis area.

As well as Wild Oasis, this winter has seen improvements to animal habitats as well as the introduction of new ones, including giant anteaters, capybaras, squirrel monkeys and meerkats. A new climbing frame has been erected for a new troop of chimpanzees.

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New park Executive Chef Lavon Smith had overseen a revamp of the park’s restaurant menu, bringing “an exciting new culinary vision to the park”.

Neighbouring Adventure Island Water Park has added a new Castaway Cay multi-level interactive splash pad with water features and cascading slides.

That’s it for this brief update. Thanks for reading, and I will see you next month.