Bitesize Orlando October 2023 – Issue 28

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope your October was great. The parks have seen their highest crowds in over 6 months over the last few weeks. There is something about Halloween that makes everyone want to visit a theme park! Attendance will take a dip for the next six weeks before we head into a really busy time. If you are visiting Orlando in November I wish you a fabulous holiday. As always, before we dive into the news for Bitesize Orlando October 2023, some website updates.

If you missed my Facebook post a fortnight ago, my detailed guide to everything you need to know about Epic Universe is now live. it’s one of the most detailed articles I have written to date outside of the main pages of the website and it uses new technology I have invested in to make the website more interactive for you. Hopefully, you can expect to see more interactive additions as I slowly update the pages of the website.

Beyond Epic Universe I have started the long drawn-out process of digitising my planning guide. I accidentally made the pages live as I was laying out the hierarchy so if you found a blank page expecting a plethora of planning knowledge, I am very sorry but I promise am working on them behind the scenes. It’s not a quick process as I have decided to completely rewrite the guide from scratch using my 2022 guide as a springboard but when it is live you can expect constantly updated planning advice that is easy to digest and it will still be free for registered users. The guide is going to take up much of my time over the next 3 or 4 months.

It will have been over 3 years but all-day park hopping is finally returning to Disney World’s theme parks. When the parks reopened post-COVID Disney and other operators were forced to restrict the number of people in the parks so each came up with a version of a reservations system. Other park operators gave up on this most unpopular of planning mechanics as soon as they could but Disney clung on there right into early 2024 when park reservations ill finally be axed.

To go along with this great bit of news, Disney is now also going to be relaxing the park hopping hours which currently are from 2 pm and you must first have entered your originally reserved park before attempting to get into your second park. Why they have clung onto this unpopular practice for so long is beyond many bloggers, myself included, but you betta believe they have a ton of data about how we move around the parks to feed into Genie+, their personal day planning system.

No surprise that all-day park hopping will be returning on the 9th of January 2024, the exact same day that park reservations are abolished. There is still the caveat of park-hopping privileges (US ticket holders need to pay extra), park capacity and certain ticket types that will require a reservation but that won’t apply to standard UK ticket sales which will already have park-hopping built into them.

Disney operates a lot of hotels and amenities throughout Disney World. If you are travelling in quieter seasons you may find that some resort amenities are closed for refurbishment.

Disney tried to mitigate maintenance as much as possible. January to April is peak maintenance season for water-based attractions and pools because of the cooler weather in Florida at this time of year.

Pools are one of the more prominent amenities that guests miss when they close for refurbishment and Disney has a number of pool maintenance closures planned in the near future. One of these closures has been delayed a year.

If you are thinking of staying at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort during your stay, the Fantasia Pool will now be closed for refurbishment between January and April 2025, not 2024 as previously listed.

The Duck Pond pool will continue to be open for guest’s use during this time but it may be busier than usual as it will be the only pool available in the 1,920-room resort. Something to keep in mind when planning your 2025 holiday.

Disney has raised prices throughout the resort starting with a 20% hike in daily parking charges.

It will now cost day visitors $30 per day to park their cars in Disney World, a $5 increase. This brings Disney World in line with Universal Orlando up the road which has been charging $30 for the last 12 months.

Preferred parking (closer to the park entrance or monorail/ferry stations in the case of Magic Kingdom) has increased to between $45 and $55 per day depending on the season.

Remember that Disney abolished parking costs for on-resort guests earlier this year so if you stay in a Disney resort hotel you will not need to pay for parking. This only applies to visitors who choose to stay off-site and drive to Disney World.

Disney has also increased the costs of hundreds of F&B (food and beverages) items throughout the resort. Character dining experiences have also seen a jump in price on average $4-$5 for adults and $2-$3 for children.

Price hikes and Disney kind of go hand in hand but the scale of this price increase (to go in line with the start of Disney’s new fiscal year) is unprecedented in the last couple of years. If you’re budgeting meals table service meals will now be roughly $5 per person more, counter service meals are $1-$2 more and snacks are up on average $0.50 to $1.

Typhoon Lagoon will close once again in a few short days for a multi-month closure after taking over the waterpark reigns from Blizzard Beach in March. Disney updated the opening hours for Typhoon Lagoon to show the last day of operation will be the 5th of November.

This only added one day to the operational hours already published and allowed Disney to have a seamless transition of water parks with Blizzard Beach re-opening on the 6th of November.

Neither water park has operated concurrently with the other since Disney World re-opened from its enforced COVID closure in January 2021. Many fans, myself included we’re hoping this would be the year that both water parks would be open during the busy summer season but once again it is not to be.

After-Hours events will be returning to 3 of Disney World’s 4 theme parks in 2024. The confirmed dates so far are:

Prices are dependent on the park and evening chosen. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios prices range from $155 to $175. Tickets for these after-hours events are limited – they are marketed on you being able to experience quieter parks. Unlimited ice-cream novelties, popcorn and some bottled beverages are also included in your ticket, just walk up to one of the snack carks open during the event. You can also purchase selected food and beverage items at certain restaurants but it really isn’t a good use of your 3 hours in the parks.

Let’s look at the attractions that are listed to be open during the event. Remember that this can change last minute but the appeal of After Hours event in Disney World is the fact that there are far fewer crowds than you will usually experience. Magic Kingdom will also be showing “Enchantment” fireworks exclusively on event nights. This is in addition to Happily Ever After for regular day crowds.

After-hours events run for 3 hours: Magic Kingdom and EPCOT will run from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. Hollywood Studios from 9:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. You can enter the parks from 7 pm to make the most of your time, and in the case of Magic Kingdom, you can even catch a viewing of “Happily Ever After” fireworks ahead of the official event start and then catch “Enchantment” at the end of the evening for 2 fantastic fireworks shows in one evening.

Tickets for the events go on general sale on the 14th of November but you can purchase them starting on the 7th of November if you are staying in a Disney World hotel or select partner hotels (Swan, Dolphin and Shades Of Green). Full information and purchasing of tickets can be done on the Disney World After Hours Event Page.

And it’s going to be at Disney World sooner than you think! The holiday season starts in earnest this year on the 10th of November in most parks and resorts. Here is a very brief rundown of this year’s merriment.

Universal Orlando has confirmed its 2023 holiday season dates and details. The event begins on November 17th and runs through until New Year’s Eve.

Universal Studios will see the return of the “Universal Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s” which has custom themed floats to some of Universal’s most famous characters plus some of the actual balloons that are in Macy’s New York Parade. There are also free concerns from holiday season favourites Mannheim Steamroller on December 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th.

The Wizarding World in Islands Of Adventure will be decked out in holiday decor with themed entertainment and the return of The Magic Of Christmas At Hogwarts projection show after dark. The Frog choir leads seasonal entertainment while Diagon Alley in Universal Studios will feature Celestine Warbeck and the Banshees.

The popular Grinchmas seasonal celebration also returns to Islands Of Adventure which also means the mean green one being in charge of the “Who-liday Spectacular” live stage show. Elsewhere look out for the seasonal return of Earl The Squirrel and the Holiday Tribute Store.

Hot on the heels of SeaWorld’s big 2024 attraction reveal, Penguin Trek, we now have some more details of the family roller coaster and a tantalising glimpse of what is in store for us when it opens in Spring 2024. So far SeaWorld has confirmed the following for the attraction:

Now let’s have a look at SeaWorld’s first brief glimpse of how the ride will look when it is finished in the video below.

Shortly after I published September’s news update, Busch Gardens confirmed that another roller coaster will be joining its award-winning collection of roller coasters in Spring 2024.

Phoenix Rising will become the park’s 10th roller coaster after the closure of SandSerpent in July to make way for Phoenix Rising in the Pantopia area of the park. The name of the new coaster is in honour of a former attraction, The Phoenix, a 360-degree rotating pirate ship attraction manufactured by Intamin. It closed in 2018 but remained for several years before finally being demolished in December 2022.

Not many details have been confirmed as yet but we do know the following:

That’s it for another month. Expect the news to be a bit quiet until the new year as parks focus their attention on the busy Christmas period. I’ll see you in November with another update.