News! Fireworks shows are changing at EPCOT and MK

Both fireworks shows in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT are being changed soon, so if these were favorites get back there soon to see them. I personally found both a bit disappointing, so I look forward to the return of older shows or new creations or seasonal shows.

TIP! Where to see the fireworks

In Magic Kingdom- Sitting behind the castle for the current fireworks show turned out to be an interesting perspective. While we couldn’t see the “projections” on the castle and pyrotechnics emanating from the castle that folks in the crowds in front could see, we had a completely unobstructed view of the aerial fireworks with Beast and Belle’s castle in the fore ground, and it was far less crowded.

For EPCOT, much of the action takes place on barges in the lagoon, so be sure you can see the “face” of the screen on the barge, or you really won’t see much of the show. Unfortunately, this is the complaint about this show, because there are so few areas to truly “see” the show, and during the day the barges look unattractive.

NEWS! Tron opens soon!

The lights are on, and the cars are running! It’s been reported that Tron is scheduled to open April 4th. Seems like before then there may be some of the “soft openings” that Disney is famous for! If you’ll be in Disney soon, wander by and see if you can get in ahead of the “official” opening. I’ve heard Annual Pass Holders and Cast Members will get early rides too.

TIP! How to ride Tron

When Tron opens, its expected to be a blockbuster in Magic Kingdom. It’s expected there won’t be a standby line, and the attraction will use the Boarding Group system being used right now for Guardians of the Galaxy in EPCOT. It’s also expected that you’ll be able to buy Lightening Lane access for Tron. If this attraction is important to you, you can purchase this LL access at 7 AM if you are staying in a Disney property and at the time of Official Park Opening for off site guests. Boarding Groups are offered at 7 AM for everyone, and again at 1 PM if there is space available. Be prepared ahead of time with a park reservation for MK to get on the app at exactly 7 AM and refresh immediately and don’t hesitate, it’s nt unusual for all the Boarding groups to be gone 7:01 AM for a popular attraction!

NEWS! The 50th Anniversary and 100 Year Anniversary

Disney loves a party and it’s wrapping up a multi year 50th anniversary this spring. I’d love to stay “50” for as long as Disney has! The color for the theme is gold and blue. The next celebration is the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Company (the movies) and it will be characterized by “platinum” color themes including new costumes for the big five characters.

TIP! Get your Merch!

The 50th themed merchandise will be going away soon, and the 100th themed merchandise is already available. If you see it, get it when you see it. I had got some fun “ears” in the 50th theme colors, but they were lost during hurricane Ian at my mothers home. I had hoped to replace them, but this year they were offering a different style for the 50th anniversary that I didn’t like as well.

NEWS! New (old) leadership at Walt Disney are making some changes

Recent leadership changes have happened to address some of the problems that have been happening at WDW. I don’t want to get too into the weeds of corporate politics, but Annual Pass Holders have been dissatisfied and the numbers have not been pleasing to investors, changes were made.

Tips! Changes mean some immediate benefits for Disney’s best customers

There are more benefits to staying on Walt Disney World property again. The parking fees ($25 a day) for parking your car at a resort where you might be already paying $250- 1000 to stay have been eliminated. Extended Magic hours in the evenings for some parks are offered to guests of Disney Deluxe Accommodations and early Morning Magic hours (parks open 30 minutes early) still remain for all Disney Resort Guests. Annual Pass Holders have had park reservations requirements eased a bit, so they can visit a park for the late afternoon or evening or dinner without a park reservation.

NEWS! Skyliner is off line for most of January

So the Skyliner is a new Disney transportation service (aerial trams, like the gondolas at ski mountains) from EPCOT International Entrance and Disney Hollywood Studios to some resorts. Its a lot fun to ride, and connects the Art of Animation and Pop Century, Caribbean Beach and new Riviera Resorts with these parks. But the downside is you have to get off the Skyliner and connect at the Caribbean Beach hub to go from the other resorts to one of the two parks served by it.

Tips! Stay at Caribbean Beach For Direct Skyliner Access

Caribbean Beach (moderate) resort is where you can ride directly to DHS or EPCOT on the Skyliner, if you’d like to stay at a Skyliner connected resort. Riviera connects directly to EPCOT but not to DHS, and both Animation and Pop Century (Value) resorts require a change at Caribbean Beach for either park.

NEWS! Guardians of the Galaxy is Fun!

TIPS! To Ride Guardians of the Galaxy

As of this writing, there is still no “standby” line for GOG, which means, all guests with an EPCOT park reservation can log on to the app at 7 AM for a Boarding Group. During our visit, they were “unavailable” after 7:01 AM, so have more than one member of your party ready to book on the app and refresh right at 7 AM. If things are running smoothly, another round of boarding groups may become available at 1 PM, but you must be in the park to access them on the app. A friend recently reported trying “just for the heck of it” at 2:30 PM when they arrived and were able to get a boarding group, so keep trying.

Another option is to purchase Lightening Lane access ( although you’ll miss a lot of the “pre show” doing this), available at 7 AM for guests of Disney Hotels, and at park opening time for other guests. These did not “sell out” as quickly during our January visit, but at busier times, non Disney resort guests may not have any available by park opening time.

Where we get our News and Tips!

I rely on a variety of sources for my information about WDW. Working with a Disney Specialist Travel Agent is critical. There are several good ones reviewed online. My preferred travel advisors and Consultants can be found here. I usually book my own trips, doing a lot of my own research with a few trusted sources, Mickey Visit website, Undercover Tourist, the DIS Boards.

My favorite source for decades has been the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World for unbiased, evidence based advice. I subscribe to their Touring Plans website during a year when I plan to visit Walt Disney World, to access the detailed Crowd Calendars in advance before reserving my parks. (I’m not paid or given any consideration for recommending them or anyone else to you) Several other sites, such as Undercover Tourist and Mickey Visit have added free popular “Crowd Calendars” but many of them are more general, whereas UG to WDW has evidence based data collected by their researchers for every day based on park events, regional school vacations and the attendance data they’ve collected for years. And its dynamic; as a subscriber for a nominal annual fee, I get regular email “updates” of changes in expected attendance for the parks I’m watching.

Touring Plans also provide a service that allows subscribers to see an interactive map of every WDW resort with pictures of the exact (or very similar) view from that room, and they give advice on best, quietest and most conveniently located rooms. They’ll even fax your request for specific rooms to WDW for you before your trip. Our requests were granted, although, there are no guarantees.

Another Unofficial Guide developed tool is the Lines App, which was the “OG” for making a touring plan before WDW developed their own app. WDW’s app allows you to use their free Genie service to plan your day and has an interactive map with wait times. We found wait times on the Disney app to be less accurate than the Lines App and the Lines App’s customizable touring plans were superior to WDW’s free Genie, because they incorporated what we wanted to do, not just general recommendations of where Disney wanted to send us.

If you are headed to the “WORLD” soon…we wish you safe travels and the most magical of visits!

All photos by K. and J. Klofft