Let’s take a look at the most important happenings from the last week…
It’s Very Merry Time
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returned last night. Our guide to the Christmas event has been updated with some details but we won’t actually be at the party until next week. In the meantime (and beyond), I’d recommend checking out what WDW Prep School has to say.
The biggest changes this year were the cancellation of “A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas”, which I’m really bummed to lose, the replacement of Edge Effect with The Collective 5ive boy band, and the debut of the Frozen Holiday Surprise show.
Goodbye, Old Friend
New on The Blog
We’ve got a few new posts up this week. In How to Pick Your First Disney Cruise we talk through how destination, ship, length, and other factors might impact which Disney Cruise you opt to start with.
I take a brief look at the future of Animal Kingdom in My Hopes For Tropical Americas - Dinoland Replacement At Animal Kingdom.
And I briefly discuss the upcoming Epcot nighttime spectacular “Luminous” in New Look At "Luminous" Epcot Fireworks Show.
Fantasmic Returning to Disneyland May 24, 2024
Fantasmic, one of the nighttime shows at Disneyland, will return May 24, 2024. That will make it over a year since the show was put on hiatus in April 2023 when the Maleficent dragon caught fire.
Blizzard Beach Reopened
Disney Earnings: EPS Beat, Revenue Slight Miss
You can find all sorts of analysis on Wednesday’s quarterly earnings report from Disney. Here’s the CNBC recap. The overall news was good for the company, and the stock is up over 7% (vs. a flat day for the market) as I draft this on Thursday.
The bottom line for this site and our audience is that Disney has reiterated plans to “turbocharge” investment in the parks over the next decade.
This comes on the heels of the parks and cruises segment performing well, except for Walt Disney World, which suffered from “challenging comparisons to the prior year from the 50th anniversary celebration.” (Meaning guest spending was down vs. last year because last year was so good.)
Overall I’m not sure why they’re so into this word— “turbocharge.” I’ve felt Disney debuts new things at a fine pace, I just don’t think they always do a great job with the quality of new things. TRON and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure are fine rides, but they also already existed abroad for several years before coming to Florida. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be beautiful, I’m sure, but it’s still a rework of a pre-existing ride. We need more updates at the level of Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, and Flight of Passage.
Universal’s new Epic Universe park is going to raise the bar, and it’s going to be fun to see how Disney keeps up. We know Animal Kingdom is going to get a new land in the coming years. And while details have been scant, Magic Kingdom is clearly looking toward some serious “beyond Big Thunder” expansion.
Commentary on Commentary: “Disney World Cracking Down on DAS Abuse”
Over on Disney Tourist Blog, Tom Bricker talks about the recent publicized crackdown on third-party tour guides and how the issue overlaps with a different but related issue of abuse of the DAS system. Tom pretty directly gets to the crux of the matter:
Two things can be true at the same time. First, that reasonable disability accommodations are very necessary for many Walt Disney World guests to have an enjoyable experience, including those with invisible disabilities. Second, DAS abuse is widespread and needs addressing.
I really recommend reading the post in whole.
Personally I’m not very optimistic. I think a third thing can be true—there’s very little that can be done about people who are blatantly abusing the system.
I know what many of you are thinking, but to the best of my years-out-of-practice lawyerly understanding, Disney can’t legally ask for proof of disability. See A.L. v. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts US, Inc., 469 F. Supp. 3d 1280, 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2020) (“[Accommodation seekers] were not required to provide any proof of disability since it was prohibited by law”).
This isn’t even to say that if they legally could, that Disney would be in the best position to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate users. To that same end, I remind myself and anyone reading that we also are not the best judges of whether anyone we see using DAS is a “legitimate” user or not.
And to this end it’s important to remember that symbolic actions might harm the wrong people. What about a big sign that says “DAS ABUSERS ARE LOSERS”? That could shame people who would otherwise abuse the system into better behavior, but it could result in a lot of stress from legitimate users worried about being mistaken as abusers.
The “best” option is to make DAS abuse less appealing. Since you can’t do this in a way that harms legitimate users, what you really need to do is make the ordinary queuing experience bearable enough to keep people from wanting to abuse the system.
That means making Genie+ more appealing, so that people would rather buy and use that to skip lines instead of engaging in lying and manipulation.
But absent some significant change, I’m resigned to sigh and try and forget that there are people who will lie, cheat, and steal in the world, and they will not always be stopped, caught, and punished.
I hope Disney works to optimize the system for users who truly need it, but it’s wholly unclear to me that much can be done about fraud.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.