There was a lot of news this week that might impact your upcoming trips. Let’s take a look back at a busy week of Disney announcements!
Walt Disney World
We’ll start with Walt Disney World…
EPCOT Festival of the Arts Returns January 12 through February 19
EPCOT Festival of the Arts will return January 12, 2024, running through February 19. This is the same timeframe as the 2023 festival (shifted by one day). More will be announced at a later date, but we expect the event to largely resemble the 2023 event (which was great).
January Skyliner Refurbishment Announced
The Disney World Skyliner will close in January for its annual refurbishment according to the following schedule:
On January 16, all three lines will close
On January 22, the line between Caribbean Beach and Hollywood Studios will reopen
On January 22, the line between Pop Century / Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach will reopen
On January 28, the line between Caribbean Beach, Riviera Resort, and EPCOT will reopen.
In other words:
The entire Skyliner network is closed January 16 through January 21
There will be no Skyliner access at Epcot from January 16 through January 27
There will be Skyliner access between Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Hollywood Studios from January 22 through January 27
Guests staying at Riviera can walk to the Caribbean Beach hub from January 22 through January 27 if they’d like to take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. Buses will be available when the Skyliner is not running.
After Hours Returns to Disney World January
The ticketed After Hours events will return in 2024. These three-hour evening events are un-themed (i.e. they aren’t like the holiday parties) and you should mostly be focused on taking advantage of the short waits for rides.
After Hours is returning to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios on select dates in January through April 2024. We’ve reviewed previous iterations of these events:
At Magic Kingdom, a standby queue will be used for TRON Lightcycle Run. You’ll also get the chance to see the “Enchantment” fireworks show that ran during the 50th Anniversary celebration.
Prices for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom Park range from $155 to $175 (before tax). EPCOT tickets are a bit cheaper, ranging from $149 to $159 (before tax). Annual Passholder and DVC discounts may be available.
Disney resort guests can buy tickets beginning November 7, 2023. All other guests can buy tickets starting November 14, 2023.
Extended Evening Hours Return to Magic Kingdom In January
BlogMickey notes that Extended Evening Hours, the hotel perk exclusive to Disney’s deluxe resorts, returns to Magic Kingdom on January 3, 2024. We’ve reviewed Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom and Extended Evening Hours at EPCOT before.
Of the seven events in December, five will be at EPCOT and two at Animal Kingdom. The reasoning for this schedule isn’t surprising, as the below seasonal conflicts limit options in August through December:
Moving forward, we also know we’ll have conflicts with the ticketed After Hours events. I call these “conflicts”, but, specifically when it comes to guests who have the money for deluxe resorts, I’m sure Disney prefers to think of these paid ticketed events as “further opportunity for guests to enhance their visits.”
I know I’m not in the minority here when I say I continue to find the scheduling of Extended Evening Hours very frustrating. Disney’s deluxe resorts charge prices above what their hotel quality justifies, and part of what guests expect from that is the Extended Evening Hours perk.
But:
you can regularly book a three-night stay and have no opportunity for Extended Evening Hours
if you do book a stay that includes Extended Evening Hours, you won’t know which park it’s at until about 2 months in advance
you usually need at least eight nights in order to experience Extended Evening Hours twice
if you do book a long stay with two Extended Evening Hours visits, they’ll often both be at the same park
As a practical matter, the value of the perk is limited in any case because you’ll have to be up extra late, which can be tough if you’re getting up early for Early Entry.
Moonlight Magic Returning for Disney Vacation Club Members
The complimentary evening offering specifically for eligible Disney Vacation Club Members (I’m not an expert but I think some or all people who bought resale are excluded?) is set for the following parks and dates:
Animal Kingdom: February 27 and April 23, 2024
EPCOT: January 25 and March 1, 2024
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park: June 4 and June 11, 2024
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: August 27, 2024
Disney California Adventure (Disneyland Resort): January 29, 2024
Other Disney News
Disneyland’s Adventureland Treehouse Will Open November 10
The Adventureland Treehouse will replace Tarzan’s Treehouse at Disneyland. While it’ll be nice to see some updated features and new designs, we don’t expect any sort of miraculous updates.
Fantasy Springs Will Open June 6, 2024 at Tokyo DisneySea
Fantasy Springs is a new “port” (land) at Tokyo Disney Sea that will feature three areas:
Frozen Kingdom
Rapunzel’s Forest
Peter Pan’s Never Land
and a new hotel, Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel. It’s been years since we were at Tokyo Disney Resort, and we’d absolutely love to get back shortly after this debut. Tokyo Disney Resort is easily our favorite of the international Disney resorts, though we’d still recommend Disneyland Paris if you’re new to international travel.