This week at Walt Disney World, Disney parks continue to reach capacity levels through next month, the Jungle Cruise is set to close in the very near future, plus the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival will now kick off in July!
Outside Walt Disney World, Universal hikes prices and SeaWorld welcomes a fan favorite character meet and greet for a limited time!
1. Walt Disney World theme park availability continues to be extremely limited
Though April just kicked off this past week, it looks like guests visiting Walt Disney World in the coming months should expect large crowds, as the current parks pass availability calendar showing one or more theme parks “sold out” for almost the entire month of April as well as May now as well. You can see current parks pass availability here.
2. 2021 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival kicks off in July
Disney has announced that the 2021 edition of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will kick off July 15, 2021 starting just 5 days after the end of the EPCOT Taste of Flower and Garden Festival, which ends this year on July 5, 2021. Interestingly, it looks like Disney is ditching the “Taste of” that has accompanied all of the other festivals since reopening, which could be a sign that Disney’s festivals will be getting back to something resembling normal by this summer.
3. MyMagic Mobile now available for iPhone users
Guests can now use Disney’s MagicMobile service, which was announced last month, to enter the theme parks, check in for reservations, link PhotoPass reservations and more. In order to use Magic Mobile,guests will need to set up their pass in the My Disney Experience App (along with all passes for guests whose accounts they manage), and then add their pass(es) to their Apple Wallet. You can check out instructions for setting it up here.
4. Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover reopening date pushed back again
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover has officially been closed for a full year. And while that may seem like bad news for this attraction, the end of this long-running refurbishment may be in sight as Disney has announced a new reopening target of May 1, 2021 and guests have spied the attraction running with and without riding Cast Members in recent weeks, which is definitely a good sign.
5. Jungle Cruise Refurbishment to kick off soon
Though Disney has yet to release an official final operating date yet for the current version of the Jungle Cruise, it looks like a closure might be imminent as Disney has confirmed that the new version of this attraction will be opening later this year.
6. New images released of Wilderness Lodge refurbishment
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort is currently set to reopen on June 6th, and will sport a bit of a new look when it does with updated laminate floors and additional accents. You can check out all the new images at Disney’s official website here.
7. Universal hikes prices on annual passes
Universal Orlando Resort has quietly hiked prices on their annual passes now that their limited time three months free deal has expired. You can check out a breakdown of the old vs. new prices for different tiers of two-park Universal Orlando Resort theme park passes for both general guests as well as Florida residents here.
8. SeaWorld Orlando welcomes Sesame Street character Julia
Sesame Street character Julia is now appearing at SeaWorld Orlando! Julia is an amazing 4-year-old with autism who loves to draw and play with her friends Elmo and Abby Cadabby. Families can meet walkaround Julia in Sesame Street Land during physically distanced meet-and-greets, Friday – Sunday, April 2 through April 30, as part of Autism Acceptance Month.
