This week at Walt Disney World, Disney confirms the future of the Parks Pass system, demand remains strong for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience, plus TRON Lightcycle / Run hits a new testing milestone.
Outside Walt Disney World, SeaWorld gives fans a taste of this year’s Howl-O-Scream event and a fan favorite eatery at Universal Orlando Resort shuts down forever.
1. Guest spending at Walt Disney World is up from 2019
During a presentation following Disney’s release of its quarterly results CEO Bob Chapek revealed that guest spending grew by more than 40%, versus 2019.A big driver of this increased spending, as expected, was the Genie+ system, which was introduced last year and continues to be a popular add-on for guests looking to skip the line at most attractions during a visit to Walt Disney World’s theme parks.
2. Disney park pass reservation system staying put
Ever since it was introduced as part of its reopening in 2020, the Disney Parks Pass system has been divisive amongst fans. However, during the aforementioned financial results call, it was reiterated that Disney has no plans for getting rid of this system at all and it will continue to be in use for the foreseeable future as Disney continues to focus its efforts on controlling crowd levels in its parks.
3. Demand for Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser going strong
Though it is one of the most expensive experiences ever created for a theme park, during the same earnings call Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that there continues to be strong demand for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, with reservations expected to continue to sell out for this experience through the next financial quarter. Though we’ll have to wait and see what the long-term future of this experience will be, for now it looks like this ultra-exclusive and super expensive experience has been quite the success for Disney.
4. Disney Enchantment moves to a slightly later timeslot for summer
Disney Enchantment, the Magic Kingdom’s nightly spectacular is changing its performance time for the summer, shifting from its usual 9:00 PM start to 9:20 PM through at least July 23, the farthest date available on the calendar. This change is likely due to longer daylight hours in the summer, and we’d guess the show will likely move back to its original timelot in the fall.
5. Ride launch now testing for TRON Lightcycle / Run
It looks like testing is continuing to progress well for TRON Lightcycle / Run. The attraction saw its first full-speed launch test at Magic Kingdom this week. Disney shared a video of the testing in action, which you can check out here. No opening date for this attraction has been shared just yet, but with the grand opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coming up next week, Disney may be ready to announce when they’re opening their next “big” attraction in the near future.
6. Tickets now on sale for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Tickets are now on sale for the 2022 return of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for hotel guests. This year’s event will kick off on August 12 and run for 37 select nights through October 31. Tickets run from $109 to $199. Tickets go on sale to the general public later this week on May 18. This year’s event will bring back several popular entertainment experiences including the Hocus Pocus-themed castle show and the Boo-To-You parade. You can learn more information about this year’s event at the official event website here.
7. Character meet and greet removed from Genie+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
A quick change has been made to the $15 Genie+ service at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Mickey and Minnie in Red Carpet Dreams character meet and greet has been removed from the service, after only just being added to the service in April. The Olaf meet and greet at the park is still available as a Genie+ selection, but it seems doubtful that the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet will be added back.
8. Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Live dark until May 24
Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life is currently dark right now for a few days while the performers take a well-earned break. It was announced that the show will resume perfomances in just under two weeks on May 24. The next break for Cirque Du Soleil will be in the Fall, from September 11 through 19.
9. Monsters Cafe closed permanently at Universal Studios Florida
Universal surprised guests by confirming that the Monsters Cafe eatery, which has been a fan favorite eatery at the park (and opened over 20 years ago!) would not be reopening, and is permanently closed. Rumors seem to indicate that this restaurant will be re-themed to fit in with its Minions-themed neighboring attractions, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. And though this might be disappointing for Monsters fans in the short term, strong rumors seem to indicate that there will be a whole Universal Monsters land in Universal’s Epic Universe, which will presumably include at least one eatery.
10. New teaser released for Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld Orlando
As part of Friday the 13th, SeaWorld Orlando has released its first Howl-O-Scream teaser video for this year’s event, which will kick off in September. Though no specific details were shared, the official Howl-O-Scream Orlando website says that there will be more shows and haunted houses at this year’s event. As we head in to the summer season, more information will likely be released.
11. Viva La Musica returns to SeaWorld
SeaWorld Orlando’s Viva La Músic Latin-inspired festival is returning later this month on Saturdays and Sundays May 14-23. During this event guests will be able to dance to red-hot local entertainment featuring salsa, bachata, reggaetón, and more with plenty of open spaces for guests to groove and move and enjoy fresh & festive food & beverage selections. Next week’s concert lineup has already been announced and includes:
- May 21, Poncho Sanchez (2:00 PM and 5:00 PM)
- May 22, Proyecto Uno (2:00 PM and 5:00 PM)
