Going Back To WDW After A Few Years - What Has Changed?

[jhaig]

I used to be very active in these boards from 2009-2016 when we were taking annual family trips to WDW. After taking a year off in 2017, paying for college for my daughter, and then finally visiting Disneyland in Anaheim in 2018, we considered another trip, but we decided to go save up and go again during the 50th anniversary in 2021. COVID took care of those plans, so now I have to reevaluate.

To give some perspective,the last time we were at WDW, Pandora was still being built. I’ve been trying to catch up with the latest changes but it’s hard to keep up. Saw that Magical Express is going away, a Ratatouille ride in France is almost open, and there’s a Mission Space restaurant coming just for starters. What else have I missed in the last 5 years? Can anyone give me a quick summary of the major changes? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop forever.

 

[GBRforWDW]

I used to be very active in these boards from 2009-2016 when we were taking annual family trips to WDW. After taking a year off in 2017, paying for college for my daughter, and then finally visiting Disneyland in Anaheim in 2018, we considered another trip, but we decided to go save up and go again during the 50th anniversary in 2021. COVID took care of those plans, so now I have to reevaluate.

To give some perspective,the last time we were at WDW, Pandora was still being built. I’ve been trying to catch up with the latest changes but it’s hard to keep up. Saw that Magical Express is going away, a Ratatouille ride in France is almost open, and there’s a Mission Space restaurant coming just for starters. What else have I missed in the last 5 years? Can anyone give me a quick summary of the major changes? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop forever.

Disney seems to be constantly changing, so definitely easy to get out of the loop if you take time away.

A few of the changes:
MK - building a tron rollercoaster near Space Mountain. In progress. Also jungle cruise and splash mountain have announced new theming.

Epcot - undergoing major renovations. Besides the nearly open Ratatouille ride and not far behind Guardians of the Galaxy coaster, they're also redoing a major portion of Future World in 3 different neighborhoods. 2 of those are for Moana and Mary Poppins. Can't remember the third right now.

Hollywood studios - biggest changes of the parks that are complete. The great movie ride is now Mickey and Minnie runaway railroad, a new Toy Story Land that includes the old Toy Story Midway Mania as well as a Slinky Dog rollercoaster and a ride called Alien swirling saucers, it's sort of similar to the teacups in magic kingdom. Also there is an all new Star Wars land that includes 2 new rides, including a Millennium Falcon flight simulator and a dark ride through the Galaxy. This ride is the most popular ride and requires you to use a Virtual Queue system to get a chance to ride. See the thread "READ POST 1 & 2 FIRST-Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Planning and Information-*No Spoilers*" for more info.

Animal kingdom - as you mentioned, they have the new Pandora land that includes 2 rides, 1 a little dark ride through some Pandora scenes and 1 a flight simulator on the back of one of the flying Banshee.

These are the new and upcoming items I'm aware of. Hope you enjoy your next trip!

 

[hes122]

PP covered the park changes.

The Skyliner from Pop/AoA to Caribbean Beach and then on to either Hollywood Studios or Epcot is new.

Riviera Resort is new.

 

[Oomiak]

I'm in a similar situation. 2017 was the last time I was there, went to Disneyland in 2018 and my WDW trip for the end of March 2019 was cancelled by COVID. Now I'm looking at a trip a couple of months from now and it feels weird to be out of the loop. Almost like the old days, before fast passes, when we just went to the parks without much of a plan. I knew about all of the changes above, but I don't have the knowledge advantage anymore to efficiently navigate the parks. Crazy times...

 

[disneygirlsng]

Disney seems to be constantly changing, so definitely easy to get out of the loop if you take time away.

A few of the changes:
MK - building a tron rollercoaster near Space Mountain. In progress. Also jungle cruise and splash mountain have announced new theming.

Epcot - undergoing major renovations. Besides the nearly open Ratatouille ride and not far behind Guardians of the Galaxy coaster, they're also redoing a major portion of Future World in 3 different neighborhoods. 2 of those are for Moana and Mary Poppins. Can't remember the third right now.

Hollywood studios - biggest changes of the parks that are complete. The great movie ride is now Mickey and Minnie runaway railroad, a new Toy Story Land that includes the old Toy Story Midway Mania as well as a Slinky Dog rollercoaster and a ride called Alien swirling saucers, it's sort of similar to the teacups in magic kingdom. Also there is an all new Star Wars land that includes 2 new rides, including a Millennium Falcon flight simulator and a dark ride through the Galaxy. This ride is the most popular ride and requires you to use a Virtual Queue system to get a chance to ride. See the thread "READ POST 1 & 2 FIRST-Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Planning and Information-*No Spoilers*" for more info.

Animal kingdom - as you mentioned, they have the new Pandora land that includes 2 rides, 1 a little dark ride through some Pandora scenes and 1 a flight simulator on the back of one of the flying Banshee.

These are the new and upcoming items I'm aware of. Hope you enjoy your next trip!

Mary Poppins was going in World Showcase, not Future World. And I believe it has been officially scrapped (for now at least). Also, Moana was a new attraction, not one of the neighborhoods. There will be 4 (including World Showcase) the other 3 are World Celebration (center of the park), World Discovery (Test Track/Mission Space/Guardians side), and World Nature (Soarin/Seas/Land/future Moana side)

 

[disneygirlsng]

AK also has the Animation Experience, which is in the Rafiki's Planet Watch section. This is similar to the animation class that used to be at Hollywood Studios and is one of my favorite things!
There's a new Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long in France at Epcot that is fun.
Fireworks aren't currently running, but there will be a new fireworks show at Epcot, likely later this year.

If you are going in October, Magical Express will still be running. I would keep your eye out for other things that may change between now and then. Fastpasses are currently not being offered, but that could change between now and then. Early entry for resort guests (formally extra magic hours) is supposed to start sometime this year. Some of the shows and restaurants aren't currently open, and some are scheduled to/may open before your trip.

 

[mamaofsix]

If you're going soon, some of the biggest changes that will have an impact on your trip:

-there is currently no fp system in place (hopefully that changes)
-mask mandate, including all outdoor spaces
-temperature screening at each park and Disney Springs
-half the restaurants and attractions are closed at this time, including most shows and character meet & greets
-park hours are reduced, with no Extra Magic hours currently scheduled
-No fireworks or night time shows at this time.
-Tickets are tiered pricing depending on when you go, and must be used up in a shorter amount of time (no more 14 day expiration). For example, a 3 day ticket must be used within 5 days.
-You must reserve your spot at each park well ahead of time. To park hop, you must attend your reserved park first, and then can only hop after 2pm if there is "room" at the park you want to hop to.

 

[phoenixgirl3246]

Same here - I used to spend a lot of time there, but it's been several years now. They've been advertising Florida-resident rates, but it just seems like so much red tape to go through. There's zero spontaneity left to it. It's hard when you remember the "good old days" ya know?

 

[GBRforWDW]

Mary Poppins was going in World Showcase, not Future World. And I believe it has been officially scrapped (for now at least). Also, Moana was a new attraction, not one of the neighborhoods. There will be 4 (including World Showcase) the other 3 are World Celebration (center of the park), World Discovery (Test Track/Mission Space/Guardians side), and World Nature (Soarin/Seas/Land/future Moana side)

Yep sorry, I kept getting confused on how all the changes worked in Epcot.

Here's the official release for reference:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...f-epcot-underway-at-walt-disney-world-resort/
Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[brittbrat63]

I'm in a similar boat. I haven't been since 2018 and am planning my toddler's first trip. I always have done a prepark opening BOG breakfast and was hoping to again, along with a prepark opening Garden Grill in Epcot. It appears these are a thing of the past, along with table service breakfast in general. Can anyone help cornfirm or clarify?

Thanks!

 

[jhaig]

If you're going soon, some of the biggest changes that will have an impact on your trip:

-there is currently no fp system in place (hopefully that changes)
-mask mandate, including all outdoor spaces
-temperature screening at each park and Disney Springs
-half the restaurants and attractions are closed at this time, including most shows and character meet & greets
-park hours are reduced, with no Extra Magic hours currently scheduled
-No fireworks or night time shows at this time.
-Tickets are tiered pricing depending on when you go, and must be used up in a shorter amount of time (no more 14 day expiration). For example, a 3 day ticket must be used within 5 days.
-You must reserve your spot at each park well ahead of time. To park hop, you must attend your reserved park first, and then can only hop after 2pm if there is "room" at the park you want to hop to.

Yikes, these all sound like reasons to wait even longer!!!

 

[candizfan]

Disney seems to be constantly changing, so definitely easy to get out of the loop if you take time away.

A few of the changes:
MK - building a tron rollercoaster near Space Mountain. In progress. Also jungle cruise and splash mountain have announced new theming.

Epcot - undergoing major renovations. Besides the nearly open Ratatouille ride and not far behind Guardians of the Galaxy coaster, they're also redoing a major portion of Future World in 3 different neighborhoods. 2 of those are for Moana and Mary Poppins. Can't remember the third right now.

Hollywood studios - biggest changes of the parks that are complete. The great movie ride is now Mickey and Minnie runaway railroad, a new Toy Story Land that includes the old Toy Story Midway Mania as well as a Slinky Dog rollercoaster and a ride called Alien swirling saucers, it's sort of similar to the teacups in magic kingdom. Also there is an all new Star Wars land that includes 2 new rides, including a Millennium Falcon flight simulator and a dark ride through the Galaxy. This ride is the most popular ride and requires you to use a Virtual Queue system to get a chance to ride. See the thread "READ POST 1 & 2 FIRST-Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Planning and Information-*No Spoilers*" for more info.

Animal kingdom - as you mentioned, they have the new Pandora land that includes 2 rides, 1 a little dark ride through some Pandora scenes and 1 a flight simulator on the back of one of the flying Banshee.

These are the new and upcoming items I'm aware of. Hope you enjoy your next trip!

Thanks for posting this. We were there in 2019 but I still feel out of the loop. Can't wait to get back....and soon I hope.

 

[mamaofsix]

Yikes, these all sound like reasons to wait even longer!!!

Yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news Seems like a lot of the changes haven't been for the better lately. Hopefully that will change soon!

 

[GBRforWDW]

I'm in a similar boat. I haven't been since 2018 and am planning my toddler's first trip. I always have done a prepark opening BOG breakfast and was hoping to again, along with a prepark opening Garden Grill in Epcot. It appears these are a thing of the past, along with table service breakfast in general. Can anyone help cornfirm or clarify?

Thanks!

You are correct, in park breakfast is hard to find right now, though I don't think it's a thing of the past, just paused for now.

A couple options if you're interested, chef Mickey's in the contemporary, so close enough to MK. I didn't go on our trip, but I've heard quality has improved since reopening. Also, Topolinos inside Riviera Resort is excellent. We did eat here on our way out of town, but if you're staying at a skyliner or epcot resort, definitely do what you can to get here for breakfast. The food is so good. The character interactions are a lot of fun, even with the social distancing.

 

[Beamerball]

If you're going soon, some of the biggest changes that will have an impact on your trip:

-there is currently no fp system in place (hopefully that changes)
-mask mandate, including all outdoor spaces
-temperature screening at each park and Disney Springs
-half the restaurants and attractions are closed at this time, including most shows and character meet & greets
-park hours are reduced, with no Extra Magic hours currently scheduled
-No fireworks or night time shows at this time.
-Tickets are tiered pricing depending on when you go, and must be used up in a shorter amount of time (no more 14 day expiration). For example, a 3 day ticket must be used within 5 days.
-You must reserve your spot at each park well ahead of time. To park hop, you must attend your reserved park first, and then can only hop after 2pm if there is "room" at the park you want to hop to.

How do you know if there is “room” at the park you want to hop too?

 

[GBRforWDW]

Yikes, these all sound like reasons to wait even longer!!!

There's always reasons to wait longer .

One nice thing about these pandemic changes is lower crowds. Most days in most parks, you can enjoy nearly all the rides. It's all about finding the positives in a challenging situation. It's not for everyone, but, the rides are really the main part of the parks right now.

 

[GBRforWDW]

How do you know if there is “room” at the park you want to hop too?

There's been a cast member at the bus stops at the parks that will scan your magic band or key to the world or ticket and let you know if the park has Availability. So far, I haven't seen any reports of anyone being denied entry to a park. It may become an issue next week with full parks for Presidents day though.

 

[_19disnA]

We also hadn't been to Disney in several years prior to our pre-covid trip. The main thing we found different was FastPass and for all of the talk it gets on here, you can only pre-reserve 3 rides each day so we didn't find it that big of a deal overall. With covid, FastPass isn't currently available. We arranged our FastPasses so we weren't zig/zagging from one end of the park to another just to get to the next reservation. Many of the rides were the same but the theme had changed on several to be related to a recent Disney movie. Not sure that will 'age' well and probably need a redo in a few years, once that movie is no longer popular. Many of the older rides seem in need of a refresh, but appears more focus in placed on newer/big rides instead of renovations of existing ones. It's a Small World, for example, is still the same plywood and glitter cutouts we recall from many years ago and clearly in need of an update. There was a lot of construction going on at Epcot.

We found the parks a LOT more crowded then they were several years ago, so you basically need to plan for more time at each park in order to accomplish what you used to be able to do during one visit. Food also seemed a lot more expensive. We are in no hurry to return even once the covid situation is behind us.

 

[jhaig]

We found the parks a LOT more crowded then they were several years ago, so you basically need to plan for more time at each park in order to accomplish what you used to be able to do during one visit. Food also seemed a lot more expensive. We are in no hurry to return even once the covid situation is behind us.

What is the park capacity now? Did you find it more crowded because the ride lines are spaced out more?

 

[jhaig]

You are correct, in park breakfast is hard to find right now, though I don't think it's a thing of the past, just paused for now.

A couple options if you're interested, chef Mickey's in the contemporary, so close enough to MK. I didn't go on our trip, but I've heard quality has improved since reopening. Also, Topolinos inside Riviera Resort is excellent. We did eat here on our way out of town, but if you're staying at a skyliner or epcot resort, definitely do what you can to get here for breakfast. The food is so good. The character interactions are a lot of fun, even with the social distancing.

Case in point - I have no idea what or even where Riviera is