Big News Day at Disney! TRON Launch Date; Changes to Annual Passes; and New Nighttime Entertainment Dates Released

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 10, 2023

 

Yowza, what a busy news day from the Disney Empire!

 
First came the news that the long-awaited TRON Lightcycle/Run at Magic Kingdom in Florida will open on April 4, 2023, with special preview days coming up before then for Cast Members, Annual Passholders, and Vacation Club members (watch your Disney email accounts for notifications on how and when to sign up).

Then came the new dates for the closing, and opening dates for the nighttime entertainment shows at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.  Harmonious (and its ugly “taco” barges) will see its last performance at EPCOT on April 2, 2023.  The next day, EPCOT Forever will make a brief return, and will serve as an interim show until the newest EPCOT show is ready to debut.  The barges will begin being dismantled the day after the final Harmonious performance.

Over at Magic Kingdom, “Disney Enchantment” will come to a close on April 2, 2023, with the glorious return of “Happily Ever After” with its well-loved fireworks extravaganza on April 3, 2023.  The show will be even better this time around, with projections stretching all the way down Main Street.  

 

And if all those tidbits weren’t enough to bring joy to the hearts of Disney fans, the Disney team announced a few very welcome changes to the Annual Passholder program, changes which will be warmly embraced by Disney guests.  Here are the three new updates:

 

1) Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will see their Park reservation requirements relaxed for visits after 2 p.m. 

According to the Disney Parks Blog, “Beginning in the next few months, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will be able to visit the theme parks after 2 p.m. without needing a park reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park. Pass blockout dates will continue to apply like they do today.”  Woohoo! We can make a last-minute drop in to EPCOT to hit up the festival booths for dinner without scheduling it eons in advance!

2) Attraction photo downloads will be included with Disney Genie+ service.

Also beginning in the next few months, guests purchasing the Disney Genie+ service will receive digital downloads of their Disney PhotoPass attraction photos, taken in the park on the day of their purchase, at no additional charge. Some of these rides and attractions include: Space Mountain, Slinky Dog Dash, Test Track, and Expedition Everest. Passholders will also receive access to Disney PhotoPass lenses and one complimentary Cinderella Castle Mural of Memories experience.  

 

3) Passholders can now enjoy complimentary overnight self-parking, when staying at a Disney Resort hotel (beginning January 10). This one is a big money saver for Passholders, who, while they do get free parking at the Theme parks, found themselves shelling out $15 and up per night to park at the Resort Hotels they were staying at.

 

While the above changes are specific to Disney’s Florida resort, there are a number of changes coming for Disneyland as well.  At Disneyland Resort in California, Passholders/Magic Key Holders can:

 

1) Switch between parks even earlier with a Park Hopper ticket, beginning at 11 a.m. PT starting February 4.

Beginning February 4, 2023, guests who enter a Disneyland Resort theme park with a Magic Key pass or a Park Hopper ticket may begin crossing over between the parks two hours earlier – starting at 11 a.m. PT.

 

2) More opportunities to visit with a $104 park ticket.

The Disneyland Resort reservation calendar will offer nearly two months worth of $104 park ticket dates throughout 2023 (the lowest one-day, one-park ticket price). 

With the 100th Anniversary celebration underway, January 27 will see several new attractions on the west coast. Two new nighttime spectaculars –”Wondrous Journeys” at Disneyland park and “World of Color – ONE” at Disney California Adventure park will debut, and the Disneyland version of  Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will chug its way down the tracks.

 

3) Complimentary Disney PhotoPass digital attraction photos.  

Disney PhotoPass digital photo downloads captured on any Disney PhotoPass available attraction during a park visit will be complimentary for all ticketed park guests on the Disneyland app starting February 4, throughout the Disney100 celebration at the Disneyland Resort. 

 

4) And here’s a biggie: More opportunities coming to join the Magic Key program.

Like Annual Passes in Florida, Magic Key passes in California have been hard to come by.  When they went back on sale last year, certain levels of the program sold out within hours.  As the Disney Parks Blog promises, “Disneyland Resort will make select Magic Key passes available for new sales from time to time throughout 2023 as pass inventory becomes available.” 

 

Keep an eye on Disneyland.com/MagicKey for sale dates and availability. And move quickly when you spot them!

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

A Whole New View of Harmonious

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 22, 2022

 

When Disney’s current nighttime show, Harmonious, debuted in EPCOT in October 2021, it was met mostly with a resounding chorus of “meh” and shoulder shrugs. And while it did have its share of fans, albeit a group that was on the smaller side, many people still longed for the days of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.

Sadly, Harmonious may have suffered in part due to a really poor showing by Disney on their first livestream presentation of Harmonious’ debut.  The camera coverage, and even the sound, was not up to Disney’s usual televised standards, and indeed, many Florida-based vloggers had better videos in their media coverage of the event. Those who saw it live, in person at EPCOT, seemed to have a higher opinion than those who watched that first televised livestream.

 

Fast forward to last night (June 21, 2022), and Disney’s presentation of Harmonious Live! in honor of World Music Day. Wow, what a difference!  The new livestream of the show aired on Disney+, and is now available on replay for subscribers of the streaming service. Go watch it, because it is worth the 28-minute investment of your time.  Part concert and part fireworks show, the event was well done, the camera coverage terrific, and the vocalists extraordinary. The accompaniment by a live orchestra, and music from multiple locations throughout the park, gave last night’s Harmonious an entirely different feel, and brought back all the emotion that seemed to be missing from the earlier show. The evening certainly rose to the quality level we normally expect from Disney.

 

Hosted by Idina Menzel (Frozen), with an appearance by Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) and a number of other celebrities, the tribute to World Music Day featured the talents of 240 artists from around the world, and incorporated thirteen languages and a variety of unique instruments, all while sharing music from fifteen of your favorite inspirational Disney stories and songs, including Hercules, Coco, Aladdin, The Lion King, Moana, and Beauty and the Beast.

 

In all honesty, I’m one of those folks who wasn’t wowed by Harmonious during my visits to the park. Our family saw the nighttime offering at the park on two occasions, once to experience it live for ourselves (and we were underwhelmed), and again a second time when we had out-of-town guests who hadn’t seen the show yet.  They, too, just said, “It was fine, but it was one and done.” That may indeed be the opinion of a lot of park guests, because we had no problem getting front row viewing spots in World Showcase a mere five minutes before showtime during our last outing. 

 

When Harmonious debuted last year in time for Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration, Disney Parks Blog wrote, “‘Harmonious’ illuminates our shared humanity, bringing to life the vision of EPCOT through a celebration of our world and its promise. Over the years, cultures from around the world have provided inspiration for Disney films and music. In ‘Harmonious,’ a global community of musical artists has come together and reinterpreted those familiar stories and songs in their own voice, honoring their respective cultures. Collectively, they contribute to a unique experience that could only happen at EPCOT, a place where the impossible becomes possible through the power of human imagination and the magic of Disney.”

 

Last night’s livestream was as if Harmonious was a whole different show than the show we’d seen in person in prior months, and I actually went back and watched the livestream again this morning.  I have an enormous appreciation for the talented vocalists, who stayed completely in synch with the fireworks, moving fountains, lasers and floating giant screens going on behind them.  Of particular note were mother-daughter gospel duo Kierra Sheard-Kelly and Karen Clark-Sheard with “Dig a Little Deeper,” backed by a fabulous choir, performing from the Italy Pavilion, and amazing violinists Lindsey Stirling and Mairead Nesbitt from the main stage.

 

Harmonious Live! was indeed a spectacular extravaganza, celebrating music from around the world.  Give it a half hour of your time from the comfort of your own home. It just might change the way you feel about the in-park version of the show. 

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

Disney to Live Stream New Fireworks Shows Ahead of Debuts

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 28, 2021

 

Without a doubt, every Disney fan would like to be in the audience on Disney World’s 50th Anniversary on October 1, 2021, to witness the kick-off of the spectacular new fireworks extravaganzas.  But since park reservations at the Magic Kingdom are already at capacity, and the park only holds so many people anyway, Disney has come up with a solution. They will be offering one-night live streams of the two new shows for guests’ enjoyment. 

“Harmonious” and “Disney Enchantment” will live stream early performances on the Disney Parks Blog ahead of their big October 1 debuts.  “Harmonious” will air on Wednesday, September 29, from EPCOT at 9:00 p.m. (ET).  On Thursday, September 30, the new “Disney Enchantment” will stream live from Magic Kingdom at 10:15 p.m. (ET).

 

Disney Parks Blog reports that Harmonious “pays tribute to the stories and songs that unite us all featuring new technical magic that includes special pyrotechnics, moving fountains, special lighting and media.”  More than 240 artists in a dozen different languages have come together to create the arrangements for the show’s music.

 

Disney Enchantment will also be bringing some new tech to the table, as the Castle projections that fans have come to love take over the rest of Main Street as well, with immersive projection effects that extend all the way down Main Street during the fireworks. The original song that accompanies the festivities, “You Are the Magic,” is brought to you by a former Walt Disney World cast member, Philip Lawrence, who is an eight-time GRAMMY winner.  

 

The fireworks shows will be part of the 18 month long “World’s Most Magical Celebration” honoring 50 years of Disney Magic in Florida.

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

Disney Announces New Fireworks Shows for 50th Anniversary

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 22, 2021

 

So many new shows and experiences are coming to Disney World for its 50th anniversary in October!  As a Disney fan, I should be happy… And I mostly am, except I just found out my beloved “Happily Ever After” fireworks show is being replaced. 

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

I’m sure that the new Magic Kingdom fireworks show, “Disney Enchantment,” will be phenomenal. I have long wondered why Disney’s Florida park wasn’t taking advantage of the entire stretch of Main Street for their projections and shows, the way they sometimes do in Disneyland in California. Given the fact that they have captive crowds from hub to train station, it seemed like a lot of wasted real estate.  Now, the new “Disney Enchantment” show will feature fireworks and projection effects “that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street USA” for the first time, according to Disney.  The show is designed to take guests “on a journey filled with adventure, wonder and empowerment.” 

 

It will be amazing, I’m certain. But I will have to make sure I get to the Magic Kingdom one last time before “Happily Ever After” ends. (It begins its temporary return on July 1st.) As many times as I have seen that show, it never fails to make me cry – even if I am watching it on YouTube because I can’t get to the park. 

In addition to the new fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, “Harmonious” will make its long-anticipated debut on October 1 in the center of World Showcase at EPCOT. “One of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney park,” the show will feature floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, moving fountains, lasers, and pyrotechnics, all choreographed to a new soundtrack with “interpretations of classic Disney songs as you’ve never heard them before, reimagined in more than a dozen languages by a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world.” Some of the enormous pieces of staging have already been installed in the center of the lagoon.

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

Disney’s Animal Kingdom has not been forgotten in the festivities, either. Over at the Discovery River Amphitheater, performers bearing larger-than-life windcatchers and kites will bring “Disney KiteTails” to life on both land and water. Some of the pieces are 30 foot long, elaborate three-dimensional kites! The show will be staged multiple times per day, beginning October 1, and will feature characters such as Simba and Zazu from The Lion King and Baloo and King Louie from The Jungle Book.

 

While you are at the parks, keep an eye out for a special collection of golden statues, tucked among the paths and attractions at Disney World. Fifty Disney characters for the 50th anniversary will be portrayed in whimsical gold likenesses, and scattered throughout all four theme parks. Visitors will be able to interact with the sculptures in surprising ways, according to Disney.  

 

Mickey and Minnie aren’t the only ones getting festive new party clothes for the celebration, either. Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Chip and Dale will be attired in specially designed EARidescent outfits to match Mickey and Minnie’s clothes as they appear throughout the parks. You’ll also get a chance to see them in Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade when it kicks off in the Magic Kingdom on October 1.

 

While Disney World will officially mark the beginning of its 50th anniversary that day, “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” itself will run for 18 months.  As previously announced, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride and the La Creperie de Paris restaurant at EPCOT’s France pavilion will also be opening October 1, and Cinderella Castle has already started getting its makeover for the big day, with shiny new golden ribbons and embellishments. The other parks’ icons will soon be getting celebratory “Beacons of Magic” transformations as well.

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!