Tag: Epcot

Walt Disney World Announces ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’Will Not Have a Stand Bye Queue

Walt Disney World confirmed today what the Genie queue options will be for EPCOT’s “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” rollercoaster that is opening on May 27th at Walt Disney World.

When “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” opens, a virtual queue will be in place. I think to most observers, this was expected. Guests will need to use the My Disney Experience app to enter the attraction’s virtual queue. What might not have been expected, though probably suspected by observers, Disney announced that a standby queue will not be available.

Each Guest will only be available to enter the virtual queue no more than once per day. Boarding groups for a virtual queue will be limited, subject to availability, and are not guaranteed. As with previous virtual queues, not all boarding groups may be called to return, based on availability of the experience.

Guests will be able to purchase Individual Lightning Lane entry for this attraction when it opens, although pricing is not yet available and Cosmic Rewind will not be included with the standard $15 Genie+ option.

Currently, the highest price Lightning Lane queue at Walt Disney World is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at $15, which would seem to be what we can probably expect Cosmic Rewind.

Based on experience with previous virtual queues, we can likely expect availability for Cosmic Rewind to reach capacity within seconds of opening each day, essentially making experiencing the ride somewhat of a lottery.

Walt Disney World Removes All Mask Requirements

Walt Disney World has just announced that it has dropped all requirements for guests to wear masks when on its transportation systems. This effectively makes Walt Disney World mask-free for the first time since summer of 2020.

The new Walt Disney World mask-free policy goes into effect immediately. Even with this change in policy, Disney continues to recommend guests who are not fully vaccinated continue wearing face coverings in all indoor locations, including indoor attractions and theaters and on enclosed transportation.

Masks have been a requirement at Walt Disney World in some form or another since the parks reopened from the COVID-19 shutdown in mid-July 2020. This change in policy is another move towards normality for Walt Disney World guests

The parks have gone through various stages of masks requirements, including at all locations, indoors only, to most recently only required on enclosed transportation.

I checked Disneyland Resort’s website prior to publishing this article and their website does not indicate any change in their masking policy as of this time.

Walt Disney World Announces Opening date for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’ Rollercoaster

This morning Walt Disney World announced that the Memorial Day weekend will have opening date for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind rollercoaster.

The new $450 million Guardians of the Galaxy-themed rollercoaster will officially have its opening on Friday, May 27th.

The Memorial Day weekend opening does not come as a surprise to many ever since a high-ranking Disney executive let the cat out of the bag via social media following a test ride last month.

Disney also released a video that will be the commercial spot for the attraction.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’ was initially scheduled to open in Spring of 2021, before the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th-anniversary celebrations. The project was delayed due to the COVID-19 shutdown and subsequent cost-control measures that Disney imposed.  The rollercoaster will serve as Disney’s headline attraction to market for the summer and remainder of 2022.

Following the announcement, Disney has updated the attraction’s webpage to include more details and a countdown clock.

Disney has also confirmed that there will be Cast Member previews ahead of the May 27 opening of EPCOT’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.’

Cast-exclusive previews will begin in April, followed by Cast Member previews with friends and family in May.

It is expected that media previews are expected during a multi-day event in the first week of May and should be quickly followed by Club 33 members.

Disney has started emailing notices of advance previews for select groups including Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.

With this email Disney has confirmed that ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’ previews will be held for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.

It is important to note that today’s email does not provide specific dates for the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’ passholder previews but says to “be on the lookout for a registration email soon.”

So, if you’re an annual passholder or a DVC Member…stay tuned!

 

Walt Disney World Announces Dates for the 2022 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

Yesterday Walt Disney World announced the dates for the 2022 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World.

This year’s festival will begin on July 14 and will run through November 19.  This is the same length as last year’s festival.

According to Disney there will be more than 25 Global Marketplaces located throughout EPCOT. Returning will include favorites like The Swanky Saucy Swine, Appleseed Orchard, Hops & Barley, Earth Eats hosted by Impossible and Shimmering Sips hosted by CORKCICLE.

Even though Disney has not released many details, it is known that the Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt will be returning along with Emile’s Fromage Montage.

Walt Disney World is Adding Character Meet & Greets to Genie+

Walt Disney World has announced that three popular character meet and greet locations will be joining Disney Genie+ this week.

The three character meet and greets that will be added to Genie+ on January 26th will be –

  • Mickey at Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom
  • Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall in Magic Kingdom
  • Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall in Magic Kingdom
  • Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Currently the meet and greets are standby only, but they will now be moving to offering Lightning Lane access with Genie+ and a standby line.

Disney Announces Performers for Garden Rock’s Concert Series

The Garden Rocks Concert Series will be returning to the 2022 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival.  The series was missing last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival begins March 2 and runs through July 4 for 125 days.

The line-up will see the return of The Guess Who, Rick Springfield, The Pointer Sisters, Plan White T’s and new for this year The Commodores.

On January 19, guests can make reservations for Garden Rocks Dining Packages.  The packages include guaranteed seating at the show and dining at an EPCOT restaurant.

Shows will be featuring internationally recognized artists Friday – Monday, with local Orlando are bands playing Tuesday – Thursday.

Here is the full line-up –

  • March 4-5 – The Guess Who
  • March 6-7 – Rick Springfield
  • March 11-12 – Melina Leon – NEW to Garden Rocks
  • March 18-19 – Mike DelGuidice, currently on tour with Billy Joel – NEW
  • March 20-21 – Kool & The Gang – NEW to Garden Rocks
  • March 25-28 – The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
  • April 1-2 – The Spinners
  • April 3-4 – The Pointer Sisters
  • April 8-9 – Blue October – NEW to Garden Rocks
  • April 15-16 – Tommy DeCarlo, singer of the band Boston – NEW
  • April 17-18 – Don Felder, Formerly of The Eagles
  • April 22-23 – STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
  • April 24-25 – Claudia Leitte – NEW
  • April 29-30 – Berlin
  • May 1-2 – TobyMac
  • May 6-7 – Blood, Sweat & Tears
  • May 8-9 – The Commodores – NEW to Garden Rocks
  • May 13-14 – Ambrosia with Peter Beckett – NEW
  • May 20-21 – A Flock Of Seagulls
  • May 22-23 – Collin Raye – NEW
  • May 27-28 – Thelma Houston – NEW
  • June 3-6 – Simple Plan
  • June 10-13 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
  • June 17-20 – Plain White T’s

Standby Queue Coming to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT

Beginning on January 10th, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will discontinue the use of the virtual queue, and will offer a standby queue.

Even though the virtual queue is ending, the Individual Lightning Lane purchase option will continue to be available.

With the removal of the virtual queue it means that no Walt Disney World attractions are currently using the system.  Disney did say today that, “virtual queues continue to be helpful with the launch of popular attractions and the debut of new experiences and offerings, so we may use it again from time to time for select attractions in the future.”

Based on Disney’s statement that it would seem likely that we will see virtual queues deployed with the upcoming openings of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind,’ and TRON Lightcyle Run.

2022 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival to Begin March 2, 2022

With the official start of winter is still a few days away, spring is already in the air because Walt Disney World has announced that the 2022 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will open on March 2, 2022 and run for 125 days and end on July 4th, 2022.

Disney is busy producing topiaries, hanging baskets, flower towers along with planning fresh cuisine, colorful gardens, playful topiaries and vibrant entertainment.

There will be a new main entrance topiary display that will feature Goofy and a 50th-themed birthday cake since the festival will be taking place during the Walt Disney World Resort 50th Anniversary celebration.

There will also be other fan-favorite Disney Character topiaries such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Germany pavilion or Lumiere and Cogsworth welcoming you to the recently expanded France pavilion.

It’s important to note that next year’s festival doesn’t carry the “Taste of” tag, so the conjecture is that we can expect a return of the full festival offerings.

The Garden Rocks Concert Series will be returning for the 2022 festival along with 18 Outdoor Kitchens. More details are coming soon on both on both of these.

Guests who attend the festival will also find blooming keepsakes including vibrant apparel, drinkware, accessories and more with new merchandise collections launching just in time for the event.

To experience the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, guests must have both valid admission and a park reservation for EPCOT on the same date.

Walt Disney World Announces Dates for 2022 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts

Yesterday Walt Disney World announced that the 2022 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts will take place January 14 through February 21, 2022.

Disney also announced in the announcement that ‘Disney on Broadway concert series’ makes a return this year after missing from last year due to the pandemic. Performers will be announced at a future date.

The 2022 EPCOT International festival of the Arts will include:

  • Food Studios around World Showcase
  • The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine – a fun food stroll featuring five delicious sweet and savory treats
  • Chalk artists
  • Photo ops where you can step into famous artwork
  • A paint-by-number mural
  • Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt
  • Performance and visual artists
  • Special festival merchandise

Walt Disney World Announces Candlelight Processional Dining Packages and First List of Narrators

As announced earlier, we know that the 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will see the return of the fan-favorite Candlelight Processional. We now know some of the celebrity narrators that will be appearing.

The list of celebrity narrators for this year’s Candlelight Processional will include Chita Rivera, Jodi Benson, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lisa Ling, Steven Curtis Chapman, Blair Underwood and Pat Sajak with more names being added over the coming weeks.

The dates that the narrators will appear are as follows –

  • Chita Rivera – November 29 through December 1
  • Jodi Benson – December 2 through December 4
  • Alton Fitzgerald White – December 5 through December 7
  • Lisa Ling – December 11 through December 13
  • Steven Curtis Chapman – December 23 through December 25
  • Blair Underwood – December 26 through December 28
  • Pat Sajak – December 29 through December 30

Disney also announced earlier today that dining packages for the 2021 Candlelight Processional at EPCOT will go on sale October 26th.

This year there will only be four restaurants participating.

Each package includes:

  • An appetizer, entrée and dessert or one (1) full buffet (where applicable), along with a non-alcoholic beverage
  • One (1) guaranteed seat per person to the Candlelight Processional held on the same day

Below is the list of participating restaurants along with prices –

Biergarten Restaurant – Germany Pavilion
$62 ages 10 and up, $35 ages 3 – 9

Coral Reef – The Living Seas
$74 ages 10 and up, $25 ages 3 – 9

Garden Grill – The Land Pavilion 
$71 ages 10 and up, $46 ages 3 – 9

Rose & Crown – United Kingdom Pavilion
$63 ages 10 and up, $25 ages 3 – 9