Disney was busy this morning, putting out bits of information on various things coming to their resorts in the (near) future. We'll take a quick run through of all of this various news and throw in some commentary where it's needed.
First there are a few discounts coming this year. Starting tomorrow (March 27), you can get 50% off kids tickets for visits from 5/27-9/20. There's also a three day, three park ticket starting at $89 for visits from 4/6-9/22 (notably the ticket does NOT include admission to Magic Kingdom - just the other three parks). Then there are the "traditional" discounts that pop up from time to time - free dining for four night or longer stays on select dates between 6/29-12/22. And there are room only discounts of up to 30% for select visits from 8/1-10/11. You got all that??
As always, without getting into the merits of each specific offer, it's worth pointing out that Disney does not discount out of the goodness of their heart. Discounts become available because hotel bookings and/or ticket sales are soft and Disney is trying to encourage people to visit. Free dining had been off the table (so to speak) for a few years when bookings were high; it came back last year and continues this year.
This doesn't mean that the parks will be "empty" or anything like that. It just means that Disney is not maximizing their sales and "pulls levers" to get more people to book. The good news for guests is that there is likely SOMETHING from the above list (and others) that will work if you were on the fence about going. Do the math on these and see what works best for you.
There were also a few other "kid friendly" notes in this announcement, such as kid zones in Storybook Circus and Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom, Goofy in Communicore Hall at Epcot, characters meeting during early entry and character visits at set times at select resorts. More characters are always a good idea for Disney; I particularly like this happening during early entry, as some guests prioritize character meets, and this is a good way to get a jump start on your day (and keep guests off of attraction lines at that time, if I'm being honest).
Next up is confirmation of the opening dates of two new stage shows at Hollywood Studios - The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After". Both of these shows open on May 27. This is right after Memorial Day weekend, and coincidentally (?) just a few days after Universal opens Epic Universe. These stage shows are not going to "move the needle" in terms of attendance (particularly at this late stage) but at least it will give Disney something new to talk up as the spotlight is off of them for a bit.
The Disney villains stage show will take over for the recently closed Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy in the Sunset Boulevard section of the park, right near Rock N Roller Coaster (featuring Aerosmith for now, and Muppets at some point). Villains are always popular, and I suspect families will make the trek into this dead end area of the park to check it out. I enjoyed the Racing Academy, but I think this will likely be an upgrade.
The Little Mermaid show is a replacement for ... the previous Little Mermaid show that had been in this very building, in Animation Courtyard. This section of the park could use some love, and hopefully this revamped show is only the beginning. There had been talk of putting the new Monsters Inc. mini-land here instead of in Grand Avenue, taking over for MuppetVision 3D, but that did not pan out. I really don't know what the plan is here, but getting ANYTHING back in this area is a plus. The old Little Mermaid show was cute and it looks like this one will be even better.
Finally, the most interesting of the news today in my opinion is an update coming to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom. This is a fun interactive ride that has been showing its age for a while; Toy Story Mania iterated upon this concept and made it more high tech (and frenetic). Other versions of the Buzz Lightyear ride (all with slightly different names) have popped up in other parks around the world, and now it looks like Magic Kingdom gets a much needed update.
So what's changing? First, a new friendly robot character named Buddy will greet you at the start of the ride. As I understand it, this will be during the early portion of the ride where you are testing your blaster and your aim. As it stands now, this is replacing ... nothing really, so there isn't even a reason to be upset. Friendly robots are a hallmark of Tomorrowland and Buddy should fit right in.
The ride vehicles are also receiving a "face lift", with a new design and color scheme. More notably, each vehicle will "now come equipped with video monitors that provide real-time scoring updates and other exciting features." Again, there's nothing not to like here. The current scoring screen is simple and old school, with definite room for improvement.
Speaking of improvement, the biggest change seems to be that the ride vehicles will now have handheld blasters. One of the biggest frustrations with this ride is that the blasters are clunky and difficult to aim - most of the time, it takes a while to even figure out where your shot is going and by the time you adjust, you're on to the next room. That seems to be a thing of the past, as these will be easier to maneuver, have an "always on" laser and come in two different colors per vehicle, which should make it much easier to tell who is shooting at what.
The targets will also be updated with new technology and will "react and light up" when hit. Imagineers are already play testing these new features (see the above article). Buzz Lightyear will close in August and reopen some time in 2026. I wouldn't be surprised if this went into spring/summer next year to make sure it's done right. That's a long time for yet another Magic Kingdom ride to be down, but it should be worth it in the end. I only wonder if they change the scoring system, because currently there are ways to hit the maximum score by only going after certain targets. The new blasters should make it easier to hit those (and every target), so I wonder if the "secret" to getting high scores will change. Back to YouTube I go!
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