Walt Disney World Resort Update for February 15-22, 2022

Walt Disney World Resort Update for February 15-22, 2022

 News, Views & Writer's Note

With the usually busy Presidents' Day coming up next Monday, it was another quiet week for news around Walt Disney World Resort. Perhaps the biggest news east of the Mississippi River for the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division of The Walt Disney Company was a follow-up to last week's announcement of the delayed inaugural sailing of the next new Disney Cruise Line ship Disney Wish: the ship reached its construction milestone "float out" with the usual Disney pomp and circumstance at the shipyard in Germany.

At Walt Disney World itself, the new Adventure Friends Cavalcade made its debut at Magic Kingdom. It's billed as the biggest cavalcade yet, featuring more than 30 Disney and Pixar characters. Of course, for those trying to catch lots of characters in a single parade, the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade is scheduled to finally return to daily operation on March 6. The new version of the Cinderella Castle Stage show featuring Mickey Mouse and friends celebrating the park and Resort's 50th Anniversary is scheduled to start its multiple-times each day run a week from Friday, on February 25.

On the West Coast, with this year's Super Bowl having been played in Los Angeles, and with its winner being the Los Angeles Rams, it wasn't surprising that Disney Parks decided its decades-long winner of big sporting events "I'm going" television spot went to the Disneyland Resort this year. Yesterday, three of the victorious L.A. Rams players were saluted in a cavalcade out on Disneyland's parade route; Magic Kingdom's Super Bowl "corner" (the reserved spot on the hub facing the Castle where we have been invited to view a number of pre-pandemic champion cavalcades) has not seen a major celebratory parade/cavalcade early since 2020.

Because next Monday is the Presidents’ Day federal holiday, the usual MousePlanet publication schedule will shift, with the Disneyland Resort Update posting on Tuesday, and the Walt Disney World Resort Update following on Wednesday.

The Figment Popcorn Buckets: Available Again at EPCOT (Limit two per guest via mobile order, for an unknown length of time)

To my surprise, yesterday, those elusive EPCOT International Festival of the Arts Figment Popcorn Buckets that sold out during the Festival’s opening weekend to queues that took some up to six hours, reappeared at EPCOT. Not surprisingly, EPCOT's leadership came up with a way to try to avoid repeats of the multiple hours-long queue: the popcorn buckets are available via Mobile Order, complete with assigned pickup times (with distribution, at least yesterday, over at the World Showplace pavilion (tent) between United Kingdom and Canada pavilions.

It would seem that using Mobile Order should also help maintain the limit of two sales per person since each Mobile order is tied to an individual's My Disney Experience account (though, I have not yet explored how it would handle a family or other group attempting to purchase two buckets each from a single device, though, like FastPass+ back in the day, and Lightning Lane now, the app does have the capacity to handle multiple guests in a single account. To purchase a bucket: in the My Disney App, select the "+" at the bottom of the home screen, select "Order food" and search for "EPCOT Souvenir Release" to see the available pick-up times for available buckets (which do come with a serving a color popcorn) and then follow the ordering steps on the screen, enter payment information, etc.

The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts concludes next Monday, February 21. The Disney on Broadway Concert Series concludes that night with the Special Performance extended finale featuring Ashley Brown, Josh Strickland, Kissy Simmons, and Michael James Scott. I have an EPCOT park reservation for what should be a busy Presidents’ Day, and hope to catch the show!

"Capture the Moment" Disney PhotoPass Service Expands to All 4 Parks and Raises the Price

The "Capture the Moment" service offered by Disney PhotoPass as a pilot project and then expanded to Disney's Animal Kingdom awhile back, is now expanding to both EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Originally offered for $50 per 20 minute session, the service now offered for $79 per 20 minute session provides a personalized Disney PhotoPass photographer to capture special moments (like engagements, birthdays, and the like - though no wedding attire is permitted). The photos themselves (or downloads) are still not included in the price, but guests that have purchased Memory Maker or still have a valid Annual Pass that includes PhotoPass downloads may use those benefits in conjunction with the service.

At EPCOT, the service becomes available on February 24. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, the service becomes available on March 21. Locations where the sessions can take place at each park are also limited—for example, at EPCOT, the service will be available for sessions only at Germany, Italy, the American Adventure, Japan or Morocco; at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is not available for sessions. Park restrictions for attire and props still apply, and, as always (not surprisingly), the service doesn't include park admission or guarantee park reservations.

Advance reservations for the Capture Your Moment service are recommended. Booking is available online by finding the "Capture Your Moment" tour for the park of choice on the Enchanting Extras page of DisneyWorld.com. Information and booking is also available at (407) 939-7758.

This & That & Reminders…

…Reminder: The Walt Disney Company's annual meeting of shareholders is coming up March 9 and will be streamed via webcast at disney.com/investors. The annual meetings don't necessarily address new offerings for the parks and resorts (those usually come at D23 EXPO or, to a lesser extent, Destination D events), but it may provide some interesting viewing.

…The grand opening for the World's first Peppa Pig Theme Park is coming up on February 24, 2022, over in Winter Haven, Florida, steps away from LEGOLAND Florida Resort. The new park is crafted with preschoolers in mind, from their first roller coaster rides with their parents and free fair games for the whole family, to an all-terrain course where they will pedal tricycles through a sensory-rich trail and a colorful splash pad that celebrates "muddy puddles" jumping fun! MousePlanet has been invited to a media preview tomorrow, and we'll provide coverage on our Social Media channels and further information in next week's Walt Disney World Resort Update. Day tickets, Annual Passes and Vacation Packages are now on-sale for families with excited "little piggies" to start planning their preschooler's day of adventure. The all-new park will feature six rides, six themed play scapes, a water play area and even more "oinktastic" experiences. Tickets are available online at PeppaPigThemePark.com/Florida, and are discounted to $30.99 when purchased online rather than $34.99 at the gate.

Peppa Pig Theme Park Florida opens February 24, 2022. Rendering courtesy Peppa Pig Theme Park.

The Usual Writer's Note

In the State of Florida, new infections of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus continue to decline. The health and safety protocols in the State of Florida remain unchanged: there is no statewide vaccine mandate, COVID-19 testing or face covering requirements or business capacity restrictions. The State repeatedly has blocked enforcement of municipal and county-imposed restrictions as well during the course of the pandemic. Private property owners, like Walt Disney World Resort, set requirements for visiting their property that you must be aware of if you decide to visit.

If you're traveling to or from overseas, be sure to check with the places you're visiting and traveling from or through for the latest rules. Though the United States government loosened international travel restrictions for entering the U.S.A. at the end of 2021, it remains important to check on and abide by the most up-to-date COVID-19 testing and vaccine requirements for entering the United States whether as a citizen, permanent resident, or visitor (and be aware of who needs a visa).

As for visiting the Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney Park Pass reservations are required for admission in addition to a valid ticket. If your tickets have the Park Hopper option, Park Hopping only becomes available after 2 p.m. daily, and only after you have first visited the park for which you have made a reservation that day. There have been instances where Magic Kingdom has reached capacity and paused admission of Park Hoppers, and Disney reserves the right to do so at all the parks.

Sales of new Walt Disney World Annual Passes continue to be paused in all categories except the Florida Resident Pixie Dust Pass. Disney reserved the right to pause those sales when it reintroduced its new Annual Passes. Current Passholders may continue to purchase renewals in all tiers regardless of the pause in new sales. We have not heard any suggestion, as yet, that new pass sales will resume. As we noted earlier this winter on MousePlanet.com, Florida Residents can purchase discounted two, three, or four day tickets for weekday theme park visits (with additional restrictions and, yes, reservations are not included but still required).

While Universal Orlando Resort removed its face covering requirements for vaccinated guests both indoors and outdoors this past weekend (and, because it’s Florida, guests are on their honor because businesses may not ask customers their vaccination status), as of publication, Disney continues to follow Centers for Disease Control guidance and face coverings are required for all guests ages 2 and over indoors and on enclosed transportation (buses, monorails, and on Disney Skyliner). Walt Disney World Resort encourages guests to get vaccinated. Recently, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine received full FDA approval for use in people ages 18 and older; it had previously been authorized for emergency use. It is the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive full FDA approval, following the Pfizer vaccine which received approval for use in people 16 and up back in August; it is also authorized for use in individuals ages 5 to 15 (the latest news is that the FDA has requested further study before considering authorization in those under age 5).

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Resort Reservations, Ticket Advice & Special Offers

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Walt Disney World Resort Update.

This page of DisneyWorld.com features all the offers the Resort has publicly announced.

Annual Passholders can save up to 25% and Florida Residents can save up to 20% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels for stays most nights through March 10, 2022.

Thinking about Hawaii? Walt Disney World Annual Passholders also can save on stays on select rooms over at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii, from January 4 through April 8, 2022: up to 30% for stays of 5 or more consecutive nights, and up to 25% for stays of 4 consecutive nights (from my personal experience, even as a repeat visitor to Oahu, a week is a good amount of time to spend on the island, particularly if you have a rental car or other transportation arranged).

Aulani is located in Ko Olina, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. File photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

You'll probably have an opportunity to see more Aulani on "American Idol" later this month too...

Our travel partner Get Away Today is available to help you book rooms and packages, and include its complimentary Concierge Services. More details are here. With Get Away Today's complimentary Price Monitoring, any time a special comes out, it will automatically price check it for each of its guests. If the new special is better, it will automatically apply the new savings and let the guest know. If it's not a better deal, they will leave everything as is, and keep their eyes peeled for future promotions that could save guests more. And, yes, Get Away Today has the Florida Resident ticket offer available too.

You can get a vacation quote from Get Away Today here. (Responses provided in 1 to 3 business days.) You can also call 855-GET-AWAY during regular business hours (Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT) and tell them MousePlanet sent you!

Be sure to check out Get Away Today's Universal Orlando Resort ticket offers too. Right now, if you buy 3 days, you can get 2 days FREE at Universal Orlando Resort! By May 5, purchase a select promo 3-day ticket for travel by December 15, 2022, and you'll get 2 extra days free! The ticket usage must occur on or before December 15, 2022, when the ticket will expire in full and any unused days will be forfeited. Ask Get Away Today about additional restrictions which apply.

Only purchase Disney theme park tickets directly from Disney, an authorized seller, or a travel agency like MousePlanet travel partner Get Away Today! As always, we remind our readers that Walt Disney World Resort theme park tickets are rarely offered at deep discounts unless you are a resident of Florida or eligible for U.S. Military Personnel benefits. Historically, non-Florida residents tend to benefit the most by purchasing tickets in advance (and, of course, being mindful of the rules relevant to those tickets). Don't get scammed! Never buy tickets from an unofficial or secondary outlet, such as through eBay or Craigslist. Never rent or purchase tickets from people approaching you outside Disney property stating they have remaining days or leftover tickets. This practice is against the terms of use for Walt Disney World Theme Park admissions, and may result in denial of entry. There is no way to determine if these tickets are valid until you try to use them to enter the parks.