Category: Travel Places

EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will be held from July 14 – November 19, 2022 this year. That means it starts today! This is one of our favorite Disney World events!

Eat around the world at the many marketplaces featuring global cuisine and beverages. This is foodie heaven with delicious dishes, fine wine, craft beer, spirits and other beverages sure to satisfy every palate.

For a full list of the numerous marketplace menus, check out the festival page below:

In addition to the food, there are also other fun activities. Participate in the Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak or Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit scavenger hunts. Commemorate your trip with special photo ops. And of course, there will be plenty of merch if you want to do some souvenir shopping.

Also, you can enjoy live concerts at the Eat to the Beat concert series with performances nightly starting at 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM and 8:00 PM at the America Gardens Theatre.

For a full performance schedule, see below:

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Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about this or any other Disney event. We love these festivals!

More characters are returning!

Exciting news! More characters are returning to the Disney World restaurants!

Sept 20, 2022 – Pooh and friends are joining the lunch and dinner celebration at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom.

Sept 27, 2022 – Lilo and Stitch will be kicking off your day at breakfast at ‘Ohana in the Polynesian Resort.

Oct 4, 2022 – Minnie and friends will be hosting a breakfast beach party at the Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club Resort.

Character meals are a great way to get your hugs and pics without waiting in line.

Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss anything about Disney dining.

Flavors of Florida

Starting today, July 5, 2022, through August 14th, over 30 restaurants and shops at Disney Springs will be offering beverages and dishes inspired by the flavors of Florida.

You can see the full list of offerings below or pick up a printed event guide at the Disney Springs Welcome Center or any participating location.

Of course, you can do some Florida-inspired shopping at Flavors of Florida, too. Many shops will offer Florida themed items.

Flavors of Florida is presented by CORKCICLE.

Christmas Party at Disney World

Disney Christmas parade

It’s already more than halfway to Christmas! Disney has announced that all of the usual festivities will return to all of the parks this year. More details on those coming soon.

At Disney World in Florida, this means the Festival of the Holidays in EPCOT and many other events in the other parks. However, the most anticipated is probably the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and Disney has confirmed that it will indeed return in its full glory this year!

This special event takes place on select nights November 8 to December 22, 2022, from 7pm – midnight ET, though you can get in the park after 4pm with the party ticket. No park reservations necessary for the party.

Throughout the evening, you can:

  • Delight in the amazingly festive Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show!
  • Gather to watch Disney Characters give a yuletide nod to the season during Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.
  • Head over to Cinderella Castle for a yuletide stage show, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration!
  • Get the perfect picture and Magic Shots with Disney pals dressed in their Christmas best!
  • Make your night extra sweet when you explore the park searching for cookies and cocoa, plus many other holiday treats and merch. 
  • Dance the night away at several dance parties with your favorite characters.
  • Take in the elaborate decorations that bring the spirit of the season to life!
  • Enjoy lower crowds on rides and shows, some with holiday overlays and decor.
  • See Santa!

Tickets range from $139 – $199. Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can save $10 per ticket.
Tickets are on sale now for guests of select hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort.
All other Guests may purchase tickets beginning on July 7, 2022.

Tickets are limited so certain days can sell out. If this is a must-do and you’re limited to certain days, you may want to buy your tickets ASAP.

We’ve been to this in the past and it was pretty fun. However, if you’re not going to the party, you may want to go to a different park on a party day since Magic Kingdom will close early to non-party guests.

For more details on the party and to buy tickets, go to:

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about this or your trip in general.

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Disney Wish Christening

Tune in on June 29, 2022 at 11am ET for the christening of Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Disney Wish, on the Disney Parks Blog or on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok!

Follow @DisneyParks and @DisneyCruiseLine social media channels as they reveal exclusive sneak peeks of the Disney Wish in the coming weeks.

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More characters returning to Disney World

Disney characters
©Disney

Exciting news! Many of our favorite characters are returning to Disney World in the coming months!

But first, one new favorite is debuting in the Magic Kingdom park. Maribel, from Encanto, will appear in the “Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade” starting June 26, 2022!

Other characters and events will start on the following dates:

  • July 6 – Minnie Mouse will join Mickey Mouse in Town Square Theater at Magic Kingdom Park
  • July 6 – Chip ‘N Dale’s Campfire Sing-A-Long will return to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
  • July 10 – Peter Pan and Snow White will greet guests at Magic Kingdom Park
  • July 17 – Star Wars Launch Bay will reopen in Hollywood Studios park, where you can encounter Chewbacca, BB-8, and Darth Vader

In the coming months, a visit to Magic Kingdom Park will bring chances to meet Aladdin, Jasmine, Merida, Pooh, Tigger and Storybook Circus pals like The Great Goofini in Pete’s Silly Sideshow. Your favorite toys will be ready for playtime in Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Donald Duck and friends will rejoin their prehistoric party at “Donald’s Dino-Bash!” in DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

Many other character encounters have already returned to the various Disney parks. Check your app for times and locations.

If you want to chat about a trip to any of the parks, feel free to contact me.

Genie+ no longer available for pre-purchase

Genie
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UPDATE 07/24/2024: The Genie+ service has now been retired at Disney World in Orlando. View my Lightning Lane page to learn all about the new service. The Genie+ functionality at Disneyland California remains the same, just renamed to Lightning Lane.

Breaking Genie+ News!

Starting June 8, 2022, Disney World guests will no longer be able to pre-purchase the Genie+ service for the length of your trip. You may only purchase it on the day you intend to use it during your trip, which is an option available now as well.

If you wish to pre-purchase your Genie+ for any trip after June 8th, make sure to do it now. Any purchases made before June 8th will be honored even if your trip is after that date.

No word yet on any changes in Disneyland or any other parks. This is just for Disney World in Orlando Florida.

If you have any questions about the Genie+ service or want me to help plan your Disney trip, feel free to contact me.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

The Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is returning this Fall to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World! The evening extra-ticketed event will take place on select nights from Aug 12 – Oct 31, 2022. Party festivities begin at 7pm but you may enter the park after 4pm with the party ticket.

Partake in all of this spooktacular fun:

  • Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular! – three sinister sisters bewitch and bedazzle the residents of Magic Kingdom park in this fun stage show.
  • Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular – a wickedly wild fireworks display featuring some of your favorite Disney characters, hosted by Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
  • Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade – fun parade unique to the party. Must see!
  • Disney Junior Jam – dance with some favorite Disney Junior friends at Storybook Circus. Perfect for young partygoers!
  • Trick-or-Treat – collect candy as you roam trails around the park in search of some of your favorite sweets.
  • More treats – eat more Halloween-inspired food and beverages
  • Dress in costume – revel in the festive atmosphere around the park with fellow party-goers and Disney favorites in their Halloween finest.
  • Photo Ops – commemorate the night with themed back drops and magic shots.
  • Shopping – of course, there will be themed party merch!

Ticket sales for this party start on May 18, 2022 for everyone, and already on sale now for select Disney resort guests. Prices range from $99-$199, depending on day. Annual passholders and DVC members get $10 savings per ticket.

For more details about the party and to buy tickets, go to this Disney World party page:

Be sure to read the costume guidelines and other Know-Before-You-Go before you go. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or want help planning your Disney trip.

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Disney Cruise Line Summer 2023 Itineraries Announced

©Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line just announced the sailing itineraries for Summer 2023 (late May – late Sept). Bookings begin on different days next week, starting May 2, 2022, for different levels of Castaway Cay members and other Disney affinity groups. General members can book the following week on May 9, 2022.

DCL booking dates

The biggest surprise is that the Disney Dream ship is going over to do European and Mediterranean cruises all summer, starting with a transatlantic cruise over there in May! That’s on our bucket list! The Magic, which is over there now, will return to do Bahamian and Caribbean cruises mostly out of Miami. The Fantasy and Wish will stay in Port Canaveral for Bahamian and Caribbean sailings and the Wonder will stay on the west coast for Alaskan cruises.

Here’s a chart view of the summer cruises.

DCL itineraries
(click to enlarge)

Costs are generally the lowest when you book during this initial release, and some of the more popular itineraries can sell out fast. It is expected that there will be long waits on the phone with DCL. If you don’t need to apply a placeholder or credit to your new booking, it’s definitely going to be faster to book on the DCL website.

For complete details, check out the Disney Cruise Line Summer Itineraries page:

If you would like me to help with your bookings, feel free to contact me ASAP. We love sailing DCL, so let me know if you want to chat about them. I have some recaps of our past sailings in the Trip Recap section of this site if you want to see what they’re like.

Disneyland Grad Nite Reunion

Disneyland Grad Nite Reunion

Get ready for a throwback to your high school grad night! It’s a reunion party celebrating the last 6 decades. On select nights in June, this separately ticketed Disneyland After Dark event invites you to remember the fun, reunite with friends and get a little nostalgic in California Adventure.

During this event, you can enter the park at 5pm PT (official event hours are 8pm – midnight), without park reservations, enjoy attractions with shorter waits, see characters in their graduation attire, dance the night away at a dance party, nosh on nostalgic eats, take commemorative photos against retro backdrops, and much more.

Join the fun on June 23, 28 and 30, 2022. Tickets for this event will go on sale April 28, 2022 after 12pm PT. Chances are, they’ll sell out fast, so buy as soon as they’re available.

For more details, check out this Disneyland page:

If you want me to help plan your Disneyland trip, feel free to contact me. We plan to go over there later this year.

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