Universal Orlando just announced the dates for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event!
Sept. 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24, 27-30
Oct. 1, 4-8, 11-15, 18-22, 25-29, 31
Tickets are on sale now! There are also express passes and hotel packages. This is a very popular event so if you are interested, you may want to buy your tickets ASAP.
Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed nighttime event, with 5 scare zones, 10 haunted houses, food, merchandise, and more. Note that some of the scares are pretty intense and gory, so it may be too much for the little ones and the faint of heart. There are plenty of YouTube videos about it if you want to get a sense of what it’s really like first.
Need hassle free transportation between Orlando International Airport and your Disney World Resort?
The Sunshine Flyer is having a sale thru May 31st. All one way tickets are $12/person.
This is a fun option, with buses themed in the classic steam train style and drivers dressed as conductors.
A friend used this on their Disney trip and had a good experience with them. Let me know if you want to chat more about this or want me to help book your trip.
Disney® Visa® Cardmember discounts we’re just announced for stays at the Disney Resort hotels this summer.
This offer is valid when you use your Disney® Visa® Card to book stays most nights:
May 14 to June 24, 2023 July 5 to August 19, 2023 August 27 to September 7, 2023
The discounts range from 10-35% off depending on the resort.
Save 35%
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village Disney’s BoardWalk Inn Disney’s BoardWalk Villas Disney’s Contemporary Resort Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Disney’s Old Key West Resort Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside Disney’s Riviera Resort Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Save 30%
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Family Suites Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Disney’s Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
Save 25%
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort Disney’s All-Star Music Resort Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Standard Rooms Disney’s Beach Club Resort Disney’s Pop Century Resort Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Save 15%
The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Save 10%
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited so book ASAP if you’re interested. Savings are based on the non-discounted price for the same room.
Feel free to contact me if you want me to help you with your trip plans.
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival at Disney World starts today, March 1, 2023, and goes all the way until July 5, 2023 this year!
We love this festival! The most unique feature of this festival is the awesome topiaries. There are so many incredibly detailed and life-like floral topiaries of Disney characters and various other objects all around the park. This year, they are featuring new topiaries of Tiana and the Encanto family! They look amazing! If you go, definitely go around to find them all.
Another favorite is all of the different food kiosks with such creative foods and drinks to try. It’s fun to go with others so you can share a little something from each kiosk. There’s no way you can eat everything yourself, at least not in one day. Check out this Food Kitchen page for a full list of the offerings.
The Garden Rocks Concert Series is also returning to the America pavilion theater with a long lineup of artists. View the concert lineup here.
There will also be scavenger hunts, cooking demonstrations, a butterfly house, play areas and other activities for the little ones, and of course, plenty of merchandise. For more details, view this page for the festival:
There’s no shortage of things to do at EPCOT for the next few months. Hopefully, you can make it to Orlando to check it out. Let me know if you want me to help you with your trip.
At Universal Studios Orlando, Mardi Gras starts today! There will be live concerts, dazzling parades, plenty of beads, and lots of delicious food! This festival will be held on select nights from February 4 – April 16, 2023.
The main highlight of Mardi Gras is the big parade, right? So, Universal will have a spectacular parade with six new floats straight from New Orleans! Of course, the old favorites will return as well. Check the Universal app for dates and times.
You can catch plenty of beads as a spectator, or you can sign up to throw beads yourself from the floats. Spaces are limited though, so sign up in the Universal app as soon as the Virtual Queue window opens each day or book a float dining package, if available.
On select nights, there will be live performances on the Music Plaza Stage, kicking off with Patti LaBelle tonight, Feb 4th! Check the Universal Concert Lineup for the most up to date listing of performers and showtimes.
Of course, you can’t have a party without food! There will be many new foods this year, as well as some past favorites! Explore traditional Cajun favorites and international dishes inspired by Carnaval celebrations around the world.
Visit the International Flavors of Carnaval menu page to see what foods and beverages each booth is offering. Don’t forget to check out CityWalk and the Universal resorts for their share of Mardi Gras food as well.
For more details on Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration, visit the Mardi Gras event page.
Join in the festivities! We’ll be there!
Feel free to ping me if you’d like to chat about a Universal trip.
For February, Disney World Resort guests can explore new and traditional ways to “Celebrate Soulfully” during Black History Month. From art to food to music and more, there will be a variety of experiences to celebrate, educate and honor Black heritage and culture throughout the resort.
At the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, guests will have the chance to meet two of the Black artists, visit a gallery exhibit featuring life-sized dresses and natural hair styled wigs seen in their photographic prints, and watch black Broadway performers during the DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series.
Visitors to Disney Springs can hear live entertainment featuring black musicians on all three main Disney Springs stages on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights. The Art Walk: A Canvas of Expression will receive two new additions by Black artists, and they will both paint their work live during Black History Month.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom park continues to highlight Black culture through a variety of music and art found throughout the park. At the Conservation Station, guests can uncover the secrets of how Disney’s first Black animator, Floyd Norman, brought favorite characters to life using real life animals as inspiration.
There will also be Magic Shots across property featuring Princess Tiana in her element at Tiana’s place, selfies with Penny and friends from The Proud Family and more.
And of course, guests can explore both existing, returning, and brand-new Food & Beverage offerings across Walt Disney World. And new this year, each Food & Beverage location will now highlight the cast inspirations of dishes with photos and storytelling.
We hope everyone enjoys all the ways to “Celebrate Soulfully” at Walt Disney World for Black History Month and throughout the year.
As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about your Disney trip.
Disneyland Resort in California kicks off the celebration of the 100th year of The Walt Disney Company today, January 27, 2023! The Disney Animation Studio was formed in 1923.
To celebrate this special occasion, the parks will be decorated in glimmering platinum decor, the characters will have new celebration outfits, and there will be new shows, events, and more throughout the year.
Disneyland Park will feature Wonderous Journeys, a new fireworks and projection show against Sleeping Beauty Castle and Main Street USA, which will take you on an adventure through all of the films developed by the Disney Animation Studios.
California Adventure Park will debut a new nighttime water show, World of Color – One, which continues the storytelling started by Walt with the Disney and Pixar characters. Its core message is that it only takes one drop of water to create one ripple that can turn into a huge wave. Many of the characters have dared to make waves and change their world.
Today, the new ride, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, will open as well! They just want to go on a nice leisurely picnic, but they end up on Goofy’s train and of course, hijinks ensue. Now, you’ll go along on this whimsical adventure too!
The rest of the redesigned Mickey’s Toontown area will open on March 8th. There will be new attractions and more play areas for the whole family to enjoy the day together.
Next month, on February 24th, we’ll see the return of the Magic Happens parade in Disneyland Park! Mickey will lead a calvacade of whimsical floats featuring favorite characters and moments from the Disney stories.
The Disney Gallery on Main Street USA will feature a new exhibit, Disney 100 Years of Wonder, showcasing the films that inspired attractions and vice versa. Be sure to check that out.
Of course, there will be plenty of new foods and merchandise to commemorate this festive occasion as well.
Currently, it looks like the bulk of the Disney100 events will take place in California, after all, that is where the Disney company started, but I believe the other parks around the world will join in the celebration too. Keep an eye out if you go to any of those parks also.
Disney finally announced the opening date and menu for the newest indoor table service restaurant – Roundup Rodeo BBQ – in Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios Disney World!
Drum roll….
It’s opening March 23, 2023!
You will need reservations but they haven’t announced when you can start booking yet. I’ll update here once I hear a date.
This will be themed like the rest of Toy Story Land. Using his toys, Andy has built this western style restaurant for his friends in his backyard. The fun decor is made up of his toys and games, like the rest of the land. It’s located on the right side, after the big Woody character, as you walk into Toy Story Land.
The meal will be brought out family-style for the whole table and consist of traditional American BBQ favorites. You start with cheddar biscuits and an assortment of fruit and garden salads. Then, you get a platter of house-smoked meats consisting of ribs, brisket, sausage, and chicken. A plant-based version is available upon request also. You can choose four sides for the table from a selection of slaws, baked beans, potatoes, mac & cheese, and veggies. Of course, there has to be dessert too. You can choose from a selection of cakes and pies. There will also be a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
No word yet if this will be all-you-care-to-enjoy, but that’s what it seems like. It seems reminiscent of other family-style restaurants like Garden Grill. This all sounds delicious though! Can’t wait to try it!
Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about planning a Disney trip.
The EPCOTInternational Festival of the Arts starts today! It will run from January 13 – February 20, 2023. This festival will showcase the fine arts, performance arts, and culinary arts.
A key component of this festival will be the unique food booths showcasing dishes with a more artistic flair. Some look almost too pretty to eat!
Another highlight is the Disney on Broadway Concert Series where major Broadway stars perform songs from Disney Broadway musicals. Shows take place on select days at 5:30pm, 6:45pm and 8:00pm at the America Gardens Theatre in the America pavilion.
For the latest list of performances, visit the concert series page often as performers can change.
If you want to guarantee yourself a seat, you may want to book a dining package. Some shows will fill up fast.
Throughout the day around the World Showcase, other musical acts will also be performing.
One of the most unique features of this festival will be the many opportunities to see and participate in artistic activities yourself.
Artists will be showcasing their paintings and even painting live during the day. You can also join your fellow park-goers in painting a giant paint-by-numbers type wall mural.
Other artists will be drawing the most amazing 3D chalk art images on the sidewalks that you can then take pictures with. You really look like you’re inside that drawing. They’re incredible!
There will also be new photo ops, PhotoPass Magic Shots, plenty of merch, and many other fun activities. This is a short but unique festival. Try to catch it.
Disney released tons of news recently! Besides revealing the opening date of the new Tron ride and the restart dates for the nighttime fireworks shows, which I’ve detailed in my last two posts, they just made even more surprising announcements for Disney World.
Starting Jan 10, 2023, complimentary self-parking is returning for guests staying at Disney Resort hotels.
Disney Resort hotel guests also continue to receive complimentary standard parking at Walt Disney World theme parks, daily early theme park entry (with valid admission and a park reservation) and complimentary on-site transportation options such as buses, monorails and Disney Skyliner.
Coming in the next few months, some park reservation policies will be relaxed. Annual Passholders will be able to visit the theme parks after 2pm without needing a park reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park. Currently, you have to make a park reservation for your first park of the day, no matter what time you intend to go. Pass blockout dates will continue to apply like they do today.
Passholders will also receive access to Disney PhotoPass lenses and one complimentary Cinderella Castle Mural of Memories experience (age restrictions apply).
Also beginning in the next few months, guests purchasing 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. Attraction photos are taken while in the parks at more than a dozen of our most popular attractions.
Incase you missed it, other recent changes include:
the ability to modify Disney Genie+ attraction selections in the My Disney Experience app (instead of having to cancel your existing one before you can book the new ride or time, which was risky)
automatically making theme park reservations for you if you purchase 1-day, 1-park specific tickets directly from Disney (you still have to manually make park reservations if you buy tickets from a third party or if you buy multi-day tickets)
allowing you to modify or cancel dining reservations penalty free up to 2 hours before the reservation time, instead of 24 hours previously.
There are currently promotional discounts of up to 25% off of standard resort room rates for Florida residents, Annual Passholders, and Spring visitors.
For summer guests, there is a dining gift card promotion for guests booking a room and ticket package at standard rates.
If you would like to chat more about any of this information, feel free to contact me.
Adventures By Anne 