Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary Details Announced

 

Disney has just announced some of the special events and merchandise that will be revealed for Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary, taking place May 1, 2019.

This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the past, present, and the new, exciting future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Take a look at all that’s to come:

•View a Star Studded Celebration Parade – A Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary Star-Studded Celebration cavalcade starring Mickey and friends will begin at 10 a.m. and will head down Hollywood Blvd.

•Pick Up a Commemorative 30th Anniversary Guide Map & Button – Guests entering the park can grab a special 30th anniversary commemorative guide map and button.

•Grab Exclusive 30th Anniversary Merchandise – Special 30th anniversary merchandise will be unveiled on May 1, including a new adult T-shirt, baseball cap, Tervis 24-oz tumbler, MagicBand, ornament and much more.

Annual passholders can also shop for some items exclusively created for them. Merchandise can be found starting at 8 a.m. in Grand Park, while supplies last. (Please note: Merchandise will go on sale at 8 a.m., Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens at 9 a.m.)

•Taste Special Food & Beverage Items – A slew of special anniversary food & beverage items will be available throughout the park, including Kylo Ren Cupcakes, Incredibles Macarons, Tres Leches Verrine and many more.

An official foodie guide will be announced next week!

•Stay For the Debut of “Wonderful World of Animation” – The park’s new nighttime projection show will light up the park for its official debut on May 1. Watch in wonder as the façade of the Chinese Theatre is magically transformed – displaying this stirring tribute to animation. Behold spectacular sequences celebrating themes like magic, family, adventure, romance and friendship. Each theme is brought to life through unforgettable moments from beloved films—like “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Incredibles,” “Coco” and many more. The show will debut at 9:05 p.m. just prior to the park’s “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” fireworks show.

 

 

 

 

Disney To Crack Down on FastPass Abuse

Disney will soon be turning on a validation system of sorts for FastPass+ usage inside of the Walt Disney World theme parks.

A term dubbed “In-Park Validation” on internal documents, this phrase means the validation of park admission and entry for the day before allowing FastPass+ usage.

Guests “in the know” for the past few years have learned a loophole in the system that allows bookings using the in-park FastPass+ kiosks with expired tickets or by using a second ticket on their account to book another set of FastPass+ for the day, but not actually using the ticket to enter the theme park. Basically, tickets not used to enter the park could be used to obtain valid FastPass+ reservations.

There is a similar loophole with Cast Member passes as well, where they have 3+ “Guest Passes” to allow their family and friends into the park, but limited restrictions on FastPass+ booking and usage without redeeming admission.

Another issue that’s been plaguing the parks has been third party tour guides. These are the unofficial tour guides people are finding through numerous Disney fan sites, Craigslist, and more. These guides promise FastPass+ usage for all the attractions for their paying clientele, which means their employees rope-drop the park with these handfuls of expired tickets and cards to book the major attractions first thing in the morning at the FastPass+ kiosks. This is all combining to a few people holding FastPass+ options from thousands of folks who are paying admission that day and now cannot find anything they want available.

This in-park validation system will check to ensure that a guest used an active ticket for admission before redeeming a FastPass+. If you didn’t, the Cast Member at the FastPass+ line at any attraction can see this and deny you entry. Repeated attempts will lock MyDisneyExperience accounts from utilizing the FastPass+ booking option, which can be a serious deal for those abusing the system. Guest Relations will be able to unblock accounts if the behavior was deemed non-abusive.

This new policy is slated to rollout within the next few weeks at Walt Disney World.

Magic Kingdom After Hours Announced for 2019

 

Disney has announced scheduled dates for Magic Kingdom After Hours through December 2019:

• January 7, 17, 24, 28 and February 7, and 28 from 8pm to 11pm
• February 14 and March 7 from 9pm to midnight
• December 3, and 10 from 10pm to 1am

Tickets are $125 plus tax for guests ages 3 and up, and there are discounts for Disney Vacation Club members and Annual Passholders.

Special Universal Ticket Offer for Florida Residents

Universal Orlando is offering Florida residents a great deal on a four pack of tickets from now until April 30.
Rather than shelling out $260 for a season pass, Florida residents can now buy a pack of four tickets for $165 for single park passes, or $205 for two park passes. That works out to right around $41 or $51 a day.

The nice thing about these tix is they don’t need to be used on consecutive days, and are valid until June 28. It’s a pretty quick turn around to go to Universal four times, but ideal if you have family or friends visiting town.

There are also no blackout dates on these tickets.

Universal is also giving ticket holders the option to upgrade these tickets to  a season pass for $16 a month after these run out.

 

Half Price After Hours Ticket Offer

The after hours event at Disney now has half price tickets for select dates for AP holders and DVC members, originally $149, now only $75.

The remaining dates for the event are:  4/28, 5/5, 5/8, 5/12, & 5/19.

Purchase these event tickets by calling 407-560-PASS or buy at any ticket window.