Disney Springs Hotels to Offer Resort Benefits into 2020

Guests who book a stay at select hotels in both 2019 and 2020 with valid Walt Disney World theme park admission will have access to the Extra Magic Hours benefit, as well as the opportunity to reserve select FastPass+ experiences up to 60 days in advance of their stay.

Each day, one of the four Walt Disney World theme parks opens early or extends later for guests to enjoy select attractions and, during select dates, the Extra Magic Hours benefit may also be offered at one of the Disney Water Parks. Take a look at the Extra Magic Hours calendar in the My Disney Experience app or request a copy of the printed Times Guide that’s available in the hotel lobby.

In addition, guests at the following hotels who have a valid theme park ticket or confirmation number and a hotel reservation number will be able to link their hotel reservation in My Disney Experience and reserve select FastPass+ experiences up to 60 days in advance.

Hotels included in this benefit are the Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels, which are designated Official Walt Disney World hotels, the Four Seasons Orlando Resort, the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, and the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels include Best Western Lake Buena Vista, B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando, Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Holiday Inn Orlando – Disney Springs Area, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.

These hotel benefits are available now for travel dates in 2020 and are subject to change without notice.

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.

Rivers of Light Expands Show Schedule

As previously announced, starting from April 9, “Rivers of Light” will begin seven-day operations for the spring and summer seasons at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  The enhanced performance schedule will allow more Guests than ever to discover the magic of nature along Discovery River. The show will be performed twice nightly from April 9-22. From April 23-Sept. 4, the show will be performed once nightly.

FastPass+ reservations and dining packages are now available for the new schedule, and the showtimes are currently reflected in My Disney Experience. In the event of a show cancellation, Guests with a FastPass+ reservation will receive a recovery FastPass valid for any attraction at any park (with the exception of “Rivers of Light” or Frozen Ever After) to use the following day.

FastPass Kiosk to go Self Serve in Epcot

From December 18 to December 24, the FastPass+ kiosk located in the Future World East Breezeway near the Mouse Gear shop (at Epcot) will be staffed by Cast Members until 1 p.m.

Afterwards, the kiosks will continue to be available to Guests as self-service kiosks (Guests will be able to make FastPass+ selections on their own).

Visitors who need assistance from a Cast Member after 1 p.m. should visit the kiosk in the West Breezeway near the Epcot Character Spot.

Disneyland To Introduce Digital FastPass

Disneyland Resort has been testing a new FastPass system for their theme parks in a very limited capacity for about a year & is finally ready to launch a digital version of FastPass in their west coast parks.

Look for the launch at Toy Story Midway Mania at the California Adventure park starting on November 20th, 2016. Some recent queue modifications were made at the attraction in advance of the launch.

The new system will use the official Disneyland app to allow guests to book FastPass reservations digitally. The new system will utilize a barcode within the app or on a guest’s Disneyland Resort park ticket to redeem the FastPass. The app will be the only way to book the FastPass reservations during the early stages.

Princess Elena Meet & Greet Coming to Magic Kingdom

Beginning Thursday, November 24, Princess Elena of Avalor will greet Guests in Princess Fairytale Hall at Magic Kingdom.  Guests will be able to choose between a visit with Elena and Cinderella or Rapunzel and Tiana.

FastPass+ reservations for dates that include Elena appearances are available in My Disney Experience. Several times daily throughout the fall, Elena will also join Cinderella during the “Princess Elena Royal Welcome” on the castle stage.

Extra FastPass Available At MK

Guests who play A Pirate’s Adventure in Adventure land are now eligible to earn an extra FastPass.  The game is an interactive adventure that takes you around Adventureland, looking for clues. It is similar to the Agent P game at Epcot.

Guests who complete three of the five adventures earn themselves an extra fastpass to use in Magic Kingdom.

You can sign up  in The Crow’s Nest just beyond Pirates of the Caribbean. You also earn some pretty cool collector cards for each mission you complete. Each mission takes about 20 minutes.

FROZEN GETS OPENING DATE IN EPCOT

Mark your calendars JUNE 21 is the date both the Frozen Ever After attraction and the Royal Sommerhaus Meet & Greet open in the Norway Pavilion in Epcot.

FastPass+ begins booking for Frozen Ever After on MAY 21st. No word about FP for the meet & greet.

Fastpass Booking Time Change

Effective today, May 18th, your booking window (at 60 or 30 days) is no longer open at midnight on the date.

With no advance warning, Disney has changed this window to 7am est on your eligible date. The reasoning is that no cm’s were available for assistance if anyone had problems booking after business hours. Please note this change & plan accordingly.

DVC FastPass Tour Test

Beginning today, May 4th, guests staying at Moderate or Deluxe resorts will see a new option on My Disney Experience. They will have an option to schedule a DVC tour, and become eligible for three extra fastpasses. You will be given the option to call in or live chat with a cast member to schedule your Open House Tour. Once the tour is complete, each member of your party (limit 6 people) will be given three fastpass selections each. These can be used, even if all FastPasses are gone for the day.  *note some attractions will be excluded from these selections*

This test will be running through September 30, 2016.