2021 is still two and a half months away, and they will be one of the busiest at Disney World all year long.
You may have planned your trip for the months of October, November, or December, but there are a few things that can affect your trip that you may be forgetting. Some are new, while others end up flying under the radar. Therefore, hThere are also things that will affect your trip to Disney World 2021.
1. Disney Genie
Disney Genie is the new planning app that premiered on October 19, 2021 at My Disney Experience. It is supposed to be a way to facilitate vacation planning. The free version of the program provides you with a personalized itinerary, planned waiting times, as well as having a virtual assistant.
Genie is free, but Genie + is not. Genie + is the program that replaced the old FastPass + system at Disney World parks. You can pay $ 15 per day and per person to access more than 40 trips, you can make reservations to skip the waiting line. You can only book one trip at a time and you can only use Genie + on one trip at a time, with no replays.
Once booking time arrives, you will enter the attraction line via the new Lightning Lane. These are just the old FastPass + lanes with a new name.
Individual attraction selections are also available through Disney Genie. These are high-demand trips that you can pay individually to skip the line with Lightning Lane. These attractions are NOT included in Genie +, meaning that purchasing access to Genie + will not allow you to book a time for these attractions. You can also only pay for 2 selections of individual attractions per day.
How does this affect your journey? Well, the addition of Disney Genie means that you will have to decide for yourself whether it is worth the money to use Genie + or Selection of Individual Attractions. And if you do, you’ll need to make sure you keep your budget in mind.
In addition, Genie + attraction bookings open daily at 7:00, so if you use this program, say goodbye to sleeping on your vacation. Attractions included in the individual attraction selections open at 7:00 for Disney Hotel guest reservations and the park is open to the rest.
2. The 50th anniversary
Now is a HUGE time at Disney World as we fully celebrate our 50th anniversary. This will definitely affect the crowd levels of your trip. Times that were previously thought to have fewer people could see many more people in the parks for the celebration.
But, it also means that there are new things you can enjoy. A new trip to EPCOT has opened, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, which you’re sure to want to ride if you like the movie (or just love the beautiful rides!). The trip is part of the new addition to the French Pavilion, which also includes a new restaurant: La Creperie de Paris.
There is table service and a quick service option for the new dining room, so you can decide the best way to get savory cookies and sweet pancakes.
There are also, for the fifties, new artificial features. Harmonious has debuted at EPCOT as a new nightly show and Disney Enchantment has done the same at Magic Kingdom. So if you want to see the new shows on your trip, make sure you get a good viewing site.
And there’s a new daytime show at Animal Kingdom: Disney KiteTails. Watch as giant, colorful stars depicting Disney characters rise above the water at the Discovery River Amphitheater several times during the day.
Be sure to check out the new Magic Kingdom character cavalcade as well. Mickey and his friends will be wearing their stylish EARidescent costumes to celebrate the big birthday.
Another thing to keep in mind is the new fireworks parties here for the 1950s, particularly the California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
The celebration at the summit will take place on select nights and will allow guests who paid for the event to see the fireworks from the observation deck. This means that regular dinner guests won’t be able to go out on deck these nights to see the show, so be sure to keep that in mind.
3. Holiday events after hours
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party and the Very Merry Christmas Party don’t take place this year, but they will be replaced by two new After Hours events: Boo Bash and Disney’s Very Merriest After Hours.
Boo Bash is the only time you will be able to see the Halloween cavalcades in Magic Kingdom, as well as the characters with their costumes.
As for the holiday festivities, you’ll only be able to see Minnie’s wonderful fireworks and Minnie’s Once Upon a Christmastime parade if you’re at the After Hours event, so don’t expect to see these celebrations during normal park hours .
And be prepared to be kicked out of Magic Kingdom earlier than usual if you don’t attend After Hours events. Pay attention to these park hours when you are planning.
4. Initial entrance to the theme park
Speaking of park hours, guests at the Disney Hotel already have access to a new perk. All guests of the Disney Hotel can enter the 4 theme parks 30 minutes before the opening hours each day with Early Theme Park Entry.
So make sure you get up early if you want to be the first in the park. And, if you’re not staying at a Disney hotel, remember that when you “drop” the park at the official opening time, people will already be inside the park, so it may not be as effective as the usual rope drop.
5. Extended hours in the evening
And the same goes for the new extended afternoon hours. The extended evening hours will only be available to guests staying at a Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Disney hotel. See if your hotel meets the requirements here.
This extended evening schedule will take place on select nights at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom for the rest of the year. It will allow guests inside to enjoy the park with far fewer people!
This can determine if you want to stay in a Deluxe or Deluxe Villa hotel instead of a moderate or budget hotel, so be sure to find out what you’re worth.
6. EPCOT gastronomic festivals
EPCOT Food festivals will not slow down anytime soon! We are in the middle of the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, which will run until November 20 and, from November 26, the Festival de les Festes will begin.
It’s an annual event, but it’s still worth remembering that festivals bring crowds with them. Therefore, plan accordingly.
And, if you want to try food at festivals, be sure to consider it in your budget.
7. Annual subscriptions
Disney World has recently launched a new annual passport program and many things are different. First, there are fewer pass options than before: now there are only four options to choose from.
Second, PhotoPass and the Water Parks and Sports option are no longer included in the price of any of the annual passes. They are now add-ons for $ 99 each.
This is important because if you are going to buy an annual pass soon, you need to be prepared for these additional costs if you want to add to PhotoPass or Water Parks and Sports.
Also, new passes have slightly different lock dates than previous passes, so check the calendar before booking your trip.
8. Increased resistance line on hold
It may seem small compared to others, but you need to be aware of it. The most popular trip to Disney World has a new queuing system, so get ready.
Instead of using a virtual queue, Rise of the Resistance now uses a normal queue. You no longer need to wake up at 7 a.m. to get a boarding pass, but you may need to get up early to drop out of Hollywood studios to make sure you’re one of the first people to at the tail.
Wait times so far have been significant, so you’ll need to consider how long it will take you to wait in line until your park day. Or, you can also line up RIGHT before closing time and still continue the journey.
Click here for more information on Disney World’s 50th anniversary
What is your favorite month to visit Disney World? Tell us in the comments!
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