DVC News For June 2023
The Walt Disney Company just experienced one of its most unique months in recent memory.
Disney announced the end date for a divisive hotel, the return of a popular amenity, and closed a beloved attraction. Again.
I’ll explain what’s different in this month’s DVC News.
Disney Closes the Star Wars Hotel
Sometimes, a news story makes perfect sense but still stuns everyone.
That’s the case with Disney’s recent announcement that it will close Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
The last day for Galactic Starcruiser itineraries is September 28th, with the hotel closing for good on September 30th.
Before you think that you should spend some DVC Points to book here, I’ll stop you.
After resetting its plans for a few days, Disney restored Galactic Starcruiser sales in late April. On that date, all remaining itineraries sold out.
Hilariously, Disney closed the Star Wars Hotel because its 2023 bookings were substantially lower than 2022’s sales.
The property operated at full capacity throughout last year. Then, the day that the calendar rolled to 2023, everyone stopped going.
I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for nearly 30 years now, and I’ve never seen anything like it. One day, the entire population soured on the premise.
Then, the instant that Disney declared the hotel would close, everyone suddenly wanted to visit again.
This resort’s turbulent history will last exactly 19 months, but it will be one of Disney’s most carefully studied failures ever.
If you’re lucky enough to hold reservations over the next four months, you should have a tremendous time. It’ll be a dead man’s party for the ages.
Anecdotally, several celebrities have indicated that they booked a stay here. So, you might even see someone famous!
If you’re not one of the lucky few who visited the Star Wars Hotel, you can always watch the highlights on YouTube.
Disney hasn’t announced how it will repurpose the space yet. For the time being, it may remain unoccupied like the former NBA Experience building.
Alternatively, Disney may use the space for something similar to Galactic Starcruiser but less expensive.
The Disney Dining Plan Returns
Disney is just full of surprises lately. The most recent example just happened a few days ago.
Walt Disney World unexpectedly announced the return of the Disney Dining Plan in 2024. I have your attention now, don’t I?
Yes, if you hold reservations for a stay starting on/after January 9th, 2024, you can buy the Disney Dining Plan
Disney will sell this dining plan for the first time since early 2020! Obviously, it has changed a bit, though. In fact, Disney has remained a bit coy about the details.
Here’s what we know. You’ll have two options for purchase. One is the Quick-Service Dining Plan, while the other is the Disney Dining Plan.
Here’s what you get with the Quick-Service Dining Plan:
- 2 Quick-Service Meals Per Night of Stay
- 1 Snack or Nonalcoholic Beverage Per Night of Stay
- 1 Resort-Refillable Mug
The Disney Dining Plan mixes things up by adding a daily Table Service credit. With this plan, you receive:
- 1 Quick-Service Meal Per Night of Stay
- 1 Table-Service Meal Per Night of Stay
- 1 Snack or Nonalcoholic Beverage Per Night of Stay
- 1 Resort-Refillable Mug
So, the difference is simple. Those of you who eat Table Service meals each day should buy the Disney Dining Plan.
Everyone else will be fine with the Quick-Service Dining Plan.
In terms of cost, the Quick-Service version is $57.01 per adult, which Disney defines as everyone ages ten and above. For kids three to nine, it’s $23.83.
With the Disney Dining Plan, adults pay $94.28, while kids cost $29.69.
The Snacks and Resort-Refillable Mug work the same as they have in the past.
I can’t say that everything else is identical, at least not yet.
Thus far, Disney’s language only indicates entrees and one beverage per meal. We’re awaiting additional details.
Splash Mountain Closes Again
On May 31st, history repeated itself at a Disney theme park. Kind of.
In January, Magic Kingdom closed its version of Splash Mountain forever, leaving the Disneyland Park version as the only one still operational in America.
A few weeks ago, park officials confirmed that Splash Mountain at Disneyland wouldn’t quite make it into the summer.
Instead, Disney waited until after the Memorial Day holiday crowds had left the park. Then, Disneyland closed Splash Mountain on a random Wednesday.
Dignitaries were out in force at this event, and it warms my heart to say that some folks spotted Tony Baxter, the man who conceptualized the ride.
So, Baxter got to take one last turn on his creation, Splash Mountain. Other Disney fans followed suit, waiting more than four hours at times.
By the following morning, Disneyland Park hadn’t just closed Splash Mountain.
Signs proclaimed the impending arrival of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which likely won’t happen for at least a calendar year.
Similarly, the Disneyland app removed Splash Mountain and added Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. So, all the signs of the old ride are gone in the United States.
As a reminder, Splash Mountain fans still have an option. You can visit Tokyo Disney Resort, which still operates the ride.
Park officials there have shown no indication that they’ll replace their version. As such, the ride remains alive, just…inaccessible to most Americans.
Disney News
I mentioned last month that Disney is virtually eliminating Park Passes for next year. As long as you buy a date-based ticket, you won’t need one.
However, Disney just confirmed that another unpopular rule will remain in place for 2024. The current Park Hopping structure won’t change anytime soon.
As of now, guests must wait until 2 PM to leave one Walt Disney World theme park and enter another. That apparently isn’t changing anytime soon.
Walt Disney World also modified another policy. It’s kind of a reworking of a previous change.
Earlier this year, Disney announced a change in Advanced Dining Reservation cancellation rules.
Formerly, guests couldn’t cancel within two days of the reservation. Disney changed that rule to two hours, which is much more flexible.
Now, Disney has updated the rule. The policy remains.
However, whenever you want to cancel within that two-hour window, you must call to speak with the restaurant.
Otherwise, Disney will bill you $10 per person listed on the reservation. So, you should plan for that when you need to cancel at the last minute.
In Disney parade/show news, Maleficent is once again appearing at the Festival of Fantasy Parade.
You may recall that Disney shut down the dragon after the Fantasmic! version caught fire at Disneyland.
Alas, the Happiest Place on Earth isn’t so lucky. Fantasmic! apparently won’t perform again until after Labor Day. Fixing a fried dragon must be tough.
On the plus side, you can now modify Park Passes in the Disneyland app, which is a prayer answered for many.
Okay, that’s everything for now. Have a great month, everyone!