Disney World News: AP Freebie, Ticket Deal, Character Selfie Spot & Guest Satisfaction Up?!
We’re back with a big Walt Disney World news roundup. Among other topics, this one covers expanded & added park hours through June 2021, spring break at EPCOT, lighting enhancements to Spaceship Earth & Grauman’s, ticket discounts, an Orange Bird freebie, physically distanced selfie spots with Minnie & Mickey Mouse, and more.
Let’s start with an update on new and extended park hours as Walt Disney World’s spring break season continues. All four theme parks, Disney Springs, and Blizzard Beach have had hours for another week added to the DisneyWorld.com park hours calendar. These now extend to June 5, 2021. Hours are the same for all dates:
- Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 6 pm
- EPCOT: 11 am to 7 pm
- Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 7 pm
- Animal Kingdom: 9 am to 5 pm
- Blizzard Beach: 11 am to 6 pm
- Disney Springs: 10 am to 10 pm (11 pm on weekends)
Park Hopping times for those and all dates remain from 2 pm until park close; that’s quite the range given Animal Kingdom closes at 5 pm and Magic Kingdom closes at 10 pm on certain dates. Also note that beginning on May 23, 2021, Disney’s Hollywood Studios begins opening at 9 am daily instead of 10 am. As usual, there are also extensions to hours for select dates at specific parks…
From April 4 to 10, 2021 all four parks at Walt Disney World have received significant extensions:
- Magic Kingdom: 8 am to 9 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- EPCOT: 11 am to 11 pm (previously 11 am to 7 pm)
- Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 8 pm (previously 10 am to 7 pm)
- Animal Kingdom: 8 am to 8 pm (previously 9 am to 5 pm)
Significant extensions here, but standard for the week following Easter. The only minor surprise here is that April 11, 2021 was not also extended. That’s the last day of peak spring break season, and should be every bit as crowded as the days immediately before it.
What April 11 still having the boilerplate/placeholder hours underscores is that Walt Disney World’s park hour releases and extensions are formulaic. Hours are typically released or extended by the week, which ends in Saturday, without regard for crowd or attendance trends beyond that.
This is significant because we’ve heard from several readers recently looking at the park hours calendar months down the road, trying to draw conclusions about crowds. Walt Disney World still has not updated hours for a Sunday three weeks from now that will unquestionably be busy–we know that, they know that. The current hours for May and June 2021 are utterly meaningless and in no way reflective of crowd forecasts.
Speaking of spring break, we visited EPCOT over the weekend to check out some new things. Although we’ve been tracking wait times from the comfort of home, this was our first spring break visit to the parks.
It wasn’t too bad. Busier than the last couple of months (save for Mardi Gras), but not as congested as we anticipated based on last Christmas season. It would be premature to draw sweeping conclusions from one visit, but our guess is that loading more rows of ride vehicles has helped a bit with the “feels like” crowds. Wait time data also supports this hypothesis.
Our main motivation for visiting was the new physically distanced selfie spot with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in the EPCOT entrance plaza.
Pluto and Goofy also appear throughout the day, but we didn’t see them.
This is a solid addition, and one that is proving quite popular with spring break crowds. Throughout our time in the main entrance plaza, there were always several parties waiting for selfies or photos with the characters.
It’s a bit surprising that it has taken Walt Disney World so long to deploy this concept. RunDisney has done distanced selfie spots for years, and the Winnie the Pooh characters outside Crystal Palace have proven popular since last summer. Clearly guests want more character “interactions” like this.
We also checked out the 2021 EPCOT Eggstravaganza scavenger hunt that debuted over the weekend.
If you want the prize, the cost is $8.
Here’s what should be a spoiler-free photo of one of the eggs. If you can identify that location, you have quite the astute eye…and will thus have no problem finding the eggs.
I’m not sure what the prize is, as we did a “self-guided version for cheapskates who don’t need trinkets.” It would be savvy if Disney made the prize that Spike the Bee spork that they’re otherwise going to be selling for the next decade.
Speaking of sporks, the “coveted” Star Wars spork is once again available for purchase (limited to one spork per person) at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It even comes with a travel pouch perfect for keeping it safe as you explore infinity and beyond.
I’ll level with you: I do not get the appeal of this at all. I didn’t get it when people were stealing them from Disneyland and trying to sell them for absurd amounts on eBay, and I certainly don’t get buying this thing for $11. I don’t have anything against sporks, but I’m also not bothered by forks and spoons being separate utensils. To each their own, though. If Star Wars sporks spark joy for you, have fun with it!
In other news, Walt Disney World is working on some lighting upgrades happening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Imagineering is testing out new lighting on Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, plus the return of spotlights beckoning guests to the premiere of the latest Mickey Mouse short at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Per Imagineering, “this is a culmination of years of work by our teams to bring ‘premiere night, every night’ energy to this iconic golden age of Hollywood architecture.” Not to be too cynical or snide, but how on earth does it take “years of work” to add spotlights to a building? I’m not sure that’s something about which I’d boast.
Back at EPCOT, Imagineering teased work on the “Beacon of Magic” lighting debuting at Spaceship Earth on October 1, 2021 as part of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Above is a first look at one of the points of light, as overnight teams test fit the first of these fixtures before starting installation at the top and working down.
Per Imagineering, the team “has been hard at work innovating the design and technology for this poetic and inspirational lighting concept.” Again, not to be too cynical or snide, but what they call poetic and inspirational looks to me like a push puck light. I didn’t realize our cheap closet lighting solution was so ingenious and inspirational!
The other aim of our EPCOT visit was checking out the Easter Eggs at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.
The displays are a bit scaled back this year, but given that we were expecting nothing, even this is a huge win in our view. As we discuss in our updated 2021 Guide to Easter at Walt Disney World, it also bodes well for future holidays and more returning. Incremental progress!
Next, Walt Disney World is offering Annual Passhodlers a special discount on 1-Day Water Park Tickets: only $49 plus tax. This means you can save up to $20 per ticket for adult and $10 per ticket for kids.
As covered in our Blizzard Beach Reopening Report, we had a great time at the water park…but it was dead. That was likely a byproduct of the weather, but also that the vast majority of Annual Passholders no longer have water park access. We’ll be back once the weather gets a bit nicer to see whether Blizzard Beach is busier.
In celebration of the 2021 Taste of EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, an Orange Bird magnet will be mailed to active Annual Passholders sometime in early summer. (Limit of two magnets per household.)
We only receive about half of our AP communications from Walt Disney World, so hopefully that means we’ll get one! Joking aside, it’s really nice to see Walt Disney World sending these out to APs. Kudos on this gesture. I am sort of surprised they’re not requiring an offseason weekday visit to EPCOT, but am very happy we won’t have to wait in what would surely be a long line for this!
Finally, Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently did an interview with Bloomberg and discussed a wide range of topics. Among other things, these included Disney+, ESPN+, theme park demand, brand trust, and the future of technology at the parks (again hinting that theme park reservations could stick around).
The most buzzed-about topic among Walt Disney World fans has been Chapek’s statement that guest satisfaction scores have improved since the parks reopened, with guests having more satisfaction than prior to the closure. He also mentioned a “reemergence scenario” in which the “magic is even greater for our guests when they do come back to the parks.”
On a somewhat similar note, I’ve heard sentiment essentially boiling down to high-level leadership within the Walt Disney Company being satisfied with current performance of Walt Disney World. There are concerns that said leadership will use the current numbers to justify maintaining a reduced slate of entertainment, nighttime spectaculars, etc.
To be sure, this is superficially plausible. Anyone who has been a Walt Disney World fan for the last 5+ years has seen this play out even pre-closure. I don’t doubt for a second that certain executives salivate at the prospect of axing more entertainment. However, I would not extrapolate anything from current trends.
For one thing, current attendance is, at most, 35% of full capacity. Don’t misconstrue Chapek’s carefully crafted message: the parks are not profitable. They are making a net positive contribution towards fixed costs, which is to say that they are losing less money by being open than they would lose by being closed. Despite appearances and anecdotal observations during spring break, 35% of full capacity is not a healthy number of guests or good target. To the contrary, it is unsustainable.
While it’s true that we don’t know what organic spring break attendance would’ve looked like without the attendance cap, we do know that most other dates last year and so far this year have not even hit 35%. Occupancy rates are also anemic and many hotels remain closed, having had their reopening dates pushed back due to low demand. Perhaps things will change this summer and fall, but so far, the argument that “Walt Disney World is doing well despite cuts” is utterly unpersuasive. Attendance is mostly weak–for a variety of reasons.
As for guest satisfaction scores, those can likewise easily be explained away. It’s fair to say that there are objective upsides to the post-reopening lower crowd levels and shorter wait times. There’s no denying that guests enjoy those things. However, those advantages won’t last once attendance picks up.
Moreover, there’s a ton of self-selection bias occurring. There are so many warnings and disclaimers on DisneyWorld.com that they literally take up the top half of the page. You have to see and acknowledge those multiple times before even booking a theme park reservation–there’s no way to not see the changes and temporary rules before visiting.
Consequently, most guests know what the modified Walt Disney World experience will entail and choose to visit anyway because they’re okay with the compromises. Guest satisfaction surveys are sent to those who attend the parks–not those who choose to stay home.
Perhaps more significantly, this is all happening against the backdrop of a pandemic and incredibly divisive climate. Disney’s surveys don’t ask “how much has the last year sucked for you?” and use that to grade on a curve. But it’s probably not a stretch to say the last 12 months have been among the worst (if not the worst) of our lifetimes. Is it thus really any surprise that people are giving high marks to escapism?
We can only speak for ourselves, but two of the best days we’ve ever had at Walt Disney World occurred last year–our first stay back at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and our first day back in Magic Kingdom. Our guest satisfaction scores for both would’ve been through the roof. While Disney certainly played a role in that, the larger change was in us. We really savored the experience and didn’t take it for granted. I’m guessing this is along the lines of what Chapek is suggesting with his “reemergence scenario.”
Beyond that, our overall satisfaction at Walt Disney World from last summer through the present has honestly been higher than the 12 months prior to that. That’s partly because of my aforementioned newfound appreciation for the parks, and not taking anything for granted. It’s also because a lot of the stuff that has been cut doesn’t matter a ton to us, and on balance, we prefer enjoying the parks with lower crowds.
If I did highly value all of that temporarily unavailable stuff, I simply wouldn’t visit Walt Disney World right now. Judging by readers and commenters on this blog, that’s exactly what people are doing–visiting now or postponing trips based on their circumstances and priorities. This is not really profound insight nor is the reality that it impacts guest satisfaction scores.
It’s also fair to say that, although Walt Disney World is not grading guest satisfaction scores on a curve, fans are doing exactly that. In normal times, I would not be okay with so much of what has been cut. However, for the time being some of that gets a pass given the real world circumstances. If those same things remain absent beyond mid-summer, I’ll be far less forgiving.
Ultimately, my strong suspicion is that Chapek was posturing for Bloomberg, trying to put his best spin on the theme parks’ performance for the sake of Wall Street, tailoring his message for that audience, and telling them what they want to hear. That isn’t to say his statements don’t concern me. It’s always possible that Disney leadership truly believes that attendance or guest satisfaction scores are strong and will hold at that level on the merits of the current theme park offerings or in light of pent-up demand. In such a scenario, it could take longer for entertainment and other components of the guest experience to be restored. However, guest satisfaction will also plummet in the process and park offerings will be corrected over time.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this Walt Disney World news? Analysis on Chapek’s statements about guest satisfaction scores? Thoughts on what another extension to park hours means for spring break? Excited for the free Orange Bird Annual Passholder magnet? Thoughts on the physically distanced selfie spots? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
You bring up a good point. But if all adults. Or really anyone over 16 can get it by say July. Why mask? Adults who choose to not get it or cannot get it, should know how to deal with risks. And the kids mortality risk is .003%. Better idea barfing on mission space. Lol. Abs not much higher than being selected to sleep in Cinderella’s suite. So in that case what are masks preventing? I mean it totally respectfully. I don’t have any issues with masks. We own a business in an anti mask area and have been verbally assaulted over enforcing the mandate. But I’m also a person who uses common sense. And the masks are helping prevent spread to at risk populations but they are not really stopping the virus. It’s already mostly unchecked. So forcing masks once everyone except kids have had the chance to be vaccinated will not prevent much. IMHO
You got me. We are locals and get 1-2 surveys each time we go (so 2x a month)
We are loving low crowds, don’t care for parades (except the holidays) don’t care for FP and ADRs and love last minute trips.
It was us giving the high marks! Sorry!
The only thing I would change is that the parties would come back.
I hope Disney will keep masking until the pediatric vaccine is approved which is 2022. I know I’m in the minority here rooting for MORE masking. We’re vaccinated but the kid isn’t yet.
We have reservations for the first part of June. Do you anticipate crowds to still be lower than normal ? (We’ve been in June before. ) I am really struggling with having to wear mask everywhere. I can understand inside, but not walking around outside or even for a photo op. Who wants all of their pics taken with mask on? The lower crowds is the only incentive for not canceling this years trip.
Following
We just got back from a spring break week in Orlando. Your tips sure helped us a lot for our days in the parks! At Disney, we only visited HS and MK, and our focus was purely on rides. Though we missed the shows and entertainment, characters, etc, we were able to ride all the rides we wanted to and had a great time! The parks seem more crowded than they are as they queues fill up a lot of the walkways. But the weather was great, mobile ordering worked well, and we plan on heading back again to enjoy more of the ambiance next time. When asked, I tell friends that if this year would be your “only” Disney vacation (translation — you have never been before and are not yet addicted), then hold off for a while. But if you just need a Disney fix and a fun time as a family and will be returning again later, now is a perfectly good time to go!
Note: because of our 13 year old son, we headed straight to the Star Wars area at HS and loved exploring it when crowds were low. He skipped Slinky Dog and wandered further with my husband and interacted with characters while I took or daughters on Slinky Dog. It was cute, but after 3 days at Universal, my girls admitted that they would have rather stayed with their brother and dad. Oops! The food at Docking Bay 7 was top notch for counter service as well! And Rise of the Resistance was worth upgrading my phone to a 12 ProMax in order to secure a boarding group…
Glad you got on ROTR! It’s amazing every time. We’ve had good luck in getting boarding groups so far (knock on wood). The key isn’t getting an overpriced dorky new phone, just being off the wireless. Disney wireless is poor at best, and apparently not designed properly to handle the load. And I believe now you have to be using their slow, glitchy, junky app versus using the web interface. Not at all my preference but it worked for us in January
Regarding the post spring break attendance- we are traveling to Orlando April 15 – April 30 on business, and surprisingly enough, cannot find one dinner reservation in those 16 days for any of our favorite restaurants – Cali Grill, Topolino, and Narcoosees. I know they are at reduced capacities, but we’ve never gotten shut out like this before. Redundant, I know, but how I wish they would open up Jiko, The Yachtsman, and after reading your review of Takumi – Tei, we can’t wait to try it out.
We were there last week and did somthing we had never done and stayed offproperty and took Uber to the parks. We had a better room and experience. I also got a survey about my experience at Epcot. Its misleading about park experience it asked about cast members and my experience with them. Of course I gave it a high mark
My assumption is that the bulk of the people getting these satisfaction surveys are local APs or people who live close enough they can come frequently. If so then I’m not surprised at all they like how things are now because it lends itself well to spontaneity. Fast passes are gone, ADRs or walk ups are easier to get, crowds are lower. Magical express isn’t something they’d use anyway if they are driving distance, and extra magic hours don’t pertain if you go home at night. Maybe there are shows and fireworks they miss but when you can go whenever you want, it’s not as big a deal to skip them for now. Even wearing masks isn’t so bad because you aren’t usually trying to stay open to close, day after day to get the most bang for your buck. This isn’t a slam on APs. I’d actually be one of you if we lived closer and would feel exactly the same way!! We are west coasters and come once every few years so we are those people who love booking fast passes and ADRs months ahead because we only have one shot at experiencing certain things. We love ME and while we don’t do rope drop, we do stay as late as possible and live for nighttime extra magic hours. In short, we tend to come home from a Disney vacation I need another vacation to recover from how exhausted we are 🙂 We loved illuminations and can’t wait to see Harmonious. Masks and masked photos are a huge no for us since we are spending a crazy amount of money and don’t know when we’ll be back. Neither view is wrong, it’s just different perspectives. I would imagine if the bulk of those surveyed were infrequent guests the response would be quite different. Hoping vaccinations continue and we get back to normal very very soon!!
You’re absolutely spot-on. Another, albeit different, form of selection bias.
It’s true. We have had surveys galore. We don’t like parades (except for holiday parades) don’t really care for FP and ADRs and love last minute trips.
So we’ve been skewing them data, sorry!
For us, the extras make a huge difference. As a family of 4, we are planning to go in June but due to the lack of entertainment and shows and based on your helpful reviews, we decided to add a few days at Universal to our vacation. To me, where Disney is lacking Universal is making up for it. Universal is putting an emphasis on their entertainment, shows and most importantly – bringing back their employees. I look forward to their laidback, have a good time approach. Masks might even be optional at Universal come summer (most likely not the case at Disney). I wish Disney would stop virtue signaling (hello, plexiglass) and more closely align with what Universal and the state of Florida is doing.
I totally agree with you about plexiglass, but I’m not sure I’d call that virtue signaling (especially given the baggage of that term). Health theater is probably the more apt term.
Either way, you’re right–and it’s frustrating!
Please bring back fast passes when things go back to normal. I really hate the virtual cue for the Star Wars ride the fact that the ride is full in a matter of minutes is really bad as a DVC member and a season pass holder it makes me want to not visit Hollywood Studios
Tom – That is some photo at the head of the article! I don’t know Epcot’s surrounding well enough but how did you get the height for it, Skyliner? It must be a long lens too.
From the Skyliner, shot at 240mm and further cropped from there. Even in broad daylight, not an easy shot to get from a moving gondola!
Tom, what lens were you using. I dont think i ever seeing you lugging anything longer than the 70-200mm? or was it on a crop body?
It’s a Sony 24-240mm. It is *not* a good lens, but what I carry when I’m feeling lazy.
Nothing wrong with being lazy. Thats mre than I do when I’m lazy, on a good lazy day I just mount a prime on, most likely a 35mm. especially now that I picked up the tamron 35mm 1.4. But honestly its heavy. So my really lazy days I just pull out the old trusty rx100, and enjoy my day.
Haha, I am getting lazy too. The days of carrying a camera bag with multiple lenses, tripod, etc are I think long gone. Some days I’ll carry the ‘SLR’ body with lens or two AND the RX-100 V, but most days it’s one or the other. I’ve been playing with both the Rokinon/Samyang 12mm I bought last year for Germany trip and the newer 8mm fisheye for some cool pictures. Post-processed -2,0,+2 HDR is better than in-camera but I am really lazy there. EasyHDR is pretty cheap and works really well.
Ben, which RX do you have? I had the RX-100 III, dropped one in a soft padded case, broke it. Got another one and a security guard at Epcot knocked it off the table at the metal detector to the concrete. I suspect that was the loudest F-bomb heard at that location. Miraculously, the camera still worked but the case was cracked. So after that trip and some negotiation for replacement, I spent the extra to upgrade to the V. This time I got the Sony filter attachment instead of the magnetic one and it works really well. I see the newer version has a different lens with a longer zoom, but isn’t as fast on the low end. I can’t tell if they upgraded the sensor so not sure it’s worth even considering. Also not going to buy an A7R III either…
And for when I am feeling REALLY lazy, I did just upgrade my S9+ phone to the Galaxy S21 Ultra though I haven’t really tested the cameras in it yet. It’s obviously the king of all cell phones. Samsung has been the leader for a long time, since Sony hasn’t done much since I had the Experia 3v(?) years ago. This one does have an actual optical zoom, which is interesting. I am interested in the claim about pulling hi-res stills from 8K video, which could be very useful at places like WDW.
Tom, you didn’t just get lucky and get stopped at the right spot? We always ask to wait for an unwrapped unit. Those wraps might be fun for kids, but the absolutely suck if you want to see anything from inside .
I actually have two rx100’s. The original and IV. You would think I just use the original as a back up. but honestly the IV is my backup. For some reason I still get better results from the original sensor than the newer one which I paid I good bit more for. I don’t use flash much, but the flash is even better in the first generation thats nearing what 7 years old at this point. I have dropped mine several times and they still keep trucking along. But they also are only probably used 20% of the time. I guess I’m still in the young body and still carry around a camera bag with those cameras and d7100 and a d500. In disney the d7100 is mainly kept in the room unless its a waterpark day. I will take it instead of the d500. I also cut down on lens going into the parks. I typically only take a 10-24, 35mm 1.4 , 17-50 2.8 and sometimes I throw in the 70-200 2.8, but that thing gets heavy so it tends to stay in the room as well.
I haven’t really gotten into fisheyes. I am normally taking mostly pictures of my kids, and scenery. When I’m home its mainly landscapes and waterfalls. If I’m really lazy going into the parks and still want the dslr i will take the 7100 and throw on the 35mm and just walk with it all day. At home when I go out, i’ll just throw on a 20mm 1.8 on the d500 and just go out and carry the tripod. But like you I get lazy and you can never go wrong with the rx100, its very rare it misses a shot i wanted. I will say I dont do video on them, but if you do, the IV is better. I never had a V.
I’m a big fan of the Rokinon/Samyang 12mm f/2. I have it for my Fujis. I’m in the process of replacing the first one, which was damaged at a show. It’s probably going to go on my backup X-E1 for the parks while I switch between the Fuji 18-55 and 35 1,4 on my X-T20. I might throw my little cheapy Neewer 25 1.8 in the bag too since it takes up no space.
My family of 8 have went ahead and made reservations for Dec. 21, but by the end of summer we’ve decided if some of the entertainment and fireworks haven’t come back we will probably cancel, dont wanna pay for the full Disney experience and only get 50%
I think it is the low crowds everyone likes. If it was packed and entertainment is like it is now, virtually non existent, I would take a big Disney break myself.
I agree Dana! We went in Sept. and had a great time with low crowds but would not want to go with large crowds with so few things offered.
Correct. The low crowds have been great on our two post-cove trips September (hot with masks!) and January.