Some beginning of the year refurbishments are still underway across property. Things are especially different in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom these days with two attractions now down for an extended period. Operational changes and how to plan, or not plan, for your Disney days is still the big thing right now. Disney World news February 2024 brings more good to go days for passholders and the changing of festivals at Epcot. With continued reopenings, regular refurbishments and new rides and restaurants, there’s much more to know!
We’ve got it all for you here each month, including the tips in this Disney World News February 2024 info. Whether you’re planning your next vacation or hope this will inspire you to book one, we hope this Walt Disney World news and updates roundup helps to keep you in the know. Here on the blog, we aim to keep DVC Members and Disney fans up to date with information that can enhance their next Disney World vacation. If you’re planning one, have a magical trip!
Disney World News February 2024 Dates to Remember
Here we have some dates related to Disney World news February 2024.
January 12 – February 19 | Epcot International Festival of the Arts
February 1 | DVC Members can add on points at The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
February 6 | Club runDisney registration opens for Disneyland Halloween runDisney events
February 13 | General registration opens for Disneyland Halloween runDisney events
February 22 – 26 | Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend
February 23 | Last day for Hei Hei Annual Passholder magnets (while supplies last)
February 27 | The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort goes on sale to the public
February 28 | EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival begins
Continued Reopenings at Walt Disney World Resort
We’ve been covering Disney World’s post reopening come back for quite a while now. Disney World reopened in 2020 running a very lean operation. So many things have returned to the parks and resorts but many have not. There are still many temporarily unavailable closures. Some of which may greatly impact your trips. We want to help you set expectations and plan your trip based on what is available.
What’s not back at Disney World?
- 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian is still closed and…
- The tea room at the Grand Floridian is still closed but resort construction has reached the lobby..
- The Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage has not returned to Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
- The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques at the Grand Floridian and Disney Springs are not open.
- It’s A Wonderful Shop, Stage 1 Company Store, In Character and Disney Studio Store are still closed at Hollywood Studios.
- Disney says DVC pool hopping is still suspended.
- Saratoga Springs Senses Spa and Beach Club’s Ship Shape Massage Salon Fitness are still closed.
- Services like having your purchases delivered to the front of the park or to your room are paused.
- Disney Annual Passholders still need park reservations to visit parks for a full day unless it’s a good to go day.
- Many shows have not reopened yet like: Citizens of Hollywood, Jedi Training, Citizens of Main Street, Main Street Trolley Show, Move It! Shake It! Street Party, Once Upon a Time, The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats, Serveur Amusant, Swotu Waya Pandora Drummers, Pandora Utility Suit Pilot and more.
We do our best to continue to share things as they return.
Disney World News February 2024
DVC Raises Prices on Properties Actively Selling
DVC raises prices fairly regularly. Though there is no particular schedule they follow, we can anticipate per point prices going up a few dollars each year based on historic trends. Near the end of 2023, we learned prices for some of the home resorts Disney is actively selling would go up in price early this year. Those new prices are now active as of February 2024.
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel went from $230 to $239. Disney’s Riviera Resort rose from $217 to $225 and Aulani also rose from $217 to $225.
Remember these are the prices for direct points. Resale DVC has a lot more range to offer. Whether it’s at one these or another property you can usually find surprisingly lower prices with DVC resale.
Being a brand new resort that opened in 2023, we won’t see the Disneyland Hotel DVC much on the resale market for a while.
It wasn’t long ago that the least expensive resorts tipping over $200 per point felt like a major milestone. We have the price for the Polynesian home resort expansion to look forward to. It’s on track to go on sale and open in 2024. As for The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort..
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort Now on Sale for Members
The newest Disney Vacation Club resort is now on sale for current Members. DVC Members who add on can start booking on February 15th. Sales at The Cabins at Fort Wilderness open to the general public later this month on February 27th. New Members can then start booking on March 12th, 2024. See pricing and more information in our post about The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort a Disney Vacation Club Resort.
2024 Ride Refurbishments
The beginning of the year is a popular time for attraction and other refurbishments at Walt Disney World Resort. With the busy holiday season behind us, it’s a better time to close things. The colder weather also makes it a great time for regular refurbishments on water rides and pools and such. It’s common for things to close for refurb after the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.
Starting January 8th, Kali River Rapids at Disney’s Animal Kingdom closed for its regular, annual refurbishment. The attraction will reopen mid March just in time for spring break season and warmer weather.
Also starting January 8th, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closed for refurbishment. This is a routine refurbishment as well but the attraction won’t to reopen until the summer. Closing for half a year or so doesn’t really seem to be in line with a regular refurb. We saw Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster close for quite a while last year. However, it is an older attraction at this point so it could be due for bigger fixes and replacements. There has always been speculation about whether or not the Aerosmith tie in at the attraction would stick around. We’ll have to see this summer if there are any noticeable differences.
The Skyliner reopened after its scheduled January refurbishment. For more of what’s going on at resorts, see our DVC resort refurbishment schedule.
Country Bear Jamboree Closes for Makeover
The Country Bear Jamboree show in Frontierland closed January 27th to make way for a new version of the show that features Disney music. We are anticipating a summer 2024 reopening for this Magic Kingdom opening day attraction. See more information on this and more of what’s coming to Disney in 2024.
Epcot International Festival of the Arts Colors the Park
The 2024 Epcot International Festival of the Arts runs now through February 19th, 2024. We have what there is to do and more you will want to know about the event in our 2024 Epcot Festival of the Arts Guide.
runDisney Princess Half at Disney World February 22-26
The Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend takes place at Walt Disney World Resort from February 22nd through the 26th, 2024. We have answers to frequently asked questions, tips for races and more in our 2024 runDisney events overview.
Epcot Flower and Garden Opening Announced
As the new year kicks off, many are planning their visit for 2024. Sometimes trips depend on event dates. We now know that the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival begins on February 28th, 2024. See more dates, and anticipated dates based on Disney World fun in our 2024 Disney World events post. We have heard Wish, Coco and Guardians of the Galaxy all have topiaries debuting at the festival as well.
Disney vs DeSantis Continues
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the feud between Disney and the Governor of Florida. As Disney seeks to recover their own district, both parties are pointing a finger for missing information from the other.
A federal judge dismissed Disney’s retaliation lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on January 31st. Disney plans to appeal. The lawsuit in Orlando over who controls the district is separate and still pending.
Details for Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend
We have to mention some more details that are out about the Disneyland runDisney events debuting this year. The inaugural Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend takes place September 5th through the 8th. Now we have pricing and theme information!
The Disneyland Yoga event returns for this race weekend on September 5th, 2024 for $130.00.
The Halloween 5K is September 6th, 2024, costs $120.00 and looks like it has a Chip and Dale theme.
The Disneyland Halloween 10K is September 7th, 2024, costs $175.00 and looks like it has a Haunted Mansion theme.
The runDisney Kids Races return September 7th, 2024 and cost $40.00.
The Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon is September 8th, 2024, costs $260.00 and has Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson sisters on the art.
The Chills & Thrills Challenge includes the 10K and half, costs $440.00 and has The Nightmare Before Christmas characters featured.
General registration opens on February 13th, 2024. Club runDisney Gold and Platinum Member registration opens February 6th, 2024.
Annual Pass Changes: Good to Go Days at Disney World
We know many DVC Members have an annual pass and we’ve got some updates on how things will work moving forward. In January, the first good to go days were announced. While other ticket types no longer need to make park reservations, those with a Disney annual pass still do in most cases.
Disney Annual Passholders still need a Disney park reservation to visit the parks before 2:00 pm. To visit Magic Kingdom any time during weekends, passholders still need a reservation. Good to go days, however, are marked as days passholders do not need a park reservation. These will be out days or weeks in advance.
While this seems like a step forward, it still requires passholders to monitor whether they need a park pass or not. Essentially, this doesn’t change anything as you will still need to check the calendar before going to a park.
So all day park hopping has returned but passholders still need to enter their first park before park hopping.
Since the initial release of good to go days in mid January, we’ve seen additional dates added to the calendar. One way to see the calendar is through the My Disney Experience app. Click the plus sign on the bottom menu, select Make or Modify Reservations. You’ll see an option to View Current Availability and can select Annual Passes. You don’t need to sign in to do this. Just select the type of pass you have and the park, or all parks, to see availability.
See more about good to go days in our Disney annual pass information.
Hei Hei Annual Passholder Magnet
Speaking of annual passholders, a new magnet is available. If you’ve picked one of these up at Epcot recently, this is in the same spot we’ve seen a few times. Hei Hei Disney World annual passholder magnets can be picked up at Creations Shop in World Celebration starting January 29th through February 23rd or until they run out. These are complimentary and limited to one per passholder. The World Celebration Gardens area of the park is now open right next to this and the Moana walk through attraction is just around the corner too.
D23 Event Tickets on Sale March 26th
What was the D23 Expo is now D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Tickets for this fan event that happens every other year near Disneyland go on sale March 26th. Dates for the 2024 event are August 9th through the 11th.
Disney says the event will offer, “spectacular shows, new venues, and multiple days of entertainment that will bring together the best of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more. This year’s event will feature Disney+ integration, musical performances with world-class artists, special content presentations, a new interactive app, and one-of-a-kind shopping experiences.”
This D23 event is massive with many presentations happening at once. It’s impossible to do it all. Out of this we can expect news about Disney Parks and resorts, movies and more. Fore more Disney fun, take a look at upcoming DVC events too.
Mickey and Minnie Costumes for Lookout Cay
As Disney Cruise Line vastly expands its fleet, we all have a new island destination to look forward to visiting. Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is inspired by authentic Bahamian culture. Guests will be able to enjoy it later this year as it opens in June. Characters are part of the fun on Castaway Cay and will be at Lookout Cay too. Mickey and Minnie will wear these Junkanoo style beauties designed by Bahamian fashion designer Theodore Elyett. Since it’s announcement. Disney leaders have promised this island would have strong influence from the local culture and artisans.
Festival of Fantasy Parade Back to Twice a Day Mid Month
The day parade at Magic Kingdom will have two daily showings again soon. Times will be 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. starting Sunday, February 18th, 2024 through at least the end of the month.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Updates
The Walt Disney World Resort website has been updated with more information about the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction. It says the ride is coming in 2024. This could mean it will open earlier than anticipated. In the past, Disney has said this attraction was coming to the parks late 2024.
The page for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also has the height requirement of 40 inches listed. The description for the ride says this:
“Join Princess Tiana and jazz-loving alligator Louis on their journey through a shimmering bayou as they prepare for a spirited celebration during Mardi Gras season. Along the way, you’ll see familiar faces and make new friends as you’re brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s inspiring story.“
From outside, we can see quite a bit of progress and change to the exterior facade. The water tower went up last year but more recently, new greenery is on the mountain.
DVC Resale Experts Can Help
Does this Disney World news February 2024 edition leave you needing more Disney trips? DVC Resale Experts is a licensed real estate broker with a team that specializes in resale DVC. Whether you’re adding on points, buying or selling Disney Vacation Club, the Experts can help you find the right price to place a bid with or list your contract for. Our independent, licensed real estate agents are former Disney Vacation Club Guides. They have decades of pixie dusted experience selling DVC and delight in providing excellent service to their clients. The Experts have seen it all and are happy to answer your questions throughout the process.
DVC resale prices can pleasantly surprise Members interested in selling DVC. See our resale DVC listings for a look at real time availability and pricing. Ready to sell DVC? Get in touch for a complimentary valuation of your specific contract today. There may be someone waiting on our Buyer Wish List for a contract just like yours.
