Everything You Need to Know: Walt Disney World Changes in 2024
Disney World is constantly changing, and 2024 is no exception! There have already been a ton of changes in just the first two weeks of the year and more are coming. Here's all the changes you need to know about before visiting Walt Disney World in 2024.
Park Reservations
After the Walt Disney World parks opened back up from the pandemic shutdowns, a park reservation system was introduced. Every guest had to have a valid park reservation in addition to a park ticket to enter a park.
Thankfully, park reservations are now a thing of the past for most guests!
Park reservations are no longer needed for standard date based tickets, which are your regular park tickets.
Annual Passholders
Annual passholders are still required to have a park reservation for their starting park, unless it is after 2PM. Annual passholders must also still have a park reservation for Magic Kingdom, even after 2PM, on Saturdays and Sundays.
Annual passholders will not need a park reservation to enter a park on Good to Go Days. Good to Go Days will be rolled out on an ongoing basis. Annual passholders can find these Good to Go Days by checking:
Theme Park Reservation Calendar
Annual Passholders Admission Calendar
Home Screen of the My Disney Experience App
Annual Passholder Magnet 2023
We are so happy to see the reservation system go away. It added another layer of complicated onto what most people already found complicated enough. It also gives guests back the freedom to change their plans if they need to or want to. This is a great change that couldn’t happen soon enough. Hopefully, we will see the rest of the reservation system disappear for annual passholders in the near future as well.
All Day Park Hopping is Back
Another change guests saw after the reopening of the parks was the park hopping restriction. Guests who had a park hopper ticket or an annual pass could not hop into another park until 2pm or after.
This restriction has been lifted and all day park hopping is back!
Guests with a park hopper ticket or an annual pass can now hop to any park of their choosing at whatever time they would like. This change gives guests more freedom and flexibility with their park days. Many people hated the park hopping restriction, so it is wonderful to finally see this change go into effect.
Disney Transportation
Before the park hopping restriction was lifted, the Disney buses did not start operating with routes between the parks until 2PM. In response to this change, the Disney buses will now start running at 10AM in between the parks.
Virtual Queues
A virtual queue is used for a very high demand and usually newer attraction. The only way to ride an attraction with a virtual queue is to obtain a boarding group through the virtual queue or purchase an individual lighting lane. You can not join the standby line without a boarding group from the virtual queue.
Currently, there are two rides that utilize a virtual queue system in Disney World:
TRON Lightcycle/Run in Magic Kingdom
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Epcot
Virtual Queue Changes
There are two chances per day to secure a boarding group through the virtual queue. The first chance is at 7AM, which you don’t need to be in the park to get, but you did used to have a park reservation for that park. Now that park reservations are gone, anyone with a valid ticket can try for the 7AM virtual queue.
In order to join the 1PM virtual queue, you must be physically scanned into the park that you are trying to get the virtual queue for. So for example, if you were trying to join the 1PM virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, you would need to be in Epcot at 1PM.
Before the park hopping restrictions were lifted, guests couldn’t get into their second park for the 1PM virtual queue until 2PM, putting them at a one hour disadvantage. Now that the park hopping restrictions have been lifted, that one hour disadvantage is gone.
Traditionally, the 1PM virtual queue was easier to get than the 7AM one, but now that guests are free to move around as they please, that may not continue to be the case. It will be interesting to see if this changes how easy or difficult securing a virtual queue spot will be. We will have to wait to see how the data plays out.
TRON Lightcycle/Run utilizes a virtual queue system in Magic Kingdom
When Will Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Drop the Virtual Queue?
Disney has not said anything specifically about removing the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, but we are hoping that will be an additional change we end up seeing in 2024.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has been on a virtual queue since it first opened back the end of May 2022, so it is coming up on two years of being on a virtual queue. That is a really long time for a virtual queue to stick around.
The only other virtual queue we saw stick around that long was for Rise of the Resistance in Hollywood Studios. Rise of the Resistance was on a virtual queue for almost two years. The virtual queue finally went away right before Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in Epcot was opening with its own virtual queue.
Is Disney just waiting for their next big new attraction to open before Guardians will lose its virtual queue? Or will the virtual queue go away on its own? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Disney Dining Plan Returns
Yet another change guests saw after the reopening of the parks in 2020, was the removal of the Disney Dining Plan. The Disney Dining plan essentially is a way for guests to pre-pay for all their meals and snacks, and it has finally returned! This plan is only available as part of a resort package, and it has been simplified into two choices:
Disney Quick Service Dining Plan
Disney Dining Plan
Some people love the Disney Dining Plan because they don’t want to think about what they are spending on food on vacation. Others are not a fan of this plan because of the price. Only you can determine if this is a good fit for your family.
Upcoming Closures
The start of 2024 is also the start of many closures, and more will be coming. So let’s start off with the ones we know about it.
Skyliner
The fan favorite Skyliner will shut down for its annual refurbishment starting January 16th. Majority of the skyliner will reopen starting on January 22nd. The portion of the Skyliner that runs from Disney’s Riviera Resort to Epcot’s International Gateway will remain closed through January 27th.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios closed down after the first week of the new year for its normal refurbishment. It is expected to reopen sometime this summer.
Country Bear Jamboree
Last year at Destination 23 it was announced that Country Bear Jamboree would be getting a refresh this year. Disney is ready to go on this project!
Disney announced that Country Bear Jamboree will close starting on January 27th. It is expected to reopen sometime this summer with new songs, new costumes, and a whole new show based on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
I grew up a Disneyland girl, and I always loved Country Bears. I was heartbroken when it left Disneyland over 20 years ago, and I loved that I could still see it in Magic Kingdom. I am very anxious to see what this new show will bring, and hopefully it’s a change for the better, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to see this Disney classic changing.
Country Bear Jamboree in Magic Kingdom will close January 27, 2024
Resort Pool Closures
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will be conducting routine maintenance on their feature pool, Fuentes del Morro, from January through March 2024. It will remain closed through that time, but the five other leisures pools will remain open for guests to enjoy.
Over at Disney’s Port Orleans- French Quarter, the Doubloon Lagoon pool will be closed for routine maintenance from January through April 2024. During this time, guests can still use the Ol’ Man Island pool located at Port Orleans- Riverside.
Changes We’re Still Waiting On
There are still more changes coming to Walt Disney World that we don’t have definite answers on yet.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom was shut down the beginning of 2023 for a transition into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Disney has said that it will be open late 2024, but there is no exact opening date. While Tiana’s Bayou Adventure should open at sometime later this year, until Disney gives an official announcement, it really could be whenever.
The outside facade of the ride has been completely covered with greenery and flowers, making it unrecognizable. It seems like progress is continuing on schedule, so hopefully that is the case with the inside as well.
It was announced that 17 new animatronics would be added to the ride, which isn’t really that many when you consider the original ride housed 68 animatronics. We are anxious to see what this ride has to offer once it finally opens.
Construction on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure expected to open late 2024
Communicore Hall
Epcot has been going through a lot of changes the last few years. The entire front of the park has been nothing but construction walls. With the opening of Journey of Water back in October 2023, guests finally saw some of those walls come down.
The new World Celebration gardens debuted on December 5, 2023, Walt’s birthday, bringing down even more of the construction walls. Communicore Hall did not open as scheduled with the gardens. Instead, the opening was delayed with no exact opening date announced.
Communicore Hall will be an event space that festivals can use to call home for entertainment, festival booths, classes, etc. While this isn’t a super exciting addition to Epcot, it is a much needed addition. Once this finally opens, all of the construction walls will be gone in the front of Epcot!
Walt the Dreamer Statue in Epcot’s World Celebration Gardens
Genie+ Updates
Last year Disney announced that they would be making some changes to Genie+ in 2024 that would make it more user friendly. They also hinted that some type of pre-planning would be introduced. We haven’t heard anymore about that since then.
Is it possible that we could see Genie+ share some commonalities with the old Fast Pass system that allowed guests to reserve a couple rides months in advance? We will have to wait to see what they decide to do. Genie+ could definitely use any and all updates to make it more user friendly, so hopefully we hear more on this as the year goes on.
Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland USA
When the announcement was made at Destination 23 last year about Country Bear Jamboree getting a refresh, it was also mentioned that Dinoland in Animal Kingdom would be getting completely re-themed.
This part of the park is a little sad right now. There’s just not much there, and while the theme is executed incredibly well, it’s almost too complex of a theme for the average guest to get. There is a whole backstory for this land about Hester and Chester, and if you didn’t know the whole backstory you might be wondering why there’s a gas station that sells dinosaur souvenirs.
No further information has been released about this change. We don’t know when Dinoland USA will close for good or what exactly is going to replace it.
Dinoland USA in Animal Kingdom
Test Track Refresh
Another announcement made at Destination 23 last year was about Test Track in Epcot. This ride is also supposed to be getting a refresh sometime soon. We have yet to hear anymore about a timeline for this.
The original version of Test Track was themed around guests being a crash test dummy and going through the various tests. It was really fun, and it gave a story to the ride. The current version of Test Track has no story. Kids like to build their car before the ride, but there’s not much going on during the ride until you take off at the end.
Radiator Springs Racers over in California Adventure utilizes basically the same ride system and vehicles, but it has a storyline! The storyline makes a world of difference when comparing these two rides.
No one knows what theme will be added to Test Track in Epcot, but at this point any theme would do wonders for this ride. I once heard a Disney influencer say they didn’t know why it wasn’t themed it to Wreck It Ralph. That would be adorable and fun! Plus, they could still keep the designing element during the ride queue.
Test Track in Epcot
2024 is shaping up to be quite the exciting year for changes in Walt Disney World, and it has only just begun. Disney World is constantly changing, but the one thing that will never change is the need for a strategy and a plan.
We understand how overwhelming and confusing planning a Walt Disney World trip can be, especially when Walt Disney World is constantly changing, which is why Less Stress More Magic was created.
If you are ready to say good bye to long lines, wasting time, and spending countless hours researching, then you need our Walt Disney World Parks Planning Guide!
We’ve compiled everything you need to know into one easy to read guide to help you plan your park days out just like a pro and experience the Disney Parks with less stress and more magic!