Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is now closed for a much-needed refurbishment in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
Universal has made sure guests don’t walk all the way back to the coaster without knowing it’s closed. There is an A-frame sign at the entrance to the park, and more inside the park, stating the ride is “not operating today.”
We spotted two more signs in Port of Entry.
Construction walls are up in front of the attraction and two Team Members are standing by to direct guests.
Signs on the construction walls read “Notice magic at work” and “Your patience is requested” with the Ministry of Magic “M” at the bottom.
The marquee tower above the entrance to Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has already been painted with a new base coat.
The construction walls extend to the lockers nearby, as well, which are also closed.
Since opening in 2019, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has had a fair share of operational issues and temporary closures due to fires, bee infestations, and more. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure will be closing for refurbishment later this month. During Hurricane Ian in September 2022, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure sustained damage. While it did not cause the ride to close, part of the queue has been diverted. A section of ramp in the queue has been blocked off with temporary walls and scrim. A bridge takes guests over a stone wall through trees to bypass that section. We’ve also seen some barricades on the inside walls near the coaster track while on the ride.
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Disney has announced that Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park will be reopening “this spring!”
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Disney hasn’t shared an exact reopening date, but the first H2O Glow After Hours event will take place at Typhoon Lagoon on May 20th, so it could reopen at some point before then or right on that date.
Typhoon Lagoon Entrance
We’ll keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we find!
Order Your Copy of the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!
With more than 900 pages, the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!
You’ll get a Reference Guide, a 101 Plan, and a Printables and Resources Guide! With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis; and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.
In terms of tickets going on sale, they will become available on March 3rd, 2023 for all guests. But select guests can get EARLY access starting February 28th. Those who can get early access are: guests staying at Disney Resort hotels, the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, and Shades of Green at Walt Disney World Resort.
Tickets are already currently on sale for the events through April 19th. But, for the new dates (in May and June), tickets go on sale on March 3rd, 2023.
Ticket prices are $75 (plus tax) for adults and $70 (plus tax) for kiddos 3-9 years old. Discounts are also available for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members. APs and DVC Members can get tickets priced as follows: Adult (ages 10 and up): $59 plus tax; Child (ages 3 to 9): $54 plus tax.
H2O Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon | 2018
In terms of when tickets go on sale, H2O Glow Nights tickets will become available for everyone to purchase on March 3rd, 2023. But select guests get early access beginning February 28th, 2023. Guests who get early access are those staying at Disney Resort hotels, the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, and Shades of Green at Walt Disney World Resort.
Remember that tickets for all of these events are limited, so you’ll want to grab them quickly! Stay tuned for more Disney news.
Order Your Copy of the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!
With more than 900 pages, the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!
You’ll get a Reference Guide, a 101 Plan, and a Printables and Resources Guide! With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis; and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.
Attending a Disney After Hours event is one way to add some extra magic to your Disney trip!
Hollywood Studios during After Hours
This special, separately ticketed event allows guests to enjoy the park for three hours AFTER the regular park guests have gone home for the day. The ticket includes access to select rides with lower waits, complimentary snacks, and more. We’ve got an entire page dedicated to just what you’ll experience at the Hollywood Studios After Hours events, a look at how EMPTY the park is during these events, and more details. But now we’ve got even more news!
MORE dates have been added for the Hollywood Studios After Hours events! Previously, Hollywood Studios After Hours events were set to end on April 19th, 2023. New dates have been added beginning May 3rd!
Hollywood Studios After Hours
Here’s a full list of the dates that have been added and their pricing:
Order Your Copy of the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!
With more than 900 pages, the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!
You’ll get a Reference Guide, a 101 Plan, and a Printables and Resources Guide! With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis; and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.
Disney World will occasionally close restaurants for refurbishment or play around with menu changes, but sometimes they completely overhaul existing dining locations to create something entirely new (like when The Wave…of American Flavors transformed into Steakhouse 71!). That’s happening soon at Trail’s End Restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Let’s go through all the details about this closure and transformation, and then we’ll give you some great options for where to eat while Trail’s End is unavailable!
What’s Happening at Trail’s End?
Trail’s End Restaurant has long been a favorite among die-hard Disney fans who know where to find good food at moderate prices — even on Disney property. Currently, Trail’s End serves family-style skillets for breakfast and dinner (as opposed to a buffet, which was traditionally the meal option here). They also serve a not-so-little something called the Covered Wagon Sundae.
Breakfast at Trail’s End in 2021
This table service restaurant at Fort Wilderness is going to close for refurbishmentthis coming spring (in 2023), and when it reopens, it won’t be the same experience you remember. Disney hasn’t announced a specific closing date for Trail’s End, but the restaurant is still showing hours through mid-April as of writing (that’s as far as Disney’s calendar goes currently, but note that this could change once Disney finalizes plans for the closure).
Trails End | 2021
Trail’s End will reopen later this year as “a marketplace concept with expanded quick service options,” which is very different from the table service, family-style meal that is currently served. The table service option will no longer be offered upon the restaurant’s reopening. So if you’re a fan of Trail’s End in its current state, you should make reservations ASAP to dine there before the closure this coming spring.
So while Trail’s End is closed and even once it reopens as a quick-service marketplace concept, you might need a replacement for a sit-down meal. The only other table service restaurant at Fort Wilderness is the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, which is a fan-favorite dinner-and-a-show combination located at Pioneer Hall.
Hoop-Dee-Doo
Aside from the Musical Revue, you’ll only find food trucks and counter service options at this resort. So if you’re not interested in a lively show for your dinner, where should you go?
Luckily, there are a few great options for table service dining not too far away at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
Artist Point, previously a Signature Restaurant, now hosts a Disney princess character meal: Storybook Dining with Snow White! Guests enjoy a prix-fixe meal and can meet Snow White, Dopey, and Grumpy, who stop by throughout the dinner. The Evil Queen is even present for a unique photo opportunity as well.
Dining Room
The food here is pretty classic American cuisine, with options like a shrimp cocktail, beef stroganoff, roasted chicken, and various pastries for dessert. There aren’t super unique dishes here, so even picky eaters will be able to find something for them on the menu.
Appetizers
Some of our favorite dishes on the menu include Royal Prime Rib Roast, “A Stroll through Nature,” and the Magic Mirror Slow-braised Veal Shank.
Royal Prime Rib Roast
Dinner is served from 4PM to 9PM, and the meals cost $65 per adult and $39 per child. It’s definitely a pricier option, but that cost is about on par with most Disney World character meals.
Whispering Canyon Café may have a peaceful-sounding name, but don’t be fooled. Lots of laughs and hijinks among the wait staff are served up alongside barbecue, roasted chicken, and other western-inspired specialties, including hearty All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Skillets.
Whispering Canyon Cafe
All the shenanigans and high-energy antics are definitely our favorite parts about dining at this restaurant, but it might not be ideal if you’re traveling with a group of introverts.
Our “to go” box
The food is great here as well, with those all-you-can-eat skillets being an ideal choice if you come hungry. There are barbecue options like brisket, pulled pork, and pork belly, but there’s also a plant-based skillet for anyone on a vegan diet. You can also find steak, salmon, and (one of our personal favorite options) “burnt ends” nachos on the menu.
Burnt Ends Nachos and Allergy-friendly cornbread at Whispering Canyon Cafe
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served at the Café, with breakfast from 7:30AM to 11:25AM, lunch from 11:30AM to 2PM, and dinner from 5PM to 10PM.
Yep, our mouths are watering.
Skillets at breakfast and lunch cost $26 per person, and for dinner, they’re $38. A la carte entrées range in price from $12 to $22 for breakfast and lunch and $22 to $36 for dinner if you decide to skip those skillets.
Don’t forget that you’ll need to make reservations if you want to dine at Artist Point or Whispering Canyon Café (which is the case at all table service restaurants in Disney World). You can begin making those reservations 60 days before you plan to dine at either restaurant.
How To Get There
So now you know a few great options for table service dining that are lose to Fort Wilderness, but how exactly do you GET to those restaurants? Don’t worry — we can help you out. There are a few different options for getting between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge.
The Bus
There are a few different bus lines at Fort Wilderness, and one of these runs directly between the two resorts. The yellow line bus connects Fort Wilderness to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
Resort Settlement Bus Stop
You can hop on this bus to go directly between the resorts, without having to stop at one of the theme parks to switch buses. Note that you could also take a bus to any of the four Disney World theme parks and, from that park’s bus stop, catch another bus from the park to Wilderness Lodge.
The Boat
If you’d prefer a scenic route, you can head to the Marina and catch a boat from Fort Wilderness to Magic Kingdom.
Boat to Magic Kingdom
From there, you can hop on a different boat to go from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge.
A car
The easiest way to get between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge is to drive yourself (if you brought your own car, of course). If you didn’t bring a car and would still prefer to drive, you can always use a rideshare service, like Lyft or Uber.
Lyft
We’ll continue to watch for more updates from Disney about the closing of Trail’s End Restaurant, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news!
There’s a lot you can do in Disney World during the day, but sometimes you can accomplish even MORE by going to one of the after-hours events.
H2O Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon | 2018
By purchasing a ticket to these events, you can stay late in the parks and ride your favorite attractions with shorter wait times. There are often special snacks and treats included in the event ticket, and sometimes unique characters stop by to say hello as well. Now, Disney has announced that one after-hours event will return to Disney World this year!
Typhoon Lagoon has been closed for the last few months, but this Disney World water park will finally REOPEN this spring and bring H2O Glow After Hours with it. The after hours event includes special snacks throughout the park, fun entertainment, and access to all the attractions with shorter wait times than you’d see during the day.
Banana Fosters Sundae
Disney H2O Glow Nights will take place on certain nights between May 20th, 2023, and September 2nd, 2023. Here’s a list of the event dates:
May 20th and 27th
June 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th
July 1st, 3rd, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, and 31st
August 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th
September 2nd
The event is held from 8PM to 11PM, but an event ticket grants you access to the park beginning at 6PM, so you can enjoy it for a couple of hours before the party gets going.
Typhoon Lagoon Entrance
Event tickets go on sale beginning March 3rd, 2023, but if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel (including all Disney-owned resorts, the Shades of Green resort, and the Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve hotels), you can purchase your tickets a little early, beginning on February 28th. Tickets are limited, so make sure you get yours soon if you want to attend!
Disney’s Grand Floridian
Tickets for the 2023 H2O Glow Night events cost $75 per adult and $70 per child (ages 3 to 9). Annual Passholders and DVC Members can take advantage of discounts and get tickets for $59 per adult and $54 per child.
Jessie and Woody
Here are some of the experiences at the H2O Glow Night events:
See Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park in a new light—illuminated at night
Get on attractions with lower wait times
DJ dance party
Meet some Disney Characters
Special event snacks included in the cost of this ticketed event (ice cream treats, popcorn, and some fountain drinks are included in the cost of the event and can be found at carts stationed throughout Typhoon Lagoon)
Partysaurus Rex at H2O Glow Nights!
All of the Typhoon Lagoon attractions will be available during the after hours event, including Bay Slides, Castaway Creek, Crush ‘n’ Gusher, the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool, and more.
Castaway Creek with GoFloats
We’ll continue to watch for more updates from Disney World, so stay tuned for all the latest news!
Order Your Copy of the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!
With more than 900 pages, the 2023 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!
You’ll get a Reference Guide, a 101 Plan, and a Printables and Resources Guide! With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis; and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.
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