2024 is shaping up to be a good year if Disney World has anything to say about it!

There are so many things that we’ll see by the end of this year and into the next — new fireworks shows, park transformations, and hotel makeovers, just to name a few. We’re here to talk about our “wish list” of changes we’d really like to see Disney World bring in 2024.

You’ve got your wish list and we’ve got ours. Let’s talk about it and dream together about what changes we’d love to see at Disney World in 2024.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Now, you already know that a new ride is coming to Magic Kingdom, and that new attraction is called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It will take visitors through the bayous of Louisiana to help Tiana with her new endeavor, Tiana’s Foods.

This ride will pick up the moment after The Princess and The Frog ends, and we will “join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”

Tiana opens Tiana’s Palace and requires the riders’ help finding a missing key ingredient for the Mardi Gras party she’s throwing for the people of New Orleans. We’re going to be seeing old and new characters, hearing familiar and new songs, and embarking on a whole new adventure with Tiana!

It’s currently set to open in 2024 and we’re hoping that there won’t be any delays that will push the opening to 2025 or beyond. 

Read all about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure here!

New Original Attractions

We would obviously love to have more rides and attractions in 2024, but more specifically, how about seeing more original rides in the parks that aren’t necessarily tied to any existing IP? This one isn’t something that’s coming in 2024, but we can dream. 

Sure, a new Encanto or Indiana Jones ride would be tons of fun, but what about those niche, original Disney rides that don’t have the biggest fanbases?

Free Airport Transportation

Remember the “good old days” when you could hop on the Magical Express at Orlando Airport and get a free ride to your Disney World hotel? Well, those days are long gone. In fact, even if you’re willing to pay, you can’t catch the Magical Express anymore – it went the way of the dodo.

Now, Disney has handed the transportation reins over to Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. While it’ll still get you where you need to go, it comes at a cost. Since Disney is no longer in charge, you’ll need to make a reservation and pay for the service.

We’re holding out hope that Disney might bring back the Magical Express as part of their whopping $60 billion investment. It might sound like a small thing, but it used to make a big difference, especially for folks flying into Disney World.

Park Pass Reservations

Alright, next up, you know that all Disney World ticket holders must make a park pass reservation for each day they plan on being in the theme parks. That will change on January 9th, 2024 — park pass reservations will NOT be needed for those who purchase date-based tickets. This means that guests who buy Date-based 1-day tickets, date-based multi-day tickets, and vacation packages with date-based tickets will no longer require a reservation.

This change doesn’t affect those with tickets that are not based on specific dates. However, Disney has been lightening the restrictions on reservations for Annual Passholders, but there are still situations that will require them to make one. Starting in 2024, Disney will introduce “Good to Go” days for Annual Passholders and Cast Members.

On those select days, visitors will be able to enter the parks without a reservation. This is a change that has been gradually evolving. Earlier this year, Disney relaxed the rules on Park Pass Reservations, allowing Annual Passholders to enter the parks without a reservation after 2 PM, except on Saturday and Sunday in Magic Kingdom. So, Annual Passholders will still need to make these reservations on any day that isn’t designated as a “Good to Go” day, which will be added on a rolling basis in the Passholder calendar.

We’re happy to see that changes are coming to the reservation system, but we’d love to see the reigns be loosed entirely and have the reservation system disappear in 2024.

EPCOT Festival Seminars

Back in the before 2020 times, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival used to host seminars and demonstrations, book signings, chef meet and greets, and other low-cost or free events that were terrific opportunities to enhance your festival experience! But, since the festival’s return following the pandemic, these special events have yet to return.

In the past, Disney hosted quite a few different special events that took folks’ Food & Wine experiences to the next level. Culinary Demos, Beverage Seminars, Food and Beverage Pairings, and Mix It! Make It! Seminars were typically offered from year to year, allowing guests to really be part of the action.

These events used to be held at the World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, which is often where Disney hosts festival-specific events. We’ve seen food booths pop up here from time to time, and it’s also been used for festival merchandise. The seminars and demos took place on various days of the week depending on which one you were interested in attending.

Culinary demos let you behind the scenes and into the minds of some iconic chefs, while food and beverage pairings allowed guests to wine and dine even more than they already had at the festival. The Mix It! Make It! Workshops varied based on availability, but we’ve seen some awesome hands-on events like cheese-making and cupcake decorating.

With everything that’s happening at EPCOT right now (i.e. the massive transformation including the construction of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza), we’re hoping that we could see the return of food and beverage seminars and demonstrations to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival in 2024. At the very least, we’ll have our fingers crossed and keep you updated.

Restaurant Marrakesh in EPCOT

Almost all of the restaurants that were closed in EPCOT during the 2020 park closure have reopened — all but one, that is! Restaurant Marrakesh in the Morocco Pavilion is still closed with no word on when it will reopen.

Since closing, the empty restaurant has been used as a relaxation station, a lounge…pretty much everything but dining. Recently, we saw that the hedges that were previously in front of the entrance have been removed and the space is once again open as a lounge. We’re hoping the restaurant returns soon!

1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

At Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, 1900 Park Fare is a table service restaurant where you could meet characters like Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland at their Supercalifragilistic Breakfast and Cinderella and her Prince Charming during the Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner.

They also had a special event for younger children called the Wonderland Tea Party. It’s sad to see a spot closed that had so much character interaction! Disney hasn’t announced a permanent closure, so there is hope for 1900 Park Fare.

Maybe in 2024??

Animal Kingdom Re-theme

As we found out during this year’s Destination D23 event, Disney’s got some exciting plans in the works for Animal Kingdom! They’re talking about giving DinoLand, U.S.A. a whole new theme, and there’s even talk of Encanto and Indiana Jones-themed areas.

Now, we do know that DinoLand is getting a makeover, and that the new area will be themed to “The Tropical Americas”, but Disney’s keeping tight-lipped about what exactly will be in the new land. So, for now, we’ll just have to sit tight and hope Disney gets started on projects these or at least releases more details about them!

Disney Dropped 6 Clues About the Teased Encanto and Indiana Jones Lands in Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Expansion

Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Josh D’Amaro recently said that Disney has “a wealth of untapped stories to bring to life across our business,” and confirmed that Imagineers are working on a major expansion of the Magic Kingdom.

The expansion will take place “beyond Big Thunder Mountain.”

Nothing is confirmed for this project (it’s all just been big ideas and “what ifs” so far), so for now, we’ll just have to wait and see if Disney gets started on these projects or at least releases more details about them!

And those are all the changes we hope we’ll see in 2024! Stay tuned to DFB because we’ll update you as we hear more.

See Disney’s confirmation of the opening timelines of MANY major projects right here!

 

Which changes do you want to see at Disney World in 2024? Tell us in the comments!

The post 9 Things We Hope Disney World Changes in 2024 first appeared on the disney food blog.