Your Disney World Ride Strategy Will CHANGE in 2024 — Here’s How

If you haven’t been to Disney World in the last year, buckle up! There have been some huge changes.

TRON Lightcycle / Run opened and Splash Mountain closed in Magic Kingdom, several new restaurants have opened, Genie+ has made some changes, and that’s just touching the surface. While it may be hard to believe how much has happened in 2023, the new year is just around the corner with even more changes on the horizon! Because of that, we’ve got to change our Disney World strategies too. 

Let’s face it — Disney World vacations are EXPENSIVE and everyone wants to get the most bang for their buck. That’s why it’s important to have a plan of attack when it comes to rides and attractions!

With the changes coming in 2024, you’re going to want to update your ride strategy and that’s what we’ll be talking about today! Let’s get into it.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

When it comes to rides, one of the biggest changes in 2024 will be the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom.

This new attraction will pick up where The Princess and the Frog left off after the princess opens her restaurant, Tiana’s Palace. To thank her family and community for all their support, Tiana plans to throw an amazing party during Mardi Gras. However, when it turns out there has been a mix-up with the party preparations, Tiana invites us to join her at Tiana’s Foods to find the missing ingredient for the party!

We’ve already learned more about the characters, got a sneak peek at the Louis animatronic, and saw even more details. The new ride does not have an official opening date just yet, but it is set to open in late 2024.

When the ride does open, this will completely change your ride plans in Magic Kingdom if it’s a must-do for you. If you want to do as much as possible in the park, you’ll have to balance TRON Lightcycle / Run and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on top of other popular rides in the park like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight.

Currently, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run have Individual Lightning Lanes available for purchase and TRON also has a Virtual Queue option. If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure follows the pattern of new rides, we can expect it to have Virtual Queue and Individual Lightning Lane options.

This also means that when Tiana’s opens, the TRON Virtual Queue could go away. So far this is all speculation, but based on what parks have done in the past when new attractions open.

As we get closer to opening and Disney confirms how the ride will work, it will be easier to put a plan in place. But be ready for change when it comes to how you do Magic Kingdom in late 2024.

17 NEW Characters Revealed for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the Disney Parks

EPCOT

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana is a brand new walkthrough attraction at EPCOT! With the opening date set for October 16th, 2023, this is one of the final pieces of the EPCOT transformation. Previews have been taking place and it looks like this is going to be another popular attraction in the park.

Even though the Moana-themed attraction is opening in 2023, it will certainly affect your 2024 trips. It may be another Virtual Queue to keep up with (one was used during previews because it got so busy) and it’s another thing to add to your to-do list.

Another change that may impact your 2024 plans is the return of Soarin’ Over California. The original version of Soarin’ returned on September 22nd, 2023 — the same day that the 100th anniversary celebrations kicked off in the park. The ride has been posting very high wait times since its return which has made EPCOT busier in general. Disney did not say how long the California version of the ride would stick around, so it’s possible that it could be around into 2024.

However, it is important to note that although was not confirmed as a 100th anniversary change, it may go away when the celebrations end on December 31st, 2023. We’ll just have to wait and see what Disney announces.

5 Things We Learned Going Through The Moana Attraction For The FIRST Time In Disney World!

Genie+ Changes Coming in 2024

Since Genie+ was introduced as the new skip-the-line service in Disney World in 2021, it has been a controversial topic. Disney has continued to make changes to the service based on feedback from guests and we are expecting some pretty big Genie+ changes in 2024.

Earlier in 2023, Disney said, “We have heard from guests that they would like ways to plan with Disney Genie+ service and individual Lightning Lane selections before the day of their park visit, and we want you to know we are working on ways guests may do this for visits in 2024.”

With the free FastPass+ before the COVID-19 closures, a few FastPasses could be booked in advance. Based on this quote from Disney, we may be getting something similar in 2024.

More details to come from Disney and we’ll be sure to let you know exactly how that will impact your vacation.

NEWS: Genie+ Will Get EASIER With These Updates in Disney World!

Virtual Queue Changes

As we mentioned briefly above, we could see some Virtual Queue changes in 2024. At the time of writing, only Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle / Run have the Virtual Queue option in Disney World.

In the past, we’ve seen Virtual Queues go away at certain rides with the opening hype calms down or when a new/more popular attraction opens in the park. For example, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure only used a Virtual Queue from October 2021 to January 2022 and then Guardians began using one when it opened in May 2022. It seems demand is still high for Guardians, but when the demand decreases, the Virtual Queues seem to disappear.

We’ve seen TRON Virtual Queue spots open for a while after they become available, so it’s possible the ride could convert to a standby line before Tiana’s Bayou Adventure debuts. It is likely that the new Princess and the Frog attraction will have one based on rides that have opened in the last few years.

None of these Virtual Queue changes have been confirmed — these are expectations based on patterns in the past from Disney.

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Crowds

Since the pandemic, crowds have been a bit different in Disney World. And no matter what year it is, the crowd patterns are going to determine a lot about your ride strategy and your preferences in the park.

Going during spring break season? It may make sense to buy Genie+ and strategize using that service. Visiting in a slower month? You may be able to relax a bit more when it comes to rope dropping and Genie+.

Park pass reservations used to be a good way to see which days would be busier based on when those park passes sold out. However, we rarely see dates sell out anymore and park passes are going away for most guests on January 9th, 2024.

So how do you know what the crowds will be like? Luckily, we cover crowds and wait times every single day here at AllEars, so stay tuned to us for the most updated information. However, there are times that no matter what year it is, the parks will be busy including:

• Holiday Weekends (President’s Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend)
• Spring break
• Summer break
• Holidays (Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s, etc.)

For those of you going during one of these notoriously busy times, you’ll really want to use these tools to maximize your time in the parks.

• Rope Drop: Get to the park at least 30 minutes before the opening time. You’ll be one of the first in the park and can typically head to a popular ride with a short wait time.
• Early Theme Park Entry: Disney World hotel guests can get into the parks 30 minutes before the opening at each park. This is a great way to get a head start from the regular park crowd.
• Staying until close: We usually see a dip in wait times at the end of the night as people make their way out of the park. As long as you hop in line before the park closes, you’ll be allowed to ride.
• Genie+: The skip-the-line service can be a very useful tool when mixed with standby lines. It is an extra cost but could be especially worth it during busy times of the year.

If you go during a typical off-season, it may be easier to do everything you want to do in a day. But, we do recommend using some of the tips above no matter what time of year.

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2024 is set to be an exciting year in Disney World, and as usual, we’ll be covering all of the changes the new year brings. Keep following AllEars for more Disney content!

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What is a strategy you use for Disney World rides? Let us know in the comments!

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