Be PREPARED: The 2024 Holidays Could Be Very Different in Disney World

We may just be at the start of the Halloween season at Disney World, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the holidays!

The holiday season can be a wonderful time to visit Disney World. From special holiday parties to gorgeous décor to ride holiday overlays, you can always count on Disney World showing up and showing out during the holiday season. However, the holidays might look a little different at Disney World in 2024.

A lot has happened at Disney World since the last holiday season. In fact, so much has happened that this year’s Disney World holiday festivities will look a little bit different. 

New rides, heavy expectations, and general Disney operations have changed how we do Disney World, and it’s safe to expect those changes will carry over into the holiday season.

New Lightning Lane System

Though a bit obvious, the clearest change you’ll see this holiday season at Disney World is the absence of Genie+ and the new-ish Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass allows you to plan ahead of your visit and choose up to three (3) multi pass experiences and arrival windows in a Disney World theme park. Working similarly to FastPass+, this paid service has a ride-tier system and gives you the comfort of securing up to three Lightning Lane reservations days before your visit, which has mostly been a welcomed change.

You can learn more about Lightning Lane Multi Pass by clicking the link below!

Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass

On the flip side, Lightning Lane Single Pass works incredibly similar to how Individual Lightning Lanes worked.

The major change here is that you can select reservations ahead of your visit and selections are limited to up to two (2) per person per day and eligible with more in-demand attractions such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle / Run.

You can learn more about this service by clicking the link below.

Disney Genie: Lightning Lane Single Pass

A New Ride and Possible Virtual Queue Changes

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened this summer at Magic Kingdom so, naturally, it will factor into the holiday season.

Whether the exterior gets decked out or the ride changes to reflect the holiday season in any way remains to be seen. However, one thing we can speculate on looking different is the way you board the ride.

Right now, to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure you need to use the My Disney Experience app to join a virtual queue or reserve your spot with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Interestingly, however, is how Disney has gone about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue since the ride opened. Officially from Disney, “A standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days.”

Tiana’s Bayou will be fairly established by the time the holiday season rolls around, perhaps taking it out of that “opening days” window. Even if the virtual queue remains in place the rest of the year, the ride (in addition to TRON Lightcycle / Run) has switched to a standby line for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, indicating it could possibly do the same for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Either way, this is something to keep an eye on as the year progresses.

Disney Jollywood Nights Better Deliver

2023 gave us the debut of Disney Jollywood Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and it was met with a less-than-stellar reception.

Cited as too expensive, limited in entertainment, crowded, and tight in space, Jollywood Nights quickly became a controversial Disney Party.

However, Disney World confirmed the return of Jollywood Nights in 2024, and with a year under its belt, fans will expect a more universally appealing event or abandon it altogether. 

Last year’s event was mostly criticized for being too expensive for what it’s offering and this year’s event hasn’t budged on the price, ranging from $159 to $179 depending on the night. However, it needs to be said that as of this writing, NONE of the nights have sold out so it’s possible interest has diminished.

Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see what Jollywood Nights looks like this year. Disney has teased some returning experiences as well as some new ones, so we’ll get to see if the event has been finetuned in 2024!

Click below to learn more about Disney Jollywood Nights!

Your Guide to Jollywood Nights!

Future Construction Might Be Underway

During this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Disney unveiled several new projects coming to Disney World, including a Villains-themed land and Cars makeover for Frontierland in Magic Kingdom, a new Spaceship Earth Lounge at EPCOT, the Tropical Americas land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and a Monsters, Inc. land coming to Hollywood Studios.

Does this mean we’ll see a ton of construction? It’s unlikely anything outrageous will be seen for quite some time, as several of these projects are slated to begin construction next year.

With that said, abrupt closures and walled-off areas are not out of the question. With projects that don’t have set-in-stone timelines like the Animal Kingdom expansion, we could also see rides like DINOSAUR, which is officially slated to be replaced, close at any point — even this year.

It’s important to stay flexible and open to several possible closures and construction updates in the coming months. Massive Disney World changes are on the horizon and those changes will start going into effect before we know it.

9 MAJOR Announcements We’re Surprised Disney Left Out at D23

Regardless of any changes, we’re incredibly excited for this year’s holiday season at Disney World! Stay tuned right here at AllEars for all the latest Disney holiday updates, tips, and more!

DATES ANNOUNCED for 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in Disney World

What are you most excited to see during the holiday season at Disney World? Let us know in the comments!

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