Walt Disney World 2024: 5 New Things At Walt Disney World In 2024!

Walt Disney World 2024

Since its grand opening in 1971, Walt Disney World Resort has remained an unparalleled symbol of enchantment and imagination, captivating the hearts of millions of visitors each year. The year of 2024 will be no different. Here are five new things coming to Walt Disney World Parks in 2024.

Park Reservations Lifted

After re-opening from the pandemic, Disney introduced the park reservation system. In addition to buying tickets, guests would book a reservation for the park they wanted to visit and which day. This was an excellent way to keep track of capacity. This system meant that guests knew in advanced which park they would be able to get into which day.

However, there were some downsides. Some guests hate having to plan out every single minute of their vacation. Some like to wake up in the morning and decide which park they want to go to based on their current vibes. Now, they have to make that decision months in advance.

Fortunately, Walt Disney World is lifting some of the park reservation restrictions in 2024. Now, you will no longer need to make a park reservation so long as you purchase a date-based ticket. Date-based tickets mean that you have a specific “start date” selected when you can start using your purchased ticket through a designated window. Most tickets purchased through the Walt Disney World website will be date-based.

Annual pass holders will still need to make reservations on specific days. Park hopper tickets may also need a park reservation for the first park of the day. Be sure to check for details at the time of your ticket purchase.

All Day Park Hopping Returns

The park reservation system introduced in 2020 also limited park hopping. Before, Disney had a park hopping ticket, which meant that your ticket could get you into multiple parks in one day. You could visit all 4 parks in one day if you wanted. You could go to Magic Kingdom for rope drop, eat lunch at Epcot, and then come back to the Magic Kingdom for fireworks at night.

In recent years, park hopping has been restricted. You could not hop until 2:00pm. So whichever park you started out in, you would have to stay there until at least 2:00pm. This new rule was a great annoyance to many guests. It requires much more planning than some may desire. Also, it creates another “rope drop” of sorts in the afternoon, leading to some chaos as new crowds try to enter the park all at once.

Luckily, Walt Disney World is lifting this park hopping restriction in 2024. Now, guests can hop over to which ever park they want to, when they want to. Although, you may still have to make a reservation for your first park of the day. Disney Darling even made a prediction last year that free-range park hopping would return soon.

Free-range park hopping means less planning for guests as they can go with the flow. This is perhaps the change in 2024 that Walt Disney World goers are most excited about.

Disney Dining Plan Returns

Another element taken away from us in 2020 to return to us in 2024 is the Disney Dining Plan. The Disney Dining Plan means you will pay a fee up front and receive a certain number of meals and snacks. Then, you just use your Magic Band to “pay” for your food. The dining plan is not necessarily a money saver, but many guests love it because of the sheer convenience.

Some guests even wait for special deals to purchase the dining plan. Are you subscribed to Disney+? Then you can get a free dining plan with the purchase of a 4-day Walt Disney World vacation package.

There are two dining plan options to select from. The standard dining plan includes 1 meal at a table service restaurant and 1 meal at a quick-service restaurant per day. The quick-service dining plan includes 2 meals at quick-service restaurants per day.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Perhaps the biggest thing coming to Walt Disney World in 2024 is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This will be sort of a re-vamp of the classic Splash Mountain. The basic ride layout and drop will still be there, but now you will see characters from Princess and the Frog. Splash Mountain closed in early 2023, and construction started right away. So far, Disney has given no official opening date for Tiana’s, but it is expected to open in fall 2024.

Splash Mountain is an iconic ride at Magic Kingdom. Guests will be excited to be able to ride it again, even if looks different. Splash Mountain (Tiana’s Version) is highly anticipated. The opening day will surely be crazy crowded.

Epcot Construction To Be Completed

Epcot has been under construction for what feels like forever. Epcot was supposed to receive a major makeover with new attractions and an updated Future World, all in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021. That, of course, didn’t happen.

Construction still moved ahead, but at a very slow pace. All of the construction walls around Epcot garnered many jokes between Walt Disney World fans over the last 5 years. It’s gotten to the point where some guests will miss the construction walls, as they have become an icon in their own right by now.

Over the years, the walls have slowly come down to reveal a new Club Cool, a new gift shop, a new Starbucks, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride, and a new garden area for guests to enjoy.

The last element to be completed is Communicore Plaza and Communicore Hall. Communicore Plaza will be an outdoor event stage to hold shows during festivals. Communicore Hall will be an exhibition space. And because this is Epcot, there will also be a bar inside. This was announced to be completed in 2023, but the project has been extended. Hopefully it will be completed in time to be used for Epcot’s Flower and Garden festival.

Of course, there were many other things supposed to be added, including a Mary Poppins attraction and a Spaceship Earth re-vamp. Disney has been very quiet about these over the years, and so it has been implied that these projects have been cancelled. Hopefully, Communicore is the last work of construction in Epcot for a while.

To read more about what’s coming to Walt Disney World in 2024, check out these posts:

Epcot 2024

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney's Hollywood Studios 2024

Magic Kingdom 2024