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OVERVIEW: SEPTEMBER 2017 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews September 2017 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

September combines low crowds with low prices, and typically also has OK room rates and free dining deals as well.

This makes it a great month for returning visitors.

But it has lousy weather, combining continuing summer heat and humidity with the peak of the hurricane season, making me not so keen on the month for first time visitors who may never return.

[Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD’S 2017 INTERNATIONAL FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL AT EPCOT

Every year from late summer into mid-November Walt Disney World presents the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

In 2017, the Festival will run from August 31st through November 13th.

There are two components to the festival, one available to all Epcot visitors, and another made up of a bunch of events which have limited capacity and require reservations.

Neither has an extra ticket admission cost–you get to participate by virtue of your theme park ticket–but there are cash costs for the food, beer and wine, and for entry to some special shows and events. [Read more →]

As expected, on February 12, 2017 Disney World put into place new ticket prices.

There’s a couple of new twists to the ticketing model, too—multi-day tickets now have an expiration date (12/31/2018 at the moment) and those buying three day and longer ticket options will pay an extra $20 if they do not get their tickets in advance and online.

The full set of new multi-day Disney World ticket prices is here.

A couple of observations about this latest price increase:

• While short non-hopper tickets showed some price stability and even decreases, four day and longer non-hopper tickets—the sort most will buy—went up 8% to 11.5%
• The biggest driver of this is a major increase in the cost of the fourth ticket day, which for those 10 and older went from $346.13 to $372.75 (up $26.63).
• On top of this increase to a four day ticket, Disney World increased the cost to add days 5 through 7—from $15.98 a day to $21.30 per day, or an increase of $5.33 per day.

Here’s a chart of the increases in prices compared to the last set of prices by length of ticket in days for non-hopper tickets. Price increases for tickets for those 10 and older are in blue, and kids 3-9 in red.

In addition, Park Hopper prices went up more than $10 for tickets longer than three days, so Park Hopper tickets show as a result an increase in four day and longer tickets of 9% to 12%.

I had expected Disney World to shift to seasonal pricing for multi-day tickets in this round. Instead, the main package change is the new expiration date. This date of course allows it to enforce seasonal multi-day prices later. (The price of totally unused expired tickets can be credited towards the price of new tickets.)

These price increases are quite steep. In business terms, they allow Disney to recapture the value of the investment it is putting into the Animal Kingdom park, with Pandora opening in late May 2017, and into Hollywood Studios, with Toy Story Land there perhaps opening in 2018.

It also creates headroom for when, and if, it changes multi-day tickets to seasonal pricing, allowing “value season” dates to show little increase…at least the first year…

My friends at the Official Ticket Center likely will have tickets at the older price levels available for a bit.

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DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

While Halloween itself is October 31st of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Halloween celebration at the Magic Kingdom many evenings in 2017 from late August until the first of November.

This celebration is called “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party,” or “MNSSHP” for short.

At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open, and trick or treating, special events, and different parades and fireworks are offered.

The official Disney World page for this event can be found here.

Click the images below for the 2017 offerings.

And you can find a review of the 2017 MNSSHP party here.

MORE ON MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY IN 2017

[Read more →]

Hey–ticket prices went up on February 11. I’ll revise this material shortly to reflect the new levels.

WALT DISNEY WORLD 2018 ADMISSION TICKET PRICES

(This page is sponsored by the Official Ticket Center. Check them out for reliably lower-priced Disney World tickets!)

Three types of Walt Disney World prices are important to think about:

• Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices—the tickets that grant you admission to the parks
• Walt Disney World resort hotel prices, and
• Park and hotel food prices

This page focuses on Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices from now until they go up again, likely in early 2018.

MORE DETAILS ON WALT DISNEY WORLD ADMISSION TICKET PRICES  2018: HOW THE TICKETS WORK

There are multiple types of Walt Disney World theme park tickets, but the one most relevant to most first time visitors is the Magic Your Way ticket, with or without the Park Hopper option.

You buy one theme park ticket for each person who will be three years old or older at the time of your visit (kids younger than three enter the parks for free.) The tickets have two pricing levels: one for kids who will be younger than ten at the time of your visit (but 3 or older) and the other for people ten or older.

When you buy your tickets, you also say how many “days” you want—from one to ten. Each “day” you buy permits unlimited visits to one theme park on one day. If you also add the Park Hopper option, you can make unlimited visits to any of the theme parks in one day–one theme park, two, three, or all four theme parks.

• For example, if you buy a three day ticket without the park hopper option, you could make two visits to the Magic Kingdom on day one, three visits to Epcot on day two, and two visits to the Animal Kingdom on day 3
• If you have a three day ticket with the park hopper option, you could for example make two visits to the Magic Kingdom and one to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on day one, one visit to Epcot and two to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on day two, and one to Epcot and two to the Magic Kingdom on day three
• What you can’t do without a park hopper ticket is visit more than one theme park on the same day. For example, you can’t, on November 25th, use one day of your three-day ticket to visit the Magic Kingdom, and another day of this same ticket to visit Epcot that same day. More than one theme park in a day requires a park hopper

You do not have to use your days all in a row boom boom boom—e.g. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Once you use your first day, you have 14 days to use all the days on your ticket. So on a three-day ticket you could visit the theme parks Monday, Thursday, and Sunday.

• You can also add days at the same price that you would have paid had you bought all those days at once, but have to do so no later than the day you use the last day of your original ticket (and within 14 days of the first day, and before the tickets expire–12/31/2018 for tickets bought now)
• So if you buy a three-day ticket, and realize a few days later that you need more days, you can add two days and they will cost only the difference between what you paid originally for a three day ticket, and what you would have had to have paid for a five day ticket, so long as you add these days no later than the day you use your third day
• You can also add stuff like the Park Hopper during the same day window at the same price as you would have paid when you first bought your ticket

However, you can’t “subtract” days if you overbuy.

HOW WALT DISNEY WORLD PRICES ITS THEME PARK ADMISSION TICKETS

1. While Disney typically increases ticket prices at least once a year–late February in 2014 through 2016, and early February in 2017—it changes theme park admission prices based on the seasons of the year only for One Day tickets, which also have another curious characteristic–different prices for the Magic Kingdom vs the other three parks. Multi-day tickets–which most people buy–are the same price whenever you plan to visit, but as of February 12, 2017 do have an expiration date–12/31/2019 for tickets purchased in 2018 (after then, you can trade in the value of unused expired tickets towards a new ticket.)

(Note that all my prices assume you buy online; as of February 2017 most in-person purchases cost an extra $20.)

2. Disney sells tickets by the day—one through ten days. The way it prices these days, the first four days are very expensive, while days after the fourth are comparatively almost free. See the image for exact Disney World prices.

For example, a four day ticket costs (including tax) an adult $372.75, or an average of $93.19 a day. A ten day ticket would cost the same adult $468.60. The added 6 days cost in total around $96 more—or just about $16 per day. For a 4-6 day ticket, it costs $21.30/day/person to add more days–and on and after the 7th day, just $10.65/day/person to add days.

3. A park hopper costs (after tax) about $80 for all ticket lengths longer than three days..

I have also uploaded an excel spreadsheet with the same data in it as the chart, so that you can multiply by the number of members of your own family.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD THEME PARK TICKETS

There are other ticket types than the ones discussed above—less relevant for first time visitors. For details on all of them, see this page on MouseSavers.com.

While it’s hard to find discounts on tickets, it is sometimes possible, especially for longer-stay tickets. Check sponsor the Official Ticket Center, MouseSavers.com, Triple A if you are a member, and if you have military ties, this page and also MilitaryDisneyTips.com.

Since you can add on to your tickets–days, park hoppers, etc.–but can’t subtract, it doesn’t really pay to overbuy. Start with the minimum you think you need (but at least two days) and add on later if needed.  Remember to add no later than the day you use your current last day!

All of this site’s To-Do Lists tell you exactly what ticket type you need for their associated itineraries.

FREE TICKETS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?

Disney world no longer offers free tickets on your birthday.

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

SIR MICKEYS’ IN FANTASYLAND

By Jim Korkis

When EuroDisneyland (now Disneyland Paris) opened in April 1992, one of the merchandise shops in Fantasyland was Sir Mickey’s Boutique. The Imagineers created a delightful mash-up of two of Mickey Mouse’s most popular cartoons, Mickey and the Beanstalk and The Brave Little Tailor, to create the medieval-themed location.

(c) Disney

The Brave Little Tailor (1938) was an adaptation of the classic fairy tale with Mickey Mouse in the role of the peasant tailor who is mistaken to be a killer of giants and sent to deal with a giant bothering the kingdom.

Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947) is a twist on the famous story of Jack and the Beanstalk with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy climbing a magical beanstalk to confront the giant who has stolen the magical singing harp that brought happiness to Happy Valley.

The end of the cartoon has Willie the Giant who has fallen off the beanstalk visiting the narrator’s house and pulling off the top of the roof to peer in and ask where Mickey Mouse is.

This clever idea for a merchandise shop was adapted for Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland.

Prior to becoming Sir Mickey’s, the location had actually been two separate shops that had opened during the first year the Magic Kingdom welcomed guests. One was a merchandise shop called The AristoCats. The other shop was Merlin’s Magic Shop selling magic tricks and novelties. In 1986, this shop was converted into Mickey’s Christmas Carol Store.

In 1996, the two shops were rehabbed and merged together as one shop called Sir Mickey’s, featuring wonderful little touches that referenced both of Mickey’s medieval tales. What makes this shop special isn’t the merchandise but the design and theme of the store itself.

The shop has one of the most beautiful facades, blending in perfectly with the fantasy medieval courtyard, with its turrets, stone-like brick construction and the ancient looking glass in the windows.

However, the most prominent feature is the ever-growing beanstalk as it twists and turns inside and outside the cottage pushing itself skyward. The monster vine has even ripped the Sir Mickey’s sign off the front of the building and is starting to carry it along.

The southern wing is obviously the armory where knights are suited for battle. Heavy beams and candle-filled iron chandeliers dominate the room. Scattered about are a selection of shields, armor and weaponry awaiting use to battle the giant. The low ceilings make the large space feel more intimate.

This area flows into the northern section where the exterior signage and window displays pay more homage to the tale of Mickey as a tailor. Even the image of Mickey leaning on large shears is inspired from publicity art for the short cartoon. His eyes are the famous pie-eyes from when the cartoon was made.

One display window depicts Mickey’s workshop with sewing table, shears, fabrics and threads, along with a clever hand lettered sign proclaiming “Out Giant Hunting. Back Soon!” There are even sketches of garments he has made or plans to make.

Interestingly, this shop used to provide custom embroidery on items like Mickey ears, a service quite in keeping with the theme of a tailor shop. The clocks have hands that are the blades from a pair of scissors. However, there are also elements from the Beanstalk cartoon including a framed picture of Happy Valley and a set of keys that were instrumental in the rescue of the harp.

The windows feature three-dimensional figures of the Disney characters all attired in medieval clothing from Princess Minnie to Donald Duck as a bold knight in armor.

Inside the shop, Mickey, holding a lantern is standing on a bend of the beanstalk while Willie the Giant, just like in the original cartoon is lifting the roof to peak inside.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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