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What’s coming to Walt Disney World in 2023 – PREP 335

What’s coming to Walt Disney World in 2023 – PREP 335

Hear from the WDW Prep School Team as they recap 2022! It is so nice to have things to look forward to after coming out of the closures.

Introductions

Heather is the editor of the webinar and handles all things website! She writes a lot of the articles on the website and ensures that things are working properly on the website. She has been on the team for 8 years.

Allyson is over getting the news out. She shares the news via all of our social media outlets and the website. She also does a lot of updates and writing for the website. She has been on the team since summer of 2019.

Felicia is our content manage. She handles content management and project organization. She manages the database and keeps things organized. Felicia has been on the team since May of 2018 but recently started full-time.

The Year of Reopenings

Shannon is very excited that the shows have come back! She is especially excited to have Finding Nemo back at Animal Kingdom.

Allyson is so excited to have the parties back in full force. Heather agrees and adds that she’s thankful to have the characters meeting again, especially for character dining experiences.

Felicia hasn’t been able to get to Fantasmic since it opened yet, but she’s really excited to finally have it back.

Now that things have reopened, it does change things in the park. It changes where crowds go and the energy within the park.

New Openings This Year

Cosmic Rewind has been a wonderful new ride at Epcot this year. Everyone agrees that it is an awesome ride and Heather likes the chicken exit – it’s not a great ride for those with motion sickness!

Connections Eatery has good food and modern aesthetic. It’s a great place to sit and relax – especially if you’ve recently come off of Cosmic Rewind.

Cosmic Rewind Entrance

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Adventure also opened this year in March. This is not one that the WDW Prep team has tried yet. They’ve heard excellent things from people who have visited.

Future Excitement in 2023

Roundup Rodeo BBQ at Hollywood Studios was scheduled to be done this year, but an exact opening date hasn’t been announced for 2022. There wasn’t an update at D23 Expo.

Ducktales World Showcase Adventure was also scheduled to open this year. It was recently added to the My Disney Experience App. It will be a scavenger hunt experience in the World Showcase that can be experienced in the app.

Happily Ever After is coming back. What a tease it was to have it go away, seemingly forever, only for it to be announced as coming back! Shannon is excited to see it back in April.

TRON is also scheduled to open in the Spring of 2023. Once TRON opens, the train will be back and the whole team is very excited for it – especially Heather! The first thing everyone requested on their team VIP tour at Disneyland was to ride the train!

Tron lightcycle power run ride vehicles

Someday the walls will come down at Epcot and that is so exciting! Journey of Water has already begun construction, so some walls will still be up for a while.

The Figment Meet and Greet will be opening sometime in late 2023 as well. Everyone at D23 Expo was very excited…except Allyson.

Harmonious is ending and this is a sad surprise. The team really liked Harmonious so it is sad to see it go. It’s a great show and incorporates the World Showcase in such a beautiful way. However, it might mean that the barges go away, which will be nice.

World Celebration (the middle of Epcot) is opening sometime in 2023, which will be so nice because you’ll finally be able to walk through the middle of Epcot! It is going to make the flow in Epcot really change and make things a lot easier.

D23 Expo also announced that the Hatbox Ghost was coming to Haunted Mansion in 2023. The addition of Hatbox Ghost to Haunted Mansion in Disney World will only make that attraction even better!

After Hours Events are coming back in 2023. When these were available before, Shannon and the team really enjoyed these. They are excited to see how they are when they come back.

Announcements for 2024+

Splash Mountain will be closing to be reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Everyone is excited about this because it’s such a long ride and they hope it’s going to be really beautiful. Perhaps a restaurant or French Quarter style food option will be coming with it!

tiana's bayou adventure new concept art

The Polynesian will be receiving a DVC tower – this is controversial announcement. The fear is that it might change the skyline and view of the Polynesian. The Disneyland Tower is also receiving a DVC tower, but it is a series of towers, so it won’t be much of a change.

Things that were announced…

It had previously announced that Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge would be built at Wilderness Lodge was cancelled.

In addition, prior to the pandemic shutdown, Spaceship Earth was scheduled to close for refurbishment and that has been cancelled.

There has been no word of the Mary Poppins area announced for Epcot as well. It wasn’t ever clear what that area would be, either.

The Play Pavilion at Epcot is still on the map and was announced at D23 Expo many years ago, but there is still no announcement of opening.

Parking Lot trams are open at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but have not reopened at Hollywood Studios or Epcot. Is it staffing reasons that they haven’t come back? No one is sure.

Tours are coming back, so maybe they can bring the trams back as a tour! (Heather would like to operate them for a day!)

Quick Tip

When you are at a restaurant with a fixed price menu, you can ask for your check at any time during your meal. This will help speed things up when you are ready to leave.

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Shannon Albert