Extra park hours are returning for Disney resort guests!

• Early Park Entry: Since the parks reopened, we haven't had any type of Extra Magic Hours, which are times when the parks are open only to guests staying at a Disney resort or certain Disney partner resorts. But we've just gotten word that Early Park Entry will be returning starting October 1st. Extra Magic Hours used to be one hour in the morning and it would only be offered at one park each day. This always had a downside, as that park would draw higher crowd levels that day, so even though you got the extra hour, sometimes the park would be more crowded that day, somewhat offsetting the benefit. Many planners often debated whether it was a good strategy to go to the park with the extra hour or avoid it. Well, now that won't be an issue. Resort guests will get extra time every morning, at every park, but only at certain select attractions (so not the entire park). These will likely include many of the headliners you would most be interested in doing at opening anyway, but we don't yet have details on that. We also don't know at this point how that will work with other guests and how it will change "rope drop". More details on this will probably be coming as it gets closer.

Disney is definitely using the hype of the anniversary celebration (also beginning Oct. 1st) to entice guests to stay on-site. And I would say it's a pretty solid marketing tool. If you're visiting that week, and if you want to be sure and experience everything special for the celebration, it would probably be smart to have a Disney resort room booked so you'll be able to have whatever advantage that may give you over the likely max-capacity crowds that will be here that week. And if those crowds worry you, consider visiting any other time after the first week or so. The celebration lasts for 18 months, so you have plenty of time to experience it. Disney's article on this is here.

• Extended Evening Hours for Deluxe Resorts: Also in that same article, Disney said they will be starting another new perk, Starting in early October, guests staying at one of our Disney Deluxe Resort hotels will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks. When they used to do Extra Magic Hours, it typically included a few times each week of bonus park hours at night after normal closing time. Now it seems they will be bringing this back, but only as a perk for guests staying in a Deluxe level resort. The downside of this is that you'll have to pay higher prices for this perk, the upside is if you do, these hours will have a fairly small amount of people that can use them, making for potentially 'walk-on" wait times. Which could be a huge perk for sure. They've said that again, more details will be coming soon. This would be an ideal perk for those that aren't big on getting up super early, and like staying at the parks late, They can have a window of time to get some of those super popular rides done with lower waits without arriving really early to do them. But if you have little ones that would be asleep by 9 pm or so, it maybe wouldn't be as much value for you.

• Disney Dining Plan Will Return: Also in that same article, Disney says that the Dining Plan will be returning which is good news to hear that confirmed. However, we still don't know when. They state "While we’re not quite ready to share an update on timing, we are planning to bring this guest-favorite option back at a later date." So, it IS returning. And we'll have to wait and see when. I would guess that this will be available to guests by the anniversary in October at the latest, so it's likely we will get updates on this in the near future.

• More Dining Reopens: Lots of them in this latest update, including fan-favorite Casey's Corner which is now open, Plaza Ice Cream on Main Street which opens July 7th, and Trails End at the Campgrounds opening July 17th. See the full list here.

• Run Disney is Back: They've released a full set of dates for upcoming in-person races all beginning this November. See the full list here.

• Coco Scene Update to Philharmagic: The classic Fantasyland 3-D movie Philharmagic is getting a new scene added from the movie Coco, which will include the musical number “Un Poco Loco”. The new scene will be added in time for the anniversary in October.

In case you missed it:

• More details for the 50th Anniversary: Mickey and friends will get some new outfits like in the photo above, and will have a new cavalcade that will go through the park several times per day with them. Think of this as an updated "Move it, Shake it" type of mini-parade. Also, there will be Golden character sculptures - 50 characters total in this series of sculptures that will be displayed across all four theme parks. See all the details on the 50th and new concept art over at Disney Parks Blog

• Mask Relaxation Continues Beginning Tuesday, June 15th masks are now optional in most areas of Walt Disney World resort for vaccinated guests. The only areas where they will be required is transportation including Disney buses, monorails, and the Disney Skyliner. See the official update to the guidelines on Disney's site here.

• Fireworks are back: starting July 1st at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Details can be found here.

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