TouringPlans Travel Beat 11-3-2024

At Travel Beat we have all the “other” news from the last week or so—the stuff that wasn’t big enough to stop the presses for. What did the newsroom bring us this week? Bullets are just ahead if you’re in a hurry, and more details follow below. Don’t forget to check out the Headline News Recap, in case there was something you missed!

• Universal Reveals First Look at Monsters Unchained
• Fall 2025 RunDisney Race Weekends Announced
• Swan and Dolphin Convention Center Expansion
• Holiday Happenings at Universal Orlando Resort
• Lightning Lane Premier Pass Debuts at Disney World
• Gingerbread Displays Going Up Around Disney World
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Will Use a Virtual Queue at Disneyland
• Satu’li Canteen Now Open for Breakfast
• Docking Bay 7 Dining Packages Now Available
• EPCOT Additions for Festival of the Holidays
• Limited-time Holiday Food at Disney World Resort
• Headline News Recap

Can you guess which story inspired this week’s cover image? Leave your guesses in the comments!

Universal Reveals First Look at Monsters Unchained

Epic Universe opens on May 22 next year, and Universal Orlando is starting to release details about some of the attractions. This week we got a preview of the “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment” attraction at Dark Universe. Guests will venture into the catacombs of Frankenstein Manor, where Victoria Frankenstein (great-great-granddaughter of the literary Henry) invites guests to witness her ability to control her depraved creations.

Shockingly, something goes wrong. Riders then take a terrifying trip through darkness as they try to stay out of the clutches of Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and more. Tap here for Universal’s sizzle reel.

For those sensitive souls not intrepid enough to brave Monsters Unchained, photo-ops with legendary Monsters will still be available throughout Dark Universe, one of Epic Universe’s five themed lands.

Fall 2025 RunDisney Race Weekends Announced

If you’re a runDisney person, mark the dates. The Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon weekend is September 4-7, 2025 with registration beginning in November of this year. At Disney World, the 2025 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend will be from October 23-26, with registration beginning in February of 2025.

Swan & Dolphin Convention Center Expansion

If you’re wondering about construction goings-on in the next little bit at the Swan and Dolphin, wonder no more. The Dolphin is building a new, two-story annex that will connect to their existing convention space. Doesn’t that atrium in the concept art below look pretty?

Alongside this new construction, the Swan’s meeting spaces will get a refresh, and all the guest rooms in the Swan are being remodeled as well. The guest room refresh will be completed by the end of this year, so if you’ve got a holiday trip you may find yourself in a newly redone room. All construction on the expansion project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Holiday Happenings at Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando is gearing up to celebrate Christmas (and other seasonal holidays), with Holidays at Universal dates and events announced this week. The event begins just before Thanksgiving on Friday, November 22, and runs daily through Tuesday, December 31.

Look for a lineup of merry and jolly experiences included free with park admission, including

• The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade
• The Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular, and the popular Grinch Meet & Greet
• Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s

and other food, beverage, seasonal merchandise and Meet & Greets (including Earl the Squirrel), and more. We’ll have a full article writeup with details coming soon, so if you’ve got an upcoming trip keep your eyes peeled here.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass Debuts at Disney World

Disney’s brand-new Lightning Lane product, aka the “skip all the lines, no face-in-phone required version”, was in use for the first time on Wednesday. (We should note, you still can’t skip all the lines. The Lightning Lane Premier Pass can only be used at attractions with a Lightning Lane, and you could still have to wait behind other people who are also in the Lightning Lane.) On opening day, prices were:

• Magic Kingdom: $329
• EPCOT: $169
• Hollywood Studios: $269
• Animal Kingdom: $129

Gingerbread Displays Going Up Around Disney World

Christmas arrives early at the Disney World Resort. In early October, merch starts to appear on the shelves at resorts and even in the parks. And then, just before Halloween, bakers begin to put together the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House. Our parks team grabbed the shot below earlier this week.

Each resort display is accompanied by sales of holiday treats, although not all locations sell from “inside” the display as they do in the Grand Floridian. Disney has announced opening dates for most of the resort gingerbread displays this year, along with sales lists.

• 11/6 Grand Floridian Resort | Grand Floridian Gingerbread House
  • Limited-edition collection of 25th anniversary merchandise including a pin, ornament, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and more
  • Gingerbread Mickey
  • Gingerbread Shingle
  • Stollen Bread
  • Brownie Pop
  • Gingersnap Cookies
  • Gingerbread House Ornament
  • Gingerbread House
  • Gingerbread Cookie Bags imported from Germany
  • Gingerbread Loaf
  • Peppermint Bark
  • Grand Floridian Gift Box featuring assorted fan favorite treats, including a Santa Gnome Hot Cocoa Surprise, exclusive to the Combo Box
• 11/8 Contemporary Resort | Castle Display
  • Limited-edition pins, cookie jar, and holiday ornament
  • Linzer Cookie
  • Caramel Apple Cake with Gingerbread Streusel
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Log
  • Pistachio Cranberry and Cherry Cake
  • Santa Peppermint Hot Chocolate Tart
  • House-made Christmas Tree Butter Cookie
  • Winter Berry Freeze (Alcoholic floater available)
  • Frozen Hot Cocoa (Alcoholic floater available)
• (No date) Beach Club Resort | Holiday Carousel
  • Limited-edition pin, cookie jar, and holiday ornament
  • Linzer Cookie
  • Spiced Orange and Cranberry Bundt Cake
  • Gingerbread Macarons
  • Hot Cocoa Brownie
  • Hannukah Sugar Cookie
  • Stollen
  • Gingerbread House
• 11/12 Boardwalk Inn | BoardWalk Deli Gingerbread House
  • Limited-edition pin, cookie jar, and holiday ornament
  • Holiday Mickey and Minnie Sugar Cookie
  • Mickey Caramel Corn Cookie
  • Gingerbread Loaf
  • Gingerbread Shingle
• 11/21 Wilderness Lodge | no display; lobby cart
  • Dark Chocolate Bar
  • Cheddar Gougère
  • Molasses Crackle Cookie
  • Cookie Box
• 11/24 Animal Kingdom Lodge | Life-Size Baby Gingerbread Giraffe and Baby Zebra
  • Limited-edition pin, cookie jar, and holiday ornament
  • Gingeraffe Cookie
  • Specialty Cocktails

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Will Use a Virtual Queue at Disneyland

To no one’s surprise, Disneyland has announced that when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens at Disneyland on November 15 it will use a Virtual Queue. No standby line will be available. The queue will be open twice daily, at 7 am and noon Pacific Time, and will also offer Lightning Lane as part of Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

For once, it’s a little more fair in Florida. Since Disney World dispensed with the Virtual Queue for TRON, guests don’t have to figure out how to ride both in one day. At Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion will still be using a Virtual Queue when Tiana’s opens, and guests wanting to ride both will only be able to be in one at a time.

Satu’li Canteen Now Open for Breakfast

There are several good breakfast options in Animal Kingdom, and if you’ve got a trip coming up you can look forward to another one! On Thursday, Satu’li Canteen reopened its breakfast menu. Guests can enjoy

• Tropical Pandoran Forest Fruits with fresh yogurt, muesli, and honey
• Cinnamon French Toast with blueberry cream cheese, passion fruit anglaise, and sausage
• Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder Potato Hash with chorizo sausage and charred onion sauce
• Vegetable-Goat Cheese Frittata with wood-fired beef tossed in chimichurri

Docking Bay 7 Dining Packages Now Available

Back in mid-September, Disneyland announced a new Star Wars fireworks dining package for viewing Fire of the Rising Moons. Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo Nighttime Gathering fireworks package reservations went online this week. The package costs $89 per person, due at time of booking, and November 8 is the earliest available date.

The package includes the following, with a selection of beer, wine, and hard seltzer available for an additional price.

• Fried Cheeseburger Croquette Bites
• Apricot goat cheese topped with honey, za’atar, sour cherry gel, cheddar, Monterey jack and pita chips
• Dragon fruit yogurt topped with lychee popping pearls and fresh blueberries
• Cream puff pair of Black Caf cold brew and blue milk flavors
• Unlimited fountain beverages
• Specialty nonalcoholic beverages in a souvenir novelty cup

EPCOT Additions for Festival of the Holidays

CommuniCore Hall has been the butt of quite a few jokes since it opened, as the gap between the concept art and the stark reality has been … stark. But maybe it’s about to turn the corner and come into its own as a Festival Center. This year for the Festival of the Holidays, guests can look forward to a giant gingerbread Spaceship Earth, two Holiday Kitchens, and more.

The gingerbread Spaceship Earth will be built out of almost a thousand individual gingerbread triangles. That’s 240 pounds of honey dough, 100 eggs, 100 ounces of lebkuchen spice, 55 pounds of dark chocolate, and 100 pounds of royal icing. And, chef’s kiss, it will light up and dance periodically throughout the day, just like the one outside does when the sun goes down. You’ll find the gingerbread triangles on sale at the new Experimental Prototype Cookies of Tomorrow Holiday Kitchen, along with a decorating kit.

Around the Hall, you’ll find twinkling trees: the Glittering Grove presented by Balsam Hill. Outside, you’ll find the other new Holiday Kitchen, Favorites of Festivals Past. At CommuniCore Plaza, there’s a free snowflake-decorating activity. And you can look for a new snow globe garden on the walkway between the Imagination Pavilion and World Showcase; Festive Fragrances presented by Scentsy. Find some of the seasonal scents on sale inside CommuniCore Hall along with other Festival merchandise.

Limited-time Holiday Food at Disney World Resort

Halloween is dead, long live the Christmas king! OK, just kidding, but after 3 months of pumpkin season we are ready to move on and it appears that Disney is too. This week they published the foodie guide (you can view it here) with the list of limited-time menu items that you’ll find throughout the resorts and Disney Springs for the holiday season.

There’s plenty of eye candy like the donut shot above, but if you don’t want to wade through the key takeaway is to check mobile order menus wherever you are. There might be something that strikes your sweet tooth, your snack tooth, or your save this treat for later tooth. Most items are available from November 1 to December 31.

Headline News Recap

Universal is embracing its horror history, leaning into the Monsters at Dark Universe. But this week the announcements were about the year-round Horror Unleashed property in Las Vegas. Universal Reveals New Details on Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas

That’s it for this week’s Travel Beat. What news are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!