TouringPlans Travel Beat 12-1-2024

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? (Sneak peek: with the holidays on deck, it was pretty slow.) 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!

• Dates for Destination D23 in 2025
• Disneyland Haunted Mansion Finishes Queue Construction, Axes Virtual Queue
• Discontinued Disney Vacation Club Project is Reborn
• Membership Magic Beyond Annual Pass Point Prices Revealed
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Sold Out for 2025
• Headline News Recap

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

Dates for Destination D23 in 2025

Destination D23, the East Coast little sibling to the D23 Expo, has announced dates for 2025. The event will be held from August 29-31, 2025 at Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort. D23 says that this year’s event will be bigger than ever (more than doubling in size), and for those wishing to attend there is a reserved block of rooms.

Disneyland Haunted Mansion Finishes Queue Construction, Axes Virtual Queue

Construction on the Haunted Mansion queue has finished at Disneyland, and as of November 26 the ride has switched off its Virtual Queue. Guests using a mobility device can now use the main queue and entrance when riding, and will depart afterward using a new accessible elevator exit. Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond, the new merchandise location, is projected to open sometime this winter.

Discontinued Disney Vacation Club Project is Reborn

Rumors below the level that we report even here at Travel Beat have been flying around for months, bolstered by visible construction equipment on the site of Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge resort. If you’re new to the Disney scene, this was a previously announced Disney Vacation Club resort that was quietly removed from the construction roster during the pandemic, so the flurry of permits and construction has led to general speculation that the resort was back on the plan.

Well, this week Disney confirmed that the project is once again going forward and projected to open in 2027 under a new name: Disney Lakeshore Lodge. Other details are skimpy, which is to be expected as Disney doesn’t want to overshadow the upcoming debut of the Island Tower at the Polynesian. But we in the Disney blogger-verse would like to take a moment to thank Disney for bucking a recent Disney trend and giving it a name with only five syllables.

Membership Magic Beyond Annual Pass Point Prices Revealed

Back in October, Disney announced a new upcharge tier of Membership Extras: Membership Magic Beyond. The features list included the ability to buy the Sorcerer Annual Pass (only available to DVC Members and Florida Residents) for points instead of cash, but didn’t specify the price. Today we know that the cost of a new pass is 75 points and a renewal is 65 points.

Like most ways to use points that aren’t staying at DVC resorts, you’ll likely come out ahead if you rent your points and use the resulting cash to pay for the pass. But there’s value to convenience, so it’s nice to have an option for those who don’t want to deal with the rental market. Eligible Members can purchase for Membership Magic Beyond for $99 starting December 3, 2024, for use from January 12 through December 31, 2025.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Sold Out for 2025

If you slept in on buying your Mickey’s Very Merry tickets we have some unfortunate news for you. As of earlier this week, every date for this year’s party is showing as sold out. Jollywood Nights (the “other” holiday party at Disney World) still has tickets available on select dates.

Headline News Recap

Everyone was busy eating turkey … no headlines this week!

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