TouringPlans Travel Beat 7-27-2024

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!

• Super Hot Florida Resident Ticket at Universal Orlando
• Deadpool Meet & Greet at Disneyland(s)
• Disneyland Workers Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
• Universal Orlando Announces Passholder Appreciation Days
• Southwest Airlines Discontinues Open Seating
• HHN: Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines House Announced
• Haunted Mansion Holiday Will Use A Virtual Queue (Only)
• The Month of Zebras at Disney World
• Headline News Recap

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

Super Hot Florida Resident Ticket at Universal Orlando

OK, you need to be living in Florida to love this, but it is a banger deal! The 2 Park Unlimited Days ticket is just $199 per adult (plus tax), and gives you unlimited admission to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure from now through December 18, 2024. At the end of the year, trade it in for a $100 discount on a 2025 Universal Orlando Annual Pass. Not available at the gate, but you can purchase online. Of course, suitable proof of residency is required.

Deadpool Meet & Greet at Disneyland(s)

With the launch of Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters, the popular characters have also come to the parks. At Disney California Adventure, Deadpool will host story hour from his favorite cozy reading chair. Story Time with Deadpool will have occasional drop-in visits from Wolverine, and both characters might make appearances in other entertainment or simply out and about in Avengers Campus. These are limited-time offerings, but an end date has not been announced.

At Disneyland Paris, Deadpool is on his own, but you’ll similarly be able to meet him or see him join select entertainment offerings at Avengers Campus. You can find him in France through September 15.

Disneyland Workers Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Last week we brought you news that four unions at Disneyland had voted to authorize a strike; this week the outlook is better. Disneyland and the unions have reached a tentative contract agreement that will avert any labor actions. The agreement will be put to a union vote on July 29, but it’s expected to receive approval.

Universal Orlando Announces Passholder Appreciation Days

Passholders, get ready to appreciate – and be appreciated! – as Universal Orlando’s Passholder Appreciation Days will return from August 15 through September 30, 2024.

Look forward to:

• Complimentary Passholder Nights events on August 16 & 17 at Universal Studios Florida
• Special limited-time discounts throughout the resort
• Passholder Buttons to commemorate the event
• Limited time menu offerings at the parks and Citywalk
• Access to special dining spaces at Confisco Grille and Lombard’s Seafood Grille
• … and more.

Southwest Airlines Discontinues Open Seating

Southwest is a favorite of many Orlando travelers, but fliers either love or hate its open seating policy. So some will lament and some will rejoice to hear that the airline is moving to assigned seating and reconfiguring its cabins to offer about a third of its seats with additional legroom. We’re sure there will be an upcharge for that, but you can expect these changes to go into effect sometime in 2025.

HHN: Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines House Announced

The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula’s Daughter, She-Wolf of London and Anck-Su-Namun are a formidable female monster lineup, and this fall they’ll have their own House at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. The House will be an HHN feature at both Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. At USH, the house will have an added twist: location, location, location! The house will be placed within Sound Stage 12 on the studio back lot, where the Universal horror classics Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) were filmed.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Will Use A Virtual Queue (Only)

Haunted Mansion holiday will be returning on July 29, a few weeks before the official start of the fall season at Disneyland on August 23. That’s great news! The less-great news: it was previously announced that it would not have a Lightning Lane immediately on its return, and now we’ve learned there will only be a Virtual Queue. This isn’t a permanent state of affairs; it’s due to ongoing work in the attraction’s queue area that has limited the space for waiting in line. The queue will open twice a day: at 7 am for anyone with appropriate park admission and reservations, and at noon for those who have already entered the parks. For more details, see Disneyland’s Virtual Queue page.

The Month of Zebras at Disney World

We admit it, we are suckers for baby animals. If we hear about Disney baby animal news, you can count on Travel Beat to cover it. Well, this news is not just one new baby, but four of them! Since June 13, the Hartmann’s mountain zebras at Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge have welcomed four new babies to their ranks. Here’s the roster and where you can see these cuties on your visit. Zebras at the Harambe Wildlife Preserve can be seen from the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction at Animal Kingdom.

• June 13, Penne, savannas at Animal Kingdom Lodge
• July 8, (male, name not announced by Disney), savannas at Animal Kingdom Lodge
• July 8, Cada, Harambe Wildlife Preserve at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• July 16, (male, name not announced by Disney), shortly at Harambe Wildlife Preserve at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We have no idea why Disney didn’t announce the names of the male zebras, but we do know something cool about the two foals at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Penne’s mother Heidi is the grandmother of the male foal, so there are three generations on the Lodge savannas now!

Headline News Recap

As Disney Cruise Line builds its fleet, it seems like new ship news is thicker and faster every day. We Have a Date for Destiny – The Disney Destiny Cruise Ship

The big news of course was the launch of Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass this week. In addition to observing some – one can only call it “weird stuff that we don’t think will persist(*) – we updated our walkthrough for Disneyland and wrote a brand-new one for Disney World.

• How to Use Lightning Lane at Disneyland
• How to Use Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disney World: Step by Step

(*) Wondering what that means, “weird stuff that we dont’ think will persist”? Well, on opening day at 6 pm, Multi Pass was available for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run but It’s Tough to Be A Bug was totally sold out. Disney is clearly still … tinkering … with capacity. At least, we hope so.

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