Walt Disney World has revealed particulars about a few of the new perks and freebies throughout V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, together with a return of the fan-favorite lounge at EPCOT, reductions, and extra. This covers every thing we all know up to now, plus some hypothesis, and ideas on the lounge transferring to Morocco from Sunshine Seasons.
For starters, V.I.PASSHOLDER Days (or VIP Passholder Days, if you wish to sound it out and take away the yelling) is a limited-time providing only for Annual Passholders at Walt Disney World Resort. It’s the corporate’s means of claiming ‘thanks’ for being a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder!
V.I.Passholder Days will happen between Could 1 and June 26, 2024 at Walt Disney World. The in-park focus of the ‘occasion’ seems to be at EPCOT up to now, however like final 12 months, there’ll in all probability even be choices at Animal Kingdom. APs will have the ability to benefit from unique perks and reductions all through the parks and resorts in the course of the month-long appreciation occasion. Let’s dig into the small print, beginning with reductions…
The primary low cost that Walt Disney World has introduced for V.I.Passholder Days is 20% off choose kinds at DisneyStore.com from Could 5 to 24, 2024. That has a laundry listing of exclusions, most notably theme park tickets and present playing cards, in addition to just about any brand-new collaboration (e.g. LEGO) with Disney.
Past that, particulars about different in-park reductions for 2024 have NOT been revealed. Final 12 months throughout V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, the low cost at choose Disney-owned and operated merchandise areas throughout Walt Disney World Resort quickly elevated from 20% to 30%.
Additionally final 12 months, Annual Passholders might get pleasure from a rise from 10% to twenty% on reductions for meals and nonalcoholic drinks at choose areas all through Walt Disney World Resort. This 20% low cost utilized to the common value of meals and nonalcoholic drinks, excluding relevant tax and gratuity.
Annual Passholders additionally acquired 20% off at choose Outside Kitchens when utilizing a cashless type of fee throughout final 12 months’s V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. It stays to be seen which reductions are supplied in 2024, however our guess is a repeat of all three, with the final solely being supplied in the course of the tail finish of Flower & Backyard, and never in the course of the summer time competition…if there’s a summer time competition.
The massive growth for the 2024 V.I.Passholder Days is the lounge transferring to Morocco!
Final 12 months, this lounge was situated in Sunshine Seasons and was actually simply the facet seating space of Sunshine Seasons, roped off for APs. This space usually sits empty exterior of peak dates, however was jam-packed throughout final 12 months’s V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. It did provide up mild refreshments, however was nothing particular. I went there as soon as and didn’t trouble once more.
That was fairly the frustration for us. Previous to the placement being introduced as Sunshine Seasons, we had hoped it might be a revival of the Florida Blue Lounge in Morocco. That might’ve been superior. The Florida Blue Lounge has been supplied for the previous couple of EPCOT Meals & Wine Festivals, and is improbable. (It was initially in Norway earlier than Akershus reopened.)
Nicely, we’re belatedly getting our want! Walt Disney World has introduced the free AP lounge might be inside Restaurant Marrakesh within the Morocco Pavilion. From Could 1 till June 18, 2024, Passholders can loosen up and recharge within the unique AP lounge at EPCOT.
Unwind with complimentary snacks and water from midday till 8pm each day. Plus, get pleasure from charging stations on your cell gadgets. However that’s not all! Get your cameras prepared for shock visits from particular Disney characters.
The free AP lounge is topic to availability on a first-come, first-served foundation. Every Annual Passholder have to be current and present their legitimate AP card, linked MagicBand, MagicBand+ or Disney MagicMobile cross, in addition to a sound government-issued photograph ID to be eligible to enter the VIP Passholder lounge at EPCOT.
When you’re unfamiliar with the placement of this lounge, it’s deep within the Morocco pavilion down a dead-end hall–this space is just house to Restaurant Marrakesh.
Pre-closure, Restaurant Marrakesh was not notably in style. This was seemingly partly as a result of its extra unique delicacies, however location performed a much bigger function. Resulting from that, there was routinely a Solid Member within the entrance courtyard of Morocco beaconing visitors again, displaying menus and touting the (underrated) restaurant.
Even after the third celebration working participant exited the Morocco pavilion and turned over operations to Disney, the restaurant has remained closed since March 2020. Once more, unsurprising. There’s undoubtedly sufficient demand to justify opening Restaurant Marrakesh at this level, however there are nonetheless staffing shortages…particularly for face characters. However the way forward for Restaurant Agrabah is a unique story for a unique day!
I’m very excited for Annual Passholders to go inside Restaurant Marrakesh, many for the very first time, and uncover this stunning area. Whereas we’ve been publicizing the Florida Blue Lounge for the final a number of years, many by no means went, assuming it was just for Florida Blue Members. It wasn’t, however there have been a whole lot of miscommunications about that.
Restaurant Marrakesh largely maintains its opening day look with ornate design and gorgeous particulars. Morocco is a rustic of “timeless wonders” with historic mosques, synagogues, souks, church buildings, and kasbahs the place the artwork and structure have been designed and refined over centuries.
The setting is really transportive, feeling worlds away from a recent theme park in Florida. From tile work to the tea dispensers to the ceilings and (particularly) the sunshine fixtures, Restaurant Marrakesh is an opulent exemplar of outdated world Morocco–and old fashioned Imagineering aesthetic sensibilities.
My solely concern is crowds. I went to the Florida Blue Lounge a number of occasions throughout final 12 months’s EPCOT Meals & Wine Pageant. Throughout the first two months, it was comparatively uncrowded. Busier than the earlier 12 months, which was busier than the 12 months earlier than that, however nonetheless a pleasing expertise with loads of empty tables.
The previous couple of occasions I went in November, it was a madhouse. Granted, these had been on busier days, nevertheless it had undoubtedly felt like phrase had gotten out. And that was with out Walt Disney World ever posting concerning the lounge. The one means folks knew it existed was through blogs like this one, and even with our rationalization, many readers nonetheless thought it was just for Florida Blue Members. We additionally overheard conversations with Solid Members on the entrance basically saying that was the case. (Once more, it wasn’t! All you wanted was the visitor cross, which could possibly be obtained simply.)
It will have higher consciousness and it’ll be in a cooler location than final 12 months’s AP lounge in Sunshine Seasons, so it stands to motive that extra Annual Passholders will hunt down the lounge this 12 months. As such, we’d anticipate a line to enter–particularly in the course of the first week of V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, all weekends, after work/faculty, and different busier dates. Our suggestion can be going as near midday as potential, or in the direction of the top of the night. Even when there’s a line, it’ll be value some quantity of ready simply to see inside this actually cool restaurant!
Past the free AP lounge and DisneyStore low cost, no different specifics have been shared. Primarily based on the preliminary tease, we already know that there’s going to be one other free magnet. Final 12 months’s character was Figment–it wouldn’t be a shock to see Disney “play the hits” with a brand new Figment design. Different prospects are characters from the summer time advertising and marketing blitz–Mirabel, Bruno, Tiana, Louis, Simba, Timon/Pumba, and many others. My hope is that they go together with Pawpaw the Bobcat, a legend already.
There’ll in all probability be new PhotoPass photograph ops, which was the case final 12 months. Possibly just a few different, largely inconsequential, choices that might fall below the “and extra” umbrella. Issues like unique menu objects out there for buy and different random pop-ups at Disney Springs or maybe within the parks.
Tiana’s Bayou Journey previews is one other risk throughout V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. I’m skeptical of this one. Not that it’ll occur–I feel that it’ll. However somewhat, that it’ll be tied into V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. Affiliation previews for Tiana’s Bayou Journey are prone to be extra restricted in dates than previous previews, that means fewer APs will seemingly have the ability to attend. Most likely not so savvy to market one thing for all APs, however then solely <5% can take part as a result of capability constraints. Guess we will see!
In the end, V.I.Passholder Days is an attention-grabbing initiative for enhancing attendance at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom throughout shoulder season and summer time, attempting to win again alienated ex-Annual Passholders, and extra. After just a few years of Walt Disney World with the ability to ‘get away’ with just about something and nonetheless see report visitor spending and insatiable demand, shoppers now seem to as soon as once more have extra leverage.
This needs to be an attention-grabbing saga to observe, and it’s nearly sure that we haven’t seen the top of Walt Disney World’s efforts to woo again former followers and pull “levers” to incentivize extra demand and visitor spending, particularly if Could and June 2024 show to be as sluggish as the identical months final 12 months. V.I.PASSHOLDER Days needs to be nice for Annual Passholders, particularly for individuals who by no means received the possibility to dine at Restaurant Marrakesh (we’re excited so that you can see inside!).
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be profiting from V.I.PASSHOLDER Days from Could 1 via June 26, 2024? Are you an Annual Passholder? Ideas on the V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, or the most recent merchandise and resort reductions? Will you be profiting from any of this? When you cancelled your Walt Disney World AP, have any of the current adjustments made you revisit that call? Hopeful that extra perks, reductions, and many others. are on the horizon as pent-up demand exhausts itself and there’s a slowdown at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
