Disney Dish: Galaxy's Edge Opening Dates, Ticket Price Hikes, and Epcot Construction

Flower & Garden Festival Highlights

• 🌸 The Honey Bee ‘Bu’ Stro in the Canada Pavilion is highly recommended for its local wildflower honey marcapone cheesecake with orange blossom honey ice cream.
• 🐝 The Orange Bird drink vessel is a highly sought-after, $15 item at the Flower & Garden Festival, with a one-per-person limit.
• 🍅 Fried green tomatoes at the Odyssey Center (now Arbor) and the smoked salmon stacked sandwich are notable food items.
• 🌽 Grilled street corn with sea-flea garlic spread from the Trow and Tellus Trollis booth is tasty but messy.
• 🌮 The blue corn masa taco from the Hardininda Fiesta booth is described as a mini pizza and was a crowd favorite.

Walt Disney World Ticket Price Increases

• 📈 Walt Disney World has announced new ticket price increases, with peak period (Christmas) one-day tickets now costing $159 (adults) and $164 (kids) after tax.
• 💰 A 4-day ticket for a family of four over Christmas could now cost nearly $2,400 for tickets alone.
• 📅 Disney is incentivizing visits during less popular times, but the opening of Galaxy's Edge in August may impact traditionally slow months like August and September.
• 🎟️ The flexible dates option for tickets has also seen a significant price increase, now topping out at $176 for a 4-day ticket.
• 📝 A new policy requires an additional $5 fee for a flex date option if guests do not specify their travel dates, encouraging advance planning.

Epcot Construction and Future World Transformation

• 🚧 Construction fences have begun to appear in Epcot's Future World as part of a major renovation, with the goal of having much of the area open for the 50th anniversary.
• 🗺️ Disney is proactively informing concierges and hotel guests about longer walks and modified park access, suggesting alternative transportation like Uber to nearby resorts for shows.
• 🏗️ Executives, including Bob Chapek, have been seen surveying the area, indicating significant changes are imminent, including the removal of structures like Communicore.

Galaxy's Edge Opening Details and Phased Rollout

• 🚀 Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will open on May 31st in Disneyland and August 29th in Walt Disney World, but in phases.
• ⚠️ The phased opening is due to technical issues with the autonomous vehicle system for the Rise of the Resistance attraction, which is considered the most ambitious attraction ever built.
• 🚗 Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will open with the land, but Rise of the Resistance is expected to open a few months later.
• 🎟️ Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge will require a no-cost reservation for entry between May 31st and June 23rd, with guaranteed entry for guests staying at Disney hotels.
• 🚫 FastPass will not be used for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run initially to manage wait times, which are projected to be extremely long without it.
• 🏨 Walt Disney World's Galaxy's Edge will open with general admission, but Disney is observing Disneyland's opening to potentially adjust their strategy.
• ⏳ Annual passholders may have to wait 3 to 6 months after opening for special access or preview events due to ongoing construction and maintenance needs.