Are you ready? No…are you REALLY ready? Maybe pull up a chair and a coffee, because we’ve got some BIG Disney news to share.

From ticket price changes and Park Pass updates to Festival of the Holidays menus for EPCOT, these are 5 of the most critical Disney updates you need to know right now.

Ticket and Park Pass Reservation Changes in Disney World

If you’ll be heading to Disney World, there are some critical changes being made with Disney World tickets that you need to know about. First, when it comes to 1-day, 1-park tickets, the way those are priced is going to CHANGE soon.

Starting December 8th, 1-day, 1-park tickets will no longer be the same price for all 4 parks. Instead, pricing will vary depending on the park you want to visit.

So, for example, a 1-day, 1-park ticket for Magic Kingdom may be more expensive than a 1-day, 1-park ticket for Animal Kingdom on the same day.

Here are the upcoming ticket price ranges (starting December 8th):

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom — $109-$159 (prices are staying the same as current costs)
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios — $124-$179
• EPCOT — $114-$179
• Magic Kingdom — $124-$189

Again, for now, this change is being made to 1-day, 1-park tickets only.

Click here for full details on this ticket change and price increase

Along with that 1-day, 1-park ticket change will come a change in the Park Pass reservation system. Starting December 8th, those who buy a 1-day, 1-park ticket (which will then feature park-specific pricing), will automatically get a Park Pass for the park they’ve purchased a ticket for.

So if on or after December 8th, you buy a 1-day, 1-park ticket for Magic Kingdom, at the time you purchase the ticket, a Park Pass for Magic Kingdom will automatically be made for you.

Click here for full details on the Park Pass reservation change

And finally, it’s important to note that something is also changing soon when it comes to Park Hoppers. Starting December 8th, prices for select Disney World ticket add-ons, like Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus, will vary by date.

So buying the Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus option during the “peak” busy season will likely cost you much more than if you were to add it onto your ticket in mid-August.

These are all changes that could impact your vacation budget or the way you plan your trip, so please keep them in mind as you start to arrange future travel to Disney World.

Click here for our full article on the Park Hopper price change

Annual Pass Price Increases and Magic Key News

Even MORE changes are on the way when it comes to Annual Passes in Disney World. Disney has announced price increases for new Annual Passes. These increases go into effect on December 8th.

Here’s a breakdown of the pricing changes for NEW passes:

• Incredi-Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $1,299
  • New price: $1,399 (increase of $100)
• Sorcerer Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $899
  • New price: $969 (increase of $70)
• Pirate Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $699
  • New price: $749 (increase of $50)
• Pixie Pass (new sales available, renewals available too)
  • Current price: $399
  • New price: $399 (no increase)

Most of the Annual Passes types are not available for new purchases, however, and sales are not expected to resume this year. But it’s important to keep in mind that renewals for ALL pass types ARE available. And the changes made to Annual Pass pricing will impact renewals.

Though renewals will continue to be discounted at the same percentage, renewal pricing will INCREASE starting December 8th. Increases will be between $43-$100, depending on the pass type.

Click here for our full breakdown of Annual Pass renewals

Over at Disneyland, Magic Key Pass sales had been paused for quite some time. But they suddenly resumed earlier this week.

You had to have acted quickly, however, as sales for the passes were later paused. As of December 18th, all pass types are available for renewal but it appears that new sales are totally paused. We’ll keep an eye out for updates.

Click here for more details about the Magic Key program

Dining Reservation Changes

But wait…there are MORE changes that have been made lately. At both Disney World and Disneyland, the dining reservation cancelation policy is now different.

Previously, you had to cancel your dining reservation the day before to avoid cancelation fees. But now that is no longer the case.

At most Disney World and Disneyland restaurants (note that there might be exceptions), you can now cancel your dining reservation up to 2 HOURS before the reservation time and still avoid cancelation fees.

This allows for a lot more flexibility. If you’re looking for a last-minute reservation somewhere, be sure to look at that 2-hour mark as more reservations may open up at that time right as folks try to get in those last-minute cancelations.

Click here for a breakdown of this change as it affects Disney World

EPCOT Festival of the Holidays Menus

The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays starts in just a few days (on November 25th, 2022), and the full menus for the Festival have FINALLY arrived!

There will be 1 NEW booth this year that will serve holiday-themed plant-based offerings, and there will be a few NEW food items at returning Festival booths. Some of the new items include a Peanut Stew and a NEW Peppermint mini funnel cake!

To see our list of returning eats you can’t miss, click here.

Beyond the food, some other things are changing at the Festival, including some features of the Candlelight Processional, updated costumes for the Voices of Liberty, and more. See a breakdown of 6 exciting new details coming to the Festival here.

This week we also got a first look at the merchandise coming to the Festival of the Holidays. Get those wallets ready!

We’ll be covering EVERYTHING you need to know about the Festival of the Holidays (with FULL booth reviews) on the Festival’s opening day, so stay tuned for updates on that!

Click here to see the FULL MENUS for the 2022 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays!

HUGE Food News

And finally, we end with a collection of food news from this week.

At EPCOT, a reopening date and new menu have been announced for Takumi Tei, the signature dining experience in the Japan pavilion! The restaurant will reopen on November 23rd and will offer 2 omakase multi-course options. It will only serve a limited number of walk-in guests for now.

Also in EPCOT, some Annual Passholder-exclusive drinks are coming to the park as part of the Festival of the Holidays. There will be a Cinnamon Frozen Coca-Cola and Happy Snowman frozen cocktail, so keep an eye out for those!

Staying in EPCOT for one more item, some seasonal treats have arrived at a popular snack spot —  Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion. We specifically stopped by to try the Werther’s Original Holiday Caramel Flight, along with the Werther’s Original Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookie. See our review of the treats here!

Over at Disney Springs, a few new and seasonal menu items are available at the popular Homecomin’. On the menu, you’ll now find a Chicken Salad Sandwich, Skillet-Fried Chicken Paillard, Chopped BLT Salad, and more. Be sure to check these out and see if any of them become new must-gets for you!

We’ve mentioned it before but we just wanted to note again that the Festival of Holidays has officially kicked off in Disney California Adventure Park (at Disneyland Resort). We’ve shared reviews of the booths there, and now we’ve got our list of the best eats and drinks at the festival here!

And finally, in terms of food news, TONS of holiday treats have arrived in Disney World and Disneyland, and we’ve been sharing reviews of SO. MANY. of them with you!

Be sure to check out our page FULL of photos and reviews of the holiday snacks in Disney World, or our similar page with reviews of the holiday snacks in Disneyland, before your next visit so you can know what will (or won’t!) be worth your cash.

Of course, other news happened within the last week. Check out some of those stories below:

• The gingerbread castle has opened at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and we tried some NEW treats there
• There’s a gingerbread restaurant on display at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• The Christmas Tree Stroll is back in Disney Springs
• A hiring freeze and job layoffs have been announced for the Disney Company
• A new luxury hotel is coming near Disney World
• Disney World’s Blizzard Beach Water Park has REOPENED — check out the new Frozen area here
• A princess diaries sequel is in the works at Disney
• Disney Cruise Line has purchased a new ship
• Shanghai Disney has begun a phased reopening

That’s it for the news this week!

Hold up for a sec! Before you plan your next trip to Disney World, check out our DFB Guide Everything Bundle here.

You will get ALL of our best-selling eBooks with details on Disney World Dining, EPCOT Festivals, the BEST snacks in each park, and soooooo many tips and tricks we’ve learned over decades of visiting our happy place. 

Click here to make this guide yours!

Will any of these changes impact your upcoming trips? Tell us in the comments.