Now that it’s 2023, we thought we’d take the time to reflect on the past year.

2022 was a huge year in Disney news, from surge pricing to new park land teasers. We’re breaking down 2022 for you, so let’s take a look!

Ok, let’s dive into all of the big changes that took place in the Disney World parks, and the Disney company during 2022. The changes, events, and announcements that happened this year will continue to impact the way we navigate the parks next year. So sit tight and enjoy this walk down memory lane.

The Bob CEO Uno-Reverse Card 

Yeah. To say the Bob CEO boomerang event of 2022 was a shock for all of us is putting it lightly. On the evening of November 20th, the Walt Disney Company announced the sudden departure of Disney’s now-former CEO, Bob Chapek. In his place, the once-retired Bob Iger stepped back into his role as CEO. 

Iger has signed a 2-year contract with Disney where, during this time, he’ll be helping the Disney+ streaming service get back on its feet, after its continual devastating losses for the company. He’ll also be helping the Disney company find a more suitable long-term successor that’ll follow in his footsteps after those two years are up. 

We’ve summed up the whole Bob switcheroo in a video, if you want to learn more. 

Surge Pricing Escapades

Surge pricing became Disney’s weapon-of-choice this year. And that’s not to say Disney hadn’t already been using a surge pricing system for many, many years now — especially with park ticket prices and resort stays. We just saw it happening a lot more often in 2022.

When it came to Disney’s premium travel planning tools — Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes — which give guests Lighting Lane access to bypass the main queues of rides and attractions in exchange for much shorter lines, we’ve always seen the Individual Lightning Lanes for Disney’s most popular rides work on a fluctuating price system, where daily prices depend on the time of year and demand. 

But when Lightning Lanes were originally released back in 2021, Genie+ — which gives you access to the Lightning Lanes of over 40 other Disney World attractions — was set at $15 per person, per day. However, on October 11th this year, Genie+ switched over to a surge pricing system too. Around Thanksgiving weekend, we saw those Genie+ prices skyrocket to $29 per person, per day — meaning a family of four would’ve had to pay $116 for one day’s worth of Lightning Lanes. 

Since then, Lightning Lane prices have mellowed slightly, but we still haven’t seen them quite drop back to $15 again. As of late, they’ve been ranging more around the $17-$18 range, but tend to drop slightly on the weekdays versus the weekends. 

But Genie+ isn’t the only Disney planning feature being impacted by new fluctuating price systems. Park hopper ticket add ons, which allow you to visit more than one Disney park per day, after 2pm rolls around, have switched from being a set price of $65 on top of your regular ticket price to being a different price depending on when you visit. These prices start at $65 per ticket, but are capable of getting as high as $93 per ticket.

On Christmas Day, one of the busiest days of the year, a Park Hopper add-on is $252 per ticket. That’s $73 more than the single day ticket for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, and $93 more than the single day ticket for Animal Kingdom. 

When you move to multi-day tickets, you can really start seeing the price increases take hold. For a 2-day Park Hopper starting on January 24th, 2023, it’s $360.19, and a Park Hopper Plus is $380.19. That’s $80 more than a single day ticket for a Park Hopper and $100 more for a Park Hopper Plus, which gives you access to additional Disney experiences — like the water parks and golf courses.

And that’s not all!

On December 8th, Disney also switched their one-day, one-park tickets to a new surge-based tier system, too. Now, Disney World tickets won’t just surge in price depending on when you visit, but they’ll also surge depending on what park you want to visit on any given day. For example, a ticket for Magic Kingdom could be more expensive than a ticket to EPCOT for the very same date.

This is what the new 1-day, 1-park ticket price breakdown looks like now:

• 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

Keep in mind that if you’re planning on visiting more than one park during your trip, this new ticket price system by park won’t impact your visit. But if you do plan on only visiting one park, remember to not just look at what dates are normally cheapest, but at what parks are cheapest during the dates you want to visit, too.

Let’s say you book a trip in September and stick to a weekday to try to keep prices lower. If you’re buying a 1-day, 1-park ticket during that time you’ll, then, also need to look at what the prices look like for each individual park on the specific day you’ll be visiting.

Lots of surge pricing going around — but keeping in mind that some of these surge prices don’t necessarily need to be purchased for you to have a successful trip. Genie+, Individual Lightning Lanes, and Park Hoppers are all add-ons that can be useful, but aren’t necessary. And we’d even argue that, with park hoppers being priced at what they are now, that additional cost really isn’t as necessary.

Make sure to study up on all the pros and cons for these services before making a decision on whether you’re gonna absolutely need them or not for your 2023 vacation. 

Brand New Releases!

Now for some of the fun stuff! Disney World gave us a whole lotta new things in 2022 that we got to see, ride, and experience for the first time ever!

On February 11, the Disney Adventures Friends Cavalcade premiered in Magic Kingdom, showcasing popular Disney characters including Miguel from Coco, Marie from Aristocats, and several Disney princesses, that we don’t see hanging around the parks as often — which was a nice surprise!

On March 1st, Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser launched to give guests a completely immersive intergalactic experience. During your 2-day, 2night stay, you’ll get to participate in a wide range of activities and dining experiences in an interactive environment “on a galaxy far, far away” — where YOU, alone, will be responsible for how your story unfolds.

Connections Cafe and Eatery, the fast-casual Quick Service restaurant and home to Starbucks coffee in EPCOT’s World Celebration, opened on April 24. Here, you’ll be able to find dishes inspired by global flavors — such as a Banh mi burger, a curry spice pizza, and liege waffles, made with brioche yeast dough, pearl sugar, and topped off with additional sweets.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened on May 27th as part of the historic transformation happening in EPCOT! This new roller coaster is not only EPCOT’s first-ever coaster for the park, but also Disney World’s first-ever Marvel ride to open on property. To ride Cosmic Rewind currently, you will need to grab a boarding pass on your My Disney Experience App to enter into its virtual queue. Boarding Passes go live daily at 7AM and 1PM sharp. But we’ll let you know if the virtual queue system switches over to a standard physical queue system sometime in 2023, which seems likely.

Though the OG version of Finding Nemo: The Musical ended in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a new version, called Finding Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond, took its place, premiering on June 11. The show now features a fresh script and new set pieces. During the story, the fish from Dr. P. Sherman’s office have finally made their way to the Marine Life Institute as seen in Finding Dory. From the institute, the fish tell us about Nemo and Marlin’s big adventure, which means you can still expect to see a show filled with puppetry and some classic songs — alongside updated musical numbers, too!

A new type of interactive MagicBand launched at Walt Disney World on July 27, 2022, and at Disneyland Resort on October 26, 2022 — and its name is MagicBand+! Because the “+” symbol is basically a Disney trademark by now. A MagicBand+ has all the features of the OG MagicBand technology, as well as offering new  features to enhance your Disney park experience — including things like:

• Interacting with the 50th Anniversary Character Statues
• Joining the Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters game in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• And syncing up with the nighttime spectaculars/select rides, which will set off the band’s corresponding lights and vibrations
• MagicBand+ range in price between,depending on the style
• Just don’t forget to charge them nightly!

On August 15th, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is undergoing a transformation that started in 2022, as well. This led to BoardWalk Bakery closing up shop, and BoardWalk Deli taking its place on August 15th. The BoardWalk Deli is a quick service location that now serves hot and cold deli sandwiches, and bakery items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Now here’s a wildcard addition we received in Magic Kingdom this year! When Disney Enchantment started in Magic Kingdom in 2021, in honor of the Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration, guests were rather disappointed to find that there was no mention of Walt or Roy Disney anywhere in the show. And that just felt wrong. But, around the end of August this year, Enchantment received a new preshow — a preshow that took guests’ concerns to heart and made sure to honor the individuals who made the parks possible, the Disney brothers themselves.

The Disney resorts’ new “Hey Disney” technology — which offers “custom voice assistance” to guests staying at Resort hotels in Walt Disney World and Disneyland — is now in the testing stages in select rooms over at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The tech will continue to be rolled out in phases throughout the course of 2023, and will eventually be available in all Disney hotel rooms, including values, moderates, and deluxe resorts alike.

Disney Springs really focused in on their sweet treat offerings this year:

Salt and Straw now scoops up unique signature ice cream flavors on the West Side of the shopping district, with wacky seasonal flavors that’ve included options like Salted Caramel Thanksgiving Turkey for November and Dwanta’s Teremana Spiked Eggnog Ice Cream for December.

And, over in the Marketplace section, Swirls on the Water opened to give guests more DOLE Whip options that you won’t find anywhere else on property, including a DOLE Whip Lemon and Cookie Dough Soft-serve Swirl AND Dole Whip pineapple vanilla nachos — made with Waffle Cone Chips and topped with DOLE Whip, Mango Boba Pearls, Raspberry Sauce, Whipped Cream, and Sprinkles.

Okay, this new feature turned out being pretty controversial, but when the complimentary Disney’s Magical Express buses were retired at the very beginning of the year, the Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer took over to help transport guests from the Orlando International Airport and over to their Disney World resort and back again… all for a price.

WHEW. LOTS of stuff there, friends. But just you wait. I’m about to hit you with even more changes that the Disney company announced this year that’ll impact your trips in the near (and distant) future…

The MAJOR D23 Announcements

On September 11th, during the D23 Disney Parks Panel — led by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro — we got to learn about the future of Disney World for 2023 and beyond.

EPCOT Transformation

A dedicated Festival area is coming to EPCOT in late 2023 to serve as the new “home base” for the park’s seasonal Festivals and live events. CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza will be housed in EPCOT’s World Celebration and will serve two separate functions.

The Plaza will provide an outdoor space where guests can come to relax and experience all that the Festivals have to offer. And the Hall will host a wide variety of experiences with food, art, live music, and more with a demonstration kitchen, a mixology bar, and exhibition and gallery space, giving presenting chefs new ways to connect and experiment.

Journey of Water

Journey of Water is a new Moana-inspired attraction coming to EPCOT’s World Nature in late 2023, as well! Guests will be able to explore what Disney has described as a “lush exploration trail” that allows explorers to “play with magical, living water” through an immersive walk-through attraction.

And on a hot day in the parks, you best believe you’re gonna find us here, chillin’ with Moana’s very good friend, Water.

Figment Meet & Greet

By the end of 2023, you’ll also be able to meet Figment at EPCOT in his very own meet-and-greet location.

You’ll be able to proudly show off your Figment popcorn bucket to make him proud.

New Nighttime Fireworks Shows

And the EPCOT offerings just don’t stop comin’! A brand new nighttime spectacular will make its debut in late 2023 in honor of 100 Years of Wonder: the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Walt Disney Company!

Singing the same tune over in Magic Kingdom, Happily Ever After will return in 2023 as part of an updated fireworks spectacular. We expect to see lots of tears. Bring tissues and check on your fellow Happily Ever After friends, because they will be a MESS on the day of this song’s return.

TRON Lightcycle Run

TRON Lightcycle Run is FINALLY opening at the Magic Kingdom in Spring 2023!

During this high-speed ride, guests will board a two-wheeled Lightcycle of their very own and “launch into the Grid for a race through a dark, computerized world” reaching speeds up to 59 miles per hour!

Haunted Mansion Addition

Foolish mortals will be happy to know that the Hatbox Ghost will be materializing in Magic Kingdom’s version of Haunted Mansion sometime in 2023.

This happy haunt has already made his home within Disneyland, buuuuut we’re guessing he decided to go ahead and volunteer as the 1000th haunt of Disney World too. Because why not?

New Restaurants

And in 2023, we’re also expecting to welcome THREE new table services restaurants to join the Disney dining lineup, including:

• Roundup Rodeo BBQ in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Summer House on the Lake in Disney Springs 
• Gwendolyn Rogers’ Cake Bake Shop in Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Beyond 2023

We still have SEVERAL things to anticipate… .

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open in both Disneyland park and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in late 2024. Originally, we heard about this ride back in June 2020 when Disney announced that the water-based ride Splash Mountain would close to be rethemed into an attraction inspired by the Disney animated film, The Princess and the Frog. 

And although we didn’t hear much about this project for a while, we DID learn this year that this updated long flume now has a projected 2024 release. We also heard about a potential restaurant revamp in Disneyland to match the re-theme on Splash Mountain.

During the same D23 panel, we also got to hear about some of Disney World’s “blue sky” projects being thrown about the Disney Imagineering office. “Blue Sky” is part of the Imagineers creative development process. At this stage, their focus is to look at something and say, “what could it be?” But not necessarily WHEN will it be.

 So, basically, blue sky projects are more of a big ol brainstorming sesh than anything. But that didn’t stop D’Amaro from letting us in on what they’ve been stewing over! The blue sky projects shared during the panel included brand new Lands for Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

In Magic Kingdom, D’Amaro talked about the potential of having lands themed around Pixar’s Coco, Encanto, and the Disney Villains. And for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, he threw out ideas for Zootopia and Moana.

Again, D’Amaro reminded everyone that these concepts were “way early in the creative process.” Meaning that it could be years before they start to take shape, or they may not take shape at all.

The Reedy Creek Dissolution 

Despite all the exciting announcements and openings, the Disney company struggled behind-the-scenes this year with an ongoing feud against the Florida Government. In April, Florida lawmakers voted to revoke Disney’s special tax district, The Reedy Creek Improvement District. This district, established back in 1967, allows Disney to (in many ways) function as its own county government.

Through the RCID, Disney has imposed and collected taxes on its land, issued bonds, and made all kinds of other decisions without some of the typical oversight that hinders other developers. But after former CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (known by critics as the Don’t Say Gay Bill) before it was signed into law, Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and his administration voted to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District in a seeming “retaliation” toward the Disney company for speaking out about their disapproval of Florida’s new bill/law.

If the dissolution law follows through, it will take effect in June 2023. Now, there’s still a lot of time between now and then, so anything could still happen! But, as of now, DeSantis still remains firm in his decision. If you’re worried about how this dissolution is gonna impact YOUR future Disney World trip, don’t be. A lot of the issues surrounding this law will be more of Disney’s burden to carry rather than their guests’. So no need to stress about Cinderella Castle getting torn down or the underground sewage systems being ripped from the ground of the parks. You’ll still be able to enjoy your trip, no matter what the final decision ends up being.

Happy Reunions! 

Although the Disney parks had their historic closures in 2020 — due to the nature and concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic — the effects of those closures continue to impact Disney World (and the entire company) to this day. However, as pandemic restrictions started to lift and return to a “sense” of normality, we got to welcome back several Disney World offerings that we’d been missing out on for the past couple of years. Prepare yourself — this list is long.

Festival of Fantasy

The Festival of Fantasy parade made its official return to Magic Kingdom on March 9th, 2022 — which was super fitting, considering March 9th marked the 8-year anniversary of the parade’s initial debut.

The Parade features all kinds of floats and characters from movies like The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Peter Pan, and the show-stopping steampunk version of the Maleficent dragon (that blows REAL fire and only spontaneously bursts into flames every once in a while) Just kidding. It was a one-time ordeal. Moving on.

Disney Resorts

The LAST Disney World Resort we were waiting to welcome back from the pandemic closures finally reopened on March 31. The value resort, Disney’s All-Star Sports, was the last Disney hotel to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdowns.

Now, all resorts are back and ready for business. 

Character Interactions

On April 18th, character meet and greets started to phase back into the parks, meaning we could finally give Mickey hugs again and ask Minnie for her autograph! During 2020, after the parks reopened and on throughout 2021, character interactions were modified to keep both guests and characters safe. 

But as stricter health and safety regulations started to lift, we received more and more opportunities to hang with our favorite characters again, instead of just taking selfies with them from afar.

Restaurant Updates & Reopenings

This also meant several character dining experiences both reopened and reintroduced characters into their dining rooms again, including:

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (and its rotating cast of princesses) at EPCOT
• Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at Cape May Cafe in Disney’s Beach Club
• Hollywood and Vine’s seasonal character dining (along with its Disney Junior Breakfasts) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• The Crystal Palace’s Hundred Acre Wood friends at Magic Kingdom
• And ‘Ohana’s Best Friends Breakfast at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort 

And even MORE restaurants reopened their doors (and dining rooms) to guests this year, such as:

• Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
• Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Victoria and Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
• Takumi Tei in EPCOT’s Japan Pavilion
• And Monsieur Paul in EPCOT’s France Pavilion

Minnie Vans

Minnie Vans back onto the Disney World scene on June 29th, which was great news for all the rideshare users out there! Minnie Vans are Lyft-operated vehicles designed to look like Minnie Mouse with their cutesy red and white polka-dotted design.

They provide direct, private transportation around Disney World property, at a premium cost.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique & Harmony Barber Shop

On August 24th, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which is a special salon that gives kids between the ages of 3-12 princess/prince makeovers, returned to the Magic Kingdom. The locations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and Disney Springs are still waiting for a reopening date.

And speaking of getting all spiffed up in Magic Kingdom, The Harmony Barber Shop also reopened on July 31st for those in need of a shave and a haircut in the midst of their park day. 

Disney Cultural Representative Program

In the summer, Disney’s Cultural Representative Program and Cultural Exchange Program were reintroduced for select countries — giving overseas cast members the chance to apply once again and become part of their home country’s pavilion inside EPCOT’s World Showcase. 

Holiday Parties

Magic Kingdom’s fully fleshed out After Hours Holiday Parties — Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party — returned to replace the half-hearted Boo Bash and Disney Very Merriest Events.

The parties brought back exclusive opportunities, at a separate ticket price, including holiday fireworks shows, rare character meet and greets, lots of limited edition snacks, and festive ride overlays.

EPCOT Festival Concerts

EPCOT’s Eat to the Beat Concert Series, that takes place during the Food and Wine Festival, went on hiatus for a couple years.

But came back with gusto this time around, featuring musical performances from artists such as Baha Men, Joey Fatone and Friends, Journey’s former Lead Vocalist Steve Augeri, Hanson, and Kenny G.

Fantasmic!

2022 brought back the dearly missed Hollywood Studios’ nighttime spectacular, Fantasmic! It returned to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater on November 3rd.

The show was updated upon its return to include brand new sequences with new characters, stunt performers, and animations that made everyone so emotional even the sky cried. No, seriously. The first cast member preview of the show rained out the whole second half of the performance. So…. It definitely left our reporters a bit soggy that night.

Blizzard Beach

After being closed for a rather extensive refurbishment, Disney’s Blizzard Beach reopened on November 13th. And with its reopening came a brand new Frozen-themed section of the park over at Tike’s Peak. So now you can find Olaf, a young Anna and Elsa, and little snowgies just *chilling* out around the shallow waters.

Once Blizzard Beach reopened, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon took on the title of being “temporarily unavailable” ‘til the foreseeable future. Guess it’s this water park’s turn for some updates and renovations, too!

Special Tours

And several of Disney’s Behind The Scenes Tours came back to add a little “spice” to the average theme park visit.

A few of those tours include the Keys to the Kingdom Tour — giving guests a backstage glimpse into what puts the “magic” in Magic Kingdom, the Behind the Seeds Tour — taking you through the greenhouses of EPCOT’s Living with the Land, and the Caring for Giants Tour — bringing you up close to the elephants who are living on the plains of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  

The End Of A High-Flying Era

Gone, but not forgotten… We didn’t just say “hi” again to several returning Disney World experiences. We also had to say our fair share of “goodbyes,” too. In honor of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, several new shows were brought to the parks — one of those being our dearly beloved KiteTails over in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. KiteTails had two different 10-minute long performances that took place on the waters of the Discovery River Amphitheater. One show was Lion King themed, the other Jungle Book themed. And both of them had flying/crashing character kites. And it was a glorious spectacle to behold. But by the end of September, KiteTails held its last performance and retired its kites for good.

SNIFF* It was TOO YOUNG. TOO YOUNG.

Though we haven’t had to say goodbye to Splash Mountain yet, we did learn this year that its last operating day will be on January 23rd, 2023 — giving guests just a few more weeks to experience the OG ride before it’ll be closed and completely rethemed to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

And — since two new nighttime spectaculars were announced this year for both Magic Kingdom and EPCOT — that means the current fireworks shows, Disney Enchantment and Harmonious, will be taking their final bow later in 2023.

So if you wanna catch them before they’re gone for good, try planning that Disney World trip for earlier next year rather than later on.

Mask Policy Fully Lifted

Yes. This happened this year. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around, too. On February 17th, 2022, face masks became optional in most places for fully vaccinated guests. (Not including Disney transportation services.) On March 16th, the policy was updated to where guests could choose whether or not they wanted to wear a mask on the Disney Skyliner, but kept mask requirements for the buses and monorails.

And finally, on April 19th, 2022, the policy was further updated to reflect that face masks were no longer required on any transportation in Disney World (but were still recommended for guests who hadn’t yet been fully vaccinated) And that’s where we’ve been ever since! If you wanna check out the FULL timeline for Disney’s face mask policies, we’ve got a post covering just that.

Severe Weather Shutdowns

Florida’s fall weather was pretty relentless in 2022.  At the end of September, Disney experienced a multi-day shutdown as Hurricane Ian continued to threaten much of Florida — including the Orlando area. The parks — and Disney Springs shopping district — stayed closed on September 28th and 29th, but reopened for guests on September 30th.

Mostly, the parks didn’t suffer too much from storm damage, but a lot of Disney’s Animal Kingdom was closed on September 30th, which means we saw a lot of taped-off clapboxes on the ground the day — a tactic Disney likes to use when rides or shows are closed to serve as a temporary “distraction.” But the storms didn’t stop there!

Tropical Storm Nicole brought its severe weather into the Disney bubble, which meant early park closures on November 9th. Tropical storms and hurricanes are not exactly rare happenstances for Orlando, but if you wanna learn more about how Disney **weathers** through these situations, check out our “What I Wish I’d Known Before Going To Disney World During Hurricane Season” video !

Resort Construction 

Polynesian

And let’s not forget all the GIANT changes currently going on at several of the Disney World resorts! New DVC villas are currently being added to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort — which are projected to open sometime in late 2024.

These new villas will sit on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon. And, in addition to more rooms, there will also be new recreational offerings and dining options. This is good to hear since we were pretty devastated to learn that the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show wasn’t coming back, since the new villas are being built directly on top of the dining experience’s old stomping grounds.

Caribbean Beach

Just recently, we learned that Disney’s Caribbean Beach is in the process of switching out its Pirate-themed rooms and transforming them into Little Mermaid themed rooms — which will give the space not only a brighter, refreshed look, but also provide a 5th sleeper bed to accommodate more guests per room.

These new rooms should be ready for guests to book by 2023. 

Grand Floridian

And, very soon, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa will be undergoing even more renovations.

Although the resort already has 200 new DVC rooms themed around Mary Poppins, ALL the remaining rooms are going to be receiving the same kinda *supercalifragalisticexpealidocious* treatment. 

BoardWalk Inn

But the resort that’ll be experiencing the most changes is over at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn — which will be undergoing an Extreme Makeover: Hotel Edition. 

We already mentioned how we got to check out the new BoardWalk Deli this year and, even more recently, the new Carousel Coffee, but next year, construction will continue and add another new restaurant to the area called The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers.

The Cake Bake Shop will be a table service with both sweet and savory items to choose from. As well as an afternoon tea service! When we got the opportunity to interview Gwendolyn Rogers about her new restaurant in Disney World, she said: “I’m just excited to share any and all of my recipes that we make here with the Disney guests. From the crab cakes to our club sandwich — it sounds simple, but everything’s made from scratch.”

2022 was PACKED OUT. We experienced the good, the bad, and the SHOCKING — but the ONE thing you can trust to stay consistent into 2023 is your good ol’ group of friends over on the DFB team. We’ll be here to help you with your Disney travel planning in 2023 and beyond — so keep an eye out for our NEW ultimate guides and recommendations as you continue planning for that dream trip next year. Or even the year after! See ya back here REAL soon! 

Which Disney World change are you most excited or concerned about? Let us know in the comments!