If there’s one thing you should know about Disney World, it’s that there’s almost always something new to see or do.

Last month alone, the remaining EPCOT Food and Wine Festival booths opened, the new BoardWalk Deli opened, and we attended the first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party since 2019, plus more. In addition to new things to see and do, there’s almost always something new to learn about Disney World, as well. So, without further ado, let’s get into the biggest things we learned at Disney World in August.

Miniature Golf Course Closures

Disney recently announced that one of the courses at Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf will be temporarily closed from September 19th to the 25th to replace the tee pads.

The course that will be closed is Fantasia Fairways, but during its closure, the Fantasia Gardens course and Winter Summerland will remain open.

Click here for more information about the Fantasia Fairways temporary closure!

Galactic Starcruiser Updates

We learned a lot of new information about the Galactic Starcruiser (a.k.a. the Star Wars Hotel) in August. For example, Disney announced when bookings open for 2023 stays. For Club 33 Members and residents of Golden Oak (a neighborhood on Disney World property), bookings opened on August 25th for dates through September 2023. General bookings open on September 1st for individuals who are not part of those groups.

We also learned that the Captain’s Table, an exclusive experience on the Starcruiser that allows you to eat dinner with the captain of the cruiser and enjoy foods not available during the regular dinner, is getting a price increase. The price is increasing in 2023 from $30 to $50 per person.

Click here for the only Star Wars Hotel complete guide you’ll ever need for Disney World!

Genie+ Changes

August also saw some changes come to Disney’s Genie+, the paid way for guests to skip the line at select rides in Disney World. First, Disney added some rides to the permanent Genie+ offering. A few months ago, we saw some rides get moved from being Individual Lightning Lane (or pay-per-ride) offerings to the more inclusive Genie+ service. At the beginning of August, Disney made those changes permanent, so now Space Mountain, Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Expedition Everest are all available with Genie+.

Another update Disney made to Genie+ regards park hopping. Now, if you have a ticket with park hopping capabilities, you won’t be able to make a Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation for the park you’re hopping to until the return times are 2PM or later for all guests. Previously, if you were park hopping, Genie+ would only show return times at 2PM or later, regardless of when you were booking, but that is no longer the case.

And the final Genie+ change is on the smaller side but could help alleviate some confusion about when you can make your next Lightning Lane selection. Disney introduced a small feature to My Disney Experience that tells you when you can make your next Genie+ Lightning Lane Reservation.

Now, on the Disney Genie Service screen in the app, you can see that there’s a new banner that tells you exactly when you can book. 

Click here to see our breakdown of the most CONFUSING parts of Genie+!

Tusker House Updates

In August, Disney announced that buffets will be returning to Tusker House Restaurant in Animal Kingdom on November 1st.

This is a character dining experience, as well where you can meet Donald, Mickey, and more of the usual suspects. Tusker House Restaurant will continue operating as a family-style restaurant until it goes back to buffet-style in November. 

Click here to read our full review of Tusker House Restaurant!

Park Pass Reservation Changes

If you’ve been to Disney World since it reopened in 2020, then you know to visit the parks, you need something called a Park Pass Reservation. This is a reservation that you make for each day you visit one of the four theme parks during your trip. Now, updates have been made to how you make Disney World Park Pass Reservations. You are now able to book for more than one ticket type at a time, so, for example, you could book Park Passes for both a Disney World Annual Pass and a single-day park ticket at the same time.

Disney World also updated the system so that some ticket types can modify their Park Pass Reservations without having to cancel them entirely (this option seems to be available to Disney World Annual Passholders only at this time).

Click here to see what to do if you can’t get a Disney World Park Pass Reservation!

Disney World Hotel Room Booking Changes

Disney World is also implementing some changes when it comes to booking your hotel room.

Now, instead of being able to book only your Disney World hotel room up to 499 days in advance of your trip, you can only book your hotel room (regardless of whether or not it’s included in a vacation package) within Disney World’s “annual product release dates.”

Click here to read more about the changes to Disney World’s hotel room booking process!

Behind-the-Scenes Tours Returning to EPCOT

We also learned in August that three behind-the-scenes tours will return to EPCOT in October!

The Behind the Seeds Tour, EPCOT Seas Adventure — DiveQuest, and EPCOT Seas Adventure — Dolphins in Depth will all be returning on October 2nd. Reservations for these tours became available on August 22nd and can be booked either in the My Disney Experience app or online on the Disney World website.

Click here to read more about the return of behind-the-scenes tours to EPCOT!

Disney Skyliner Temporary Closure

In August we also learned that the Disney Skyliner will be temporarily closed in January next year.

The Skyliner will be unavailable from January 22nd to January 29th, 2023. Disney did not share the exact reason for the Skyliner’s closure, but given that we saw it close temporarily around the same time in 2022, it’s likely that it is just closing for routine maintenance.

Click here for everything you need to know about Disney World transportation!

Springtime Surprise Race Themes

And the last big thing we learned in Disney World in August is the themes for the runDisney Springtime Surprise races!

The themes for the Springtime Surprise races are all about Pixar, with races themed after Toy Story, Cars, and more. Springtime Surprise is scheduled for April 13th to April 16th next year and tickets went on sale for the events on August 23rd.

Click here for more information about the Springtime Surprise races!

If you’re heading to Disney World soon, we have tons of resources for you. You can check out what the hardest dining reservations to get in 2023 will be, as well as what to expect from the rest of this year’s hurricane season at Disney World.

And as always, make sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney news and updates!

Click here for 3 terrifyingly easy ways to ruin your Disney World vacation!

When’s your next trip to Disney World? Let us know in the comments!