In this week's episode, Shannon and Peter discuss the new changes to the Disability Access Service (DAS) system, DisneylandForward passes Anaheim city council, and more! N139

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Disney is implementing changes to the Disability Access Service (DAS) registration process at Walt Disney World on May 20th and at Disneyland on June 17th. Visits prior to these dates will not be affected. Highlights are below:

The intent is to reduce abuse and overuse. DAS use has tripled over the last five years.

Source: Touring Plans

On April 16th, the Anaheim City Council voted unanimously to approve the plans for DisneylandForward, the massive $2 Billion expansion planned around Disneyland. A second council vote is needed to finalize the plan is required in May, but once that passes Disney will be able to start moving on these changes. This is expected to be the biggest change to the California parks since the opening of Disney’s California Adventure. 

Source: NBC News LA

DVC News shared their monthly data on direct DVC sales for the month of March. While The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort sales went up compared to the previous month, March was the first full month of sales for the resort. The Cabins only sold 12,326 points over 94 contracts. This brings the two month total to 19,485 points out of the 2.8 million points at the resort. If this month is any indication on the pace of sales, the cabins will take just under 20 years to sell. However, there could be a bump in sales next month due to improved incentives across the board. 

On the bright side for Disney, Disney’s Riviera Resort sales had the most sales with 72,275 points, which is well above the previous 12-month average. This is also the average pace at which the resort has sold since 2019, and if continued, the resort should sell out in the next three years.

Villas at Disneyland Hotel sales were also better than the Cabins, though only a little more than 16,000 points were sold. After almost a full year of sales, the resort is close to 20% sold. 

Source: DVC News

Disney has announced that the EPCOT International Food and Wine festival will run from August 29th to November 23rd. This period is almost seven weeks shorter than in 2023, when the festival started July 15th. It’s been a few years since the festival started as late as Labor Day weekend. No reason was given by Disney, but perhaps they have seen softening attendance in the summer for the festival while it remains extremely popular during the fall season. The usual parts of the festival -  the food booths, Eat to the Beat concerts, and Remy’s Hide and Squeak scavenger hunt - all were part of the announcement. The new festival center was also mentioned to be part of events this year. 

Source: Disney Parks Blog

While not an official opening date, many outlets are sharing that media previews for Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom will occur June 8th through the 11th. Media events for attraction openings are usually done after Cast Member previews and either right before or after Disney Vacation Club and Annual Passholder previews. While the official opening date is not yet set, it seems likely that a late June or early July date will be announced soon. 

Source: Blog Mickey

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