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Do You Need a Separate Ticket for Star Wars Land?

Disney Answer: No, but Kind of?

If you didn’t know already, Disney is finally building a Star Wars Land, officially known as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This brand new Star Wars Land will be located in both Disneyland and in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. Opening dates have been announced, Star Wars Land will open on May 31, 2019 in Disneyland and on August 29, 2019. Regular admission to each park will get you access to Star Wars Land, kind of.

Disneyland – While technically your theme park ticket will get you into Disneyland, from May 31 – June 23, 2019, it will NOT get you into Star Wars Land. During this time frame, in addition to a park ticket, you will also need a reservation.

Guests staying in one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels during this time will get a free designated reservation to access Star Wars Land (one reservation per registered guest). You will still need a theme park ticket, but the reservation will get you into Star Wars Land once inside Disneyland.
Reservations for non-Disneyland Resort Hotel guests will be made available, though this process and how they will be made available has not yet been announced. Reservations will be free, but will be extremely limited.
Beginning June 24, 2019, a separate reservations will no longer be required.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be capacity controlled, so after June 24, you may need to stand in a very long line just to get into Star Wars Land to stand in another very long line to ride any of the rides.
Star Wars Land will not be available during Extra Magic Hours or Magic Morning at Disneyland Park, and is not available with FastPass or MaxPass services.

Walt Disney World – Disney World has decided to forgo the reservation system (they have A LOT more hotels) and just give everyone equal access. And by equal access I mean anyone that wants to wait in a 5+ hour line can have access. Capacity for both Hollywood Studios and Star Wars Land will be capacity controlled, so even if you have a ticket, you may not be able to get into Hollywood Studios, and if you get inside, you may not be able to get into Star Wars Land. As with Disneyland, there will be no FastPass+ service for any attraction in Star Wars Land.

Please note at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is opening with only one of the two main attractions available. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will be available at the grand opening while Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will not open until later in the year (or possibly 2020 at Walt Disney World).

Are Epcot Fireworks Every Night?

Disney Answer: Yes

The nightly fireworks show at Epcot is currently called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, and starts nightly at 9:00 PM and lasts 12 minutes, subject to the weather conditions or course. Illuminations is available for viewing all around the World Showcase, just find a good spot with a decent view of the water, and you are good to go.

Illuminations has been part of the Epcot landscape since 1998, and is scheduled to be replaced later this year. Sometime in the late Summer or early Fall of 2019, Disney will introduce Epcot Forever, an interim show that will feature classic Epcot tunes, surely to be a hit with long time Epcot fans.

Sometime in 2020, the new permanent show, A Celebration of Disney Music, will replace Epcot Forever.

While no exact dates for the changes have been announced, it appears that there will not be any transition period between the shows, and fireworks will continue to be displayed every night.

Are there Disney characters at Be Our Guest?

Disney Answer: No and Yes

Disney’s Be Our Guest restaurant, located in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, is not a normal Disney character meal. Some restaurants at Walt Disney World feature Disney characters that go table to table to meet the guests, offering photo opportunities you may not get otherwise. In the Magic Kingdom, character meals include Crystal Palace and Cinderella’s Royal Table. You will notice that Be Our Guest is not included in that list. That is because Disney characters are NOT available at Be Our Guest (most of the time).

Breakfast and Lunch – For both meals, Be Our Guest is considered a Quick-Service meal, you order via a kiosk, pick up your food and take it to your table. Other than dining inside of Be Our Guest, the meal itself isn’t much different than eating at any of the other Quick-Service places in the Magic Kingdom. There are no Disney characters to be found during breakfast or lunch.

Dinner – For Dinner, Be Our Guest transforms into a Table Service restaurant, complete with waiters/waitresses, a nicer menu, and Disney characters. Well, kind of. Beast appears in his little library area (it is actually the area where you order your food for breakfast and lunch), and is available for photos with your family. Disney suggests that you meet Beast on your way out of the restaurant. Beast does not go table to table, you must go see him. And remember that this is Beast’s castle you are dining in, Belle isn’t anywhere to be found (you will have to head over to Belle’s attraction next door, Enchanted Tales with Belle in order to find her).

Be Our Guest is super popular, by far the most difficult dining reservation there is at Walt Disney World. But remember, you are not booking a character meal, so if your kids want to see characters, look elsewhere.

Can you walk from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom?

Disney Answer: Yes

While everyone knows that the monorail services Disney’s Contemporary Resort, that isn’t the only way to get to the theme parks. Of all the resorts in the Magic Kingdom area, it is the only resort (along with Bay Lake Tower which is attached to the Contemporary) that you can walk directly from the resort into a theme park. Both Polynesian Village and the Grand Floridian are not directly accessible to the Magic Kingdom.

In fact, if you are going to the Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary, it is much quicker to walk to the Magic Kingdom than take the resort monorail. After waiting for the monorail at the Contemporary, it will make three more stops before coming to the Magic Kingdom, and the trip will take about 15 – 20 minutes, maybe more if the trains are delayed at all. Walking from the Contemporary will take about 5 – 10 minutes, depending on how quickly you can walk.

Please note however, after a long day in the park, it may be worth taking the monorail back to the Contemporary from the Magic Kingdom even if it is a few minutes longer. It is the first stop on the resort line, and your feet may be considerably more tired than on the way to the park in the morning.

To walk to the Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary, there is a sidewalk that starts at the bus stop in front of the resort, head to the North away from the Contemporary. The sidewalk basically follows the monorail line until you reach the Magic Kingdom plaza, where you can go directly into the park. The path from Bay Lake is similar, just exit the front of Bay Lake and follow the sidewalk West until it joins with the sidewalk from the Contemporary.

walk from the contemporary to the magic kingdom — Just follow the sidewalk to get right to the front gate of the Magic Kingdom!

Does Disney’s Fort Wilderness Allow Pets?

Disney Answer: Yes

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is the only pet friendly resorts at Walt Disney World. If you plan on taking a pet with you to Fort Wilderness, you must request a pet site when booking. Pet sites at Fort Wilderness are located in loops 300, 700, 800 and 1600 – 1900. There is an extra $5 per day if you plan on having pets with you. The cabins at Fort Wilderness ARE NOT pet friendly, only the campsite/RV areas.

Not only is Fort Wilderness pet friendly, but there is also a huge fenced dog park, the Waggin’ Trails Dog Park located in the 300 loop. There are also designated dog paths throughout the resort that lead to Waggin’ Trails. In addition to Waggin’ Trails, there are also special “pet” walks throughout the resort where you can walk your dog. Please note that there are many areas in the resort where pets are not welcome, so make sure you know the lay of the land before taking your dog to see Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review.

One downside, there is no kennel at Disney’s Fort Wilderness, so if you want to board your dog during the day, you will have to head over to the Best Friends Pet Care Kennel located across from Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, less than a mile from the entrance to Fort Wilderness. Currently, Best Friends runs about $27 per day for day camp.

Are the Disneyland Hotels Pet Friendly?

Disney Answer: No

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the three Disneyland Resort Hotels, the Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian Hotel and Spa and Disney’s Paradise Pier, are NOT pet friendly. They do not allow pets of any kinds in the rooms, other than trained service animals. If you are planning on bringing a service animal with you to stay at one of the three Disneyland Hotels, you must notify Disney in advance.

Service Animals are also allowed in the parks, but are not allowed in certain areas and on certain rides.

Disneyland also operates the Disneyland Kennel Club, located to the right hand side of the main entrance to Disneyland. The current cost is $20 per day per animal, but overnight boarding is not allowed. Kennels are available for your pets on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are not accepted.