The 10 Biggest Changes Coming to Disney World in 2022
If visiting Disney World is on your list of 2022 resolutions, then you’ll want to be prepared for some big changes in store! From new rides to new hotels to major changes in the way we plan (and budget for) our vacations, a trip to Disney World in 2022 will be unlike any trip you’ve taken before!
Magic Kingdom
There are ten big changes on the way in the new year — let’s recap those changes today so you’re prepared to do Disney World a little differently than you have in the past!
Goodbye Magical Express, hello Mears Connect
If you fly into Orlando International Airport for all of your Disney World vacations, then this first change may be the most jarring: Disney’s Magical Express will suspend its service at the beginning of 2022, and it will be replaced by Mears Connect.
Disney’s Magical Express will conclude its service at the end of 2021
The basic logistics of Mears Connect are admittedly not all that different from Magical Express. A charter bus will transport you and your family from Orlando International Airport to your Disney World Resort hotel, and at the end of your trip, they’ll bring you back to the airport.
Mears bus
The differences, however, are worth noting. First, Mears Connect will NOT be complimentary like Magical Express was. Mears is offering two price levels: Standard and Premium. Standard will cost $16 per adult one way ($32 roundtrip) and $13.50 per child one way ($27 roundtrip), and Premium will cost $200 total for up to four guests roundtrip, with each additional guest costing $55. For the extra costs, premium service includes a limited wait time as well as direct service to your hotel. Mears’ graphic also implies that Premium service may be offered in a smaller vehicle like a van or private car, but that hasn’t been officially announced at this time. Premium is only being offered for round trip service at this time.
©Mears Transportation
Other major differences include your luggage. While Magical Express would transport your luggage to your Disney World hotel room (once you checked your luggage at your home airport, you wouldn’t see the bags at all until you arrived at your hotel!), you’ll need to get your bags at baggage claim and bring them onto Mears Connect with you.
Orlando International Airport
While we’re still awaiting updates from the Brightline train service that would bring guests from Orlando Airport to Disney Springs, Mears Connect will now be the primary way travelers will get to Disney World once their plane lands. You can also look into rideshare or taxi services. But it looks like the days of complimentary ground transportation are behind us.
Click here to read more about Mears Connect’s pricing.
MagicBand gets an upgrade with MagicBand+
When Disney World announced that it would no longer offer complimentary MagicBands to their resort hotel guests starting in early 2021, many had thought that the wearable technology was on the way out the door, and would be totally replaced by a digital service that would be known as MagicMobile.
MagicBands
Disney eventually announced that would not be the case; in fact, a NEW generation of MagicBands are on the way in 2022, and they’ll be known as MagicBand+.
MagicBands Galore!
MagicBand+ appears to offer the same features as the “old fashion” MagicBands: you can access your Disney World Resort hotel room, pay for food and merchandise, and redeem your Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations, all while sporting a variety of colors, patterns, and designs to fit your interests.
Simple Mickey!
MagicBand+, however, will also feature interactive elements guests can use at various times throughout their vacation. Whether it’s during a nighttime spectacular or with physical elements in the parks (it sounds like those Fab 50 Golden Character Statues from the 50th Anniversary Celebration will be able to do more than meets the eye!), MagicBand+ seems to offer guests more ways to use technology to enhance their vacation experience.
Princess crown
As of this writing, there is no official rollout date for MagicBand+, but it was announced that it will launch sometime in 2022! No word yet on whether or not the arrival of MagicBand+ will signal the end of previous models being sold, or if they’ll just be an optional “upgrade.”
Click here to learn more about MagicBand+
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
One of the most highly anticipated changes at Disney World in 2022 is the grand opening (or “maiden voyage,” to some) of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a two-night immersive experience in a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser
While this may appear at first glance to be a hotel, signs point to Galactic Starcruiser being anything but your traditional hotel. It’s part role-playing, part immersive theater, part all-inclusive stay aboard a luxury spacecraft (think a cruise ship, but in space). It will welcome its first guests on March 1st, 2022!
Bridge games on the Galactic Starcruiser
If you want to do a bit of a deep dive into Galactic Starcruiser to see if it’s worth adding onto your Disney World vacation (you can’t, or shouldn’t, exactly “leave” the hotel during your stay, so this will be an additional 2 nights on top of your traditional Disney World vacation), we have a plethora of articles to check out!
A look at the food that will be served aboard Galactic Starcruiser ©Disney
We’ve covered all that we know so far about Galactic Starcruiser, including pricing, what the food will be like, what kind of immersive experiences there will be, and much more! Even if you decide that a stay aboard the starcruiser isn’t in your plans, the opening of this new experience may still impact how you experience Galaxy’s Edge.
Tour around the Batuu marketplace.
Based on the itinerary for the Galactic Starcruiser, guests will experience an excursion to Batuu (aka Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios). The trip is scheduled to take place on the second day of the journey, and times are listed for guests to ride the two attractions in Galaxy’s Edge. No need to secure a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance, it seems! So, you may experience some longer wait times on certain days in Hollywood Studios.
Click here to read more about Galactic Starcruiser
Amazon’s Alexa is moving into your Disney World hotel room
If your idea of an overnight stay in Disney World involves fewer lightsabers and more earth-bound vibes, there are still big changes coming your way in 2022. If you prefer to stay on Disney World property, you’ll have a new “roommate” of sorts: Amazon’s Alexa.
Amazon Echo devices will be added to Disney World Resort hotel rooms!
The voice-activated assistant will soon be added to Disney World Resort hotel rooms with the new “Hey, Disney!“ technology-enabled. Through “Hey, Disney!” and Alexa, guests will be able to ask about bus schedules from their hotel to the parks, park hours, and much more!
Hey Disney!
Be on the lookout for these devices to appear in rooms across the Disney World Resort beginning in 2022.
Click here to learn more about “Hey, Disney!”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
For many Disney fans, the biggest park changes come about when a new ride or attraction opens up. Since Disney World reopened, we’ve been able to experience new offerings like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in EPCOT, and 2022 will bring even more changes to the park!
Construction as of late October 2021
The highly-anticipated thrill ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will open summer of 2022! This high-speed indoor roller coaster-type ride will feature a reverse launch (think Rock ‘n’ Roller Coster, except backward) and much more.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Ride Vehicle
We’re keeping a close watch on this ride in particular; we can’t wait to see a new “E-ticket” ride open up in Disney World!
Click here to learn more about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Long-term temporary closures and refurbishments
Some of the biggest changes coming to Disney World in 2022 appear at first glance to be the more “mundane” changes: temporary closures and refurbishments. While there are plenty of exciting new offerings on the horizon like Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, we also wanted to make sure we cover some of the other changes that don’t sound nearly as thrilling, but are just as important and can still have a big impact on your vacation.
Pardon Our Pixie Dust!
Disney World doesn’t always give tons of advance notice to their temporary closures and refurbishments, but there are two that we know about so far that may impact 2022 travel plans. First, the Disney Skyliner is set to undergo a refurbishment from January 23rd through 28th, 2022. While the closure only spans a week, it’ll impact service between Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, and EPCOT, which will be out of operation during that time.
Skyliner
Next, if your “must-do” Disney World list always includes Expedition Everest, then you may want to rethink your 2022 travel dates before booking. The popular “E-ticket” ride in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is set to undergo major refurbishments from January 4th through mid-April of 2022. This will last over three months and will span over the spring break season, so keep that in mind before booking your trip!
Expedition Everest
If we hear of any additional temporary closures or refurbishments in Disney World throughout 2022, we’ll be sure to let you know so you can adjust your plans accordingly!
Click here to read more about the extended closure of Expedition Everest
Annual Passholders will all renew into the new AP program if they haven’t already.
Disney World made some big changes to their Annual Passholder program in 2021 with the launch of an entirely new system, including four new Pass levels. When this new program was announced, Disney gave existing Passholders the opportunity to renew their current Pass if they were in their renewal window, essentially giving them one more year of the “old” Pass system.
Annual Pass
However, when their renewal window rolls around again in 2022, they’ll have to renew into the new program. If you are an existing Annual Passholder and you haven’t yet renewed into the new program, it’ll be coming within the next twelve months.
©Disney
In November of 2021, Disney World also paused the sale of most Annual Passholder types, including the only Pass level available to non-Florida residents (renewals are still available). This temporary pause is expected to last into 2022, so we’ll also likely see a resumption of Annual Passholder sales sometime next year as well.
Click here to read more about Disney World pausing the sale of new Annual Passes.
(Hopefully) TRON Lightcycle Run
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind isn’t the only major E-ticket attraction currently in the works at Disney World. Over in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, fans are eagerly awaiting the opening of another roller coaster, TRON Lightcycle Run, direct from Shanghai Disneyland.
TRON construction — Late October 2021
Updates on TRON have been coming at a bit of a slower pace than Cosmic Rewind in recent months. In fact, during Destination D23 in November of 2021, all we got from Disney was that it was still “coming soon.” So as of this writing, there’s no word yet on if the ride will open in 2022. But we certainly hope that by the end of 2022, we’ll have not one, but TWO new roller coasters to enjoy in Disney World.
Click here to read more about TRON Lightcycle Run
Get ready to learn all about Genie and Genie+
Whether you choose to purchase the new paid version of what used to be FastPass+ or not, you will likely use Disney Genie (or its paid counterpart, Genie+) on your next Disney World vacation. While these services launched in 2021, if you haven’t been to the parks since, then 2022 will be your first experience with these new programs.
Disney Genie is here!
Disney Genie is a free tool built into My Disney Experience, available to all guests. It provides customized itineraries based on real-time data as well as your personal preferences. You can take a look at current and projected wait times, dining reservation availability, and much more!
©Disney
Genie+ is a paid add-on that costs $15 per guest, per day. Genie+ gives its users access to booking return times for a ride’s Lightning Lane (formerly known as the FastPass lane). If you want an expedited wait for your favorite Disney World attraction, it will no longer come for free.
Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane
On top of the rides included with the purchase of Genie+, there are a select number of high-demand attractions. Disney calls them Individual Attraction Selections (IAS), but we like to call them “fancy rides,” These special attractions require a SEPARATE fee in order to book a return time for their Lightning Lane. Check out our video on what we learned using Genie+. There’s a LOT to digest if you’re unfamiliar with Genie+, so be sure to study up before your next trip!
Click here to read more about Genie and Genie+
Unknown COVID changes
Finally, there may be a number of changes in the parks as it relates to COVID-19. As of late 2021, Disney World was still in the midst of its phased reopening, with a select number of hotels, restaurants, and other locations that have yet to reopen.
Mask Signage
As the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic changes, so will the health and safety guidelines at Disney World. We may see updates to the resort’s mask mandates, social distancing policies, or other guidance as needed. We may also see changes in park capacity, Annual Passholder sales, or Park Pass Reservation availability.
Masks in EPCOT
We keep a watch on all things COVID-related that could impact your Disney World vacation, so when there are major changes to the guidelines in the parks and resorts, we will let you know!
Click here to read about the current indoor mask mandate in Disney World.
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for Disney World! Beyond the changes we already know about, we will surely see more changes and updates as the year goes on. Not to mention 2022 is when we’ll experience the D23 Expo, where we will likely hear some exciting announcements about changes coming to the parks in 2023 and beyond! Be sure to follow along for all of the latest news and announcements as they happen.
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