Walt Disney World Is Discontinuing Popular Amenity This Summer

Walt Disney World has decided to retire one of its popular amenities later this summer.

Here is everything you need to know if you are planning a Walt Disney World vacation this year.

Disney World has told Disney Travel Agents that it will soon retire its popular independently owned floral and gifts operations. Instead, they will utilize a third-party vendor in Central Florida. The change will take place on August 27, 2023.

Per WDWNT, "Guests will not have the option to add floral or other gifts to Disney Resort hotel in-room amenities to their travel packages booked through Disney. Anything requested for August 26 or before may still be fulfilled."

For many years, Walt Disney World utilized an independently owned, in-house service called Walt Disney World Floral & Gifts to create floral arrangements and send other unique gifts to Guests' hotel rooms. Many Guests use this service to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, and other special occasions.

Now, Disney is encouraging Guests to place orders through Florida Fresh Floral.

Suppose you are planning a magical vacation to Walt Disney World shortly. In that case, you should be aware of some changes coming to the theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom.

For starters, at this time, to enter a theme park at Walt Disney World — including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Animal Kingdom, or Disney's Hollywood Studios — Guests must need a valid theme park ticket and a Park Pass reservation. Park Passes became the new norm following the shutdown of Disney theme parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Soon, however, Park Passes will not be required for Guests with date-based tickets.

For reference, date-based tickets are the standard option Disney World offers Guests; theme park reservations may still be required for those with other admission types, including non-dated tickets. For more information, visit our website here.

Additionally, Disney Dining Plans are an option for Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotel and purchasing a vacation package. Disney Dining Plans are one of the most popular add-on perks to Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages.

And lastly, Disney will be simplifying Disney Genie, a service built into the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. The Disney Genie service, which laurin October 2021 at Walt Disney World in Florida and in December 2021 at Disneyland in California, helps to maximiGuests' park time as it helps to map out their entire day — from riding attractions to planning dining reservations.

"We have heard from guests that they would like ways to plan with Disney Genie+ service and individual Lightning Lane selections before the day of their park visit, and we want you to know we are working on ways guests may do this for visits in 2024," Disney stated in their announcement. "Our goal is to allow you to spend less time planning in the park and more time enjoying your visit with friends and family. While we cannot yet share specific details, we look forward to sharing more information later."