Welcome to 2020! You’ve told yourself long enough, “I’m taking to family to Disney/on a Disney Cruise in 2020!” Well, here we are, anticipating your needs with our complimentary services. But your first question is no doubt, “when should I go?” Lucky for you, we are helping you decide when to go…
Welcome to Believe Vacations’ Weekly Post where today, we’ll have part 1 of our 2 week series on when to plan your Disney vacation or cruise. For today’s article, we’ll provide you with brief seasonal outlook of what will happen at Disney Parks and Cruises in 2020. We’ll call this the four seasons at Disney. For this article, we are going to define the seasons into 3 months each: Winter (January, February, December 2020), Spring (March, April, May), Summer (June, July, August), Fall (September, October, November). For each season, we’ll provide special events, scheduled openings/closings/refurbishments, and other information so you can plan accordingly. Please note that all information is current at time of article publishing and may change throughout the year.
Winter
Notable Cruises
Marvel Day at Sea (January and February) – Join your favorite Marvel characters on cruises out of Miami
Star Wars Day at Sea (January and February) – Be one with the Force on cruises out of Port Canaveral
New Orleans – Set sail from the “Big Easy” (February and March)
Very Merrytime Cruises (November and December) – Enjoy the season on the high seas with your favorite characters and holiday decorations
Special Events
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – Enjoy races of different distances around your favorite Disney landmarks (Jan 8-12)
EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts – Enjoy a celebration of art, entertainment and food in January and February 2020
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival – Enjoy delectable cuisine, entertainment, culinary seminars and more (February 28 to April 21)
Disneyland After Dark – Specially themed, separate ticketed events – 80s Nite (January 29), Sweethearts’ Nite (February 12 and 13)
Disney After Hours – Visit either the Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom after hours with barely no wait at all for your favorite attractions
Disney Villains After Hours – Your favorite bad guys join you in taking over Magic Kingdom after hours
Openings
Awesome Planet – Film at the Land Pavilion (January)
Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 – Country film at the Canada Pavilion (January)
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along – Narrated interactive show at the France Pavilion (January)
Closings
Walt Disney World Railroad – Closed December 2018-TBA
Stitch’s Great Escape – Closed (Possibly Permanent)
Primeval Whirl – Closed 1/5/20 – Unknown
Splash Mountain – Closed 01/06/20 – 02/27/20
Kali River Rapids – 1/6/20 – 3/21/20
Test Track – Closed 01/13/20 – 02/26/20
Art of Animation Big Blue Pool – Mid-Sept. 2020 – Mid-Dec. 2020
Spring
Special Events
Disneyland After Dark – Specially themed, separate ticketed events – PIXAR Nite (March 5) and Villains Nite (April 30)
Disney After Hours – Visit either the Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom after hours with barely no wait at all for your favorite attractions
Disney Villains After Hours – Your favorite bad guys join you in taking over Magic Kingdom after hours
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival – Incredible topiaries, outside kitchens and springtime displays blossom all over EPCOT (March 4 – June 1, 2020)
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival – Enjoy delectable cuisine, entertainment, culinary seminars and more (February 28 to April 21)
Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon Weekend — Races for all ages and sides of the Force (Apr. 16-19, 2020)
Openings
Magic Happens – DisneyLand’s new day-time parade featuring classic and newer animated features
Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue – Outside barbecue-style restaurant at the America Pavilion hosted by our favorite patriotic Muppet, Sam the Eagle! (March?)
Space 220 – Themed-restaurant set in space at Future World (March?)
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – Train attraction at Hollywood Studios putting you right in the middle of a Mickey and Minnie Cartoon (March 4)
Mickey Shorts Theater – Family-style, Mickey-themed theater at Hollywood Studios featuring classic Mickey cartoons (March)
Closings
Stitch’s Great Escape – Closed (Possibly Permanent)
Walt Disney World Railroad – Closed December 2018-TBA
Kali River Rapids -1/6/20 to 3/21/20
Swiss Family Treehouse – 4/27/20 t0 5/4/20
Summer
Special Events
65 years of Disneyland – Celebrate 65 years of magic (July 17)
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom) — Trick-or-treat Disney style with characters in seasonal costumes, festive treats and special parades and shows (Select nights from August to October 2020)
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival — International festival featuring marketplace kiosks offering local food wine and beer pairings (August to November 2020)
Free Dining – Enjoy your 4-night, 4 park hopper ticket stay with free dining. Possible dates are 6/27-6/28, 7/5-7/7, 8/29-9/8. Has to be booked by January 16th.
Bask in the Sun & Fun – Save Up to 25% on Rooms This Spring and Summer (Select Dates April 1 – Sept. 12). Has to be booked by February 26th.
Savor Your Summer with a Tasty Kid-Size Package – Free Dining for kids aged 3-9 on special packages (Select Dates May 25 – August 28). Has to be booked by February 26th.
Openings
EPCOT
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – Family-friendly, trackless dark ride based on the movie in the France Pavilion
Disney’s DuckTales World Showcase Adventure – EPCOT’s interactive scavenger hunt game replacing Phineas and Ferb
Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ Restaurant – Themed backyard BBQ experience at Hollywood Studios with Andy and his toys
Closings
Stitch’s Great Escape – Closed (Possibly Permanent)
Walt Disney World Railroad – Closed December 2018-TBA
Fall
Notable Cruises
Halloween on the High Seas – A spooky, family-friendly voyage at sea featuring tricks and treats (September and October)
Special Events
Free Dining – Enjoy your 4-night, 4 park hopper ticket stay with free dining. Possible dates are 6/27-6/28, 7/5-7/7, 8/29-9/8. Has to be booked by January 16th.
Bask in the Sun & Fun – Save Up to 25% on Rooms This Spring and Summer (Select Dates April 1 – Sept. 12). Has to be booked by February 26th.
Christmas Events
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom) — Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year Disney style with characters in seasonal costumes, festive treats and special parades and shows (Select nights from November to December 2020)
Epcot International Festival of the Holidays (Epcot) —Celebrate Christmas around the World, topped off by the popular Candlelight Processional (November to December 2020)
Holiday Celebrations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom — Enjoy holiday awakenings from nature and creatures of all kind (November to December 2020)
Holiday Celebrations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios — Watch as Tinseltown lights up with projections and snow, topped off with a spectacular fireworks show (November to December 2020)
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend — A nighttime race combining the events of runDisney and the Food and Wine Festival (Nov. 5-8, 2020)
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Openings
Avengers Campus – California Adventure’s new land featuring your favorite superheroes recruiting for the next generation
Closings
Stitch’s Great Escape – Closed (Possibly Permanent)
Walt Disney World Railroad – Closed December 2018-TBA
Art of Animation Big Blue Pool – Mid-Sept. 2020 – Mid-Dec. 2020
