Important 2023 Dates for DVC Members

We’re entering a historic year for Disney fans, as our favorite company turns 100 years old in October! Disney theme parks will celebrate by offering several new attractions and amenities. Here are the important DVC dates to remember in 2023!

Disney Centennial – January 27th

Technically, The Walt Disney Company doesn’t officially turn 100 until October 16th, 2023. So, you can add that as another date to remember as well. 

However, Disney isn’t willing to wait until Halloween to throw a party! The Disney100 festivities will start on January 27th, which is only a few weeks from now.

Disneyland Resort will turn into the central hub for many of the centennial events. Disney will decorate Sleeping Beauty Castle and other buildings with platinum décor as a tribute to the 100th anniversary. 

Two nighttime presentations, World of Color – One and Wondrous Journeys, will debut as part of the centennial event as well. The latter show sounds especially appealing since it’ll pay tribute to all Walt Disney Animation Studios films to date. That’s 61 different Disney stories to reference!

Also, the various parks are already selling limited-edition centennial merchandise. ShopDisney offers some items now if you can’t wait to get to the parks! I’m gonna need that snow globe and those platinum Mouse Ears.

Journey of Water | Inspired by Moana – Late 2023

Moana has quietly evolved into one of Disney’s most popular films of the 21st century. In fact, the movie finished as one of the top five most-watched programs on Disney+ in 2022. 

Park officials recognized the emerging popularity of Moana a few years ago and embarked on a remarkable project. Imagineers are currently building an attraction that will anchor World Nature at EPCOT. 

This offering, Journey of Water, will recreate the sentient water from the movie. Disney indicates that the water feature at EPCOT will somehow react to park guests and respond accordingly. 

Frankly, I have no idea how Disney will accomplish such a stunning feat. This project is growing closer to reality, though. The 16-foot statue of Te Fiti is already visible at EPCOT. By the end of 2022, the entire living water attraction should be open to guests. 

Disney hasn’t announced a launch date yet. However, October 1st represents the 41st anniversary of EPCOT and the 52nd anniversary of Walt Disney World. So, it seems like a safe guess. 

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – January 27th 

Disney has stacked the deck for its centennial birthday party. I already mentioned the new nighttime shows at both Disneyland Resort parks. They’re not the main draw, though.

On January 27th, Disneyland Park unveils its version of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It’s the first Mickey Mouse ride ever created, which explains its popularity at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 

The Disneyland version will feature a different track layout, guaranteeing that it’ll provide a different ride experience. Runaway Railway already stands as one of Disney’s best rides, and the Disneyland version could be even better!

Moonlight Magic – February 1st, 2023

The exclusive Membership Extra event comes to Disney California Adventure (DCA) next month! Notably, this park’s version will include exclusive access to Avengers Campus at a time when DCA has closed to regular guests. You can ride WEBSLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure and hang out with the Dora Milaje and Doctor Strange when virtually nobody else is there!

General registration for Moonlight Magic opens on January 6th and almost certainly will sell out quickly. So, you’ll want to act fast to ensure your spot!

Mickey’s Toontown Reopens – March 8th

Here’s a quirk of scheduling. Mickey’s Toontown isn’t quite ready to reopen yet. As a reminder, Disney has redesigned the entire themed land to modernize the space.

Unfortunately, the new interactive play elements won’t be ready in time for the birthday party in late January. Instead, Disney will wait five weeks before Mickey’s Toontown returns in its new form. Presumably, Disneyland guests will get a long look at the project when Runaway Railway opens since it’s a part of this themed land. 

Happily Ever After Returns – April 3rd 

The Happily Ever After fireworks show returns to Walt Disney World on April 3rd, 2023! The show, which remains extremely popular with Disney fans, was originally suspended due to the pandemic. It was then replaced in late 2021 by Enchantment as part of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Tron Lightcycle Power Run – April 4th

TRON Lightcycle / Run will open at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on April 4th, 2023! This highly anticipated attraction is based on the popular Tron movies and is sure to be a hit with guests of all ages.

Earlier this year at the D23 Expo, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, shared a short video of a recent test ride he got to take on this brand new attraction coming to the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom!

Don’t undersell the significance of the Tron ride, either. Magic Kingdom’s last roller coaster was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which debuted in 2014. For the eight years that followed, the Snow White ride has remained the park’s most popular ride.

Thanks to Shanghai Disneyland, we already know that Tron Lightcycle Power Run qualifies as one of the best roller coasters ever built. It should similarly dominate Magic Kingdom for the next several years. 

The upshot of its arrival is that wait times for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train might drop a bit, too! In fact, Walt Disney World only offers one Lightning Lane attraction per park. So, when Tron opens, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train could feasibly switch to Disney Genie+ instead!

The Villas at Disneyland Hotel – TBA 2023

I wish I could provide more finality on this one. Currently, the best guess for this new DVC property involves an opening during the second half of 2023.

The arrival of The Villas at Disneyland Hotel will dramatically expand DVC inventory at Disneyland Resort. This added availability is something park officials have tried to bring into reality for many years now. You may recall that the previous Downtown Disney hotel expansion collapsed due to a rift with the Anaheim City Council. 

At some point this year, DVC will add 253 studios and nearly 100 other rooms to its Disneyland Resort inventory. At that point, all the Disneyland fans will breathe a huge sigh of relief. We know how challenging it can be to book reservations right now due to the inventory crunch. This new expansion tower will fundamentally improve the DVC options at Disneyland Resort!