Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios have another attraction available again, but its return did not happen exactly when Disney’s operating calendar originally suggested it would.
Vacation Fun – An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie has officially reopened inside the Mickey Shorts Theater. The attraction welcomed guests back on September 28 after being unavailable for more than a month.
Its return comes with a small mystery.
The attraction had been expected to resume operations on September 27. Instead, that date came and went without Vacation Fun reopening. Guests only had to wait one additional day, but Disney has not provided an explanation for the brief delay.
While a one-day change may not seem significant, it brings an end to a surprisingly long closure for an attraction that was not actually undergoing a traditional refurbishment.
Vacation Fun Is Back at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
As of September 28, Vacation Fun is once again showing inside Mickey Shorts Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
According to the park’s operating schedule, Mickey Shorts Theater is running from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on its reopening day.
That means guests once again have the option to escape the Florida heat, sit down for a bit, and watch Mickey and Minnie on the big screen.
Vacation Fun is certainly not one of the largest attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It does not generate the massive waits associated with rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Slinky Dog Dash, either.
Still, smaller experiences like this can become surprisingly useful during a full park day.
Hollywood Studios has several major attractions that can consume significant portions of a guest’s schedule. A theater attraction provides something different. Guests can get out of the sun, enjoy air conditioning, and experience some Disney animation without committing to another major ride queue.
For families with younger children, it can also provide a break between some of the park’s busier experiences.
Now, that option is available once again.
The Reopening Came One Day Later Than Expected
The interesting part of Vacation Fun’s return is not necessarily that the attraction reopened. Disney’s calendar had already indicated that it was coming back.
The surprise was when it happened.
September 27 had previously appeared on the operating calendar as the date when Vacation Fun would resume operations. Instead, the attraction remained unavailable for another day before officially reopening September 28.
Disney has not given a reason for that additional day of downtime.
Of course, attraction schedules at Walt Disney World can change. Operational needs, maintenance issues and other circumstances can alter reopening plans, sometimes with little notice.
In this situation, however, the delay was extremely short.
Rather than turning into another lengthy closure, Vacation Fun returned the following morning.
For guests arriving at Hollywood Studios on September 28 and beyond, that is ultimately the most important part of the story. Mickey Shorts Theater is operating again, bringing another indoor entertainment option back to the park.
Why Did Vacation Fun Close in the First Place?
This was not a normal attraction refurbishment.
Vacation Fun originally closed on August 9 because Disney needed Mickey Shorts Theater for a completely different purpose.
The location became a distribution area for an Annual Passholder Kermit the Frog magnet. The giveaway was connected to a larger period of Muppets-themed Annual Passholder perks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Those offerings continued through September 24.
That resulted in Vacation Fun being unavailable for weeks even though Disney was not necessarily rebuilding or significantly changing the attraction itself.
It was an unusual situation.
Disney frequently uses existing spaces around its theme parks for limited-time offerings, merchandise releases and Annual Passholder events. In this case, however, using Mickey Shorts Theater meant temporarily removing an attraction from the Hollywood Studios lineup.
That tradeoff became particularly noticeable because the closure lasted from August 9 until September 28.
Now that the Passholder offering has ended, the theater has returned to its normal purpose.
Mickey and Minnie Return to the Big Screen
Vacation Fun – An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie gives Hollywood Studios guests another way to experience Disney’s modern Mickey Mouse animated shorts.
The attraction is housed inside Mickey Shorts Theater, making it a relatively easy experience to fit into a day compared with some of the park’s much larger attractions.
It also occupies an interesting place in the Hollywood Studios lineup.
The park has changed dramatically over the years as Disney has introduced increasingly elaborate lands and attractions. Hollywood Studios is now home to massive experiences based around Star Wars, Toy Story and other major properties.
Not every attraction needs to operate on that scale, though.
Vacation Fun offers a much simpler experience. Guests enter a theater, sit down and watch an animated Mickey and Minnie adventure.
There is no complicated ride system involved and no major thrill component. Instead, it works as another piece of entertainment that guests can enjoy between the park’s larger attractions.
That may make its return especially welcome for guests looking for something with a slower pace.
Hollywood Studios Gets Another Indoor Option Back
The timing of the reopening could also be useful for guests visiting during the early fall.
Even as Walt Disney World moves toward October, Central Florida can remain hot, humid and unpredictable. An indoor theater can become a valuable stop during the middle of a long park day.
Anyone who has spent hours walking around Hollywood Studios knows how quickly a short indoor break can become appealing.
Families may use the theater as a chance to get younger children off their feet. Other guests might stop inside while waiting for their next planned attraction or simply because they want a break from the weather.
Vacation Fun does not need to be the centerpiece of someone’s Hollywood Studios visit to serve a purpose.
In many ways, that is part of its appeal.
It is an additional attraction guests can work into their schedule without necessarily structuring an entire morning or afternoon around it.
After more than a month without that option, it is available again.
A Strange Closure Finally Comes to an End
Perhaps the most unusual part of this story is how Vacation Fun ended up being closed for so long in the first place.
The attraction did not disappear because Disney announced a major transformation. It was not undergoing an extensive refurbishment that required weeks of construction.
Instead, its theater became the distribution location for a Passholder magnet.
The Kermit the Frog magnet giveaway was part of a larger Muppets-themed Passholder period at Hollywood Studios, and Vacation Fun temporarily gave up its space for that offering.
Once that event wrapped up, attention shifted toward getting the regular attraction running again.
Disney’s calendar initially pointed toward September 27. When that did not happen, there was at least some uncertainty about whether guests could be facing another extended delay.
Fortunately, that was not the case.
Vacation Fun returned just one day later.
Another Attraction Is Available Again
Disney’s Hollywood Studios visitors now have one more option when deciding how to spend their day.
Vacation Fun – An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie officially resumed operations September 28, ending a closure that began August 9.
The reopening was technically one day later than expected, and Disney has not explained what caused the last-minute delay.
Still, the additional downtime turned out to be brief.
After Mickey Shorts Theater spent weeks serving as the distribution location for the Kermit the Frog Annual Passholder magnet, Mickey and Minnie are back on the screen and guests can once again add Vacation Fun to their Hollywood Studios plans.
It may not be the biggest reopening happening at Walt Disney World, but after more than seven weeks without the attraction, its return restores another piece of the Hollywood Studios lineup just in time for guests heading into the busy fall season.
