The holiday season is here! The theme parks are a magical place to be during the holidays, but there are also plenty of ways to celebrate at home too (Disney-style!). I am currently finishing up a trip to Disney World and got to enjoy much of the holiday magic, including Epcot’s Festival of the Holidays and Jollywood Nights. I also stayed at the RIviera for two days and then club level at Coronado’s Gran Destino Tower – look for some blog post on all of this and more coming soon!
Disney news
- Holiday food has hit the theme parks – check out the Disneyland holiday foodie guide and the Disney World holiday foodie guide!
- Construction and refurbishment work will continue on sections of the Grand Floridian Resort until mid-2026. The gingerbread display will not be available this holiday season.
- Refurbishments at Port Orleans Riverside will take place through 2027. Sections of the resort will be done at a time.
- You can, however, find gingerbread displays at other Disney resorts. This year you’ll find them at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Contemporary Resort, Boardwalk Inn, and Beach Club Resort.
- The Perch, a new lobby bar at the Grand Floridian, officially opened on November 10th.
- The Garden View Tea Room at the Grand will finally re-open! Expect a new afternoon tea experience in 2026.
- Wailulu Bar and Grill at the Polynesian will start accepting reservations on December 3rd.
- Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot will be cutting back its hours. It is no longer open for lunch (only dinner).
- Bluey fans – Bluey will be coming to the theme parks next year! Disneyland will have a Bluey show premiering on March 22, and Disney World’s Animal Kingdom will have an experience with Bluey and Bingo at Conservation Station in summer 2026.
- New animatronics are coming to Frozen Ever After, and they will be appearing sometime in February 2026. In order to install them, the ride will close for refurbishment starting on January 26th, 2026.
- Several other rides that are currently under refurbishment will be reopening next year. Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin are both said to reopen in “spring 2026”. Rock n Roller Coaster with Aerosmith will remain until “spring 2026,” and then the Muppets version will open in summer 2026.
- The new Mandalorian & Grogu mission will debut on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on May 22nd.
- A new show, Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live, will be coming to Hollywood Studios in summer 2026. This is the same as the show currently playing in California Adventure.
- When the Magic of Disney Animation opens “later in the summer,” it will have 6 different character meet and greets. The two confirmed so far are Mulan and Rapunzel.
- On May 25th, the new version of Soarin’ (Soarin’ Across America) will open.
- We now have dates for Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival – it will run from March 4th through June 1, 2026.
- The Disney Destiny had its inaugural sailing this month, and Susan Egan was the named the godmother of the ship.
Disney Rumors
Movies // It seems a live action Tangled film may still be in the works – Scarlett Johansson is supposedly being considered for Mother Gothel (though Kathryn Hahn has also been mentioned), and there are plenty of rumors about who might play Rapunzel. Several names that have been mentioned include Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Florence Pugh.
Movies // Is Disney making a Miss Piggy movie? That seems to be the case, as Jennifer Lawrence shared that one is in the works, and will be produced by her and Emma Stone.
Disney World // Will we actually see Magical Express return? Luggage service to and from the airport was introduced for those staying at Pop Century and flying on Southwest, and it has now expanded to all value resorts on Southwest. Is this the first step?
Other Disney blogs
Spending some time at your Disney Resort? The Resorts Gal shared that Disney has started posting their activity schedules ahead of time, and she has links to all of the resort activities.
Tom at the Disney Tourist Blog shares info on the new tool on Disney’s app to help you find merch around property more easily.
If you’re trying to get a tough Disney dining reservation, Shannon at WDW Prep School has the scoop on the best Disney dining alert tools.
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