We might be in the middle of summer, but Disney has shared lots of news about their upcoming winter holiday events! I’ll be heading down for a girls weekend to attend Jollywood Nights in December, one of my favorite Disney events I’ve done. But in the meantime I’m still ready to enjoy summer. I have a new adventure coming up at the end of this month: I head to Hawaii for 8 days, including spending 3 nights at Disney’s Aulani resort! Hopefully I’ll be able to share lots of posts about that once I’m back.
Disney news
- Dates for Disney World’s holiday events have been announced, including Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Epcot’s Festival of the Holidays, and Jollywood Nights.
- Disneyland also has its holiday updates, including the Festival of the Holidays at California Adventure, Christmas themed showse and attraction overlays, and a brand new character meal: Mickey’s Christmas Carol Feast, happening at Storyteller’s Cafe in the Grand Californian.
- In 2026, a “new” experience called the Magic of Animation will open in Hollywood Studios, replacing the Star Wars Launch Bay area.
- Star Wars Launch Bay and the Disney Jr. Play and Dance show will close on September 25, 2025.
- Several new experiences have opened in Disney World this past month, including the Starlight evening parade in Magic Kingdom, and Test Track 3.0 in Epcot.
- Construction has begun in several areas to make way for more new attractions. This past month we saw Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America close and work has begun there. Muppet Courtyard, which closed in June, is now starting to see some real construction to make way for the Monsters Inc. land.
- Epcot will be hosting a special “Parisian breakfast buffet” during the Food and Wine Festival.
- Disneyland celebrated its 70th anniversary this past month, on July 17th.
- The extremely successful live action Lilo and Stitch came to Disney+ this past week, and will be available on blu-ray/DVD starting August 26.
Disney rumors
Magic Kingdom // The new Pirates-themed lounge coming to Magic Kingdom, called the Beak and Barrel, is supposed to open in 2025 but hasn’t been given an opening date yet. There are a few theories about when this might happen, but I think the most likely opening date will be October 1st. Historically, if Disney is opening something in the fall they like to do it this day – it’s both the anniversary of Disney World opening, and the beginning of a new fiscal year.
Movies // With the success of the live action Lilo and Stitch, many are speculating that Disney will continue to lean into more live-action remakes. We already know that a live action Moana will be coming, but what else might we see? Rumors include a live-action Frozen, Robin Hood, and Princess and the Frog.
Other Disney blogs
Looking to get crafty? Create your own Guardians of the Galaxy Mixtape bag with this easy tutorial from Indya at The Small Adventurer!
More crafts! If you want something besides ears to wear in the parks, Jenn from Fairest Run of All has a tutorial to make a Disney Halo Headband.
If you’re headed to Magic Kingdom soon, Tom from The Disney Tourist Blog has lots of tips and strategy for viewing the new Starlight evening parade.
I love that the good Cosmic Reward merch is so hard to come by that we’ve resorted to making it ourselves. 😅
REWIND. Dash it all, autocorrect
Eee, thank you for including my DIY! I’m so glad I finally got around to making it after wanting to for so long ☺️🤭