Disney news, rumors, and round up: July 2023

We are halfway through 2023! This year has been a whirlwind for me so far, and to be honest I’ve struggled to blog as much as I want to… and it really is something that I love to do. But I Have a good feeling about this month and I’m ready for the second half of 2023. Disney is too, with some interesting news for their holiday seasons, packages for 2024, and more.

Disney news

• Dates for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party have been released (select nights November 9-December 22) and tickets are now on sale for Disney resort guests. Bookings will open to the rest of the public on July 6.
• New this year is a Christmas celebration coming to Hollywood Studios called Jollywood Nights! This will also be select evenings through November 11-December 20.
• There have been a few changes in how Genie+ will work at Disney World. You will now select a “single park” option or “multiple park option” (if you plan to park hop and want to use Genie+ in multiple parks). Pricing will vary based on the park you are visiting.
• Disney Cruise Line recently opened bookings for sailings in the second half of 2024 and early 2025.
• New details have been revealed for San Fransokyo Square coming to Disneyland – it looks super cute!
• If you’re headed to Disney World this month, check out the Flavors of Florida happening in Disney Springs. Please, do it for me – it looks amazing!
• Looking to do a Disney World and cruise combo vacation? Instead of only considering Port Canaveral, you could now look into cruises that leave from Miami or Fort Lauderdale. The Brightline train service will start selling tickets between Orlando and these locations around Labor Day of this year.
• Three new Star Wars movies were announced, and we now have (at least tentative) release dates. May 22, 2026, December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2027. So they are coming but we will still have to wait a few years!
• If you’ve ever wanted to send an in-room gift to someone on a trip to Disney World, there will be some slight changes. Beginning Aug. 27, 2023, Walt Disney World Resort will transition its floral & gifts operations to a new Central Florida third-party vendor. This also means that for a time starting on August 27, in-room gifts and flowers will not be available.

Disney rumors

Hollywood Studios // There have often been rumors about a refurb of Rock n Roller Coaster, but finally a rumor has surfaced that I could actually see happening. With the success of Muppet Mayhem on Disney+, the idea is floating around to use Electric Mayhem as the band on Rock n Roller Coaster to replace Aerosmith. I would 100% be here for this.

Encanto // Disney has released a casting call for someone to play Bruno from Encanto, stating it will be for “special events.” Guesses on what this might be for include the Halloween Party, Christmas Party, and RunDisney’s Wine and Dine weekend (which is Encanto themed this year).

Magic Kingdom // Mirabel from Encanto will start meeting guests in the fall of 2023 in Fairytale Garden, which is currently the home of Merida’s meet and greet. Rumors are suggesting that Merida may join meet and greets and Princess Fairy Tale Hall, which means she would replace a princess there (the guess is Elena).

Animal Kingdom // A recent report has shown that Animal Kingdom has the lowest attendance of any of the Disney Parks in Florida (and lower than both Universal parks as well). This has led to a lot of speculation that Animal Kingdom will be the next park to see some major additions and new rides, like the Moana or Zootopia areas that are supposedly in the works.

Other Disney blogs

Rogers the Musical recently debuted at California Adventure, and over at Disney Tourist Blog Tom brings us his thoughts. Just reading this makes me want to book a plane ticket back right now.

I loved reading and thinking about this post from Jenn at Fairest Run of All… what RunDisney race theme can you imagine would be the most tempting for you?

Over at Polka Dots and Pixie Dust, Melanie has some of the best places to eat at Disney World for picky eaters. As someone who has traveled with picky eaters this is very valuable information!

Churros are a popular snack item at Disneyland – but they actually have tons of different flavors and spots to get them! Mindy from This Fairy Tale Life brings us the complete list of churro locations in Disneyland.