Happy June! As we approach summer we’re seeing lots of Disney news, including some exciting things opening (Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is now up and running in Epcot!). If you’re traveling in the next few months you’ll have plenty to look forward to even with that Florida heat. Or if you’re headed to California there’s plenty to keep you busy there as well.
Disney News
- Star Wars fans will want to take more photos around Galaxy’s Edge, with new photopass options that started on May 4th that are set to hang around for awhile.
- Epcot is slowly starting to take shape as an actual park and not just construction walls and dirt mounds – “Future World” is now divided into areas called World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature, and we’ve got some new details and concept art.
- MagicBand+ will hit Disney World sometime this summer. In addition to what the current magicbands do, MagicBand+ will be able to interact with elements in the park, play games, light up with nighttime spectaculars, and more.
- The Harmony Barber Shop in Magic Kingdom will reopen for haircuts starting on July 31st (reservations can be made starting on June 28th).
- While Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique does not have a reopening date yet, Disney stated it would open “later this year.”
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has opened in Epcot, and you can only ride it using the virtual queue or by purchasing an individual lightning lane.
- If you’re sailing Disney Cruise Line anytime soon, you’ll want to stay up to date on their current COVID testing policies.
- Galaxy’s Edge in California will soon be getting new Star Wars characters – including Mando, Grogu, Boba Fett, and Fennec Shand!
- Over in Paris, Disneyland Paris has some exciting new attractions coming to their Avengers Campus!
- Looking to take a Disney World trip in 2023? Booking will open for next year starting on June 8th.
- Also starting on June 8th, Genie+ will no longer be available for purchase ahead of time as a ticket add-on. You will only be able to buy it the day of.
- Some additional Genie+ changes have been made as well, most notably Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has become an individual lightning lane selection, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure moves to the regular Genie+ line up.
- Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival will be here before you know it (starting on July 14th) and we now have a full food booth list as well as the Eat to the Beat concert series lineup.
- The Finding Nemo musical in Animal Kingdom will open as “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” starting on June 13.
Disney Rumors
Attractions // During an interview on June 2nd with the Today Show, Anika Noni Rose (voice of Princess Tiana in the movie) mentioned that the new version of Splash Mountain would be opening in 2024. While it seems pretty likely to be true, Disney has not yet made an official statement with any sort of timeline so until that happens we’ll classify it as a rumor. Sounds promising though!
Genie+ // With some of the new changes to Genie+, there’s been some talk of how Disney might make changes to the system. Some visitors have reported receiving an email survey after being at Disney asking them about different types of “front of the line access” that they might prefer – including their feelings about Universal’s Express pass system.
Magic Kingdom // With the TRON coaster seeing some progress, there have been rumors we’ll at least see an opening timeline announcement soon. My guess? They’ll let the excitement of Cosmic Rewind play out for awhile, and then maybe open TRON around October/November.
Other Disney blogs
I love seeing all of Jenmarie’s Star Wars inspired disneybounds on her blog Anakin and His Angel, but I think this Han Solo bound might be one of my favorites so far!
Over at Fairest Run of All, Jenn shares An Open Letter to RunDisney in which she details some of the issues we’ve had as runners with the organization. While RunDisney is an amazing experience, there are definitely some things that could be improved!
Tom from the Disney Tourist Blog shares lots of touring strategies, but I thought his experience with early entry at Hollywood Studios is especially useful to take a look at to avoid longer wait times for the main attractions there!
Have you ever stopped to look at the attractions posters when you first enter Magic Kingdom? If not, George from ImagiNERDing takes a look through all of them!
Mindy from This Fairy Tale Life shares her experience at the Star Wars themed Disneyland After Dark event, and it looks like such a fun time!
I would LOVE it if Disney copied Universal’s Express Pass. It’s prohibitively expensive, but that’s the point: few enough people use it that those that do get the full value, while at the same time allowing the standby line to flow more freely. I’m not SUPER hopeful, but who knows?