If you’re headed to Disney World this summer, the end of June is a big month – Tiana’s Bayou Adventure officially opens on June 28th! I won’t be there to check it out until the end of August/early September, but I can’t wait. Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping up on all of the latest Disney news from home as I enter into the busiest season of my full-time job (children’s librarian, so we are busy with summer reading!).
Disney news
- Richard Sherman, half of the legendary Disney songwriting duo (the Sherman brothers), has passed away at the age of 95. He and his brother composed some of the best known Disney tunes, including favorites like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (and the entire score of Mary Poppins), “Winnie the Pooh” (not to mention my personal favorite, “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” “I Wanna Be Like You” (The Jungle Book), “Let’s Get Together” (The Parent Trap), and theme park favorites “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” “It’s a Small World,” and “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.”
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party will be back in August, and will include new costumes for Mickey and Minnie, an earlier start time to the parade, a chance to meet Bruno from Encanto, and more.
- Over in Disneyland, Oogie Boogie Bash will also be back in late August until October!
- A new drone show is playing in Disney Springs from now until early September, called “Dreams that Soar.”
- One of the things that people are most looking forward to on the Disney Treasure cruise ship? A Haunted Mansion themed bar.
- The city of Anaheim has given approval for “Disneyland Forward,” an expansion of Disneyland in California.
- We’ve seen Disney make some pretty great movies based on their attractions in the past (like Pirates of the Caribbean) – and now they are in the process of creating a murder mystery themed film that takes place at Club 33!
Disney rumors
Magic Kingdom // It is suspected that Peter Pan’s Flight will close for a refurb soon – and the rumor is that this might be a longer term closure to make some much needed changes. The permit filed is listed as “Imagineering,” which seems to imply that some actual changes will be made to the scenes or the attraction itself, and not just regular maintenance.
Magic Kingdom // Another big refurb that seems to be coming is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is rumored to be closed for over a year. Is this so Disney can make adjustments to start working on their “Beyond Big Thunder” potential expansion of Magic Kingdom?
Animal Kingdom // Animal Kingdom has lacked a nighttime show after Rivers of Light ended – one of the challenges is coming up with a show that doesn’t involve fireworks. Some are speculating that the new drone show at Disney Springs this summer may be a test of this technology with plans of bringing a drone show to Animal Kingdom in the future.
Other Disney blogs
If you’re a RunDisney person, you may have heard of Club RunDisney. Jenn from Fairest Run of All weighs in and gives us her thoughts on why you don’t actually need a Club RunDisney membership.
Melanie from Polka Dots and Pixie Dust has a look at the similarities and differences between the “not officially Disney but basically still Disney hotels” – the Swan, the Dolphin, and the Swan Reserve.
Gonna be on a Disney cruise? Mouse Hacking has a guide to running the Castaway Cay 5k. A lot has changed in the past few years (definitely since I last did it!), so even if you’ve experienced it before this is worth a read.
If you’re looking for the best spot to watch Dreams that Soar in Disney Springs, Heather at WDW Prep School has put together a great article about watching the show.
If you’ve been watching The Acolyte and want a spoiler review, Jenmarie at Anakin and His Angel has you covered (I didn’t read the review in full yet because I have to still watch the show!).
I would argue there are elements of Peter Pan that have way more potential to offend than Splash Mountain when divorced from context. >D
Honestlyyyy I completely agree, and I’m amazed they lasted this long.