Oops, where did April go? The month flew by and I’ve been so busy blog posts have been a bit lacking lately. I have so much I want to write and share, so I’m hoping I can get a bit more up this month! With me being at Disney in late March/early April it meant I never got around to writing April’s news post either. I’ve highlighted some of the major things from March and April for this one, and there’s certainly been a lot!
Disney News
- A few dining locations have opened at Disney World, including Creations Cafe at Epcot and the Salt and Straw ice cream shop in Disney Springs.
- Disney will be seeing some new restaurants in the future too, including The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers in the Boardwalk area (opening 2023), with the Boardwalk Bakery getting a refresh as a “new sandwich shop.” Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian is closing on June 18th for a long refurb project.
- Disney has now announced that face masks are optional on all transportation, which means at this point they are optional everywhere on Disney property.
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be opening later this month on May 27th in Epcot!
- The All-Star Sports resort reopened in the end of March, which means at this point all Disney resorts have now officially reopened.
- Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival will run this year from July 14th-November 19th.
- Disney character meet and greets are back in their full form in many locations, including autographs and hugs!
- Over at Animal Kingdom, KiteTails is getting a bit of a change, with the kites going up and down the Discovery River throughout the day instead of being only in the main viewing area.
- In California, Disneyland is seeing many of their nighttime spectaculars return, including the Disneyland Forever Fireworks and the Main Street Electrical Parade in Disneyland, and World of Color in California Adventure (all reopened on April 22).
- Also in Disneyland, Tarzan’s Treehouse will be closed to be re-themed.
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party will be back in full form this fall at the Magic Kingdom, starting on August 12th!
- Disneyland will see the return of Oogie Boogie Bash, though no dates have yet been announced.
- Disney Cruise Line will also see new experiences for their Halloween on the High Seas cruises this year.
- Disneyland’s Paradise Pier hotel is getting a makeover, with new themeing incorporating the art of Pixar. The project will also involve building a walkway from Paradise Pier directly to California Adventure park.
- The new villas at the Grand Floridian Resort in Florida are set to open in June 2022.
- Disney Cruise Line has announced new itineraries for the summer 2023 season.
Disney Rumors
Boardwalk // it seems pretty certain that the new restaurant, The Cake Bake Shop, will be replacing ESPN Club on the Boardwalk so we won’t see that restaurant reopening.
Dining // With the announcement of a refurbishment project at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian, there’s lots of speculation that they will be rethemeing the restaurant and adding some sort of IP (intellectual property) like they did at Citricos with Mary Poppins.
Disneyland // With Tarzan’s Treehouse closing for a refresh, there is a lot of rumors about what the new theme will be. The most popular option? Making it Antonio’s Treehouse with an Encanto theme.
Transportation // Disney World shared on TikTok that Minnie Vans will be returning, though they didn’t give an official date. There are a lot of rumors that once they do return, the cost of those Minnie Vans will be much higher than they were before (base rate starting at $15 back in March 2020).
MagicBands // Well, it seems MagicBand+ should be hitting the shelves very soon! They were actually (accidentally) put out on shelves in Disney Springs on May 1st but were removed. So guesses are they will be released officially sometime in the next two weeks?
Other Disney blogs
Now that traditional character meet and greets are returning to Disney World, you might be curious to know which ones are back already. Allyson at WDW Prep School has the full list of where you can hug Disney characters right now.
George at ImagiNERDing has a review of the book Women from Walt Disney Imagineering – it sounds great and I’m adding it to my to-read list!
What would you say is the best Disney movie from the 1990s? April from Pixie Dusted Lifestyle shares her thoughts!
One of the biggest news stories around Disney recently has been about the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Florida government. If you’re not familiar, or you’ve heard about it and are confused, I recommend reading this post on the topic by Tom from the Disney Tourist Blog for an easy to understand, down-to-earth and unbiased point of view.
Like staying organized? Consider vacation planning printables – 41 pages of trip planning, including a budget worksheet, guide to characters, trip comparison worksheet, info about the Disney Genie system, daily itineraries, packing checklist, and much more.
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