Disney needs to slow down with all their announcements because there is a LOT of news this month! It’s clear they’ve used the opportunity of coming back from the pandemic to tweak or change things a bit, and we’ve been hit with a number of new announcements the past month as Disney gears up for its big 50th celebration starting on October 1st. It’s been hard for me to keep up and I feel like I live and breathe it! So here are some of the big things from the last month to help you out.
Disney news
- Annual passholders on both coasts got some news about passes, with the Disney Magic Key program being introduced at Disneyland and updates and sales resuming for Disney World annual passes in Florida.
- Disneyland has a bunch of reopenings lately: this month we saw the reopening of Disney Princess Breakfast at Napa Rose, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, Goofy’s Kitchen, and Minnie and friends Breakfast at the Plaza. Carnation Cafe will be reopening this month on September 16.
- At Disney World in Florida we’ve seen a number of reopenings too, including Boma, Tokyo Dining, and Nine Dragons. Opening later this month we have Diamond Horseshoe on September 12.
- Buffets are returning to Disney, with some restaurants that were serving family style reverting to buffet. Current buffets include Biergarten, Boma, and Crystal Palace.
- Space 220 restaurant is supposedly, finally opening in September – though we still don’t have an exact date.
- A new steakhouse will be coming to the Contemporary called Steakhouse 71. There will also be some updates to the California Grill menu.
- We got a look at some of the merchandise coming for Disney World’s 50th anniversary.
- Heading to Disney World in the next two months? Take a look at all of the Halloween treats coming to the parks and resorts!
- Oogie Boogie Bash is back at Disneyland, and they are also offering some Halloween themed dining and dessert packages.
- We have more information about one of the services that will be available next year in place of Magical Express, called Mears Connect.
- Disney announced their new Disney Genie app, which will offer some new features and (most significantly) serve as the new version of fastpass for a fee. Read all about what we know so far here.
- For Christmas a “Very Merriest After Hours” party will be happening in Magic Kingdom, and it will include a Christmas parade and holiday fireworks.
- The NBA Experience in Disney Springs has closed permanently.
- The Ferrytale Fireworks Cruise experience will again be available, starting on September 18.
- A new creperie will be coming to the France pavilion in Epcot as part of the Ratatouille expansion, and we got a first look at the menu.
- The new Cirque du Soleil show will be coming to Disney Springs this November.
- Disney Cruise Line is now sailing again from Florida – due to current requirements from the government of the Bahamas they are requiring passengers above the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated at least for sailings in the next two months.
Disney rumors
Fireworks // Disney was testing the new Magic Kingdom fireworks for the 50th anniversary on August 30th when a small fire broke out. I can actually give you my first hand perspective on this as I’m in Disney World this week staying at the Polynesian. I woke up around midnight to hear fireworks and figured they were testing. Then not long after we heard an alarm going off, and within 5 minutes we heard fire trucks. The evening of August 31st we were in Magic Kingdom and they announced Happily Ever After would be occurring with music and projections only (no fireworks). I don’t know what this means other than something obviously didn’t go as planned. What I’ve gathered is no one was hurt and the issue occurred at a fireworks launch site a bit of a distance from Magic Kingdom itself so no damage in the parks has occurred.
Magic Kingdom // There’s been some general news and information about the re-themeing of Splash Mountain, but no real timeline. While some fans have suggested they may not go through with this, I think it’s an indication that they are looking to finish their other major projects first and aren’t in any particular rush to get it done.
Restaurants // We still have a small handful of Disney World restaurants without reopening dates. Some of these have been mostly silent on the reopening front, but there are some rumors that Flying Fish will return in the next month or two.
Epcot // Living with the Land shut down somewhat unexpectedly last week and has not yet reopened. They are saying it’s temporary, so it seems they are having some sort of issues they had not anticipated.
Other Disney blogs
If you’re looking to stay up to date on all the changes with Disneyland, I suggest visiting Mindy over at This Fairy Tale Life – she’s got info on the Disneyland Magic Key Program and the Genie+ changes for Disneyland.
Over at the Disney Tourist Blog, Tom is a great person to turn to when you have questions about something – check out his FAQ on the new Disney World annual passholder program.
George at Imaginerding has a close look at some new additions to the Jungle Cruise queue, like these life preservers.
Make the most adorable Minnie safari cupcakes with this recipe from April at Pixie Dusted Lifestyle!
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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