MickeyBlog News for February 19th, 2024
This past week, Disney revealed new details about an upcoming ride, prepared for next week’s festival, and improved the buses.
We’ve got a lot to cover in this week’s edition of MickeyBlog News.
Tiana Debuts This Summer!
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
On February 3rd, MickeyBlog told you that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure had taken a significant step.
For the first time, park officials performed water testing for the upcoming attraction.
As you might imagine, that story caused quite the buzz as Walt Disney World visitors anticipated the attraction’s opening.
Now, Disney has revealed a timeline for the release of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and it’s even better than we’d expected!
Park officials have confirmed that the new attraction will debut this summer!
Importantly, that statement only applies to the Magic Kingdom version of the attraction.
Photo: Disney
Since Disney started construction on the Disneyland version a few months later, it’s not as far along.
The current timeline for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland is sometime later in 2024.
However, Walt Disney World fans are only four or five months away from the debut of the next Magic Kingdom splash ride!
New Signs at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom
Disney recently removed the scaffolding, which allows guests to peek inside the new show area.
That’s a strong hint that Imagineers are far along with the development process.
Photo: Disney
As part of the Mardi Gras celebration – more on that later in the news! – Disney also showed the first new Audio-Animatronic.
Isn’t Tiana stylish and gorgeous?
Disney knows it has a hit on its hands, which explains why the character will also appear in this outfit at 1900 Park Fare.
Photo: Disney
Sadly, park officials weren’t ready to confirm an official opening date yet.
Based on recent Disney history, there’s a real chance that this attraction is up and running in time for July 4th, though.
Photo: Disney
In fact, an opening several weeks before then wouldn’t surprise me.
Log flume testing represents one of the final stages of the process for an attraction like this.
EPCOT Preps for Its Next Festival
In recent years, Disney has switched tactics on how it addresses upcoming park changes.
For example, we had Halloween decorations in July last year, followed by Christmas sights and sounds in October.
This year, Disney has added a bit of mystery to its EPCOT festivals.
Technically, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts doesn’t even close until tomorrow, February 19th.
Despite this fact, if you enter the park today, you can’t help but notice a hodgepodge of unmistakable portions of a different festival.
Bambi Topiary at EPCOT’s International Flower & Garden Festival
EPCOT has already set the stage for the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, which debuts on February 28th.
Ordinarily, I’d wait until then to tell you about this year’s changes until then.
Alas, there’s too much to cover to do it that way in 2024.
I say this because our park reporters are all over this story, and they’ve noticed some remarkable updates.
For example, MickeyBlog identified an entirely new area that Disney will use for 2024.
These pictures taken from the Imagination! pavilion show how quickly Disney constructed the components of this new section.
We’ll cover this story more in the coming days, but it underscores that Disney views every square foot of EPCOT as a growth spot.
You’ll find that many of the topiaries are on full display already as well. I love this action shot of Goofy!
Disney has also released the full menu for this year’s Outdoor Kitchens.
We also took a long look at this year’s Garden Graze, and it’s gonna be spectacular.
As a reminder, MickeyBlog will cover all the new Outdoor Kitchens when the festival starts on the 28th. So, keep checking back!
Disney Miscellany
Let’s start with the story that will impact your next Disney trip the most. Disney has improved the buses!
Park officials have rolled out improvements to some of its buses.
The new iterations include better accessibility and USB outlets under the seats.
Yes, for the first time ever, you can finally recharge your devices while you’re sitting on the bus!
Before now, I was infuriating other tourists because I had a USB battery and cords everywhere as I hooked it to my phone and iPad.
Disney deserves a lot of credit for making a positive change here that improves your quality of life on vacation.
Photo: Disney
Speaking of great vacations, some Disney resorts celebrated Mardi Gras.
Here’s our coverage from Disney’s Port Orleans — French Quarter. If you’ve never been, the Pargo Parade is spectacular.
Of course, the other big news this past week was the Super Bowl victory parade at Disneyland Resort.
Image Credit: Disney
We all know about the tragedy that unfolded in Kansas City during its parade.
If you were affected by that nightmarish series of events, you’re in all our thoughts.
However, the Disneyland portion of the celebration went perfectly.
Image: Disney
Patrick Mahomes II was clearly having the time of his life.
By the end of the week, he displayed a different kind of heroism in doing this:
#KCSTRONG Below are photos of Patrick & Brittany Mahomes – after visiting with two of the shooting victims. An 8&10 year-old shot while celebrating their hometown team.
The family tells us both are ok but have a long road to recovery. @fox4kc pic.twitter.com/n83iROmFsE
— Malik Jackson (@malikjackson3) February 16, 2024
Disney Miscellany Part II
We’re in the middle of President’s Day Weekend, which means that the parks are quite crowded right now.
Guests could tell this fact because the Park Hopper version of Disney Genie+ sold out on Friday.
Generally, this behavior only occurs in and around major holidays.
Not coincidentally, Disney Genie+ prices have also increased. It’s a basic part of capitalism involving supply and demand.
Disney caught a bit of a bad break with the weather, though.
A cold spell prevented Disney’s Blizzard Beach from opening this weekend. So, there are more guests at the parks as a result.
Within the parks, Disney is currently modifying a few attractions.
We’ve got a renaissance of sorts happening at the park’s oldest attraction, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.
Cast Members are currently refreshing some of the ride elements, which are more than 100 years old now.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, another classic attraction is getting some work done.
This park has closed the movie theater at Walt Disney Presents for some maintenance.
Park officials also revealed new details regarding The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
As a reminder, reservations for this property go on sale in March! The time is almost at hand.
Finally, Disneyland Resort provided some new details regarding Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nites.
Here’s the crucial piece of information. Disneyland has finally added a “Notify Me” option.
Photo: Disney
Presuming that the system works as intended, Disney will let you know when it’s your turn to book. And there was much rejoicing!
Have a great week, everyone, and Kansas City, we’re all thinking of you.
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Feature Photo: Disney
