MickeyBlog News for March 25th, 2024
Wow, Disney fans just had quite a week!
At Walt Disney World alone, Disney announced a new nighttime presentation, revealed a new show, opened the booking for new Cabins, and reopened a water park.
Photo: Disney
Elsewhere in the Disney empire, we learned about 2025 marathon theming and the details of a new cruise ship.
This is one of the most significant MickeyBlog News updates ever.
A Nighttime Presentation at…Disney Springs?
Photo: Disney
Yes, the header is serious. In case you haven’t heard, Disney Springs (!) will host a new nightly drone show.
Called Disney Dreams That Soar, this nighttime presentation will occur above the West Side of Disney Springs at Lake Buena Vista.
Disney Springs
Disney has indicated choreographed drones will light up the night at the entertainment district.
The show will focus on Disney stories involving the joy of flight.
Disney Springs
Disney promises “soaring” music and many of your favorite movie quotes.
MickeyBlog has previously discussed the many drone innovations happening at international parks.
Photo: Disneyland Paris
In fact, the Marvel show at Disneyland Paris ranked as one of the biggest Disney innovations last year.
Now, Disney Springs will host something similar from May 24th to September 2nd.
Disney Dreams That Soar represents one of several Disney summer offerings announced this week. In fact, let’s discuss another…
The Encanto Sing-Along
Photo: Also Disney+
EPCOT will host its own major event this summer.
¡Celebración Encanto! will run from June 10th through September 6th at the…CommuniCore Plaza stage.
Photo: Disney
That’s right, folks! We’ve got two debuts at once here! But let’s talk about the show first.
This Encanto story will encourage guests to sing along with their favorite music like We Don’t Talk about Bruno.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Disney indicates that the show will run several times daily, and I suspect it’ll rival the Frozen show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in popularity.
As for CommuniCore Plaza, the time is almost at hand! The final stage of EPCOT’s modernization will debut on June 10th.
Disney
Starting then, guests may explore CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, while also watching ¡Celebración Encanto! on the stage.
Disney first announced this project at the 2019 D23 Expo as part of the division of Future World into three “Neighborhoods.”
Obviously, the pandemic delayed the plans, but Disney will have needed almost exactly five years to complete the new EPCOT.
You can expect more details to leak as CommuniCore’s debut approaches in about ten weeks.
Photo: Disney
By the way, Disney also confirmed that Joy will appear at Hollywood Studios this summer.
That character spot will also appear on June 10th. As for the fourth summer offering, it’s the 30th anniversary of The Lion King!
Photo: Disney
So, Disney’s Animal Kingdom will offer unique merchandise and menu items to commemorate Simba’s birthday!
Disney News and Notes
Photo: Disney
Frankly, there’s so much happening this week that, for the sake of brevity, I’ll skim a bit more than usual.
Big Story Number One is that you can now book The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
Photo: Disney
After a brief delay, Disney opened the reservation system for regular guests on March 21st.
You can and should speak to a MickeyTravels agent about these new Cabins.
I’ve researched and written about them a lot, and I fervently believe this is one of the smartest things Disney has done in ages.
The old Cabins represented Disney history and possessed exceptional logistics, but they were dated.
Now, Disney has constructed state-of-the-art Cabins designed to stand the test of time, but they still cost about the same.
You get tremendous value when you book at this particular location. It’s like having your own log cabin near Magic Kingdom.
A look from afar.
Elsewhere at Walt Disney World, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon has reopened! And this time is better than the last few!
Imagineers spent time fixing some of the broken elements, so it’s better than ever!
Also, a friendly reminder about 2025 vacations, you get to spend your first day at a water park as a free amenity for staying at a Disney resort.
Disney has improved its most popular theme park, and you can visit for free on your first vacation day next year when you stay onsite.
Photo: Disney
Meanwhile, runDisney fans should take note of the recently announced themes for the 2025 events.
You’ll find Pluto, Chip ‘n’ Dale, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse headlining the 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and marathon.
Photo: Disney
And yes, the Dopey Challenge will return next year as well!
More Disney News and Notes
Photo: Disney
I think you can already tell just how much news Disney revealed this past week, and we still have more to go.
For starters, Disneyland Park will add two stores themed to The Princess and the Frog!
Photo: Disney
Disney will convert the former store, The Briar Patch, into Ray’s Berets, which will see plenty of merchandise, not just berets.
The “Ray” in question here is Raymond the Firefly from the movie and the upcoming attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Speaking of which, the Magic Kingdom version of that ride just had human riders testing it on Friday!
Anyway, the other new store will be Louis’ Critter Club, which is replacing Pooh’s Corner.
Photo: Disney
To make all these changes, Disney will temporarily close Critter Country on May 1st…but we don’t know for how long yet.
Please keep this in mind if you’re heading to The Happiest Place on Earth in May, when Disney presumes you’ll be doing The Season of the Force instead.
Photo: Disney
Disney also announced details for the 2024 D23 Expo, which is shaping up to be a massive milestone event.
Recent filings suggest that Disney is preparing to start construction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom
Not coincidentally, I’d politely suggest that you enjoy these parts of Animal Kingdom while you can…
Even More Disney News and Notes
Disney also just confirmed that Cast Member pin trading will return to the parks soon. I know a lot of you had really missed it.
Also, the Friendship Boat is currently running to Germany for a limited time, and the Morocco pavilion is changing.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
At Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, we just learned that character dining will return…and with a new menu!
Finally, Disney Cruise Line just revealed that the name and theme of its next vessel. Meet the Disney Destiny!
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Feature Photo: Disney
