MickeyBlog News for August 11th, 2024

This week, we’ve had the perfect storm of Disney news.

In a matter of five days, we had the Disney quarterly earnings report, the D23 Expo, and the first night of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

Oh, and we had a tornado watch in Orlando this week. So, yeah, we have plenty to cover in MickeyBlog News.

D23 Arrives

Disney Christmas has come and gone! Yes, by the time you read this, the 2024 D23 Expo will have ended.

While this bit of sadness might break your heart, I have healing words. Destination D is just 12 months away!

Yes, Disney has turned its D23 events into annual affairs to keep the hype machine rolling.

However, this year’s event held special significance due to what it represented.

After multiple years of underwhelming news and blue-sky theoreticals, Disney CEO Bob Iger knew he needed a hit.

Iger appeared on GMA on Friday to promise that brighter days were ahead for Disney fans.

The Disney executive hinted that huge announcements were in the offing for the following night, as he should have.

After all, Disney has promised to spend roughly $42 billion of a budgeted $60 billion on Disney Experiences expansion.

We got hints at the start of the event that big news was on the horizon.

For instance, Disney revealed the ride cart for the new Avengers Campus attraction.

It’s the “Thanos Who Won” ride announced two years ago.

Of course, D23 involves so much more than just the Disney Experiences panel.

In fact, Cast Members decked out the various Disneyland hotels for D23.

The parks hosted D23 Day as well, an event we hope becomes a permanent companion.

Disney even offered special PhotoPass opportunities to commemorate the big day.

Since Disney hosted the event at a larger space this year, the pavilions were massive.

Here’s our look at Imagineering: Behind the Dreams, arguably this D23’s showstopper.

More about D23

We were in awe of the merchandise at this year’s event as well.

Some lucky guests snagged the Star Wars Starspeeder 3000, although not everyone kept them.

I say this because some of them were selling for $800 on eBay.

To be fair, it’s pretty great. I don’t even like Star Wars, and I wanted one.

You’re probably wondering why, but the answer is simple. I DO love Disney, and this Starspeeder does a trick.

The figurine somehow displays the actual ride video of the original Star Tours. Yes, I’m serious.

The D23 Reveals

As for the major announcements, well, there were obviously a lot. You can read the full list on MickeyBlog.

We’ll be covering the stories plenty this week, this month, and until every attraction comes out. Here are a few quick highlights, though.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney will build Monstropolis, a themed land based on the world of Monsters, Inc.

At Magic Kingdom, Frontierland will survive, with Disney adding two new Cars rides here. One of them is a child-friendly attraction.

The other isn’t Radiator Springs Racers, but it is a thrill ride with the setting of an outdoor race in the wild frontier.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will add the Tropical Americas in 2027. It’ll include rides based on Indiana Jones and Encanto.

The Indiana Jones ride is entirely unique rather than a clone of an existing one, while Encanto is a dark ride set inside Casa Madrigal.

Then, we have by far the biggest Magic Kingdom announcement. We ARE getting a Disney Villains themed land! This is not a drill, people!

At Avengers Campus, Disney will add two rides, one of which is the King Thanos attraction officially named Avengers Infinity Defense.

The other is Stark Flight Lab, which will kinda remind you of that old Sum of All Thrills experience at Innoventions, although that’s just a coincidence.

A Coco ride is also coming to Disney California Adventure, which Disney describes as Pirates of the Caribbean meets Haunted Mansion. WOW!

Disney added new information about the Avatar experience coming to DCA as well. You can read more here.

Perhaps the showstopper announcement, though, was the news of a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic coming to Disneyland Park.

Yes, Walt Disney himself will appear at Walt Disney – A Magical Life, a show that will share time with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Disney Cruise Line will add four more ships to its fleet. That’s not counting the previously announced four.

So, we’ll have eight more DCL ships by 2031. Let the race begin for who can claim that they’ve ridden all of them!

Halloween Arrives at Walt Disney World          

Don’t let the calendar fool you. Magic Kingdom has already hosted its first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for 2024.

As we discussed, the Halloween decorations arrived earlier than ever this year.

You’ll find several signs of the season at the parks. For example, here is Main Street, U.S.A., complete with pumpkin wreaths.

On Friday night, August 9^th, guests excitedly lined up to experience all the classic experiences plus some new stuff.

Early in the week, MickeyBlog revealed all the locations for this year’s candy handouts. I call them Starburst Delivery Services.

We also had plenty of new stuff, including outfits for Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

Encanto fans were gleeful about the appearance of Bruno Madigral, the future-knowing family member.

Our staff put together a list of all the Disney Villains you can meet this year, and it’s…a lot. You’ll have a great time here.

Of course, that’s far from the only reason. We’re absolutely adoring this year’s exclusive party merchandise.

Notably, some of the items up for grabs are exclusive to annual passholders. So, you’ll feel seen and appreciated!

Plus, we’ve got a list of all the photo ops available for 2024.

Also, I know it’s a little thing, but I adore the coloring and layout of this year’s party map.

Disney has thought of everything this year, providing guests with plenty of reasons to visit.

For example, during the party, Joffrey’s sells a drink that you cannot purchase any other time.

Disney Miscellany

On the tornado watch and hurricane front, I’m happy to report that it was much ado about nothing, at least in Central Florida.

Rain bands swept through the area and then seemingly turned around and came back.

That’s just…typical Florida weather, though. So, everyone in the area was relieved that nothing worse occurred.

As a reminder, forecasts still predict a stormy hurricane season, but virtually all the stories play out like this one.

The Weather Channel gets people worked into a frenzy, only for an umbrella to solve most problems.

Generally, the worst that happens is that Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon closes as a precautionary measure.

Hilariously, the water park closed due to maximum capacity the following day.

Meanwhile, at Disney Springs, The Edison will hold a first-of-its-kind event.

The Bartenders Bash is a ticketed event on August 22^nd. You can read the details here.

At Disneyland Resort, Goofy’s Kitchen Celebrates Halloween from August 23^rd through October 31^st.

Reservations go on sale on August 15^th and will likely sell out quickly. So, act fast!

Also, the Frightfully Fun Tour will return for another year.

This is Disney’s Happiest Haunts Tour, which shows you the secrets of Haunted Mansion.

Finally, while The Olympics have technically ended, we’ll always have plenty of pictures of athletes at Disneyland Paris to remember it by.

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