MickeyBlog News for February 17th, 2025
The Season of the Force is arriving soon, but you must wait a bit longer for Walt Disney.
I’ll explain in this week’s MickeyBlog News.
Disneyland 70 Updates
Photo: Disney
New experiences are coming to Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland this summer, and you should be very excited!
Disney wants to throw a huge 70th anniversary party at The Happiest Place on Earth.
Photo: Disney
For starters, Main Street Cinema will show The Last Verse beginning on July 17th.
What’s so special about that date? It IS the 70th anniversary date at Disneyland Resort, with the park having opened on July 17th, 1955.
Photo: D23
As for The Last Verse, do you remember this from a few months ago?
Richard Sherman gave Disney The Last Verse as one of his final acts before his death in May 2024.
Photo: Disney
Disney+ fans can already watch The Last Verse here, but it’s fitting for Disneyland to air this story as well.
That’s just one of several impending changes at the parks, one of which matters most.
Photo: Disney
Management has delayed Walt Disney – A Magical Life from May 16th until July 17th.
Honestly, that’s probably for the best. While I understand why Disney wanted the show up and running for Memorial Day, the timing never made sense.
Photo: Disney
The Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic will forever be associated with Disneyland’s 70th anniversary.
So, Disney has simply connected the dates now, which it should have done all along.
Photo: Disney
This isn’t the only change, either. The Main Street Opera House will introduce a new gallery for the event.
Park guests can study the images, art, and artifacts from before, during, and after Disneyland opened. It’s like a before and after display.
This gallery should prove quite popular, but we all know that Walt Disney – A Magical Life is the main draw during Disneyland 70.
Season of the Force 2025
Credit: Disney
Remarkably, Disneyland 70 isn’t the only big event coming soon.
Season of the Force 2025 is nearly upon us as well, and it comes with a new nighttime presentation.
Starting on March 28th, Season of the Force will entertain Star Wars fans, and the fun won’t stop until late at night.
That’s when Disney will host Shadow of Memory: A Skywalker Saga.
You may recall that I mentioned an odd Disney filing in a recent Disney Rumors article.
We now know that this filing was for the nighttime presentation at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge…and that’s not all!
Photo: Disney
This show isn’t just for Season of the Force, which ends on May 11th. A Skywalker Saga will run afterward.
Disney hasn’t indicated how long yet, but this new projection show may be semi-permanent.
By the way, that’s not the only nighttime show coming to Galaxy’s Edge.
Fans can also watch Fire of the Rising Moons, which is a fireworks presentation already available. Here it is if you haven’t seen it:
Oh, and Hyperspace Mountain will return this year as well! Star Wars fans are always so glum when it closes for the year.
Flower & Garden Festival News
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival begins on March 5th.
I realize that sounds soon since the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts still has more than a week left.
That’s just how EPCOT works now. It’s the festival park, and Disney has seemingly increased the duration of every exhibition.
So, even though the Festival of the Arts continues to entertain guests, Disney is already prepping for the next thing.
As proof, the first topiaries have arrived for the Flower & Garden Festival.
We’re in that weird juxtaposition where Disney no longer waits for one event to end before prepping for the other.
Photo: Disney
That’s why we’re witnessing plenty of signs of the Flower & Garden Festival, while the Festival of the Arts is ongoing.
Disney also confirmed some new features coming to this year’s event, one of which makes perfect sense.
Flower & Garden Festival. Photo: Disney
Yes, we’re finally getting a Moana topiary 18 months after Journey of Water | Inspired by Moana debuted.
And that’s not all! Disney will offer a Magic Shot of Figment as a potted topiary, too!
We’re also getting two new food booths, which is something we desperately need. Some of the main ones have grown crowded.
You should keep reading MickeyBlog to learn all the latest updates about the Flower & Garden Festival.
That’s how you’ll find out all the best stuff like this!
Disney Miscellany
This is one of those rare weeks when most of the smaller Disney stories aren’t upbeat.
So, let’s quickly tear through those so that we can end with something happy.
Lake Buena Vista Golf Course
For starters, please be aware that boat service is currently unavailable at Disney’s Old Key West Resort.
That’s because Disney is renovating the boat dock, which is frankly a bit overdue.
My wife and I were discussing this during our November visit. The dock was looking rather weathered. Now, Disney is fixing it.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Uwanja Camp is currently closed for refurbishment as well.
In legal news, Disney is facing a class-action lawsuit over its DAS changes.
These things often struggle to gain momentum, but if you’re someone affected by the change, you should look into the suit.
Pirates of the Caribbean
As for the wildest story of the week, a bunch of Magic Kingdom rides just randomly shut down the other day.
We later learned the cause of the technical glitch that caused everyone to think My Disney Experience was malfunctioning.
Also, we should mention the growing phenomenon of Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
The Magic Kingdom version of this pass has sold out for several straight days.
Photo: Disney
Then, we had the shocking turn of events where all four parks sold their allotments for the first time in 2025. What is even happening here?!
Finally, here’s the happy story. Disney celebrated Villaintine’s Day on Friday, and it was amazing!
Villaintine’s Day
We met several Disney Villains during the event. And some romantic couples put in an appearance, too.
This is the kind of thing I love Disney for doing. It’s pure joy.
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Feature Photo: Disney
