Every week is a busy week when it comes to Disney news. To help you keep up with all of the updates coming out of Walt Disney World and other Disney resorts, here’s WDWNT’s weekly recap of this week’s Disney news!
Walt Disney World
- Beginning January 18, 2019, you can purchase 4-Park Magic tickets for as low as $85/day plus tax!
Magic Kingdom:
- The long-delayed Taste of Magic Kingdom Tour is now available for booking!
- The Liberty Square Riverboat is finally setting sail through the Rivers of America after its lengthy refurbishment.
- Aunt Polly’s Restaurant on Tom Sawyer Island is back and will be open through January 5th, 2019!
- Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant in Magic Kingdom introduced a limited time holiday menu to add some more festive offerings for guests to enjoy.
- We made our way over to the Magic Kingdom to see the three C’s… construction, crowds, and Casey’s!
- Check out our video of the beloved Liberty Belle back in action and better than ever after its refurb.
- We reviewed some of Aunt Polly’s good ol’ fashioned home cookin’.
- The Magic Kingdom is now offering its lineup of holiday entertainment during regular park hours!
Epcot:
- The modified path from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk Resort is now open to the public!
- The ImageWorks located in the Imagination pavilion at Epcot has begun its transformation into a character meet-and-greet area.
- Check out this video of our full ride-through of the holiday edition of Living with the Land!
- Jerrod Maruyama, known for his Disney Parks artwork including the “Kingdom of Cute” vinyl figurine series, will have four new pieces debuting at the 2019 Epcot International Festival of the Arts!
- Social media is still buzzing about Buzzy, the audio-animatronic from Cranium Command that was stolen right from Epcot recently. #FINDBUZZY
Hollywood Studios:
- Check out the latest in Disney Skyliner, Bus Loop, and Galaxy’s Edge construction in this latest WDWNT photo report!
- There’s a new market snack booth coming to Toy Story Land!
- We have a video of the new Disney Junior Dance Party and it’s… actually pretty lit?
- Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the holiday season will be lucky enough to experience select attractions for extended hours between December 26th and 31st!
Animal Kingdom:
- Get a feel for the holiday crowds and check out a new Dino plush on this latest WDWNT photo report!
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom is offering a variation on the new bird show “UP! A Great Bird Adventure”, themed around Diwali – the Hindu festival of lights, and we have the full video of the show up on YouTube and the site!
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park:
- Adults who need an escape from excited children will have a place to hide next week at Typhoon Lagoon.
Disney Springs:
- Jaleo, the new restaurant coming to Disney Springs, has released their full menu.
- Disney released new details on upcoming attractions, exhibits, and more for the NBA Experience! #RIPDisneyQuest
- The Spunky Stork store is now open at the Disney Springs Marketplace! Check out their organic cotton shirts here.
- B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co. at Disney Springs is now serving maple bacon chocolate chip cookie dough and we’re strangely okay with it.
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort:
- Mushu, Mulan‘s dragon companion, is the star of this new piñata-style cupcake available at the Intermission Food Court.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort:
- We tried the new Holiday Milkshake at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop and realized this is what Santa really wants.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort:
- A Walt Disney World cast member has been arrested and charged with stalking and sexual cyber-harassment of a co-worker.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort:
- We dined on the opening day of the fairest Character Meal of them all: Storybook Dining with Snow White!
Disneyland
Disneyland Park:
- The long-awaited Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland soft-opened to guests on Wednesday and it was awesome.
- We have new aerial imagery of construction progress on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
- Check out our review of the new Dole Whips, Bao Buns, and Lumpia from The Tropical Hideaway!
- Four pairs of adorable new Disney-inspired leggings were spotted at the Main Street Clothier.
- Plumeria Mickey Ear Headbands are now available at The Tropical Hideaway!
- Disneyland Resort guests will be given the opportunity to get Purple Potion Minnie Ears an entire week before they will be available at Walt Disney World.
- We never thought we needed sporks in our lives this badly until the release of the Piranha Spork from The Tropical Hideaway.
- There’s also a new Mary Poppins Sundae! Tip-top!
- Check out our review of the new Gingerbread and Peppermint Mocha Donut!
- Read all about the latest Disneyland construction updates and new merch in this latest WDWNT photo report!
- If you are a fan of eggnog, then you are going to love this new holiday frozen eggnog, now available at the Red Rose Taverne.
Disney California Adventure:
- Disney announced that the World of Color will not return until 2019, despite previously announcing a 2018 return.
Downtown Disney:
- Wetzel’s Pretzels is now open after refurbishment!
Tokyo Disneyland Resort:
- Instagram has officially named Tokyo Disneyland the “happiest geo-tagged place in the world.”
Disney Vacation Club:
- Disney Vacation Club annual dues increased for 2019, with some resorts experiencing up to an 11% increase.
Walt Disney World Company:
- Disney purchased the BK Ranch, just southeast of Celebration, for $23 million. The BK Ranch is 965 acres, and is entitled for 3,000 homes and 378,000 square feet of commercial and office spaces.
runDisney:
- Dates for the 2019-2020 runDisney races have been announced!
New Merchandise
- A new Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse LE MagicBand has been spotted at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
- We freaked when we first saw these neat fake company pens. Now there’s a slogan set!
- A new set of rose gold ear headbands have docked at Disney Cruise Line!
- The coveted new Potion Purple Minnie Ears will finally arrive on December 26th at World of Disney in Disney Springs!
- The Disneyland series of Starbucks’ “You Are Here” line is now available online.
- There’s a new, limited edition Mary Poppins Returns MagicBand that we believe is practically perfect in every way.
- Just in time for Christmas, a brand new collection of Dooney & Bourke purses has popped up online.
- ShopDisney released a new Bésame Cosmetics Peter Pan collection and it’s shimmery pastel perfection.
Entertainment
- Entertainment Weekly gave audiences a first look at the characters for Disney’s live-action Aladdin.
- This year’s Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade will offer a preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, including the new rides!
- A new petition was launched against the famous catchphrase from Disney’s The Lion King.
- Toy company Sphero (creators of those adorable remote control BB-8 units) will cease production of all Star Wars droids.
- Following the reveal of the cast of “Aladdin” on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, EW also released a behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast and crew.
- Check out this book review of “Practically Poppins in Every Way”, a Disney Editions Deluxe tie-in coffee-table read.
Podcasts
- WDWNT: Nerd Alert – Season Four – Episode 16 is now available for download through WDW News Today: Original Programming and iTunes!
WDWNT News
- Stage 89 is coming up on April 27th! Mark your calendars, people!
That’s all of the Disney news for this past week! Be sure to check back at the end of each week for our weekly recaps!
