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 the Disney news from April 8-14 2019!

WDWNT News

• Join WDWNT for Stage 89 – a celebration of all things 1989 at Walt Disney World April 26 – May 1!
• The latest addition we announced for this epic event is “Pleasure Beach – Celebrating 30 Years of Party and Adventure” – a radical beach party featuring classing Pleasure Island cocktails, an Adventurer’s Club reunion, live DJ, and a few surprises!

Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom

• Check out this week’s photo report for the Magic Kingdom, including Haunted Mansion on-ride photos, new merchandise, critters around the park and more
• Spring has sprung, and Mr & Mrs Easter Bunny are out doing meet & greets in Bunny Lane Garden on Main Street, U.S.A
• Here’s your weekly update for the Cinderella Castle moat draining project – check out the photos here
• Magic Kingdom guests can now pick up a handy guide to plant-based cuisine, helping guests with allergies or dietary preferences identify ingredients around the park
• Rumor has it that Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom will be transitioning to morning-only extra hours from October
• The Adventureland spitting camel has returned to his rightful place in the park after it’s mini-refurbishment which caused us panic last week
• April 13th saw a one-day-only celebration of the Haunted Mansion, featuring special PhotoPass opportunities with the Hitchhiking Ghosts, exclusive treats and more

Animal Kingdom

• The popular Animal Kingdom Tasting Sampler is returning this Spring, with Digital Value cards now on sale to help you enjoy tasting your way around the many food outlets around the park
• April 20-22 will see the annual Earth Day celebration: Party for the Planet, at Animal Kingdom. The event will feature a special “Tiffins Talk” lunch and meet & greet with Joe Rhode – read more about the event here

Epcot

• It was announced this week that IllumiNations will be ending on September 30th, with Epcot Forever, the new nighttime show set to take its place, debuting on October 1st
• Speaking of Epcot Forever After, check out this concept art and exclusive test footage for the upcoming spectacular
• We reviewed the new chicken prosciutto mozzarella sandwich and cookie crunch brownie over at The Electric Umbrella
• Check out this new Passholder exclusive Epcot Flower & Garden Festival merchandise which we spotted in Moue Gear this week
• There’s also this new limited edition 2019 Flower & Garden Festival MagicBand which debuted this week

Hollywood Studios

• From April 14, a Guest Experience Team will be available at Hollywood Studios, to help with general guest enquiries, FastPass+ and My Disney Experience queries and MagicBand activation
• Rumor has it that ABC Commissary will be closing for a brief refurbishment from May 4th
• Check out this week’s photo report for Hollywood Studios, featuring the Chinese Theatre handprints, the missing Mickey, and more

Disney Springs

• It has been confirmed that the Grapefruit Garage will officially be opening in the Marketplace on April 16th
• Check out this week’s photo report for Disney Springs, featuring Sprinkles Easter Cupcakes, NBA construction updates and more
• We visited the new Disney Ticket Center which officially opened in Disney Springs this week – take a look at the photos and videos we took here

ESPN Wide World of Sports

• A new Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company kisok location has opened at Wide World of Sports this week

Walt Disney World Resorts

All-Star Resorts

• We reviewed the house-made pepperoni Super Pizza Slice from Intermission Food Court over at All-Star Music

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

• Check out our photos and full review of The Easter Treat Stand in the lobby of the Grand Floridian, serving all your Easter sweet treat needs
• It was confirmed that a Beauty and the Beast inspired bar and lounge will be coming to the Grand Floridian, celebrating the enchantment from the popular live-action movie
• This will take the place of Mizner’s Lounge and Commander Porter’s store areas, which are now officially closed
• Following the closure of Mizner’s Lounge, a new pop-up bar has opened in Garden View Tea Room
• Also, the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra have moved downstairs as work begins on the new bar

Polynesian Village Resort

• We reviewed the new Dole Whip Lime Margarita from Barefoot Pool Bar – a spicy but perfect poolside drink for the summer

Riviera Resort

• Take a look at this week’s construction update photo report for the Riviera – including the Skyliner station, Topolino’s Terrace and the pool

Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

• Check out the amazing display of Easter Eggs over at the Yacht and Beach Club resorts

Disneyland Resort

• Guests who purchase the Disney MaxPass will now be able to make digital FastPass selections for the nighttime spectaculars World of Color and Fantasmic!

Disneyland

• Permits have been filed for the demolition of the Adventureland sign, in an effort to create more space in anticipation for the crowd levels at the opening of Galaxy’s Edge
• We reviewed the Racho del Zocalo Mickey Hat Dessert from the Get Your Ears On Celebration
• Check out this week’s photo report for the Disneyland Park, featuring lots of construction walls, Main Street updates, smoking areas and more

Disney California Adventure

• The Lion King Celebration at Disney California Adventure will run from June 7th – September 2nd – read more about it here
• The construction we noticed on a trip to Disney California Adventure this week looks like the Radiator Springs Racers FastPass distribution point might be moving
• Check out this week’s photo update for Disney California Adventure, featuring new Rainbow Unicorn merchandise and more

Downtown Disney District

• The Downtown Disney District sign has been removed from the Esplanade – another victim to the Project Stardust enhancement program
• Check out this week’s photo report for the Downtown Disney District, featuring parking structure updates, new merchandise and more

Disneyland Paris

• An official reopening date has finally been revealed for the Phantom Manor, by way of this chilling video announcement!

Tokyo Disney Resort

• An all-new 80-day celebration is coming to the Tokyo Disney Resort! “Funtime with Toy Story 4″ will involve new activities, photo opportunities, food, merchandise and fun, in celebration of Woody & the Gang’s return to the big screen this summer
• We learned that Cinderella Castle in Tokyo Disneyland will be undergoing a six month long refurbishment, starting in October this year

New Merchandise

• Citizen Watch have released a new series of eight stunning watches in celebration of Mickey’s 90th Anniversary, available now online
• There’s a new line of vintage-inspired Walt Disney World apparel over in the parks, giving off comfy, athletic vibes
• There’s also a similar vintage-inspired Disneyland range of apparel over at the Disneyland resort too
• This iridescent, spherical and stunning Spaceship Earth wristlet clutch would be the perfect accessory for Epcot
• Check out these Wishables: Disney’s newest collectable plush series featuring characters, attractions and snacks in mini fluffy form, now available in the parks and on shopDisney

• These colorful and intricate new build-it-yourself dioramas are now available from the parks, featuring the  Enchanted Tiki Room and Pirates of the Caribbean
• A new round of Danielle Nicole purses are now available on shopDisney, featuring beautiful Dumbo, Stitch and Aladdin-inspired designs
• Also, how adorable is this new “it’s a small world” purse, also by Danielle Nicole?
• The last souvenir spork in the series is now available from Tropical Hideaway at the Disneyland Park, this one featuring a parrot
• Go un poco loco for all of this Coco apparel which we spotted in the parks this week
• There’s a new snack must-have in town – this bold Minnie Mouse Balloon popcorn bucket

• Take a look at these new mugs which we spotted in the parks this week, featuring favourite characters from Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, Moana, Winnie the Pooh and many more!
• You can now find Nemo… in your drink! With this new light-up Nemo sipper cup which we spotted at Animal Kingdom this week
• Take a look at these retro-inspired Star Wars figures which will be released by Hasbro exclusively at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con
• Check out this DJ R3X Funko Pop! which will be coming exclusively to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Entertainment & Media

Movies

• It has been announced that guests of Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Park and Hollywood Studios for a limited time from April 19 will be treated to a special preview of the upcoming Aladdin
• The hype for Avengers: Endgame continues, watch the cast unite for their first global press conference here
• There’s also this clip which was released from Avengers: Endgame, featuring Captain Marvel and Captain America
• Have a watch of the latest trailer for The Lion King here, featuring our first look at Scar, Timon and Pumbaa

Star Wars Celebration Chicago News & Announcements

• The long-awaited title of Episode IX was revealed to be Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and we got our first glimpse of the movie in this incredible teaser trailer
• A lot of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge information was revealed at this weekend’s event, including a look at more audio-animatronics, new concept art, specially-designed exclusive Coca-Cola bottles and much more
• There were also Star Wars artefacts, a “Share Your Star Wars Story” booth and more at the Galaxy’s Edge booth at the event
• Check out this Galaxy’s Edge Rise of the Resistance attraction ride vehicle which was on display at the event, featuring an Imperial R5 Series Astromech Droid
• There was a lot of Galaxy’s Edge merchandise displayed at the event, including pins, toys, apparel and more
• This incredible Star Wars Saga mural was revealed, featuring icons from each episode in the saga so far
• It was confirmed that Lucasfilm will be shifting their focus to Disney+ programming instead of continuing movies following Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker
• Check out these awesome new Geeki Tiki mugs which were available for the celebration, featuring Star Wars ships and characters
• We got an official trailer for Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series – Episode I
• We also saw the first official trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Disney+

• We got a lot of information about Disney+ this week, including pricing, the launch date and the contents of the service’s library
• The original voice cast for Monsters, Inc will be returning for a new Disney+ spinoff series titled Monsters at Work
• Working titles have been announced for a number of nonfiction series and imagineering docu-series coming to Disney+ streaming service
• One of these new series will be titled Magic of the Animal Kingdom, which will celebrate and inform on the conservation efforts in the Disney parks

Other Disney News

• Help Disney Parks poster artist and Imagineer Jim Michaelson in his fight with cancer – read more here

That’s all of the Disney news for this past week! Make sure you check back at the end of each week for our weekly recaps!