Walt Disney World News

• Alien Swirling Saucers gets a holiday playlist from DJ Lilypad, November 4 to January 6 — From November 4 through January 6, DJ Lilypad spins a holiday playlist at Alien Swirling Saucers in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It mixes holi…
• Santa's Holiday Grove brings snow flurries and Santa to Animal Kingdom for Christmas 2026 — Animal Kingdom's holiday season runs November 13, 2026 through January 6, 2027, and its one new addition is Santa's Holiday Grove, a walk-through trail with sn…
• Fort Wilderness Holiday Sleigh Rides open for booking at $80 a sleigh — Holiday Sleigh Rides at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground are now bookable for December 1 to 30, 2026, skipping December 24. Each 25-minute horse-dr…
• Imagineering files signage permits for all four Walt Disney World parking plazas — Walt Disney Imagineering recorded four matching Notices of Commencement on October 8 to install signage at addresses tied to the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywoo…
• From the overnight custodial crew to Holiday Services manager: a 23-year Walt Disney World career — Dacia joined Walt Disney World's overnight custodial team in the early 2000s and is now an Area Manager with Holiday Services, whose teams work with Walt Disne…
• Olivia's Cafe at Disney's Old Key West Resort serves island comfort food from breakfast to dinner — Olivia's Cafe, the table-service restaurant at Disney's Old Key West Resort, serves island-inspired dishes and traditional American fare at breakfast, lunch an…
• Walt Disney World now takes bookings for November and December 2027 — Walt Disney World theme park tickets, resort rooms and vacation packages can now be booked through the end of 2027, adding November and December to a calendar…
• Disney World's peak one-day ticket rises to $229 as every annual pass goes up — Walt Disney World has raised prices on peak-date tickets, all four annual passes and the Lightning Lane Premier Pass. The top one-day, one-park ticket reaches…
• Walt Disney World's October 2026 closures: Carousel of Progress, the Railroad, La Signature and Typhoon Lagoon — Four closures affect Walt Disney World trips in October 2026: Carousel of Progress and the Walt Disney World Railroad at Magic Kingdom, the La Signature shop a…
• Disney's All-Star Music family suites sleep six for a value-resort price — Disney's All-Star Music Resort is the most budget-friendly way to put a large family under one Walt Disney World roof, with renovated family suites that sleep…
• Walt Disney World turns 55 with Villains Land, Monstropolis and Lakeshore Lodge on the way — Walt Disney World marked 55 years on October 1, 2026, counting more than 70 new or refreshed experiences in the past five years and two cast members who have w…
• Two cast members from Walt Disney World's opening day are still working there 55 years later — Disney spotlighted Frank and Earliene, two cast members who started at Walt Disney World on its opening day, October 1, 1971, and still work there 55 years on.…
• Hurly-Burly opens at Disney's BoardWalk: family trivia until 9 p.m., then live music for 21 and up — Hurly-Burly opened at Disney's BoardWalk on October 1 in the former Jellyrolls space, with Disney trivia and bingo for all ages from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and live…
• Disney Dreamers Academy becomes a multi-year program with Boys & Girls Clubs — Disney Dreamers Academy is expanding into a year-round, multi-year pilot run with Boys & Girls Clubs, starting with 200 middle school Club members in Orlando,…
• Disney's Lakeshore Lodge bookings open October 6, ahead of its July 1, 2027 opening on Bay Lake — Disney's Lakeshore Lodge opens July 1, 2027 on Bay Lake near Magic Kingdom, and reservations open in three waves: Disney Vacation Club members on October 6, An…
• Monstropolis gets its themed walkways and Tropical Americas' temple rises as Walt Disney World turns 55 — New aerial footage shows themed walkways going in at Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc. land opening at Hollywood Studios in 2027, while the Casita, carousel and…
• JetBlue Joins Walt Disney World's Luggage Transfer Service as Its Fourth Airline — JetBlue is now part of Walt Disney World's Luggage Transfer Service, joining American, Southwest and United. Guests flying into Orlando International Airport o…
• Walt Disney World turns 55 with more than 70 new or refreshed experiences since its 50th — Walt Disney World marked 55 years on October 1, 2026, and Disney counted more than 70 experiences opened or refreshed since the 50th anniversary, from TRON Lig…
• Animal Kingdom Joins Disney World's Halloween Menu October 1 With a Boneyard Sundae and a Mummy Twist — Disney's full 2026 Halloween food guide for Walt Disney World adds nine Animal Kingdom items starting October 1, alongside a new Maleficent Funnel Cake at Holl…
• UCF football puts a Walt Disney World logo on every helmet, starting with its Big 12 opener — UCF's football helmets now carry a Walt Disney World logo on the rear bumper, revealed at Magic Kingdom and debuting Saturday, September 26, when the Knights h…
• The Turf Club Bar and Grill Reopens September 30 With Prime Rib, EPCOT-Grown Garnishes and The Saratoga Cocktail — The Turf Club Bar and Grill at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa reopens September 30, a month after the Turf Club Lounge. Disney has published the full m…
• Atlantic Dance Hall Ends Its Regular Nights on October 1 and Becomes a Private Events Venue — Walt Disney World has posted a notice on Atlantic Dance Hall: beginning October 1, 2026, the Art Deco ballroom on Disney's BoardWalk ends its regular weekend o…
• The Mara Goes Mobile Order Only This Week as Animal Kingdom Lodge Stacks Up Projects Into 2027 — Walt Disney World added a five-day maintenance closure at The Mara to the calendar the day it started, sending the Animal Kingdom Lodge food court to mobile or…
• Walt Disney World's Thanksgiving Week Hours Are Out, and Magic Kingdom Shuts at 6 p.m. on Three of the Seven Nights — Operating hours are now posted for Walt Disney World's Thanksgiving week, November 22 to 28, 2026. Magic Kingdom runs 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day its…
• Walt Disney World is testing an AI planner that turns a prompt into ticket and hotel prices — Walt Disney World has put a Google Cloud-built AI planning tool in front of randomly selected guests in the US and Canada. Type a description of the trip you w…
• Walt Disney World's costume shop runs 900 designs and 746 hat styles, and prints Cruella's car on the parking crew — Walt Disney World's costuming operation, which Disney calls the largest working wardrobe in the world, keeps about 900 operational costume designs and 746 hat…
• The Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve are keeping their $50-a-night resort credit past summer, now tied to upgraded rooms — The Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve are offering a $50 resort credit for every night of an upgraded-room stay booked with promo code E6469. Th…
• Walt Disney World opens Disney University to cameras as it plans 5,000 new jobs over five years — Walt Disney World brought Orlando TV crews inside Disney University on September 16, the orientation campus where all 80,000 cast members start with the Tradit…
• The Cake Bake Shop Sets Four Santa Dinners at Disney's BoardWalk at $200 Per Adult — The Cake Bake Shop is taking reservation requests for Dinner With Santa Claus at Disney's BoardWalk on four Tuesday evenings: November 24, December 1, December…
• Lightning stopped an EPCOT-bound monorail for 90 minutes, and riders removed windows for air — A Walt Disney World monorail headed to EPCOT stopped on the beam for about 90 minutes on September 8 after passengers were told lightning had struck the line.…
• Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month at Walt Disney World: Luis Fonsi's visit, Encanto and Coco photo ops in all four parks, and three shops for the Coco collection — Walt Disney World is marking Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 with Luis Fonsi as its celebrity guest, five Latin acts…
• EPCOT's Festival of the Holidays Runs November 28 to December 30, With Ten World Showcase Storytellers and Olaf Hidden in 13 Spots — The 2025 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays runs November 28 through December 30, opening the day after Thanksgiving. Disney has confirmed the Candle…
• A $29.99 junk journal and a $16.99 park-day checklist land at Riverside Depot — Walt Disney World has put a Disney junk journal and a "My Disney Day" checklist notepad on sale at Riverside Depot in Animal Kingdom, priced $29.99 and $16.99.…
• Disney Springs Turned Six of Its 19 Christmas Trees Interactive for the 2023 Stroll — The 2023 Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll presented by AdventHealth put 19 decorated trees across the district and made six of them respond to a wave of a…
• Disney's CFO Says Walt Disney World Attendance Beat Expectations and Defends the $219 Magic Kingdom Ticket — Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said Orlando park attendance came in stronger than the company forecast last quarter…
• The Magic of Disney Animation is open at Hollywood Studios with augmented-reality photos, Olaf's drawing class, six character meets and a Wonderland playground — The Magic of Disney Animation opened September 14, 2026 at Disney's Hollywood Studios, inside the Sorcerer Hat building where Florida animators once drew Mulan…
• It's Tough to be a Bug! Closed After 26 Years in the Tree of Life Theater, and Zootopia Took Its Place — Walt Disney World set March 17, 2025 as the permanent final day for It's Tough to be a Bug!, the 3D show that had run inside the Tree of Life Theater since Dis…
• Two dry park days at Walt Disney World, then a 70 to 80 percent storm weekend — Rain chances at Walt Disney World sit at 20 to 30 percent on Thursday and Friday, the tail of the dry stretch that came in with a rare mid September Saharan du…
• Disney's own planning guide puts Walt Disney World's cheapest ticket dates in August and September — Disney has published its own answer to the most common Walt Disney World planning question, and it points at late summer: the lowest-priced days on the theme p…
• EPCOT's 2027 Flower & Garden Festival Runs March 10 to May 31, With Garden Rocks Back at America Gardens Theatre — Walt Disney World has set the 2027 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival for March 10 through May 31, an 83-day run that is a week shorter than 2026. Th…
• Walt Disney World's spring 2027 offers open today: rooms up to 35% off for Passholders, $250 a night off packages, and every After Hours night, price and ride through August 25 — Walt Disney World opened booking on September 10 for its 2027 winter and spring offers: up to 25% off Disney Resorts Collection rooms, up to 30% for Disney Vis…
• Robin Roberts, Jason Kelce and Lacey Chabert Join EPCOT's 2026 Candlelight Processional Narrator Lineup — Disney has released the celebrity narrator schedule for the 2026 Candlelight Processional at EPCOT, running nightly from November 27 through December 30 during…
• Scat Cat's Club closes October 6, and Port Orleans beignets move to Sassagoula Floatworks until December — Scat Cat's Club Cafe and Scat Cat's Club Lounge at Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter close for refurbishment on October 6, 2026. The cafe is expect…
• Arribas Brothers' glass Mickey pumpkin is on the shelf at Crystal Arts on Main Street for $39 — A glass Mickey Mouse pumpkin figurine by Arribas Brothers has arrived at Crystal Arts on Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom for $39. The small metallic orang…
• Steakhouse 71 closed for a day of unplanned maintenance on September 6 and is taking reservations again — Steakhouse 71 at Disney's Contemporary Resort shut without warning on Sunday, September 6, 2026, canceling guests' reservations on Labor Day weekend. Cast memb…
• Walt Disney World adds September 8 and 10 as Good to Go days for Annual Passholders — Walt Disney World has added Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10, 2026 to its Good to Go calendar, so Annual Passholders on all four pass tiers can…
• Tiana's Bayou Adventure Keeps the 50-Foot Drop and Adds Dozens of Audio-Animatronics Figures — Disney has shared a first look at the new Tiana Audio-Animatronics figure and previewed five things guests will find on Tiana's Bayou Adventure when it opens a…
• Walt Disney World's 55th Anniversary Pins Arrive September 15, Starting at $21.99 — Three Walt Disney World 55th anniversary pins are expected on September 15, priced from $21.99 to $39.99, with the two dearer designs limited to 5,000 pieces e…
• Three Irish Bands and a Florida Strawberry Seltzer Headline Raglan Road's Mighty St. Patrick's Festival — Raglan Road's Mighty St. Patrick's Festival runs March 11 through 17, 2022 at Disney Springs, with Jig Jam, the Lisa Canny Band and Emerald Shore flown in from…
• Aladdin, Cinderella, Mirabel and Tiana Headline 1900 Park Fare's Return to the Grand Floridian — 1900 Park Fare reopens at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on April 10, 2024 with a new character line-up of Aladdin, Cinderella, Mirabel and Tiana at bot…