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 September 30 – October 6!

Walt Disney World

• This weekend, an accident occured on the Riviera Resort station of the newly-opened Disney Skyliner, leading to an evacuation process going underway across each of the affected lines
• The new fiscal year at Walt Disney World has brought price increases on food right across the resort, including the resort refillable mugs, which have gone up to $19.99 for length of stay refills
• The new theming of the Walt Disney World bus fleets continues, as we spotted this Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge bus with BB-8 hit the streets this week
• The newly-refurbished Monorail Green made it’s debut back on the line this week, with a smart new interior
• Credit card chip readers are now being tested for store purchases across the resort
• A free kids dining plan promotional package is now available for select 2020 bookings at the resort
• A Disney PhotoPass Archive USB is now available to purchase for annual passholders and guests with Memory Maker

Magic Kingdom

• Check out this week’s photo report for the Magic Kingdom, featuring new character locations, price increases, new merchandise and more!
• We are very pleased to announce that the PhotoPass photographers have returned to the Town Square Theater as Mickey the Magician is meeting guests again in his popular location
• Early Morning Magic will return to the Magic Kingdom in 2020, with price-increased dates added through March
• Watch the last-ever final performance of “The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History”, which came to a close this week following their three-year run
• There have been some changes to character meet and greet locations across the Magic Kingdom, affecting the Fairy Godmother, Ugly Stepsisters and classic characters
• A new Pirates of the Caribbean-themed collectable medallion kiosk has docked in Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar
• A new vegan breakfast option named Le Fou Festin has arrived at Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom

Epcot

• Check out this week’s photo report for Epcot, including The Epcot Experience, new merchandise, bridge spiels and more!
• This week marked the last-ever final showing of the “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” firework spectacular, which has been enchanting guests at Epcot for 20 years. WDWNT marked this occasion with a bang through our Reflections of Forever event, which featured a stunning live performance of “Promise” by vocalist Kellie Coffey and composer Gavni Greenway
• Following this, Epcot debuted the new firework spectacle “Epcot Forever“. Read our full review of the show here
• Tour the new “Walt Disney Imagineering Presents The Epcot Experience Exhibit” at The Odyssey pavilion in our videos and photos from its opening this week. Inside, a stunning projection show has revealed to us that “Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story” will be the new attraction name, and ride vehicle models for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure are also on show
• The new Epcot Monorail loop spiel details the transformation coming to the park
• The Camera Center is now closed, with the PhotoPass desk now stationed at Pin Central. Take one final tour of the store in our video here
• Over at Innoventions West, we spotted some demolition equipment has arrived ready for the area’s overhaul, whilst the surrounding construction walls have received a colorful new futuristic logo design
• Take a look at our construction update on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France pavilion, featuring aerial views from the approaching Disney Skyliner
• We reviewed The Donut Box booth, which has made its late debut at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2019. We also tried the new custom layered slushies and new souvenir cup over at Cool Wash
• The Imagination pavilion gourmet flavored popcorn cart is closed, and has been relocated to the new Epcot Experience Center

Hollywood Studios

• Check out this week’s photo report for Hollywood Studios, featuring unusually high crowd levels, too many Star Wars cooling fans and more!
• This week, Freeform aired a 2-hour behind-the-scenes look at Galaxy’s Edge, which included a sneak peek of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance!
• These new spooky orange cauldron popcorn buckets have arrived at Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom

• Take a look at our construction update on the entrance tram loop at Animal Kingdom, which isn’t a pretty sight at the moment
• Primeval Whirl has reopened in Dinoland U.S.A., now as a seasonal attraction
• In a new video, Disney has previewed the holiday decor coming to Animal Kingdom, including a new Tree of Life projection show

Disney Springs

• We reviewed the delicious, limited-time Dole Whip Nachos from Marketplace Snacks, and the seasonal new Oktoberfest Poutine from the Daily Poutine
• Construction walls have gone up around the former Bongos Cuban Cafe, soon to become Beatrix Health Foods Restaurant
• We reviewed the impressive new Coca-Cola Brownie from The Coca-Cola Rooftop Tasting Bar

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

Animal Kingdom Lodge

• Ongoing construction at Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village has obstructed views of the iconic savannah due to the eyesore walls which are up

Beach Club Resort

• Half of Ariels’ has closed at Beach Club to make room for  the Beaches & Cream Soda Shop expansion

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

• The Enchanted Rose lounge officially opened this week at the Grand Floridian. You can check out the full menu here and read our full review of the location here

Polynesian Village Resort

• We reviewed the new Mike Wazowski Chocolate Dome Cake over at Kona Cafe
• A new lunch and dinner menu has appeared at Kona Cafe this week

Port Orleans Resort

• We visited the newly-opened Scat Cat’s Club & Cafe over at Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter

Riviera Resort

• An offer is currently on which allows Disney Visa Cardholders to save up to 40% on Riviera Resort bookings

Saratoga Springs Resort

• We reviewed the amazing new Mike and Sulley Cookie Butter from Artist’s Palette
• Newly remodeled rooms have debuted at the resort, take a tour of one in our video here

Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Park

• We reviewed the insta-worthy new limited-time Maleficent Frappuccino from Market House Starbucks
• Additional images have been revealed from inside the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction in the Disneyland Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Downtown Disney District

• An “Avengers: Damage Control” virtual reality experience will be coming to The Void for a limited time on October 18th, with tickets now on sale

Tokyo Disney Resort

• The details were revealed for the New Year’s 2020 event at Tokyo Disney Resort, including special greetings, merchandise and food
• The entertainment, food and merchandise lineup was also revealed for the Very Very Minnie event at Tokyo Disneyland, which looks set to be absolutely adorable!

New Merchandise

• We spotted some beautiful new MagicBands across Walt Disney World this week! We found this limited-edition Fantasyland MagicBand, these exclusive new Build-a-Band upgrade designs, two new Frozen 2 MagicBands, and this 2019 Annual Passholder limited-release Goofy MagicBand
• Over in Tokyo Disney Resort, we saw these adorable Fantasmic! and Electrial Parade candy cases which will be coming to the resort soon, along with this “Happy Birthday Mickey & Minnie” merchandise collection
• The Halloween merchandise just keeps coming! We found even more Halloween magnets over at D-Tech on Demand in the Magic Kingdom, and these Jack and Sally Nightmare Before Christmas Alex and Ani double-sided bracelets at Disney Springs
• In pin news, even more October pin releases have been revealed, and a 30th anniversary Little Mermaid trading night will be coming to Walt Disney World soon. You can also check out the October 2019 pin releases for Disneyland Paris here, featuring adorable Frozen and Halloween designs
• New Disney Parks UGears wooden puzzle key chains have debuted over at Hollywood Studios this week
• In Spirit Jersey news, this adorable new Wall-E and E.V.E Spirit Jersey is now available on shopDisney
• Take a look at every piece of new “Epcot Forever” and “Walt Disney Imagineering Presents the Epcot Experience” merchandise, with prices, now available in Epcot

• In Epcot’s World Showcase, we found this adorable new German Pretzel Purse, this Mexico Donald Duck plush, and Canada Mickey and Norway Minnie plushes
• A new Frozen 2 merchandise and shopping event has begun across the parks and shopDisney, celebrating the Frozen Fan Fest event. Take a look at every item released for the event – with prices – here
• These total throwback VHS cover leggings have arrived in the parks
• Some notable new plushes arrived across the parks this week, including this new limited-edition The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad legacy collection plush, this new Sven Dream Friends plush, and this limited-release Baloo Classic Cozy Knits plush
• This nostalgic collection of new “Mousercise” merchandise has arrived at the Disneyland Resort
• D-Tech have released some cute new iPhone 11 cases this week: this Disney Snack design, this “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” design, and these Mickey Mouse and Stitch designs
• Some stunning new Disney Parks attraction posters were released at the Art of Disney this week, including Runaway Railway, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room designs and more
• Check out every Star Wars toy (with prices) which has been released for Triple Force Friday at Walt Disney World, every pin and art piece released, this new Triple Force Friday apparel, and this bold Star Wars Sith Trooper Loungefly bag
• The newest Disney Parks Designer Collection Minnie Ears are now on sale: these Princess Leia Bun Ears!

Entertainment & Media

• A new poster for Frozen 2 came out this week, along with a new trailer featuring the brand-new song “Into The Unknown”. The movie’s soundtrack listing has also revealed performances by Panic! At the Disco, Weezer, and Kacey Musgraves
• Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Brian Volk-Weiss have partnered on the upcoming Disney+ docuseries “Behind the Attraction”

Other Disney News

• A man with autism has filed a federal lawsuit against Disney regarding their disability policies
• A recent patent application shows a new user-controlled trackless attraction system is currently under development for the parks

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!

Madeleine