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 November 4-10!
Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
- Check out this week’s photo report for the Magic Kingdom, including Christmas decorations, the holiday Main Street trolley show and more!
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returned to the Magic Kingdom this week! Check out the event map here, the treat offering menus here, and the full entertainment schedule and character lineup here. Visiting the party? Make sure you collect this new and exclusive Pluto Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card!
- There were so many new holiday treats to try in the Magic Kingdom this week! We reviewed the Holiday Cookie Sundae from Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies, the dreamy Olaf’s Frozen Hot Cocoa Cake from Main Street Bakery, the weird Christmas Cherry Pistachio Float with Cold Hot Chocolate from Aloha Isle, the messy new Santa Mickey Waffle Sundae from Sleepy Hollow, and the disappointing Deck the Halls Frozen Eggnog from Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
- Possibly the most elusive of parades at Walt Disney World, this week we managed to capture the festive and fun Rainy Day Christmas Cavalcade on video at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019!
- The new and incredible nighttime spectacular, “Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks” lit up the sky during their debut at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019 this week
- Space Mountain has received its holiday overlay, blasting off this week at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019, along with the speedy new holiday overlay at Tomorrowland Speedway
- We also absolutely loved the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor holiday overlay, which definitely put some “Ha Ha Ha” in the “Ho Ho Ho”
- In construction and refurbishment news across the Magic Kingdom, we spotted Star Traders has debuted a new name, signage and interior, took a look at the latest update on the Liberty Square Market seating area, and saw that the final piece of exterior coaster track has been installed at TRON Lightcycle Run
- Meanwhile, we couldn’t help but notice that Gaston is sporting a new look in his Fantasyland meet & greet location
Epcot
- Check out this week’s photo report for Epcot, including a long line for Passholder magnets, constuction updates, and more
- This week in construction across Epcot, we noticed construction walls have been erected for the new meet & greet location inside ImageWorks at the Imagination Pavilion, a new extended queue structure has been added to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and we checked out the progress on the retro fountain construction and the park entrance experience
- We went to tour the new “Race Against the Sun: Ancient Technique to Modern Competition” exhibit in the Morocco pavilion
- Disastorously, the executive chef for the Space 220 Restaurant has stepped down, just weeks before the restaurant’s expected opening
- We reviewed the sugary new Frozen Mezzo Mix with Honey and Bourbon Liquor from the Germany pavilion
Animal Kingdom
- Check out this week’s photo report for Animal Kingdom, including a look at holiday popcorn buckets, new merchandise, construction updates and more!
- We went to watch the new holiday Tree of Life Awakenings show, which festively lit up the night at Animal Kingdom
- We reviewed the new Pumpkin Pretzel from Thirsty River Bar, and the Bugs ‘n’ Grubs Cupcake from Creature Comforts
- The new Merry Menagerie wintery animal puppet show has been warming hearts across Animal Kingdom this week
- It’s festive dinos aplenty over in Dinoland, USA, which has been decked out in some wacky Christmas decor
- Over in Pandora, an impressively festive AMP Santa Mech Suit has arrived, as part of the first holiday celebration decor to light up the World of Avatar
- At the entrance to the park, we spotted new pavement and more planters have been added as work continues on the park arrival experience enhancement project
- If you are visiting Animal Kingdom next week, make note that DINOSAUR and other DinoLand attractions will be closing early on November 14 and 16
Hollywood Studios
- Check out this week’s photo report for Hollywood Studios, including Christmas decorations, broken Skyliner windows and more!
- On our holiday food tour around Hollywood Studios, we tried and reviewed the cheery Holiday Mule and “Frostbite” specialty alcoholic drinks, the Holiday Blondie and Chocolate Chestnut Pinecone, the Strawberry Mint Verrine and Mickey’s Santa Hat Chocolate Mousse from ABC Commissary, Elsa’s Magical Macarons and Gingerbread Cookies from BaseLine Tap House, and the adorably tasty Olaf’s Chocolate Marshmallow Verrine
- The Sunset Seasons Greetings holiday projection show has returned for 2019 at Hollywood Studios
- Make sure you watch out for this funny, flannel-wearing little green alien popcorn bucket in Toy Story Land, which fits perfectly with the holiday decor which has covered Andy’s yard this week
- In construction news across Hollywood Studios, we noticed that even more walls have been added to the site of the Roundup Rodeo BBQ, whilst the Slinky Dog Dash shade structure has now been completed
- An exclusive Frozen 2 preview display has debuted inside Walt Disney Presents
- A new park logo sign has made its debut on the recently-cleared Animation Courtyard arch
- Work has begun on transforming the former “Star Wars: Path of the Jedi” theater into the new Mickey Shorts Theater
Disney Springs
- Check out this week’s photo report for Disney Springs, featuring a new DisneyStyle photo op, creepy Olaf chocolate and more!
- The amazing and iconic Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail has returned for 2019! Featuring trees themed to movies, attractions and the Disney Parks themselves, this gallery is definitely not to be missed!
- This adorable new Sven sipper has skated into Disney Springs this week
- A new Disney+ popup location will be coming to Disney Springs on the service’s launch date, November 12
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels
All-Star Resorts
- The McDonald’s restaurant located near to Disney’s All-Star Resorts is due to be fully demolished, ahead of its planned renovations
Animal Kingdom Lodge
- We went to check out the resort refurbishments which are currently underway over at Kidani Village
Beach Club Resort
- The refurbishment of Beaches & Cream Soda Shop has been extended through til January 2020
Caribbean Beach Resort
- A family of UK guests claimed to have found dead cockroaches, a used condom and exposed wiring in their resort room at Caribbean Beach
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Check out the construction progress on the incredible gingerbread house in the lobby of the Grand Floridian
- The construction on the walkway bridge connecting the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom is continuing on, with additional parts installed this week
Polynesian Village Resort
- The Polynesian has received a bit of a facelift this week, debuting new beach chairs and hammocks, with parking lot resurfacing and more
Wilderness Lodge
- We reviewed the sparkly new Frozen 2 Blueberry Lemonade Mickey Macaron, and the amazing new Cinnamon Roll Cupcake from Roaring Fork
Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Park
- The amazing fireworks spectacular “Believe… in Holiday Magic” returned to the Disneyland Park this week, with the help of the cast of Frozen 2!
- The holidays have arrived at Disneyland, and that means all the treats! This week, we tried and reviewed the Raspberry Mascarpone Yule Log and Christmas Cake from Plaza Inn, and the Green Alien Holiday Macaron, Bruschetta Poultrium Pizza and Alpha Broccolius Parfait from Alien Pizza Planet. In churro news across the park, we tasted
- the new Toffee-flavored Churro, Santa’s Cookies and Milk Churro, and the Caramel and Coconut Churro
- The magical 2019 “A Christmas Fantasy” parade is back at Disneyland
- Snow White’s Scary Adventures is set to undergo a large-scale refurbishment project, according to a recent permit filing
- A sneak peek of the upcoming Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will be coming to the Disneyland Park next week
- We learned that the holiday overlay on “it’s a small world” features three new immersive scents
Disney California Adventure
- Disney California Adventure’s stunning nighttime spectacular has received its holiday overlay – watch our video and check out our photos of the amazing “World of Color – Season of Light” show
- Santa is now meeting & greeting at Redwood Creek
- Take a look at our video of the fun Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party which returned for its seventh year this week
- We were out trying so many amazing holiday treats at the Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays 2019! We tried the House-Made Horchata and Yule Log Churros, Mickey Shepherd’s Pie and Navidad Punch with Mickey Jingle Bell Glow Cube, Mickey Beef Wellington, Holly Cherry Holiday Punch and “Christmas on the Beach” Beer, and the Glazed Ham Shanks. Our favorite booth? Has to be Winter Sliderland! Check out the full menus for all the marketplace booths at the Festival of Holidays here
Disneyland Paris
- Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of MARVEL will be opening on June 15, with a special introductory booking offer of free half board dining and an exclusive piece of MARVEL artwork
Tokyo Disney Resort
- We’ve been out trying lots of tasty treats across Tokyo Disney Resort this week! In Tokyo Disneyland, we tried Grandma Sara’s Special Set, the Sweet Strawberry and Cranberry Crepe, Sparkling Mixed Berry Tapioca Drink, Chocolate Sprinkle Donut, Vanilla Mousse Cake, Hungry Bear Special Set, Special Skellington Sandwich and Strawberry Souvenir Dessert Cup, a Chocolate Churro (with an adorable Mickey and Minnie SnoSnow wrapper!), Olaf Potato Salad & Corned Beef Pancake Sandwich, Cheese & Meat Sauce Hot Dog (with souvenir lunch case), and a Hot Cheese Caramel Milk Tea
- We went to watch the special Christmas version of the popular “Hello, New York!” performance at Tokyo DisneySea
New Merchandise
- Check out every piece of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019 merchandise, with prices, available now at the Magic Kingdom.
- The new Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail merchandise collection features gorgeous poster art for the Rainbow Tunnel, DINOSAUR, Haunted Mansion attractions and more
- Dooney & Bourke have released their beautiful Disney 2019 Holiday purse collection, available now in the parks and on shopDisney
- Over in Tokyo Disney Resort, check out every new merchandise item for “Disney Christmas 2019” in Tokyo DisneySea, every item of “Disney Christmas 2019 merchandise in Tokyo Disneyland, every item of general “Christmas 2019” merchandise at the resort, and every adorable item of SnoSnow 2019 merchandise across the resort. There’s so many amazing items!
- Also in Tokyo Disney Resort is this gorgeously colorful new Park Icons houseware collection, and these new Fantasmic!, Electrical Parade and popcorn cart candy cases
- Also new in holiday merchandise offerings across the parks are these new light-up Mickey Jingle Bell souvenir sippers, which go great with the new Mickey Elf souvenir popcorn buckets, and the Mickey light-up tree popcorn buckets! We also spotted the adorable new “Merry Christmas” limited-release series of Wishables
- Take a look at the November 2019 pin releases for Disneyland Paris, including Stitch pins, princess pins and more
- In apparel news, we spotted these magical new The Little Mermaid and The Muppets character shirts, and found that the humble spirit jersey has gotten an upgrade with this new knitted spirit jersey sweater now available in the parks
- This adorable and collectable Matterhorn Bobsled and Abominable Snowman Funko Pop Vinyl roared into Walt Disney World this week
- In MagicBand news at Walt Disney World, we spotted this new Yoda lightsaber MagicBand, an open-edition Darth Vader MagicBand, the limited-edition Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019 MagicBand, limited-edition The Mandalorian MagicBand, and this limited-release Lady and the Tramp MagicBand. Not only that, but the humble MagicBand is getting a new format, with these fun new MagicBand slap bracelets!
- Interested in the upcoming Disney Backstage Collection subscription boxes? Take a sneak peek at their contents here
- This funny new Alien Swirling Saucers mug has swung into Hollywood Studios this week
- Gaming fans must check out this new Disney Vacation Club, Pirates of the Caribbean Jenga
- This adorable new light-up holiday Minnie Mouse hair bow is the perfect accessory for the holiday season, and would go great with this new collection of “My Happy Place” Christmas jewelry sets
Entertainment & Media
- Disney released a video showing how they trained rescue dogs to make up their adorable cast for Lady and the Tramp
- An inspiring new teaser trailer landed this week for Disney & Pixar’s Soul
- The full slate of star-studded Disney Parks Christmas Specials has been announced for this holiday season
- We reviewed Marty Sklar’s “Travels With Figment” memoir
- WDWNT’s own Tom and Nick had fun this week unboxing a giant chest of Frozen 2 toys by Hasbro
- Another new trailer landed for Frozen 2 this week… have you got your tickets yet?
- We also caught our first glimpse of Ming-Na Wen in the newest teaser for The Mandalorian
Other Disney News
- Cast members will be given the choice between receiving a complimentary theme park main entrance pass, or a Disney+ package, beginning January 2020
- The Walt Disney Company announced its Q4 results this week, beating analyst expectations with a massive operating income growth
- A man arrested for allegedly molesting a child in the Magic Kingdom is now facing additional charges, whilst another guest was arrested for allegedly groping a princess during a meet & greet
- In a complicated turn of events, charges were dropped against the Disney Cruise Line employee accused of fondling a 10-year-old guest
- In a bid to boost sales, Disney Vacation Club will be discounting points for Aulani and the Riviera Resort
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!