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 December 23-29!

Walt Disney World

• Take a look at the full Walt Disney World schedule for New Year’s Eve 2020, including park hours, fireworks, and entertainment times
• It was revealed that Walt Disney Cast Members portraying Mickey, Minnie and Donald filed police reports claiming inappropriate touching by guests
• The recently released “Park Life” MagicBands available at the resort have been pulled from shelves, due to synching issues
• All Disney Skyliner gondolas have been given a sticker with a Guest Services emergency phone number inside

Magic Kingdom

• Check out this week’s photo report for Magic Kingdom, including a look at stylish new merchandise, Dapper Dan appreciation and more!
• “The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History” made a triumphant return for the holidays this week
• Performance times for The Festival of Fantasy parade will move back an hour to 3 p.m. in January
• The Swiss Family Treehouse will close for refurbishment in 2020

EPCOT

• Check out this week’s photo report for Epcot, including holiday crowds, critter sightings, NYE prep and more!
• Take a look at the construction progress across Future World in our photo report. Also in construction and development across EPCOT, we noticed that demolition continues over at Innoventions West, the exterior walkway construction at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is progressing rapidly, themed exterior details were added to Space 220 Restaurant and new Finding Nemo character art was added to the west park entrance bypass walkway
• EPCOT Character Spot will close January 5, with Joy moving to a new location inside the Imagination! pavilion whilst Baymax and Sadness’ meet and greets discontinued
• It was confirmed that MouseGear will close January 4, and a temporary location will open at Innoventions East on January 5
• We reviewed the new White Chocolate and Eggnog Christmas Candle Cupcake from Sunshine Seasons and the new Beer Caramel and Pretzel Bites from Karamell-Kuche
• A new Mickey Mouse meet and greet location will open inside the Disney & PIXAR Short Film Festival January 5
• A new tram loop drop-off area has opened on the eastern parking lot
• It was confirmed that the park entrance bypass walkways near the Moana – Journey of Water site and Future World East will open in January
• The new Starbucks “Traveler’s Cafe” location is now officially open

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• Check out this week’s photo report for Hollywood Studios, featuring Rise of the Resistance crowds, vegetables, decorations and more!
• On Saturday, both Kylo Ren audio-animatronic figures broke on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Should this happen, we found that an alternate “B-Mode” TIE Fighter attack scene takes place on the ride
• In construction across Hollywood Studios, the repaving work has continued at the park entrance, and we took a look at the progress on the Mickey Shorts Theater venue
• Guests visiting Hollywood Studios in January may benefit from the extended 7 a.m. park opening time
• We reviewed the new Happabore Sampler at Oga’s Cantina

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• A particularly ridiculous report from Animal Kingdom came from a woman being sprinkled with urine by a man behind her, who was peeing in the long Flight of Passage queue

Disney Springs

• Check out this week’s photo report for Disney Springs, including World of Disney holiday fun, an R2-D2 cake, the new Lightning McQueen bus and more!
• As the grand opening of City Works Eatery & Pour House draws nearer, we noticed that the final signage has gone up on the building. We learned the restaurant will open in January 2020 and have details on the menu
• It was announced that a new, state-of-the-art M&M’s retail store will open in Disney Springs in 2020

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

• The option of ordering the infamous Bread Service with three sauce accompaniments has been removed from the menu at Sanaa, with now only the full service of nine accompaniments now available

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

• Read our review of every loaded tot, plant-based item, sandwiches old and new, and even the kitchen sink at the newly-renovated Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, which has debuted a new character-inspired expanded interior and a To-Go window. Take a look at the full, new menu

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

• Check out the construction progress on the new bridge and walkway connecting the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom

Disney’s Riviera Resort: Now Open!

• As issues persist, guests have been asked not to use any wall-mounted beds across the Riviera
• Read our review of the impressive dinner service at the new Primo Piatto restaurant and the sweet breakfast offerings at Le Petit Cafe
• Check out our photos and read our review of an overpriced Tower Studio Room at the resort

Disneyland Resort

• The full New Year’s Eve schedule for Disneyland has been revealed, including the park hours, fireworks and entertainment times

Disneyland Park

• In the post-holiday rush, ticket sales to the Disneyland Park were temporarily stopped
• It was announced that Cast Member previews for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will start January 8, and a virtual boarding group queue system will be in use for the attraction’s opening
• King Arthur Carousel will close in January for a lengthy refurbishment

Disney California Adventure

• Check out this week’s photo report for Disney California Adventure, including holiday crowds, letters to Santa and more!
• The Marvel Avengers Campus construction is progressing quickly at Disney California Adventure, and the new land was confirmed to open in Summer 2020

Tokyo Disney Resort

• Camp Woodchuck Kitchen in Tokyo Disneyland will soon be serve a new vegetarian set
• A funky new Type C Disney Resort Line monorail was spotted being delivered to the resort
• A single-rider option will be available on Big Thunder Mountain next month

New Merchandise

• Show off your true strength with this fun “I Conquered the PeopleMover” trucker hat 
• Be home before you turn into a pumpkin with these gorgeous new Disney Parks Collection watches
• Build your own happiest cruise with this “it’s a small world” wooden mechanical model set by UGears
• Construct your ideal day with these fun “Park Life” collection attraction dioramas
• Just try to resist this adorable collection of Baby Yoda apparel, including this new “The Mandalorian “Spirit Jersey and even Baby Yoda socks

• Celebrate the new decade with this special New Year’s 2020 merchandise collection over in Tokyo Disney Resort
• Represent Fantasyland attractions in style with these fun Mr. Toad and “it’s a small world” attraction company hats
• Live your best life with this “Park Life” collection patch backpack
• Drink up with this Park Icon Starbucks acrylic tumbler
• Sparkle and pillage with this stunning Redd Sequin Backpack and Wristlet by Loungefly and matching Redd Sequin Minnie Ears

• Get comfortable in these new adult sweatpants and kids loungewear collection
• Celebrate the highway in the sky with this adorable “Duffy & Friends” Tomica Monorail coming to Tokyo DisneySea
• Add to your collection with these former D23-exclusive EPCOT pavilion logo pins
• Count down to 2020 with these New Year’s Eve glow ears and glasses
• Travel back in time with these Fantasyland and 35th Anniversary retro park tees
• Show off your favorite park with this new EPCOT logo Spirit Jersey
• Snuggle up with this Baby Yoda “The Child” plush and this Baby Groot Big Feet plush

Entertainment and Media

• Season two of “The Mandalorian“ will debut in Fall 2020 on Disney+
• “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” brought in an impressive $32 million on Christmas Day in North America, the second highest single day gross for a Christmas Day showing following “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
• The “Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga” 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray box set is now available for pre-order at Best Buy

Other Disney News

• In a $6 million deal, Disney has purchased approximately 235 acres of land near Walt Disney World
• According to Elon Musk, Tesla vehicles will soon be equipped with Disney+ access
• A family recreated the final scene of the Carousel of Progress for their virtual Christmas Card and you must take a look!

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!