Bright Suns from Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios! As we enter the final weekend of January, we’re in for a pretty exciting day — and our two-park adventure doesn’t even include the opening of the Disney Springs M&M’s Store. However, we do have a new Lightsaber, a reopened snack location, and new merchandise in today’s Walt Disney World trek. Let’s head in and see what’s new.
We started our day at Magic Kingdom, and straight away we noticed the return of Annual Passholder caps at the Emporium. The supply looked to be pretty limited, though.
We also noticed these new Loungefly ID holders, in Haunted Mansion and Mickey balloon varieties. They both have unique lanyards which reflect their individual themes — click here for additional pictures and information on both styles.
Another new entry at the Emporium, this water bottle has appeared as part of the larger retro yellow line which includes items such as a Spirit Jersey. The bottle sells for $22.99.
Moving onto Tomorrowland, we’re still monitoring the slow and steady work on the illuminated canopy of TRON Lightcycle / Run. As is often the case on weekends, there was no activity on the work site today.
However, at Star Traders, we found this entry into a new line of pastel apparel which features Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
Bonjour! Village Gifts seems to be continuing to progress quickly through its refurbishment, and a lot of little details such as the repainting of accents have already been completed.
Speaking of a quick refurbishment, Liberty Square Market, which closed on January 11th, reopened today slightly ahead of schedule. One notable item as part of the work is a new counter structure, improving upon what used to be housed in the outdoor market.
On the Rivers of America in Frontierland, one of the Tom Sawyer Island rafts has reappeared upon the refilled waterway.
In Adventureland, we stopped at “Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room” for, well, no particular reason. While there are several attractions that doesn’t always get much attention from guests, the Tiki Room is probably ignored more than most — though not deservedly so.
Heading back to The Hub, and then down Main Street, we caught a few character cavalcades which included this occurrence of the Mickey and Friends Cavalcade.
The Fantasyland Friends Cavalcade made its way through the park shortly after.
As far as our time in Magic Kingdom was concerned, the Royal Princess Processional was the last cavalcade of the day — always a fun end to a visit to the park.
Where we ended with Magic Kingdom we started at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as the Pixar Pals Motorcade roared down Hollywood Boulevard shortly after our arrival.
Elsewhere on Hollywood Boulevard, these “Baby Yoda” apparel items join other we found from the line earlier in the week. We’re still awaiting a backpack and beanie to round out the line.
Circling the park, we noticed the Star Tours wait time was a bit… pricey.
Back in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the wait for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run was similar at about 40 minutes, but was routing guests into backstage areas despite this relatively normal wait time.
The attraction we were after in Galaxy’s Edge wasn’t a ride, though. Our bounty was to be found inside Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.
Inside the shop would be a limited time preview of the Cal Kestis Legacy Lightsaber. While the display model may only be around for a short time, we have lots of photos and video for you in our dedicated post on the future addition to Dok-Ondar’s.
After scoping out the new Lightsaber, we visited a few of our favorite sites in Disney’s Hollywood Studios as dusk set in.
While it’s true we find Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to be average at best, the bright sign is still an energetic addition to the park’s nightscape.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we doubt anything will ever top Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood Tower Hotel in the later hours of the day.
That’ll do it for our time at Walt Disney World today. As always, we’ll be back in the parks tomorrow bringing you the latest news and developments. Be sure to download WDWNT: The App 2.0 onto your favorite device to receive notifications about all of the biggest stories from all of the Disney parks around the world — or only for the parks you choose!