We bring you a lot of stories every single day. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. So in case you missed anything from our feed, we have rounded up all our stories in one place to get the news at a glance. Here is your Daily Recap for Wednesday, August 18, 2021.

Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom

• Good morning from a magical day at Cinderella Castle! Come along with us to see what’s new in the latest photo report.
• On Tuesday night, a guest at the Magic Kingdom managed to capture footage of the Abraham Lincoln Audio-Animatronic malfunctioning in The Hall of Presidents.
• The colorful makeover continues at “it’s a small world” in Magic Kingdom. 
• With help from artist Jerrod Maruyama, Disney has officially confirmed that Minnie Mouse will have a gold statue as part of the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection at Walt Disney World.
• Disney reportedly commissioned New Orleans-based artist Sharika Mahdi to create a collection of paintings to inspire the Imagineers behind the upcoming retheming of Splash Mountain to “The Princess and the Frog,” and plan to share the first look at one of the paintings on August 23.

EPCOT

• More merchandise has arrived at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, including a handful of magnets.
• Alongside the announcement that FastPass+ would be replaced with the paid Genie+ this fall, we have learned that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will use a virtual queue similar to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

• Boma’s updated breakfast and dinner menus are now available on the Walt Disney World website.
• While all guests will be able to select their first attraction time for the day at 7 a.m. using Genie+, resort guests will also be able to make Lightning Lane individual attraction purchases at 7 a.m.
• Victoria Falls Lounge at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge will be reopening on August 20 alongside Boma – Flavors of Africa and a modified menu has been released.

Other Walt Disney World News

• Since May, face coverings have been optional for Guests in outdoor common areas, and beginning Thursday, August 19, face coverings will also be optional for Guests in outdoor attractions, outdoor queues and outdoor theaters at Walt Disney World Resort.
• With announcements coming rapidly about the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection, Disney Parks Blog has revealed a behind the scenes look on how these statues are being made.

Tokyo Disney Resort

• The Oriental Land Company announced today via the official Tokyo Disney Resort Twitter account that the premiere date of Believe! Sea of Dreams has been pushed back to 2022.

New Merchandise

• New Halloween merchandise continues to slink into Walt Disney World, and the latest wave to be released features a (not-quite) terrifying trio of items.
• shopDisney has confirmed that four merchandise collections previously announced for the celebration will be available on their website beginning on October 1st, the same day they debut in the theme parks.

The Walt Disney Company

• Disney is officially introducing their new Genie Service, along with Genie+ and Lightning Lane. Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane will replace FastPasses at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort this fall.
• In addition to the announcement for the new Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane services coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, it was also revealed that digital options are coming to the Disability Access Service (DAS) program.
• As part of the Genie+ and Lightning Lane services, guests will soon be able to purchase access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.
• An announcement will reportedly be made tomorrow addressing the impending closure of nearly all of the remaining Disney Stores across North America. 

WDW News Today

Celebrating the 2008 Disney Channel Musical Camp Rock – Deep in the Plus – Ep 77

That’s it for today; we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!