Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is reportedly closing for a major refurbishment as part of the Magic Kingdom expansion, a Disney World food and beverage union has filed a list of demands, and Rex from “Toy Story” is coming to Shanghai Disney Resort — all this and more in today’s daily recap for Saturday, June 15, 2024.

Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom

• Disney has filed a permit for a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment, possibly indicating the beginning of the Beyond Big Thunder expansion project at Magic Kingdom.

EPCOT

• A new EPCOT park entrance sign has been installed to match the updated logo style.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• One of two construction walls around the Toy Story Mania exit in Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been removed after four months.

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

• On a recent visit to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, we discovered a new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure photo op.

New Merchandise

• On a recent trip to Magic Kingdom, we discovered four new “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” pins.
• Arribas Brothers locations at Walt Disney World have an expensive new limited edition Princess Cinderella figure covered in Swarovski crystals.
• The new Lion King MagicBand+ is now available at Discovery Trading Company in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
• New World Showcase pins featuring Mickey, Minnie, and more are now available at Walt Disney World Resort.
• To celebrate the 15th anniversary of “Up,” a new limited edition Carl and Ellie doll set is now available for purchase.

Other Walt Disney World News

• UNITE HERE Local 737, which represents Walt Disney World food and beverage Cast Members among other workers, has issued a list of demands for improvements for tipped employees and requested a meeting with Disney regarding guest allergy concerns.

Disneyland Resort

• A coalition of unions representing over 13,000 Disneyland Resort Cast Members has filed charges against Disney for disciplining employees wearing union buttons.
• The new Disney Eats donut and Stitch Attacks donuts collections are available at Disneyland Resort.
• Disneyland Resort has a new bottle topper in honor of Pride Month 2024. 
• Disney artist Ashley Taylor has designed a new Sleeping Beauty home collection now available at Disneyland Resort. 
• A new collection of Stitch 626 merchandise has crash-landed in Disneyland Resort ahead of June 26, a.k.a. 6/26. 

Tokyo Disney Resort

• Tokyo Disney Resort and Calbee, Inc. have created new flavored potato chips inspired by the theme parks’ classic bone-in sausage snack.

Shanghai Disneyland

• Shanghai Disney Resort shared via their official Instagram account that a new Rex character meet and greet is coming to the resort.

Entertainment and Media

• “Inside Out 2” grossed $13 million domestically and $22.3 million internationally during Thursday night previews, giving it the biggest preview night of 2024.

WDW News Today

Opening Day Attraction Closing To Become DVC Lounge

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – Nighttime POV – 4K Multicam

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

Katie Francis