The Beak & Barrel has officially opened for reservations at Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Resort will end early entry for resort hotel guests, and crews have started demolition on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Florida— all this and more in today’s daily recap for Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Daily Recap (8/20/25)
Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
- Walt Disney World dining reservations temporarily became unavailable today in the My Disney Experience app, likely related to tonight’s opening of The Beak and Barrel bookings.
- Following the release of reservations for The Beak & Barrel at the Magic Kingdom, most dates through the end of September were completely booked for most party sizes within an hour.
- Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom is almost dry as Disney prepares to transform the land into a Cars area.
EPCOT
- Following construction walls going up in the Japan pavilion earlier this summer, a new gashapon kiosk has opened at EPCOT, offering toys related to Sanrio, Dragon Ball Daima, Chainsaw Man, and more.
- Following the addition of several physical gates to the theme park entrance of EPCOT at Walt Disney World just over one week ago, the gates have now been removed.
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels
- The new birdcage bar in the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa now has a vertical framework and a roof.
New Merchandise
- Disney has shared a first look at the merchandise that will be available from Mickey’s of Glendale at Destination D23 later this month.
- Two new custom headband plush from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas have arrived at Walt Disney World.
- A new smiling Cheshire Cat ear headband with an askew bow is now available at Walt Disney World.
Other Walt Disney World News
- Walt Disney Imagineering teased the return of Tom Morrow 2.0, indicating Imagineer That may return.
Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Park
- Disneyland Resort will end early entry for resort hotel guests in 2026, instead offering Lightning Lane access for one attraction.
Disney California Adventure
- The Pixar Place Hotel entrance to Disney California Adventure will close next year.
- Oogie Boogie Bash has returned to Disney California Adventure, and we reviewed the Carolina Loaded Tenders and the Loaded Buffalo Chicken Fries at Flo’s V8 Cafe.
- Oogie Boogie Bash is on at Disney California Adventure, and with it comes exclusive treats and eats, such as the Ube Hot Chocolate with Vanilla Vodka — read on for our review!
- Oogie Boogie Bash is back, and the event is packed with exclusive menu items to try — including the Chili Cheese Fries from Award Wieners.
Walt Disney Studios Park
- The Disneyland Paris permit for their new Lion King land has been approved, making the permit public and revealing new details of the land.
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Studios Florida
- Crews have started demolition on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Florida.
- Lil Boo has arrived at Universal Orlando Resort as construction continues for Halloween Horror Nights 2025.
- Halloween Horror Nights 2025 doesn’t kick off until August 29, but the baked goods have started to arrive. Check out the full selection.
- Halloween Horror Nights season approaches, and we tried three of the new Five Nights at Freddy’s themed items.
- Universal Studios Florida has released a first look at some of the new food and beverage items coming soon for Halloween Horror Nights 34 in 2025, including a Five Nights at Freddy’s-themed cupcake, RadAway mocktail, and more.
WDW News Today
Walt Disney Imagineering Building More Magic Kingdom Offices, Early Entry & Oga’s Cantina Changes
That’s it for today; we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!