WDW Daily News

As we look forward to this summer’s opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, more details have been revealed about the park’s first other-world pavilion, the Wonders of Xandar pavilion. 

Treasures of Xandar will be a merchandise location operated by “The Broker,” a proud Xandarian who is bringing his locally-famous shop to EPCOT. This out-of-this-galaxy shop will feature treasures acquired during travels across the galaxy, as well as items that pay tribute to the planet Xandar and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Guests can come join the fun of our annual Earth Day Celebration! The park spends not just the day but an entire week honoring our planet and how we can all come together to create a healthier home for people and wildlife. From April 18-24, Guests can connect with the magic of nature through family-friendly experiences and special offerings.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom delivers an Earth Day Celebration like no other. Share in the spirit of wildlife conservation and learn more about animal species the Disney Conservation Fund is working to protect. At Conservation Station, Guests can try their hand at drawing as Disney artists at The Animation Experience guide you step by step to bring your favorite Disney characters to life using real animals for inspiration. Each animal represents some of the amazing stories of conservation work Disney is doing around the world.

There is also a limited-time Wilderness Explorer activity that rewards Guests with an Earth Day Nature badge.

On Discovery Island, Guests can spot a special Disney Character Cruise on Discovery River. And throughout the park, find Disney PhotoPass magic that frames you with Wall-E and Eve from Disney and Pixar’s animated feature “Wall-E.” A limited-edition Earth Day 2022 trading pin is also available to commemorate the celebration, as well as specialty merchandise and custom food and beverages.

Stay tuned for more details about Earth Day offerings coming to Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney Vacation Club announced proposed plans to develop new Disney Vacation Club villas at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

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A perennial guest-favorite springtime event is now bursting with fragrant blossoms, seasonally inspired flavors and lively entertainment. The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival kicks off today and runs through July 4, 2022, cultivating fresh experiences for the entire family as part of the “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” honoring the Walt Disney World Resort 50^th Anniversary.

Over the course of 125 days, the event is one of the longest flower and garden festivals in the United States. Encompassing more than 300 acres, the seasonal plantings change throughout the festival, offering evolving displays of vibrant hues, textures, shapes and scents. Here’s what guests can discover:

Eye-Catching Topiaries, Brilliant Blossoms, Playful Fun
Nearly 100 individual topiaries, breathtaking garden spaces, exciting exhibits and more are available to explore. A few highlights:

• Disney Character topiaries offer a perfect backdrop for springtime photos:
  • A new main entrance display features Goofy with a birthday cake celebrating the Walt Disney World Resort 50^th
  • New topiaries of the Seven Dwarfs will accompany Snow White near the Germany pavilion in World Showcase.
  • Returning favorites include Lumiere and Cogsworth topiaries in the France pavilion; Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tick Tock Croc between the United Kingdom and Canada pavilions; and Pumbaa and Timon near Imagination!
• Near a topiary of Chef Remy in the newly expanded France pavilion in World Showcase, a new France Bouquet Garden invites guests to admire blooms perfect for a bouquet of cut flowers.
• On the bridge to World Showcase, guests can enjoy the sights and scents of spring at a new garden, Blossoms of Fragrance Presented by Scentsy. Surrounded by vibrant butterfly topiaries, guests can follow their noses to six scent stations – floral, fruity, citrus, spice, woods and fresh – to form lasting memories with the help of unforgettable aromas.
• Health Full Trail Presented by AdventHealth offers a fun way for families to play and learn how to stay healthy.
• Outdoor Escapes Presented by OFF!® Repellents lets guests enjoy a moment of relaxation while learning how easy it is to create an outdoor escape of their own.
• The Honey Bee-stro hosted by National Honey Board™ invites guests to learn about the critical role honey bees play in the environment.
• Bambi’s Butterfly House lets guests view a kaleidoscope of butterflies up close, showcasing their extraordinary beauty and colors.
• And, the ever-popular Green Landing Family Play Zone in World Discovery lets the little ones frolic with WALL-E in his eco-friendy garden.

The Return of Garden Rocks Concert Series
Live musical performances at the America Gardens Theatre are making their much-anticipated encore featuring internationally recognized artists Friday through Monday and local bands rocking the house Tuesday through Thursday. This year’s lineup includes:

• CeCe Winans
• Kool & The Gang
• Rick Springfield
• The Pointer Sisters
• Don McLean
• MercyMe
• Collin Raye
• Blue October
• Little River Band
• Thelma Houston
• STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
• Latin hitmakers Melina León and Claudia Leitte
• And many others!

With a Garden Rocks Dining Package (available for Friday through Monday concerts), guests can enjoy a leisurely meal at a select EPCOT restaurant and guaranteed seating at one of the performances later that same day. To see pricing, the full lineup of artists and performance dates, and to make a dining package reservation, guests may visit FreshEPCOT.com

Fresh Flavors at Outdoor Kitchens
Whether it’s on the plate or in the glass, the finest of spring’s bounty is showcased at nearly 20 Outdoor Kitchens offering a variety of tasty dishes, desserts and specialty sips. Here is just a sampling of the more than 50 brand-new offerings:

• EPCOT Farmers Feast presents an abundance of flavor with a rotating seasonal menu that will change three times throughout the festival. Some highlights include:
  • March 2 to April 9: “Early Bloom” Menu offers Chilled Potato and Leek Soup “Vichyssoise” with chive oil and crispy leeks; and Goat Cheese Creamsicle Pop – goat cheese crémeux, orange cream, olive oil cake, cranberry sauce, and praline
  • April 10 to May 21: “Springtime” Menu will feature Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta with marinated peppers, zucchini, squash, artichokes, goat cheese, and balsamic glaze on grilled ciabatta
  • May 22 to July 4: “Summer Solstice” Menu will feature A Whole Lotta Melon – feta cheesecake with watermelon curd, pickled watermelon rind, watermelon caramel, and compressed watermelon
• The Citrus Blossom bursts with intriguing flavors such as Crispy Mojo Marinated Pork Belly with avocado cream, corn salsa, salsa verde, and plantain chips; and the Grapefruit Tart featuring grapefruit curd, lychee jam, ginger mousse, and yuzu cream.
• La Isla Fresca showcases the Coconut Tres Leches: vanilla cake soaked in oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk with toasted coconut.
• Tangierine Café serves up an herbal-inspired delight with the Mediterranean Flatbread with Za’atar, featuring artichokes, olives, mozzarella, and feta cheese.

Shoppers Will Buzz With Delight!
This year’s festival merchandise introduces five new collections to the event’s bountiful selection. Guests can visit Festival Markets throughout EPCOT to shop for official event merchandise, including:

• Orange Bird Collection, eye-catching fashions, accessories and adorable keepsakes
• Mickey Mouse Home Garden Collection, a vibrant assortment of apparel, drinkware, yard tools and other coordinating accessories
• Spike The Bee Collection, evoking nostalgia for longtime Disney fans with a variety of collectable novelties, apparel and accessores
• Figment’s Garden Collection, paying tribute to Figment’s love of all things purple – including beets
• The whimsical Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Collection, featuring an array of items depicting those true originals in dapper ensembles ready for a stroll in the garden

Merchandise can be found at festival retail locations across EPCOT beginning on March 2, with additional pieces debuting throughout the festival. Select items are also available on shopDisney.com.

Food Stroll and Scavenger Hunt Encourage Exploration
Guests can have even more fun exploring the festival by participating in interactive experiences (separate purchase required):

• Garden Graze is a fun food stroll highlighting five delicious sweet and savory offerings listed in the Festival Passport. After their purchase, guests can complete the graze by collecting stamps in their passport to receive a special prize.
• Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration is a fun scavenger hunt for kids of all ages. Maps and stickers can be purchased at select merchandise locations (available while supplies last). Guests can then complete their map to receive a special prize.

New EPCOT Experiences Celebrate Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary
New experiences introduced as part of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” offer even more ways to cultivate fresh experiences at this year’s festival:

• Guests can enjoy Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France pavilion and join Chef Remy on a daring and epic culinary journey as they zip, dash and scurry through Gusteau’s bustling Paris restaurant.
• Also new at EPCOT is another delight for the senses: “Harmonious” – one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney park.

To experience the 2022 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, guests need both a valid park admission and a park reservation for EPCOT on the same date. For more details on this year’s festival, guests can visit FreshEPCOT.com.

A trip to a Disney theme park can be full of surprises – that’s to be expected in the most magical place on Earth. Sometimes, these surprises create happy memories for guests. Other times, these moments can be shocking in a not-so-great way.

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The Walt Disney Imagineering project team will soon celebrate a significant milestone on the construction of the TRON Lightcycle / Run attraction, as Guests at Magic Kingdom Park will be getting their first glimpses of ride vehicles on the track! 

As we begin the next phase of ride testing, we’ll soon start a process known as “push/pull,” where sections of the seven-vehicle train are slowly moved through the entire ride track. Once the track is completely ready, trains will begin launch tests at incremental speeds, with the team eventually working their way up to full-speed launches.

All of this exciting progress will be visible to our Guests in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom Park as trains make their way out of the launch zone and underneath the attraction’s iconic canopy.

Check out this new video for a behind-the-scenes look from Executive Ride Engineer, Jerold Kaplan, as the team prepares for this important milestone.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMS6qfviysUC

Magic Kingdom Park has gotten even more magical in recent weeks with returning favorites and new entertainment filling the streets and castle stage as part of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration.

“Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire” recently made its debut! This newly enhanced show features characters from “Frozen,” “The Princess and the Frog” and more as they join Mickey Mouse and all his friends in a musical extravaganza on the Cinderella Castle Forecourt Stage. The opening and finale of the show feature a heartwarming new song and sparkling EARidescent fashions designed exclusively for The World’s Most Magical Celebration. Check out the video below to hear Show Director Tara Anderson and Principal Music Producer Dan Stamper talk about bringing this exciting experience to life.

“Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire” is only part of the fun. On the anniversary of its debut in 2014, the beloved “Disney Festival of Fantasy” parade is now back – this time winding its way through the park not once, but twice each day! That’s double the chance to experience the enchanting floats – like the fire-breathing Maleficent dragon – and iconic music as characters from “The Little Mermaid,” “Tangled,” “Peter Pan” and more bring their individual stories to life in a spectacular way.

Sharing the parade route is the recently debuted Adventure Friends Cavalcade, taking over the streets several times a day with nearly 30 of your favorite Disney and Pixar friends including Moana, Nick and Judy from “Zootopia” and Miguel from “Coco.”

Stay tuned for all the news and updates throughout the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration, including the openings of “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” and “Fantasmic!” later this year!

Connections Café and Eatery recently celebrated a new milestone, with the installation of the first of five marquees. Opening this spring, this new fast-casual restaurant and adjoining café was inspired by the core EPCOT idea of “connecting”– by the common bond we share over food and the gathering of people across cultures.

EPCOT is a park about people, and this new location within the World Celebration neighborhood will commemorate that with the talent and skill found within the kitchen, and those who gather together to enjoy each other’s company over a meal.

At the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, Guests can now step inside a wonderful garden inspired by the magical Madrigal family from “Encanto,” the new Academy Award®-nominated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

A new “Encanto”-inspired garden will let Guests explore a lush tropical jardín inspired by the movie (streaming on Disney+) and its strong female characters like Julieta, Isabela, Luisa and of course, Mirabel. Guests can also stroll around a path inspired by the youngest member of the Madrigal family, Antonio.

The garden, which debuted last week, will be available through May 22, 2022, and is located near La Isla Fresca Outdoor Kitchen between the Morocco and France pavilions in World Showcase. This year, La Isla Fresca features three arepas dishes: arepas topped with melted queso fresco; arepa topped with shrimp, crushed avocado ají and tomato sauce; and an arepa topped with chorizo. Delicioso!

This is just one of the recent additions based on “Encanto” that can be enjoyed at Walt Disney World Resort. As part of Celebrate HER Story in honor of Women’s History Month, Guests can also enjoy delicious specialties and treats inspired by the women of the film at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. 

While visiting EPCOT, Guests can discover two more incredible garden destinations at Mexico pavilion in World Showcase. Extraordinary Orchids offers a breathtakingly beautiful area filled with orquídeas, while the Tropical Rainforest Garden lets Guests discover the rich biodiversity of the Mexican rainforest and its adaptive species.

For more information on the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival that runs through July 4, click here.

DIsney is gearing up to make a seaside splash at Disney’s BoardWalk! Over the next few years, they’ll be bringing new enhancements and offerings to life along this beloved, turn-of-the-century promenade – from a charming new lobby design and nearby coffee bar to delectable dining options, refreshed guest rooms and other special touches.

Waterside strolls will be extra special with storybook sweet treats and dreamy desserts at The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers, a new table service restaurant and bakery that’s sure to delight. Expected to open in 2023, this restaurant will offer both savory and dessert menus, along with afternoon tea service, in a whimsical atmosphere that complements the magic of the idyllic charm of Disney’s BoardWalk that Guests know and love. 

And with this new sweet spot on the horizon, the BoardWalk Bakery will become a new sandwich shop for Guests to enjoy a bite along the water’s edge, joining other current food and beverage locations like BoardWalk Ice Cream.

Through the doors of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, light and airy touches will reinvigorate the lobby, lounge and guest rooms, carrying the seaside breeze right inside. Just off the lobby, a new coffee bar with artisanal beverages and quick bites will be available to-go or in newly refreshed seating spaces inside or outdoors.

The Disney Resort hotel experience is a special part of what makes each Walt Disney World vacation truly memorable. As one of 31 themed resorts in the Disney Resorts Collection, Disney’s BoardWalk offers something for everyone – from shopping and dining to entertainment and recreation. We look forward to sharing new details about these enhancements at the resort as they become available.