WDW Daily News

Epcot® International Festival of the Arts at Walt Disney World® Resort will kick-off its annual global celebration of visual, culinary and performing arts Jan. 17- Feb. 24, 2020. The new Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine debuts at this year’s festival, showcasing food creations that make you look twice and delight all the senses. New stellar Broadway talent is slated for the Disney on Broadway Concert Series, and more special performances are scheduled. The festival fun is designed for all ages, so you can plan for an outing complete with something for everyone in the family, including three brand-new film experiences that debut at Epcot on festival opening day!

As Walt Disney once said, “Color does brighten things up, doesn’t it?” We say, “yes!” This year’s Food Studios’ menus are bursting with bright hues and flavors, and you will have a chance to sample the spectrum of delicious dishes with the reward of a colorful culinary prize. As they stroll the World Showcase Promenade, they’ll be tempted by the creative bites and sips created by talented Disney chefs. Guests can collect a stamp for each menu item they taste along the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine, fill their Festival Passport “palette,” then collect their colorful culinary prize.

Guests can savor abstract fare at Deconstructed Dish and satisfy their sweet tooth at Decadent Delights. The edible options are endless at 12 Food Studios and other festival food and beverage stops.

In November, we shared some of the show-stopping talent lineup for the festival’s popular Disney on Broadway Concert Series, running three times daily at America Gardens Theatre.  Now, here’s the rest of the story:

• Jan. 17, 20, 21 and 24 – Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”) 
• Jan. 18, 19, 22 and 23 – Heidi Blickenstaff (“The Little Mermaid”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)
• Jan. 25 – Special performance featuring Simmons, White, Blickenstaff and Lee 
• Jan. 26, 28, 29; Feb. 1, 2, 5 and 6 – Kara Lindsay (“Newsies”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)
• Jan. 27, 30, 31, Feb. 3, 4, 7 and 8 – NEW! Liana Hunt (“Newsies”) and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
• NEW! Feb. 9 – Special performance featuring Lindsay, Massey, Hunt and Jacobs
• Feb. 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22 and 23 – Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
• Feb. 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21 – NEW! Syndee Winters (“The Lion King”) and NEW!Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”)
• NEW! Feb. 24 – Special performance featuring Brown, Strickland, Winters and Scott.

All shows are included with theme park admission. The best way to experience a performance is by reserving a Disney on Broadway Dining Package, which guarantees seating for one show on the day of the dining experience. Packages at participating Epcot restaurants are now booking; visit ArtfulEpcot.com or call (407) WDW-FEST to make a reservation.

And remember: age doesn’t matter – art is for everyone! There’s fun for kids of every generation at the Green Landing Family Play Zone. Guests can pose for some memorable family pictures at several Artful Photo Ops, then paint a piece of our Expression Section: Paint by Number Mural at World Showcase Plaza. 

When guests join us for festival fun, they won’t want to miss the new films debuting at Epcot Jan. 17, 2020. They’ll see art meet science in “Awesome Planet” at The Land pavilion, which employs spectacular imagery, in-theater effects, and an original musical score. They’ll get to perform as part of the audience at the “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along” in the France pavilion. And they’ll be surrounded by the visual beauty of northern climes when viewing “Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” in the Canada pavilion – it’s a breathtaking update to the original “O Canada!” film with new scenes, a new musical score and narration by award-winning actors Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy.

While visiting World Showcase, be sure to check out a brand new to Epcot performing in the Germany pavilion, Lebendig (“Alive”), Jan. 17 – Feb. 25. This four-piece pop/rock outfit will delight audiences with its contemporary interpretation of the beloved German Schlager style, including covers and originals. 

Have you heard? It’s basically Christmas! And while you might not be ready for it, Disney has been more than ready for weeks now. And what is the most logical way to bring you news of Disney’s most wonderful and magical holiday treats, you might ask? Well, it is for me to try them all and report back to you, of course!

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The most anticipated theme park land in recent memory has now fully opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Beyond a few last items – like the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride and a new theater to play Mickey Mouse shorts in – the updates at Hollywood Studios are mostly done.

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Drury Hotels is developing its largest property to date, the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista, and will begin to welcome guests by spring 2021. The new hotel will be located in the Disney Springs® Resort Area and the entire project will be complete by the end of 2021, with its first set of rooms available by spring 2021. The new hotel will feature a host of amenities and will be located near the Walt Disney World® theme parks.

The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista will be bookable through the Walt Disney Travel Company and offered as part of Walt Disney World® Resort vacation packages. As with the other hotels in the Disney Springs Resort Area, Drury will offer transportation to and from the theme parks.

The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista will feature a resort-style pool, splash pad, poolside cantina bar and grill in addition to an extensive marketplace for grab-and-go food items and sundries. The hotel will also feature hot breakfast, an appetizer and beverage reception and 24-hour business and fitness centers.

The groundbreaking new Disney attraction Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is officially open at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® – and Guests are loving it!

Thousands of Disney Parks and Star Wars fans lined up before sunrise to be among the first to experience this groundbreaking attraction. Among them were multi-generation families who’ve enjoyed the Star Wars films for years, Guests dressed in outfits inspired by their favorite character, and younglings ready to use the Force in this all-new adventure.   

At Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Guests are put in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance, including a faceoff with Kylo Ren. The journey takes you aboard a full-size transport shuttle and into a Star Destroyer on a thrilling adventure that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The attraction is one of the most immersive, ambitious and technologically advanced experiences in Disney history, using multiple ride systems working together to create a seamless story on a cinematic scale.

Check out the video above to hear the jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring reactions from some of the attraction’s first Guests!

As a reminder, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will debut at Disneyland® Park on Jan. 17, 2020.

Disney is looking to once again bring honor to the story of Mulan. The second trailer for the film, directed by Niki Caro, was released this morning and further teased a significant reimaging of the classic 1998 animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook.

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Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is now open at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® in Florida! After years of anticipation, Guests are now joining the Resistance in a climactic battle against the First Order.

During a special dedication ceremony Wednesday night inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek lauded the attraction’s immersive storytelling and technological innovation, saying “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance sets a new standard for what a theme park experience can be. Tonight, we’re welcoming the world to experience the Star Wars galaxy like never before, with the opening of the most ambitious, immersive, advanced, action-packed attraction we’ve ever created.”

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is one of the most ambitious attractions ever created for a Disney park. The thrilling action takes place in massive sets that give you the feeling of stepping inside a Star Wars film as they elude the clutches of Kylo Ren and the First Order in a mad dash through a Star Destroyer.

You can watch a full recap of the attraction’s momentous dedication ceremony above.

As a reminder, Guests at Disneyland® Park in California can begin enjoying Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance when the attraction opens there on Jan. 17, 2020.

If you have traveled to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, they may be familiar with the Star Wars: Datapad, a land-wide interactive experience available through the Play Disney Parks mobile app. There are so many ways to explore with the Datapad – and today, we’re excited to share details on two new jobs at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance!

Opening yesterday, Dec. 5, 2019, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® in Florida and Jan. 17, 2020 at Disneyland® Park in California, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will take visitors on a harrowing adventure and put them  in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance. With the Star Wars: Datapad, you can choose to support either side by selecting new jobs within the app as they move through the Resistance clearing and towards attraction.

Distress Signal Received: If Guests choose to help the Resistance they’ll receive a distress signal from Finn, who is undercover on a Star Destroyer near Batuu. They can connect and help him navigate the ship by selecting his path – and they may even free Resistance prisoners, reprogram droids and gather information on what the First Order is up to on the way. Depending on the route Guests share with Finn, they’ll uncover items and schematics exclusive to this assignment.

Infiltrate Resistance Recruitment: Meanwhile, First Order loyalists entering the Resistance recruit line will be tasked with surveilling and reporting back on the status of Resistance supplies. You will be able to communicate with a First Order officer as they make their way through, and with her instruction they may choose to scan crates, intercept transmissions or even plant tracking devices from the Datapad.

Guests can look for the new Star Destroyer icon in their Datapad to take on these new jobs.  

And while exploring the surrounding area and Black Spire Outpost, you can use their “scanning” tool to discover new items that they can collect or trade with fellow galactic travelers, and don’t forget to use their “hacking,” “tuning” and “translation” tools to explore the land. Perhaps they’ll learn something new from a local droid, intercept some local chatter or learn a galactic language! And for visitors looking to take part in more, help Hondo Ohnaka sort cargo during an in-queue game at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, or join in “Outpost Control” to show where their loyalties lie. Of course…you could always breakout on their own as a scoundrel.

Download the Play Disney Parks app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store before their visit to check out these exciting features and experiences. And during their visit to Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland Resort, don’t forget there’s even more to explore with the Play Disney Parks app, from in-queue games and Disney trivia, to specially themed Disney Parks playlists through Apple Music®* and playful ride achievements.

Available for iPhone® and smartphones for Android™.

Message, data and roaming rates may apply. Availability subject to handset limitations, and features may vary by handset, service provider or otherwise. Coverage and app stores not available everywhere. Music streaming feature requires an Apple Music subscription. Separate Apple Music terms and conditions apply. Subscription plan renews automatically after trial. If you’re under 18, get your parents’ permission first. Some features require separate theme park admission.

Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and Apple Music are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC.

This is the Disney attraction you’re looking for.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance makes its public debut Dec. 5, 2019, inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, and at Disneyland Park in California on Jan. 17, 2020. After years of anticipation for this groundbreaking new attraction, guests will now become heroes of the Resistance in a climactic battle with the First Order.

During a special dedication ceremony Wednesday night inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek lauded the attraction’s immersive storytelling and technological innovation.

“Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance sets a new standard for what a theme park experience can be,” Chapek said. “Tonight, we’re welcoming the world to experience the Star Wars galaxy like never before, with the opening of the most ambitious, immersive, advanced, action-packed attraction we’ve ever created.”

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is one of the most ambitious attractions ever created for a Disney park. The thrilling action takes place in massive sets that give guests the feeling of stepping inside a Star Warsfilm as they elude the clutches of Kylo Ren and the First Order in a mad dash through a Star Destroyer.

The new attraction adds to the adventures that await inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the 14-acre land that opened earlier this year at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests become part of their own Star Wars stories as they take control of the fastest ship in the galaxy in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, sample galactic food and drink, craft their own lightsabers and build their own droids in interactive retail experiences, and encounter some of their favorite Star Wars characters.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the latest chapter in the collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm Ltd., a global leader in film, television and digital entertainment production, including the Star Wars franchise. The work on Star Wars between these two creative powerhouses dates back to 1987, when the groundbreaking Star Tours attraction opened at Disneyland.