Check out the character Topiaries around Epcot for the 2025 Flower & Garden Festival. Which one is your favorite?

Check out some of the new runDisney merchandise in this photo gallery.

Take a look at some photos from the new Disney Vacation Club Lounge at Magic Kingdom.

Calling all Space Rangers! Exciting updates are on the horizon for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, including a new show scene, updated ride vehicles and gameplay enhancements. Here’s what you can expect from this iconic Tomorrowland attraction next year.  

Brand New Scene  

As their adventure begins, guests will now be greeted by an all-new character! This friendly robot — aptly named “Buddy” — was created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios to play a key role on the Star Command team. As a support-bot, Buddy makes sure departing Space Rangers are fully prepared for their mission, enthusiastically providing encouragement, final system checks on their Star Cruisers and a chance to hone their blaster aim. This will be a great time for guests to check out some of the new, interactive target features before blasting off to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg and save the galaxy.

New Ride Vehicles

Star cruisers will also receive a face lift with a new design inspired by the colors of Buzz Lightyear and Star Command. Each enhanced vehicle will also now come equipped with video monitors that provide real-time scoring updates and other exciting features. 

Handheld Blasters  

Each ride vehicle will now include handheld blasters for better aim, helping guests to score even more points. These new blasters will be perfect for our younger riders, allowing them to participate more in the experience. And, if you’ve ever wondered where you’re aiming (don’t worry, you’re not alone), these enhanced blasters will now include an always-on laser and come in two different colors per star cruiser, in addition to new lighting, sound and vibration effects, so players know where they’re aiming throughout the mission. 

Interactive Targets

The static Z targets found in the attraction today will be upgraded with new technology that will allow them to react and light up when hit. It also opens the door for a few other ideas Imagineers have in mind. 

Work on these updates recently passed an important milestone, as fellow Imagineers were invited to participate in a playtest of the new targets, blasters and gameplay ideas. Playtests are a critical part of the design process, where the project team is able to try out variations of a concept in a real-world setting, gaining critical insights into which ideas work best and how the experience can be improved. It’s all part of delivering an out-of-thisworld experience for our guests.

“Everyone had a great time, and our team learned a lot,” project creative director Justin DeTolla said. “We’ve been working on this project for quite some time now, so it was exciting to see it all come to life for the first time in the field.”  

To prepare for these updates, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will temporarily close in August and reopen next year. Star Command, over and out!

Summer is almost here, and there’s nothing like a visit to Walt Disney World Resort when the kids are out of school! And this summer will be extra fun, with special deals, two new shows, a new nighttime parade and limited-time activities and entertainment created for families with kids.

Here’s why summer 2025 is the perfect time for families to visit and experience more magical moments they can find only at Disney World:

Limited-Time Entertainment & Experiences Beginning May 27

From May 27 through September 1, 2025, families should be on the lookout for limited-time experiences perfect for young kids in the theme parks, including kid zones featuring new activities and fun ways to interact with more Disney characters. There will be pop-up entertainment offerings, games, music, dancing and other adventures to help little ones make those core Disney memories.

For example, over at Magic Kingdom, families can discover kid zones with added fun in Storybook Circus and in Tomorrowland with Stitch. And following the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, families with young kids will be able to cool down while enjoying the ultimate game party and play space featuring none other than Goofy as he takes over CommuniCore Hall at EPCOT. We don’t want to spoil all the surprises but be on the lookout for more details soon.

Some of our characters will also be out in the park earlier than normal for Disney Resort hotel guests during their daily early theme park entry period (valid theme park admission required). What better way to rope drop than saying hello to some of your favorite Disney pals!

Reminder: Our theme parks are often open for longer hours during the summer months, which can help your clients plan their day around a mid-day pool break or get on more of their favorite attractions.

Stay at These Disney Resort Hotels for Additional Summer Fun

This summer, guests staying at select resorts – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – will be able to enjoy even more Disney-themed activities designed for families with kids. These activities will include character visits with set appearance times to help your clients plan their day and an expanded itinerary of things to do with their family throughout their stay at these four resorts.

Other activities will continue to be available across all our resorts, like Disney movie nights, brought to life by our amazing cast members, in addition to perks like complimentary transportation around Disney World.

Plus, in 2025, all Disney Resort hotel guests can enjoy free admission to a Disney water park on their check-in day, included as part of their stay (subject to availability). This perk has quickly become a guest favorite and will be a great way to start a vacation during the summer. Admission will be automatically loaded onto your client’s My Disney Experience account on their check-in day, so make sure they download the app if they haven’t already!

See New Nighttime Parade and Shows

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After will both debut on May 27, 2025. 

• The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure: If your child is in their Disney Princess era (or never left) then this show is for you! The Walt Disney Animation Studios classic “The Little Mermaid” comes to life on stage with all-new sets and stunning visuals.

• Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After: Or, if your kids are enchanted by Disney Villains, this delightfully wicked stage show engages the audience to decide who has been treated the most unfairly of them all.

Plus, the new nighttime parade, Disney Starlight, is coming to Magic Kingdom later this summer. Little ones will want to stay up for this one, where they’ll spot beloved characters from “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen” and more. It’s our first nighttime parade at Disney World in nearly 10 years! Stay tuned for more details and an opening date as we put on the finishing touches. 

With more surprise, more delight and more fun coming to every corner of our world, it’s all part of Cool Kid Summer!

Disney and Pixar are returning to Land of the Dead for “Coco 2.”

Full Story

Disney Vacation Club released the following breaking information:

Come on over and rest your boots at the newest Member lounge, McKim’s Mile House! Located in the heart of Frontierland in Magic Kingdom^® Park at Walt Disney World^®Resort, this rustic hideaway welcomes eligible^*Members and their guests to refresh and recharge. Relax in comfortable seating, enjoy complimentary soft drinks, connect with our dedicated Disney Vacation ClubMember Services team, access complimentary Wi-Fi, and more—all with a touch of frontier charm! Open daily from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST.

There’s no better time to hop over to Disney Parks and Resorts because Easter delights are on the way. Our culinary teams have busted out their basket of goodies once again. Guests and their taste buds will be jumping with joy ahead of Easter, on April 20!

This year is quite the tasty eggs-travaganza. With new bites, like the Bunny Burrow Dirt Cup at Gasparilla Island Grill and the Thumper Cake Bar at Amorette’s Patisserie, and returning delights, including the Easter Egg Macarons at Le Petit Café and the Spring Stuff at Red Rose Taverne, there’s plenty to fill up everyone’s baskets. 

And what Easter season is complete at Walt Disney World Resort without the beloved Easter Egg Displays. These creations are expertly crafted by our talented pastry teams, bringing to life some of the cherished characters and stories in egg form. Guests can get a peek at last year’s eggs below to get excited for what’s to come this year.

We are egg-cited for this year’s lineup. Let’s break it down with this year’s Foodie Guide to Easter!

Easter at Disney World 

EPCOT

Various Popcorn Locations 

• Thumper Spring Bucket: Includes popcorn at the time of purchase (New) (Available starting March 25 while supplies last) (Limit two per person, per transaction) 

Disney Resorts Collection

Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort 

Beach Club Marketplace and The Market at Ale & Compass (Available March 18 through April 20) 

• Painted Egg Whoopie Pie: Cinnamon sponge cake with maple buttercream filling topped with pastel chocolate and springtime sprinkles (New) 
• Carrot Cupcake with cream cheese buttercream, chocolate cookie crumbs, and spring sprinkles (New) 

Easter Egg Display in the Lobby (Available April 1 through 20) 

The lobbies at Disney’s Beach Club Resort or Disney’s Yacht Club Resort will be home to magnificent displays featuring specialty themed Easter egg creations guests simply must see.

Disney’s BoardWalk 

BoardWalk Deli (Available March 18 through April 20) 

• Painted Egg Whoopie Pie: Cinnamon sponge cake with maple buttercream filling topped with pastel chocolate and springtime sprinkles (New)

Disney’s Contemporary Resort 

Contempo Cafe (Available March 18 through April 20; mobile order available)  

• Carrot Cupcake with cream cheese buttercream, chocolate cookie crumbs, and spring sprinkles (New)

Easter Egg Display in the Lobby (Available April 1 through 20) 

Nestled on the fourth floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, guests will find an array of adorable Easter egg designs the pastry team has brought to life. 

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 

Gasparilla Island Grill (Available March 18 through April 20; mobile order available)  

• Bunny Burrow Dirt Cup: Layers of chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, and sandwich cookie pieces with springtime décor

Easter Egg Display in the Lobby (Available March 18 through April 20) 

Venture over to the lobby at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to see these creations, expertly designed and hand-made by our talented cast members. 

Disney’s Riviera Resort 

Le Petit Café (Available March 18 through April 20) 

• Easter Egg Macarons: Strawberry honey, blueberry coriander, and orange milk chocolate

Primo Piatto (Available March 18 through April 20; mobile order available)  

• Lemon-Ricotta Cheesecake: Vanilla bean panna cotta, lemon biscotti cookie, and milk chocolate stamp 

Available at Various Resorts  

• Thumper Carrot Cake with cream cheese buttercream
  • End Zone Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
  • World Premiere Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
  • Intermission Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
  • Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
  • Centertown Market at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
  • Spyglass Grill at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
  • Everything POP Shopping & Dining at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
  • Riverside Mill Food Court at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
  • Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
  • Roaring Fork at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Disney Springs 

Amorette’s Patisserie (Available March 18 through April 20; mobile order available) 

• Easter Egg Petit Cake: Layers of carrot cake, cream cheese filling, and pineapple jam (New) 
• Mini Easter Croquembouche: Chocolate pâte à choux, chocolate-hazelnut custard, chocolate ganache, and white chocolate easter stamp (New) 
• Thumper Cake Bar: Mixed berry mousse combined with vanilla chiffon cake (New) 

Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew (Available April 13 through 20) 

• Easter Donuts: Various flavors decorated with a chick, Easter egg, a rabbit jumping into a burrow, odes to Spring, and “Easter grass” with malted milk ball “Easter eggs”

The Ganachery (Available April 6 through 20)

• Mickey Chocolate Bites: Solid milk chocolate with orange crispy pearls and dark chocolate with strawberry crispy pearls (New)
• Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pop: Peanut butter ganache layered with vanilla marshmallow covered in milk chocolate and caramel crispy pearls (New) 
• Milk Chocolate Bunny Piñata: Milk chocolate shell with jelly beans and marshmallow treats

We’re just a few months away from the debut of “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away,” an all-new nighttime parade that will light up the streets of Magic Kingdom Park this summer! To get ready for the big day, the Disney Live Entertainment team has been busy designing and choreographing in Florida, recording music in London and checking in on float construction across the U.S.  

And to get our guests ready, we’re sharing some exciting updates you won’t want to miss.  

“Disney Starlight” Official Poster 

Let’s kick things off with a first look at the official poster for “Disney Starlight.” This design, which will take its place amongst the iconic artwork below the Main Street, U.S.A. train station, captures the creative vision for the parade by showcasing both modern stories and familiar nostalgia.  

And those who have been following “Disney Starlight” updates closely may notice some friends on the poster who haven’t been talked about yet.  

“Disney Starlight” Coco Float 

“Disney Starlight” will get un poco loco with a new Coco float at Magic Kingdom! In a celebration of the Pixar Animation Studios film, sounds of Mariachi music will announce the arrival of a larger-than-life Pepita, wings spread above the parade route. Below, Miguel will strum his guitar at the foot of a marigold bridge to the Land of the Dead, complete with sugar skull fireworks.  

This new Coco float is an explosion of color and light guests won’t want to miss. 

Other “Disney Starlight” Floats and Can’t-Miss Details  

All the “Disney Starlight” floats from our poster may now be revealed, but there are more surprises in store — including a few details some may have missed!  

The very first float sets the tone for our star-kissed constellation of Disney dreams, all brought to life by the magic of the Blue Fairy. See that glowing star at the end of the Blue Fairy’s wand? To paraphrase a fan-favorite Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular, that’s actually the “first star you’ll see tonight.” Guests will be invited to wish upon this very bright star to kick off our parade. 

Peter Pan, Wendy and Elsa will be arriving on their own floats too! 

We can’t wait for Isabela to make her Magic Kingdom debut alongside her fellow Madrigal family members in the Encanto portion of “Disney Starlight.” In true Isabela fashion, she’ll swing on floral vines just like she does in the film.   

Main Street, U.S.A. will also “make way” for a Moana float, complete with gorgeous, luminescent waves. While Moana takes center stage, one might notice Pua, HeiHei, and even a manta ray representing Gramma Tala joining her journey.    

A peek at the “Disney Starlight!” princess float was shared, which revealed the influence of Disney Legend and artist Mary Blair on the unit’s design. This float will feature beloved princes and princesses like Aurora and Prince Phillip, Tiana and Prince Naveen, Belle and the Beast, and Cinderella and Prince Charming. 

But not seen in the artwork is the royal court dancers who will bookend this princess segment – one of many references to the classic “Main Street Electrical Parade.”   

Our waltzing princesses aren’t the only royalty in “Disney Starlight,” but that’s enough for today! More details will be shared in the coming months!  

March 8, 2025

Life is an off-road rally race, and Lightning McQueen, Mater, and the rest of the cars from Pixar Animation Studios’ Cars are going to ride it all night long.

First announced at last year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, a brand-new Cars themed area is speeding in to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Here, the Cars crew leaves Radiator Springs behind and heads off into the frontier to put their wheels to the test.

Now at The Future of World-Building at Disney panel at SXSW, Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, and Imagineer Michael Hundgen teased that guests will need to strap in because they’re in the process of creating a new type of ride vehicle for this experience.

“Our primary goal is creating an emotional experience for our guests,” Hundgen told the crowd. “For this Cars attraction, we need to invent a new type of ride vehicle. No one builds these in a factory because it has to do so much more than just carrying you from one place to another. We have to create a car that conveys a feeling when you ride in it.”

The team took a trip out to the Arizona desert to jump in a real off-road vehicle to see what it felt like driving over the rocky terrain. These are all things Lightning McQueen and Mater haven’t experienced before, like racing over rocky terrain, ascending to mountain peaks, and dodging around geysers — how do you take these real-world elements and put a Cars spin on it?

From there, the Imagineers worked with a motocross company to build a real dirt track to race around on and took that data back to begin work on creating how the ride vehicles will eventually move and race.

“We’re using a customized production vehicle,” Hundgen continued. “It has sensors all over it, and we’re taking it for test drives on our dirt track to gather data on how the vehicle responds to different terrain. This is where we turn that feeling we want into real-world engineering,” Michael explained.

But all this talk about cars, what do they look like?

That’s where the Pixar team steps in. For some show and tell to get the crowd revved up, Docter shared some early concept sketches with the audience, teasing that they’re creating “new race car personalities for this attraction. Each vehicle in the ride will have its own name and number, just like a real race.”