WDW Daily News

Test Track presented by General Motors

Guests should get ready to feel the thrill of the open road, the wind in their hair, and nothing but adventure ahead! Test Track presented by General Motors is making its return lap late summer 2025. Walt Disney Imagineering has been working with General Motors on an all-new storyline – guests will want to be all buckled in for an adventure. Guests might even see cars returning to the track (for testing…at Test Track…nice) with their new look early in the year!

“Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away”

 It’s time for a new fabulous nighttime parade! “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away” is coming to light up summer 2025! This new evening spectacle invites Magic Kingdom Park guests to dream the night away with a shiny new blend of nostalgic Disney storytelling and glowing innovation, continuing the legacy of dazzling nighttime entertainment that holds a special place in the hearts of so many.

Guests will get the chance to see a bunch of their favorite characters in a whole new light … literally. Featuring fan-favorites from classic and new Walt Disney Animation Studios films like “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen,” “Moana,” and more, the parade’s vibrant lights will dance in the dark, transforming the night into a mesmerizing canvas of glowing colors, completely surrounding guests and their loved ones!  

The Blue Fairy from the classic tale, “Pinocchio,” will weave the transformative magic of starlight through each float and every costume in the parade, illuminating the stories in a vibrant constellation of wonder, hope and imagination. 

“The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure”

Guests should grab their dinglehoppers and get ready, because it’s time to shell-ebrate with “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.” This summer, we’ll all be part of Ariel’s world as the Walt Disney Animation Studios classic “The Little Mermaid” comes to life on stage! We’re talking all-new sets, a vibrant cast of puppets, live performers, and stunning visuals coming together to take us under the sea.

Remember the days when we’d pop in that favorite VHS tape and sing along to our favorite tunes? Fans of the movie can relive that nostalgic joy with plenty of nods to the brilliant animation style from the film. Even the youngest kiddos will sing along with beloved songs including “Under the Sea” and “Part of Your World,” plus two new-to-this-theater musical numbers, “Daughters of Triton” and “Kiss the Girl.”

Spaceship Earth Lounge

Paying tribute to the most beautiful EPCOT icon, our favorite geodesic sphere will be home to a whole new experience in late spring, welcoming an elevated lounge to the list of things that make it absolutely stunning! This elegant lounge, honoring the intertwined history of Spaceship Earth and EPCOT itself, is set to celebrate the legacy of the icon’s past while admiring its future.

Our chefs have created delicious culinary creations to complement the elegance of this extraordinary, intimate setting. While taking in breathtaking views of the park from an entirely new angle, guests can be inspired by the stories and legacy of this iconic structure. With sweeping views of World Celebration Gardens and a unique perspective of the nightly fireworks, this secluded retreat invites guests to raise a toast to the enduring spirit of EPCOT.

“Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After”

If, when guests are watching a Disney movie, they relate more to the Villains … maybe we should hang out. In fact, let’s hang out this summer at the ALL-NEW show, “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After.” 

This delightfully wicked show will keep guests on their toes when the most fiendish of foes, Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent, break through the glass to take center stage and captivate guests with live performances full of witty humor and mischievous charm. Guests may even get a glimpse of a few more of their favorites through the magical mirrors as dozens of the most infamous evildoers try to join in the delightfully diabolical fun. 

Take a look at the brand new 2024 Epcot Festival of the Holidays Merchandise.

Curtains up for “Disney The Tale of Moana”! The first ever-stage adaptation of the beloved Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “Moana” takes center stage in the Walt Disney Theater aboard the Disney Treasure, and we’ve got a first look at the beautiful Broadway-style production.

More About ‘Disney The Tale of Moana’ on the Disney Treasure

From the very first scene, this spectacular show takes guests on a journey across land and sea, with set design and musical elements inspired by cultures of the Pacific Islands woven throughout, that inspires Moana’s classic tale. “An Innocent Warrior” begins the show with vibrant dance and songs in a mix of languages including Tuvaluan, Tokelauan and Samoan. The show also includes the first stage performance of the song, “Warrior Face,” inspired by traditional Haka.

Larger-than-life puppetry fills the Walt Disney Theatre stage throughout the show, including the largest puppet Disney Cruise Line has ever created in the massive, fiery Te Kā towering over the audience before eventually transforming into the gentle island goddess, Te Fiti. The show will feature several memorable songs from the film including, “How Far I’ll Go”!

Walt Disney World has expanded the Lightning Lane Premier Pass pilot to all Disney Resort hotels. Guests staying at Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa, Moderate, Value Resorts and other select hotels will be eligible to purchase up to seven days before the first day of their Resort stay – for their entire length of stay (up to 14 days).

This is the only update to Lightning Lane Premier Pass at this time, and the pass continues to be offered in very limited quantities.

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Details are also available on the Walt Disney World Resort website.

Guests should get ready to open the door because Mike and Sulley are coming to town!

That’s right, humans will be able to enter the world of Monsters, Inc. when it is added to the south side of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Building off the exciting announcements from last summer’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the new land will include the coaster we’ve all dreamed of – a suspended ride recreating the door vault scene – plus dining and shopping and a whole new theater show. 

To make way for the monsters, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends will be moving right along to Sunset Boulevard! But there’s more to the story: The Muppets will be taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival! 

We know so many of guests share our love for The Muppets and know their energy will be a perfect fit for this coaster. Plus, as the first Disney ride ever to feature The Muppets, there’s sure to be laughter, screams and new tunes for this attraction for fans to enjoy throughout the adventure and plenty of Muppets-themed merchandise on Sunset Boulevard!

In the meantime, there’s still enough time for guests to catch a super-stretch limo to the Forum to enjoy Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and catch Muppet*Vision 3D again before their final curtain calls. 

As we move forward with these changes, we are having creative conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future.

No doubt there are a lot of new adventures planned for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and we’ll have more details to share next year!

November 26, 2024

Welcome, foolish mortals. Since our announcement about the Haunted Mansion grounds expansion, we know our fans have been waiting with ghoulish delight to learn more about what’s to come to this area of New Orleans Square in Disneyland Park. Today, we are excited to unveil new details and first-look photos. Take a peek – if you dare!

Enhancements in New Orleans Square

The new Magnolia Park recently opened, situated in front of the train station between Tiana’s Palace restaurant and the Haunted Mansion. This beautiful, elegant park-like setting is shaded with some oak and Ficus trees, and is a great spot for guests to take a break with a Mickey-shaped beignet from Mint Julep Bar, or enjoy some live entertainment. 

New, Expanded Grounds of Haunted Mansion

Just beyond the gates to the Haunted Mansion attraction are the new, cultivated grounds. This expanded area has an enchanting aura that calls guests to explore further!

When entering this new part of the queue, before discovering the expanded grounds, guests may notice a familiar Spanish fountain that once sat in the middle of Magnolia Park.

Guests will find that the new gardens are being closely guarded by a pair of stately ravens. Ravens often represent a connection between the world of the living and the spirit world. They will also encounter the crouching figure of a cat. The statue sits tucked away among the wispy grasses, as he appears ready to pounce.

Around the bend, guests will discover a personal garden retreat designed by one of the mansion’s inhabitants, Master Gracey. A fountain against the garden’s wall features the face of a sea maiden with unruly hair and startled eyes, as if she’s caught in a storm. Inside an old, wrought iron gazebo sits a bench, a well-read book, and astrological armillisphere and a smoking pipe that has been left behind. It’s the perfect place for Gracey to rest and ponder his past.

Further along the path, guests will find the eccentric garden of Madame Leota, the resident Seer. It seems as if the entire garden is dipped in a mystical energy; as if every plant, statue and trinket is under Leota’s spell. There is a small statuary of oddities – frogs, lizards, rats and a cymbal playing monkey – all frozen in time like they are under an incantation. The garden has a repeating motif of fortune telling orbs. The large oak tree that graces the center of the courtyard has been decorated by Leota with colorful ornaments, chimes and bells that ring out in the breeze.

And in the rear of the garden, guests will find the Mansion Greenhouse, belonging to all the mansion’s ghosts. An ornate structure of iron and glass, it gives residents with a “green thumb” a chance to cultivate the most unusual of plant species.

Haunted Mansion Operational Details

The beautifully expanded, stately grounds of the Haunted Mansion officially opens today.

Guests using a mobility device are now able to use the main queue and entrance to the Haunted Mansion. After riding, they will leave the attraction using a new, accessible elevator exit that extends the story of the attraction with a gallery of Walt Disney Imagineering artwork and more.

The virtual queue will no longer be utilized, and the attraction is once again available for guests on Lightning Lane Multi Pass, as well as on Lightning Lane Premier Pass.

The Haunted Mansion is currently decked out for the hallow-days in its Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, running through the holiday season in early 2025.

New Shop – Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond – to Open This Winter

As previously announced, we will also be opening an all-new retail shop next to the Haunted Mansion, adjacent to the exit of the attraction. Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond is expected to open this winter. 

Somewhere Beyond is a carriage house that used to store the same ornate carriage that now remains on the mansion’s front yard. It also contains a boudoir on the mezzanine level. At one point, it was home to the mansion’s head caretaker, but later Madame Leota took up residence. It is filled with her eclectic furniture including a crystal ball, feinting couch and the original parlor chandelier that Leota used in séances at the mansion.

When the first floor of the carriage house became a shop, Leota kindly lent her desks, cabinets and chests as antique artifacts to be showcased along with the merchandise. As a powerful medium moving between worlds, Madame Leota comes and goes a lot and is excited to welcome guests to her home, soon.

Here, guests will be able to find gifts themed to Haunted Mansion and “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas,” including apparel and accessories, collectibles, home décor and more. Guests will surely want to “hurry back” – eerie and ghostly treasures will materialize throughout the year.