It’s almost that time of year. The time Epcot stans love most: The International Food and Wine Festival. Starting in August, you’ll be able to sip wines, try delectable desserts, and savor as many global cuisines as you can possibly fit in one go around the world. Only this year you should be forewarned that you may have a little trouble finding a place to actually consume one of those dishes, and fans aren’t particularly happy about it.

If you’ve never been, I have to just flat out state it’s a time-honored theme park rite of passage to eat on one of those "go away" colored trash can at Epcot. I kid you not. The Food and Wine Festival is one of the great upcoming attractions at Walt Disney World, and with the promise of small plates at varying prices come droves and droves of people.

There’s already not enough shade and seating around the world during non-busy hours, so when stuff gets very crowded, parkgoers tend to get creative. For years, if you weren't eating on the flat top trash cans available in the parks, you weren’t doing Food And Wine right. Now, though, fans who have been in Epcot in recent months have noticed Disney World trying to combat the trend.

As The Lost Bros points out, “Where are we all gonna eat on the first day of Food and Wine, or any other day of the year?” The vlogger is particularly sad his beloved trash cans near the Mexico booth are gone, because he had a “standing reservation” there during previous years. Disney World hasn’t cycled out all of its iconic flat top trash cans, but the video makes it clear that a large number of the ones people typically eat on during the festival are no longer in the World Showcase.

On the one hand, I sort of get it. We know for a fact the trash cans are not the most hygienic things to eat food on. On the other hand, Disney World has been on this joke for years, and as fans are pointing out, for a long time, they leaned into that joke. In the last few weeks, they’ve even been selling candy “bins” mimicking the iconic trash cans at Disney World resort.

• It’s funny that they leaned into the garbage can hype by making their own trash can merch then they do this 👀
• I almost bought the insulated trash can cup at Disneyland last week. Like WTH
• We had one free amenity, and now it’s gone!

Having said this, a slew of other fans made the point that I think is most obvious: The reason people ate on trash cans to begin with had to do with the insane lack of tables near each of the food booths. Sure, there can be bottlenecks in certain areas of the World Showcase (perhaps due to the parks' original plan), but there are also often plenty of wide open spaces. What Epcot really needs are more stand-up tables. Give the people what they need to eat properly.

• The utter lack of tables at EPCOT festivals is absolutely mind-boggling!! And it's only getting worse. 🤯
• They could buy fancy garbage cans with solar power but NOT tables and chairs???
• And you just know they won’t be adding any extra tables.
• It would make sense if they actually added more tables.

If you really want to sit down, Epcot has some great fine dining options, but given the popularity of the International Food and Wine Festival, it would be great if the theme park could figure out a solution that put this trash can debate to rest. We'll find out soon enough. Unlike Disneyland's spring Festival, Disney World's selection will debut on August 27th at Epcot and will run through November 21.

There's nothing like a good theme park, and I've had some great times from local ones to the magic of a trip to Orlando for Walt Disney World. As a New Jersey native, I recently crossed state lines for a few days at HersheyPark, my first time in that particular venue in well over a decade. I didn't know what to expect, but had an absolute blast. What's more, there were three ways that the chocolate-y destination actually beat my most recent trip to Disney. Let's break it all down.

I'm admittedly not a hardcore theme park junkie, so I went into both Hershey and Disney World with an open mind. While I could have spent my entire trip in the latter park at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, I was shocked by how chill and low-stakes HersheyPark ended up feeling. Let's break it all down.

The 3 Ways Hershey Beat Disney World (For Me)

I recently went to HersheyPark with some family, complete with a four (and a half) year old. I expected the wild crowds of Disney World, but that wasn't the case. Instead, it was an easy-breezy few days, where I was able to easily get refreshments, walk around the park, pose with characters, and even walk right onto attractions without having to wait on a line. Hershey does indeed have a Fast Track option that lets you skip the line like Disney's Lightning Lane, but it wasn't necessary when I went.

I will admit that my days at HersheyPark were in the middle of the week, so that might be a contributing factor to the lack of crowds. But even on its busiest day, I can't imagine the park being anywhere near as crazy as Rope Drop at Disney.

There's another aspect of my time at Hershey that I thought stood above my time at Disney World. Namely, you can buy alcohol and take it with you as you walk around the park. This was a lovely surprise after my last trip to Disney, as booze is only permitted in EPCOT and certain select restaurants in the other parks. I spent a few days walking around Hershey with the aforementioned four-year-old, and being able to enjoy a nice cold beer as he rode the Trailblazer ride for the eighth time was a game changer.

The third point of victory over Disney is the fact that one ticket to HersheyPark gave you full access to the park, including its water park attractions. There's no need for a park hopper or shuttles; you just needed to bring a bathing suit and enjoy the various attractions at The Boardwalk.

The entire trip felt like a much lower-stakes situation, where one could easily go on rides and get refreshments without having to program it onto an application and follow a strict schedule. So I found myself much more relaxed than at Disney World, which is a huge (expensive) undertaking. Maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges, but it felt like a whole new way to experience a Theme Park.

Summer may have barely kicked off this week but, in true Hallmark fashion, Lacey Chabert is already getting us excited for the holiday season. The latest of her upcoming Hallmark movies is Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True, which was filmed on location at Walt Disney World. In anticipation for it, she took her castmates on all her favorite rides, and I have to highlight one unexpected pick.

Lacey Chabert Reveals Her Favorite Walt Disney World Rides

The cast for Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True was announced earlier this month. Chabert is leading it (obviously), with Travis Van Winkle, Disney Channel alum Christy Carlson Romano, Bryce Durfee and Taegan Burns. On Instagram, Hallmark post a video of Chabert taking the group on her top five rides, and it's too delightful:

How much fun does this look?! Here’s the list of rides they went on:

1. Dumbo Flying Elephant at Magic Kingdom
2. Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Magic Kingdom
3. Slinky Dog Dash at Disney Hollywood Studios
4. TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom
5. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney Hollywood Studios

OK, so these are some pretty solid picks, overall. Chabert clearly likes her thrill rides, and I respect that there’s a mix of classic and new Walt Disney World attractions. However, noticeably, there are some all-time great attractions missing from that lineup, and I need to get into them. But, first, let's discuss what I think is her most surprising choice.

There's One Disney Pick I Don't Get

Obviously, Lacey Chabert is totally allowed to have her own opinions on when it comes to theme park rides, but Dumbo? This is such a hot take! The only thing I can excuse is that she had a memorable experience on the ride as a kid, and is nostalgic for it, because it’s kind of meh to me.

Plus, she picked it over a ton of better classic rides like Peter Pan’s Flight, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. For context, Chabert also chose the Dumbo ride over newer favorites like Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Avatar: Flight of Passage.

I imagine Lacey Chabert got to spend a lot of extra time deciding on her top Walt Disney World picks while filming Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True over the holiday season last year. We learned about the Disney World movie in December, and the Queen of Hallmark wrapped on the film back in January with fireworks. (because, of course). We don’t know exactly when the movie is being released yet, but it’s definitely going to be part of the robust Christmas movie lineup. It’s going to be so magical to see a Hallmark movie at the Most Magical Place on Earth!

And, while we wait for that, Lacy Chabert has also been working on a Hallmark miniseries set in Paris, France called Paris Is Always A Good Idea, which is coming out on Hallmark+ on July 30. I'm happy she's keeping us fed with a new show as I ponder her Walt Disney World movie... and theme park ride tastes.

While Animal Kingdom might be the Walt Disney theme park with the least amount of rides to go on, it certainly makes up for that with its vast amount of animals from around the globe. But what happens if one of them gets loose? It's quite the rare occurrence for anything life-threatening to happen at the Happiest Place on Earth, but I just learned a bizarre fact about Animal Kingdom that’s associated with a potential animal emergency.

At Walt Disney theme parks, the bathrooms are specifically designed to not have exterior entrance doors. This is an intentional way to allow crowd control to run smoothly when people enter and exit the facilities without any bottleneck going on. However, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the only one of them to actually have exterior doors on all their bathrooms as a special precaution. Apparently, in the unlikely event that a dangerous animal does get loose, park employees can ask guests to hide in these bathrooms and lock the doors shut.

This is pretty wild, right? It’s actually a rather ingenious way to have an evacuation location on the premises that is otherwise functional. This fact has previously been confirmed by a Disney cast member on TikTok and just resurfaced on my feed via an Instagram post.

Not only does this knowledge absolutely have me thinking about Animal Kingdom in a totally different way, I never totally realized the other bathrooms at other Walt Disney theme parks simply don’t have doors. Animal Kingdom isn’t a zoo where all the animals are in cages. They rather have fences, moats or other structures that look natural to their environment to keep them in their section of the park. It totally makes sense though for there to be an additional precaution like this.

There’s nothing really to worry about considering I’ve never really heard about an animal causing danger to guests before at the park, but there have been instances . For example, about a year ago, a Reddit user experienced a giraffe wandering into the safari road for a few minutes during one of the Kilimanjaro Safaris. The car paused for the giraffe before it was coaxed back to his section of the park, but, this is a pretty harmless situation. And, if it happened to me, my day would probably be made, honestly.

The more potentially dangerous animals like lions have deep moats separating them from guests, and specially designed terrain that they couldn’t escape if they tried. I don't know about you, but I love that Animal Kingdom allows the animals to roam without being constrained by a cage, and the Imagineers are sort of geniuses.

There are a lot of upcoming Walt Disney World attractions on the way, and Animal Kingdom will be gaining a new land called Tropical Americas. It’s expected to open sometime next year. Now that we both learned something new about its bathrooms, I know I will be seeing Animal Kingdom with new eyes.

We haven’t even hit the “Christmas in July” portion of the upcoming Hallmark movie schedule, but already I can’t stop thinking about the lovely holiday fare that will be served on the family friendly network later this year. That’s particularly because we already know that Lacey Chabert partnered with Disney World for what will certainly be one of the season’s most magical movies, and seeing her in Mickey Ears is giving me the best TGIF flashbacks.

Millennials will likely remember ABC’s Friday night block of shows like Full House and Family Matters from the ‘90s, and it was always such a treat when one of those series did a special episode from the Happiest Place on Earth. As Hallmark announced Lacey Chabert’s cast for this year’s Countdown to Christmas offering Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True (what a mouthful!), I can’t help but be flooded with nostalgic feelings. See the Instagram post for yourself:

OK, so technically Lacey Chabert wasn’t part of TGIF’s lineup back in the 1990s, but she was growing up alongside other young up-and-comers like Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Ben Savage, Jaleel White and Melissa Joan Hart — all of whom filmed episodes of their respective series at Disney World.

Lacey Chabert came to fame as part of Party of Five on Fox, which aired from 1994 to 2000 and launched the careers of not just the would-be Hallmark queen but also Scott Wolf, Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The series was definitely more drama than sitcom, but I still tend to lump it in with TGIF content when I think about my favorite ‘90s network TV shows.

Suffice it to say it was quite a treat to see Lacey Chabert in the Mickey Ears, finally getting that Disney World filming experience that so many of her peers had.

In addition to the Mean Girls actress, Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True will also star Travis Van Winkle, Christy Carlson Romano, Richard Kind, Bryce Durfee, Taegen Burns and Asher Alexander.

The movie sees Lindsey (Chabert) vacationing with her family at Walt Disney World for Christmas, only to find that Philip (Van Winkle), a bad first date she recently had, is staying in the room next to hers. However, the Disney holiday magic warms the sentiment between the two in what sounds like a lovely enemies-to-lovers arc.

Filming wrapped earlier this year in the most Disney way possible — with a fireworks display — and I simply can’t wait for this one to hit the 2026 TV schedule this Christmas.

This isn’t the first time Lacey Chabert has injected nostalgia into the Countdown to Christmas. Back in 2023 she reunited with her Party of Five sibling Scott Wolf for A Merry Scottish Christmas (don’t worry, they played brother and sister again, not romantic leads), and Jennifer Love Hewitt has pitched herself to also share the screen with Chabert again in a future Hallmark movie.

As far as I’m concerned, there can never be too much ‘90s nostalgia in my Hallmark movies, so I’m definitely all for that. Keep an eye on the Hallmark schedule for its ever-changing slate of new movies. We’ve still got a few months before we’ll know exactly when to find Lacey Chabert getting her Disney on in Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True.

Toy Story 5 is one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming 2026 movies. The franchise has been around for over three decades, and Joan Cusack has been voicing Jessie for more than two of those. At this point, she’s spent plenty of time with her fiery cowgirl counterpart—likely delivering some of Jessie’s most iconic lines more times than I could count. One of the most memorable, of course, is the rootin’est-tootin’est cowgirl in the west’s signature “Yeehaw!”—though, as it turns out, it wasn’t something Cusack immediately warmed up, which she told CinemaBlend about.

Cusack first started voicing Jessie in Toy Story 2, when the character was introduced alongside Woody’s Roundup gang. Since then, she has voiced Jessie in all of the franchise’s feature films, as well as numerous TV shorts, video games, specials and promotional appearances. The cowgirl has yodeled and “yeehawed” her way through a lot of material, and with what we know about Toy Story 5, Jessie is set to take on a more central role—likely meaning even more of those signature exclamations from our favorite cowgirl.

Ahead of Toy Story 5, I had the opportunity to speak with Cusack during a recent Walt Disney World event, and I couldn't resist asking about Jessie's signature catchphrase. The veteran actress admitted that her relationship with "Yeehaw!" has changed over the years:

CinemaBlend was on hand at Walt Disney World for a preview of Disney’s Cool Kids' Summer celebration, where guests can also experience Jessie’s Roundup: A Rip-A-Roarin’ Revue at Magic Kingdom. It was there that Joan Cusack shared this juicy Jessie tidbit, and I have to admit: It’s really fun to say “yeehaw” out loud. Still, after saying it repeatedly for over 20 years, I can see how it might have started as a bit of a love-hate relationship before it just became part of the rhythm of the character.

Given that Cusack has fully embraced Jessie’s signature catchphrase, I can imagine her using it more than a few times in Toy Story 5. With Jessie taking Bullseye's reins and stepping into a larger role, she’s teaming up with some old friends—like Woody, complete with a new bald spot—to help save Bonnie’s toys from Lily Pad, voiced by Greta Lee, as technology threatens to take over playtime for good.

With this larger role, however, I do have one lingering worry: that Bonnie could become another Emily. The Toy Story 5 trailer seems to nod back to Jessie’s past, and fans can only hope she isn’t forgotten again. I doubt it’s a line Cusack would sign off with in an email, but it’s one that still sticks: “You never forget kids like Emily or Andy, but they forget you.” All we can hope is that Bonnie never lets Jessie end up gathering dust under a bed again.

Whether Cusack is tugging at our heartstrings or leading the charge in the franchise’s latest adventure, it sounds like she’s fully embraced one of Jessie’s most recognizable traits. And, with Toy Story 5 giving the cowgirl the spotlight she deserves, I’m sure we’ll hear a few “yodel-ay-hee-hoos” and plenty of “yeehaws” along the way. Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on June 19.

The Muppets and celebrities have always gone hand in hand, so it comes as no surprise that the updated Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster starring the Muppets is absolutely packed with celebrity cameos. I was anticipating there being a lot to unpack, but I did not count on just how many there would be. However, what was even more surprising was the staggering number of deep-cut Muppet references. Shoutout to the Imagineer who looped me in.

The Rock’n’ Roller Coaster starring the Muppets is just one of Walt Disney World’s new attractions. CinemaBlend had a chance to experience the ride firsthand during a preview of Cool Kids’ Summer, which kicked off on May 26, and I tried to spot as many Muppet references as possible while queuing up to ride the chaos-fueled coaster.

As I made my way through G-Force Records, I spotted a couple of deep-cut references myself. One of my favorites has to be a tribute to MuppetVision 3D — may it rest in peace.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Gonzo, Gags, and Deep-Cut Details

Near the old show’s entrance, there used to be a door with a sign reading “keys under mat,” where guests could lift a nearby floor mat to find a hidden key underneath. I’m happy to report that the door has made its way into the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster queue, where it now serves as the entrance to Gonzo’s Flight School. A sign explains that Gonzo is away at the concert and, once again, the “keys” are under the mat — though this time, if you look closely, you’ll spot a set of piano keys peeking out from underneath.

This is just one tiny example of the details hidden throughout the ride. So when I had the chance to speak with one of the Imagineers behind the new coaster, David Brescia, I had to ask about other hard-to-spot Muppet references. He told us:

I got a little choked up when I saw the portrait for myself the first time. Brescia also told us to be on the lookout for PizzaRizzo, and I can confirm there are several references to the fun-loving rat’s restaurant both in the queue and on the ride itself. Pizza slices and boxes are scattered throughout the sets and can even be spotted while cruising down the 101. And if you take a quick peek to your left after loading into the L.I.M.O. (Lengthy Immediate Motion Object) ride vehicle, you might spot the Squeakeasy, a rat biker bar established in 1936 — the year Jim Henson was born.

A Constantly Revolving Door of Celebrities in the Livestream

Besides the countless Muppet references — of which I barely scratched the surface — I need to talk about the “livestream” video that plays in the rotunda queue. The video features all-new material showing everyone backstage and in the audience waiting for the Electric Mayhem to show up to their own concert, which they are several hours late to.

If you stay and watch the whole thing (or are stuck in line for more than 30 minutes), you will spot a ton of celebrities throughout the stream. I was able to catch most of them, but I still had to follow up with Brescia to make sure I did not miss any. He had several names to drop:

Ken Marino goes from soundboard operator to G-Force studio executive—a pretty solid upgrade. Brescia also mentioned John Stamos and Danny Trejo, but the full list is even more impressive, including Awkwafina, Neil Patrick Harris, Questlove, Travis Barker, Joe Elliott, and Phil Collen. And for another fun Muppet reference, Walter from The Muppets and The Muppets Most Wanted also shows up ready to watch the concert.

This is only a fraction of the references you can find on the ride, and every time you go on, you are bound to discover something new. Whether you are rocking out to one of the songs on the set list, spotting a poster featuring Angus McGonagle — who appeared in a single episode of The Muppet Show — or waiting to see if John Stamos finally makes it into the VIP room, there is always a reason to ride again.

There are many updated or new attractions coming to Walt Disney World. One of those attractions opened this week, just in time for summer crowds: Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. It was hard for me to imagine a world where this ride did not have Aerosmith music playing until I experienced it firsthand, as the iconic songs, semi-screamed at riders by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, had been a staple of the park since the late ’90s. But time passes and change comes, and the Electric Mayhem took over the groovy ride this week. Let me tell you, it was not an easy feat to come together.

When it came time for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem to become the new headliners, Disney had their work cut out for them. Deciding on the final set list became one of the biggest challenges of the reimagining, and I found out from some Imagineers that the team tested an insane number of songs before finally locking it all in.

CinemaBlend was invited to preview the new ride this past week as part of Walt Disney World's Cool Kid's Summer event, which officially kicks off on May 26th. When we had a chance to chat with one of the Imagineers behind the ride, David Brescia, I had to ask about the music and how the team landed on the final set list. He told us:

Yes, 200, and yes, by testing he means riding to them. Jumping on a coaster more than 200 times to figure out what songs fit may seem like a lot, although it is still not quite as insane as riding one more than 15,000 times. What a job.

The final set list includes some real bangers and features several major artist collaborations, as well. Finding the right balance between classic rock energy and Electric Mayhem chaos became one of the biggest priorities during development. Brescia went on to tell us:

Def Leppard is specifically featured on “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),” one of what I feel are the standout needle drops in the lineup. Guests should note hearing the full playlist requires multiple rides, as only one song plays per experience—meaning at least five rides are needed to hear every track, and that's if you are lucky.

The heart and soul of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster is still very much alive in this updated attraction. The Muppets bring a different energy to the ride, but it still delivers the same high-speed, music-driven chaos fans love while feeling more accessible to a wider audience. And while you’re at Hollywood Studios, don’t miss the chance to join Grogu on the new mission aboard Smugglers Run, new this Cool Kids summer, too.

There’s no shortage of Star Wars content in the galaxy right now. From Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which just premiered on the 2026 movie schedule, to Star Wars: Starfighter, which stars Ryan Gosling and is slated for release in May 2027, the franchise is everywhere. Now, Disney Parks has joined the excitement with a brand-new mission on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, which debuted yesterday at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, featuring none other than Mando and Grogu.

I had the chance to experience the new adventure this week, and while stepping into the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon never gets old, I was surprised to discover my favorite role is no longer the Pilot. Starting now, I’d gladly fight for the chance to be the Engineer.

CinemaBlend was invited to Walt Disney World this week to preview the upcoming offerings for Cool Kids' Summer, beginning May 26. That includes the updated Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster starring the Muppets, a limited-time new flight called Soarin’ Across America, a Bluey and Bingo dance party at Animal Kingdom, and, of course, the new adventure on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

The Engineer Role Has Been Updated

When I was waiting in line and got assigned the role of Engineer, I have to admit, I was initially disappointed. For starters, you’re seated in the back of the cockpit, meaning you’re the furthest from the screen. But more importantly, in the original mission on Smugglers Run — which has been in place since Galaxy’s Edge first opened — the role never felt especially important. Outside of collecting cargo for Hondo Ohnaka or patching up the Falcon when it took damage, it often felt like you were just along for the ride.

And clearly, I’m not the only one who has felt that way over the years. The Engineer role has had a bit of a reputation among guests, so when I got the chance to chat with a Disney Imagineer Morgan McDowell about the updated mission, I was curious how much guest feedback actually played into the changes. Turns out: quite a bit, as she explained:

I can confidently say the feedback was heard, because the second the mission started, I immediately felt like I had somehow lucked out by getting the Engineer.

Why I Loved Being The Engineer

What shocked me most was just how much more there is to do now. Engineers still repair the ship and collect cargo, but they also now help determine where the mission actually goes. One of the Engineers is randomly selected to choose between Tatooine, Endor, or Coruscant, and wherever they pick becomes a huge part of the adventure that follows. So instead of feeling like you’re just pressing buttons in the background, the Engineer now plays a major role in shaping the mission.

And that’s not even the best addition. Engineers now also get their own dedicated “Grogu button,” which calls Grogu onto the screen during the mission. Honestly, that alone might make it the superior role.

To Disney’s credit, all three positions feel more dynamic now, with additional elements added, but the Engineer is definitely front and center, as McDowell also pointed out:

The Engineer easily became the highlight for me. Apparently, I enjoy being in control and responsible for babysitting Grogu. If you’re heading to Disneyland or Walt Disney World for Cool Kids’ Summer — running May 26 through September 8 — make sure to check out the new Smugglers Run mission for yourself. Just maybe don’t bring snacks aboard the Falcon, because Grogu absolutely will try to steal them, and definitely don’t blow any kisses at stormtroopers.

One of my favorite things about the Disney Parks is seeing all the characters walking around and fully committed. It takes me back to being a kid at Disneyland and how excited I would be to meet a character I loved and get them to sign my autograph book. Now that I’m an adult, I particularly love seeing what comes from the villains of the Disney universe. For example, something hilarious just happened at Galaxy’s Edge involving a Stormtrooper.

While one guest was at Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, they captured what happened when someone blew a kiss in the direction of one patrolling Stormtrooper. Check out how he responded:

Whoa, that’s savage! The Stormtrooper “caught” the guest’s kiss and gestured like he threw it on the ground and stepped on it like it was a piece of half-chewed gum. The trooper did say, “Thank you for supporting the First Order,” as he walked away, but the rejection was way harsh! Check out how other Disney fans are reacting on Instagram:

• “He’s a married storm trooper…lol” - @inhaledyogagirl
• “The same thing happened to me 😭😂” - @yeahveronica
• “The eye contact while crushing the kiss is crazy 🤣🤣” - @candiedbanana
• “Omg 😂😂 That's diabolical. I love it.” @coneymoo

When you work for the Dark Side, one can expect that kind of behavior, I guess. Of course, it’s all for fun, and in the spirit of fans feeling immersed in the world of a galaxy far, far away. Plus, if a Stormtrooper was sweet to you, you’d question what was going on. Props to Walt Disney World’s incredible team of characters. As you might assume, some expected shots were also fired in the comments about Stormtroopers, too. Take a look:

• “I’m surprised he caught it” -@alenas_crafting_life
• “You notice how the trooper didn't shoot it though.. they knew they'd miss” - @rob0615

If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s Star Wars fans making fun of Stormtrooper aim, am I right? I wonder if more guests are going to be blowing kisses at these soldiers now that this went viral.

Galaxy’s Edge has been going through some changes lately, with the decision to include characters from the original trilogy, even though the land was initially crafted to be set during the sequel trilogy timeline. If you’re going anytime soon, of course, you can ride Rise of Resistance, but a new version of Smuggler’s Run tying into The Mandalorian & Grogu is also among the upcoming Disney World attractions. It's set to land at both Orlando and Anaheim’s Galaxy’s Edge on May 22.

The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is the latest of upcoming Star Wars movies as well, with its release date being on the same day as the Smuggler’s Run upgrade.

However, for now, I'll be thinking about this brutal interaction one guest had with a Stormtrooper.

Josh D'Amaro took over Disney from Bob Iger in March after Iger's second retirement from the company. Today, he'll be looking back on the company's second quarter earnings for Fiscal Year 2026 and looking forward to the rest of the year, which includes some big releases on the 2026 movie schedule like Avengers: Doomsday in December.

On the financial side, Disney reported strong earnings this morning, but here at CinemaBlend, we're more interested in what is ahead for the entertainment division and, of course, what is in store for Disney World and their other parks around the world.

There were three core themes that D'Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston kept coming back to: storytelling, technology, and "One Disney." One Disney is the term that was talked about a lot in the call and in a letter from D'Amaro, which is, in business terms, the synergy between all of the company's divisions.

One notable exception from the call is that Jimmy Kimmel wasn't mentioned. That's not a huge surprise that Disney did not address it, but it will remain a big question for the company, with the political pressure growing.

Here's everything they talked about.

I expect Josh D'Amaro will talk about the company's two streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu. He laid out their success in his letter to investors on Disney's Q2 earnings report. He'll also likely get into the upcoming movies the company has on the schedule, especially The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, and the Moana live action movie starring Dwayne Johnson which hits theaters in July.

On the parks side, Disney has had a good year so far, but there is no doubt macroeconomic pressures could affect attendance this summer, something he'll no doubt mention as well.

It's been a good year for the House of Mouse, according to the top line of the earnings report. Revenues were up 7% for Q2 to $25.2billion, up from $23.6 billion in Q2 of 2025. That was helped along by the huge success of Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2, both of which brought in more than a billion dollars each.

Dan Swinbrune, Executive VP of Investor Relations, is kicking off the call, explaining how the report will be different.

Josh D'Amaro has begun speaking, first thanking Bob Iger for his work as CEO. His opening statement is pretty boilerplate, talking about how Disney is unique in how to reach fans and he's moved on to the numbers for last quarter.

He's talking about how he is pleased with the revenue subscription growth both through new subscribers and advertising.

D'Amaro mentions Paradise and Love Story as great successes at Hulu and is talking about the movies now, mentioning the four big movies the company has in 2026, in addition to two movies that have already been hits, Pixar's Hoppers and last weekend's The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Past calls with Iger have usually talked about each division separately, but this new era under D'Amaro is focused more on the company as a whole and how the division will interact with each other.

Swinburne is laying out the long-term vision, that includes leaning into existing IP, but encouragingly, he has mentioned new IP they would like to develop.

The call is really focused on three things: creative IP, connecting fans through all the divisions, and building out robust technology. Those have been mentioned multiple times.

D'Amaro is now talking about streaming services and how they want to broaden the way viewers can discover new shows and movies. That's not really a surprise. As for third-party distribution, they will be selective but will continue when the fit is right.

Now they are answering a question about Disney's partnership with Epic Games, the makers of Fortnight, and how that will fit in. D'Amaro sees the partnership as "feeding" the company with younger fans especially.

On the Disney Experiences. Disney is positive on the future of attendance in parks both domestically and internationally, though there are "head winds." Domestic attendance was down, but revenue was up. They are also looking grow their cruise ship fleet up to 13 ships by 2031. That's up from the current eight.

Disney World bookings are up domestically, but they are "mindful" of fuel prices and how that could effect bookings both at parks and on cruise ships this summer.

D'Amaro is excited about the capital investments made in the last quarter, like the World of Frozen attraction at Disneyland Paris and he has teased some more projects, saying there are more things in the works worldwide at parks than at another time in the company's history.

Two questions on the content front. D'Amaro is focused on original IP and "taking creative risk" to try out new IP. He cited Hoppers as an example of this, recently.

The second content-focused question is about short-form content and user-generated content. D'Amaro says they serious about building out both of these, as they have become more important to consumers with things like vertical video in Disney+ and how its shown "promise" with engagement. I'm not sure I love this idea, but I certainly understand why Disney is leaning in.

More personalized feeds in their streaming services, like SportsCenter for You, and more interactive content are things they are also focused on in their technology.

It's no surprise that AI has come up. Obviously, Disney is saying many of the same things other companies have discussed. They are exploring it on both the content-creation side and the business side, as well as how AI can help fans plan a Disney vacation. The Experiences side of the business seems to be where AI can be implemented the most effectively, on the front-facing side.

Disney is making more than double its earnings in streaming over linear cable networks, but they are not giving up on linear TV quite yet, as they see the networks as ways to produce content that the company can spread over all its content delivery systems.

Well, that's it. D'Amaro is making his closing statement. Nothing was specifically was announced in terms of new movies, shows, or attractions, as since it was the new CEO's first call, he explained he wanted things to be broader and that's what we got.

While going to Walt Disney World on a weekday rather than a weekend is usually a safe bet for a smoother time in the parks, that was absolutely not the case at Hollywood Studios on Monday when the Star Wars fans came in droves for May the 4th. As guests went to Galaxy’s Edge on the pop culture holiday, many suggested the space was actually at capacity.

I’ve never been more inspired to skip a Disney day. Just take a look at this guest’s photo of the view:

The force is strong… perhaps too strong. Galaxy’s Edge is a spacious section of Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, but everyone looks like they are all squished together with nowhere to move. What’s especially wild about this sight is apparently there was no special programming at Galaxy’s Edge.

Star Wars fans just all seemed to want to gather on the franchise’s holiday. One guest called it “unbearable” while sharing this video:

It’s tradition for Star Wars fans to gather at Galaxy’s Edge and raise up their lightsabers together, but it perhaps got a little too popular this year. In one conversation happening over on Facebook, an alleged cast member said that they would absolutely close off the land’s entrance to more guests should they reach capacity.

While we don’t know if that happened for sure, it certainly seems like that may have happened on Monday. Here’s another account of Star Wars Day at WDW’s Galaxy Edge:

This huge Hollywood Studios turnout comes as there’s been some criticism around some recent changes to this section of the parks lately. For one, Disney decided to abandon the land being specific to one time period in Star Wars history. Rather than it being set during the sequel trilogy, guests can now see the likes of Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker walking around. When they made their debut last month, fans had a lot of thoughts about Han Solo specifically. Another viral moment that happened about Galaxy’s Edge is around the park’s introduction to “Pink Milk”.

Changes aside, the big showout for Star Wars Day shows that the fandom remains active and excited to spend the holiday at Hollywood Studios where it really can feel like you’re living in a Star Wars movie. It’s too bad that the new version of Smuggler’s Run inspired by The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t come out until May 22.

We’ve been thinking about how Disney perhaps missed an opportunity by not tying May the 4th to ticket sales for the latest of upcoming Star Wars movies since The Mandalorian & Grogu comes to theaters on May 22, but Hollywood Studios certainly got an increase in business! We’ll have to see how Star Wars fans show out for the first big-screen Star Wars movie since 2019 when it hits theaters then.

At Walt Disney World Resort, choosing between the Light Side and the Dark Side just got a little sweeter. For this year’s May the 4th celebrations, Disney has introduced a playful dessert with a hidden twist: the “Your Chosen Path” cupcake, a cookies-and-cream creation that comes with a secret lightsaber color baked inside. Available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios throughout May, the cupcake turns a classic theme park treat into a miniature personality test for Star Wars franchise fans. If you’ve ever wondered what side of the force you’re on, here’s a sweet treat to decide your fate.

In a video from the Instagram account MindofaGeek, a park visitor chats with a Disney cast member about how the cupcakes are made and what to expect. These treats come with marshmallow buttercream, chocolate candy “rocks,” and a cool white chocolate X-Wing on top. But the real surprise happens when you take that first bite and see the hidden color inside. It’s a fun reference to the Kyber crystals that power lightsabers in the Star Wars universe, as the cast member explains:

The pastry's randomness is what makes it so fun. Most guests will probably stick to familiar Jedi-versus-Sith flavors, but a few lucky ones might find some rarer options. You don’t see purple, which is famously connected to Mace Windu, or white, tied to Ahsoka Tano, very often. That makes the dessert feel more like a collectible than just a regular snack.

But don’t go walking up to your local Disney park employee expecting to get a heads up on which cupcake is which. The cast member in the video admits that even she doesn’t know what each cupcake will reveal in advance. She continued:

The uncertainty taps into the same instinct that fuels trading cards or blind-box collectibles, where the thrill comes as much from the reveal as the item itself. Only here, you eat the surprise inside.

The cupcake is just one piece of a larger May the 4th rollout across Disney parks. According to Disney Parks blog, this year’s lineup includes returning favorites like the Wookiee Cookie and new additions such as the Pink Milk beverage and themed novelty items, including lightsaber swizzle sticks and collectible drink containers. The Disney fan account @DisneyforFoodies shared a wonderful breakdown of everything you can expect to see below.

For longtime Star Wars fans, that question has always been part of the fun. Are you drawn to the discipline of the Jedi, or the raw power of the Sith? Do you fall somewhere in between? Disney’s latest tasty offering gives fans a chance to answer that question and satisfy their sweet tooth, finally.

The timing doesn’t hurt, either. May is shaping up to be a busy stretch for Star Wars fans, with new park offerings arriving just ahead of the franchise’s next theatrical release. The upcoming Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu hit the 2026 movie calendar on May 22, 2026. But if you’re already itching for a trip back to that galaxy far, far away, all the movies in order, live-action shows, and animated series are all streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

Inflation has entered pretty much every corridor of our lives at this point, including vacation fun. There’s been a lot of talk about the increased cost of taking a family to a theme park over the last five years. Like everything else, inflation has impacted vacation prices, and the Happiest Place on Earth is not immune from price increases, particularly when the parks get busy. With dynamic pricing, some days costs have gotten significantly worse just when it comes to entry, but this summer there’s a $99 reason to give Walt Disney World a whirl.

$99 Dollars Is A Super Cheap Disney World (Or Disneyland) Day

Sure, there are other extra costs when you stay at Walt Disney World, but there are going to be some days this summer where Disney World and Disneyland are rolling out cheaper tickets for families. Right now, the base price day in the parks costs $119, and that's not even factoring in Park Hopper or Park Hopper+ costs. Do you and your family want to visit over a holiday season?

Well, in that case, prepare to shell out far more, with one-day tickets sometimes costing as much as $209 dollars. If you are a family of four or more, those costs add up really fast. This summer, some dates will be cheaper in the hot months of August and September, per usual, but there's also a 4-park deal Walt Disney World is rolling out that will give families access to one of the parks per day for four days. The cost works out to $99 per day, and you can read more on Disney's site.

Summer used to be a prime time for families to visit Walt Disney World, but it's getting increasingly warm and sticky, and to top it all off, hurricane season blows through Florida between June and November. This might be Disney's way of getting more people into the parks during this window, but honestly, it's not a problem to me. A deal can be made for selfish reasons by a company, and still be a good deal for the families involved.

One thing is clear: the Disney Parks on both coasts are certainly pushing the summer experience in 2026.

Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum said in a statement (via USA Today) the company wants to make the summer really “count” this year. That means new experiences and more options for families to head to both Disney World and Disneyland.

When I first moved to Los Angeles well over a decade ago, my husband and I could nab Disney parks tickets for under a hundred bucks. Things have changed drastically in terms of prices since then, and I'm not just talking about the entry fee. I'm talking about things I took for granted: like the loss of the Fast Pass in favor of Lightning Lane, the loss of the Magical Express at Disney World and so much more. Some things have changed for the better though, and there's no doubt the ride experiences and the food options in most of the parks have gotten better and better.

So, if you haven't turned out in a while, there's 99 reasons to go back this year.

Most theme parkgoers recognize there are some major differences between Disneyland and Disney World. The former has two parks and fits its best attractions in a tight space in Orange County, CA. The latter has four sprawling parks spread across 40+ square miles and with its own road system. They each have their charms, but they aren’t the same thing. So, I recognize that Disneyland and California Adventure would have more attractions per park than their Florida counterparts. And yet, I did not fully realize the insane differences between some of the parks.

A recent post created by the Disney Lemons popped up while I was perusing Instagram the other day, and it totally blew my mind out of nowhere. Here’s the breakdown of rides at each of the Disney parks built in the United States:

• Disneyland: 35
• Magic Kingdom: 26
• California Adventure: 19
• Epcot: 11
• Hollywood Studios: 9
• Animal Kingdom: Noted as 6 (*Let's talk this number out)

Listen, I knew Animal Kingdom was on the lower end of ride experiences when it came to Disney theme parks but the difference between it and Disneyland is truly shocking. Yes, it’s been exacerbated by recent changes in the parks, but still, there are 29 more rides in Disneyland than Animal Kingdom, and 29 is still a number larger than the park with the second most attractions (Magic Kingdom).

While there are some heavy hitters at Animal Kingdom between Expedition Everest and World of Pandora stuff, AK is going through some changes recently. The entirety of Dinoland, U.S.A. was shut down. While I was fine with Primeval Whirl going the way of the dinosaur (pun very much intended), it was a much sadder day when Dinosaur shut down, and that honestly cuts the number of “rides” even lower.

Right now Animal Kingdom has: Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Na’vi River Journey and if you count, Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Rafiki's Planet Watch Train, that's six rides. If you aren’t counting the latter two as "rides," there are only four rides currently open in the park, plus a slew of shows, experiences, walking trails and more.

I’m just saying, the difference between the value of what you get at Disneyland or even California Adventure trumps the parks, at least individually, at Disney World. What you get at World though includes many permutations of park hopping, world class restaurants, fun transportation including boats and the Skyliner, and great hotels at many different price points.

The good news? A Tropical Americas section of the parks is allegedly going in where the dinosaurs used to roam. AK will also be taking a note from Disneyland and putting an Indiana Jones ride in where Dinosaur was, which makes all the sense in the world since both rides were similar to begin with. It's also worth noting an Encanto ride is going into the area. All the construction has been great, but it's been a concern on many theme park fans' minds for a while.

Change is afoot, and I’m excited to see the Florida parks expand a bit in the coming years. I do think I should leave you on one final note. The post mentions that between the two parks in California, there are more rides in total than all four parks in Florida combined! (Though Disney World still has some of the best attractions.) I’d never thought about it, but when you put it that way it does give you fodder for thought.

A lot of Muppets fans were bummed when it was announced that Muppet*Vision 3D, a Walt Disney World show long rumored to be closing, had finally announced its demise. The final day of the attraction was as much like a funeral as it was a celebration of a favorite attraction. However, there have been some silver linings in the clouds for Muppet fans.

First, we’ve received confirmation that a version of Muppet Vision 3D is set to debut at some point for VR and AR headsets, giving guests a chance to sit in the Muppet Theater once again. Second, the Muppets' time at Walt Disney World isn’t over yet, as the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Starring The Muppets, is set to debut this summer. However, I’m now slightly less excited for this, as the first news about the upcoming ride isn’t quite what I expected.

The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets May Not Include Any Muppet Music

This morning, Walt Disney World announced that on Wednesday, it will reveal the full track list for the music to be included in the new version of Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster. As a fan of all things Muppets, I was excited as some of the Muppets' music have been favorites of mine since I was a kid. Songs like “Moving Right Along” or “Can You Picture That?” from The Muppet Movie would seem like obvious inclusions. Some of the music from the recent Muppets Mayhem series, available with a Disney+ subscription, would also make sense.

And yet, it looks like the plan isn’t for Muppet music on the Muppet roller coaster, at least not entirely. One track has already been revealed, and it’s an Electric Mayhem cover of Blur’s “Song 2.” With cover songs on the table, I have to wonder if all of the songs on the new ride will be covers.

Muppet Covers Are Great, But Hopefully There’s Some Real Muppet Music Sure

To be clear, I have nothing against the Muppets covering great music. They’ve been doing that for as long as the Muppets have been around. I love “Song 2,” and I’m excited to hear the Muppet version. I can already hear Animal’s screams replacing the classic “Woo Hoo.”

However, I hope that as more tracks are revealed, what we’ll get is a combination of covers and “Muppet Music.” It is a Muppet ride, after all. The previous Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster had multiple Aerosmith medleys that would play randomly on each ride, so it’s possible we could get a lot of different songs on the new coaster, or even new songs added later.

I hope things work that way, because if this is going to be a "one song per ride" situation, while that adds to the re-rideability of the attraction, which is good, it's a bit too much like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for my taste. We already have a ride that does that at Disney World. The Muppets coaster should stand apart in some way.

I can’t imagine Muppet music will be entirely left out of the new ride, but I hope it’s more than a single token song when there are so many great Muppet songs that would be excellent to include as well.

When it comes to thrilling and fun theme park rides, Disney is still the company to beat. In just the last few years, Disney World has seen everything from the groundbreaking Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to the thrilling Tron: Lightcycle Run. Whatever sort of rides you are looking for, Disney World has some of the best, but there’s one particular type of ride I’m afraid we’ll never see again.

Expedition Everest celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, and the roller coaster is one of my favorite rides in the resort. It’s also likely going to make history because, at this point, it seems all but certain that it will be the last Disney World ride to open not inspired by a Disney franchise.

Expedition Everest Was Walt Disney World’s Last Non-IP Attraction

When Walt Disney first opened Disneyland, the theme park had plenty of rides inspired by the studio’s film output. Fantasyland had multiple dark rides that took guests through the stories from the films. Dumbo alone had two rides in the form of the classic spinner attraction and the Casey Jr. Circus Train.

However, many of the most popular rides at Disneyland in years to come would have no attachment to films. Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain were all original concepts with their own stories to tell.

Expedition Everest was already something of an anomaly due to its lack of franchise association when the coaster was built. It has a story that sees guests visiting the Mimalayan Escapes travel company to ride a train through the iconic mountain range. Unfortunately, an interaction with a massive Yeti causes things to go awry.

It’s a great roller coaster with the largest audio-animatronic ever built, even if it’s never worked quite right.

In the years since Everest opened, however, Disney has made a hard pivot toward IP rides, and even seemingly shown contempt for anything that didn’t have a franchise attached to it. In a conversation with Barons back in 2019, then Disney CEO Bob Iger touted all the IP-themed creations coming from Disney and said…

This not-so-veiled shot at Expedition Everest is all one needs to see to know how Disney felt about non-IP rides. Certainly, Bob Iger had no plans to ever build anything like it again.

Franchises Can Still Start With Theme Park Rides

In the years since, we have seen not only rides but entire theme park lands built around a single IP. Lands like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and World of Frozen are the rule, not the exception. Of all the upcoming Disney World attractions, we're set to see entire lands themed around Cars, Monsters Inc., and Disney Villains

Clearly, we’re never going to get a non-IP attraction when the land the attractions are in has such a theme, but even in places like Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s upcoming Tropical Americas land, which isn’t specifically themed to a franchise, the rides we’re getting are based around Indiana Jones and Encanto.

It’s frustrating because there’s no reason that an original theme park ride can’t also become part of a franchise. Disney’s most successful live-action franchise, not called Marvel or Star Wars, was born from Pirates of the Caribbean. Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise have become films as well (to varying degrees of success).

That certainly wasn’t the intention when the rides were built, but why couldn’t it be? While the practice now is to launch a film franchise and then build the theme park ride to go with it, there’s no reason things couldn’t go the other way. Design an incredible theme park ride with a compelling story and fun characters, then expand on it with a movie or a Disney+ series.

There’s always the possibility the media side of the franchise wouldn’t take off, of course, but there’s a reasonably easy way to overcome that. If the ride you make is good enough, nobody will care. Nobody avoids the Haunted Mansion because the movies flopped at the box office. If the ride you make is great, people will ride it and love it, and that love might even help the movie be successful where it otherwise might not.

Disney has a new CEO and a new head of Disney Experiences, so maybe under the new regime, truly original theme park attractions aren’t entirely impossible. I would love to see Walt Disney Imagineering given the freedom that would come with not being forced to tie an attraction to a franchise. Unfortunately, I think that era is over, and it ended with Expedition Everest.

A Disney World vacation is an aspirational experience for many. It’s a trip that is planned months (if not years) in advance and requires significant savings in advance for most families. This is why major Disney World price increases always make headlines, but sometimes they happen and aren't as easily noticed.

You can basically set your watch by Disney World and Disneyland raising prices in early October every year, it’s the beginning of the company’s fiscal year. We haven’t seen a major ticket price increase since last fall, and another isn’t likely for a few more months, but that doesn’t mean your Disney World vacation isn’t getting more expensive.

Food At Walt Disney World Is Slowly Getting More Expensive

Menus at most Disney World restaurants change on a regular basis, and that often means different items being removed from the menu and new ones being added. Because of the changes, it can be difficult to gauge how much more or less expensive a meal can be. But alongside a variety of changes, Disney Food Blog also recently clocked several price increases on existing menu items.

In most cases, the increases weren’t a lot. We’re talking about most entrees or cocktails going up by a single dollar, sometimes less. However, those increases can add up. If you’re a family of four, buying all your meals on property, and spending several days at Walt Disney World, those dollars add up to something actually significant.

Hotel Prices Are Also Creeping Up

You also need a place to stay when you visit Walt Disney World, and those prices are going up as well. Although there are two dozen Disney World hotels, and some can get very expensive, they hit a variety of price points. WDW Magazine reports that 2026 prices are approximately 4-5% higher than they were in 2026.

Getting to your Disney World hotel is also more expensive now. The Mears Connect shuttle, which replaced the Disney Magical Express when the free service closed, recently instituted a 3% fuel surcharge on all guests. While it appears the added fee is due to current fuel costs, and this might be removed in the future, any guests planning to use the service should plan for it.

There Are Way To Deal With Increased Costs At Walt Disney World

While price increases are never fun, there are ways to deal with them all. The noted price increase at the hotels is for base room rates. Disney World frequently offers discount promotions on hotel stays, so anyone looking to book rooms should check for those. There are also often ticket discount offers to help combat the increased prices.

On the food side of things, Disney World offers the Disney Dining Plan, a program that helps guests deal with food prices by paying a flat cost for food up front that is cheaper than buying everything separately. That said, the price of the Disney Dining Plan has also gone up slightly from previous years. It’s still a deal, however.

The moral of this story is that there’s more to the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation than the tickets, and anybody saving to visit Disney World should keep that in mind. I still think that a trip to Disney World or Disneyland is absolutely worth it, as expensive as it can be, but the more aware you are of what you’re spending, the happier you’ll be.

Being a Disney Adult is tough business, believe me, I know. A lot of people turn their nose up at adult Disney fans more than other fandoms. This is why when you discover that certain celebrities are also Disney fans, it can be validating. Knowing that somebody like Neil Patrick Harris or John Stamos is a Disney Adult makes it feel more legit. Now it turns out I can add an NFL quarterback to the list of celebrity Disney Adults, and he may outscore them all.

I haven’t really followed football in years, and until now, I couldn’t have picked Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins out of a police lineup. However, after seeing a clip of a recent interview that was all about his favorite place, Walt Disney World, I guess I’m a Raiders fan now, because he gets it.

The Raiders Quarterback Lives In Walt Disney World's Golden Oak

I noticed a clip going viral within my social media theme park circles from NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, which reveals that Kirk Cousins is a bona fide Disney Adult. It turns out he loved visiting Walt IDnsye World so much that he stopped visiting and simply moved in. He bought a home in Disney World’s exclusive development, Golden Oak. Cousins explained…

I mean, I don’t blame the guy. If I were making “starting quarterback in the NFL money,” I would buy a house at Golden Oak, too. The thing is, you basically need to be making that kind of money to afford to live there. A couple of years ago, a Frozen-themed Golden Oak house was asking $15 million.

Kirk Cousins Favorite Disney World Attractions Is A Solid List

Living at Walt Disney World is already Kirk Cousins living my dream, and the dream of a lot of people I know. But the guy also has pretty solid taste in Disney World attractions. He was asked by the show’s host to list his top five attractions, and the list is top-tier. He includes…

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Festival of the Lion King
• The American Adventure
• Carousel of Progress

Cosmic Rewind is one of Disney World's best new attractions, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an all-time classic. The ride has been closed for refurbishment for quite some time, but it is set to reopen in less than a month and looks like it will be better than ever.

But what I love most about Cousins’ list is the way it isn’t focused on the biggest and most expensive rides. It’s all about the unique experiences that other places just don’t have. Festival of the Lion King and The American Adventure are shows that the real Disney World nerds love. They show off just what Disney can do with both live entertainment and audio animatronics to create truly unique shows.

And of course, the Carousel of Progress is an absolute all-timer. The show first debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair before being moved to Disneyland, and then Walt Disney World. Cousins even specifically called out the show’s theme, “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” which is one of the best pieces of theme park music ever written. The only attraction Cousins could have added that would have made him an even bigger Disney World nerd is Living with the Land.

So I guess I’m a Raiders fan now? I mean, somebody has to win the football game, so it might as well be the guy with exquisite taste in Walt Disney World attractions.

There’s a lot of construction happening at Walt Disney World right now as three of the resort’s four theme parks are in line for big changes. The most exciting of these is is also the most controversial. Namely the transformation of Magic Kingdom that is currently taking a piece of Frontierland to turn it into a Cars-themed area and, eventually, a brand new land dedicated to Disney Villains.

Recent reports claim that the Villains' Land has undergone at least one major redesign, as new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro wants the land to be something that pushes the limits of Walt Disney Imagineering, but a new report claims there was even more considered for the Magic Kingdom expansion. It seems as many as two hotels could have been part of it as well.

Disney World Considered Hotels Inside Magic Kingdom

The new details come courtesy of the Florida Politics blog. Back in early 2024, when Disney World and the state of Florida were busy suing each other over the Reedy Creek Improvement District that oversaw Disney World, a Walt Disney Imagineering executive named Todd Rimer was deposed. During the deposition, Rimer revealed that “one or two hotel locations” were being considered “within the same area” as the planned Magic Kingdom expansion, which is to say, Villains Land.

This would indicate that not only were new hotels being considered, but that one or both of them could have actually been attached to the theme park, giving guests at that hotel a dedicated entrance, similar to the way the Helios Grand at Epic Universe or the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa at Disney California Adventure works.

In a statement to the outlet, Disney Experiences confirmed that no hotels are currently planned, indicating whatever was being considered is seemingly off the table. Considering this was all before the Villains Land concept was publicly announced, it's possible the hotel in question wasn't even villain-themed. This might have been so early in the process that Imagineering hadn't settled on plans for the expansion yet. Still, the idea of a villain-themed hotel sounds incredible, and now I want to stay there.

There’s Nothing (Necessarily) Preventing Hotels In A Villains Land Expansion

While there’s a lot we still don’t know about Magic Kingdom’s Villains Land expansion, Disney has never confirmed anything beyond the fact that the land is happening. There’s no reason to assume that a Villains Land hotel is entirely off the table unless something was discovered in the design phase that makes it literally impossible to construct. I fully expect that if there were considerations to open such a hotel, Villains Land will be constructed in such a way that a hotel can be done later.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was clearly designed with the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser in mind, even though the location wasn’t announced alongside the new land. Had the Starcruiser never happened, nobody would have been the wiser. Leaving the door open costs nothing.

There’s a lot to be said for hotels that are directly attached to theme parks. Being able to look out your window or sit on a balcony and see the park is something guests would absolutely pay for. If this hotel did happen, it would likely be the most expensive hotel at Disney World, and considering that the Animal Kingdom Lodge exists, that’s saying something.

With D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event happening in August, it’s a safe bet we’ll get some new information about Villains Land at the Disney Experiences panel. I’m not saying a new Disney World hotel will be announced as part of that, but it certainly wouldn’t shock me if it happened.

In March of 2005, Bob Iger began his (first) tenure as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. He wouldn’t wait long to leave his mark on the House of Mouse, as less than 12 months later, it would be announced that Disney was acquiring Pixar. It would be the first of several major acquisitions for Disney under Iger, including Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and ultimately, 20th Century Fox.

Today, 20 years after Bob Iger acquired Pixar, a new CEO is taking over The Walt Disney Company. Josh D’Amaro, as Bob Iger did in the weeks before stepping down, has indicated that Disney isn't contemplating any major mergers on par with the recent Warner Bros./Paramount deal. That said, I will be shocked if there isn’t a smaller, but no less important to Disney, acquisition on the horizon.

Disney Is Going To Own Bluey Soon, Right?

I’m thinking about Ludo Studio, the Australian studio behind Bluey, the animated family show that is one of the most popular IPs in the world right now. Bluey is big business for Disney, which is why I fully expect Disney to own the Bluey business eventually.

There’s no way to undersell how big the little blue dog is right now. Bluey has been the most popular series on any streaming platform for the last couple of years. More Bluey has been streamed than anything else, which, considering episodes are only a few minutes long, is even more of an accomplishment. Disneyland just opened the first Bluey attraction in one of its parks, and the line for it ran halfway across the park. Bluey is becoming such a big part of Disney; a lot of people probably don’t realize Disney doesn’t own it.

What Works For Disney, Becomes Disney

Star Wars, Pixar, Avatar, and even the Muppets all appeared in Disney Parks before Disney actually owned them, but ultimately all of them came under the Disney umbrella. Paying licensing fees rather than having to actually manage a brand can be preferable in some cases, but Disney, even before Bob Iger, saw things differently, preferring to have control over everything.

And there is some evidence that Bluey is already becoming part of Disney in everything but name. In addition to being added to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World this year, there have apparently been talks about doing crossovers between Bluey and The Simpsons. Disney Jr. even released an animated short recently that had Bluey and her family dancing with Mickey and the gang.

This sort of Disney "synergy" isn't usually spent on licensees. Disney is very protective of even its own properties. We didn't get the first "official" Disney and Pixar crossover until 2021. Mickey Mouse doesn't dance with just any old cartoon.

If Bluey were merely successful, simply profitable, that would be one thing, but Bluey is arguably the most valuable brand Disney has at the current moment. The fact that the company doesn’t own it means that it can potentially lose it. That would be bad for Disney.

At the same time, simply buying Bluey isn’t enough. You need the creative minds that made Bluey successful if you want to have confidence that it will remain successful. This is why if you want Bluey, you need to buy all of Ludo Studio.

It certainly wouldn’t be a deal on the scale of the ones Bob Iger did, but it would allow Josh D’Amaro to make a mark and to improve Disney’s portfolio, without spending nearly as much money as it cost to buy Fox. It also means not having to share what is likely to be an incredible box office when the Bluey movie comes out next year.

And if this is going to happen at all, there's no reason to wait. I think, like Captain America, Luke Skywalker, and Kermit the Frog before her, Bluey is going to be a Disney property one day, and that day will probably be soon.

The opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was such a big deal that Bob Iger once joked that Disney wouldn’t ever need to promote it; just announce it was open, and the people would come. For the most part, he hasn’t been wrong, as the land is still incredibly popular, if only for the fact that Rise of the Resistance is one of the best theme park rides ever created.

And yet, not everybody loves the Star Wars land that we got. While many fans hoped that the theme park land would let guests visit popular Star Wars locations from the past, the decision was instead made to create a new Star Wars planet to set the land, and that decision came directly from the top of both Disney and Lucasfilm.

Bob Iger And Kathleen Kennedy Killed The Original Plans For Galaxy’s Edge

In an interview with WDW Radio, which has recently resurfaced, former Walt Disney World VP Dan Cockerell discussed the fact that originally, Walt Disney Imagineering had the idea to build a version of Star Wars desert planet Tatooine, and were reasonably far into design of the land when they got a call telling them to change direction. According to Cockerell…

Tatooine wouldn’t just be killed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but also at Disneyland, as near identical versions of the land were built on each Disney coast. The world that was Tatooine became Batuu, a planet that is in the galaxy’s outer rim. The land was also set in the middle of the Sequel Trilogy, with only the characters from those films available to meet with guests.

The Idea Had Promise, But It’s Been Proved A Failure

On paper, the reasoning behind the decision to go with an original location makes a lot of sense. The future of Star Wars was bright at that point, and the expectation was that we’d be getting lots of Star Wars movies from Disney every year after the Sequel Trilogy was completed. However, that didn’t happen. The franchise stalled, and while many loved Rey, Finn and the rest, they, like Star Wars more broadly, haven’t been embraced by younger audiences the way the original characters were in their generation.

Over time, we’ve seen Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge slowly ignore its timeline, bringing in Boba Fett, the Mandalorian and other characters from the era between Original and Sequel trilogies. Next month, Disneyland will officially abandon the Sequel era timeline and bring in several original trilogy characters, including Luke, Han Solo, and Leia.

This, combined with the fact that modern Star Wars series on Disney+, like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, routinely return to Tatooine as a nostalgia play, would seem to make clear that trying to move the theme park away from that was the wrong call.

Still, Kathleen Kennedy wasn’t wrong. When The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives this summer, Disney will have made as many Star Wars movies as George Lucas ever did. When Star Wars: Starfighter comes out next year, we will have crossed the pivot point, where most Star Wars movies have been made by Disney. There is still likely more Star Wars in front of us than behind us, so Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will likely continue to change as it does.

Walt Disney World is a magical place that is supposed to make memories that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, when you have some people who can’t conduct themselves properly, those memories aren’t always good. Such a case was on full display recently after a clearly intoxicated man made a scene at a Walt Disney World hotel.

Multiple videos from different angles are currently making the rounds on TikTok that show a man outside a room at the Art of Animation Resort pounding on the door and trying to get in. The man appears to be intoxicated and continues banging on the door and making a lot of noise when it is clear that nobody is going to let him inside.

You can see various people coming out of their rooms during this, and several videos show the man doing different things to try to get in. He throws his body against the door, and he also finds some sort of cart or trash can and bangs that against the door over and over. This video indicates the man had been kicked out of his room. Another source claims this man was trying to get into the wrong room. Exactly what happened here is far from clear.

Security was called, and eventually did arrive, though the various videos found on TikTok all show different moments in time, so it appears this went on for a while before it was dealt with.

Walt Disney specifically didn’t want alcohol in his parks for exactly this reason, but every park now serves alcohol in at least table service restaurants, and the rest have it available much more broadly. Of course, the vast majority of people handle their alcohol responsibly. Being drunk in pubic can result in being banned from Disney World property, and it certainly feels like that’s where this interaction is headed.

In the era of smartphones and social media, these videos are all too common. We’ve seen fistfights break out in Fantasyland and not staying seated on attractions. We've had guests swearing loudly in front of children. Being drunk at Disney World is unfortunately something we see all too often. It’s really frustrating ot see people who act so badly because they tend to make the experience worse for everybody around them.

When I'm in a theme park, I'm usually in far too good a mood to let other people upset me, and while I've been known to enjoy an adult beverage in the parks, it's hard to be drunk and actually experience what great parks have to offer. This makes it easy to limit myself.

Maybe things are getting worse at Disney World. Maybe we’re just seeing the bad behavior more often because of technology, and it’s always been like this. Whatever the situation, please be responsible when visiting Walt Disney World. You don’t want to get kicked out, and nobody around you wants to have to deal with this.

Last week, we saw a major shakeup in the entertainment industry as Josh D’Amaro took his place as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. And since D’Amaro’s previous job had been as head of the Disney Experiences division, which handles the Disney Parks, we saw a game of musical chairs as people all through the division got promotions to fill D’Amaro’s old job, and all the jobs below it that were open as a result.

This means the landscape of executives at Disney parks are very different now than they were a week ago, and while I’m not really expecting this change in leadership to have massive repercussions, the Disney Parks are very much in a “It’s not broken, don’t fix it” place right now, if I could make one request, there is one thing I’d love to see the new regime never do again.

Please Don’t Open Unfinished Lands At Disneyland Anymore

While most of the highlights of Bob Iger’s tenure as CEO of Disney surround the movie studios he acquired, he did more than his share for Disney Parks as well. While he only saw one new park open during his time there, Shanghai Disneyland, we saw many of the existing parks undergo radical transformations, including major overhauls of both Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris, which is about to change its name to go along with the redesign, becoming Disney Adventure Park.

The addition that Bob Iger will likely be the most attached to, however, was the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A whole land dedicated to one of the biggest franchises in the world was one of the biggest moments in theme park history.

Today, I think Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is pretty great, but what it is today isn’t nearly what it was the day it opened, because Galaxy’s Edge opened with only one of its two major attractions, and the one that is by far the lesser of the two. Rise of the Resistance would go on to be, in my opinion, the best ride at Disneyland, but the decision to open the land without it made it far less amazing at the beginning.

We’re Still Waiting For Avengers Campus Phase Two

If this had been a one-time situation, I’d let it go, but then two years later, we had the same thing happen when Avengers Campus opened up. In that case, we were told from a much earlier point that the land would only open with the planned Spider-Man ride, and that an anticipated Avengers Quinjet attraction would be part of a future “phase two.”

And here we are, five years later, and “phase two” has been completely redesigned at least once, and is only now even under construction. There’s a lot that I love about Avengers Campus, but it has always felt half done. It’s going to be at least another year before the current construction is done, and it’s a safe bet that the two attractions being built will open separately, so it could be even longer before all work is complete.

Avengers Campus is a prime example of why opening half-finished lands shouldn't happen. Sometimes you run into problems that result in delays that you didn't expect. Then those delays cause additional delays, and then you find yourself with a major theme park land that's spent half a decade not finished. You can avoid this problem by just doing it right the first time and finishing the job.

With Walt Disney World currently undergoing major construction on three different lands at three different parks, I really hope the people in charge don’t do to the Cars-inspired Piston Peak or the Monsters Inc. land at Disney's Hollywood Studios what they did with Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus. Please wait until these lands are ready before debuting them to the public.

It's a new era at the House of Mouse. Today, Josh D'Amaro officially takes the reins of The Walt Disney Company as Bob Iger ends his second term in the position. Dana Walden has also become Disney's first-ever Chief Creative Officer alongside her new role as President.

D'Amaro will start his tenure on a big stage at the Walt Disney Company's Annual Shareholders Meeting. There will undoubtedly be a lot of eyes on D'Amaro, both from Wall Street analysts and Disney fans who want to get a sense of what the future of Disney will be like under him. We can expect updates on all the things that will make both groups happy, like upcoming movies, theme park attractions, Disney Cruise Line details, and more.

Last year's Shareholders Meeting only gave us one significant announcement, in the form of the news that Coco 2 was in development. Since a lot of people are going to want to get an idea of what Josh D'Amaro will be like as CEO, I would expect that we'll be getting more than just updates on projects that Bob Iger started this year, but time will tell.

In just a few minutes, the Shareholders Meeting will be getting underway. The first question of interest is how much of Bob Iger we'll see. He is staying with Disney through the end of the year, and technically, this meeting is about the prior year's performance, so he may still be a big part of it, but since this is essentially the coming-out party for Josh D'Amaro and Dana Walden, I expect they'll be the main focus.

As such, I'd expect a bit more in the way of "new" announcements as it will get Disney fans excited and hopefully signal to Wall Street, the people this event is really about, that Disney will continue to make money going forward.

Disney's Shareholders Meeting gets under way with a sizzle reel showing many of the company's biggest hits on screen and in theme parks. Everything from Hoppers to Avatar and small pieces of stuff to come like Toy Story 5. Ill tell you, stuff like this makes it really exciting to be a Disney fan. They are so good at this.

Chairman of the Board James Gorman opens the meeting in a pre-recorded message. He was the man who led the CEO hunt. He calls out D'Amaro as the new CEO and Walden as President. He also thanks Bob Iger for his time as CEO.

We're now getting a second sizzle reel that is basically a thank you to Bob Iger, showing off all his achievements. And to be fair, there are a lot. He transformed Disney in a big way. The addition of Pixar, marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox, changed entertainment.

We're getting a pre-recorded message from Iger saying goodbye. Clearly, we won't be seeing Bob again during this meeting, otherwise, they'd probably leave this goodbye for later. It's Josh D'Amaro's company now.

Iger says "leaders don't create the magic" and he thanks those he worked with for making it. He ays he "believes" in Josh D'Amaro as the new CEO. Calls Dana Walden's area "critical."

Goodbye Bob, thanks for everything.

And Josh D'Amaro was just "welcomed" as the Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company. The new era has begun.

D'Amaro's main message is that Disney is in a class by itself in the industry. There's a lot of use of the word "one" already today. D'Amaro released a memo earlier where he referred to the different parts of the company as One Disney. Expect that to be a major branding concept going forward.

The first IP gets dropped when D'Amaro starts talking about Toy Story. We're getting a look at a scene where Jesse confronts Lilypad.

D'Amaro runs through the 2026 and 2027 movie slates. Then we got release dates for live-action Lilo & Stitch 2, May 26, 2028, and Incredibles 3, June 16, 2028. That's really fast work for Stitch.

On Experiences, D'Amaro calls out World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris and the expansion of Avengers Campus. I was hoping for a bit of new theme park info, but it doesn't look like anybody is ready for that yet.

D'Amaro does announce the name of the ninth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the Disney Believe

That wraps D'Amaro's portion of the meeting, which means we're now shifting to the actual voting portion of the meeting. The 2028 release dates for Lilo & Stitch and Incredibles are certainly going to be important. Those are two blockbuster franchises that will almost guarantee that 2028 will be a solid year for Disney at the global box office.

The first three votes for the Shareholders meeting are standard: re-electing the board of directors, affirming the company's accountants, and confirming the executive compensation package. They will pass without issues.

The other three proposals are from shareholders. These are usually pet causes from individuals with an ax to grind. Shareholder proposals almost always fail, but not always. These proposals are about Disney's charitable giving policies, changing the method for board member elections, and reviewing Disney Parks' disability policies. This last one might succeed.

Unsurprisingly, the three proposals from Disney were approved, and the three shareholder proposals were not. We now shift to the Q&A

D'Amaro is on hand, and the first question is about changing out the Pixar films in the Imagination pavilion at Epcot. D'Amaro says there are "no plans to bring new shorts" to the theater, which was not at all the question. Something new needs to be done with that theater.

The second question is about the decision-making process behind making original movies versus sequels. D'Amaro talks about Disney's ability to build on stories between the different aspects of the company. D'Amaro says there will be more new and existing stories.

The next question is about where to find information about the backgrounds of the Board of Directors, which is a somewhat surprising question for this sort of meeting.

Question four is about how D'Amaro is incorporating the principles of Walt Disney into the company.

It's honestly amazing how often this sort of question is asked. Nobody asks David Zazlav how he incorporates the principles of Jack Warner at Warner Bros. D'Amaro focuses on Walt's embrace of technology and his ability to look to the future.

The next question is about Disney's use of AI. D'Amaro talks about the efficiency that AI can bring, but insists that AI will be used to "empower creativity, not replace it."

An Experiences question about balancing theme park revenue with making the experience great for everybody. D'Amaro says he looks at experience ratings and "intent to return" to be sure guests are having the great experience they want. D'Amaro mentions the kids' ticket offer at Disneyland as a way that the parks try to make it affordable.

D'Amaro says he's "looking at the landscape," but doesn't indicate any plans for new mergers.

A question about changing the disability access at Disney Parks. D'Amaro says the current approach was come to by working with experts and professionals. Doesn't indicate any plan to revisit.

A question about the amount of legacy content that Disney has access to, and how the company decides what to put on Disney+, since a lot of that content isn't there. D'Amaro doesn't really answer or indicate that any more legacy content will be going up anytime soon.

Question about the differences between Lighting Lane offerings at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. D'Amaro says that guest experience at each resort is very different, so Lighting Lane is handled differently to best match the way people use the parks.

The last question is about Figment. Could there be a movie or other Figment content? D'Amaro laughs and mentions the recent Disney+ animation short that included Figment. D'Amaro says there's nothing new to announce, but indicates that Disney is always exploring new ways to use characters. There is certainly a hint that there may be a future for Figment, who was voiced by Neil Patrick Harris in the short.

That ends the meeting. It was certainly interesting hearing Josh D'Amaro answer all the Q&A questions. It's a new voice and a pretty new approach. A couple of major release date updates was nice, but I was hoping for a little more. Still, with D23 coming up this summer, we'll get plenty of news on upcoming movies, series, and theme park attractions. The Josh D'Amaro era hasn't started with a bang, but it has begun. It will be exciting to see what happens next.

There’s never a bad time to visit Walt Disney World, but if there’s a best time to visit Walt Disney World, it’s probably during the holiday season. While it's frequently crowded, there’s just a totally different vibe in the air during that time of year. If you’ve never had a chance to visit the most magical place on earth during the holidays, however, you’ll get a chance to see it later this year when the first Disney World Christmas movie debuts on Hallmark Channel.

Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True will be part of the cable channel’s slate this holiday season. It’s one of the very few films to actually be filmed inside a Disney resort, at least legally. It also appears to have been a great deal of fun to make, as a post to Instagram announcing that production had wrapped also indicates that, of course, Magic Kingdom hosted the wrap party.

As somebody who has been to both after-hours events at Walt Disney World, as well as occasional media events, I can say that nobody throws a party quite like Walt Disney World. I can also say that has somebody who covers theme parks for a living, and has had to be at Magic Kingdom while I was working, and thus couldn’t just go on rides whenever I wanted, it can be brutal to be so close to so much fun and not be able to just do it.

I’m sure the cast and crew of the upcoming Disney World Hallmark movie had a blast at the wrap party. If they truly had free rein over Magic Kingdom, then they got to experience the most popular theme park in the world in a way that few people get to experience it. Imagine being able to go on Tron: Lightcycle Run or Tiana’s Bayou Adventure with basically no line. Even if they didn't really get access to the whole park, being able to have fun at Disney World after working there for so long had to be nice for all involved.

Holiday Ever After stars genre mainstay Lacey Chabert and Travis Van Winkle as two people who go on a terrible blind date, and then discover they’re staying near each other during dueling Disney World family vacations. The bringing together of Walt Disney World and a romantic Hallmark movie feels like a perfect match. It’s almost shocking that such a thing had never happened previously.

I’m not usually much of a Hallmark Channel guy, but I love Walt Disney World, and I love Christmas movies, so I’ll certainly be checking this one out when it comes out later this year. I'm just bummed I can't use my Disney+ subscription.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Walt Disney World can get expensive. From the ever-increasing cost of tickets to hotels and food, Disney World is a vacation that often requires an investment. But a recent viral video puts that Disney World trip into perspective, claiming you could have some pretty incredible vacations for literally half the price.

Viral Video Claims A European Ski Holiday Is Half The Price Of Walt Disney World

A video on Instagram is going viral, with millions of views across multiple platforms, which claims that a trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando for five days costs literally twice as much as a ski vacation to France and Switzerland. And not just a trip to those places, but a luxury experience in both countries, including five-star hotels and Michelin-star restaurants.

Among Disney theme park fans who travel internationally, it has often been said that a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort or Disneyland Paris is actually cheaper than a trip to Walt Disney World. Because while the flights from the U.S. will obviously cost more, everything else once you get there is significantly cheaper. The same, some quick Googling, appears to be true of ski vacations. While a domestic lift ticket costs about as much as a day ticket to Disney World, they appear to be cheaper in Europe.

Still, saying that a Disney World vacation is twice as expensive as a European ski vacation that includes very high-end experiences, and even new ski gear for an entire family, is quite the statement, and some are calling foul.

Not Everybody Is Buying The Price Difference

In the comments of the original post on Instagram, you have a lot of people asking for receipts. Sure, Disney World isn’t a cheap vacation, but some are claiming that the difference in price being stated is somewhere between an exaggeration and completely made up. Comments include…

• Yeah I call BS on this. I am flying my in-laws and my family of 6 down, staying at a 2 bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom for a week, and it still costs less than a week for our immediate family to go to Japan. - jm_bama2008
• This is such an exaggeration 😂 - kodymorris
• I don't believe any part of this. The cheapest flight I see for New York to Paris business class is $2,500. A 5 day park hopper at disneyworld is $700. - virginvariant
• I just think some of you don’t know how to book a Disney trip 😂 - ashleyjadee

To be sure, a Disney World vacation can add up, and since this guy apparently is willing and able to spend a lot on vacations, he’s hopefully comparing his ski trip to the most expensive options available at Disney World. If you’re staying in five-star hotels in France, you’re probably booking a Savannah View room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you’re eating at Michelin-star restaurants in Europe, then maybe you’re including dinner at Disney World’s Michelin-star restaurant, Victoria and Albert's, in your budget.

And if this guy is buying all the perks, perhaps he’s including a lot of optional costs, like the very expensive Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which allows guests to skip lines on their own schedule, or the airport Minnie Van shuttle. If you threw in a lot of optional add-ons, the things that frustrate many guests because they make the Disney World experience better, but only for those who can afford it, you can certainly make a Disney World trip a lot more expensive.

Making a Disney World trip more expensive than a European ski vacation is almost certainly possible. Making it twice as expensive does feel like it could be a stretch, however. I wish I could afford to find out.

Disney theme park devotees have been preparing for a looming event for a little while now, and the time has finally come. The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando is officially set to close on Monday, March 2. It’s a bittersweet prospect, as the ride is set to be renovated and restyled with a Muppet theme. Ahead of that, though, it seems a number of people want to take one last (or maybe even a first) ride on the attraction as is. At least, that’s the idea I get based on the lengthy lines.

This weekend, several people have taken to social media to chronicle their experiences at Hollywood Studios (part of the Walt Disney World Resort) leading up to the closure of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Anyone who’s been to the park knows that ride wait times can sometimes be lengthy. However, what’s currently happening with the music-themed coaster is something else entirely. Thrill Geek shared a photo to X early Sunday morning, and plenty of people made up the long line. Check out the photo for yourself:

Needless to say, that’s a massive amount of people, and my legs are tired due to me just thinking about the prospect of waiting in such a long line. That photo is a firm enough illustration of just how many people are seeking to get on the coaster, yet a couple of other pictures shared to X by RockNstardust really drive that point home. Take a look and also take note of what the user said about the length of the line:

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster opened in 1999, and it takes passengers on a twisty and thrilling ride set to the awesome tunes of Aerosmith. The ride serves as a true homage to the beloved rock band, and the most recent (since-removed) pre-show even featured band member Joe Smith. What’s also cool is that each ride is accompanied by a different song. One aspect of the attraction that I personally like is the fact that the rider cars are fashioned as limos. I first rode the indoor attraction when I was a senior in high school, and I can still remember the rush of going through those corkscrews and experiencing the wicked G-force. (I only wish I could remember the exact song playing.)

In short, this is a great ride, and I can understand why so many people would be eager to ride it before it’s closed for refurbishment. Check out some video clips RockNstardust also shared about the “final rope drop”:

For years, there had been rumors about Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster being replaced, though the ride ultimately kept its long-held motif. However, news of the ride’s closure officially came down in 2024 alongside the reveal that it would be rebranded as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. This development is a bit of a double-edged sword, given it also serves as a bright spot of sorts for those who may still be in their feelings after the closure of fan-favorite attraction Muppet*Vision 3D.

That Muppet-branded interaction of the ride, which seems set to put Electric Mayhem center stage, will reportedly open later this year. In the meantime, it’s my hope that everyone who braves those long lines at Hollywood Studios gets their chance to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster one last time.

I was sitting in about the sixth row of the Honda Center two years ago when the then Chairman of Disney Experiences, who in about three weeks will become the CEO of Disney, Josh D’Amaro, pulled the classic “one more thing” move during the D23 Parks Panel. His one more thing blew the roof off the arena when he announced that a new land, dedicated entirely to Disney Villains, would be coming to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

Yet, while many of the new attractions and lands announced that same night have seen construction begin, Villains Land has remained elusive. Part of the reason for that, it turns out, according to rumors, is that the original plan for the land has been thrown out. Apparently, D’Amaro is asking for something grander. Based on new details, it looks like he may get it.

Villains Land Rumored To Include An Emperor’s New Groove Coaster And A Maleficent Water Ride

Touring Plans’ Len Testa claimed a couple of weeks ago that plans for Villains Land had been completely thrown out and Walt Disney Imagineering had been tasked with reimagining the land. Most interestingly, it was said that what any of these ideas would cost should not be a consideration. Make something great, don’t worry about the money.

A new report from The Wrap outlines what has transpired in the time since that edict was made, and it certainly looks like the Imagineers took it to heart, as what they have put together (which could still change) sounds impressive...and expensive.

The original concept art for Villains Land showed us a roller coaster surrounded by thorns, indicating a Sleeping Beauty attraction where Maleficent would play a major role. That ride has been rethought as something a bit more fun, an Emperor’s New Groove coaster, which is perfect, considering an actual roller coaster appears in the film.

Maleficent will still have her part in the new Villains Land, according to a report. A water ride, based on the same platform as Shanghai Disneyland’s popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, is also in the planning stages. The same ride system is also reportedly being used for a planned Avatar ride at Disneyland Resort, so this would give both coasts a way to experience the highly touted attraction design.

As a lover of Disney food, however, the item that has me the most excited has to be the planned inclusion of a Hades-themed Dinner show. It's described as something akin to the Golden Horeshow Revue, but as a full-service dining experience with a prix fixe menu. We were originally supposed to get something like that in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge before it was seemingly cut to be used in the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

A third attraction, some sort of flat ride, on par with Dumbo, is also reportedly going to be included. And of course, plenty of Disney Villain characters will be wandering the land to interact with guests.

How Disney Plans To Pay For It All

All of this sounds incredible, but it does also sound like one of the more expensive endeavors we’ve seen Disney undertake in a long time. We know Disney is planning to invest $60 billion in its Experiences division over the next decade, but I didn’t think they were planning to spend it all here.

However, there does appear to be a method to this madness. The Maleficent attraction specifically is being eyed as a place to offer the Lightning Lane Single Pass, a line-skipping option that can cost Disney World guests as much as $35 per person to skip the line. One imagines the top-end price will be even higher by the time this land opens. The feeling is that the attraction needs to be big, as it needs to be able to justify that price in the eyes of guests.

While this redesign will likely push back the date that Villains Land was planned to open, it has to be music to the ears of fans. Too often, we've seen amazing blue sky concepts curtailed when it was decided that money needed to be saved. It's not like these projects won't ultimately be paid for, as guests have not stopped flooding Disney World, regardless of how much the price goes up. If Villains Land truly is the best of what Walt Disney Imagineering can do, no matter the cost, it could be something truly wonderful.

I'm still the first to argue that going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World is worth every penny, but it’s certainly true that a trip to either park is going to cost you a lot of pennies. Disney Parks are expensive, and they’re only getting more expensive as time goes on. Lots of people complain about the fact that Disney seems to continue to find new ways to add costs to vacations, and even former Disney CEO Michael Eisner thinks it's gone too far.

Michael Eisner Is “Not Wild” About How Expensive Disney Parks Are

In a recent interview with Graham Bensinger (via Boardwalk Times), Eisner talks about his time at Disney, as well as what has happened at the House of Mouse in the years since. He’s largely very complimentary of the state of DIsney by saying the company is in “great shape” and calling soon-to-retire Bob Iger an “excellent CEO.” However, he does part ways with the current regime in one area: the cost to go to Disneyland and Disney World. On that, Eisner says…

There’s certainly no argument that, as a business, the Disney Parks have been run “well.” Despite all the price increases, there has been no noticeable impact on attendance, indicating that guests are willing to pay the asking price. Disney's Experiences division reported record revenue last quarter. That said, there is a lot of frustration because of things like Lighting Lane, which allows guests to skip lines, a service that used to be free, but now costs money.

It used to be a goal at Disney Parks to have “everybody be a VIP,” as Eisner says, but that’s simply not the case now. If you can afford to pay for all the various additional services, you can have an amazing time, but those who can’t afford it get left out.

To Be Fair, Michael Eisner Kinda Started It

It is interesting to hear Michael Eisner say this, because it’s hard to argue that this didn’t start under him. When Eisner became CEO in 1984, he didn’t think the parks were charging what they were worth. Disneyland tickets were about $18 in 1984 when Eisner took control. When he left in 2005, that same ticket was nearly $60.

That said, we saw a lot of great new attractions added to Disneyland, as well as several new Disney theme parks all over the world. But Eisner’s ticket price increases continued under Bob Iger, and we’ve seen price increases every year. Today, a single-day ticket at Disneyland can cost over $200 during the high season. Some families simply can't afford the price to get in the gate because it's so expensive.

It’s nice to hear that Michael Eisner does think that charging for additional perks is a step he might not have taken. FastPass was started under Eisner and remained free throughout his time and for years after, while many other theme parks began charging for line skipping. Perhaps this was because Eisner was against the idea.

Maybe we’ll be lucky and discover that Disney’s next CEO feels the same way. While it’s unlikely that we’ll see any massive shifts in the way Disney Parks go to market, since D’Amaro was the head of the Experiences division previously, maybe now that he’s in charge, he’ll take the comments of this former CEO to heart. It's unlikely that things will revert to the way they were, but if they don't get worse, that's something.

The Super Bowl halftime show was discussed more than the game itself in the weeks leading up to it due to the controversy surrounding the decision to have Bad Bunny perform the show. There was even an alternative halftime show created by those upset that the show wouldn’t be performed in English. However, after Bad Bunny’s energetic and fun performance, a surprising amount of chatter surrounds the set.

Several clips went viral following the Super Bowl halftime performance, which revealed that one of the ways such an intricate set was built in minutes is that several of the background set pieces, including parts of the sugar plantation set, were actually people in costumes. This led to a variety of jokes on social media. Being a big Walt Disney World fan, my personal favorite had to be the one referencing Epcot’s Living with the Land.

It’s wild to realize that several of the set pieces that Bad Bunny walked by while performing were actually people in costume. This was likely done because it was easier and faster than building a set, considering that the halftime performance only had a limited amount of time to set up, take place, and then break down, so as to not delay the game.

On the plus side, a bunch of people get to say they were part of the Super Bowl halftime show that otherwise would not have had the chance. As one fan on Twitter pointed out, it’s a bit like the kids who played small roles in the school play just to be able to be included with the other kids. We were all there at some point.

However, most of the jokes went in a distinctly fantasy direction. Several fans referred to the Ents, the sentient trees from The Lord of the Rings. Many different jokes referred to when the Ents attack Isengard, as the “trees” marched onto the field to take their place in the set.

The whole thing really is pretty wild. Watching these people march onto the field and find their correct location to build out the set is honestly impressive. It doesn’t look like any of them can actually see where they are going, but clearly they can. It’s a well-designed costume. I hope the people who wore them got to keep them; they’d be amazing at Halloween.

Not since “Left Shark” went viral during Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show have the supporting performers been so popular with fans. They didn’t draw attention to themselves during the show. Most people watching on television likely had no idea that what appeared to be the set was actually people, but as people see clips like these, they are becoming more popular.

Despite the controversy, based on the early numbers, it looks like Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl was incredibly popular. It’s going to give whoever does the job next year a tough act to follow, but I’m sure they can find something amazing to dress up extras in.

The beginning of February was a big time for Disney’s theme parks. The guy who ran them got promoted to CEO of the company. The upcoming Avengers Campus expansion at Disney California Adventure reached a major milestone in its development, but it was also the end of an era as the popular Dinosaur ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom said its final goodbyes.

Disney Parks are a place of traditions for the guests, but that’s also true for the Cast Members who work there. When the new showbuilding at Avengers Campus hit its highest point, Cast Members signed the steel beam. When Dinosaur closed, the last people to ride it were the Walt Disney World Cast Members who made it great. While February 2nd was technically the last day of operation for the ride, the next day, Diservations captured that Disney CMs (and actor Wallace Langham) came together to say goodbye.

Nobody who knows Dinosaur needs to be told about Dr. Grant Seeker, the odd little scientist who introduced guests to the Dinosaur attraction and explained the ride’s backstory during the pre-show. Like so many original creations of Disney Parks, Dr. Seeker became a fan favorite, so it was only fitting that the actor who brought him to life was also on hand for the closing of the ride.

The line for Dinosaur over its last weekend of operation was one of the longest the ride had seen in quite some time, showing just how many fans Dinosaur had. But it's only fitting that the last people to say goodbye to the attraction were the people who worked on it. The same thing happened last year when Muppet*Vision 3D closed down. The final shows for the popular attraction were seen by Cast Members and their guests the day after it closed to the public.

Dinosaur is just one of several attractions closed as Walt Disney World undergoes a major transformation. Epcot is the only park not to currently have significant construction walls blocking off rides and shows that are gone for good. Of course, Epcot spent years covered in construction walls, so it’s served its time until, well, the next time.

The Dinosaur ride is set to be replaced by a new Indiana Jones-themed attraction. Little is known about the ride, other than it will be a new adventure set in the Tropical Americas land that will take over the former Dinoland U.S.A. Dinosaur was originally built using the same ride system as the original Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, so the basic infrastructure of the ride is expected to remain, though one assumes it will also include a lot of new design elements to improve on the decades-old attraction.

Theme parks are art. This is a factual statement as far as I'm concerned, and I will not be taking questions. Theme parks and the attractions inside them are creative endeavors made by artists, engineers, and other designers who bring worlds and stories to life, causing emotional reactions in those who experience them.

Unfortunately, there’s an element of theme parks, which means many of them do not last in the way other works of art do. There is only so much space. The creation of a new attraction often means the end of an old one, and once a theme park ride orshow is gone, it’s often gone forever. Unless you’re Muppet*Vision 3D

Muppet*Vision 3D Will Reportedly Return As A 3D/VR Experience

When Muppet*Vision 3D’s closure was announced to make way for the new Monsters Inc. land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, many fans felt a great loss. The 3D experience was the last Muppet project that Jim Henson was personally involved in. Walt Disney World assured fans when the show ended that it would be preserved in some fashion, but thus far, no official announcement has been made as to what that means.

However, The Wrap reports that both the Muppet*Vision 3D show and the Muppet Theater show building were filmed priorto the building undergoing redevelopment. The plan is that at some point in the future, exactly when is unclear, Muppet*Vision 3D will be released on the Apple Vision Pro and other VR headsets.

This is fantastic news. I’m one of the chorus of voices that hoped we might see the show get released on Disney+. The fact that many Disneyland attractions have seen ride-through videos released on the platform gave some indication that such a thing was possible. However, this option would let fans truly experience the film in 3D as well as experience all of the theater effects and elements that weren’t part of the film itself

Now Do Captain EO And The Rest

I love everything about this. In fact, I love it so much that I need to see more of it. Muppet*Vision 3D is far from the only 3D film from a Disney Park that has seen its life end that is worthy of preservation. I would love to see this treatment given to the others, too.

The most famous Disney Parks 3D film is Captain EO. The sci-fi short film starred Michael Jackson in the title role, included new music from him, characters from the Henson creature shop, a story written by George Lucas, and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The show saw a revival following Jackson's death, but hasn’t been seen in years.

There’s also Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. The movie starred Rick Moranis and worked as a side story to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movies. I think I saw it once during its life. I would love to see it again.

Not every theme park attraction can be saved in this way. No virtual recreation of the recently closed Dinosaur is going to really make it feel like you’re on the ride, but for the attractions where this is possible, it should become the standard.

One of the biggest jobs in all of entertainment has been the talk of Hollywood for a couple of years now. We've known ever since Bob Iger returned as CEO of The Walt Disney Company that he wouldn't be there forever. The question of who would succeed him came down to two major names: Disney Experiences head Josh D'Amaro, Disney Entertainment co-head Dana Walden

Well, the game of succession has now come to an end. This morning, The Walt Disney Company officially announced Josh D'Amaro will be the next CEO of Disney. However, I'm not sure that's the biggest piece of news to come out of this, because Walden has also received a major promotion within Disney. She will become Disney's President and its Chief Creative Officer.

Both promotions are effective March 18, 2026, which is a lot sooner than we thought. Bob Iger's contract doesn't end until December 31. Initially, the plan was that the new CEO would be working alongside Iger for several months and would take over Disney on January 1. Apparently, it's been decided that D'Amaro and Walden don't need to wait. Or maybe Bob Iger is just ready to go.

Dana Walden's Promotion Is History Making

While most eyes will be on the new CEO, I don't think we can undersell the promotion of Dana Walden as both President and Chief Creative Officer. This makes Walden the highest-ranking woman in Disney's history, and it demonstrates the company's recognition of her importance. While they may not have chosen her as CEO, they did not want her to leave.

While many studios within Disney have Chief Creative Officers, I don't believe they've ever had that position at the corporate level. In the role, she'll oversee the creative direction of both the entertainment side and, one assumes, the theme parks as well.

Disney also hasn't had a person in the role of President of Disney since Bob Iger stepped down from the largely redundant position in 2012. There hasn't been a person in the role of President who wasn't also CEO in nearly three decades.

Disney had to make a place for Dana Walden, but the company did that for her. It's not uncommon for people passed over for the top job in a company to go looking for greener pastures. Disney did not want that here; it knew it had two top candidates, and it wanted them both at the top.

The Pairing Harkens Back To Some Of Disney's Most Successful Times

While Josh D'Amaro may be the man at the top, it seems clear that the plan is for these two executives to work together. Walden is recognized as a talent in the creative field, while D'Amaro's success at Disney Experiences has been a key driver of the company's profits.

It looks very similar to the 1980s when Michael Eisner came in as CEO and Frank Wells was named President. The duo ushered in the Disney Decade and brought a floundering Disney back to prominence. It also bears a striking resemblance to the original duo of Walt and Roy Disney. Walt was the creative talent, Roy handled the money.

This feels like the right move for Disney. It prevents the "brain drain" that often follows new leadership, and the people who have been a big part of Disney's success for the last several years will be able to keep doing that. It will likely result in a shakeup of leadership within Disney Experiences, but Josh D'Amaro clearly cares about the parks, and he'll find the right people to lead that ship, likely with some input from the new President.

The circle of life for a theme park attraction has once again taken center stage. Over the weekend, the popular Dinosaur attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom saw its last guest. It’s set to be replaced with something new that could turn out to be great, but of course there are those lamenting the end of Dinoland U.S.A.

Which is not to say that some people aren’t having some fun with the changes. Universal Orlando Resort is never afraid to poke a little fun at its area rival, Walt Disney World. It did exactly that by throwing some Jurassic shade following the closure of Dinosaur, because there’s no lack of giant lizards at Universal Islands of Adventure.

Universal Orlando Resort is one of those social media accounts from a company that has a sense of humor, and while it's always in good fun, Universal loves to poke a little fun when it can. This isn't even the first time Universal has used dinosaurs for the source of its joke.

To be fair, while Dinosaur was a great ride in its own right, Universal has always had the superior dinosaur attractions. Even before the Jurassic World Velocicoaster became one of the best roller coasters around, the Jurassic Park River Adventure was a top-notch flume ride. If anything, we’ll only see more from the Jurassic Park franchise as even the newest film still did quite well. Dinosaurs have never been as successful at Disney.

The writing had been on the wall for a few years. We knew that Dinoland U.S.A. was on the way out, to be replaced by a new Tropical Americas-themed land. The new area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom will include an attraction based on Encanto as well as a new Indiana Jones ride that’s set to take over from the recently extinct Dinosaur ride.

Dinosaur was, to be fair, one of the few parts of Dinoland U.S.A., though the nearby Restaurantasourus was also popular. Disney World seemed to realize this, as the decision was made a year ago to close part of Dinoland, but keep Dinosaur and Restaurantasourus open for a while longer. Work began on the portion of the new land that will include the Encanto ride back then. It’s now finally time for Dinosaur to become extinct.

The ride is set to be replaced by a new Indiana Jones attraction. While Dinosaur used the same ride system as the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, we’ve been promised the new attraction will be an entirely new experience and not simply a retread of the older ride.

An exact timeline of when the new land will open has not been announced. We're likely at least a couple of years away, and there's a good chance the new land will open in stages, the same way it closed.

I was half expecting to start this quarter's live blog with news of who the new CEO of the Walt Disney Company is. The current rumor is that the Disney Board of Directors will be making that vote soon, sometime this week, but it apparently hasn't happened yet. That means If the new CEO, who will take over in 2027, joins Bob Iger on future earnings calls, that means this could be his last one without the new boss in tow.

Disney's earnings report for the quarter has been released. It's generally good news, including $10 billion in revenue for the Disney Experiences (which includes Parks and consumer products), a first for the company. This is a good time for that particular division to be setting records, since its head Josh D'Amaro is one of the two who are believed to be in the race for the Disney CEO.

Of course, the other name in that race, Disney Studios co-head Dana Walden, had her own big win last quarter with Zootopia 2, the highest-grossing animated movie ever, and Avatar: Fire and Water, which may not have matched the previous films in box office, but was still a force.

My only request of the next CEO of Disney is that they not host earnings calls at 5:30 in the morning. Can we get a new chief executive who sleeps?

The earnings call is officially underway. VP Carlos Gutierrez is giving the standard "forward looking statements" statement. Bob Iger will likely give his opening statement after that. If there's any big "news" to hit, it usually arrives during that part of the call.

Iger opens with Disney's $6.5 billion 2025 box office, the third biggest in history. He highlights Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash and Lilo and Stitch as the three that crossed the billion dollar mark.

On streaming, Iger says their getting "encouraging results" in local programming internationally. Iger says short form content from Sora will be coming to the platform following the Disney deal with OpenAI.

ESPN has been going strong thanks to Monday Night Football and NBA games. Disney's purchase of NFL Network has been completed.

Disney Experiences: Iger mentions the $10B in revenue. Mentions the World of Frozen opening at Disneyland Paris next month. Disney Adventure cruise ship will launch next month as well.

Iger's opening statement is short and sweet, no major announcements, but now we'll see what happens with the Q&A.

First question: Asked About Iger's view on the battle for Warner Bros. and how he sees it. Iger mentions that the Disney deal for Fox was "ahead of its time." Iger says the deal was "well priced." Iger celebrates the cross-promotional appeal of IP across company, successful movies lead to theme park attractions. Iger doesn't see a need for new IP.

Second Question: Improvement in domestic parks attendance overall, looking for info on Walt Disney World bookings, and future outlook.

CFO Hugh Johnstone, says WDW had strong attendance and pricing performance. Bookings are up 5% for the full year.

Question the Third: Mentions Iger's big moves when he first became CEO. Asks if Bob sees any opportunity for big moves from the next CEO.

Bob Iger says a lot needed "fixing" when he came back, but he also set up the company for future growth. Iger says Disney is in better shape. He specifically brings up success of the success of Disney Experiences being in a good place to grow going forward. (A possible nod to Josh D'Amaro?)

Question Four: Asks about new bundle initiatives for streaming, looking for opportunities for growth.

Iger talks about the value of new content and new technology. Says that streaming is seeing reduced churn, and bundles are a big part of that. Hulu's "fully integrated experience" on Disney+ is expected by the end of 2026.

Next Question: Asks about OpenAI deal and how that will manifest.

Iger says deal allows users to create 30 second videos with 250 characters, that do not include a voice or face. Disney can then post those videos to Disney+. Iger hopes to use Sora to allow Disney+ users to crate videos themselves on the Disney platform.

Next question leads to a discussion on streaming and the turn around on profitability. Iger thinks the reorganization on streaming under Bob Chapek didn't lead to enough "accountability." He thinks that's key to whatever structure any future CEO might implement.

Question asks about the drivers for the upcoming quarter and the year for Disney Entertainment. Johnston says the theatrical slate for the second part of the year is strong. Upcoming Disney movies like Toy Story 5, live-action Moana, and Devil Wears Prada 2 are called out.

Iger also mentions that the first Zootopia and first two Avatar movies saw a huge boost when sequels hit theaters. Expects the new movies hitting streaming will be big.

Another question on Sora and when it will start arriving, will there be longer videos?

Iger says no specifics on Sora are being announced, but he expects it will be this year.

Johnston responds to next question and the fact that Disney Entertainment won't be breaking down details between streaming versus linear networks, because Disney basically creates content for all channels.'

Final Question asks Bob Iger and the growth of Parks business over his tenure. Does he see Experiences driving the profits of the company for years to come or will things be more balanced?

Iger says his major acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm) opened the door to new Parks experiences. Iger is bullish on its ability to grow, but also thinks the Entertainment side has a strong future. He thinks either side has the ability to be the driver.

That wraps the Q1 earnings call. No major bombshells, but Disney is in a strong place on both the Experiences and Entertainment side. Whoever the next CEO is will likely inherit a strong organization. We should find out who that will be very soon.

See you all in about three months when we'll do this all again. By then we'll know who's taking the reins of The Walt Disney Company.

I’ve been stoked for Lacey Chabert’s upcoming Hallmark movie collaboration with Disney World for weeks now. The Queen of Hallmark announced the network would be doing a holiday-themed flick set at Walt Disney World in Florida just a few weeks ago. Time passes fast, however, and production has already ended with quite the bang. Literally.

In fact, Lacey Chabert took to social media to celebrate the last day of filming Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True. Yes, the flick's name is still decidedly a mouthful, but the premise sounds darling, and I'm even more excited after seeing the way this 2026 TV release wrapped. Her post was too cute to function, to paraphrase a Mean Girls quote. Take a look.

Yes, that’s right, on the last night of Holiday Ever After, the cast was treated to one Disney World signature: fireworks. It’s basically the most Disney way to celebrate, ever. Honestly, there are two ways to make any trip to Disney World even more magical. The first is to show up at rope drop, but the second, and the most preferred one for many families, is to stay through the fireworks after dark. It's even better when you can snag a dinner reservation and watch the fireworks in comfort.

Honestly, though, if you’ve been keeping tabs on production, it looks like the movie has been a blast for everyone involved. Writer-Director Ryan Landels made sure to do a bunch of “location scouting” with his family while on set.

Lacey Chabert had straight up told fans on the day her upcoming Christmas movie was announced that she had believed for a long time Disney World would make for the perfect setting for a Hallmark holiday movie. She's been a fan of the theme parks for ages, and her former Wedding Veil co-star Autumn Reeser once said Chabert is super passionate about taking her kids to Disney, and the theme parks in general. So, when the project finally did come to fruition, it makes sense she landed the leading lady slot opposite Travis Van Winkle as her co-star.

I don't know what it took to get Disney World on board, but filming does happen in the parks regularly. Plus, it should be great cross-promotion for the network and the theme park. We will have to wait until the end of the year, but I do think holidays with their decor and general vibe bring even more joy, and I'm excited to see a Christmas movie that's chock full of that feeling. Even if it means waiting a while. I just hope we keep getting more tidbits like this one in the meantime.

When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland, it was not an understatement to say it was among the biggest days in the history of the 70-year-old resort. It was the biggest single expansion the park had ever seen, and it brought one of the biggest franchises ever to Disneyland in a way that people had never experienced before.

One of the unique concepts that came with it was the idea that the land would be set during the sequel trilogy, so only characters from the later films would appear. This made it a big deal when it was recently announced that this would be changing, as Han, Luke, Leia, and more are set to come to Disneyland in April. It’s exciting for a lot of reasons, but it’s also a bit upsetting for another reason.

The End Of The Timeline Is A Step Backward For Themed Entertainment

Universal Orlando Resort is credited with starting the trend of building theme park lands around single franchises. The first Wizarding World of Harry Potter encouraged guests to put on robes, purchase wands, and become part of the Harry Potter movies. Disney attempted its first land like this with Pandora: The World of Avatar, but it took it to another level with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

This wasn’t just a land themed to Star Wars, but a land that encouraged guests to live a Star Wars adventure, to play a role in a story that was taking place around them. It wouldn't sell Star Wars t-shirts; it would sell the things you might expect to buy on a Star Wars planet. It was a new level of themed entertainment inside a theme park that offered immersion into the story that hadn’t been available before.

The immersion was even deeper at Walt Disney World when the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opened. It offered a Star Wars story playing out around you for multiple days, with a variety of ways you could choose to take part in it. It was a huge step forward in themed entertainment.

Of course, the Galactic Starcruiser closed for business, which was the first nail in the coffin of this new era of Disney themed entertainment. The end of the timeline is the next one. At this point, it seems unlikely Disney will be trying anything like it again anytime soon, and if Disney couldn’t make it work, we probably won't see any other theme parks try it either.

Original Trilogy Characters At Galaxy’s Edge Is Still Cool

To be clear, I’m not saying that I am upset or frustrated that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is abandoning its timeline. Having these classic characters in the land is still going to be incredible. For a lot of people, this was a trade worth making.

And, Walt Disney World is still moving forward with the original vision for the land. Perhaps it will continue to add to it and find a way to create the Star Wars story that fans will embrace. Although if Disneyland's new version is a runaway success, a transformation in Florida eventually seems likely.

As a fan of themed entertainment broadly, I wanted what Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was to succeed. It was a new frontier that Disney Live Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering clearly wanted to pursue. If it had worked, there were any number of new things we might have seen at Disneyland or Disney World that would have expanded on the concept, creating new types of attractions we’d never seen before.

Maybe theme parks just aren’t the right place for this kind of more immersive entertainment? It's maybe not a surprise, but it's still a bummer.

There’s no better time to visit a theme park than the Christmas season, in my humble opinion. When a fan's favorite park is fully decorated in lights, it can absolutely transform and already fun and special place. Luckily, if you can’t make it to your favorite theme park next Christmas, there will be not one, but two different movies that will bring holiday theme park magic to you.

Brands known for family entertainment, Walt Disney World and Hallmark Channel will unite for Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True. The upcoming Hallmark movie will star channel mainstay Lacey Chablet and will be one of the few times that a major film production, especially a non-Disney one, will film inside the park. However, Disney World isn’t the only theme park getting in on the Christmas romance action.

Silver Dollar City Is Getting Its Own Holiday Romance Movie

The Great American Family cable channel, known as well as Hallmark for its family-friendly content and its heartwarming holiday fare, is teaming with Branson, Missouri’s Silver Dollar City. Said theme park which will be one of the main locations for An Ozark Mountain Christmas, a film on the 2026 holiday slate. The movie will co-star Briana Cohen and Jonathan Stoddard, both of whom have a history with this particular genre.

While the Disney Hallmark movie will simply be set at the park, with two people continually crossing paths as part of separate Disney World family vacations, Silver Dollar City's connection to its film will be even stronger. The character played by Stoddard will actually be a woodcarver who works inside SDC. Several of the other tradespeople who work inside the park will make cameo appearances in the GAF film as well.

It's a great way to bring Silver Dollar into the film's narrative, as the craft work that is done at SDC is one of the unique elements of the park. During my first visit to Silver Dollar City, that showmanship really stood out, and I'd argue it's one of the reasons the theme park that often wins fan votes for the best parks in the country.

More Theme Park Movies, Please

I’m generally not one for these sorts of films but, as a major theme park enthusiast, I love the idea of using them as backdrops for romantic films. So many people use theme parks as locations for weddings, honeymoons, anniversaries and so many other milestones in relationships. I know more than one couple who actually did fall in love at or through the theme park world, so they're fitting settings for magical romance movies.

I hope both of these theme park holiday movies are successful and that they help kick off an entire subgenre. (The world needs a Dollywood romance, with a special appearance by Dolly herself, of course.) And we'll need a sequel to this movie so a future Silver Dollar City romance flick can include the new resort currently under construction.

Outside of these films, we are seeing other theme parks becoming parts of dramatic films and series. Disneyland was used for location shooting for the upcoming Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series on Disney+. That show might debut this year, but might not arrive until 2027, as that is the character’s 100th birthday.

Back in 2019, Disneyland saw the biggest expansion in its history when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge first opened. I got to preview the land at the time, and was instantly impressed with the way it made me feel like I was in a galaxy far, far away. Having said that, it’s clear that not everybody loves the original concept for the land, specifically its setting.

The world of Batuu, the planet guests visit when going to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, was a new location in the franchise, and its setting was placed firmly in the middle of the then-unfinished sequel trilogy. This was something of a disappointment for classic Star Wars fans who wanted to see the likes of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader walking through it, and starting in April, you’ll be able to see exactly that.

Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge Is Transforming, And It’s About Time

Over the last few years, Disneyland has quietly been moving away from the first time period of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Characters like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, and even Luke Skywalker have made appearances in the park from time to time. However, today Disneyland officially announced plans to abandon the sequel trilogy timeline for most of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and add the Galactic Civil War and New Republic Era. These changes will go into effect starting April 29.

While I have nothing against the sequel trilogy (except for that last movie), and I think using an original setting like Batuu is the perfect location for a Star Wars theme park land, I, like many fans, grew up with the original trilogy, and so being able to experience a period that immediately follows those movies, complete with the characters that made, and continue to make, Star Wars great, is a welcome change.

For those who actively disliked the original concept, this is basically what they’ve wanted the whole time. For others, it’s simply welcome that a change is being made. It will add fresh life to the land and make it feel new again for those who have been there before.

Han Solo, Leia, And Darth Vader Will Join Luke Skywalker On Batuu

One of the things that made Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge great when it first opened was the way it felt alive. The denizens of Batuu would walk around and interact with guests in character. The likes of Rey or Kylo Ren weren’t standing at the end of a line for a photo op, they were wandering around and would talk to you and have in-world conversations (though Rey would still stop for a photo when she wasn’t hiding from the First Order).

That will be the case with the changes coming to Galaxy’s Edge. What will be changing are the characters you may meet. Luke Skywalker, who made a brief appearance during last year’s Season of the Force at Disneyland, will become a regular visitor to Batuu, and he’ll bring with him his dear friend Han Solo and his sister Leia Organa.

Even better, the greatest villain of them all, Darth Vader, will be on hand. Seeing him walk around Batuu looking for Luke is going to make you feel like you truly are standing in the middle of a Star Wars adventure.

Major Batuu Locations Will Change Along With The Story

This will result in shifts in the way the story around Batuu is told. In the original era of Galaxy’s Edge, Oga’s Cantina was run by a woman who had total control of the criminal underworld of the planet. Decades earlier, Oga will be relatively new to the planet, only just beginning to find her place.

Other locations, like the merch store First Order Cargo, will become Black Spire Surplus, with a new collection on offer that will be more fitting to its era. The same will be true for Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.

The Droid Depot and Savi's Workshop, where guests can build and purchase lightsabers, will undergo light story changes to match the new timeline. It sounds like running into Jedi Knight Luke at Savi's Workshop is a distinct possibility.

One complaint about Galaxy's Edge from some fans has been the lack of the franchise's iconic music. This will also change with the new update, as John Williams' incredible scores will play throughout, putting fans in the right frame of mind.

Sequel Trilogy Characters Will Still Hang Out Around Rise Of The Resistance

Rey and the Resistance won’t be gone for good, of course. There’s still a massive attraction called Rise of the Resistance, arguably the best ride at Disneyland that isn’t going away. For that reason, the area around the ride will still be dedicated to the Age of Resistance.

Rey and any other sequel trilogy characters who might get added will simply be found in this part of the land. Essentially, walking between the two attractions of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will see you travel in time as well as space. With Galaxy’s Edge being so large, there’s absolutely no problem with this concept. The two parts of the land won’t infringe on each other, and each one should make you feel like you're in its specific era.

Disney World’s Galaxy’s Edge Will Remain, Giving Fans A Choice

That sound you hear in the distance is thousands of Walt Disney World fans shouting, “Be Fair To Florida.” Unfortunately, fans hoping that Batuu East will undergo this same change are out of luck, at least for the foreseeable future. Disney World's Galaxy's Edge will not see any of these updates.

While that will likely upset some, I think it’s great. I’ve always felt that creating two identical Galaxy Edge lands at Disneyland and Disney World was an error when they could have made the land the same, but set both in different times, when different versions of the same attractions.

While I’m still waiting for that last part, the fact that the two versions of Galaxy’s Edge will have more differences is a good thing, as it gives people more of a reason to visit both locations. I’d love to see Disney World’s land introduce more sequel trilogy era characters and really begin to offer more that can’t be found at Disneyland.

These Galaxy's Edge Changes Are Coming At The Perfect Time

All of this is happening as Star Wars is about to launch what has to be seen as its second wave under the Disney brand. Following a new movie trilogy and a couple of spinoffs, we've been without Star Wars movies for several years, but that's all about to change.

Alongside the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters, the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run attraction will gain a new mission focused on the popular characters. Given everything else that's changing about Galaxy's Edge, it's a safe bet that, at least at Disneyland, this is not a temporary change.

Now is the perfect time to give Galaxy's Edge some attention and make it something a little different, and a bit more special. I'm excited for April 29 as I can't wait to see how all these changes manifest. I'm looking forward to my next trip to Batuu.

There is a lot of construction taking place at Disney World right now. Three different lands at three different parks are currently in the middle of being overhauled. These decisions have been met with no small amount of controversy, and while the one fans are most upset with is the end of the Rivers of America at Frontierland, a close second has to be the end of Muppet*Vision 3D and the upcoming Monsters Inc. land set to replace it.

Expectations are quite high considering that such a fan favorite attraction is being replaced. While I, for one, am excited that the long-rumored Monsters Inc. Door Coaster is becoming a reality, I’m still far from sure the land as a whole will end up better than what it's replacing. It will be a couple of years before we get to experience the final product, but some new information at least gives me the confidence that Disney World is starting out on the right foot.

Disney World Is Set To Spend $22.4 Million On The Muppet*Vision 3D Replacement

A new report from the Orlando Business Journal cites documents submitted to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which oversees Walt Disney World, that say the resort plans to invest $22.4 million in the new show that will replace Muppet*Vision 3D. While that number certainly pales in comparison to the costs of major E-ticket attractions (Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is rumored to have cost $500 million), it’s also not chump change.

Considering that the new theater show is not the primary draw for the new Monsters Inc. land, which will be the roller coaster, it’s valuable to see that of the $17 billion that Disney World plans to spend on improvements over the next decade, a significant piece of it will be going to what could otherwise be seen as a less important attraction.

Other than the fact that there will be some sort of Monsters Inc. show in the land, we know nothing about this attraction. A Monsters Inc. show already exists at Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. The future of that show once the new one opens is unclear.

The Monsters Inc Land Will Be Small, But Can Still Be Great

Considering that the other two major Disney World projects currently in development are a complete retheming of Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and a major overhaul of one of Magic Kingdom’s original lands, the entire Monsters Inc. project is going to be small by comparison. The Muppet Courtyard area isn’t all that big, and while it will be expanded by the Door Coaster show building, it will still likely be the smallest and cheapest of the three projects.

The fact that we’re seeing a not insignificant investment in the smallest part of the smallest new land gives me hope not only for the new Monsters Inc. land but for all the projects. Losing what has gone away is never fun, but now that it’s happened, the best we can hope for are great experiences that will take their place.

To be honest, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve spent extended time checking out all the new attractions at Walt Disney World. Last spring, my husband and I did spend a day trying to catch all the songs on Guardian’s Of The Galaxy’s Cosmic Rewind coaster at Epcot amidst a much longer Universal Studios trip, but in general time has passed since I’ve stayed at an On Property resort and had enough time to go extras like Disney Springs, mini golfing or the water parks. One benefit that’s heading to the Orlando theme park may just be enough to entice me back in those humid summer months, however.

Recently, Walt Disney World announced one special benefit that’s coming for families and childless adults alike this summer: free water park access on the day of check-in. This is a huge deal given how many formerly free perks have become monetized in recent years. Even better? During the summer of 2026, both water parks will be open at the Disney World resort, which means you can decide between pretending you are at the beach in the middle of a typhoon or the middle of a blizzard, both which have pros and cons, certainly.

How To Get The Big Water Park Benefit At Walt Disney World In Summer 2026

The only caveat? In order to get the “free” — or should I say, included? – benefit, you must be staying at a resort on property. This means resorts at varying price points from the Polynesian all the way down to the All-Star Resorts; however, it’s worth pointing out it does not include the property adjacent Swann and Dolphin. Disney made the announcement recently, noting this special promotion will run between May 26 and September 8th.

It’s interesting that the promo is running specifically during the time period most kids in the United States are out of school. Subsequently, we know that despite the hot, hot Florida heat, the parks tend to be more crowded than usual. Spreading out the numbers across a few extra parks likely helps keep those numbers manageable.

Meanwhile, as a frequent theme parkgoer, there’s something special about going to a Florida water park during the summer as a means to keep cool. It’s also super special that both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach will be options this summer. The water parks are honestly quite different, and not just due to theming. Despite this, I can’t remember the last time Disney had both parks operating simultaneously in the summer. The news was so shocking CinemaBlend's own Dirk Libbey thought it was an April Fool's joke. Now, getting to choose between them and go upon arrival is total added benefit.

If you were looking for a reason to check out or return to the parks, this could be it.

Honestly, I typically avoid the summer crowds, and originally my partner and I had were not planning a jaunt over to Orlando until later in the year. But I've been mulling this theme park thing for days now, and something about rolling up to a Disney World resort on a hot day and popping over to a water park is honestly making me rethink this year's theme park plans-- particularly given all the new attractions coming in 2026.

Now, I just need to make a few more decisions: Is it a year to go Coronado Springs or the year we shell out for something on the monorail line? Is May or September the best time of year to enjoy fun in the sun? And, of course, what the heck am I gonna wear?

Considering the sheer volume of live entertainment that goes on at Walt Disney World, it’s sort of remarkable how much of it goes off every day without a problem. Unfortunately, yesterday, during a performance of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the worst sort of accident took place, which very nearly resulted in significant injury to many guests in attendance had it not been for a Cast Member with an Indiana Jones level of heroism.

A Disney World Cast Member Prevented Serious Injury To Guests

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been running since August 1989, only three months after the park opened. It recreates several set pieces from Raiders of the Lost Ark, including the famous shot of Indy running from a rolling boulder. During a performance of the show yesterday, however, the boulder jumped its track and went bouncing toward the audience, and it would have hit the crowd had another Cast Member working the show not jumped in front of it.

The incident was captured on video and posted to TikTok before being shared by theme park reporter and friend Scott Gustin.

The “boulder” is made of rubber, but it still weighs 400 pounds, according to Walt Disney World. It certainly would have caused some injuries to the guests had it not been stopped. Needless to say, the man who stopped it is an absolute hero, and while he didn’t walk away without injuries himself, he is reportedly doing ok.

The Injured Cast Member Is Reportedly In Recovery

As Scott Gustin reported, the Disney Cast member seen being hit by the boulder received immediate care. Another Disney Cast member later posted to X that the man who put his body on the line is named James (last name currently unknown), and that he received six stitches from the impact and is currently in the hospital, but he seems to be otherwise ok.

The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is running on schedule today, though it’s reportedly happening without the boulder stunt while Disney World investigates the incident. Given the fact that the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular has been running nearly continuously for more than 35 years, there are frequent rumors that it might get replaced. A new Indiana Jones attraction is coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom, with construction slated to begin in early 2026 following the closing of the current Dinosaur ride.

There is no Cast Member compliment big enough to show just how far above and beyond James went to ensure that guests at the show were safe. I hope the man has a speedy recovery and receives a hero’s welcome from his fellow Disney World Cast Members when he gets out of the hospital.

There are only a couple of days left in 2025, which has been a big year for the theme park industry, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still time for big changes at your favorite theme parks. This year has been a huge one for the beginning of change at Walt Disney World, specifically. We’ve said goodbye to the Rivers of America and farewell to most of Dinoland U.S.A. Now, we must say goodbye to the true icon of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the PizzeRizzo sign.

However, I don't think we should worry too much about this development yet.

The PizzeRizzo Sign Is Gone

Grand Avenue, otherwise known as the Muppet Courtyard, closed earlier this year to make way for a new land dedicated to Monsters Inc. This meant that the fan favorite Muppet*Vision 3D has seen its last show, and that surprisingly popular eatery PizzeRizzo’s had served its last rat pizza. However, the massive sign advertising said rat pizza had still been visible over construction walls, reminding us of simpler times.

Unfortunately, as captured in pictures from BlogMickey, the PizzeRizzo sign was removed overnight, as it wasn’t visible when visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios this morning. For many, this is the end of an era. However, I’m not fully convinced that we’ve said goodbye forever, at least not entirely.

The New Monsters Inc. Land Is Just Going To Get A Rethemed Pizza Place, Right?

PizzeRizzo is gone, but the reason people loved PizzeRizzo isn’t only because they loved the iconic rat Muppet. That’s certainly part of it, but people also liked… you know, the food, and the general atmosphere of the place, and I’m not sure that part of it will be gone forever.

We don’t know officially what will replace the PizzeRizzo location, but it could easily turn into another quick-service dining location of some sort. I’d wager that Disney World will keep it as a pizza place, if only because the infrastructure for making that food already exists, pizza is a fairly popular theme park food, and there really isn’t any place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to get it with PizzeRizzo gone.

There are other possibilities, of course. Harryhausen's is a Japanese restaurant that features prominently in the first Monsters Inc. movie, so recreating that for the new theme park land would make sense, as it would give people a chance to visit a spot from the film. Don't get me wrong, I love sushi, but unless the park is willing to go high-end, something on par with Shiki-Sai at Epcot, then the idea of theme park sushi becomes...less than appetizing.

I’d expect that when the new Monsters Inc. land opens, it will do so with a Monsters Inc. themed pizza place where everything but the theme is essentially what we had before. Will it be exactly the same? No, some people will still miss PizzeRizzo just because, but for those who miss the pizza, I think there’s a chance it will be back before too long.

2025 was a pretty incredible year for the theme park industry. Every year brings new attractions, new experiences, and, most importantly, new food to theme parks around the world, but how often do adventure-seekers get something as big as a brand new theme park? Not often enough, to say the least.

Yes, any year-end look at the best new additions to themed entertainment has to include the elephant (or in this case, dragon) in the room, Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe theme park. While it absolutely was the biggest new addition to the to the industry, and arguably the best one, it certainly wasn't the only thing worth celebrating in 2025. But let's present it with its flowers before shifting the spotlight to other debuts.

Epic Universe Is Worthy Of The Hype

Expectations were high when it was officially announced that Universal Orlando Resort was adding a third gate (I won’t call the Volcano Bay Water Park a theme park, and you can’t make me). Expectations were so high that it was probably fairly unlikely that the actual finished product would meet them. And yet it did. Epic Universe is a must-do for any theme park fan.

I got to visit Epic Universe before most people, and I experienced every attraction Epic Universe had to offer. In short, it’s worthy of the hype. It has two of the greatest dark rides ever created in Monsters Unchained and Battle at the Ministry of Magic. It has deeply immersive lands that bring to life multiple popular worlds from your favorite films and video games. But even the non-IP-focused areas are well done and fun to experience. It’s a truly incredible achievement.

The Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic Is Something Special

On the opposite end of the scale, quite literally, we go from a massive theme park to a single animated figure. However, this is no ordinary figure, Walt Disney: A Magical Life brought the founder of the Disney company himself to life in a way that was previously impossible. It was also more than a little controversial.

While the physical design of Walt isn’t perfect, the face mould, it has to be said, doesn’t look exactly like him; it speaks with his voice, and it moves in such a real way that you don’t focus on the parts that don’t work as well. From a technical standpoint alone, it’s a massive leap forward for Disney’s industry-leading audio-animatronics. A second Walt audio-animatronic is slated for Walt Disney World, and if it improves on the original, it will truly be something special.

Fan Fest Nights Was An Incredible New Universal Event

I used to be down on hard ticket events at theme parks. They frequently cost more than a standard ticket, while offering guests limited access to the attractions for fewer total hours. And yet, over the last few years, I have attended several of them, and I have become a believer. Many of them offer experiences you simply can’t have during a normal theme park day that are not to be missed.

This year, I attended Universal Studios Hollywood’s famed Halloween Horror Nights for the first time, but the event that I loved was Fan Fest Nights, which took the proven HHN concept and applied it non non-horror franchises. Being able to stand on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and actually walk the town square of Hill Valley from Back to the Future was absolutely incredible, and worth the price of any ticket.

The John Wick Experience Puts You In The World Of John Wick

Themed Entertainment is about making you feel like you’re part of your favorite stories. Theme parks largely do an impressive job of this for the short period you’re in a line and on a ride. A ride on Tron: Lightcycle Run can make you feel like you’re on The Grid, but it takes something a bit more immersive to make you feel like you’re John Wick.

The John Wick Experience opened in Las Vegas early in 2025, and it’s one of the experiences I had this year I would absolutely go back and do again. It brought the world of John Wick and the Continental Hotel to life in a way no theme park attraction could have accomplished. You become part of a real story, interacting with other Hotel employees, solving puzzles, while experiencing set pieces derived from the films. You get to fire a gun and even have a drink at the Continental bar. Your room is ready.

Disneyland’s 70th Celebration Is The Greatest Hits (And More) Of Modern Disneyland

It’s hard to believe that Disneyland turned 70 years old in 2025. A birthday that significant requires a big party, and Disneyland is currently throwing one that will last until August 2026. For the most part, this celebration has involved bringing back popular entertainment from years past, like the exquisite Paint the Night parade and the Wonderous Journeys nighttime spectacular.

However, there are some truly great new additions as well. World of Color: Happiness may not be the best version of Disney California Adventure’s nightly spectacular, but the truth is, there has never been a bad World of Color. The Tapestry of Happiness, however, is an absolute highlight. The show is projected on the side of It’s A Small World, and it's a beautiful presentation that runs through the history of Disneyland, including calling out great attractions that are long gone, and celebrating the people who made them. It’s my favorite part of the entire 70th Celebration and absolutely not to be missed.

2025 has been great, but 2026 is setting up to be just as great. Universal will open yet another new theme park, Universal Kids Resort in Texas. Bluey is coming to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World next year. Both resorts will offer brand new versions of Soarin, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, to celebrate the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu.

The Fast & Furious franchise is finally getting the roller coaster it deserves, but the best new ride at any theme park next year may actually be found at Dollywood. Thank you, 2025, but I can’t wait to experience what’s next.

There are a few rides at Disneyland that everybody should do when they find themselves there. Space Mountain is the park’s best roller coaster, and the Haunted Mansion is, I think, the best ride at Disneyland. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the most expansive and impressive. However, one of the all-time great theme park rides is Pirates of the Caribbean.

Yes, Pirates is iconic. Even if you’ve never been on the ride, there are going to be parts of it you’re at least familiar with, if only because they have been referenced in the massive movie franchise inspired by the ride. Yet it turns out the ride’s most famous scene may have actually been borrowed from a sitcom with just as much prestige.

An Old Episode Of The Andy Griffith Show May Have Inspired A Classic Disneyland Ride Scene

If I asked you to think about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, whether you’ve ever actually been on it or not, there’s a good chance you’re mental picture of the ride is one particularly famous scene. It's one that includes pirates locked in a jail cell, trying to get the attention of a dog that is holding the key to the door in its mouth. The scene was originally conceived by Imagineer and Disney Legend Marc Davis, but it turns out he may have gotten the idea from… Andy Griffith?

Tom K. Morris is a former member of Walt Disney Imagineering, but he’s also a font of knowledge about Disney history. In a recent post on Twitter, he revealed an episode of The Andy Griffith Show from 1964 that includes a similar sequence where Andy and Barney are locked in their own jail, and the dog has the key.

The episode of the show was from the fall of 1964. Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Disneyland as part of the new New Orleans Square area in 1967. It would have been right around the time the episode aired that Pirates was being redeveloped from a walkthrough attraction to the boat ride we know today, following the development of It’s A Small World for the 1964 World’s Fair.

How Possible Is It That This Bit Of Inspiration Is True?

As for the legitimacy of all this, the timing here, as mentioned by Tom K. Morris does makes sense. It’s entirely possible that Marc Davis, the Imagineer who developed the sequence, saw this episode on TV, and it inspired him to create the moment for the new ride. Considering Davis also had a strong hand in creating the Haunted Mansion and, even in making Splash Mountain happen, though more indirectly, I wonder if any part of those also has classic TV origins.

The fact that this could have happened does not mean that it did. It’s entirely possible The Andy Griffith Show inspired Pirates of the Caribbean, but unless we can somehow prove Marc Davis watched the episode, and did so before coming up with his own design for the scene, we can’t know for sure that it happened exactly like this. I'd love to believe this is the real story though, and I'm happy this info is now out in the universe.

Avatar is a strange film franchise. It’s one that has, in its first two movies, made two of the highest-grossing movies ever made, and yet, it has been accused of having no cultural impact whatsoever. While James Cameron has been trying to manage expectations on Avatar: Fire and Ash, the movie is clearly going to make some box office bank, once again showing that people are interested in these movies.

The idea that Avatar was this franchise that everybody had forgotten about never made sense to me. Maybe that’s because, as a theme park journalist, it has been part of my life for years. Since 2017, years before even The Way of Water was released, Pandora: The World of Avatar has been part of Walt Disney World. And now, part of Disney World has become the best part of Fire and Ash.

James Cameron Has Been Teasing Fire And Ash’s Windtraders For Years

Disney bought the theme park rights to the Avatar franchise way back in 2011, two years after the first film became the highest-grossing movie ever made. Construction began on a theme park land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World back in 2014, and a little over three years later, the land opened to much fanfare.

It primarily focused on the original movie, including a ride where you floated down a Na’vi river and one where you rode on the back of a banshee. However, even back then, it was clear that James Cameron was thinking about the future of his alien world, as elements of future films became part of the land at the beginning.

The end of Avatar: Flight of Passage, the banshee ride attraction, saw a massive whale-like creature jumping from the water. It was an animal we would come to know in Avatar: The Way of Water as a Tulkun. But there was also a reference in Fire and Ash that’s been there the whole time. The gift shop in the Avatar land has been called Windtraders since day one, and now we finally know what that means.

The Windtraders Were The Highlight Of The New Avatar, And Could Have Been So Much More

As a theme park fan, I was excited to see the Windtraders come to life in Fire and Ash. It was revealed long before the movie’s release that the characters would make an appearance. The only thing about them that I found disappointing was that they weren’t in the movie nearly enough.

Of the two new tribes of Na’vi that the film introduced, I found the Windtraders far more interesting. Their method of transportation, on massive freight carriers strapped to flying animals, was the coolest thing to look at in 3D in the whole movie. The people themselves, a tribe focused on commerce, and thus trying to stay out of the conflict, also had far more potential for drama than the more traditional villains.

The action sequence involving the Windtraders, which sees a battle in the air when the Ash People attack, is also the highlight of the movie as far as the action goes. The finale battle is bigger, but it’s largely set pieces we saw in the last movie. This fight felt fresh, new, and different in ways most of the rest of the movie simply didn’t.

Needless to say, when that battle is over and the Windtraders disappear from the story, it was quite disappointing. In the end, the characters only seem to exist as a way to transport Jake Sully and his family to the place where they come in conflict with Varang and her Ash People. Once that happens, their utility as characters is done. It would have been nice to see them return at the end to fight the Ash People in retribution for the earlier slaughter. If nothing else, it would have added a new element to the fight.

James Cameron seems to be hedging his bets and sounds far less than certain that Avatar 4 and 5 will actually happen. If they do, I certainly hope we see more of the Windtraders. There’s an opportunity there that I wish Fire and Ash had taken advantage of.

Happy Christmas, everyone! This week comes the biggest holiday of the year, and with it comes a list of special gifts from all your favorite streaming platforms. There have been plenty of new movies hitting streaming this month, as well as a highly publicized new series, and this week, we get new episodes of a Netflix series that is getting ready to say goodbye.

Supernatural - December 22 (Peacock)

In the era of streaming, one show staying in one place for over a decade is nearly unheard of, and yet, Supernatural, which ran for an incredible 15 seasons, has spent the last 13 years available on Netflix. This week, that changes as it leaves the streaming giant for a new home. If you were in the middle of a massive binge-watch watch you’ll need a Peacock subscription now if you want to finish it.

Ne Zha 2 - December 24 (HBO Max)

It’s been a big year at the Hollywood box office, but worldwide, one movie has had Hollywood in the rear-view mirror. Ne Zha 2 is the highest-grossing movie of the year, and one of the most successful movies ever made. If you missed the film’s brief domestic box office release, you’ll be able to catch it this week with an HBO Max subscription.

Goodbye June - December 24 (Netflix)

Goodbye June, the first directorial effort from Kate Winslet, is technically a Christmas movie, and it comes out on Christmas Eve. However, it may not be your typical holiday story. The film, written by Winslet’s son, stars Helen Mirren as June, the dying matriarch of a family that includes Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, and Toni Collette. This one promises to be emotional.

Stranger Things 5: Volume 2 - December 25 (Netflix)

The Christmas gift that comes with your Netflix subscription this holiday season is the second batch of episodes of the final season of Stranger Things. It’s all leading to the finale on New Year’s Eve, which you’ll be able to watch on Netflix or in theaters if you prefer.

2025 Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade - December 25 (Disney+)

There’s nothing quite like the holiday season at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but since the 1980s, those of us who can’t be at the happiest place on earth have been able to experience that extra bit of Christmas joy with the Disney Parks Christmas Parade. This year’s event is hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Zootopia 2’s Ginnifer Goodwin and will include performances by Gwen Stefani, Coco Jones, Iam Tongi, Lady A, Nicole Scherzinger, Mariah the Scientist, and Bebe Rexha.

The Copenhagen Test - December 27 (Peacock)

Before Simu Liu returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year in Avengers: Doomsday, he has a brand new sci-fi series debuting on Peacock. The Copenhagen Test will see Liu as a spy who discovers that his body has been hacked to obtain classified information. Melissa Barerra co-stars.

Next week sees December come to an end and January get underway. With not only a new month but a new year arriving, you can be sure a lot of your favorite streaming content will get shuffled around on January 1. We’ll be here to let you know where it all is, and what’s worth watching.

When Walt Disney chose Central Florida as the home for his project that would become Walt Disney World, he knew exactly what he wanted to create. However, he likely had no idea what sort of an impact he would have on the area beyond his own ideas. Orlando isn’t just home to Walt Disney World; it’s the place that any other themed entertainment endeavor looking for success goes as well.

From Universal Orlando Resort to SeaWorld Orlando to Fun Spot and more, are you even in the themed entertainment industry if you don’t have a location in Orlando? And while most people go to Orlando to visit Disney World or Universal Orlando, I’m going to have a new destination on my next trip, because neither of those two theme park resorts has a Slotharium.

Sloth World Is Coming To Orlando In 2026

As reported by Attractions Magazine, Sloth World is set to open in the Orlando area in 2026. Yes, you read that right, an entire facility dedicated to the conservation of and education about the sloth. Sloth World promises to have over 40 sloths climbing, or more than likely not climbing, on natural trees and vines, as well as other structures.

Look, the sloth is an absolutely awesome animal. It gets to live the dream of being arguably the laziest animal on Earth. They sleep something like 20 hours a day. That is, when they're driving too fast around Zootopia. Just imagine how great that would be. And sloths are just oddly adorable, too.

And while Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a lot of incredible animals, it doesn't have sloths. While they used to be there, they've been gone for a few years, so there has been a distinct lack of sloths in Orlando for a long time. The Central Florida Zoo does have a sloth, but only one. That makes Sloth World 40 times better. I did the math.

So Many Sloths, So Little Time

We’ve all been to a zoo and seen a sloth, but more than likely, that sloth had been sleeping, doing absolutely nothing. But when you have more than 40 sloths to see on the same visit, pure random chance means that at least some of them will be eating or exploring, so you’ll get to actually see a sloth do something, maybe for the first time ever.

Sloth World will open in a 7,500 square foot facility and be located on International Drive in Orlando, which is where basically everything that isn’t a Disney or Universal theme park can be found in Orlando. That gives it a prime location where tourists might just happen actress it with a couple of spare hours and figure, “Hey, let’s go look at sloths.” Because who doesn't love sloths?

In all seriousness, or at least more seriousness, I love that something like Sloth World is going to exist. It’s exactly the sort of wild idea for an experience that you’ll only see in Orlando or places like it. I can't wait to visit Sloth World.

One of the biggest deals in the history of the entertainment industry is about to go down. And yet, the details of exactly how that will happen are anything but clear. While it seems all but certain that Netflix will be acquiring Warner Bros. in the coming months, there is at least the chance that things may not go that way, as Paramount is looking to play spoiler.

Up to this point, everybody is concerned about Warner Bros. studio and the future of streaming. What will happen to theatrical distribution? Will Netflix and HBO Max merge into one platform? These are good questions, worth asking, but let me ask another. What about theme parks?

The Fate Of Warner Bros. Is A Bit Unclear Right Now

Warner Bros. put itself on the auction block earlier this year, leading to it being all but certain that the storied film studio would become the property of another. Paramount seemed like the most likely option, considering the other recently purchased studio was anything but shy about its intent, and yet, when the dust cleared, it was Netflix that apparently had the best offer.

And yet, Paramount has recently launched an attempt at a hostile takeover by offering far more money per share to stockholders than the Netflix deal will provide. While Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos seems unworried, the future is far from clear.

Netflix Taking Over Warner Bros. Will Likely Super Charge The Studio’s Themed Entertainment Plans

As somebody who covers the theme park industry, I always consider how any major change in the entertainment landscape may impact the industry of themed entertainment, and to be blunt, Netflix taking over Warner Bros. has the potential to cause a major shake-up in the industry, even though WB’s theme park presence is minimal.

Netflix is a company that understands the value of themed entertainment. While the world doesn’t have a Netflix theme park (yet), by the time you read this, the company will have opened its second Netflix House complex in as many months, with a third location already planned for Las Vegas.

These are small locations, with a couple of themed spaces based on popular Netflix IPs like Wednesday and Squid Game, and a Netflix Bites restaurant. It makes sense that Netflix would want to start small. There's no reason to invest the time and money into larger themed experiences off the bat.

But if Netflix does indeed buy Warner Bros., then Netflix is going to jump from a smaller player in themed entertainment to a major one, essentially overnight. This is because they will take ownership of one of the biggest theme park IPs in the world, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has been a key part of Universal’s theme park success over the last several years, with all three of Universal Orlando Resort’s three parks having a Wizarding World of Harry Potter land.

This would be a massive shift for Netflix, which would likely simply increase the speed with which it grows in the themed entertainment space. Whether they build more of their own locations, with a lot more IP available, or work with existing theme park companies, like Universal, or even Disney, we could see Netflix become a major player in this very quickly.

Could A New Warner Bros. License DC To Universal?

Of course, Warner Bros. has another major IP that most would agree has been underutilized in the theme park space, DC Comics. While DC has been working with Six Flags for years, all this has amounted to is using DC Comic characters in the names of attractions like roller coasters. We’ve seen no real DC-focused themed entertainment. A recent report indicated that Warner Bros. has been talking to Universal about just such an endeavor, which on its own would be quite a big shift

The most intriguing element of such a deal is that Universal already has a deal with Marvel, from the pre-Disney days that brought its cast of characters to Universal Islands of Adventure years ago. As such, Disney itself has been limited in what it can do with theme park attractions in Florida. It would be quite the coup if Universal ended up with Marvel and DC attractions in the same resort.

Of course, there’s reason to believe Disney wouldn’t want that sort of competition, and even Universal might not be looking to overdo the comic book characters in its parks. This opens the door to Universal possibly trading Marvel for DC. As such, a licensing deal between Universal and Warner Bros at least has the potential to be a huge boon for Disney, giving them back the rights to make Marvel attractions at Walt Disney World.

Paramount Looks To Be Planning New Endeavors In Themed Entertainment

And of course, there’s still the dark horse in all this. At this point, it’s far from clear just what sort of chance Paramount might have at making its hostile takeover work. Netflix says it’s not worried, but if by some miracle it did happen, this would massively impact the theme park industry in entirely different ways.

Paramount had its own theme park division in the ‘90s that included King’s Island and Great America in California, but it got out of the business in 2007 when it sold its parks to Cedar Fair. However, Paramount is now looking to take another shot at the themed entertainment business. Paramount Global is behind the design of Star City, a new resort area in South Korea that will include the Hwaseong International Theme Park, which will use Paramount IP for attractions. It’s expected to open in 2030.

A Top Gun-themed standalone attraction is also currently in development with plans to open in Las Vegas in 2028. There are also plans to open additional locations, including potentially in the heart of theme park world, Orlando, FL.

The combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. on the experiences side would, just like Netflix, likely accelerate Paramount’s growth in the industry significantly. Paramount has some franchises that would have to be appealing for any theme park looking to add lands or attractions, including Mission: Impossible, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and, arguably, the biggest franchise in the world currently without a major theme park presence, Star Trek. Giving Paramount access to Universal through the Harry Potter license could open the door to these other franchises more easily finding a theme park home.

Themed Entertainment Is Becoming A Key Asset for Media Companies

However the Warner Bros. situation finally shakes out, the themed entertainment business should not be overlooked. There’s a reason that Disney and Universal invest so much of their respective companies into theme parks are other experiential offerings, like Disney’s Cruise Line.

These things basically print money, and that’s going to be the case for whoever ends up taking over Warner Bros. Experiences Division. It isn’t just the film franchises that matter. It’s what can be done with them.