We’re officially on vacation and heading to Walt Disney World tonight, but its been a busy week in terms of park news so I wanted to send out a quick news and rumor post before heading to the airport. Let’s start with the the biggie…
Disney has announced the opening dates for the Rise of the Resistance attractions. In a somewhat shocking twist, the ride will actually open in Walt Disney World before it does at Disneyland. The ride will open December 5 at Hollywood Studios, while the California version has been pushed to January 17, 2020.
The new Gran Destino Tower has opened at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Early reviews seem to indicate the tower is a home run. It legit looks like Deluxe Resort quality at Moderate Resort (or just slightly above) pricing. We will be staying at the resort next week and look forward to reporting back on it! For now, head on over to Blog Mickey to check out his opening day experience at the hotel.
In related news, a new signature dining experience opened along with the new tower. Toledo: Tapas, Steaks and Seafood is located on the top floor of the tower, offering great views of both Epcot and Hollywood Studios in the distance. WDWNT dined there on opening night and had mixed results with the food. Hopefully its just some early kinks needing to be worked out. We will have a full review of the restaurant after our trip!
Animal Kingdom’s Primeval Whirl coaster will remain closed through at least July 20. The spinning wild mouse style coaster closed in mid June for what appeared to routine maintenance, however it remains closed almost a month later. As of right now, all fastpasses prior to July 20 have been cancelled.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch has reopened at Animal Kingdom Park. In addition to previous offerings, the area now features a Lion King version of the previously retired Animation Academy. We loved the drawing various characters back in the day at Hollywood Studios, so its cool to see this come back in any form. Fastpass is available for the experience, but doesn’t seem to be necessary at all. Head on over to wdwnt for an in depth look at the newly re-opened area.
Finally, it looks like we have a better idea of when the new Skyliner will debut at Walt Disney World. The new transportation option is set to open 3 of it’s 5 stations next month ahead of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. The Pop Century / Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach Resort and Hollywood Studios lines will be the first to open; with the Epcot station opening later this year in addition to the new Riviera Resort in December. While this project has a lot of haters, we are cautiously optimistic and are excited for it to finally open!
That will do it for this weeks news and rumors roundup. Be sure to follow us over the course of the next week as we report live from Walt Disney World.
Bye for now!
WDW Therapy: A Disney State of Mind 