Hello, and welcome to Dateline Disney World! With 2018 coming to a close, I’d like to take week’s column to round up what’s coming to Disney World next year. The number of things opening next year is unprecedented in WDW history.
Since I wasn’t able to make it to the parks this week, the photos you see below are my favorites from throughout 2018. They bring back a lot of memories and I hope you enjoy them.
Magic Kingdom
Starting in the middle of January, several new experiences are headed to the park. Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration is set to debut at the Magic Kingdom. The Move It! Shake It! show will be renamed Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! in honor of the Big Cheese turning 90 years old. There will also be new songs added to the Dapper Dans setlist to celebrate Disney’s #1 power couple.
There will be some major closures at the park as part of the construction of the new Tron themed roller coaster heading to Tomorrowland. The WDW Railroad is already down, and you can expect some downtime for the Tomorrowland Speedway early in the year as well.
Epcot
If you’re visiting WDW in the beginning half of the year, make sure to visit Epcot and get in your last viewings of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This show will retire after the summer of 2019, and will be temporarily replaced by a show called EPCOT Forever while the new show is finalized and set to launch in 2020.
‘
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is joining in the first half of the year fun with a Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party on Discovery Island. This will be led by Timon and Rafiki. There will also be special Lion King photo ops through the park, which should line right up with the beginning of the marketing push for the Jon Favreau remake that hits theaters in the summer.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Over at Hollywood Studios, and also starting in January, will be the unveiling of Pixar Place. The area is being revamped into a city block in Municiberg, which is of course, a city in the Incredibles franchise. There will be a block party in that space, as well as a meet and greet with Edna Mode. Mike and Sulley will also get their own meet and greet inside the Walt Disney Presents building.
In the spring, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy opens at the end of Sunset Blvd at Hollywood Studios. This show should bring you face to face with Lightning himself, and have some interactive elements where he teaches you how to drive. Cruz Ramirez will also be hanging out outside the attraction.
Looking toward the fall of 2019, this is where the heavy hitters start to open. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is set to open at Hollywood Studios, replacing the Great Movie Ride. The show scenes employ a technology Disney is calling 2.5D, which should be like a 3D digital show scene without having to wear 3D glasses. This attraction has a lot to live up to replacing a beloved classic, but all signs are positive about this one.
Finally, the big daddy of 2019 is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. Following in the footsteps of its Disneyland counterpart, which is set to open in the summer, we are looking at a late fall opening for Batuu in Orlando. This massive land looks to be the crown jewel of modern Imagineering, with detail and scale we haven’t seen before at Disney World. The land will pack in two major attractions. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will give us the opportunity to fly the most famous hunk of junk in the galaxy and may dictate how the rest of your stay in the land goes. The other major attraction is entitled Rise of the Resistance and should put guests right into the middle of a massive battle between the good guys and bad guys. This attraction is said to be the most epic in Disney Parks history, so look for Disney to throw the kitchen sink at making this something that will truly be worth the massive crowds and wait times.
Skyliner
The Disney Skyliner system is also set to open in 2019, which will help transport guests from Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and the new Riviera Resort (adjacent to Caribbean Beach) to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot. These gondolas do not hold many people, lack air conditioning, and may not be able to run in thunderstorm conditions, but only time will tell as to the success of the project.
OCTOBER 2019 MICECHAT WDW INVASION & CARIBBEAN CRUISE
For information on this magical MiceTrip, please contact:
Exciting stuff for WDW 2019, especially in the latter half of the year. After a decade of perhaps one new thing a year, 2019 will be a breathless cascade of openings. What are you most excited for? And what do you think will be the surprise hits beyond Galaxy’s Edge? Please let us know in the comments below.
If you appreciate what we do here and would like to support Dateline Disney World, you can shop at Amazon.com using my link (please CLICK HERE before you do). It won’t cost you any extra, and it’ll help out the column!!
You must be logged in to post a comment.