Category: Blog Mickey

In a bit of an unprecedented move, the lobby of an attraction has reopened while the main attraction remains closed for refurbishment. Actually, it’s somewhat unclear if the Hall of Presidents is actually closed for refurbishment or for another reason – there is no signage at the attraction that suggests that it is closed for refurbishment. Guests are walking in, fully expecting to watch the show. We made it out to Magic Kingdom today to try and learn more. Hall of Presidents Lobby Reopens, Show Remains Dark The doors to the Hall of Presidents are now open, and any signage mentioning the refurbishment has been removed. That said, there are no showtimes posted outside of the attraction, and Cast Members are verbally advising guests that the attraction is still under refurbishment. The Hall of Presidents webpage says that the attraction is closed for refurbishment and will reopen later this year. It is interesting that the building has presumably been turned back over to park operations, perhaps indicating the end of the work that Walt Disney Imagineering has to do on the attraction. There are no abnormal barricades that would indicate ongoing construction or work. In fact, we’ve seen Cast Members utilizing backstage doors, and even maintenance Cast Members are present – perhaps indicating that Imagineers have moved out. Walt Disney World has not returned multiple requests for comment on the status of the attraction. During the 2020 election cycle, Disney confirmed the future status

Welcome to the fifth month of construction/refurbishment of the Main Street Railroad Station at Magic Kingdom. The project began earlier this year following the holiday surge in crowds and has been in some state of work ever since. Surprisingly, the construction appears to have expanded for the project that appears to be never-ending. We made it out to Magic Kingdom recently to take a look. New Tile Flooring at Main Street Railroad Station As you can see from the photo above, the entire second floor is now being worked on as work expands from the previous approach of keeping at least half of the station open at a time. Actually, the station itself remains open and has been open the entire time, allowing guests to board and disembark the Walt Disney World Railroad at Main Street USA. What is closed off is the outdoor portion of the second floor. Let’s get a closer look. The central staircase and western staircase remain open during the work, with the eastern staircase blocked off to guest traffic. If you’d like to use the station, you’ll have to use the two available staircases to get to the boarding area. For disembarking, the exit ramps remain open. At the top of the steps, you get to enjoy the EPCOT Experience, with construction progress walls creating a sort of mousetrap maze that allows you to access the station or central staircase. Hopefully all of this work will

Cool Ship, the quick-grab snack kiosk in Tomorrowland, has disappeared. The location has been under refurbishment since mid-May, but was removed recently as part of the ongoing work. Walt Disney World has not disclosed any details for the refurbishment, but it is believed that the Cool Ship will return. Here’s what we know. Cool Ship Removed During Refurbishment Officially, Walt Disney World says that the closure is temporary and that the kiosk will reopen later this year. That would suggest that the Cool Ship will return. Walt Disney World has not returned a request for comment about the refurbishment. Here’s what Disney says on its website: Cool Ship is temporarily closed for refurbishment and is expected to reopen later this year.Walt Disney World website Cool Ship (2021) Here’s a look at the work from our recent visit to Magic Kingdom, and a spin around Tomorrowland on the PeopleMover. As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

It’s a new dawn at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and there is a new map for guests looking to traverse the park. The new map removes the currently closed Muppets Courtyard area, and now features the two new stage shows. New Hollywood Studios Map The new map features Maleficent on the cover from the all-new Villains: Unfairly Ever After stage show now playing in the Sunset Showcase building near Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

Last night was the final day of operation for MuppetVision 3D. More accurately, it was the final day of operation for regular guests to experience the 15-minute 3D film from 1991. Cast Members will lay claim to viewing the final showing of the classic film during a June 10th exclusive party. That said, the area is now closed off to guests, and we made it out to Disney’s Hollywood Studios this morning to take a look. Muppets Courtyard Blocked Off to Guests As you can see in the photos below, the area is now blocked off to guests. More permanent construction walls are expected to arrive following the Cast Member party. Officially, construction has not exactly begun yet, but it will start very shortly after Cast Members say their final goodbye to the classic Hollywood Studios attraction. Muppets Moving Out, Monsters Moving In So, why is Muppets Courtyard and MuppetVision 3D closed? An all-new Monsters Inc.-themed land will be built in their place. As you can see from the concept art below, many of the buildings will remain in place, but there will be some notable changes beyond just a retheme of the area. In the concept art below, we have labeled the old venue names to help you better visualize what is coming. In short, the PizzeRizzo building will remain in place but rethemed. The MuppetVision 3D theater will remain standing, with a new show set to replace the

Walt Disney World has fully rebuilt the Astro Orbiter during a lengthy refurbishment that saw the ride system and most of the theming removed. While visiting Magic Kingdom today, we stopped by Tomorrowland for an updated look at the work, including some detailed shots of the very vibrant planets. Astro Orbiter Rebuilt at Magic Kingdom Not only have the planets returned, but so have the ride vehicles. There was no movement when we visited earlier today, but we expect that ride testing will be underway shortly. It’s unknown if the planets will move when the ride reopens or not. Here’s a look around! We also jumped on the Tomorrowland PeopleMover to enjoy some views from around the land. Walt Disney World has not announced a reopening date for the Astro Orbiter, but it is very likely that it will be open before the nearby Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin closes sometime in August. As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

With news that The Muppets will be taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster sometime in 2026, Walt Disney World has announced that the Aerosmith version of the ride will remain open through the end of 2025. Walt Disney World did not return a request for comment about a more specific closing date. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith Closing Permanently in 2026 The retheme of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster into a Muppets-themed ride ticks a couple of boxes for Walt Disney World. First, it is very likely that Disney wanted to distance itself from Aerosmith over the years, and just needed the right concept to do so. Second, it gives fans of The Muppets something to experience now that MuppetVision 3D is closed (well, today is its final day of operation). Here’s what Walt Disney World has said about the current version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Fans of Aerosmith can keep rockin’ out to their tunes in the super-stretch through 2025!Walt Disney World Walt Disney World has not returned a request for comment about a more specific closure timeframe for the Aerosmith version of the ride. It appears that Disney is leaving open the option to close Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith starting January 1, 2026. That said, Disney typically waits until closer to the end of the first week of the year before closing rides to allow the holiday crowds to continue to enjoy them. If I had to guess,

On the day of the MuppetVision 3D permanent closure, Walt Disney World has announced that The Muppets takeover of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will debut in 2026. A more exact timeframe has not yet been announced. A closure date for the Aerosmith version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has not yet been announced, but Walt Disney World has said that it will remain open through the end of 2025 (at least). Muppets Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Opening in 2026 Hi Ho everyone! @TheMuppets are packing up and moving to Sunset Blvd for their first ever coaster! Grab your guitar (or banjo), because Rock ’N’ Roller Coaster Starring @TheMuppets speeds into Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2026! pic.twitter.com/ldltI3dGmi— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) June 7, 2025 In terms of what to expect when The Muppets take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, we haven’t seen anything yet to suggest that it will be a substantial change. In terms of physical sets, there probably isn’t a huge need to demolish and create anything new of significance. We’d expect the same roller coaster layout, the same spacious gravity building – perhaps even the same black light flat scenes within the ride. There probably isn’t a huge need to change the load area or launch area theming – the vehicles can stay the same too. In fact, it’s possible that the switchover will require relatively minimal downtime, with the pre-show video and perhaps some simple props in display cases throughout the queue being

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) Board of Supervisors meetings certainly aren’t as fiery as they used to be when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney were deep in litigation. That said, there are still some interesting tidbits to glean in between mundane contract approvals as the District gets back to the business at hand that it is so good at. In a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, an interesting agenda item tied into a management report gave us some insight as to just how busy Walt Disney World is about to get with construction. Here’s the latest news. Oversight District Will Be “Extremely Busy” With Projects Supporting Walt Disney World Expansion Plans In a management report from District Administrator Stephanie Kopelousos, we got our first hint at just how busy Walt Disney World will be over the next five years. To set the scene, the Board will soon propose a millage rate for District taxpayers. Of course, the largest taxpayer to the CFTOD is Walt Disney World, accounting for more than 85% of the taxes paid to the District. To that end, a lot of the money paid into the District ends up supporting the governmental infrastructure construction required to make the metropolis of Walt Disney World operate smoothly, and the economic engine of tourism in Central Florida burn brightly. CFTOD Board of Supervisors So, as the CFTOD considers millage rates for the upcoming tax year, Kopelousos said that she met with “one of

Disneyland has announced details for the planned all-new parking structure and transportation hub coming to the east side of Disneyland. The parking structure is the first tangible work for the DisneylandForward initiative. Here’s the latest from Disney. Harbor Boulevard Transportation Hub & Parking Garage Plans are underway for a new parking structure and transportation hub that will be built on the east side of Disneyland Resort, on a portion of what is currently the Manchester cast member parking lot. This new area will provide approximately 6,000 parking spaces, shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening and dedicated access for traffic off of Disney Way, improving parking and traffic flow throughout the resort area. As you can see from the artist concept rendering above, this new parking and transportation hub will also feature a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard, leading to an all-new esplanade arrival experience. This pedestrian bridge will also provide convenient public access to and from Harbor Boulevard.These enhanced parking, transit, and arrival offerings are the first step in our next phase of construction, creating the infrastructure necessary to prepare for future growth and to welcome more guests as new experiences are added – including two all-new attractions that will double the size of Avengers Campus, plus the new “Coco”-themed ride and Avatar destination coming to Disney California Adventure park. The multi-year construction of this new arrival experience is slated to begin in fall of 2026. As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as