Walt Disney World Resort Update for April 19-25, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for April 19-25, 2016

Go directly to: News & Views | Join our Networks | Resort Events | Merchandise Events | Refurbishments and Attraction Closures | Discounts and Promotions

News and Views

Awaken Summer preview at Walt Disney World | Celebrating Earth Day | Walt Disney World marathon weekend early registration | Views around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Awaken Summer preview at Walt Disney World

Spring break has just ended, but Walt Disney World is already looking ahead to the tourist season with the start of the Awaken Summer marketing campaign. Hundreds of media were invited to visit the Florida resort this week to get a preview of the summer attractions and entertainment. The media event began Monday with a look into Disney Springs and Disney's Hollywood Studios, and continued Tuesday with Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

One of the Rivers of Light floats is visible during a daytime test. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

As we reported last week, elements of Awaken Summer have been delayed, including the new nighttime Rivers of Light show. The invited media are scheduled for a preview of that show Tuesday evening. Be sure to follow MousePlanet on Twitter and Instagram for updates during the events.

Celebrating Earth Day

Animal Kingdom park celebrates Earth Day this week with a series of special events, character appearances, interactive activities, food items, and vendors. Look for the large Disney Nature The Jungle Book sand sculpture at the entrance to the park, and meet Jiminy Cricket at Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Cast members around the Resort are distributing Earth Day 2016 buttons, with a promotional image from The Jungle Book.

Cast Members at Epcot distributed promotional buttons celebrating Earth Day and the release of the live-action film The Jungle Book. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Walt Disney World marathon weekend early registration

Early registration opened at Noon (ET) on April 19 for the 2017 Walt Disney World marathon weekend events. This early opportunity is for Walt Disney World annual passholders, Disneyland Resort annual passholders, and Disney Vacation Club members only. Disney Visa card holders are no longer able to register early for runDisney events. General registration opens next Tuesday, April 26.

Here are some tips runDisney published last summer to help runners prepare to register as quickly as possible:

1. Create a profile (login and password) at Active.com prior to registration opening.
2. Be ready to register at noon ET (9 a.m. Pacific time). Follow rundisney.com and the runDisney social media channels for the registration link.
3. Once you're in the queue, you have 15 minutes to complete the registration process. After 15 minutes, your spot is no longer guaranteed.
4. If you receive an “on hold” message this means the queue is currently full. Continue to check back.
5. Have everyone in your party register only themselves for a faster registration process.

To the runDisney list, we add our own two tips:

1. Log onto your affiliated website before registration opens, so you can access the registration link as soon as it is posted.
2. If you are both an annual passholder and a Disney Vacation Club member, it's better to use the links on the passholder website. The DVC website often posts the links well after registration opens, and in some cases not before the early registration allocation has sold out.

The links to the affiliated sites are:

• Walt Disney World passholders
• Disneyland passholders
• Disney Vacation Club members

After you register for your event, come add your name to the Team MousePlanet race roster to connect with other runners and share training tips.

Views around the World

Contributing photographer Alan Dalinka shares some photos from around Walt Disney World, and contributor Lorree Tachell added some images from this weekend's Dapper Days at the Magic Kingdom.

Dapper Days

The unofficial Dapper Days event drew hundreds, if not thousands, of smartly-dressed guests to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. Photo by Lorree Tachell.

Many Dapper Days visitors took the opportunity to create Disney-inspired outfits, like this “Beauty and the Beast” group. Photo by Lorree Tachell.

Magic Kingdom

Since the “Dream Along with Mickey” stage show in front of Cinderella Castle ended its run earlier this month, the various structures on stage that had slightly obscured views of parts of the Castle (dating all the way back to at least Cinderellabration) have been removed. (The artist rendering released by the Park back in February for the next show due this Summer, however, does show those structures.) Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The stage in front of Cinderella Castle is being renovated for the new show named “Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire” due sometime this summer. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Refurbishment of the Walt Disney World Railroad at Magic Kingdom is expected to be completed this week. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

On Main Street USA, a cast member pushes a trash can that is actually a pin trading station. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Scrims and scaffolding surround sections of the Carousel of Progress theater. Shows continue to run, as does the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Panoramic photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Epcot

The vegetable crops and flowers surrounding the Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck topiaries between Spaceship Earth and Epcot's gates are approaching maturity. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Park gardeners have swapped out some of the flower beds surrounding the Future World reflecting ponds (as is evident by the new color of the Mickey Mouse head shaped areas), keeping the area looking “Epcot Fresh” for the long run of this year's Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The flowers surrounding the Sorcerer Mickey Mouse topiaries have grown tall. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The greenhouses of the Living with the Land boat ride include signs describing the area as the “Edible Flower Garden” as part of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Sunflowers that surround the Minnie Mouse and Pluto topiaries tower over their planter area. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

…The “Circle of Life” film starring Timon and Pumbaa reopens at The Land pavilion this week, following a lengthy refurbishment.

A large, flat, two-dimensional sign has replaced the tile mosaic, three-dimensional sign in front of The Land Pavilion at Epcot. Hopefully, this sign is temporary. Panoramic Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

…Souvenir shoppers beware: effective immediately, Disney has reduced the purchase limit on open-edition items from 25 of the same item, to 10 of the same item. The current policy of 2 per limited-edition item remains in effect. This change is said to be in effect at all Disney-owned retail outlets, including Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Store, ICU Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship – April 21 – 22.

..Dates have been released for the 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl. The event is December 3 – 10, 2016 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. This event usually brings large groups to the All-Star Resorts, but does not have a major impact on theme park crowds.

…The MousePlanet Newsletter is here! The newsletter contains a recap of the week's articles (in case you miss a day), news that may have developed since the weekly Updates were published, and tips about what's happening at the Disney theme parks for the coming weekend. We'll also include a fun MouseAdventure bonus, such as an Eye Spy or a trivia question. To subscribe to our free newsletter, just enter your e-mail in the box below.

Join the MousePlanet Newsletter E-mail:

Crowd Forecast

Join Our Networks

MousePlanet

Resort Events

Check here to see if a park event might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. If you know of any in-park events, official or unofficial, that should be listed here, please send us an e-mail (link).

2016 Resort events

• Star Wars Experiences – December 1, 2015 – ???
• 2016 Flower & Garden Festival – March 2 – May 30, 2016
• MouseAdventure Silly Symphonies (unofficial event) – Saturday, May 14. A puzzle hunt at Epcot and the Epcot Resorts. More information at the event website.
• Gay Days at Walt Disney World (annual unofficial event) – June 2–5. More information on the event website. To whatever degree there are “organized” events, the schedule calls for attendees to visit the parks on these days:
  • Thursday, June 2 – Animal Kingdom
  • Friday, June 3 – Disney's Hollywood Studios
  • Saturday, June 4 – Magic Kingdom (the busiest day of the event)
  • Sunday, June 5 – Epcot
• Night of Joy – September 9 & 10
• 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival –September 14 through November 14, 2016.
• Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic – dates to be announced.
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party –September – 2, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 29, 30; October – 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31
• “Jersey Week” – November 6 – 13. Expect larger crowds this week as New Jersey students and families take advantage of a Fall Break created by their school's participation in the New Jersey Teachers Convention.
• Dapper Day at Epcot (unofficial event) – Saturday, November 12, 2016. More information at the event website.
• Holidays at Walt Disney World – dates to be announced.
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – November 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27, 29; December 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22
• Holidays Around the World at Epcot – dates to be announced.
• Candlelight Processional at Epcot – dates to be announced.

runDisney events

If you participate in (or are considering signing up for) runDisney events, visit our Team MousePlanet forum on the MousePad discussion board, where you can join our community of health-minded readers and staff.

2016

• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend – November 3 – 5, 2016. All races are sold out, with the exception of the runDisney Kids races. Proof of time must be submitted by August 2, 2016

For current information on registration dates and capacity, see Lorree Tachell's runDisney Race Capacity Updates in the Team MousePlanet forum on our MousePad discussion board.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Events

Check here to see if a sporting competition might fall during your next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. We don't list all events here, but focus on the larger sport and cheer events that might result in extra visitors to the theme parks, and make it harder to secure a hotel room. The All-Star and moderate resort hotels are often the home base for these larger events, so it's worth avoiding those properties if possible.

2016 ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex events

• ICU Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship – April 21 – 22.
• USASF Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship – April 23 – 25. This event draws over 12,000 participants.
• Varsity All Star’s Cheerleading Championship – April 29 – May 1.
• Special Olympics Florida Summer Games – May 20 – 21.
• AAU National Club Championship – June 30 – July 3.
• Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic – November 11 – 12.
• 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl –December 3, 2016 – December 10, 2016

Merchandise Events

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

2016

• Walt Disney World Railroad – closed through April 23 for refurbishment.
• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – closed July 7 – September 24 for refurbishment.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – closed August 8 – November 18 for refurbishment.
• Liberty Square Riverboat – closed August 15 – 21 for refurbishment.
• “it's a small world” – closed August 22 – September 15 for refurbishment.

Epcot

2016

• Soarin' – closed as of January 4, 2016. Reopens sometime in “summer of 2016” as Soarin' Around the World, with a new ride film.
• Maelstrom – permanently closed for construction of Frozen Ever After attraction. New ride expected to open May, 2016.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2016

• Magic of Disney Animation – building permanently closed for future expansion. Part of the space has been converted to the Star Wars Launch Bay.
• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed January 11 for refurbishment. Reopening date TBD.
• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show – permanently closed on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure – permanently closed on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Studio Catering Co. – closed on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Meet & Greet: Mike and Sulley at Streets of America – closed on April 3, 2016 to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

• None scheduled

Blizzard Beach

• None scheduled

Typhoon Lagoon

• None scheduled

Disney Springs

• Fulton's Crab House – closed for refurbishment. Scheduled to reopen in Fall, 2016
• Planet Hollywood – closed January 1 – June 1, 2016 for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Disney Springs Bridge 4 and restrooms on Pleasure Island – temporarily closed for ongoing construction work.
• Disney Springs Lots A-G – closed through August 1, 2016.
• Disney Springs Lots H, I, J, and K (in Westside area) – closed until further notice for construction.
• Disney Quest – scheduled to close sometime in 2016. Will be replaced with an NBA Experience venue.

Resorts

• Boardwalk Inn
  • Exterior painting and repair during daylight hours, through May 5, 2016
  • Flying Fish Cafe closed February 1 – September 30, 2016 for refurbishment.
  • Seashore Sweets – closes February 1 as part of the Flying Fish refurbishment.
• Wilderness Lodge and Villas – Hidden Springs pool, resort beach, playground, and Recreation fire pit closed. No opening date provided, but the pool is expected to be closed through 2017. Expect construction-related closures and noise due to construction of the as-yet-unannounced Disney Vacation Club cabins.

Elsewhere

• Disney Osprey Ridge Golf Course – permanently closed.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Note: MousePlanet does not edit past Updates to reflect price increases; for up-to-date prices, check the most recent Walt Disney World Resort Update. For your convenience, we have grouped the discount offers based on the intended audience. Check out the category that best matches you, and pick the offer that works best for you. And keep those tips coming—let us know if you find a better or different offer, so we can share it with other readers.

Don't keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments.