Walt Disney World Resort Update for June 7-13, 2016

Walt Disney World Resort Update for June 7–13, 2016

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

News and Views

Sounds Like Summer concerts kickoff | Planning for Pro Bowl week | Quick Bites | Views From Around the World | This and That | Crowd Forecast

Sounds Like Summer concerts kickoff

The 2016 Sounds Like Summer concert series began this Sunday, June 5, and runs through July 23. The series features performances by seven tribute bands. Show times are 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. each day. The bands and dates are:

• Don't Look Back
  A Tribute to Boston
  June 5 to June 11, 2016

• Hotel California
  A Salute to The Eagles
  June 12 to June 18, 2016

• Rumours
  A Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band
  June 19 to June 24, 2016

• Simply Tina
  A Tribute to Tina Turner
  June 25 to July 1, 2016

• Stayin' Alive
  A Tribute to The Bee Gees
  July 2 to July 9, 2016

• Bruce in the USA
  A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen
  July 10 to July 16, 2016

• DSB
  A Tribute to Journey
  July 17 to July 23, 2016

Planning for Pro Bowl week

Last week the National Football League announced a multi-year deal to bring the Pro Bowl to Orlando, starting with the 2017 game on Sunday, January 29. A portion of the events from Pro Bowl week will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney announced, “The Pro Bowl teams' practices, an NFL Flag football event, and other youth football events will take place at our sports complex.”

This move adds a major new event to a normally quiet January tourism season, with the potential for thousands of additional visitors the week before and after the Pro Bowl. Keep this in mind as you make your 2017 vacation plans.

Ticket information is available on the Pro Bowl website. No schedule has yet been released, but we'll provided updates as they are available.

Quick bites

Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen

Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen at Magic Kingdom has made yet another change to its reservation practices. When the restaurant opened last December, it did not accept advance reservations at all, a rarity among Walt Disney World's table service restaurants.

A few months later, Disney rolled out a same-day reservation system for the restaurant, which was a real boon for vacationers who didn't want to decide where to eat every meal during their Walt Disney World vacation six months in advance. If the winds of fate took you to Magic Kingdom on a given morning, you could book a same-day reservation for the restaurant.

Now Disney has decided to allow visitors to make advance dining reservations for Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen 180 days in advance, as is the policy with other table service restaurants on property.

Frontera Cocina

Reservations are now available via Open Table for Frontera Cocina, the Disney Springs restaurant spearheaded by James Beard Award-winning chef Rick Bayless. Online reservations are available starting on June 26, though it's likely the restaurant will have soft-openings before then.

The full menu is available via the restaurant's Facebook page.

Views from around the World

Contributing photographer Alan Dalinka shares his photos from around Walt Disney World this week.

Epcot

With the end of Spring and the end of the 2016 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, the topiaries and vegetable garden have been replaced by a classic arrangement of flowers in side Epcot's front gate approaching Spaceship Earth. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Approaching the center of Future World, the 2016 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival sun-shaped floral display near the exits from Spaceship Earth has been replaced with fresh sod. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This year's butterfly enclosure has been enclosed in tarp fences and likely will be dismantled soon. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Forest Ranger Mickey was one of just a handful of topiaries still standing this past weekend at Epcot. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

With the Frozen Ever After attraction scheduled to open on June 21 in the space formerly occupied by Maelstrom at the Norway pavilion, we may see these walls surrounding the Royal Sommerhus addition to the area come down soon. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The tarps and scaffolding have been removed from the front of Norway pavilion's future entrance of Frozen Forever After, revealing a somewhat different facade from its Maelstrom days and rock work completely covering the hole in the second level wall where the Maelstrom's trolls used to threaten to send boats “over the falls.” Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Magic Kingdom

The renovations to the stage in front of Cinderella Castle appear to be largely complete ahead of the announced June 17 premier of the new show “Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire.” Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

“Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire” is scheduled to begin shows on the Cinderella Castle stage on June 17. Disney Parks Blog says that “Mickey and his troupe of Merry Makers have invited friends from other lands to join them in a grand celebration. So in addition to favorites like Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Goofy, the show also brings together a wonderful cast of characters from some of Disney's newest classics: 'Frozen,' 'Tangled' and 'The Princess and the Frog.'” Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

While Disney's Animal Kingdom recently introduced its imagineered “Sunset Safari,” the actual sunset can be seen over Magic Kingdom most nights aboard the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney Springs

The Disney Springs Marketplace bus loading and unloading area is now used only for non-Disney buses. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The new Disney Springs “bus loop” is located between the Town Center gateway (next to the new Lime Garage) and the not yet open Coca-Cola Store (near the Orange Garage). Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Most Disney Resort buses now drop Disney Springs visitors off in front of the new Town Center gateway. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The gateway at Town Center leads from the “bus loop” to nearly the middle of Disney Springs. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The motto of Disney Springs “The source of inspiration” is written in Spanish on the artwork on the Town Center gateway. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Disney bus departure slots 1 through 9 are closest to Town Center. To access bus departure slots higher than 10, passengers must walk the sidewalks closest to the Orange Garage. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Strollers and wheelchairs are available in a new “Sundries” shop at the new Disney Springs bus loop. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

The new Disney Springs welcome monument at Buena Vista Drive and Hotel Plaza Boulevard fountain is now fully lit and landscaped. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Wilderness Lodge

A new building is emerging from the woods near the DVC Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (just beyond the boat dock). There has been no official announcement about whether this will be a new restaurant or some other amenity. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

Tree clearing and land preparation continues on the side of Disney's Wilderness Lodge nearest the water bridge from Bay Lake to the Seven Seas Lagoon for the eventual (as yet, acknowledged but not “announced”) DVC additions. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.

This and That

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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 – Opened December 1, 2015
• Night of Joy – September 9 & 10
• 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival –September 14 – 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. All races are sold out, with the exception of the runDisney Kids races. Proof of time must be submitted by August 2, 2016

2017

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 4–8, 2017. Registration opens at Noon (Eastern) on Tuesday, April 26. Proof of time must be submitted by October 4, 2016.
• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 24–26, 2017. Registration date has not been announced. Proof of time must be submitted by November 15, 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.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex events

2016

• AAU National Club Championship – June 30 – July 3.
• Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic – November 11–12.
• 2016 Pop Warner Super Bowl –December 3–10.

2017

• Pro Bowl week festivities – take place the week prior to the 2017 game on January 29. Additional schedule information to be released.

Merchandise Events

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

2016

• 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' – Reopens June 17 as Soarin' Around the World, with a new ride film. The ride is showing the original Soarin' Over California film from May 27 to June 16, giving fans one last chance to see the original attraction.
• Maelstrom – permanently closed for construction of Frozen Ever After attraction. New ride expected to open June 21.

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.
• One Man's Dream theater – an expanded sneak peek at Alice Through the Looking Glass began May 6.
• Pizza Planet restaurant – closed for refurbishment. Reopening date TBD.
• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show – permanently closed to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure – permanently closed to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Studio Catering Co. – closed to make way for the Star Wars Land expansion.
• Meet & Greet: Mike and Sulley at Streets of America – closed 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 as Paddlefish
• Planet Hollywood – closed through June 1, 2016 for refurbishment and transformation into a Planet Hollywood Observatory.
• Disney Quest – scheduled to close sometime in 2016.

Resorts

• Boardwalk Inn
  • Flying Fish Cafe closed through September 30 for refurbishment. Will reopen simply as “Flying Fish.”
  • Seashore Sweets – closed permanently. Will reopen as the “AbracadaBar” later this year.
• 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.