Since reopening last summer, Universal Orlando Resort has had audio announcements play periodically throughout CityWalk and the theme parks, reminding guests to follow health and safety guidelines. One announcement, which referenced today’s “unprecedented times,” played on repeat when going through security. It has now been removed and music is all you will hear when on the parking garage’s moving walkways and in the security area. Strangely enough, we heard Christmas music. In CityWalk, the audio announcement reminding guests to wear […]
Did you catch all the reveals yesterday for the new Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Wish? If not, no worries! We’ve got you covered with a full replay of the event, and a roundup of all the reasons our planDisney panelists are excited for the Disney Wish to set sail in 2022!
At WDWNT, we often report on milestones. Walt Disney World’s upcoming 50th Anniversary. The reopening of Disneyland more than a year after closing for a worldwide pandemic. Wooden standees replacing audio-animatronics. Wait… what? It has now been over three months since The Three Caballeros audio-animatronics — Donald, Panchito, and Jose — disappeared from the Gran Fiesta Tour inside EPCOT’s Mexico Pavilion. The attraction’s stars were replaced with two-dimensional character flats on January 29, 2021. Now, thirteen weeks later, The Three […]
To celebrate May the 4th, Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company commissioned original artwork from global artists that will be showing up on Disney+. What’s Happening: Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company have commissioned original artwork from artists all over the world to appear on the landing pages for Star Wars movies and series on Disney+. […]
Following the repainting of the EPCOT Monorail archway at the Transportation and Ticket Center, the Magic Kingdom Monorail and Ferryboat archways have been repainted. The new paint job is part of the reimagining of the Transportation and Ticket Center ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. The archways are now royal blue with the park’s name in a gold section on top. The feet of the archways are a darker blue than the rest. In addition to these archways, poster […]
Little town. It’s a quiet village. Ev’ry day. Like the one before. Little town. Full of little… oh sorry we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Anyways, welcome to another day at the Magic Kingdom! Ok where to begin, where to begin, what do you think Goofy? Oh right, the Jungle Cruise. This hippo looks really upset, but why? Well it seems no changes occurred today on the ride as we were hoping to see some much awaited scenes return […]
If you’ve visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom, you may have noticed some new things coming along every visit. With so many new things to anticipate this year in the world of Theme Parks here in Orlando, it’s hard to keep up with each and every thing. That’s why today, we visited the spectacular Magic Kingdom at Disney World to check out what’s new. They are bringing us a variety of amazing updates from the Tron Construction, new snacks and even a TV show! There are so many things to keep your eye out for this year, but for now, we want to go over some of these new things we’ve noticed here at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
1. NEW CASTLE EMBELLISHMENTS
As some of you guys may or may not know, Disney’s 50th anniversary is coming upon us. What better way to celebrate Disney’s 50th anniversary than decorating the park! On each visit you make to the Magic Kingdom, you will notice new improvements and decorations being added to get into the celebration spirit. On our visit to the Magic Kingdom, they are decorating the beloved Cinderella Castle. They have added draperies around the castle itself. The color of these dangling ribbons is absolutely beautiful with the blue gems and iridescent trim around it. The draperies are a beautiful color of blue with gold accents that match the castle with pristine. The draperies are made of fiberglass so they are not actual drapes and they will not blow in the wind. Around the top of the castle you will find gold ribbon spiralling upward the castle along with beautiful blue and white gems with gold accents. All around the park decorations for the 50th Anniversary here at Disney are coming together quite beautifully.
2. JUNGLE CRUISE UPDATES
Next on our list of 4 new things at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, we find ourselves taking a trip into Adventureland to take a ride on the Jungle Cruise. The Cruise itself is not new, but they have changed multiple things inside their ride. Once you embark your journey into the Jungle Cruise you may notice some characters and things have been taken out. The Jungle Cruise has taken out some of the animatronics to prepare for the new storyline and characters that will be added to the attraction. Some of the characters taken out of the storyline were the ones being chased up the pole by the rhino. Along with these, they have also taken out Trader Sam’s animatronic! There are 5 new characters that have been run up the bridal poll as well as 1 new character which is the main character for the Jungle Cruise. Her name is Alberta Falls and her father was Albert Falls Jr so she is the new proprietor of the Jungle Cruise.
3. TRON CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
The Tron ride here at Disney’s Magic Kingdom has been a highly anticipated ride coming up! We have been trying to keep you guys up to date with all of the construction progress going on in the world of theme parks. But, with the Tron ride they are still working on the awning that is out in the front of the ride itself. The one thing you can see specifically is the brown temporary supports for underneath the white permanent metal. One section of the ride is being supported by itself but mainly it’s being supported by the temporary supports. The ride itself is coming together slowly but surely. We are super excited for this ride to open up and give you all the chance to see what it’s all about.
4. TV SHOW
On our way around the Magic Kingdom, we noticed there were people filming for either a tv show or commercial. There have been many rumors that the filming around the Magic Kingdom is for American Idol. We haven’t heard too many updates or anything set in stone about this rumor. But the next time you’re out at Disney’s Magic Kingdom be sure to keep a lookout for anyone filming. With your next trip out to the park, you may see one of your favorite American Idol members!
If you’ve visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom, you may have noticed some new things coming along every visit. With so many new things to anticipate this year in the world of Theme Parks here in Orlando, it’s hard to keep up with everything. That’s why today, we visited the spectacular Magic Kingdom at Disney World to check out what’s new. They are bringing us a variety of amazing updates from the Tron Construction, new snacks, and even a TV show! There are so many things to keep your eye out for this year, but for now, here are some of the new things we’ve noticed at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
Welcome to the latest edition of The Magic, The Memories, and Merch!, the longest running monthly look at the Disney Outlet Stores in Orlando. This month we have sent secret shoppers Jaycob of @ThemeParkShark and celebrity goat farmer Joseph Machado into the fiery pits of the Orlando Disney Outlet Stores to see what was new. Of course we’ll also joined by @ChristelaMcC out in California at the Disney Outlets closer to Disneyland. At the end of the article we’re going to check out one of the theme parks’ cutest gift shops which just so happens to have the coolest mash-ups of any theme park store!
Let’s start in Florida though, and as a reminder, the experience of shopping at the Disney Outlets isn’t as fun as you want it to be. The Virtual Line to get into the store starts accepting names a full hour before the stores even open. That means if you plan to “rope drop” the Outlets, you’re already too late.
Disney Outlet Store at Vineland Ave (closer to Disney Springs)
Recently we checked in at 10:30, a half hour before the store’s opening time of 11 a.m. We got the text to return to the store at 11:54 a.m. Remember, when you get the text to return you then get put into an actual queue to wait your turn to enter. At this point, the store has a “1 out, 1 in policy” and you just have to wait your turn.
Here is a shot of the return queue at the Disney Outlet store off International Drive (next to Fun Spot and close to the Universal Orlando Resort). Reminder that the International Drive location is MUCH smaller than the store at the Vineland Outlets.
The Outlets are going to be inundated with Disney face masks for many months to come. The prices are good though. I bought the Grogu (Baby Yoda) face mask below at full retail last year at World of Disney in Disney Springs. It is very rare for Disney to pull out the “No Exchanges, No Refunds, No Returns” signage though and it is usually used for things like blind boxed Vinylmation/pins etc.
Mickey Mouse masks.
Star Wars and Marvel themed masks.
Close up on the Black Panther mask.
WAKANDA FOREVER!
Disney food themed masks.
Halloween themed masks.
This was a fun find. The bottle “prizes” for those who completed the Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt for last year’s Taste of EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Tons were available.
For under a buck, these are the type of items I pretty much buy on principle and give out to the kiddos in their Christmas stockings.
I loved the designs on these bottles!
::Chef’s Kiss::
Now we generally see all the various prizes from the different Disney scavenger hunts make their way to the Outlets. One thing we don’t see as much are LARGE RUBBER SNAKES. This cobra was originally $12.95, now $4.99.
Good luck in ever getting the cobra to “stand up” like it is in this sign.
Some big discounts on iPhone cases this month. This cute Donald Duck case was reduced all the way down to $1.99. You usually see clearance prices on that for phone styles that are like 4-5 generations removed, but it “feels” like the iPhone X came out relatively recently (although the last year proved that time is meaningless human construct).
Figgy case also just $1.99, but at least it is for older iPhones.
I think the ride itself is horrible (“a poor man’s Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree” is still giving it too much credit) but I love this Alien Swirling Saucers pin. Also love the toy ride vehicles that came out with the attraction and would definitely buy them if they hit the Outlets.
The pins below have all been reduced to $4.99. We’ve seen the Flower & Garden Festival ones collecting dust for months, but how about a pin that is supposed to be a button for “National Button Day.” That is bonkers. The Candy Cane pin for Jack Skellington continues the trend of 90% of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise being stuff no one would ever want.
I don’t even understand why Disney guests would even want to wear a lanyard since everything they need can be accessed on their smart phone or MagicBand (as opposed to Universal, which still uses traditional media for things like Express Passes and hotel keys). But even those who do wear lanyards at the parks, who would want a big piece of metal swinging around while they walk the parks or enjoy rides? Maybe it’s time to update my Theme Park Stuff I Don’t Understand article.
Speaking of stuff we’ve seen at the Outlets for a while, the “homemade” looking Star Wars plush from Galaxy’s Edge.
Of course the Watto plush and that thing only hardcore super nerds would even know about are still regulated to the “Star War” bin.
Maybe Vinylmation fans can correct me, but The Last Jedi series may be the last one ever made for this style of “collectible”? These have been reduced to $3.99 each and have been sitting at the Outlets for awhile.
A second rarity when it comes to Outlet signage, using a picture of who the character actually was from the source material. In this case the character of Jannah from The Rise of Skywalker. I guess Funko just makes a million Pop! figures for every single character from a Star Wars film. Jannah was the character Rey and Finn met on the planet which had a crashed Death Star in the ocean. Remember that? When the good guys realized a “map” was built into a dagger’s blade in one of the most implausible and insane moments in the history of Star Wars, and the includes the Holiday Special.
Surprisingly, plenty were available.
Blu-Ray of Rogue One. I think this movie is great, but “The Best Star Wars Yet”? That’s a bit ridiculous.
The DVD has been reduced to $17.99. Many of the DVDs/CDs you can buy at the Outlets aren’t discounted at all though.
We’ve seen over the past year that there are like five different Star Wars action figure lines. This one we have seen before at the Outlets with figures of Finn and C3-P0. This month we have a set of droids including R2-D2, BB-8, and D-0. Reduced to $12.99.
Empire Strikes Back (a film actually in the running for “best Star Wars Yet” title) hat. Originally $34.99, now $3.99.
Falcon backpack. Originally $75, now $37.99. I would have killed for this as a kid when we did our annual back to school shopping. “I can throw my Trapper Keepper in there, all my pencils, my protractor…” That discussion would have went nowhere as my family was the type who made me cover my books with paper bags from the supermarket instead of themed ones from the stores. Not that I’ve been bitter about that for years though.
Rise of the Resistance shirt for women. Originally $34.99, now $10.99.
Another Rise of the Resistance shirt. Originally $34.99, now $10.99.
I don’t understand who this button-up shirt featuring LEGO Stormtroopers is for. Especially not at the original price of $59.99. Clearly this is for adults, but for who? I love Star Wars. I love LEGO. I would never wear this shirt. I get having fun, but as they say in the movie Knives Out, “this is stoopid with two ‘o’s.” Reduced to $19.99.
Second piece of Grogu (Baby Yoda) merchandise in the same month. This is like when it took over a year before anything Frozen related made its way to the Outlets. This children’s shirt was originally an eye-popping $49.99, now $19.99.
Cute onesie with Mickey Mouse. Originally $19.99, now $7.99.
T-shirt featuring character from A Goofy Movie. Originally $36.99, now $9.99.
Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster hoodie for weirdoes. Originally $34.99, now $12.99.
Cute Animal Kingdom inspired dress for kiddos. Reminds me of something you would see on The Flinstones. Originally $34.99, now $12.99.
One of the more iconic Disney hats in the discount bin. Goofy hat was originally $24.95, now $3.99.
Flight of Passage-themed hat. Reduced to $3.99.
What’s great about the stuff from Pandora: The World of Avatar is that all the merchandise has the land’s logo on it. This includes the t-shirts too. One of those “little things” I wish we saw more of in Disney products.
Iron Man Repulsor Gloves that shoot out little projectiles. Originally $29.99, marked down to strange price of $7.50.
Absolutely LOVE this Spidey Mobile car from the ToyBox line. Reduced to $17.99.
This Cars vehicle was Radio Controlled. Originally $24.99, now $12.99.
Love the design of this “Andy’s Toy Chest” set featuring several characters from Toy Story. Originally $49.99, now $24.99.
Disney Princess dolls which come with a large brush. Reduced to $12.99.
Tink and Moana too. Also $12.99.
I’ve seen Frozen II and I don’t remember this horse at all. In fact I can’t remember anything about the movie except it involved seasons I think. I’m picturing leaves blowing around. Nothing rings a bell yet if I were to fire up Disney+ I would probably watch the first Frozen again for like the 50th time instead of Frozen II which would seem all new to me. Go figure. Actually I do fire up Disney+ often, and right now I am loving the Mighty Ducks reboot (which is better than it has any right to be) and the John Stamos show Big Shot. I thought Big Shot was going to be a redemption movie like the basketball movie Ben Affleck was in, but it turns out it’s a weekly show. I thought it was very good.
Anyway, Elsa and horse Reduced to $24.99.
Art Kit featuring characters from Frozen II. Originally $24.99, now $9.99.
Minnie Mouse-themed backpack. Originally $29.99,now $9.99.
Pride-themed Mickey Mouse backpack. Originally $55, now $27.99.
Retro-style Disney crocs. Reduced to $24.99.
Alright, time to head out to CALIFORNIA with @ChristelaMcC and check out a Disney Outlet store closer to Disneyland.
While we in Florida saw a deluge of face masks, California got a big dump of spirit jerseys. Plain ones were reduced to $24.99. Tropical and balloon spirit jerseys were $29.99
Disneyland attraction leggings, originally $39.99, now $9.99. Some pretty cute designs on these including Monstro, the Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder Mountain.
A Marvel Avengers sweater that converts to a backpack. Originally $64.99, marked down to $29.99
Assorted keychains, including a set featuring Tea Cups, ranged between $4.99 to $6.99. Like many of the keychains we see in Florida they are obnoxiously heavy and bulky, making them unusable for most humans in every day life.
Minnie Mouse lollipop headband. Marked down to $6.99.
“Houndsight is 2020.” WHAAAAAAAAAT?! Marked down to 98 cents.
Check out this Dumbo antenna topper. I mean the trunk looks off, right? Looks more like the nose of a dachshund from Secret Life of Pets. Reduced to $1.50.
They did Dumbo dirty with this one.
Shoelace Charms. The irony being they are for people aged “3+” when the reality is only people under 3 would have these on their shoes. Originally $9.99, reduced to $3.99.
“Stop trying to make fetch Shoelace Charms happen.” – Mean Girls, probably.
Okay, I take back everything I just said about Shoelace Charms as this pin set is REALLY nutso. Okay, these are one of those pin sets in which you “open” the pin to reveal another design. The front of the pins are designed to look like sugar-laden cereal boxes that we all love. At this point, I’m in.
You open up the pin to reveal a weird “bag” of cereal that doesn’t exist? Even better, in small print underneath it says *NOT ACTUAL CEREAL and NOT AN ACTUAL TOY. This is next level bonkers. I could watch an entire documentary on Disney pin collectors. A multi-part documentary covering why they like these things. We’ll call it Making a Murderer. Wait, that’s taken? Oh well, back to the drawing board.
California has a “limited release” Grogu pin. Limited to approximately 330 Million I believe. Originally $15.99, reduced to $3.99.
Okay, as pin sets go, I like this. You’re basically buying the small Disneyland castle pin in the center. Small being a relative term as I believe the pin is 1:1 scale as the actual Disneyland castle. However, the pin is on a Shag-like map of Disneyland and is adorable. Incredibly, the map also accurately displays how many guests have been at the Disneyland park over the last year. Originally $24.99, now $10.99.
These little boxes below are used to hold trinkets and each one features a letter of the alphabet themed to something related to Disney. “D” features the Dapper Dans. “L” has Lightning McQueen. “T” has Tomorrowland. “S” is for “So You Think Soarin’ Around The World Stinks Too, Huh?” That’s the one I want. Originally $17.99, now $8.99 each.
Why California would have anything NBA related when Walt Disney World had the NBA Experience and was home to “The Bubble” is beyond my realm of knowledge. Reduced to $14.98.
We’re going to head back to Florida to close out this month with a look at one of the most adorable stores in any theme park, the Hello Kitty Shop at Universal Studios Florida. Located near the front of the park – in the former home of Lucy: A Tribute – the Hello Kitty Shop is filled with some of the cutest merchandise you’ll find at Universal. When the Hello Kitty Shop opened in 2016 it was a bit of a surprise because until that point Hello Kitty had no presence at the Universal Parks. However, the store opened with many items exclusive to the parks along with a Hello Kitty meet and greet character. Let’s join photographer Hedgehog’s Corner for a tour of this unique gift shop.
Hello Kitty Shop.
We’re going to start off hot with my favorite thing about the Hello Kitty Shop, it’s INCREDIBLE mashups featuring Hello Kitty and her friends along with iconic Universal films. Jaws just may be my all time favorite film, and to see this used in such an overly cute fashion is so wonderful to see. There are several different options, including a “real life” Jaws poster-like art with Hello Kitty replacing the human swimmer, or a more kid friendly version in which the shark itself appears to look like one of Hello Kitty’s friends (complete with bow!)
Universal offers a lot of great Tumblers, but this may be my favorite.
Hello Kitty as Jaws, how great is that!!
The fact that these mashups exist at all is a miracle, but for many of the brands there are multiple designs, such as Hello Kitty and E.T.
Love it!!!
I can not believe there is Fast & Furious merchandise featuring Hello Kitty and her friends. And how awesome is that Jurassic Park shirt!!
The Jurassic Park coaster is straight up E-Ticket.
I can’t get enough of prints being sold at the theme parks. There just isn’t enough of them considering how much terrific artwork there is at Universal and Disney. I have bought several of the Hello Kitty mashup prints, and can you believe there is one featuring PSYCHO?!!
Keychains and pins featuring the cool mashups, and the store also offers smart phone cases with these designs.
Of course there are a whole bunch of items featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.
The “Build A Bow” experience, which seems awfully close to some Gimmick Infringement with a certain place selling bears…
In 2021 of course you’ll find a Hello Kitty branded face mask.
Unfortunately, a while back part of the store was converted over to selling park merchandise that has nothing to do with Hello Kitty. Maybe this was to placate part of the audience who don’t want to shop in a “girl’s store” so there’s Marvel and other items for them to browse through.
You’ll also find other brands such as Harry Potter and Spongebob Squarepants.
The Hello Kitty meet and greet character takes her socially distanced photos with guests outside of the store.
Hello Kitty social distanced meet and greet.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!
BEFORE YOU ASK: There are actually two Disney outlet stores in Orlando. Both are in Orlando Premium Outlets shopping complexes, and they are called Disney’s Character Warehouse, presumably because The Land Of Misfit Toys was already trademarked. There is one Character Warehouse located on International Drive close to Universal Studios (4951 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819), and the other is on Vineland Avenue, right across I-4 near the exits to Disney World (8200 Vineland Ave, Orlando, FL 32821). They do not ship. There are items at the Outlets that you can buy both in Disney stores along with the Shop Disney Parks app, but you will be paying full retail for the items. For our CALIFORNIA OUTLET trips, @ChristelaMcC goes to the Las Americas outlet in San Diego. It is located right off the last U.S. exit.
I often get asked “which store is better?” That depends. Vineland is close to Walt Disney World, while the I-Drive location is a hop, skip, and jump away from the Universal Orlando Resort. The Vineland Disney Outlet Store is much, MUCH bigger than the I-Drive location. However, the Vineland outlets in general are much, MUCH busier than I-Drive. Each have their pros and cons, and ultimately they carry much of the same items. For a Disney Outlet Store FAQ, check out this SATURDAY SIX Presents: Everything You Wanted To Know About The Disney Outlet Stores (But Were Afraid To Ask)
If you liked what you read here, you may enjoy THE SATURDAY SIX articles every week on the TouringPlans.com blog and you can follow your humble author on Twitter (@derekbugan).
This week on Disney+, there’s a brand-new Pixar short, a new Marvel Cinematic Universe special, new episodes of current favorites, and classics added to the library. Don’t forget to celebrate Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you) with the premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Whatever you choose to stream this week, […]
We carry forward our commitment to protecting the magic of nature for everyone through grants made by the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF), supporting collaborations with organizations and people globally to connect communities with special places, from forests to wetlands and rivers to oceans.
