Last week was a BIG week for Disney news.

We’ve heard ALL about Magic Kingdom’s After Hours Halloween party, the new Star Wars hotel, and some changes being made to the parks’ safety procedures. But with so many updates, it can be a little tricky to figure out exactly how this all affects your vacation. So we’re breaking it all down for ya today!

1. When Will Boo Bash Happen?

Last week, Disney announced that the Boo Bash After Hours event was replacing Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom this year. The new event will feature treat stops, spooky cavalcades, and a chance to dress up in costume!

There ARE some key differences between Boo Bash and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party. And besides the lack of entertainment (like the Boo-to-You Halloween Parade and the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular). With all this new information you might be wondering WHEN this event is happening.

Boo Bash kicks off August 10th, 2021 and runs select nights through October 31st! The event lasts from 9PM through midnight (though guests can enter the park as early as 7PM, even without a day park ticket). That’s a big change from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party, which traditionally lasted 5 hours.

So if you’re planning on attending this event, you’ll wanna know that it’s significantly shorter than its predecessor. Tickets go on sale next month, and we’ll have more details on pricing as that gets closer. We’ll be sure to keep ya posted!

Read More About Boo Bash!

2. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Details

Last week, we ALSO heard that Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (aka the Star Wars hotel) is opening in 2022! But among all the news about what you can do onboard, you may have missed some of the finer details.

First of all, one of the hotel’s restaurants was renamed last week! The Silver C Lounge, which is the all-ages “retreat” onboard, is now called The Sublight Lounge! The concept of the space remains the same, but with a snazzy new name.

And secondly, did you hear about the REAL lightsaber that will be onboard?! We first saw this expandable lightsaber tech featured at a private press event, and we couldn’t wait to see when it would officially debut. And yup, guests onboard the Galactic Starcruiser will get to see it!

Now, Disney still hasn’t announced whether you’ll actually be able to get your hands on this thing, or if it’ll just be for show. But it’s still SUPER exciting to see technological advances like this!

Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Star Wars Hotel!

3. Temperature Checks Are Going Away

If you’ll be visiting the parks soon, you’ll want to know about a HUGE change to safety measures in Disney World. Temperature screenings, which have been in place since the parks’ reopening last summer, are being phased out.

Onsite temperature screenings have already been phased out for Cast Members, and they will be eliminated for guests beginning May 16th. This follows “guidance from public health authorities” who do not currently recommend temperature checks.

If you’ll be visiting Disney World on or after May 16th, you should see the “phasing out” of these temperature screenings. We’ll keep you posted once we know what, exactly, that looks like!

Read More About This Temperature Check Change!

Phew! We’ve heard LOTS of news from Disney World lately, but hopefully, now you’re more caught up on all of these changes. We’ll continue to keep you in the know with all the latest Disney updates, so stay tuned to DFB!

Check Out ALL the Big News from Last Week!

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Are you visiting Disney World soon? Let us know in the comments!

The post 3 Small But Important Details You Missed From Disney World’s Latest News Drop first appeared on the disney food blog.

We’re constantly keeping an eye out for new Disney discounts!

Whether we’re telling you about sales on merch, drinks, or hotel rooms, we love helping you find ways to save on your Disney vacation. And now, we’ve found some special discounts for educators and first responders.

Teachers and first responders qualify for unique savings at 6 Disney Springs area hotels! We’ve seen these groups get discounts here in the past, and now, the special rates are BACK. You can check ’em out below! Special rates range from $84 per night at the Holiday Inn to $160 per night at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Palace.

To take advantage of this offer, you’ll need to book through July 10th, 2021, for travel through July 14th. You can visit the Disney Springs Hotels website to book with your applicable discount! Just keep the following terms and conditions in mind (including who, exactly, qualifies):

While these hotels are not owned by Disney, you will get perks like complimentary transportation to the parks and a “Passport to Savings” booklet with deals on Disney Springs shopping and dining.

Upon check-in, you’ll be required to show proof of employment or an appropriate supporting ID. So make sure to bring that with ya! We’ll keep an eye out for even more Disney deals and discounts, so stay tuned to DFB.

Check Out More Disney Discounts!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Are you going to take advantage of this discount? Let us know in the comments!

The post Special Rates at Disney Springs Area Hotels for First Responders and Educators first appeared on the disney food blog.

I had the chance to watch the new A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and I have some thoughts to share about the new version of the show. As we shared last month, the show has been modified due to the current environment. Onstage and backstage adjustments have been made to allow for physical distancing as well.

I don’t know if I was just so excited to see the show as it has been gone for more than a year or if I love it so much that I overlooked the differences between the new version and the old version at first. Hence, I decided to pull up a video from years ago and give it a watch. I have to be honest; seeing the number of people in that theater made me a little twitchy. Even the actors were packed in during some of the scenes in the old version.

Let’s talk about some of the differences between the new and old versions of this show. At the beginning of the performance, you might remember that the show’s hosts would come onstage and divide the audience members into four sections. Each of the sections would then be assigned an animal like a giraffe or a lion to imitate the sound they make as a form of cheering. This did not happen at all in the new performance. I should also note that the theater only looked to be about 1/3 full, so it felt practically empty. A word of advice is to allow plenty of time in your Animal Kingdom day to wait in line if seeing this show is really important to you. As Craig shared during today’s broadcast of the DIS Unplugged, he waited in line for 90-minutes; there is no virtual queue at this time.

The familiar and beloved music was still part of the show, and although there were fewer performers in many of the scenes, it was still really incredible. The biggest stand out for me as far as missing components were the tumble monkeys. Those monkeys played a huge part in the previous version of the show, and there were a lot of them – at least six or eight, I think. That portion of the show was completely nonexistent.

As you can see in the images below, they still rolled out mobile stages, but they were not the bouncy ones.

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The show was still filled with songs and choreography that was beautiful, and they did a great job reworking it in a way that made it really enjoyable.

The next thing that I really missed was the bird dancer who used to fly high above the stage. That was one part of the show that I always looked forward to, and the only thing I can think of that would cause it not to be there is maybe there was a challenge finding actors who could take that on. She still did a gorgeous dance with her partner on stage, but the aerial part of the performance was missing.

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In the last portion of the show, the performers would take kids from the audience – who wanted to participate – to the stage area for a little parade around the theater. The kids were given different types of instruments to shake as they paraded around. Unfortunately, that part did not happen at all, and I hope it makes a comeback someday. My kids participated in that parade when they were little and had the very best time. I don’t feel that it took away from the show, although the difference was noticeable.

Have you seen the new version of a celebration of A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King? What did you think of it? Do the differences stand out to you, or are you just happy it’s back? Let me know in the comments below!