If it’s been a minute since you visited Magic Kingdom, you might be wondering what’s different about this park since your last trip.

We’re heading into Magic Kingdom today to see what’s new in terms of souvenirs, crowd levels, construction, character meet and greets, and more! Buckle up, because we’ve got a lot of news for ya.

There are quite a few gift shops around Magic Kingdom, and we visited several to check out all the new merchandise.

Magic Kingdom Merchandise Update

Let’s start out at the biggest shop in this park: the Emporium.

The Emporium

Lately, we’ve seen some pretty bizarre Mickey ears in Disney World, including some topped with the heads of Chip and Dale and a $1,000 bedazzled hat.

Most recently we added to the crazy ear headband collection with a new Baby Yoda headband that has a whole plush of Grogu on top!

Grogu is joined by a space frog, and the pair look very happy to be on your head. You can get a Baby Yoda headband for $29.99.

We also saw a new t-shirt in this store that has the Partners Statue on the front.

You can find this shirt for $36.99.

Since it’s getting a liiiittle more chilly outside, you might want some cozy slippers to keep your feet warm. We found a pair of Mickey and Minnie holiday slippers in the Emporium for $29.99.

The slippers have a red and green plaid pattern on the outside with white fleece on the inside.

And if you still don’t have enough souvenirs to mark Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, you can grab a Cinderella Castle water globe.

The globe plays “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” when you turn the dial on the bottom.

And the castle inside has the 50th Anniversary decorations that are on the real castle!

You can get one for $64.99.

Star Traders

At Star Traders (over in Tomorrowland), we spotted the new Mickey Waffle Mini-Backpack.

This has to be the most delicious-looking bag available. We also found the matching Minnie ears online, so you can truly rep your favorite Disney snack well.

There was also a new keychain that looks just like a Disney World trash can!

You’d be surprised by how many people LOVE the trash cans in Disney World. If you’re one of those people, now you can take one with you everywhere you go.

We also spotted the new Stitch Crashes Disney pins, which weren’t supposed to come out until next year.

But you can get pins for Stitch Crashes Peter Pan and Stitch Crashes Pocahontas now! We didn’t see the MagicBands for these collections in the parks, but they are available online.

Village Gifts

We stopped to look at some of the figurines inside the Village Gifts store as well.

These Disney figures are made by different artists, and they’re a beautiful way to display some of your favorite characters. We saw an Oswald figure for $85…

…and a Jungle Cruise scene made by Jim Shore for $85.

You can also see hitchhiking ghosts, Maleficent, Mickey Mouse, and more!

Frontier Trading

Frontier Trading is already getting ready for the new year! There’s a new 2022 Spinner Pin, which has Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald around the year.

You can get the pin for $14.99. We also saw a Photo Magnet…

…which you can put up on your fridge with a printed picture behind it, and the magnet will frame your photo.

Crystal Arts

There were a couple of new Christmas tree ornaments at Crystal Arts this week. There’s a red one with the Cinderella Castle painted on the front.

And you can also get the blue one, which has an outline of Mickey Mouse.

This store has a lot of gorgeous trinkets and statues, and be sure to check out the $49,000 (!!!) Cinderella Castle when you stop by.

Click Here to See the Newest Disney Merchandise Online Right Now

Magic Kingdom Construction Update

One thing that’s sure to brighten your Disney day is seeing the cute water art that Cast Members sometimes paint on the sidewalk. We saw pictures of Mickey…

…Donald…

…and Goofy during our stroll through the Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately, there was more water on the sidewalk than there was on one popular attraction. Splash Mountain was down for a while when we passed by on December 18th, and Cast Members predicted it would be down for 2-3 hours.

Note that rides can close temporarily during park hours (for technical issues or other reasons), so it’s best to have a back-up option if you were hoping to ride them. Usually they will reopen during the same day, and if you can catch the ride right as it reopens, you won’t have much of a wait to get on. 

Keep watching the My Disney Experience app throughout the day to see when the rides close and reopen.

Click Here to See the Progress on Some of Disney World’s Current Projects, Including the TRON Roller Coaster

Other Updates from Magic Kingdom

Crowds

The holiday crowds have gotten BIG at the Magic Kingdom.

We noticed a LOT of people at the entrance to the park…

…and still more on Main Street, U.S.A.

This time of year is always super busy in Magic Kingdom and all the Disney World parks! To avoid the crowds, try to get to the parks early (before opening time), and make sure to get your advance dining reservations as soon as possible so that you have some breaks during the day. Remember that you can make those reservations starting 60 days before your visit.

Click Here to Learn How to Avoid Holiday Crowd Burnout in Disney World

We also saw a high school marching band coming down Main Street, U.S.A.

There were members of the band…

…color guard…

…and cheer squad in the mix.

You might see similar bands playing during your visit, but even if there aren’t any visiting bands, you can usually count on the Main Street Philharmonic Marching Band, which plays on the street or sometimes on the stage in front of the Cinderella Castle.

Click Here to See the Disney Marching Band Performing on the Cinderella Castle Stage

Character Meet and Greets

We saw a rare princess greeting guests at the Princess Fairytale Hall. Ariel from The Little Mermaid was there, along with Rapunzel.

If you’re passing by, you can see the princesses who are inside the hall on the sign outside the door. Sometimes there’s a “visiting princess” sign, which can be any of the Disney princesses!

We’ve seen Ariel, Snow White, and Jasmine at this location before, in addition to the usual princesses you can find here (Rapunzel, Tiana, Cinderella, and Elena of Avalor).

Click Here to See Photos of Our Meet-and-Greet With Jasmine

Transportation

The TTC now has a 2nd-story loading platform for the ferryboats!

This platform was built off-site, but it has now been installed at the docks.

You can board onto the first story of the boats, or you can head directly onto the top story.

That’s it for our Magic Kingdom updates! Keep following DFB for more of the latest Disney news as you plan your vacation.

Click Here to See What’s New at Disney Springs, Including a Pricey 50th Item and Peppermint Churros

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MORE Disney World Holiday INFO!

• Check Out the FULL List of Holiday Treats Coming to Disney World This Year

• See the List of Holiday Treats Coming to Disney World’s Hotels

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• See the Booths, Menus, and Food Photos for the Festival of the Holidays

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What’s your favorite land in Magic Kingdom? Let us know in the comments!

The post What’s New in Magic Kingdom: A Rare Princess Meet-and-Greet and Holiday Crowds first appeared on the disney food blog.