We bring you a lot of stories every single day. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. So in case you missed anything from our feed, we have rounded up all our stories in one place to get the news at a glance. Here is your Daily Recap for Thursday, June 29, 2023.

Walt Disney World

EPCOT

• Crews have begun work on the foundation of the new EPCOT ride-share loop structure in the parking lot of the theme park.
• Disney has released pricing for the Eat to the Beat Dining Packages at the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, which will go on sale on July 6.
• Crews have begun piling in World Showcase Lagoon, preparing for the new EPCOT nighttime spectacular that will debut later this year.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• As tickets go on sale to Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests, pricing for Disney Jollywood Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been revealed.

Disney Springs

• Tren-D, the large shop attached to Marketplace Co-Op in Disney Springs, is temporarily closed for refurbishment. Tren-D mostly sells women’s clothing and accessories.

New Merchandise

• The first Halloween-themed piece of merchandise has arrived at Walt Disney World Resort in the form of a T-shirt.

Other Walt Disney World News

• In a June 20 filing, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) Board of Supervisors made fun of Disney’s attempt to have the Board’s lawsuit against the company dismissed, according to Orlando Business Journal.

Disneyland Resort

• After experiencing technical issues this morning, ticket sales for Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure have now been completely halted until at least July 6, 2023.
• Disney has released a trailer for “Rogers: The Musical,” which begins performances at the Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure this weekend. 
• Guests planning a Disneyland Resort vacation save up to 25% on stays at Disneyland Resort hotels from August 1 through September 30, 2023.
• Disney Visa Cardmembers can save up to 30% on select premium room stays at Disneyland Resort hotels from August 1 through September 30, 2023.
• Ticket sales have paused for Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure after opening to the general public this morning.
• Brooke Geiger McDonald has shared a first look at new “Rogers: The Musical” merchandise that will be available at Disney California Adventure tomorrow for the premiere of the show.
• After having half of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree closed last week, the refurbishment has now moved on to the other half of the ride. 
• After the recent closure of the former Pacific Wharf Bridge, both sets of future torii gate towers have gone vertical and more crossbeams have been added as this icon transforms into the San Fransokyo Gate Bridge from the 2014 animated film “Big Hero 6.”

Tokyo Disney Resort

• Reference to the seasonal variations of Country Bear Theater shows has been removed from the Tokyo Disney Resort website, leading to rumors that the attraction will close.

Disneyland Paris

• Mantis from “Guardians of the Galaxy” will begin appearing in Avengers Campus at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris next month, in honor of the land’s one-year anniversary.

Hong Kong Disneyland

• Walt Disney Imagineering shared a first look at the Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs queue in the new World of Frozen land opening this November at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Entertainment and Media

• Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy, a new board game, and part of the Disney Villainous line by Ravensburger, is available for pre-order.
• Eight iconic Disney films are returning to theaters for two-week limited runs starting this summer in honor of 100 years of The Walt Disney Company and movie magic.

Disney+

• A Hamilton Sing-Along will start streaming on Disney+ tomorrow, June 30, in honor of Independence Day.

WDW News Today

Indiana Jones Adventure Restored to 1995 Condition at Disneyland, Indy to Appear

McPizza at the World’s Largest McDonald’s in Orlando, 4th of July DFB Food Toss

That’s it for today; we hope you enjoyed this Daily Recap. Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you tomorrow!

The post Oogie Boogie Bash Sales Paused, Pricing Revealed for Jollywood Nights, & More: Daily Recap (6/29/23) appeared first on WDW News Today.

Work began at the Canada Pavilion in EPCOT earlier this month for a refurbishment of the Hotel du Canada façade, the tallest structure of the pavilion. Even more scaffolding, scrims, and construction walls have gone up around the building in the past few days.

Canada Pavilion

Scaffolding reaches up to the pyramid towers of the faux hotel, which is located above Le Cellier Steakhouse.

Scrim is wrapped around the lowest portions of scaffolding, including right above and around the Le Cellier entrance.

Le Cellier remains open, guests just have to walk through a short tunnel of construction walls to reach the restaurant.

No announcements about the refurbishment have been made and it’s likely just general updates to the façade.

The upper tier of the Canad Pavilion is blocked off due to construction.

A construction wall blocks the walkway just past the Trading Post gift shop.

Disney describes Hotel du Canada as follows:

Your journey “north” to the Canada pavilion includes a spectacular tribute to the nation’s natural wonders, such as the majestic Rocky Mountains, a 30-foot waterfall, and beautifully landscaped grounds that are inspired by Victoria’s Butchart Gardens. But you simply can’t miss one of the more striking man-made landmarks in the pavilion: the Hotel du Canada, inspired by the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The hotel was commissioned by railroad magnate Charles Melville Hays, who was extending his Grand Trunk Pacific Railway west, and envisioned several deluxe hotels along the route. The hotel was impeccably furnished within and boasted a façade that featured Italian marble, Indiana limestone, and a copper roof. One hundred and five years after its grand opening, the Chateau Laurier is still welcoming guests to this day.

U.K. Pavilion

Meanwhile, next door, the United Kingdom Pavilion’s restrooms are being refurbished.

The restrooms closed a few weeks ago and the World ShowPlace restrooms between the U.K. and Canada Pavilions are open in the interim. Green walls are up behind the Shakespeare Garden, part of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, in front of the restrooms.

EPCOT Construction

EPCOT has gained a reputation as a large construction zone in the past few years as the entire park is revamped. Future World was split into three neighborhoods: World Nature, World Celebration, and World Discovery. World Showcase is the fourth neighborhood.

The center of the park, World Celebration, is where most construction has been concentrated. Electric Umbrella was closed and gutted to become Connections Eatery and Café (Starbucks). MouseGear, the park’s major gift shop, was completely reimagined to become Creations Shop. Club Cool also moved to a new location.

Nearly everything behind Spaceship Earth, including Innoventions, was torn down to create a new garden space, CommuniCore Hall, CommuniCore Plaza, and Dreamers Point.

In World Nature (but taking up some of the World Celebration space), Journey of Water Inspired by “Moana” is under construction. The new walkthrough attraction is near complete and Walt Disney Imagineering has been conducting tests with Cast Members.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post PHOTOS: Construction Walls Around Le Cellier Entrance for Canada Pavilion Refurbishment in EPCOT appeared first on WDW News Today.

Universal Orlando Resort has reportedly extended the Love is Universal Pride nights at Red Coconut Club through the month of July.

The event, which was originally set to run only for the month of June (Pride Month), will be held each Thursday evening from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Tonight’s event was originally scheduled to be the final Pride Night of the year. The extension announcement was made at the club this evening.

Love is Universal

Love is Universal is Universal Studios’ LGBT+ pride slogan, used for events, merchandise, and more.

For 2023, Universal Orlando Resort has announced that through August, 100% of profits from their “Love is Universal” merchandise collection will be donated to local organizations.

The local organizations Universal will donate profits to include Zebra Youth, The Center Orlando, and onePULSE Foundation.

Zebra Youth describes itself as “a network of organizations which provide services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and all youth (LGBTQ+) ages 13 – 24.” They assist young people facing homelessness, bullying, isolation from their families, physical and sexual abuse, and drug abuse with individualized programs to guide them to recovery and stability.

The Center Orlando aims to “promote and empower the LGBT community and its allies through advocacy, education, information, and support.” They have programs and services for people of all ages and backgrounds.

The onePULSE Foundation was founded by the owner of Pulse nightclub following the 2016 shooting at the nightclub that resulted in the deaths of 49 people. The foundation’s fund “is intended to support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes and legacy scholarships that open doors.” Contributions support the National Pulse Memorial & Museum design, construction, land acquisition costs, operations, community education programs, and 49 Legacy Scholarships.​

Pride Month is celebrated worldwide every June, honoring the anniversary of the Stonewall riots — although Florida saves some celebrations for the cooler fall months.

Universal Orlando Resort honors Pride Month every year with the “Love is Universal” collection. In the Hollywood section of Universal Studios Florida, a window pays tribute to the Team Members who were killed during the Pulse shooting.

While Walt Disney World Resort is still facing backlash from denouncing Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (a.k.a. the “Don’t Say Gay” bill), Universal Orlando Resort never publicly acknowledged the bill. During Pride Month 2022, a former Universal Orlando Resort Team Member spoke out about how the company had failed to support its LGBTQIA+ employees.

Red Coconut Club

The Red Coconut Club is a venue for dancing and drinks at Universal CityWalk, located at the top of the escalators that come up from Cold Stone Creamery and Red Oven Pizza Bakery. It’s been known to change themes recently, celebrating whatever major season or event is happening around Universal Orlando Resort at any given time.

During Halloween Horror Nights, it was the Dead Coconut Club, sporting skeletons, spooky lighting, and even the Bride of Frankenstein. We reviewed this venue in its haunted form last September.

The post Universal Orlando Resort to Extend ‘Love is Universal’ Pride Nights at Red Coconut Club Through July appeared first on WDW News Today.

At EPCOT, World Celebration — previously the center of Future World — has been undergoing a years-long transformation. This includes the construction of CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza (replacing the previously planned festival center), new gardens, and Dreamers Point featuring a new Walt Disney statue.

World Celebration

The transformation of World Celebration began with the closure of Innoventions, Electric Umbrella, and MouseGear. The latter became Creations Shop, while Innoventions West and Electric Umbrella became Connections Eatery and Café (Starbucks). Club Cool also moved next to Creations Shop.

The area in front of Connections and Creations has been filled with trees, blocking views of some construction.

We can see more white poles through the trees. The most obvious of these poles are in CommuniCore Plaza, but they will be throughout the gardens, as well.

In the background of these photos, we can also see a new curved wall decorated with circles, near where Dreamers Point will be located.

The Walt the Dreamer statue will be on a set of steps right behind Spaceship Earth. Many Disney Parks around the world feature statues of Walt Disney, but this one will be unique because he’s not accompanied by Mickey Mouse.

More white poles surround the giant EPCOT logo that will be at the center of the park. The center of the logo is marked by two short walls visible to the right in the above photo.

At night, the white poles will be illuminated, as seen in the concept art below.

The giant EPCOT logo will be outlined with light-up pavement, a once classic feature of EPCOT that has been absent for years now.

World Celebration and CommuniCore will be able to house decorations and offerings related to various EPCOT festivals throughout the year. The above two pieces of concept art show how the central courtyard may look during the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.

CommuniCore Plaza

CommuniCore Plaza is surrounded by overhangs creating an L-shaped off-shoot of CommuniCore Hall.

Through the plaza construction site, we could see new brown tree-like structures. We saw one of these earlier this month. Though they resemble the brown, curved lampposts we’ve seen in Journey of Water Inspired by “Moana,” they are not part of the walkthrough attraction.

A small concrete structure is partially under one of the plaza overhangs, which are supported by white columns.

The largest white poles are within the L shape of the plaza, sitting on concrete forms.

Some of the plaza has been paved, and other sections of the foundation are covered in rebar.

There are six light-up poles surrounding the plaza.

There was previously a stage used for musical performances in the center of Future World, so the new CommuniCore Plaza Stage will take over that role.

Below is concept art featuring the CommuniCore Plaza Stage with a EPCOT International Festival of the Arts banner.

The building behind the stage is CommuniCore Hall. The spaces are named after the precursor to Innoventions, CommuniCore, which were two opening day pavilions at EPCOT.

CommuniCore Hall

Much of CommuniCore Hall is now covered in yellow paneling.

Scaffolding still covers the wall of the building behind the recently-reopened World Nature restrooms.

Steel grids cover some of the building’s walls. According to concept art, the building will have an exterior resembling Spaceship Earth, with a pattern of triangles.

There are white columns at the future entrances to CommuniCore Hall.

CommuniCore Hall will house the park’s new permanent Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet. The building will also have a demo kitchen, mixology bar, and gallery space.

Above is concept art of the exterior of the Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet. Below is the concept art of the interior gallery space.

World Celebration Concept Art

And here is an overall look at what World Celebration will look like when construction is completed. CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza are scheduled to open this fall, along with Journey of Water Inspired by “Moana.”

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post PHOTOS: More White Poles Added to World Celebration Courtyard in EPCOT appeared first on WDW News Today.

A new Disney Vacation Club tower is under construction at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. So far, we’ve seen the center of the structure come together, but concrete walls continue to be added, creating guest room balconies.

Disney Vacation Club Tower Construction

Some of the tower’s windows are covered in blue tarps as construction work begins inside.

We won’t be seeing theming on or inside the tower for some time, but crew members are still building out the shape of the building and the rooms.

Multiple cranes are on site to lift more concrete walls and other materials onto the building.

A few concrete columns were tied to truck beds on the ground, awaiting installation.

Behind the tarps, we can see wood frames in the window openings of the building. Temporary wood planks also cross the bottoms of the openings for the safety of crew members.

One crew member in a lift was working on a balcony wall about halfway up the building.

We could see more crew members inside.

Temporary diagonal pieces of steel hold up some of the concrete walls.

The Disney Vacation Club tower sits right on the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon, so will have its own beach.

Some of the balcony walls have openings in them, likely for larger suites with multiple balcony doors.

From the Monorail, we got another look at the construction site. Crews continue working on the foundation of another wing of the tower.

Right now, there are just some short concrete walls and pipes outlining the site.

On this side of the building, more crew members were working on the balconies.

We could also see even more crew members inside. Right now, the interior is comprised of large open spaces with no walls.

One crew member in a lift was working near the end of the building.

Below is concept art for the Disney Vacation Club tower, although designs are always subject to change.

Projected to open in late 2024, the vacation ownership property will complement the existing resort and evoke the spirit of the Pacific Islands.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort has been around since Walt Disney World opened in 1971, and recently underwent an extensive refurbishment. While the standard rooms received “Moana” theming, the Disney Vacation Club Studios received “soft goods” refurbishments, meaning only the upholstery, art, and related accompaniments were updated.

The resort also received a new Monorail station and port-cochére. The entrance to the resort was re-themed to match the new structures. 

Kona Café reopened after an extensive refurbishment, with all new seating, décor, and more. The Kiki Tikis Splash Play Area and Lava Pool slide were also recently refurbished. The rugs and most upholstery in the lobby of the Great Ceremonial House were replaced, too.

Interested in learning about more Disney Vacation Club accommodations at this resort? Check out our video tour of the Bora Bora Bungalows below.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post PHOTOS: Work Continues on Disney Vacation Club Tower Balconies at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort appeared first on WDW News Today.

Work continues inside and outside at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, which has been undergoing a years-long refurbishment.

Grand Floridian Lobby

In the lobby, two lifts are parked behind construction walls for work on railings up above.

Though a remodel is planned for the lobby, this work is just for guest rooms.

Plants have been removed from the planters around the construction site.

Some kind of plaque or photo is covered by white paper.

Planters also block a balcony on the second floor in front of the Monorail station.

Crews have been replacing paneling and repainting columns between railings on the upper floors.

As such, white walls block the railings from guest access on the third, fouth, and fifth floors.

On the second floor, we noticed these white tarps over railings near the elevators.

These railings are just decorative, but likely also being repainted.

As we watched a crew member raised a lift to start working on the railings.

Another crew member was already on an upper floor.

While they are working, some of the white walls are moved aside to give them more space.

Grand Floridian Exterior Construction

Outside, we saw crew members working in the grass.

They had various construction materials staged in this space.

As we previously reported, work on guest room balconies means the main walkway to Gasparilla Island Grill is blocked off.

Potted plants are also on the walls around this permanent planter to block the area from view.

Scaffolding covers most of the exterior balconies above Gasparilla Island Grill. The green fence is in front of the crew member entrance to the construction site.

Gasparilla Island Grill remains open, but guests need to walk through a tunnel of construction walls and scrim.

During our last construction update, we noted red shingles had been removed from the Summerhouse building near Grand Floridian Café.

The shingles have now been replaced.

This building near the pool is usually used for wedding receptions.

Crew members were touching up some of the white paint on the sides of the building.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Refurbishment

Reportedly, when now-former CEO Bob Chapek took over the Parks & Resorts division in 2015, he felt that the Grand Floridian was not up to standards, so put in motion a major overhaul of the resort.

This began with the “Beauty and the Beast”-themed Enchanted Rose Lounge, which replaced Mizner’s Lounge. Cítricos followed with a new “Mary Poppins”-inspired design. When the Grand Floridian Spa reopened in January 2022, it was revealed that it, too, had been remodeled. All the rooms of the resort are still being updated and some “Mary Poppins” theming has been added throughout guest buildings.

Narcoossee’s was closed from June 2022 to April 2023, and reopened with a revamped interior and “land and sea” menu. Read our Narcoossee’s review.

1900 Park Fare, the character dining buffet location at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, is still closed for refurbishment. The restaurant has not reopened since it closed in March 2020 with the rest of Walt Disney World Resort due to COVID-19. When physical distancing measures were still in place, 1900 Park Fare was used as overflow seating for Grand Floridian Café for a short period of time.

In December 2022, Disney confirmed that the lobby of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa would be refurbished but “will maintain the classic theming you know and love with some fresh new enhancements.”

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will celebrate its 35th anniversary on July 1, 2023.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post PHOTOS: Summerhouse Roofing Replaced, Work Continues in Lobby at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort appeared first on WDW News Today.