So the saying goes, “New Year, New You,” right?

That might mean different things to different people. Maybe it means you’re going to celebrate something big in 2024 at Disney World (even if you’re just celebrating BEING at Disney World). However, did you know a trip to Disney World could also make you healthier? We know a lot of folks make resolutions to be healthier in the New Year, so why not do it at the most Magical Place on Earth?

January 2024 is already bringing some HUGE changes to Disney World. Park pass reservations are going away for most visitors. Park hopping is returning to normal. The Disney Dining Plan is returning. However, did you know that January is also Wellness Month, and you can celebrate your own personal wellness in Disney Springs?

So, what can you do to go on your own wellness journey in Disney Springs? Well, first, you can shop at some of Disney Springs’ unique stores, many of which are offering specials throughout the month of January. Not only can you pick up a relaxing bath bomb at Basin, but you can also do the following:

• Receive free prescription lenses with the purchase of a frame at Edward Beiner Purveyor of Fine Eyewear
• Get a 3-piece set of candles when you purchase $200 or more at Jo Malone London
• Get a facial at L’Occitane en Provence and receive a complimentary Pro Micro Skin Analysis
• Get a surprise gift with any skincare service at Sephora

There’s also a lot of fine dining with healthy food options available in Disney Springs, including:

• City Works Eatery & Pour House — enjoy delicious mocktails, including the Mellow Mule, Peaceful Paloma, Strawberry Soothe, and more
• Homecomin‘ — try the Chargrilled Chicken with sliced avocado, seasonal vegetables, broccoli, bacon, and salad
• Frontera Cocina — grab the Half & Half, made with half guacamole, half toasted pumpkin seed hummus, and served with jicama, cucumber, tortilla chips, chipotle salsa, and tomatillo salsa
• Everglazed — stock up on vegan donut options like Purple Glazed Ube Donut
• Paddlefish — order the Strawberry Basil Lemonade Mocktail,  made with fresh strawberries, basil, lemonade, and Sprite
• Splitsville — get the Ahi Tuna Salad, made with sushi grade tuna and avocado over mixed greens tossed in Asian pear dressing with yellow peppers, heirloom grape tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers with tataki sauce on the side
• Terralina Crafted Italian — Sip on the Strawberry Basil Refresher
• YeSake — Dig into the Tofu Power Bowl with organic tofu, avocado, spinach, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, tempura crunch and wasabi ponzu

Want something to do besides eat and shop? You can also take a workout class in Disney Springs on Fridays in January. Here’s the schedule:

• January 5th: HIIT Class at Marketplace Stalls in Town Center
• January 12th: Yoga at Lululemon
• January 19th: Yoga at Fabletics
• January 26th: Burn Boot Camp presented by Lululemon

Visit MAC Cosmetics from January 28th to February 3rd to get a complimentary makeup service. Here’s the weekly schedule:

• Sunday: The Essentials — learn about foundation, eyes, and lips and get a custom regimen just for you.
• Monday: Your Perfect Foundation Match — find the perfect foundation just for you
• Tuesday: Love Your Lips — find your new favorite lipsticks, glosses, liners, and balms
• Wednesday: Wow Brows — learn to sculpt, shape, and highlight your brows for a variety of looks
• Thursday: Eye Inspiration — learn about new eye looks and what works for you
• Friday: Lash and Line — create a custom look just for you by learning about lining, defining, using mascaras, and using false lashes
• Saturday: Skin Artistry — learn how high-performance skincare products can work for you

You’ll also receive a FREE 10-day foundation sample and Hyper Real Skin Care with any purchase made at MAC Cosmetics.

Other ways you can tend to your mental and physical well-being in Disney Springs during January include:

• Bowling at Splitsville
• Wine tastings at Wine Bar George (reserve a spot for a 90-minute tasting event here)
• January 20th at 2PM at Waterview Park: Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life Fitness Event — this FREE event features artists from Cirque do Soleil demonstrating stretches and yoga poses while a strength and conditioning coach demonstrates a series of body weight exercises you can do at home
• The Relaxation Station presented by AdventHealth provides a tranquil outdoor space with shade, seating, and plenty of peace and quiet — you’ll find it behind The Art Corner by Artistic Talent Group

See? Going to Disney World can help you achieve your health and fitness goals!

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

FIRST LOOK Inside Disney World’s NEW Restaurant —  Summer House on the Lake in Disney Springs

Will you be heading to Disney Springs in January for Wellness Month? Let us know what you’re checking out in the comments!

The post NEWS: Disney Springs Is Bringing Back TONS of Exclusive Events for a Limited Time first appeared on the disney food blog.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has a following almost as impressive as Disney’s.

Many Disney fans consider it a sign that their trip has officially begun — as soon as they see that famous carpet. There are plenty of reasons to love MCO, but their X (Twitter) account might just be one of them — and we’re sharing the funniest tweets from the 2023 Orlando Airport Twitter. 

The Orlando Airport Twitter person deserves a raise — there, we said it. Here are seven examples that will prove our point, starting with the time they shared photos of Chris Evans — you know, Captain America — as different airlines…

Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Us: CHRIS EVANS AS AIRLINES.

Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic: pic.twitter.com/KoF48LvZEM

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) February 17, 2023

…and then did the same thing with The Muppets!

Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Us: THE MUPPETS AS AIRLINES, LET’S GO!

Aer Lingus and Avelo: pic.twitter.com/bLaOJ1dJol

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) March 24, 2023

Do you remember when an actual, real, live bear was loose in Magic Kingdom? MCO’s Twitter does, and they had a comical exchange with Universal Orlando over the whole debacle.

Yup! All is gourd in our neighborhood! pic.twitter.com/2vDekuPwOb

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) September 18, 2023

Depending on where you’re seated on Soarin’ in EPCOT, you might have a bit of a wonky view. MCO saw their chance to make this joke — and took it. A+.

IYKYK. And if you know, nice work, pal. pic.twitter.com/vV4rm41mhK

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) July 11, 2023

We may not be stuffing bagels into our pockets, but this may or may not be us with Disney souvenirs after a trip.

Airlines: “You get one personal item.”
People traveling from New Jersey stuffing bagels in their pockets: pic.twitter.com/MQQeUdGN2B

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) February 15, 2023

The crushing weight of existential dread and the general vibes of being a human right now can be a lot, but MCO knows that your escape is just a flight ticket away.

You deserve a great escape. And that’s an artiFACT. #IndianaJones pic.twitter.com/gAnNRPMzLa

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) June 29, 2023

And, finally, to celebrate the release of The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+, MCO got a little cheeky with their own Boba Fett exploring the airport!

“The rarest form of currency on this planet seems to be leg armor. Not beskar, but definitely worth a lot to me.” pic.twitter.com/KpaIOBxAyf

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) May 4, 2023

Oh, Orlando Airport Twitter person. Never stop being you.

Stay tuned to DFb for the latest Orlando Airport news and more!

Find Out Which Airline Is Coming BACK to Orlando Airport in 2024

Do you fly through the Orlando Airport? Tell us in the comments.

The post The 7 Funniest Tweets from the Orlando Airport in 2023 first appeared on the disney food blog.

In December 2023, we heard that Disney was permanently closing the Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

We haven’t seen the show performed since 2020 when the parks closed due to the pandemic. Since then, we have been waiting with bated breath for it to reopen. However, Disney announced that the show was going to be closing permanently to make way for something brand new — “The Little Mermaid — A Musical Adventure”. Disney’s Live Entertainment team has been working on the show for over a year now, so consider this our open letter to them about what we would like to see in the new show.

While we’re excited for this show to be brought to life, we can’t help but think back to the original show. We look back on those memories with love, but we can think of a large list of things we would like to see improved or added to the newest version of the show — which is set to debut in late 2024. 

Better Effects

We get it, the original show opened in 1992. We know that the expectations of practical effects are a lot higher now than it was back then — which is why it is the top thing on our list. Not only do we look at those memories with love, but we also look back at them and smell the fog effects that the show used to have. Not only that, but we can also remember choking on it and coughing for what felt like days (that is dramatic, but you get it). We’re hoping to see some improved fog effects if they’re planning on incorporating those into the show — and we also hope that we don’t remember them this way 20 years from now.

Now that we’ve cleared up our feelings on the fog, let’s talk about the lighting. In the old show, Disney utilized lazers and lights to simulate waves on the sides of the room during the fight with Ursula scene, and we wished they worked a little better. With today’s technology, we’re hoping that they can bring that back in an improved way. 

Something that isn’t as pressing (but we really want to see) is the rain effect working more consistently if they bring it back. We don’t need a downpour — we can go outside for that. However, we remember it from the original and remember wanting it to be more consistent… so we had to mention it.

The Size of Max

We love Max! He is such an adorable part of the film. However, in the original show, he was… larger… than we expected.

Honestly, he was the size of a human, and it was mildly offputting. If he is involved with the show at all, we’re hoping to see him at a size that is less jarring and unrealistic. We’ve seen that Disney has the technology to do it based off of things built for the Zootopia Land at Shanghai Disneyland, so we are hoping they can bring a little bit of that technology over to us in Orlando.

Better Transitions

We don’t know about you, but we remember some interesting transitions taking place in the original show.

The first one that comes to mind is the transition Ariel makes when she is turning into a human. We know that it is a hard transition to do live, but we feel like they can do better than Ariel standing up from a stationary tail. We’re not expecting anything groundbreaking here, but we think some changes to this integral moment would be really cool to see.

The Pre-show Area

We know they’re retheming the show, but getting the queue and holding area rethemed would be the icing on top of the cake.

The old holding area gave us 20,000 leagues under the sea vibes — and that just is not what the little mermaid needs. So, we’re hoping that this area gets some love too — how cool would it be if they themed it to Ariel’s Secret Grotto, the place she stored all of her gadgets, gizmos, whoosits, whatsits, and thingamabobs. 

Adding Music from The Broadway Production

Since a big part of this show is music, we’re hoping to see some songs from the Broadway production of  The Little Mermaid. We already know about some musical numbers we can expect, like “Part of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” and “Kiss the Girl,” but we’re hoping that we can get something from the Broadway musical to change it up a little bit. We know it isn’t likely, but we can dream.

We know that all of our wishes won’t come true, but we’re hoping that these are some of the changes we will find once the show opens in late 2024. We’re keeping our eyes out for updates about this show, so we’ll be sure to update you as we find out some new information! Keep checking in with us to see what we find next!

7 TERRIBLE Things We Recommend in Disney World

What are you hoping to see in the new show? Let us know in the comments below! 

The post 5 Changes We Hope Disney Makes to the NEW ‘Little Mermaid’ Stage Show first appeared on the disney food blog.

The Disney Genie+ Service has sold out for Disney’s Animal Kingdom on December 30, marking the third day in a row the service has sold out for the park.

Genie+ Sold Out for Animal Kingdom

Genie+ for Disney’s Animal Kingdom cost $29 today, the highest the price has ever been. Genie+ hit this peak high on December 23 and has maintained it for the past week. The service sold out for Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the first time ever on December 28 and sold out again on December 29.

As we already reported, the multiple parks Genie+ option ($39) sold out today before any individual parks, which was also a first for the service. The Disney’s Hollywood Studios option ($35) sold out soon after.

Genie+ remains available for Magic Kingdom ($39) and EPCOT ($32).

Genie+ options will likely sell out tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, as well. Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 8:00 p.m. but the other parks will remain open until at least midnight.

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

The post Genie+ Sells Out for Disney’s Animal Kingdom for Third Day in a Row appeared first on WDW News Today.

Disney Genie+ Service is sold out for Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the fourth day in a row. Genie+ sold out for the park for the first time ever on December 27 and has continued to sell out every day since.

Genie+ Sold Out for Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Genie+ is still available for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The multiple parks option sold out before any individual parks today, which was also a first for the service.

Since December 23, Disney Genie+ Service at Walt Disney World has maintained record high pricing of $39 for multiple parks or Magic Kingdom, $35 for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, $32 for EPCOT, and $29 for Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Genie+ also sold out for Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the first time this week. We could see it sell out again later today.

Genie+ options will likely sell out tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, as well. The holiday is one of the busiest days of the year for Walt Disney World. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT will be open until midnight. Special fireworks will be presented at the latter two parks.

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

The post Genie+ Sold Out for Disney’s Hollywood Studios Fourth Day in a Row appeared first on WDW News Today.

We had a feeling that several Disney rides would be closing in 2024.

While a few attractions could be closing forever this coming year, several are just temporarily shutting down for refurbishments. Disney will do this every now and then to maintain the rides and ensure they continue to work properly. Some rides notoriously close around the same time each year, while others close more spontaneously. Since January is just right around the corner, we thought we would share with you which rides you can expect to be closing in the coming month!

Both coasts (Disney World and Disneyland Resort) will have several rides closing in the first month of the year. So let’s take a look at what you can expect if you’re headed to Disney in January!

Disney World

Hollywood Studios

On January 8th, you can expect to temporarily say goodbye to one of the thrill rides in Hollywood Studios. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will be closing for refurbishment that day.

According to Disney’s website, the roller coaster will be closed until the Summer of 2024. It also states it’s for routine refurbishment, there is no indication of the ride changing or being re-themed. While we’ll be limited by one less thrill ride in Hollywood Studios, we will have it back in 2024!

Animal Kingdom

Also, on January 8th, Kali River Rapids stops showing open times. The ride is not currently listed under the refurbishments, but since we can’t see that it will be open, there’s a good chance we won’t be able to ride this water ride after January 8th.

The calendar only goes out to February 28th on the day that we wrote this, and the ride doesn’t show any opening times through then. We’re unsure at this time when the water ride in Animal Kingdom will reopen for riders. This is a pretty common time for Kali River Rapids to close for refurbishment, though, so we’re confident we’ll see it reopen sometime soon.

Magic Kingdom

Another ride not listed on the refurbishment list but which stops showing times is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. On January 16th, we no longer see open times for the fast-paced train.

Luckily, we do see times for the ride again on January 21st! So it looks like this will just be a short closure. However, it is one of our favorite rides, so any amount of time that we don’t get to ride it makes us very sad.

Now, let’s head over to the West Coast, to Disneyland!

Disneyland Resort

Disney California Adventure

Disney California Adventure will see two rides close in January. First, on January 8th, Grizzly River Run will be closing for refurbishment.

We’re unsure when this ride will reopen. There are no open dates for it through February 11th, which is as far out as we can see, currently. The ride is listed as a refurbishment, but Disney did not say when it will reopen. We’ll be on the lookout for it to be up and running, again!

Also closing in California Adventure is Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. This is listed to close for refurbishment on January 22nd.

Luckily, we see our ride of emotions showing open times again on February 8th! So we shouldn’t have to wait too long to become one with our emotions, again.

Disneyland Park

Alright, on to the original Disney park! Two rides will also be closing in Disneyland in January. First on the list is “it’s a small world,” also closing on January 8th.

“it’s a small world” shows up on the list of refurbishments on January 8th and is no longer there on January 19th. However, the ride’s website continues to not show opening times past that date and into February. So we’re not sure when this slow-moving boat ride will actually be reopening.

Next up, and last on the list of January closures, is Haunted Mansion. We’ll see Haunted Mansion close in Disneyland on January 22nd. 

Disney confirmed that the ride will close on January 22nd to begin working on the expanded outdoor queue as part of the Haunted Mansion expansion. January 21st is also the last day of the season to ride on the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay.

Reminder!

These previous rides are the ones that will be closing in January. However, there are a couple in Disneyland that are already closed and will continue to be throughout January. Those include the Mark Twain Riverboat and Astro Orbitor!

Be sure to check the Disneyland and Disney World apps on your trip to check for any temporary closures on the day of your visit! Rides will occasionally go down throughout the day, so save yourself some steps by checking the apps.

For more Disney news, keep following DFB!

Shocking Disney World Ride Malfunctions

Are you planning a Disney trip in January? Let us know in the comments!

The post 7 Disney Rides Are CLOSING for Refurbishment in January 2024 first appeared on the disney food blog.

The holiday season may be wrapping up, but you still have time to buy yourself a little something nice, right?

While you’re doing that, it wouldn’t hurt to save some money in the process either, right? That’s why we’re always keeping an eye out for deals on Disney souvenirs online, and well, we’ve just found some great deals you just can’t resist. 

We found these deals on Amazon (because we know y’all love to shop there). If you don’t have Amazon Prime to score that free shipping, though, you can click on the link below to get a free Prime trial.

So let’s do some shopping!

Buy the Disney100 Playing Cards

Yes, we are STILL celebrating Disney’s 100th Anniversary, and there is still plenty of merchandise to grab out there, including these very affordable playing cards featuring 20 of your favorite Disney characters.

View on Amazon

Get The Magic Kingdom Shirt

Need the perfect shirt for that next Disney World trip? Rep your love for the Magic Kingdom with this shirt, which you can grab in a variety of colors. It’s got that cool vintage feel, doesn’t it?

View on Amazon

Buy The Magical World of Disney Trivia

Turn family game night up a notch with this special 100th Anniversary trivia game that will test your knowledge of all things Disney over the last 100 years. This special edition features 3D sculpted points of interest from Disney movies, classic character pieces, and Disney and Pixar sketch art.

View on Amazon

Get the Disney x Kitsch Satin Pillowcase

You’ll sleep like a princess with this satin pillowcase that features a pattern of crowns to represent the royalty you are. Satin is great for your hair, too by helping to reduce frizz and preventing tangles and breakage while you snooze.

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Buy the Disney Villains Tarot Deck

Let Ursula, Scar, Maleficent, Captain Hook, and other classic Disney Villains guide you with this tarot deck that features original illustrations of some of your favorite baddies. The deck also comes with a guidebook so you can read each card.

View on Amazon

Get the Hat Wall Hooks

Okay, so if you have a LOT of ears, you’re probably wanting to come up with an idea of how to display them. Well, hear us out because these hooks are perfect for setting up an ear wall display.

View on Amazon

Buy the Loungefly Snow White Scenes Mini Backpack

What’s better than a Snow White Loungefly? A Snow White Loungefly that’s ON SALE! This one is for you fans of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and features some of the most iconic scenes from that movie.

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Looking for more Disney deals? Be sure to visit our shop on Amazon.

Visit our Amazon Storefront

The post 7 HUGE Disney Deals On Amazon, Including A Loungefly Bag first appeared on the disney food blog.

Frozen Ever After isn’t the only ride to have problems with screen-based animatronic faces. On Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom this week, at least one dwarf’s face experienced a malfunction, causing him to go completely dark.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Malfunction

Instagram user Hallie Jones (itallstartedwithamouse138) shared a video on December 27, 2023, of the ride’s Doc audio-animatronic. Doc was still moving with the ride’s audio, but his face was black with no eyes or mouth. Watch the video embedded below or by clicking here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hallie Jones It all started with a mouse (@itallstartedwithamouse138)

Unlike Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff on Frozen Ever After in EPCOT, the Seven Dwarfs have physical non-projected noses and Doc has physical glasses.

Jones wrote on the video “Waited 120 minutes for this” with a crying emoji and added in her caption, “Such a bummer when this happens at Disney. Especially when wait times can be crazy!”

She added, though, “Did we let it ruin our day? No, absolutely not. Things happen and everything Disney does is so intricate and complex that on a very rare occasion something may not work the way it is supposed to. And, that’s okay. I actually thought this was cool to see. I never knew what the faces would look like without the projections.”

Jones said the issue was fixed by the next day. At least this time, no dwarf tore Snow White’s arm off.

To see what the Seven Dwarfs’ faces should look like, watch our front row POV ride video below.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened on May 28, 2014, as part of the Enchanted Forest section of the New Fantasyland expansion to Magic Kingdom. A second version was an opening day attraction at Shanghai Disneyland on June 16, 2016. The ride is a spiritual successor to Snow White’s Scary Adventures, which closed permanently in 2012 and was replaced by Princess Fairytale Hall.

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

The post VIDEO: Doc Loses His Face as Projections Fail on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom appeared first on WDW News Today.