Our latest photo report brings u back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as it prepares for a transitional Holiday season, offering up a new lineup that Disney hopes will fill the void left by the Osborne Lights over the last two years.
Christmas Shopping
Plenty of blown-glass ornaments for sale at Celebrity 5 & 10, including a new Monorail ornament.
They’re a little pricey at $19.99 each, but they are pretty cool.
Some new holiday apparel for sale.
A few new Beauty and the Beast ornaments have joined the existing collection this year, including this light up rose ornament.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse have both received their own action figures of sorts, exclusive to the Disney Parks. They retail for $14.99 each.
The new Mickey Mouse ear baseball cap is already out.
Sunset Seasons Greetings
As the park prepares for the new Sunset Seasons Greetings offering, a whole lot of new infrastructure is going into place on Sunset Boulevard. The old, white lights for the palm trees have been replaced with these beauties, capable of color changing for show elements.
Some extra hardware was also installed on the star lights, likely to be used to integrate them into the show.
The Fantasmic billboard is likely gone for good as a new billboard that can be projected onto will go in its place. Maybe it will return in some form down the road.
Behind the billboard hides the infrastructure for the projectors that will turn the Hollywood Tower Hotel into a number of holiday items during the shows.
The projectors sit on the stands you can see behind these windows.
People seem confused about a new Paradise Pier billboard that appeared recently at the Studios. I don’t see the confusion as both lands exist in roughly the same time period. Sadly, Paradise Pier will become PIXAR Pier, but this will be a nice nod to the past.
Dirt Street U.S.A.
Construction continues on Two Story Land, opening Summer 2018.
The remnants of the catwalk above the soundstage waits to be sealed in.
On the other side, we still have no idea what this weird, tall section of building is supposed to be.
A dirt wall now seals PIXAR Place, which eventually will be no more once Toy Story Land opens and the entrance to Toy Story Midway Mania moves there.
Just before this dirt wall will lie a cast access road, with PIXAR Place then becoming a backstage area.
The construction walls behind Muppet Vision 3-D expanded outward, now coming into the attraction’s exit.
Here we see the building for the “Battle Escape” attraction in Star War’s Galaxy’s Edge.
This and That
Sunset Showcase courtyard was open, being used for extended queue for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, as well as some character meet and greets.
The show building for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster was recently repainted blue to blend into Toy Story Land better. It’s too bad it now doesn’t blend with anything on this side of the park. Why is every “soundstage” building a different color?
Work on Echo Lake continues, with the “logs” under the water now repainted.
With the Coco preview coming soon, the final room of Walt Disney Presents is pretty barren at the moment. The stickers on the walls were taken down and only on display case remains in use.
SaveSave
The Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Party is returning as the Ferrytale Fireworks Dessert Party this December.
Prepare to set sail on the Seven Seas Lagoon for the return of a fireworks dessert cruise like no other aboard the iconic double stack ferryboat, the General Joe Potter. On select nights in December and January, Guests who sign up for Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise will enjoy specialty desserts and beverages and conclude the evening with viewing of the spectacular fireworks show (Happily Ever After or Holiday Wishes, depending on the night) that lights up the sky over Magic Kingdom.
Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise officially returns to the Walt Disney World Resort on Fridays and Sundays, from December 1, 2017 through January 28, 2018. Reservations are now open and can be made online or by calling 407-WDW-DINE. This is a pre-paid experience, available for $99, $69 ages 3-9, per person, including tax and gratuity. A 10% discount for Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Members, and Cast Members is available.
Starbucks is certainly on a mission to take our money and fill our cabinets, and now it seems there’s a new ceramic tumbler at every park (we showed you Epcot and DCA earlier this week). The Magic Kingdom has released theirs as of today:
These tumblers retail for $21.99 each. The cup features icons of the park, including:
- Cinderella Castle
- Tinker Bell
- Dumbo
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Partners Statue
- Hitchhiking Ghosts
- Space Mountain
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Jungle Cruise
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Tiki Totem from the Enchanted Tiki Room
New this week is the release of new ceramic tumblers at all Starbucks locations across Walt Disney World. Earlier this week we showed you the Magic Kingdom version, now we’re bringing you a closer look at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version available for $21.99 at Trolley Car Café.
A closer look reveals the Hollywood Tower Hotel, Disney Animation, Fantasmic, Carthay Circle, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
We showed you the new Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the Hollywood Studios tumblers, so now we’re completing the set by showing you photos of the Animal Kingdom Ceramic Starbucks tumbler. You can find this beauty over at Creature Comforts for $21.99.
The Animal Kingdom tumbler features some neat animal patterns, as well as logos belonging to attractions at Animal Kingdom like DINOSAUR, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest.
We made our way out to Epcot this afternoon to check out the former Universe of Energy pavilion. Walls have now gone up around the whole exterior of the pavilion as it gets ready for more intense work related to the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. Check them out below!
When a sign mysteriously popped up at the former Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom, we speculated that the new Alien Encounter Character Greeting would temporarily replace the often-panned Tomorrowland attraction. Well, today, that new experience opened to guests.
Stitch’s Alien Encounter Character Greeting uses the queue from Great Escape, eventually leading to a character meet and greet with Stitch in the first preview room.
Guests exit back through the entry area, so the meet and greet utilizes no other space from the Attraction beyond the first pre-show room.
Stitch’s Alien Encounter Character Greeting opened today at 10:30am and closes at 7pm. Hours may fluctuate based on the day.
Disney is stating that Stitch’s Great Escape will still operate seasonally and is not closed for good as of yet.
A new treat has debuted over at Aloha Isle in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom for those who love Pineapple Dole Whip! Disney has started selling a delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake topped with Pineapple Dole Whip…
Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Pineapple Dole Whip ($6.49)
This delicious dessert features the world famous Pineapple Dole Whip that you’ve been able to get at Aloha Isle for years on top of a fluffy, doughnut-like cake that is glazed with pieces of pineapple and maraschino cherry slices.
It’s sweet, but not as sweet as the Dole Whip Float. The cake isn’t served very hot as to keep the Dole Whip intact, but overall it’s a nice new way to enjoy a Magic Kingdom classic.
The one downside as of writing this review is that you can’t mobile order this item as it has not been added to the app as of yet.
