Home » The 8 BIG Updates from Walt Disney World (and Beyond) This Week (September 9-15, 2019)

The 8 BIG Updates from Walt Disney World (and Beyond) This Week (September 9-15, 2019)

Natalie Sim011 mins

This week at Walt Disney World, several entertainment cuts are set to come to Disney parks this fall, an upcharge gets a price hike early next week, plus new information is released about the Beauty and the Beast bar coming to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. 

Outside Walt Disney World, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Tampa announce new record-breaking roller coasters, plus Islands of Adventure debuts a new “Dark Arts” show at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. 

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind vehicles unveiled

Disney officially unveiled the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride vehicles this week. As you can see in the video above, these “omincoaster” vehicles are unique in that they can rotate 360 degrees and can even launch in reverse. You can learn more about this attraction, coming soon to Epcot, here. 

2. Magic Kingdom Dessert Party price hikes coming next year

Image: Disney

The Magic Kingdom’s Fireworks Dessert Party will be getting a price hike early next year after January 31 2020. The current pricing of $84 for adults and $50 for children will rise to $99 for adults and $59 for children. For Plaza Garden viewing, the current pricing of $69 for adults and $41 for children will go up to $79 for adults, and $47 for children.

3. Entertainment cuts coming this fall

Image: Disney

Alongside these price hikes, it looks like several cuts are coming to Disney entertainment around the theme parks, including the following experiences, which are going away in the next few weeks:
  • The Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History

  • The Royal Majesty Makers

  • Cars DJ’s Ready! Set! Party Time! dance party

  • Incredibles Super Shindig dance party

In addition, the most recent iteration of the Move It! Shake It! Mousekedance It! Street Parade is also being scaled down in the next few weeks, and will only be offered twice a day, beginning early next month.  You can read more about these cuts here. 

4. Enchanted Rose lounge to open soon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort


Image: Disney

Earlier this year Mizner’s Lounge at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort closed forever, and Disney announced that they were re-theming this space to a new Beauty and the Beast themed lounge, which we now know will be called Enchanted Rose, and will be opening in just a few weeks. 

As confirmed previously, this location will feature four unique spaces inspired by the live action Beauty and the Beast film. The lounge’s signature bar will glow from the light of a gold chandelier that takes its inspiration from Belle’s flowing ball gown, with subtle nods to the Beast’s magical rose. In another room, guests will find a space that recalls the iconic library from the film, with classical baroque designs and French furnishings inspired by Belle, with hints of the Beast’s friends. Another character-inspired space inside this expanded lounge will be the garden room, which will be a whimsical space that draws its inspiration from the enchanted forest surrounding Beast’s castle. Finally an outdoor patio will evoke the romance of Beast’s garden terrace.

The menu at the Enchanted Rose will include sharable bites, including Mini Smoked Short Rib Sliders with glacier blue cheese and onion marmalade on brioche buns, Espelette Pepper-Spiced Shrimp or Octopus a la Plancha with black olives, blistered tomatoes, and fingerling potatoes. The beverage menu will include specialty Beauty and the Beast-themed cocktails as well as spirits, beer, cider and non-alcoholic options for guests of all ages.

5. Free admission to NBA Experience now available for Cast Members and friends/family

Image: Disney

Walt Disney World offers its Cast Members free admission to theme parks and a certain number of admissions for family and friends, but beginning today Cast Members will be able to take advantage of a new perk: free admission to the newly-opened NBA Experience. 

Complimentary admission to the NBA Experience does not count toward a Cast Member’s allotted number of Main Entrance Pass theme park admissions, and Cast Members may redeem this offer once per day, as many days as they would like to visit before the end of the year.  Block-out dates may apply, but have not been announced yet. Guests of the Cast Member must be present when redeeming this offer at the NBA Experience ticket window. 

Standard pricing for the NBA experience is $34 for adults and $29 for kids 3-9. 

6. Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle debuts at Islands of Adventure

Image: Universal

This week Islands of Adventure got into the spooky spirit with the new Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle projection show, which features the dark side of the Wizarding World, including Death Eaters, Dementors, mountain trolls, Inferi, and giant spiders. You can check out the opening night performance of this show here.  

In addition to this new projection show, Death Eaters have infiltrated Hogsmeade, and will appear after sundown in this area of the park. 

7.  Icebreaker, a quadruple launch coaster coming next year to SeaWorld Orlando

Image: SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando has announced a brand new launch coaster for its Wild Arctic area of the park named Icebreaker. On this attraction guests will blast through four different launches, both backwards and forwards, culminating in a reverse launch into the steepest beyond vertical drop in Florida — a 93-foot tall spike with 100-degree angle. You can read more about this new exciting attraction here. 

8. Iron Gwazi reimagines a classic ride for a new era at Busch Gardens Tampa

 Image; Busch Gardens Tampa
Though Gwazi has been closed for several years now, Busch Gardens Tampa announced that this classic attraction will be reimagined as Iron Gwazi in 2020. While elements of the former wooden attraction will be integrated into the new ride (only about a quarter of the old attraction remains), Iron Gwazi will have a reimagined layout and steel track that will tell a different story and provide a completely new experience that, when finished, will make this attraction North America’s tallest, and the world’s  fastest, and steepest hybrid roller coaster.
 
At 206 feet tall, Iron Gwazi will feature a 91-degree drop, and reach top speeds of 76 miles per hour. The journey will include three inversions and 12 airtime hills as this new roller coaster races along more than 4,075 feet of purple steel track. And like Icebreaker at SeaWorld Orlando, Iron Gwazi will have a 48 inch height requirement, making this another family-friendly thrill ride at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. 

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