fbpx
Skip to content

WDW Radio Newswire: Epcot’s Norway Pavilion Braced To Feel The Chill Of “Frozen Ever After”

Frozen Forever After - disney

Plus…. New Star Wars Fireworks Show set to debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire readies for June opening at Magic Kingdom, and more!

We begin the June edition of the WDW Radio Newswire at Epcot, where we finally have an exact opening date for the Frozen additions to the Norway pavilion. The Frozen Ever After attraction and the Royal Sommerhus Meet and Greet will officially join the World Showcase landscape on Tuesday, June 21st. FASTPASS+ bookings for Frozen Ever After are available now, and the attraction will be opening each morning at 9am (as opposed to the usual 11am opening time for World Showcase attractions).

Soarin' Around the World - disneyFor more news out of Epcot, let’s venture over to The Land pavilion, where the original version of Soarin’ has reopened ahead of the debut of Soarin’ Around the World. The new version is set to begin its globetrotting flights on Friday, June 17th. In the meantime, Guests can embark on the classic incarnation of Soarin’ one last time. In more Land-related news, Sunshine Seasons has just reopened for breakfast with expanded menu options. The quick-service spot had temporarily ceased breakfast hours while Soarin’ was shut down, but with the attraction back in the mix, Sunshine Seasons has made its return to the Epcot breakfast scene.

Time to park-hop over to Magic Kingdom Park now, as a brand new stage show is set to debut very soon. Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire will premiere at the Castle Forecourt Stage on Friday, June 17th. The show will feature a lively mix of singing, dancing, and all-around fun with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. There will also be special appearances from some familiar faces, as the gang will be joined onstage by characters from The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen. The new show replaces Dream Along with Mickey, which saw its last performance back on Saturday, April 2nd.

For more news out of Magic Kingdom Park, let’s stroll into Fantasyland and make our way over to “it’s a small world”. The attraction is set to see some downtime later this Summer, as a refurbishment has been scheduled from Monday, August 22nd to Thursday, September 15th.

For more news on the refurbishment front, let’s follow the hub over to Adventureland. The Swiss Family Treehouse will be closed for just over two-and-a-half months this Summer, as the walk-through attraction will be dark from Wednesday, July 6th to Saturday, September 24th.

There’s one more bit of news to mention in the Magic Kingdom. For this one, let’s head back up Main Street U.S.A. and stop into Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, where a new Main Street Electrical Parade Dining Package is now being offered. The package, priced at $45 for adults and $17 for kids ages 3 to 9, features a hearty three course lunch at Tony’s, plus priority viewing of the Electrical Parade later that evening. The reserved viewing area is located near the Main Street Flag Pole, offering up some pretty amazing sights of the action. The meal features your choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, as well as a beverage of your choosing. Personally, I love this package. If you’re going to eat a three course lunch at Tony’s, you’d easily spend that much, or more. So why not book the package and guarantee yourself an opportunity to see the parade from a great vantage point? Bravo to the mouse for this one!

Star Wars fireworks - disneyTime to hop over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios now for some news on a new nighttime fireworks spectacle coming to the park this Summer. Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular is set to light up the skies over DHS beginning Friday, June 17th. There’s been quite a bit of hoopla over this one, as Disney is touting this as the most elaborate fireworks display in the 27-year history of the park. Video projections on the Chinese Theater and surrounding buildings, a rockin’ soundtrack, laser lighting, booming pyrotechnics, and other exciting special effects will all combine with a massive fireworks display to put you right in the epicenter of the Star Wars universe like never before. At present time, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular seems to be an open-ended engagement, so I’d expect it to have an extended run stretching long beyond the Summer months.

For more news out of DHS, let’s head over to Toy Story Mania, where the third track is now officially open for business. Located in the area formerly occupied by Soundstage 1, the third track will hopefully alleviate the long wait times for the attraction. So far, it appears to be working. Once you wind through the queue and reach the merge point, you’re either directed up the staircase to the original loading area, or through a doorway and down a hallway to the third track’s loading area. This new area is similarly themed to its original counterpart, but is much smaller. As a result, the loading and unloading of the ride vehicles occur on the same side. The exit for the third track spits you out near what used to be the entrance to the Hollywood Backlot Tour (which will soon be right in the heart of Toy Story Land). It’s also worth noting that once Toy Story Land opens, the entrance to Toy Story Mania will be relocated to what is now the rear of the building.

Our final bit of news today takes us over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where an upcoming refurbishment has just been announced for DINOSAUR. The attraction will be closing on Monday, July 25th, with the “countdown to extinction” set to resume on Thursday, September 29th. This will put the total downtime for DINOSAUR at just over two months.

Well, that’s gonna do it for the June edition of the WDW Radio Newswire, but I’ll be back again next month with lots more news, notes, and happenings from Walt’s beloved Florida Project!

(Photos ©Disney)
Don Myers has covered news and recent events in Walt Disney World for the WDW Radio Blog since 2011. He has been enamored with “all things Disney” since his first trip to WDW in 1986. As they say… the rest is history! Don was also a contributing writer for Celebrations magazine, submitting over 30 articles and 7 cover stories for the publication from 2009 to 2012.

 

Comments

About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

Related Posts