Hi there!

Hope you all had a great week! Before we get into this week's news I wanted to talk briefly about the new fireworks show that's coming soon and Happily Ever After ending. This week we got a peek at the new song for Disney Enchantment, (link will be below) and it sounds amazing. But it reminded me of when we went through this process with Wishes ending and Happily Ever After beginning.

I was new to blogging at that point but I was hearing such a massive influx of negativity towards the new show, and people vowing they would never like it as much as Wishes. I was just reflecting on how this process seems to happen at each major change in entertainment at Disney World. Now people are so upset about HEA ending, even though this show was met with so much skepticism when it began. Time will tell if Enchantment becomes as beloved as HEA has, but I think the chances are pretty good that it will. Disney doesn't get everything right, but one thing they know is storytelling and how to move people with these shows. The music already sounds like a classic Disney show song- which is a great sign in my opinion.

So just reminding you guys (and myself) to be open-minded. A lot of changes are happening in the parks currently, but let's just give things a chance to see how they are before we make up our minds about them. I love new changes at the parks because it always gives us new things to look forward to when we visit, and a chance to make all new core memories. 

Okay, lets get into the week's news!

50th Anniversary prep begins: As we get ever closer to October 1st when the big anniversary celebration officially launches, we're seeing more decor popping up all over the parks. There are a total of 50 gold statues representing Disney characters places all over all four parks. The first of these are out in Magic Kingdom now, with these others coming soon. More details on Parks Blog are here. 


Future World Area Reopening at Epcot: The center of Epcot's Future World has been a mess for a while now. Well, the first section is about to reopen which is great progress! Mouse Gear which has long been the flagship store at Epcot (and has been operating from a temporary location) is now reopening in its new permanent building under the name Creations Shop. Also joining it in the same building is the new Club Cool. A huge fan favorite, Club Cool was where you could go and sample Coke sodas from around the world. Both of these will be located in the same general area of Future World as Mouse Gear used to be. You can see the location in this video on Insta or the TikTok version. They both open this week on September 15th, and there will also be a new Spaceship Earth-inspired merchandise line offered exclusively at this location as well. Go here to see the photo of the new merch. 

New Song: "You Are the Magic": Disney shared the new theme song for Disney Enchantment this week. Enchantment will be replacing Happily Ever After on Oct. 1st as the new nighttime spectacular at Magic Kingdom. The song sounds great and definitely like an epic Disney show song. Go check it out here. 

Mobile Order Expanding: You'll now be able to mobile order from many of your favorite candy and treat shops like Confectionary, Goofy's Candy, and The Caramel Shop in Epcot's Germany. This will be handy as waits can be long at these spots. They're rolling out over the month of September and the details are here. 

In case you missed it:

Epcot's Space 220 restaurant will be opening on September 20th. Yet another long-awaited Epcot project that will be ready to go very soon. No word yet on when reservations will be opening. The rumor is we will hear something this week. Here's the page to check on Disney's site when they do open up.

July 15th- November 20th: Food & Wine Festival at Epcot  August 10th- October 31st: (select evenings) Boo Bash After Hours Party at Magic Kingdom Sept. 8th- Annual passes go on sale  Sept. 28th: Final showing of Epcot Forever Sept. 29th: Final Showing of Happily Ever After Oct. 1st, 2021: Disney World's official 50th Anniversary begins Nov. 8th- Dec. 21st: Very Merry After Hours Party tickets here Nov. 18th: "Drawn to Life" show opens at Disney Springs (tickets)

Annual Passes went on sale so if you were looking to buy one you can do so at any time online. If you need a Florida resident one, make sure you're signed in to your account so it's all connected and that your address and everything is updated and correct. When you buy a new pass it won't be activated until you first enter a park with it. So your "year" won't officially begin until then. 

This week we have the new areas of Epcot opening which is exciting, and two of our local hotels near Disney Springs are starting a new upscale foodie event. I'll be checking that out in a hosted preview this week and share all the details then.

Also if you missed my stories this week, Orlando's Magical Dining is going on now and they have a pre-fixe meal price at many local restaurants including many at Disney Springs. Top of my list to try with this offer is Jaleo at Springs. It's a great price and proceeds go to a good cause. It lasts through Oct. 17th and the details are here. 


Have a great week!

Serena  ✨🏰✨ PS: If you've missed any of my past emails or want to go back and reference something you can go here.