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Haven't been in almost 10 years, what's new?!

Da Bird is Da Word

Active Member
Original Poster
The last time I went to Disney was October of 2008! It was a lot of fun--it was during Mickey's Halloween and we all dressed up. We used to go to Disney a lot but the family just stopped doing vacations there. Now I'm grown up and taking my fiancé for her first time this coming June for a 5 night/6 day stay at Coronado Springs. I'm so excited!

So my question is, what's new? I've heard about Avatar Land opening in Animal Kingdom and really hope it's up and running by the time we visit. I know there's a Frozen ride in Epcot now. I heard they re-did Star Tours and that there's something called Toy Story Mania now? Other than that I don't really know anything! Are there big attractions that should totally change how I game-plan for those parks?
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
So my question is, what's new? I've heard about Avatar Land opening in Animal Kingdom and really hope it's up and running by the time we visit. I know there's a Frozen ride in Epcot now. I heard they re-did Star Tours and that there's something called Toy Story Mania now? Other than that I don't really know anything! Are there big attractions that should totally change how I game-plan for those parks?
I'll go park by park on the newer things
Magic Kingdom

Throughout Magic Kingdom
Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom
(2012) - A card battling game throughout Main Street, Adventureland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Fantasyland. Disney gives you a pack of cards and you go to different portals hidden at the park to battle a Disney villian. Each game could take 20 - 45 minutes, and is best if you time on your hands, or like to explore the lands a bit more.
The Festival of Fantasy Parade
(2014) - Replacing the previous Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, this parade has floats based on pretty much all the characters of Fantasyland except for Winnie the Pooh and Friends. It has many large and wonderful floats, and my personal favorite is the Maleficent dragon float which breathes fire. It starts from Frontierland and starts at 3PM, I would definetly at least check this out once.
Enhanced Queues
- In select attractions at the Magic Kingdom there are new interactive queues with little games and stuff. The rides equipped are The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Little Mermaid, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain.

Main Street USA
The Main Street Theater
(2012?) - Replacing the former Exposition Hall which showed classic cartoons is an area where you can meet two characters. On one side Tinker Bell, and the other side Talking Mickey.
Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire
(2016) - Replacing Dream Along With Mickey is a brand new show featuring Mickey and Co as they put it on a little faire. Its the typical singing and dancing show that is pretty cute. Along with the classic Mickey characters there's some from Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen. If you have time I say watch it, as I found it highly enjoyable.

Adventureland
Walt Disney's The Enchanted Tiki Room
(2011) - Not really new, but rather the return of something... It's the original Tiki Room show sans Iago and Zazu. Its great way to escape from the crowds a bit, and just take a nice AC break.
A Pirate's Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas
(2013) - Similar to the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom you go around Adventureland for like five quests all based around the Pirates films causing cool things to happen around Adventureland. If you complete three out of the five you get a free fastpass for Pirates. Or at least they did last June.
Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen
(2016) - Near the entrance of Adventureland is this new Table Service restaurant. It has food from around the world, and it seems to be good, but I have never gone. Best to look at reviews and the menu before booking a reservation.

Liberty Square
Great Moments in History with The Muppets
(2016) - A new show housed near the Hall of Presidents has Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, Piggy, and Sam Eagle reenacting important parts of American history to the best their degree. However some facts from this show have been known to be a bit off. There are two different shows, and they are under the same name. It seems to be a bit random which show you get, but there's one about the Declaration of Independence and The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Hall of Presidents with Trump
(2017) - There adding Trump to the Hall of Presidents, and it will reopen on June 29th. So this all depends on when in June you go.
Fantasyland
Tangled Toilets
(2012?) - A really nice restroom area themed around Tangled. There's a scavenger hunt to find Pascal's friends throughout this section. There's a replica of the tower located here as well.
Princess Fairytale Hall
(2013) - Replacing Snow Whites Scary Adventure is a meet and greet area for the Disney Princesses. Located here are Elena of Avalor and Cinderella on one side, and the other is Rapunzel and Tiana.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
(2014) - This is a rocking coaster that's a lot of fun, but has a massive line. It's the newest ride at Magic Kingdom. I would say this along with Space Mountain and Peter Pan are the top priorities in the park. With the other mountains close behind. Either get a fastpass, or get there first thing in the morning at opening.
Enchanted Tales with Belle
(2012) - A fancy meet and greet for Belle. The catch is you need to play a part to meet Belle. Unless they changed that little pesky rule. If you really want to meet Belle wait till Epcot as the wait times for this can go pretty high.
Belle's Village
(2012) - Not really ride, but it's an experience. There's Be Our Guest Restaurant in which you eat inside the Beast's castle, and possibly the West Wing. This is a tough reservation to snag along with The Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal Table. During Dinner you'll be able to meet the Beast himself. There's Gastons Tavern along with a gift shop nearby.
The Little Mermaid Ride
(2012) - An okay ride that goes through the highlights of the film, has a different name but I can't remember it at the moment.
Storybook Circus
(2012) - A new area that replaces Toon Town. There's an expanded Dumbo and the Barnstormer Coaster. There's also Pete's Silly Sideshow where you can either meet Minnie and Daisy or Donald and Goofy.

Tomorrowland
Stitch's Great Escape
may be closed when you visit due to it being seasonal.
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
(2007) - A comedy show featuring the monsters of the hit film it can be funny at times. It received an update with Monsters University characters a while back. And you can send in your own jokes.

Epcot

Future World
Test Track 2.0 (2012) - Taking on a new Tronesque look you ride around a digital world as you test a car that you make in the queue. Similar, but not exactly the same to the original attraction. If your unable to get a Fastpass for this ride I suggest you rush to it at park opening.
Expanded Character Spot (2016) - They added Baymax along with Joy and Sadness in this general area.
Soarin' Round the World (2016) - An updated Soarin' experience where you go flying around the world. They added a third theater which has cut down wait times, and added an interactive experience in the queue. It's suggested to sit in the Center section, and if possible the front row. Ask the cast member if it would be possible.
Updated Turtle Talk with Cursh (2016) - Updated with characters from Finding Dory namely Hank, Bailey, and Destiny.
Innoventions has been shut down.

World Showcase
Frozen Summer Haus (2016) - A large meet and greet area for Anna and Elsa.
Frozen Ever After (2016) - As you mentioned before it's in Epcot, and replace Maelstrom. It's the most popular ride at Epcot. So either Fastpass it or wait till the end of the day.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Boulevard
Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away (2016) - A show in which Star Wars characters walk up to a stage say a line or wave and walk off. It all ends with all the characters on stage for a photo-op.
Star Wars A Galactic Spectacular (2016) - A nighttime spectacular best watched along Hollywood Boulevard closeish to the Chinese Theater. There's fire, lasers, projections, and fireworks. It's typically a couple minutes after Fantasmic! And a must see as it's a lot fun especially if your a fan of the films.
The Sorcerer's Hat has been torn down

Echo Lake
For the First Time in Forever : A Frozen Sing-a-Long (2014) -
Star Tours : The Adventure Continues (2011) - An updated Star Tours ride you travel to various Star Wars planets being piloted by R2D2 and C3P0. There's over fifty different combinations, and each time is fun. Wait times vary, but in the past by the afternoon I have noticed slightly shorter wait times.
Star Wars : Path of the Jedi (2016) - It's a clip show...

Muppets Courtyard
All that's left of Streets of America, and home to the newest restaurant.
Pizzerizzo (2016) - A new restaurant replacing Pizza Planet. It has the same menu and that's changed is decor.

Animation Courtyard
Disney Junior (2013) - It's the Playhouse Disney show with new characters from Sofia the First, Doc Mcstuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Shows.
Star Wars Launch Bay (2016) - Replacing The Magic of Disney Animation is this new attraction. There's a film showing the Behind the Scenes of the film, along with meet and greets for Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. Occasionally some characters show up in the Mos Eisley Cantina area. There's some props, costumes, and models from the films and other places.

Pixar Place
Toy Story Midway Mania (2008) - One of the most popular attractions at the park, and one that pulls long lines is this fun ride. It's a shooting gallery ride in 3D, and occasionally fires water and wind at you. If you shoot the right targets. Second priority attraction behind Rock'n'Rollercoaster. Fastpass one of them, and head first thing at opening to the other.
Doctor Strange Show (2016) - Not marketed it opened this past November, and is in an area marked by a Daily Bugle newspaper machine. I'm not even sure if this is still happening.

Animal Kingdom

Discovery Island
Tree of Life Awakenings (2016) - A projection show on the Tree of Life which lasts 1 minute to 3 minutes. Its randomized, and has a variety of different shows. Only at night.
Tiffins (2016) - The newest fine dining restaurant and has many exoctic things of the menu.

Dinoland/Asia
Rivers of Light (2017) - Honestly this is just a guess, but it should be open by June (hopefully). It's a nighttime spectacular, and seating is limited. So I suggest getting there a hour ahead if your going for the first showing of it.

Pandora : The World of Avatar (Summer 2017)
You already mentioned it, but it's still being added soooooo. Here it is.

Disney Springs
AKA Downtown Disney, Double the stores and restaurants from Downtown Disney

Typhoon Lagoon
Miss Fortune Falls (Spring 2017) - A new family water raft ride.

There's also MyMagic+ and Fastpass+, but I'm sure you're aware of those.

Hope this helped :D
 

Da Bird is Da Word

Active Member
Original Poster
Wow, thanks for the comprehensive reply! I'm going to bookmark this page so I can come back to it. This is the first time I'm hearing about the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train! I love roller coaster so this should be a blast. I had no clue they re-did Test Track. That was always one of my favorite rides. Not sure how I feel about the overhaul, I don't like change! lol. Sure it'll be fun though. I'm a huge Star Wars fan so I'll be sure to check out all the extra Star Wars stuff they're doing now. I'm not a huge Frozen fan but the girlfriend is and I've heard a ton of good things about the Frozen ride so I'll be sure to book a fast pass there. I'm gonna hit up all the new rides and will be sure to see at least a few of the new shows they've got. I learned about Be Our Guest and tried to get dinner reservations but it's all booked up. >_< I at least got a reservation for a quick service lunch at the restaurant though.

Again, thank you so much for the response. I didn't expect anyone here to write up such a big post for me. :)
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Wow, thanks for the comprehensive reply! I'm going to bookmark this page so I can come back to it. This is the first time I'm hearing about the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train! I love roller coaster so this should be a blast. I had no clue they re-did Test Track. That was always one of my favorite rides. Not sure how I feel about the overhaul, I don't like change! lol. Sure it'll be fun though. I'm a huge Star Wars fan so I'll be sure to check out all the extra Star Wars stuff they're doing now. I'm not a huge Frozen fan but the girlfriend is and I've heard a ton of good things about the Frozen ride so I'll be sure to book a fast pass there. I'm gonna hit up all the new rides and will be sure to see at least a few of the new shows they've got. I learned about Be Our Guest and tried to get dinner reservations but it's all booked up. >_< I at least got a reservation for a quick service lunch at the restaurant though.

Again, thank you so much for the response. I didn't expect anyone here to write up such a big post for me. :)
You're very welcome :D

One thing I didn't mention about 7 Dwarfs is that it's a cross of Barnstormer and Thunder Mountain. Don't expect huge thrills, but it is fun.

For Be Our Guest I suggest checking every day you have like 5 months to go so maybe you get lucky. and since Disney only charges for cancellation within a like 24 hour window you should be fine :D

And don't worry about It, I was actually going to include some refurbishments beside the ones for Test Track and Soarin', but opted to keep it a surprise ;):p:D
 

Da Bird is Da Word

Active Member
Original Poster
Also, there are new Magic Bands you can use if you want.

Yeah I just ordered my magic bands from My Disney Experience a couple days ago. I remember last time we went we just had room keys with our names on them that basically had the same function. Sounds pretty cool though! I ordered mine blue and my girlfriend's purple. I'm gonna order some custom covers online too. Btw, when you associate a credit card with the wristband for "incidentals", do you need to use a pin with it to use the band for that purpose? Would make me feel a little bit safer about adding a card to it.
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Yeah I just ordered my magic bands from My Disney Experience a couple days ago. I remember last time we went we just had room keys with our names on them that basically had the same function. Sounds pretty cool though! I ordered mine blue and my girlfriend's purple. I'm gonna order some custom covers online too. Btw, when you associate a credit card with the wristband for "incidentals", do you need to use a pin with it to use the band for that purpose? Would make me feel a little bit safer about adding a card to it.
The last time I used a magic band linked with a card was when they were testing it, but as of that moment yes you needed to put your pin whenever you purchased something.
 

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