June 17th, 2016 is going to be a historic day for the Walt Disney World Resort! Guests will be able to experience many new attractions and it all kicks off with a brand new stage show in front of Cinderella's Castle called Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire!
Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire replaces the long running stage show Dream Along with Mickey. This brand new show will invite new characters to the main stage including Tiana, Neveen, Rapunzel, Flynn and some friends from the Snuggly Duckling. Olaf, Anna and Elsa even join in on the fun! Check your attractions guide for performance times and plan accordingly.
Also on June 17th the highly controversial attraction Frozen Ever After opens in EPCOT's Norway Pavilion. This attraction replaces the beloved boat ride Maelstrom. Many Disney fans are left scratching their heads wondering why Disney is including an imaginary land based on an actual country in EPCOT's World Showcase? Don't get me wrong, I love the inclusion of Disney characters in the lands they are inspired from... Such as Aladdin in Morocco, Belle in France, but this one even has me wondering how Disney is going to pull it off and make it feel natural instead of forced into the space.
Taking flight June 17th is the brand new hang gliding experience Soarin' Around the World! The newly refurbished attraction features high definition digital screens, a third theater, carpeted entrance ways.... Oh yeah, and brand new (knock the flip flops off of the guy above you) video featuring breathtaking man made and natural landmarks. I just rode Fly Over America at Minnesota's Mall of America. The high definition screens really make a difference. The old projection screens would leave me motion sick sometimes, but with the upgraded viewing experience I didn't feel motion sick once! I can only assume that the Florida version of this attraction will have a similar look and feel.
Over at Disney's Hollywood Studios a new fireworks experience will debut on June 17th! Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular will hyper jump your midichlorians as this new show surrounds you! This brand new combination of State-of-the-art projection effects, dynamic lighting, lasers and pyrotechnics will light up the skies above Disney's Hollywood Studios like never before! Check your My Disney Experience app or the parks guide for show times and best viewing locations.
Last but not least it is worth mentioning that over Memorial Day weekend the long awaited 3rd track was opened at Toy Story Midway Mania! This will hopefully reduce the stand buy time and allow more FastPass+ reservations. Construction continues at Hollywood Studios on Toys Story Land and Star Wars Land with and estimated opening date stretching out to 2018. Don't let the construction stop you from going to Hollywood Studios though... there's still plenty to see and do!