TouringPlans Travel Beat 3-30-2024

At Travel Beat we have all the “other” news from the last week or so—the stuff that wasn’t big enough to stop the presses for. What did the newsroom bring us this week? (Sneak peek: lots of limited-time menu items.) Bullets are just ahead if you’re in a hurry, and more details follow below. Don’t forget to check out the Headline News Recap, in case there was something you missed!

• Season of the Force Food and Drinkware
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Prelude: New Critters
• Marvel Ride Overlay Coming to Tokyo Disney Resort
• The Disney Treasure is Afloat
• Royal Caribbean Announces Wiggles Cruises
• Earth Month Limited-Time Menu Items at Animal Kingdom
• Headline News Recap

Have a theory on what news story inspired our cover image this week? Leave your guesses in the comments.

Season of the Force Food and Drinkware

Season of the Force is coming to Disneyland Resort for April and May of 2024, and it will be accompanied by limited-time menu offerings and merchandise. Souvenir collectibles include Jabba the Hutt, Salvaged Stormtrooper Helmet, and Millennium Falcon popcorn buckets, Grogu and Acid Spitter Orb Sippers, a Darth Vader stainless steel tumber, and more. Perhaps our favorite is the Rancor Beer Flight Souvenir Board with Four Teeth that will be available at Oga’s Cantina; also at this location are Chandrilan Chalice and Chandrilan Orb Glass souvenir drinkware.

On the edible side, specialty menu items will appear at all Galaxy’s Edge locations, and the Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland. Looking at the pictures (and the lineup) below, I have to say this feels a little like a “Be Fair to Florida” moment.

• Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo: Fried Chicken Baos, Dewback Chili Noodles
• Galactic Grill: Bantha Burger, Chorizo Loaded Fries, Wookiee Parfait, Watermelon Slush with Death Star Glow Cube, Granny Smith Apple Slush with Millennium Falcon Glow Cube
• Kat Saka’s Kettle: Toydaria Swirl – Green Milk with chili seasoning and mango jellies
• Oga’s Cantina: several new drinks and souvenir glassware
• Ronto Roasters: Pasaana Punch
• Grand Californian Hotel & Spa: An assortment of cookies and treats
• Also participating: Salt & Straw and Splitsville Luxury Lanes at Downtown Disney

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Prelude: New Critters

Well, we still don’t have an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disney World, but it must be getting close because Disney is dribbling out the news on a fairly frequent basis. This week, we learned about a group of critter musicians that Tiana will audition to provide the music at her big party with Prince Naveen. When we meet them in the ride, they’ll be playing a rendition of “Gonna Take You There” from the Princess and the Frog movie.

Guests will float past a Zydeco ensemble featuring Byhalia the Beaver (percussion), Gritty the Rabbit (washboard), Beau the Opossum (gourd bass), Apollo the Raccoon (squeezebox), Rufus the Turtle (harmonica), and Timoléon the Otter (fiddle).  Needless to say, there will also be cute critter merch such as the plushies shown above. And Disney has teased this as “Part 1”, implying that there’s more critters, more story, more something that we’ll hear about soon.

Marvel Ride Overlay Coming to Tokyo Disney Resort

We all know how much Groot loves to dance, and in the winter of 2025 (next winter) he’ll be dancing with the dolls of its a small world at the Tokyo Disney Resort. To prepare for his arrival, the attraction will close sometime in autumn 2024. This will be the first appearance of Marvel characters at an attraction in Tokyo Disney Resort, after theme park rights to Marvel in Japan transferred from Universal to Disney earlier this year. A projection show based on Marvel characters will debut at TDR slightly earlier, in September 2024.

The Disney Treasure is Afloat

ICYMI: Last week Disney announced that the next ship to follow the Treasure will be the Disney Destiny, and shared pictures of the keel-laying ceremony. Well, these ships are big, dontcha know, and Meyer Werft needs the Treasure’s space to build out the Destiny. So they flooded the Treasure’s dock and set her afloat on the way to a new location to finish her construction. If you’re eagerly awaiting the Treasure’s inaugural cruise, well, you’re one step closer now.

Royal Caribbean Announces Wiggles Cruises

Younger or older, do you have a Wiggles can in your house? Then good news for you: in the summer of 2025-2026, you’ll have the opportunity to sail on a Wiggles-themed cruise with Royal Caribbean.

Are you a little confused about how summer goes from 2025 to 2026? Well, the answer is that you’ll have to make your way Down Under to catch your boat. The Wiggles are an Australian group, and these sailings will be on Australian itineraries, and in Australia, summer runs from December to February. Sail dates for these cruises will be announced when Royal Caribbean releases the itineraries on April 10.

Earth Month Limited-Time Menu Items at Animal Kingdom

Earth Day is coming to kick off an entire Earth Month menu of limited-time items found at Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. Available April 1 through 30.

Animal Kingdom Theme Park

• Creature Comforts
  • Honeycomb Mousse: Honey mousse on top of a brownie base with sugar bees and white chocolate honeycomb
• Dawa Bar
  • Wazi Waze: Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao Liqueur, sour mix, and pineapple juice garnished with a pineapple wedge
• Nomad Lounge
  • The Pachyderm and the Pollinator: Cruxland Gin, bitters, and soda water with a lemon wheel and honey simple syrup
• Pizzafari
  • Elephant Cupcake: An edible white chocolate elephant atop a graham cracker cupcake with pineapple filling and a jungle of matcha buttercream and crispy pearls (also available at Restaurantosaurus)
• Tiffins Restaurant
  • Zucchini Carpaccio: “The Land” zucchini, marinated tomatoes, candied pistachios, castelvetrano olives, golden raisins, plant-based feta, pomegranate molasses, and crispy sweet potato (Plant-based)
  • The Pachyderm and the Pollinator: Cruxland Gin, bitters, and soda water with a lemon wheel and honey simple syrup

Other Locations

• The Mara, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Raindrop Tart: Chocolate cake, pistachio crumb, passion fruit gel, vanilla cheesecake, and white chocolate mousse
• Amorette’s Patisserie, Disney Springs
  • The Plant in The Boot Petit Cake: Layers of carrot cake, cream cheese mousse, and pineapple jam

Headline News Recap

Want to spend time in Hawaii in the waning months of the year? Save on Fall 2024 Stays at Aulani

Universal continues to release information about its new Epic Universe theme park: Universal Epic Universe – How to Train Your Dragon Isle of Berk Revealed

That’s it for this week’s Travel Beat. What news are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!