TouringPlans Travel Beat 6-1-2024

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? 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!

• Disney Legend Richard Sherman Passes Away
• Epic Universe Preview Center to Open at Citywalk
• Disneyland Temporary Closures and Construction Updates
• The Walls Are Down at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World
• Royal Caribbean Announces Status Match Program
• Captain Mickey Graces the Bow of the Disney Adventure
• Lookout Cay Holds Completion Ceremony
• Pride Month Treats at Disney World and Disneyland
• Starfall Racers → Stardust Racers at Epic Universe
• New PhotoPass Magic Shots Roll Out Across Disney World
• Headline News Recap

Can you guess which story inspired this week’s cover image? Leave your guesses in the comments!

Disney Legend Richard Sherman Passes Away

In case the name is unfamiliar to you, Richard Sherman was one half of the Sherman Brothers songwriting duo, along with his brother Robert Sherman. The Sherman Brothers’ tunes permeate the parks, found on attractions from it’s a small world (yep, they wrote that) to Journey Into Imagination. And they are no less represented in the movies, where they are to thank for everyone’s favorite tongue twister “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” along with other tunes from Mary Poppins to the Jungle Book to the Aristocats — and more. Sherman died of age-related illness on May 25 at the age of 95; Disney’s statement can be found here.

Epic Universe Preview Center to Open at Citywalk

There’s a lot of excitement about Universal’s new Epic Universe park that’s opening in 2025, but if you’re visiting Universal in 2025 you’ll be able to get at least a taste of what’s coming. Universal is opening a new preview center for the park at CityWalk, featuring augmented reality experiences, photo ops with backgrounds featuring each of the park’s five portal worlds, plus a bird’s-eye scale model of the park. Epic Universe merch will also be available for purchase.

Disneyland Temporary Closures and Construction Updates

With work ongoing in both New Orleans Square (Haunted Mansion) and Critter Country (Tiana’s Bayou Adventure), Disneyland has announced (or confirmed as ongoing) several operational updates and temporary closures over the next few months.

• New Orleans Square
  • The bridge connecting New Orleans Square with Galaxy’s Edge will temporarily close beginning July 8. Guests will need to enter Galaxy’s Edge using the Frontierland entrance.
  • Haunted Mansion is closed for the queue reimagining. Due to work in this area, guests will not be able to board or debark the Disneyland Railroad at the station in New Orleans Square.
  • Popcorn and churro carts may be temporarily relocated.
• Critter Country – the land is currently closed
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open later this year
  • The Briar Patch and Pooh Corner are currently closed for transformations that will bring Ray’s Berets and Louis’ Critter Club to these locations.
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is closed and will reopen with the land
  • Hungry Bear Restaurant will temporarily close for a kitchen refurb beginning July 8, 2024, along with the nearby restrooms.
  • Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes will temporarily close beginning July 8, 2024

The Walls Are Down at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World

Cast Member previews for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure start this week, with Annual Passholder and Disney Vacation Club Member Previews to follow. So it’s fitting that the construction walls came down on Thursday to reveal the finished attraction. Doesn’t she look fine?

Royal Caribbean Announces Status Match Program

If you’re a frequent traveler then you’re familiar with airlines that match status for each other’s loyalty programs. New this week, Royal Caribbean has announced that it will match status across its wholly-owned brands Celebrity and Silversea. What this means: if you are a member of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, or Silversea’s Venetian Society, then you can enjoy equivalent status in the other two programs according to the chart below.

Cruisers with status in multiple programs will receive the perks of the highest tier, but points will not be pooled across programs. So if you’re Diamond Plus in the Crown & Anchor Society and it’s your first Celebrity cruise, then your points will go towards the Captain’s Club and not to additional Crown & Anchor status.

Captain Mickey Graces the Bow of the Disney Adventure

Most eyes have been focused on the Disney Treasure and the newly named Disney Destiny cruise ships, but the Disney Adventure has been working its way towards a sail date in 2025. The former Global Dream will be sailing out of Singapore, and Disney released a preview of the bow art featuring Captain Mickey this week.

Lookout Cay Holds Completion Ceremony

Lookout Cay will see its first visitors this coming week (including some of our team; look for snaps on our socials as the Magic makes its visit). So it’s a good thing the island destination is ready; a completion ceremony was held at the island’s Goombay Cultural Center on Thursday. Representatives from the Bahamian government and Disney Cruise Line, along with community leaders, assembled for the program, which included a performance by a group of Junkanoo performances from the winning teams of a local school Junkanoo competition. And of course, there was a photo op with some of the island’s new mouse inhabitants.

Pride Month Treats at Disney World and Disneyland

June is Pride Month and Disney has rolled out a variety of treats at parks on both coasts to celebrate. At Disney World, look for the Pride Liege Waffle at Connections Cafe and the Pride cupcake, available at multiple locations, in addition to other Pride-themed snacks and treats throughout the parks and Disney Springs.

At Disneyland, in addition to the featured food items you’ll find Pride-focused novelties available at multiple locations. Pictured below, the Pride Bottle Topper and Pride Stainless Steel Tumbler.

Starfall Racers → Stardust Racers at Epic Universe

Universal Orlando is still making adjustments to its Epic Universe lineup — the attractions are set, but the names aren’t final until they’re printed in the app. The Starfall Racers attraction had been previously announced for the Celestial portal of the new park, but this week Universal changed the name to Stardust Racers in response to a copyright challenge.

New PhotoPass Magic Shots Roll Out Across Disney World

Magic Shots bring a little extra … well, magic to your pictures taken by Disney’s PhotoPass team, and now there are more opportunities than ever for some techno-dazzle to spice up your vacation pics. Disney is rolling out several new shots at various locations throughout the parks, including the on-ride photos from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure that will debut with the ride on June 28th. And at Disney Springs you can stop by the PhotoPass Studio for both standard pics and Magic Shots with a new beachy backdrop to celebrate the summer.

Headline News Recap

Two previously announced discounts went live for booking this week, and a third was announced for Disney Visa Cardholders. Disneyland Special 2024 Summer Savings on Hotels & Tickets

Halloween is getting closer every day, and this year Universal is trying something new with a limited-attendance preview of Halloween Horror Nights. Premium Halloween Horror Nights Experience & UOAP Premier HHN Tickets Announced

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