TouringPlans Travel Beat 1-12-2025

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? (Hint, it was still kinda slow.) 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!

• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Will Close in September
• Parkside Market Soft Opens at Downtown Disney
• Lunar New Year Foodie Guide at Disneyland
• Dates for Haunted Mansion Holiday in 2025
• Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Concert Lineup Announced
• Deadpool & Wolverine Bid Adieu to Disneyland
• Race Dates for 2025-2026 runDisney Season
• A New Ship Class and a New Wish-Class Ship for Disney Cruise Line
• Headline News Recap

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

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Will Close in September

All good things come to an end, and Universal Orlando has announced that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit will close permanently in September 2025. More details on a replacement will be released later.

Parkside Market Soft Opens at Downtown Disney

We’re not positive we ever saw an official opening date for the new Parkside Market in Downtown Disney District beyond “this winter”, but the food mall soft-opened last week at Disneyland. All four venues, Seoul Sister, Sip & Sonder, GG’s Chicken Shop, and Vista Parkside Market, are now serving, and menus are available on its website as well as Disneyland’s site.

Lunar New Year Foodie Guide at Disneyland

Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebration kicks off soon, running from January 17 to February 16, 2025. If you’re visiting then, you’ll find special food throughout the park, celebrating Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures through cuisine. Look for the following special Lunar New Year Marketplaces, plus more food throughout the resort’s regular eateries. A Sip & Savor Pass gives you 6 digital coupons to redeem for food at the event, or a Disney gift card is always a good way to manage your budget at a Festival.

Lunar New Year Marketplaces in Paradise Gardens Park:

• Bamboo Blessings
• Longevity Noodle Co.
• Lucky 8 Lantern
• Prosperity Bao & Buns
• Red Dragon Spice Traders
• Wrapped with Love

It’s too much to list it all here – check out Disney’s Foodie Guide to the event if you’d like to see the full lineup.

Dates for Haunted Mansion Holiday in 2025

You’ll see in the headline news that Disney cut it close to the wire with a few announcements this week. (Snarky? Who, us?) Meanwhile, on the other coast, Disneyland has barely closed down Haunted Mansion Holiday from this Christmas, and they’re already announcing its return. The popular holiday overlay will be back in 2025 from August 22, 2025 through January 7, 2026.

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Concert Lineup Announced

Universal Orlando has announced the concert lineup for Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval. The event runs from February 1 through March 30 this year, with a different musical act scheduled each Saturday night. Keep an eye here on the blog for more news as it’s released, plus Joe’s guide to the fun!

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO’S MARDI GRAS 2025 CONCERT LINEUP
Date	Headliner
February 1	T-Pain
February 8	Joe Jonas
February 15	Kool & The Gang
February 16	Juanes
February 22	Scotty McCreery
March 1	Foster the People
March 8	Illenium
March 15	All Time Low
March 16	Lawrence
March 21	Coco Jones
March 22	DJ Pauly D
March 29	TLC

Deadpool & Wolverine Bid Adieu to Disneyland

The Merc with a Mouth was a surprise hit in Disney’s family-friendly parks, but all good things come to a close. Deadpool & Wolverine are no longer appearing regularly at Avenger’s Campus at Disneyland. The Story Time with Deadpool show has also been removed from the calendar.

Race Dates for 2025-2026 runDisney Season

Just in time for marathon weekend at Disney World, the new year’s race dates are out. The year kicks off with a virtual race, the runDisney Virtual Love on the Run from Feb. 1-28, 2025. The remaining race dates are as follows:

• Disney World
  • 2025 Wine & Dine Weekend: October 23-26, 2025
  • 2026 Marathon Weekend: January 7-11, 2026
  • 2026 Princess: February 26-March 2, 2026
  • 2026 Springtime Surprise: April 16-19
• Disneyland
  • Halloween: September 4-7, 2025
  • More 2026 race dates to come.
• Virtual
  • Love on the Run: February 1-28, 2025
  • Virtual Series: June 1-August 31, 2025
  • Virtual 12Ks of Christmas: December 1-31, 2025

See the infographic below for more details and registration dates

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A New Ship Class and a New Wish-Class Ship for Disney Cruise Line

Now that the Treasure has sailed her maiden voyage and entered regular service, Disney Cruise Line is looking to the future. The Destiny and Adventure are still in the works, in case you’re keeping track, but there are four new ships on the horizon (har har) between 2027 and 2031. This week Disney announced a few details about those upcoming boats, all of which are being built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, and designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.

One ship – the first to be delivered in 2027 – will be an additional Wish-class ship. The remaining three will hit the water in 2029, 2030, and 2031 and will be a brand-new class. These three ships will be 20% larger than the Magic class, but smaller than both the Dream and the Wish classes. With a capacity of 3,000 guests, the smaller size will make smaller ports accessible.

And, Disney says, the ships are being designed with careful thought to the future. The new class will save fuel with a streamlined hull, next-generation power and propulsion systems, and other energy efficiency optimizations. When in port, the new ships will be able to connect to a port’s energy grid to run onboard systems, and when sailing they’ll be able to run on a variety of fuels. The new class will “continue Disney Cruise Line’s long-standing initiatives to minimize waste, conserve water and align with The Walt Disney Company’s 2030 environmental goals.”

Headline News Recap

We did see a few headlines over our Christmas break … starting with discounts. Free Dining! Free Dining Returns at Disney World for Summer 2025. And, because a room discount might be better — especially for smaller parties or those who don’t want to meet the length or ticket requirements — there’s one of those too. Summer 2025 Room Discounts for Disney World

There’s a very nice Florida Resident Ticket Offer … Florida Resident Ticket Offer for Early 2025

Festival of the Arts Menus were released … only 9 days before the opening. 2025 EPCOT Festival of the Arts Menus

But that wasn’t this week’s last word in “When is Disney ever going to let us know … ?” announcements. If you’re a DVC member who has been eyeing the January 26 Moonlight Magic event at Hollywood Studios and wondering if registration dates would be released before you arrived on your vacation, we have good news for you. They’re finally out: 2025 Moonlight Magic Dates and Details for Disney Vacation Club

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