TouringPlans Travel Beat 4-20-2025

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? 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!

• Universal Using Virtual Line for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
• Disney Skyliner Refurb Dates in January 2026
• Small World Reopening Delayed to May 9 at Disneyland
• Helios Grand Hotel Opens at Universal Orlando
• V.I.Passholder Days at Disney World Returning in May 2025
• New Entertainment for Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Annniversary
• Victoria & Albert’s Retains Michelin Star for 2025
• Disney Adventure Achieves Float Out Milestone
• Details on the Mando & Grogu Storyline for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
• Disney Wish Tries Out Activity Reservations
• Headline News Recap

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

Universal Using Virtual Line for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is the headliner ride in the Wizarding World installment of the new Epic Universe theme park. The park itself is currently in preview mode, with preview tickets opening this week to Annual Passholders, and the park is hosting larger crowds than it saw during previous more limited previews. As part of the AP Previews, Battle at the Ministry is using a Virtual Line, and for those wondering how this is different from Disney World’s Virtual Queue; conceptually, it’s not. It’s still a method to reserve a return time, although Universal’s implementation is a bit different.

How different? Well, we don’t want to give you details because Epic Universe has already changed them a few times this week. We went from fixed drop times, to random drop times, back to fixed times. And while some of our parks team have been successful in obtaining a queue time, others have been shut out. We don’t know for sure that Universal will use a Virtual Line when the park fully opens to the public on May 22, but past experience with the launch of popular new rides suggests it is likely. Keep your eyes open, we’ll have an explainer article as soon as we’re confident that we won’t need to update it on a daily basis.

Disney Skyliner Refurb Dates in January 2026

The Disney Skyliner is an attraction that you don’t need admission to the parks to ride. But if you’re visiting at the end of January 2026, prepare to find other transportation. From January 25, 2026, through January 31, 2026, the Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment. Complimentary bus service will be available instead while the Skyliner is not running.

Small World Reopening Delayed to May 9 at Disneyland

Disneyland’s it’s a small world attraction has been under refurb, and this week Disney announced that the reopening has been pushed back a bit from April 25 to May 9. When it returns, the ride will include a new scene featuring Miguel and Dante from “Coco”.

Helios Grand Hotel Opens at Universal Orlando

Last week’s news was that the Helios Grand would be opening early, with reservations available starting on April 16 ahead of the previously announced opening date of May 22, 2025. This week, the doors opened and we have a few pics below from our friends and our team for you to enjoy.

V.I.Passholder Days at Disney World Returning in May 2025

If you’ve got a Disney World Annual Pass, you may be happy to hear that V.I.Passholder Summer Days are returning between May 14 and July 31, 2025. Announced features include an all-new passholder magnet, the return of the Passholder Lounge, and special limited-time discounts, all features of previous years’ events. Details are a little skimpy beyond that, but we expect they’ll be coming. If you’re an Annual Passholder, keep an eye on your email or the Passholder Buzz in MDE; Disney doesn’t always do a media blast on these.

New Entertainment for Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary

Hong Kong Disneyland will celebrate its 20th Anniversary this year, with the festivities kicking off on June 28, 2025. Ahead of the event, Disney shared info this week about new entertainment and more coming to the park for its birthday event.

A new stage show will be coming to the Castle of Magical Dreams, just for the 20th anniversary. Look for a concert-style show where you can listen to the 20th anniversary anthem and two brand-new original songs. Looking around, you’ll see ELD decor, balloons, banners, Mickey & Friends, Duffy & Friends, and the Disney Princesses. All will be wearing 20th anniversary or brand-new party attire.

A brand new parade is coming as well, the “Friendtastic!” Parade. “Friendtastic!” will feature 11 floats, 100 performers, and more than 30 Disney characters. Four original songs will accompany the procession, which features floats themed to “Zootopia,” “Big Hero 6,” “Encanto,” “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc,” “Turning Red,” “Inside Out,” and “Up,” as well as Duffy and Friends and Disney Princesses.

Finally, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that along with the new stage show, the new parade, new limited-time food and merch, and new character outfits, there will be a new nighttime spectacular. “Momentous: Party in the Night Sky!” extends the castle projections of “Momentous” down Main Street to create a 360° complete viewing perspective with drones, illuminated water projections, choreographed fountains, flames, lasers, lighting, and, of course, fireworks.

Victoria & Albert’s Retains Michelin Star for 2025

The Florida Michelin Guide ceremony was held this week, and Disney World is pleased to announce that its flagship fine dining establishment, Victoria & Albert’s, has retained its Michelin star. This is obviously a tremendous achievement, and we join Disney in congratulating Chef Matthew Sowers and his staff.

At TouringPlans, we recognize a wide demographic of visitors, including those whose budget doesn’t accommodate a $295 per person dinner. So we’d like you to know that although Disney didn’t recognize them in its announcements, there are four additional Michelin-recommended eateries at Disney World, although they are at the next tier down (Plate) and do not have a star. Congratulations also to the Polite Pig, Citricos, Morimoto Asia, and Toledo Tapas & Steak. To give you an idea, there are only 59 restaurants in the Orlando area that have any Michelin recognition at all – Stars, Plate, or Bib Gourmand – so this is still quite an achievement.

Disney Adventure Achieves Float Out Milestone

The Disney Adventure headed out of Meyer Werft shipbuilder’s hall on Saturday and floated its way to a berth at the shipyard’s outfitting pier. There, she’ll receive additional fitting, including installation of the funnels, lifeboats, and more exterior features such as the ship’s upper deck attractions, prior to her maiden voyage in December 2025.

Details on the Mando & Grogu Storyline for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

Last year, we learned that a new storyline is coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on May 22, 2026. And in true Disney fashion, that means we can look forward to a steady stream of periodic updates with a few new details to keep us excited and help us remember that it’s on the horizon. This week’s updates come to us courtesy of the Walt Disney Imagineering panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan, and include some key nuggets.

Star Tours has long offered an option to get a different experience in re-rides on the same attraction, and we’ll see that added to Smugglers Run, with a twist. The twist? Guests will have some control over the experience, being able to choose between different adventures on Bespin, Endor, or Coruscant.

If you’ve been wondering how the Hondo Ohnaka pre-show was going to accommodate a new mission, we probably have the answer. In the new storyline, Hondo has gotten wind of a shady deal between ex-Imperial officers and pirates on Tatooine. Since there’s a bounty in play, you’ll be borrowing the Falcon and teaming up with Mando and Grogu to go collect. And speaking of Grogu, the Engineer position will be getting a new gameplay as they’ll be in charge of managing communication with Grogu.

Disney Wish Tries Out Activity Reservations

Travelers on the April 21 sailing of the Disney Wish have gotten an email about new reservation options in the Navigator app for their upcoming sailing. It’s always been possible to reserve upcharge activities such as liquor tastings and adult dining. But on this sailing, guests will be able to reserve times to complete their Oceaneer Club reservations, ride the AquaMouse, and attend certain character Meet & Greets. It appears that unreserved opportunities will still be available, and Disney has emphasized that this is a test. But should it become the way, that could change; other lines that need to manage demand on their largest ships routinely require reservations for free activities such as shows with limited capacity.

Headline News Recap

Last week was a deluge, but this week the only headline belonged to the upcoming Disney Destiny. Some details were shared on previously announced features (for instance, some menu items for the Pride Lands dining room), and we updated our FAQ. The Disney Destiny Cruise Ship — Everything We Know So Far

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