TouringPlans Travel Beat 6-8-2025

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!

• Fallout and Five Nights at Freddy’s for Halloween Horror Nights
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Closing Date
• Save Up to 30% With Your DCL Placeholder on Select Sailings
• Radiator Springs Racers Refurb Coming in August
• Save up to 30% at Aulani this Fall
• GEO-82 Opens at EPCOT
• Character Greeting added to V.I.Passholders Summer Days
• Grab-n-Goof Kiosk Opens at EPCOT
• New Coffee Choices at Satu’li Canteen
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with Muppets to Open in 2026
• 2026 Dates for Waikolohe Pool Refurb at Aulani
• Headline News Recap

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

Fallout and Five Nights at Freddy’s for Halloween Horror Nights

Universal Orlando started out the week teasing Five Nights at Freddy’s on social media, so we knew some kind of announcement was coming. We weren’t surprised at all when Halloween Horror Nights tickets were announced a couple of days later (see the Headline News below). Along with that announcement: the first officially revealed Haunted House will be based on the global video game franchise Fallout. So what about Five Nights at Freddy’s? We still don’t know, except that “more details are coming soon”.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Closing Date

Universal Orlando had previously let us know that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit would be closing sometime in September, but it looks like that has moved up a bit. The ride’s final day of operation will be August 17th, and it will close on August 18th, 2025.

Save Up to 30% With Your DCL Placeholder on Select Sailings

If you booked a placeholder on your last Disney Cruise (and we hope you did, as it is a risk-free path to possible savings), Disney has a special offer for you. Placeholder savings on a future cruise are normally 10%, but on select sailings in August and September of 2025, you can save up to 30% when you use your placeholder. See if a sailing suits you on Disney’s onboard offer page (scroll down past the blackout dates). If you see something you like, contact Disney or your travel agent by August 1.

Radiator Springs Racers Refurb Coming in August

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit might be closing permanently, but at Radiator Springs Racers in Disneyland, it’s just a routine refurbishment. The attraction will be down for about a month beginning on August 18, 2025.

Save up to 30% at Aulani this Fall

Guests at Aulani can save on rooms this fall, most nights October 20 to December 23, 2025 (with checkout no later than December 24, 2025).

• Save up to 30% on stays of 5 nights or longer
• Save up to 25% on stays of 4 nights

See the offer page for details and restrictions. And Disney Visa Cardmembers — there’s a separate offer, just for you!

GEO-82 Opens at EPCOT

The new lounge at the rear of Spaceship Earth opened this week, and our team did drop by to check it out. What did we think? EPCOT’s GEO-82 Lounge Is a Nostalgic Yes!

Character Greeting added to V.I.Passholders Summer Days

From from June 9 through July 31, 2025, a popular character will be meeting at Der Teddybar in the Germany Pavilion. Which popular character? We don’t know! Maybe it’s not even the same one every day! Maybe it’s not even the same one all day every day! If you’re in the area, just go check out who’s there and report back. They’ll be meeting from 10 am to 6 pm daily.

Grab-n-Goof Kiosk Opens at EPCOT

CommuniCore Hall at EPCOT has a Festival kiosk space built in – but there’s no Festival in the summer! Not to worry, the kiosk has been rolled into the Cool Kid Summer event as a “Grab n Goof” booth. Look for mac ‘n’ cheese bites, pepperoni ravioli, or cookies ‘n’ cream ravioli as a sweet treat. Or you can go straight for the Goofy’s Gone Fishing blue lemonade with accoutrements, which our parks team dubbed “Possibly the sweetest thing we’ve ever had in EPCOT and not in a good way.” (You can read their full review here.)

New Coffee Choices at Satu’li Canteen

Satu’li Canteen has a lovely Quick Service breakfast, and it just got even better. Disney has added three new cold brews to the menu – regular, Ube, and Matcha – plus a cold brew flight for those with indecision. Best of all, they’re not just for breakfast – you can get them all day long.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with Muppets to Open in 2026

MuppetVision*3D and PizzeRizzo had their last day of operation yesterday, but Disney was quick to offer a hopeful outlook. They confirmed that the previously announced Muppets retheme of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will open in 2026. (And fans of the Aerosmith version can enjoy it “through 2025”.

2026 Dates for Waikolohe Pool Refurb at Aulani

When you are planning your Aulani vacation, you’ll want to know that a refurbishment of the Waikolohe Pool is scheduled for April 13 to May 8, 2026. Waikolohe is part of the main pool complex at Aulani, and the refurb includes the Waikolohe family pool, Waikolohe whirlpool spa, and Volcanic Vertical body slide. The lazy river, other tube slides, and Menehune Bridge water play structure will remain open, along with Wailana Adult Pool and ‘Alohi Point whirlpool spa for guests 18 and over.

Headline News Recap

When Disney announced last year that the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island were closing, they indicated that guests would still have “plenty of time” to enjoy these attractions before they closed. That turns out to be just under a year, as work on the newly-named Piston Peak is slated to begin late this summer. Rivers of America Closing July 7 to Make Way for Piston Peak.

Now that Epic Universe is open, there’s space for other big news from Universal Orlando — Halloween Horror Nights Tickets Now On Sale.

Finally, on the West Coast, a few updates about coming attractions, and the announcement of an all-new parking structure and pedestrian bridge. We know, we know … infrastructure doesn’t always feel exciting. But trust us, it will be needed to handle the added capacity from the attractions! Avatar Updates, New Parking, and More News at Disneyland.

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