TouringPlans Travel Beat 9-7-2025

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? (Sneak peek: some of it is news from Destination D23 that didn’t make the press deadline last 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!

• Cinderella Castle Returning to Classic Colors
• World of Frozen Opening in Paris Spring 2026
• New Restaurant and Villains Party at Hong Kong Disneyland
• “Meet and Play” Concept for Disney Destiny to Include Villains and More
• Save up to 25% at Disney’s Aulani in Late Winter
• Celebrity Shares Details of Its New River Ships
• Kali River Rapids Refurb to Begin October 6
• Disney Adventure Heads to Sea Trials
• Free WiFi Takes Off With Updates on Multiple Airlines
• New Details for Cask & Cannon on Disney Destiny
• Epic Universe Giveaway Promotion Launching at McDonald’s
• Blizzard Beach Closing for Winter Maintenance
• Headline News Recap

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

Cinderella Castle Returning to Classic Colors

Cinderella Castle donned a new pink and blue color scheme in 2020 for Disney World’s 50th anniversary, and one of the final announcements of last weekend’s Destination D23 is that the castle is being returned to gray and blue colors more in line with the original color scheme. There’s no timeline on when the work will begin, as Imagineers are “still putting the finishing touches on the paint design process”, but it seems clear that the change is intended to occur within the next year.

World of Frozen Opening in Paris Spring 2026

World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris is nearing the end of construction, and last week at Destination D23, Disney confirmed that the new land would open in Spring 2026. The opening, less than a year from now, will also mark the renaming of Walt Disney Studios Park as Disney Adventure World.

New Restaurant and Villains Party at Hong Kong Disneyland

The 20th Anniversary Celebration is underway at Hong Kong Disneyland, but new additions are still joining the lineup. Two that will be opening in September were mentioned at last weekend’s Destination D23. First up, a Moana-themed restaurant, Wayfinders Table, will be opening on September 12. That’s this week! That’s also all the details we have; menus haven’t been released yet.

Next, an all-new seasonal party is coming: “Uninvited! A Villains Takeover Party” will join the Halloween Time entertainment lineup with Villains taking over Main Street U.S.A. for a limited time. Halloween Time runs from September 12 to November 2 at HKDL this year; the Villains Takeover Party will run from September 19 through November 2.

“Meet and Play” Concept for Disney Destiny to Include Villains and More

Meet & Greets are a standard way to interact with characters at Disney’s parks and on the cruise ships, but a new concept is rolling out on the Disney Destiny, the Meet & Play. With Meet & Play, guests are asked to join in on an in-character activity with one of their favorite heroes or villains. For example, guests may cross paths with Dr. Facilier trying to drum up some business with a parlor trick or two, and play along as one of those potential customers.

This isn’t the first time Disney has leaned into unscripted, spontaneous interactions with characters who are, well, in character. Pre-pandemic, the Citizens of Hollywood offered this kind of guest-involved improv, and it was a staple of the now-defunct Galactic Starcruiser experience. It’s not even the first time Disney has offered something like this on a ship, as Star Wars Day at Sea cruises featured interactions like this with stormtroopers. But on the Destiny, Disney is aiming to make it a part of the magic on every cruise, every day.

The list of characters already confirmed to offer Meet & Play on the Destiny includes Maleficent, Loki, Cruella de Vil, Dr. Facilier, and Jack Sparrow, and more may be announced before she sails. Some Meet & Play moments will be scheduled shows announced in the Navigator; others are (we hear) more chance encounters. Meet & Play won’t replace regular Meet & Greets, which will also be offered on the Destiny.

Save up to 25% at Disney’s Aulani in Late Winter

Aulani Resort has launched a new winter room offer, valid for stays in select rooms and villas, most nights from January 4, 2026, to April 9, 2026.

• Save 25% on stays of 5 or more consecutive nights
• Save 20% on stays of 4 consecutive nights

Head to Aulani’s offer page for more details, including terms and conditions. And if you’re a Disney® Visa® Cardmember, there’s a similar and slightly better offer for you!

Celebrity Shares Details of Its New River Ships

Several months back, in January 2025, Celebrity Cruises announced its entry into the river cruise market, timed for 2027. This week: details on their first two ships, which have some unique features and will be named the Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker. In addition to technical features, guests can look forward to the following familiar innovations from Celebrity’s Edge-class ocean cruise ships:

• Magic Edge dining (based on the Magic Carpet from Edge ships), which allows diners to take their meal in cantilevered dining pods that float over the river
• Infinite Balcony staterooms, featuring a floor-to-ceiling window that opens like a car window, instead of a step-out sliding door (traditional verandah staterooms are also available)

The Compass and Seeker will also feature more open deck space than traditional river cruise ships, and 24/7 dining, also not found on a typical river cruise. And if you have already sailed on one of Celebrity’s ocean cruises, good news! Loyalty status in Celebrity’s Captain’s Club will extend to river cruising.

Kali River Rapids Refurb to Begin October 6

Kali River Rapids takes a few months off every year for maintenance, usually through the coldest part of the year in Orlando. Disney has announced that the annual refurbishment will begin on October 6 this year. That’s a bit earlier than usual, but it will allow the attraction to come back online before DINOSAUR and the rest of DinoLand leave the roster in Animal Kingdom.

Disney Adventure Heads to Sea Trials

Disney Adventure took leave of her berth at the Meyer Werft shipyard on Monday, headed out for sea trials in the North Sea. What’s unusual is that she’s not quite finished yet! The Adventure is the largest ship ever built at Meyer Werft in Wismar, and could not have been completed in the harbor due to her size. If all goes well at sea trials, the Adventure will head for Bremerhaven for final finishing work before the handover to Disney Cruise Line. Then it’s off to Singapore, where she’ll sail 3- and 4-day “cruise to nowhere” itineraries beginning on December 15, 2025.

Free WiFi Takes Off With Updates on Multiple Airlines

I’m ancient enough to remember when all there was to do on an airplane was sleep or talk to the stranger next to you. But free Wi-Fi is a popular perk, and two brands made Wi-Fi announcements this week. If one of these is your go-to airline, congrats!

Real Soon Now (October 24), Southwest Airlines will offer all Rapid Rewards members free in-flight high-speed WiFi, regardless of their mobile provider. This follows Delta’s model, where access to the free WiFi requires you to take the no-cost step of signing up for the loyalty program in order to access the free WiFi. Southwest’s free WiFi will be provided in partnership with T-Mobile.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tarmac, JetBlue has offered free high-speed WiFi on all its planes since 2017. But it’s going to get even better, as JetBlue is partnering with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to offer WiFi that can support streaming and data-intensive operations even better than the current version of Fly-Fi. JetBlue expects to roll this out in 2027.

New Details for Cask & Cannon on Disney Destiny

As finishing continues on the Disney Destiny, Disney is releasing more details about some of the entertainment and themed spaces on the Heroes-and-Villains-themed ship. This week, it’s the Cask & Cannon lounge, inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean. Look for theme and details that bring to life a scallywag pirate’s tavern, including Easter Eggs from the Disney Parks attractions.

A quick hit-list of details from the announcement:

• Wooden planking in the decor evokes the interior of a pirate ship
• Loot! It’s furnished with an eclectic mix of mismatched furniture and antiques that may have been pillaged by pirates
• Of course, you’ll see nautical motifs like treasure maps, fishing nets, barrel stools, and more
• Intricate carvings around the portholes with a “charred wood look” are a nod to the burning village scene from the attractions
• Treasure maps corresponding to scenes from the global parks and attractions, such as Blue Bayou (California) and Treasure Cove (Shanghai).

Epic Universe Giveaway Promotion Launching at McDonald’s

Starting Monday, September 8, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are launching an Epic Universe Giveaway. What are they giving away? Well, all we know right now is: “Epic Universe Prizes”. But you can head for the website any time after 10 am tomorrow for details. Presumably you can also get details at your local McDonalds, but the website will have instructions for entering without purchase, should you so desire.

Blizzard Beach Closing for Winter Maintenance

It’s time to say goodbye to Blizzard Beach for a bit, as it’s closing for seasonal refurbishment on September 8. Disney hasn’t yet announced a reopening date, nor any information about Typhoon Lagoon. Why this matters: prior to 2020, each Disney World Water Park closed for a few months in the winter, letting crews catch up with maintenance, with a schedule that put both back in action by the time the heat of summer rolled into town. From 2020 until this year, Typhoon Lagoon has had a winter closure, and then Blizzard Beach has closed over the summer, with only one water park open at a time.

Our guess is that with the popular check-in day water park benefit returning for the summer months in 2026, we won’t have to wait as long for Blizzard Beach to reopen as we have the last few years. But we’ll have to wait for Disney’s announcement to know for sure.

Headline News Recap

On the heels of the Boneyard’s closure on Monday, we got a timeline for the rest of Dinoland’s countdown to extinction. All of DinoLand U.S.A. Will Go Down For the Count on February 2, 2026.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique will be getting a makeover in October! Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Updates Coming in October 2025. Updates include visits from the Fairy Godmother.

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