In partnership with
Greetings fellow Rope Droppers,
The Believe got its name back in March, then went quiet. Now we at least know when we're getting more.
This week Disney put a date on the calendar. Not the summer reveal some were betting on, but a date is a date.
Let's tap in.
| 1 | Disney finally has something to say about the Believe. |
| 2 | Every Not-So-Scary treat is already on the table. |
| 3 | Everest's single rider line is having an identity crisis. |
| 01 | This Week's E-Ticket Do You Believe? Circle October 7 |
Disney Cruise Line will reveal the details of the Disney Believe in a livestream on October 7, per the Disney Cruise Line Blog. The teaser closed with “Do you… Believe?” and a promise of more details soon.
Here's what we actually know. The Believe is DCL's ninth ship and the fourth in the Wish class, due in late 2027, currently being assembled at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. Disney's own description of her is doing a lot of work:
| “ | Inspired by promise, possibility, and what lies beyond the horizon. — Disney Cruise Line |
The announcement video is the real tell, featuring characters like Rapunzel, Mirabel, Joy, Snow White, Ariel and Flounder, Elsa and Olaf, Baymax and Hiro, Mike and Sulley, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, and Moana and Maui. When the name dropped in March, Disney teased Encanto, Frozen, Snow White, Moana, and The Little Mermaid (WDWNT).
And here's what we don't know. Wish-class ships share a hull, not a venue list. Outside of the Haunted Mansion Parlor and staples like Palo and its Rose lounge, venues almost never carry over ship to ship. So that character lineup tells you the IP, not the spaces.
| Wish-class ship | Theme and debut |
|---|---|
| Disney Wish | Enchantment · 2022 |
| Disney Treasure | Adventure · 2024 |
| Disney Destiny | Heroes and villains · 2025 |
| Disney Believe | Promise and possibility · late 2027 |
For your planning: October 7 is a livestream, not an on-sale date. No itineraries or booking window announced. There's also a one-night-only show inspired by the Believe on the Disney Wish's October 5–9 sailing, featuring Susan Egan (the voice of Megara, Broadway's original Belle, and the Destiny's godparent).
Which "I Want" world would you most want aboard the Disney Believe?
Now read that tagline again with the teaser cast in mind: promise, possibility, what lies beyond the horizon. That's an “I Want” ship.
The Destiny proved DCL can carry one story across an entire sailing. Pair that with a wanting-something theme and the Believe could be the most emotionally coherent ship in the fleet. We'll find out October 7.
| 02 | In the Queue Fifty Reasons to Skip Dinner |
Disney posted the complete food and drink lineup for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, 50-plus items across Magic Kingdom, two weeks ahead of opening night (Disney Parks Blog).
Disney Parks Blog
New this year: Doom Buggy Dumplings at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments, the Skull-icious Cake at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe, the Devilish Crispy Chicken Sandwich at The Plaza Restaurant, the Fang-tastic Garlic Butter Burger at Cosmic Ray's, the Headless Horseman Treat at Casey's Corner, the Hades Cake Pop at The Lunching Pad, and a Queen of Hearts Tart at Cheshire Cafe and Storybook Treats (BlogMickey). Returning: Bowl of Bones, the Buffalo Chicken Hand Pie, the Ursula Cone.
Here's the thing though. The list is the fun part, but the reservations are the planning part, and one of those has a clock on it.
For your planning:
The party runs select nights August 7 through October 31, and as of late July six dates were already gone, including opening night. All six are August or October, so September is your best remaining odds. (Disney Tourist Blog)
The Plaza Restaurant and Be Our Guest recommend reservations for party nights. Be Our Guest opens to party guests at 4 p.m. Book those before you build a snack route.
A handful of items are available during regular park hours too, no party ticket required. Disney Food Blog's breakdown tags the Pumpkin Sundae, the Cauldron Cold Brew, and most of The Plaza Restaurant's party menu as dual-availability.
| 03 | Ears to That More Summers in Alaska |
Disney Cruise Line
Staying on the water for a second. Disney Cruise Line signed a 15-year agreement with Huna Totem Corporation covering Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, Alaska, locking in preferential access through at least 2041 (WDWNT). The deal includes preferential docking for one Disney ship each week and a minimum annual passenger guarantee.
That “one ship each week” line is the interesting part. Icy Strait Point is privately developed by Huna Totem, the Indigenous-owned corporation that built it into Hoonah's largest employer. A guaranteed weekly berth at a private port is a very different asset than fighting for space at a municipal dock.
Read this as DCL planning to keep a real Alaska season for a long while.
Sound familiar?
Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.
Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that breaks down what's happening in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to make it the best email in your inbox.
No yelling. No filler. Just the news, finally making sense.
| 04 | On the Horizon A Fifth Gate, On Paper |
Walt Disney World's governing district just turned a planning document into actual rules. On July 24, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's planning board advanced Resolution 686, which takes the development caps set last September and writes them into the code staff use to approve permits (BlogMickey).
Buried in those caps: room for one more major theme park, two more minor ones, and 18 more golf holes. Before the group chat catches fire, the same documents say plainly that no fifth-gate plans are under review, and that one would need roughly 850 acres (Disney Food Blog).
Our view: read this both ways. It's a ceiling, and Disney is now formally boxed in by it. But that ceiling explicitly has a fifth gate in it, and zoning is the boring step that always comes first. Nothing's imminent. File it away anyway.
| 05 | From Around the Kingdom Doors, Fish, and a Locked-In Rope Drop |
Big Fish: EPCOT's Living Seas welcomed Toa, its first Napoleon wrasse, a species that can top six feet and sports a forehead you genuinely cannot miss. Worth a slow lap of the aquarium on your next brutally hot afternoon. (wdwinfo.com)
Refurb Radar: Kidani Village's main lobby and primary entrance close August 17 through October 9, with check-in relocating to the Palace Library. Phased closures run through November 6 and take out Community Hall, the arcade, and the laundry room along the way. (BlogMickey)
Doors Work Again: The preshow doors at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run are opening and closing for the first time in years, restoring the pause-and-reveal into Hondo's briefing room. Small fix, real difference in how the queue lands. (WDWNT)
After Hours Alert: EPCOT's July 23 After Hours sold out, leaving four 2026 dates: August 6 and 13, then September 16 and 24. Tickets run $155 to $179 depending on the night, with $30 off for Annual Passholders and DVC members. (WDWMagic)
Rope Drop, Locked: That Discovery Island rope drop shuffle we flagged last week is now permanent, per Cast Members. Non-resort guests wait at three marked entry points instead of bottling up in the Oasis, and the Tree of Life PhotoPass photographers are out early. (WDWNT)
If you saw the alarm this week about Expedition Everest losing its single rider line, here's where it actually landed. The sign came down for a few days, then went back up. BlogMickey caught it going back onto the Serka Zong Bazaar wall in the middle of the operating day, which almost never happens at Disney.
The catch: that sign carries an “Open” or “Not Available” placard underneath, and Cast Members flip it through the day. BlogMickey found it open on Monday afternoon. WDWNT found it marked unavailable a day later. My Disney Experience still lists Single Rider as offered, so this isn't a formal discontinuation. The sign just isn't always open.
Either way, the thing that really changed is the loading procedure. Everest now sorts standby guests into odds and evens before the platform, which fills the two-across seats without needing a single rider backfill. Even when the line opens, expect nothing like the old ten-minute hop.
What's your favorite single rider line at Walt Disney World? Hit reply and tell us →
| 06 | See Ya Real Soon Until the Livestream |
A reveal date, a Halloween menu two weeks early, a fifteen-year handshake in Alaska, and a sign that came back without its line. That's all for this week.
How'd we do this week?
See ya real soon,
Gabe
