Greetings fellow Rope Droppers,
Some weeks there's one big headline and a scattering of quick hits. This week's different: there's construction news happening across every park at once, the kind of incremental updates we don't always stop to connect. So this issue, we're taking a closer look at all of it together.
Let's tap in.
| 1 | Every park has a construction update worth watching this week. |
| 2 | Grand Floridian's Alice-in-Wonderland tea opens reservations today. |
| 3 | Disney's already planning your Fourth of July weekend. |
| 01 | This Week's E-Ticket Every Park, One Construction Season |
Walk into any of the four parks right now and there's Imagineering mid-project. DinoLand's closed for good, and here's what's actually moving this week, park by park:
Final Beam, Encanto: Cast Members held the ceremonial signing for Animal Kingdom's final Encanto steel beam in mid-February, on track to complete the building's steel frame about 10 weeks after the first beam went up in December. Guest pathways through old DinoLand are gone, and the site's fully walled off en route to a 2027 opening. (BlogMickey)
Piston Peak Rising: Concrete forms with vertical rebar now span a stretch of Frontierland's old boardwalk, bending toward Big Thunder Mountain, the clearest sign yet of where the Cars-themed land is heading. (Attractions Magazine)
Big Thunder's Comeback: Big Thunder Mountain is testing geysers, trains, and the lift hill right now, ahead of a reopening this spring with a reimagined Rainbow Caverns scene. (WDWNT)
Rock 'n' Roller's Last Lap: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster closes March 2 for its Muppets retheme. The track itself isn't expected to change, but expect a repainted entrance and an all-new Muppets pre-show. (AllEars)
Monstropolis Marches On: Old Muppet*Vision 3D theming keeps coming down as foundation work continues on Monstropolis, the suspended Monsters, Inc. coaster replacing it. (Attractions Magazine)
Studios Lot Signage: Imagineering filed two new signage permits for the Walt Disney Studios Lot retheme, including a "Studio Theater" rename for the Little Mermaid building, aiming for a phased opening this summer. (BlogMickey)
For your planning:
Want one more Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ride in its Aerosmith form? You've got until March 2.
Big Thunder fans, circle "this spring": no firm date yet, but testing is well underway.
None of the new lands (Tropical Americas, Piston Peak, Monstropolis, the Studios Lot) have opening dates yet. Don't build a 2026 trip around any of them.
Which construction project are you most excited to see finished?
| 02 | On the Horizon Disney's Fourth of July Just Got a Lot Bigger |
"Disney Celebrates America," the company's yearlong salute to the nation's 250th anniversary, just filled in its biggest date on the calendar. Disney's promising fireworks at both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland July 3 through 5, plus a 24-hour multi-platform broadcast across its networks and streaming, anchored by David Muir, tying park storytelling to American history all weekend.
The initiative runs Veterans Day 2025 through that same July 4 weekend, and one of its centerpieces got an extension alongside the news: EPCOT's Portraits of Courage exhibit, honoring post-9/11 veterans in more than 60 oil paintings by former President George W. Bush, stays up at the American Adventure Pavilion through July 4th too.
| 03 | In the Queue A Spring Menu at One of My Favorite Tables |
My personal note: the Hollywood Brown Derby is one of my favorite table-service stops in any park. The Cobb Salad, the grapefruit cake, and those rolls are why I keep coming back, before we even get to what's new. So call me biased, but also thrilled: Brown Derby just dropped a new spring menu, and early word is good.
The Hamachi à la Newburg ($17) and a Beet and Kale Salad ($13) lead the new appetizers, while the plant-based Stuffed Butternut Squash ($34), a Filet Mignon with rhubarb-red wine demi-glace ($56), and a Seafood Fregola ($51) anchor the entrées.
Reservations here were already tight before a menu refresh. If any of this sounds like your splurge, book now rather than waiting to see the reviews roll in.
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| 04 | Ears to That Norway's New Kiosk Is Finally Serving School Bread |
Two months after construction walls went up, EPCOT's Norway pavilion has a new snack and drinks kiosk open near the Stave Church, serving a second location for School Bread ($5.49) alongside Mickey ice cream bars, Trollkrem (a frozen cranberry-vanilla blend, spiked or not), and a few Norwegian beers.
Disney Parks Blog
Kringla Bakeri's School Bread line has been a real pain point for years. A second window is a small but genuinely useful upgrade if Norway's on your snack-crawl route.
| 05 | From Around the Kingdom Seven Things You Might've Missed |
Book It Today: Today's the day: Grand Floridian's Garden View Lounge Alice-in-Wonderland tea experience opens booking, with the room itself reopening March 19 after nearly six years away, $79 for adults. (BlogMickey)
Boozy Whip Returns: An alcoholic Sangria DOLE Whip float ($15.50) is back at Tamu Tamu in Animal Kingdom, sangria made with Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz over classic pineapple DOLE Whip. Reader reviews call it "very refreshing." (AllEars)
Bloom Preview: We told you Flower & Garden's dates a few weeks back; now the food's rolling in. New booth Nectar debuts a coconut panna cotta, and returning favorites include a blackened fish slider and honey-bacon chicken and waffles, ahead of the March 4 opening. (Disney Food Blog)
Parade Reroute: Magic Kingdom's Disney Starlight parade quietly reversed its second nightly show's direction, now running Frontierland to Town Square instead of the reverse, to smooth guest exits after Happily Ever After. (BlogMickey)
Photo Farewell: Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West is mid-refurb, and decades of guest vacation photos are coming down from the walls. Don't panic, they're being preserved in new albums at Conch Flats Community Hall, not tossed. (WDWNT)
Garage Shuffle: Disney Springs' Lime Garage briefly reopened for Presidents' Day weekend, but it's closing again through March 13 for structural work, full reopening March 14. (WDWNT)
Countdown's On: Crew's Cup Lounge at Disney's Yacht Club Resort closes February 23 for a refurbishment running into May. (Disney Food Blog)
Once a year, Port Orleans throws a Mardi Gras parade that most guests never even know exists: Cast Member-decorated golf carts parading along the Sassagoula River between Riverside and French Quarter, no park ticket required.
This year's "Heroes and Villains" theme produced an Alice in Wonderland cart, a Queen of Hearts float, and one very committed guest painted blue as Hades.
Ever caught this one in person? Hit reply and tell us your best float sighting →
| 06 | See Ya Real Soon That's a Wrap |
That's everything worth knowing this week. Between DinoLand's replacement rising, Big Thunder's comeback on the horizon, and a tea room finally taking reservations, there's a lot to start planning around.
How'd we do this week?
Gabe
