NEWS ROUNDUP: Fan Favorite Fireworks Show Retired, Free Dining Announced, New Rivers of Light, New Attraction Delay, Villains Event Details & More!

We’re back after the Easter holiday with a roundup of recent news from Walt Disney World. Among the biggest stories, HallowWishes Fireworks show is being retired, several summer sales including Free Dining were announced, a new version of Rivers of Light is coming, Minnie Mouse has been promoted, we’ve been given a glimpse inside the Disney Skyliner Gondolas. We also have more news on the Hollywood Studios 30^thAnniversary Celebration and the Villains After Hours party along with several other updates. Catch up on these news stories and more below.

1 – New Fireworks Show Coming to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

After fourteen years of thrilling guests, HalloWishes is being replaced! Disney has announced that a brand-new fireworks spectacular will be coming to the 2019 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! The new show will feature state-of-the-art projection effects, lasers, lighting and dazzling fireworks that come together to tell a not-so-scary story about how anything can happen on Halloween night. Click here to get all the details on the new show!

2 – Rivers of Light New Show Debuting this Summer

Animal Kingdom’s Rivers of Light is an amazing night show featuring water projections and other special effects showcasing how incredible nature is. After just two years, Disney has announced that the show will be getting an update this summer! Click here to learn more!

3 – Disney Announces Summer Sales with Free Dining Offers

There are so many reasons to visit Walt Disney World Resort and Disney has announced new sales for this summer including free dining! Click here to get all the information on the current sales.

Want some help navigating the sales? We highly recommend booking with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner to ensure you are well taken care of and get all the discounts available to you. We personally book all our Disney trips (and we do Disney a lot) with Magical Vacation Planners because they are the best and we trust them. For more details and help booking your vacation, call (407) 442-0227. You can also get a no obligation, FREE vacation quote byclicking here. Their services are free to you and they can answer any questions you may have.

4 – More Details on Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30^thAniversary Celebration

It’s almost here! Disney’s Hollywood Studios is turning 30 years old Wednesday, May 1. Disney has released information on what we can expect during the celebrations including a brand-new nighttime show, Wonderful World of Animation. In addition to some incredible merchandise and a parade, there will be some amazing specialty foods to purchase on May 1. Click here to get a look at all of the wonderful treats that will be available.

We’ll be celebrating early on Tuesday, April 30 as part of the media celebration. We’ll be bringing you photos and video of offerings at Disney’s Hollywood Studios throughout the day. Be sure to follow us on our Instagram account where we will be posting our coverage of the day’s events. We’ll also be back on May 1 to share all of the offerings of the Anniversary day with you! So, don’t miss a thing and follow us on Instagram!

5 – Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Delayed Until 2020

It was recently announced that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be arriving at Disneyland in 2022. In that announcement, it was revealed that the attraction that was scheduled to open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in 2019 will now open in spring 2020. No reason was given for the delay. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the first-ever ride through attraction themed to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, will feature dazzling visual effects, a lovable theme song, and twists and turns ideal for the whole family.

6 – Captain Minnie Mouse

We were thrilled to hear the news that Minnie Mouse has been promoted! On the Disney Cruise Line guests will now encounter, Captain Minnie Mouse in an all-new outfit befitting her new rank. She’ll be inspiring guests of all ages through new programming in the kids’ clubs and through a scholarship program for women. Catch all the details by clicking on this link.

7 – New Video Reveals the Inside of the Disney Skyliner Gondolas

The Disney Skyliner opening will be here before you know it and more details have been released. Disney Cast Member Thomas Smith has all the details:

Disney Skyliner is an all-new transportation experience set to debut this fall at Walt Disney World Resort. Testing of the system’s nearly 300 guest cabins and other elements is well underway, and today we have new details to share about this innovative transportation system.

Disney Skyliner will offer guests sweeping views while whisking them between Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and four Disney resort hotels. Each cabin can accommodate up to 10 guests, including those traveling with wheelchairs or assistive devices. And with the system constantly in motion, guests will arrive at their selected destinations in minutes while enjoying the comfort of cabins specifically tailored for the Florida climate.

Check out the video below for a peek inside a Disney Skyliner cabin and to hear Walt Disney World Resort Senior Vice President Thomas Mazloum and Walt Disney Imagineering Principal Architect Dean Huspen tell you more about this unique transportation system.

8 – PizzeRizzo Open During ABC Commissary’s Refurbishment

After being closed since last fall, PizzeRizzo will reopen on May 4, 2019. ABC Commissary will be closed during the month of May for refurbishment. Read more about the changes coming to the Commissary here. PizzeRizzo will be open most days from 11 am to park closing. As always, check the Times Guide or the My Disney Experience App for up to date operating hours.

9 – Disney Releases More Details on Disney Villains After Hours Event Coming This Summer

As we reported earlier, a very special Disney After Hours event is coming to Magic Kingdom Park this summer. More details have been released about the new stage show, “Villains Unite the Night.” Here is everything you need to know from Disney Cast Member Shawn Slater:

Who says Villains can only come out at Halloween? Get ready for Disney Villains After Hours! Tickets go on sale soon – April 29– for this wicked fun special event, offered on select nights this summer from June 6 to August 8.

A dark magic is taking over Magic Kingdom Park and inviting you to run amuck in the Villains’ scary world. The party DJ gets things lit, energizing the castle stage with sick beats and transforming the entire Central Plaza of the park into a killer club scene. As the party heats up, the DJ introduces your “Caretaker” for the evening, the Lord of the Dead, Hades, who arrives in a burst of blue flames for the all-new show, “Villains Unite the Night.”

With Meg by his side, Hades sits atop his dark throne awaiting the alignment of five planets, following a prophecy that states when the five come together he will be able to rule the universe. But this dastardly plan doesn’t go quite as expected, when an assemblage of Disney Villains interrupts his party. Jafar, The Queen, Dr. Facilier and Maleficent arrive with henchmen in tow, prepared to showcase their power with spine-tingling displays of skill. It seems these Villains have also heard the prophecy and believe they are the ones who will rule all.

“I think guests will really be impressed with ‘Villains Unite the Night!’” said Kate Pappas, managing producer with Disney Parks Live Entertainment. “This show is going to be more than 20 minutes long and run three times each night of the event, so everyone will have a chance to see all these great Villains on stage. Add in our amazing DJ, and the hub of the park will be pulsing with energy all night long!”

During the evening’s revelry, the Maleficent Dragon, with her Steampunk style and signature wicked grin, is freed from the “Festival of Fantasy” parade and let loose at night for the first time, breathing fire as she creeps through the park with her minions to join the party at the Central Plaza.

Beyond the castle forecourt, ominous lighting and music abound. In Tomorrowland, the Villains invade Space Mountain, taking daring voyagers on a villainous trip they won’t soon forget, with a new music underscore and the vilest Villains taunting you as you whiz by. And over in Adventureland, a live crew of scurvy scalawags invades Pirates of the Caribbean in search of treasure.

Disney Villains After Hours also includes wickedly good food and beverage selections, special event merchandise and low wait times at more than 20 attractions and experiences across the park. It all adds up to a party like no other. Be sure to share your excitement for this upcoming event using #VillainsAfterHours.

As a reminder, this event does not include character greetings with the Villains. Tickets for Disney Villains After Hours go on sale April 29 and are $139 plus tax in advance or $144 plus tax on the event night. Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can take advantage of a $30 discount and purchase tickets for $109 plus tax.