Dateline: Walt Disney World – July 23, 2022

July 23, 2022 Kungaloosh Radio

This week, Disney has finally announced the release date of the new MagicBand+, tumble monkeys have returned to Animal Kingdom, and possible signs point to a WDW Railroad return. Let’s look at all the news around in the World for this week in July.

lion king tumble monkeys — @ Orlando Sentinel

The Festival of the Lion King Returns

Since the parks reopened in 2020, live entertainment has not been the same. All shows were basically shuttered for several months and reemerged with a few modifications. Yes, the Festival of the Lion King returned, but the watered-down “Celebration of” was a modified version to entertain guests. If you have missed tumble monkeys and aerial acrobatics, you are in for a treat. On July 16, the full experience returned to entertain crowds of happy guests. Unfortunately, the finale with audience participation is still nixed for now.

reimagined victoria and albert — @ Disney

First Look at Victoria and Albert’s

In anticipation of the grand opening on July 28, Disney shared a few photos of the reimagined Victoria & Albert’s at the Grand Floridian Resort. The new color palette features rich deep blues and soft creams. Could this be a look at what the potential design of the Grand Floridian’s main lobby? The design seems to strike a good balance between upscale and modern. We like it!

New Car Locator

Are you one of those guests beeping your car honk trying to locate the vehicle? Now you might not have to do that. Disney has released a new car locator feature that will note the location of your car. This feature is already live in the My Disney Experience app. You can use the locator at all the time parks, resorts, water parks, and Disney Springs.

MagicBand+ Release Date

Disney has been teasing us for months about the release dates of the new MagicBand+. The new bands were to be released in the “summer.” Well, we finally have an official date. On July 27th, you can get your own MagicBand+. These bands will have new features like gesture recognition, haptic vibrations, and color-changing colors. Plus, they will pair with the My Disney Experience app.

***We’ll try to grab one release day, but Kungaloosh Radio values sleep, so no early morning merchandise park drops for us!

Jessie’s Trading Post Opens

Toy Story fans have a new place to shop: Jessie’s Trading Post. The new gift shop is located at the exit of Toy Story Mania. In the shop, you can find plenty of Toy Story theme merchandise with plenty of fun theming surrounding you – the checkout has a giant toy cash register with Hamm.

Take a look at the walkthrough from BlogMickey!

WDW Railroad Finally Coming Back?

Could we be close to getting the Walt Disney World Railroad? The beloved attraction has been closed due to Tron construction. While the pandemic has slowed construction to a crawl, things seem to be picking up. Disney shared a photo that cast members are in training for the railroad. Here’s keeping our finger crossed it returns by the end of the year!

That’s all for this week in WDW.

Will you purchase a MagicBand+, or is it a waste of money? When do you think the Railroad will return?

Let us know in the comments!