What's new at Disney World in 2019

2018 was a great year at Walt Disney World but a ton of exciting new attractions are scheduled to arrive in 2019! What’s new at Disney World in 2019 and what changes will come to the parks? In this episode we took a look at the Disney World news we’re most excited about for 2019. What are you looking forward to?

If you like what you hear/read, please share the podcast and the site with others you think might enjoy it. Also, we’d appreciate if you subscribed on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, PlayerFM, iHeartRadio, or Google Play, liked our Facebook page, or followed us on Twitter or Pinterest!

What’s new at Disney World in 2019?

We can break what’s coming to Disney World into three categories: parks attractions, hotels, and transportation. The fact is, there’s a lot coming – so much that it was tough for us to keep track! But Disney World is improving its offerings in all three areas. So let’s take a look at what’s coming in each.

New Disney World park attractions for 2019

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Obviously, the headline for Walt Disney World 2019 is the addition of a brand new land at Hollywood Studios based on Star Wars. In late 2019 (December?), we’ll be invited to visit the planet of Batuu. We expect Disney’s imagineers will take the immersion that Pandora gave us at Animal Kingdom and pair it with the nostalgia so many people have for Star Wars to create one of the most amazing theme park areas in the world.

While we’d probably be content just wandering around what’s sure to be a spectacular looking design, Galaxy’s Edge also will feature two brand new rides: Millenium Falcon Smuggler’s Run and Rise of the Resistance. The Millenium Falcon ride will give six guests at a time the chance to pilot the fastest ship in the galaxy. From what we’ve heard, depending on how you “play” you might receive different outcomes, which sounds pretty cool!

Rise of the Resistance seems to be another exciting ride where you get the chance to take part in a battle between the Resistance and the First Order. Disney has called it “the most epic attraction we’ve ever built”. Honestly, we can’t wait to see if it lives up to the hype.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

While we were sad to see Great Movie Ride go, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway looks like it will be another great addition to Hollywood Studios in 2019. Featuring an all new score, the first attraction to feature Mickey and Minnie looks to be a hit.

Better yet, we won’t need to wear 3-D glasses (which we don’t love). Disney promises to give the attraction depth without needing them. Outside of Galaxy’s Edge, we’re probably most excited to see this attraction, which we hope will open by summer or early fall at the latest in Hollywood Studios.

Wonderful World of Animation & Epcot Forever

Walt Disney World will debut two nighttime shows in 2019. The Wonderful World of Animation at Hollywood Studios will likely use the projection technology to project clips from your favorite Disney movies onto the Chinese Theater. We expect this will be a bit of a prelude to the Star Wars fireworks, so guests at Hollywood Studios can get two nighttime attractions for the price of one, so to speak. The Wonderful World of Animation will make its debut in May.

Meanwhile, over at Epcot, Illuminations is coming to the end of its run. While Disney works on a new permanent show, they will be using a temporary show called Epcot Forever which is supposed to be a huge hit with Epcot lovers like Disney Deciphered. Look for that to debut this fall.

Epcot Forever Concept Art — (Concept art courtesy of Disney)

New hotel offerings at Disney World in 2019

Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs

After what feels like years of construction, the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs is ready to open up this summer (and is already taking reservations!). While a tower isn’t the prettiest of sight lines, one thing we love about the new building is its proximity to the lobby and food court at Coronado Springs, which should make for less miserable walking in the heat of summer.

The new building also offers suites to families (or executives at conventions) for those who might be interested. 50% of Disney Deciphered loves Coronado Springs, so we’d say 50% of us are excited for the new tower!

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Disney will introduce its 15th DVC property, the Riviera Resort, in Fall of 2019. This came as a bit of a surprise but construction is progressing very quickly. The resort is adjacent to Caribbean Beach and will be on the new Disney Skyliner route.

While we haven’t seen many details yet, we expect this DVC property to offer a great alternative that includes kitchens for anyone interested. With over 300 rooms, Disney is definitely upping its hotel capacity at the parks.

What’s new in Disney Transportation in 2019

Disney Skyliner

Last but not least, Disney is introducing a brand new way to get around the parks. The Disney Skyliner is a gondola that connects Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Caribbean Beach Resort (and Riviera). The gondola will feature 8 foldable seats and the cars will be able to take 16 standing guests.

We’re excited for a brand new method of transportation, especially one that gets us to our favorite park (Epcot). While these Skyliner cars will only feature an airflow system (read: fans), we’ve been on similar gondolas in hot and humid places like Hong Kong and do not think this will be a major issue. (Still, that’s just our guess, we could be wrong). Look for the Skyliner to hit the skies in Fall 2019!

Episode Description

Everyone’s excited about Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge but Walt Disney World has a lot more to offer in 2019. We take a look at what we’re excited to see come to Disney World in 2019 and even take a peek beyond. Looking at the schedule there’s a lot of non Star Wars stuff to be excited about, but we’re sure we missed a news item or two. Please, reach out and share with us what you’re looking forward to at Disney Parks in 2019! Happy New Year everyone!

If you like what you hear, please share the podcast with others you think might enjoy it. Also, we’d appreciate if you subscribed on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, PlayerFM, iHeartRadio, or Google Play (please leave a positive review if you’re enjoying the show), liked our Facebook page, or followed us on Twitter!

You can also e-mail us at disneydeciphered AT gmail DOT com. Connect with Leslie @TripswithTykes on social media and Joe @asthejoeflies.