Disney Rumor Round Up December 2019

Welcome to the December and final edition of Disney Rumor Round Up for 2019! You can check out the November 2019 installment here. I hope everyone has a happy holiday and new year; thank you for reading this year.  Rumors do tend to slow down a bit during this period, but we still have some new things to share. Disclaimer: Any rumors mentioned in this article are not confirmed by Disney, and may not ever happen.

Let’s start by taking a look back at the biggest rumors from 2019 with what came true and what didn’t.

1. The Tomorrowland revamp is only partially confirmed with Tron being built however throughout the year we saw several new paint jobs show up throughout the land, and aesthetic pieces being added or removed.
2. The addition of a Brazil pavilion was one of the biggest rumors over the last year and leading up to D23 Expo 2019. It’s the biggest rumor that hasn’t been confirmed. Several sources said it was coming and some still say it is. The speculation is that the delay or cancellation is due to the political issues with the country itself.
3. An Animal Kingdom expansion has been a topic all year long. We still aren’t sure what is next for this park.
4. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland is one of the bigger rumors that was confirmed in 2019.
5. The Future World overhaul was finally confirmed in 2019 with Innoventions West being completely demolished and a brand new festival center pavilion on its way.
6. Mary Poppins is finally getting her own attraction at Epcot; this long-rumored attraction was confirmed at D23 Expo 2019.
7. A major rumor that has yet to happen at Walt Disney World is a paid version of FastPass+. This has been speculated and rumored for years but many thought it would finally happen in 2019. It did not and who knows if it will at this point.
8. While this one was a smaller rumor, we did get the long-rumored fireworks shows updated for both Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
9. Disney Cruise Line finally confirmed its second island destination at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas with none other than Joe Rohde leading the project at D23 Expo 2019.
10. Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was another hot topic throughout the year with speculated pricing and the rumored cruise-like model it would take. Disney did confirm it would follow a cruise model with two night, three-day experiences.

Magic Kingdom

Nothing new for the Magic Kingdom right now. Tron ride vehicles have been placed in Tomorrowland for guests to check out in anticipation of the new coaster coming in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.

Epcot

One half of Innoventions West is nearly gone. The other half has now closed and the Art of Disney closed as well. Pin Central has officially moved into the old Camera Center. MouseGear is soon expected to close and move to a temporary location as work begins on the brand new space for Disney merchandise that is expected to come with a new name.

Just recently, a portion of the new Epcot entrance opened and walls have shifted. More aspects of the tram entrance have also opened and the second tram loop will soon open as well. It’s expected that walls will soon move over to the portion of the Epcot entrance where the monoliths were first removed months ago.

Work continues in World Showcase with the France expansion that is set to open in Summer 2020. Disney has yet to announce an opening date on this but has said that several of the new films throughout Epcot will debut on January 17th, 2020. Work has yet to begin on the upcoming Mary Poppins attraction but is expected to begin in the new year. It is still unclear what this attraction will consist of but many rumors point to something more like Enchanted Tales with Belle or a small flat ride attraction.

Hollywood Studios

The most anticipated ride in a long time for Disney is now open at Hollywood Studios. Rise of the Resistance has lived up to the hype for the most part. The attraction is certainly struggling for efficiency right now though with reports of the ride running anywhere from 35-50% of where it is supposed to be. To help control this issue, Disney implemented boarding groups that have come with their own level of controversy. Disney has also since uniformed the process with boarding groups not opening until the park officially opens each day. For more information on how boarding groups work visit the information thread on Disboards.com.

Now to go along with that, there is a rumor from wdwmagic.com that says Disney is having talks about the future of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Rise of the Resistance. Those talks involve working the original trilogy into the attraction with a re-skinning of the ride removing the sequel trilogy aspect for original characters. Obviously nothing concrete but something reportedly being talked about.

Disney also shared when the next big attraction for Hollywood Studios opens. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open March 4th, 2020. This attraction was originally supposed to open in 2019 but due to its own set of difficulties, the opening was pushed back. Due to the success of the boarding groups with Rise of the Resistance, Disney is reportedly looking at using this process for other attraction openings such as this one.

Animal Kingdom

What comes next with Animal Kingdom remains uncertain. Several things have been thrown around from a new area, Dinoland update or redo, to a Pandora expansion. With whatever comes next is not in the immediate future so we will have to wait and see on this one.

Disneyland

Magic Happens will officially debut in February at Disneyland park. This all-new parade will have a special Todrick Hall soundtrack and brand new floats with plenty of surprises. Disneyland park is also gearing up for other new things with the new Tomorrowland entrance coming and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opening in 2022 in Mickey’s ToonTown.

Tomorrowland has been a big topic of discussion with Disneyland fans for some time. As seen in The Imagineering Story documentary series on Disney+ there was a model of the land shown. This has only brought more speculation that Tomorrowland at Disneyland will soon see some major work. One of the big pieces is the currently abandoned Peoplemover tracks. Those tracks did not appear to be part of the model shown so it’s possible those will finally be removed. I am sure we will hear more about this possible project as time goes on.

New rumors and information is sure to pop up in the new year. For further discussion on all of this and more, visit the Rumors and News board on Disboards.com