Disney Rumor Round Up January 2020

Welcome to the January and first edition of Disney Rumor Round Up for 2020! You can check out the December 2019 installment here. I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and is looking forward to a fun filled 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.

Magic Kingdom

Outside of the ongoing Magic Kingdom projects, there are very little rumors regarding what’s to come for the park that turns 50 next year. As we continue to approach that anniversary, however, I am sure more will arise of what’s to come.

Epcot

So much is happening at Epcot right now, and will be for the next few years, as the overhaul to make this park more timeless, more relevant, and more Disney continues. One half of Innoventions West is completely gone now. Temporary bypass paths have been completed, and will soon be used as major walkways as the other half of Innoventions West will be demolished soon enough.

Over at the Space 220 restaurant, delays continue to push the dining experience back. It was believed that the chef and menu were the culprits of this delay, but, according to sources at wdwmagic, the delays are due to construction, not the menu and chef. Sources close to The DIS, however, indicate the opening date could be March 30th, 2020. Stay tuned for more on this location.

Moving over to World Showcase, work has yet to begin on the Mary Poppins attraction in the United Kingdom pavilion. This experience is not expected to be a ride at this point, but rather an experience along the lines of Enchanted Tales with Belle in Magic Kingdom. Disney has not set a timeline for this, but it is expected sometime in 2021. Also in World Showcase, images leaked of a possible walk around Miguel character from Coco. Disneyland is expected to have one in their new parade that is coming this spring, however, it’s now also rumored that we could see one at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot.

We also have Harmonious debuting in 2020. Disney has apparently dropped the “US” capitalization at the end of the name recently. The show is well underway with testing happening at night for sound and lighting effects. Disney has yet to announce an opening date, but many believe it will be in the late spring/early summer time frame.

Hollywood Studios

Rise of the Resistance continues to move along slowly. Hourly capacity has improved over the month that it has been open, but is still not where it needs to be. Disney continues to utilize the boarding group system, and will likely do so until it deems the ride to be running well enough to move to utilizing standby and possibly FastPass. There is so much that goes into this attraction, and the more that it runs with guests, over time, the more efficient it will become.

Also at Hollywood Studios, there has been a rumor for a while now about a possible black box-type attraction in which the attraction could be re-themed fairly easily as new films come out or new properties are introduced that could be used in an attraction. This attraction type could also make its way to Disneyland resort for the same purpose.

Coming March 4th, 2020, we have the highly anticipated Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This attraction will be trackless, similar to Rise of the Resistance and the upcoming Ratatouille attractions. As of right now, Disney has not announced whether the attraction will open with FastPass or if they will use the virtual queue or boarding pass system like Rise of the Resistance. The new FastPass tiers at Hollywood Studios could indicate that it will open without FastPass to start. Many rumors are suggesting that Disney is strongly considering using a boarding pass-style system for the opening of this attraction.

Animal Kingdom

Vague rumors of an expansion for Pandora have popped up again. There’s no word on a timeline or what exactly it would include, however. We will see the first Avatar sequel in 2021. This could lead to that expansion if it remains popular.

Disneyland

The construction on phase one of the Avengers Campus project continues as it is said to open this summer at Disney California Adventure. The new Spider-Man based attraction, with a similar style to Toy Story Mania, is said to differ a little from what is expected. Many were apprehensive to this style attraction at first because it’s a shooter-style ride, however, according to rumors floating around, it will have new aspects to excite the fans and set itself apart.

New rumors and information are 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