Welcome back to another weekly roundup of Disney theme park and cruising news. Can you believe we’re almost at the end of 2024? With such an exciting year ahead for Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Cruise Line, it’s nice to see us winding down with these final few stories of the year.
As we’re in the thick of the holiday season, the news has lightened up a bit. However, that doesn’t mean that the news stops completely! There were some big news stories that came out this week that will have an impact on your upcoming Disney vacations.
A quick housekeeping note — next week, December 20, will be my last weekly roundup for the year. I’ll be taking the week of December 23 off from posting (unless I have any pre-scheduled content that goes up during that time). So my first weekly news roundup for 2025 will go up on January 3 and will include news stories for the weeks of December 23 and December 30.
Disney World Announces Dates for 2025 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival
Our leading Disney theme park news story this week is the announcement of dates for the 2025 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival! The springtime festival will return from March 5 through June 2, 2025.
This upcoming festival marks the 30th anniversary of the Flower & Garden Festival, so expect to see news regarding anniversary merchandise, and maybe a surprise or two along the way (Disney does love anniversaries, after all).
The first crop of Garden Rocks Concert Series headliners were also announced this week:
- March 7, 8 – Tommy DeCarlo, former lead singer of Boston
- March 9, 10 – Air Supply – 50th Anniversary Celebration
- March 14, 15 – Blue October
- March 16, 17 – Rick Springfield
- March 21, 22 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- March 23, 24 – 38 Special
- March 28, 29 – Jason Scheff, Longtime singer of Chicago
More Garden Rocks headliners will be announced as we get closer to the kickoff of the 2025 Flower & Garden Festival.
READ MORE: START PLANNING YOUR 2025 WALT DISNEY WORLD VACATION TODAY!
Virtual Queue No Longer Offered For Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland
We saw a big update coming out of Disneyland Resort this week that could have an impact on how you plan your future visit. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which officially opened on November 15, is no longer using Disneyland’s Virtual Queue system. That means that a traditional standby queue is being offered.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s Lightning Lane is also included as an option in your purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Premier Pass. At this time, the only ride at Disneyland Park that uses a Virtual Queue is Haunted Mansion Holiday — though that will change in the next few weeks as the holiday season comes to a close and the attraction reverts back to its original version.
READ MORE: START PLANNING YOUR 2025 DISNEYLAND RESORT VACATION TODAY!
Disney Treasure Embarks on First Preview Sailing
It was a very exciting week for Disney Cruise Line! Its new ship, the Disney Treasure, welcomed its first guests on board in a preview media sailing from December 9 through 12. A second preview sailing of the Treasure departed on the 12th.
The Disney Treasure emabarks on its official maiden voyage December 21. Disney Cruise Line is sailing into 2025 with two more new ships on the horizon: the Disney Destiny, which set sail on its maiden voyage in November 2025, and the Disney Adventure, the first Disney Cruise Line ship to have a home port in Singapore, debuting in December 2025. After that, there is a whopping four more ships joining the fleet between 2027 and 2031, as previously announced at this past summer’s D23 Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
READ MORE: DISNEY TREASURE GUIDE
Gran Fiesta Tour To Close For Multi-Month Refurbishment at Disney World
We’re closing out this week’s news roundup exactly where we started: at EPCOT. It was announced this week that Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros will close for a multi-month refurbishment in early 2025.
Specifically, the fan-favorite boat ride in the Mexico Pavilion will close on January 6 and is scheduled to reopen on March 15. Keep this in mind if you’re planning on visiting EPCOT in the earliest days of the Flower & Garden Festival!
