News
Disney Fanatic is here to deliver the latest in Disney news from The Walt Disney Company and beyond.
-
Feb- 2026 -24 February
EPCOT Absorbs Growing Attendance Across Walt Disney World
Spring at Disney World usually means one thing: EPCOT shines. The Flower & Garden Festival rolls in, the park fills with colorful topiaries, and guests happily spend hours grazing around World Showcase. But this year, EPCOT’s crowd surge isn’t just seasonal. It’s strategic. Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are both navigating major shifts. Dinoland is closed at Animal Kingdom, and Planet Watch
Read More » -
24 February
A Lost Grand Floridian Dining Tradition Returns After 6 Years of Absence
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is reviving afternoon tea on March 19, 2026, after a nearly six-year hiatus since March 2020 due to COVID-19. The Garden View Lounge will feature an Alice in Wonderland theme, and reservations opened on February 19, quickly filling up as fans have eagerly awaited this return. The new experience costs $79 per adult plus tax and gratuity, with a $49 option for k
Read More » -
24 February
Longstanding Disney Park Fixture Closes After 25 Years
Disney's Animal Kingdom is not the same park it was a year ago, and it is going to look even more different a year from now. DinoLand U.S.A. is gone. A new land called Tropical Americas is under construction. Encanto and Indiana Jones attractions are in development. The park is in the middle of a genuine, ground-level reinvention, and changes are landing faster than most guests are tracking. The l
Read More » -
24 February
New ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ Casting Reports Reveal Potential Future at Disney
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is back in development, but the path forward is anything but straightforward. The studio is actively shaping a new installment in the seafaring saga, more than two decades after Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl launched in 2003. That film didn’t just defy expectations for a theme park adaptation—it recalibrated Disney’s blockbuster
Read More » -
24 February
Disney World to Shut Down Large Portions of Property February 27–March 2
Late February at Walt Disney World has a reputation for being one of the calmer stretches of the year. Smaller crowds, shorter waits, a little more breathing room. That reputation is accurate most of the time — but not this weekend. From February 26 through March 2, 2026, the resort is hosting the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, one of runDisney's most popular and most completely sold-out e
Read More » -
24 February
‘Mandalorian’ Star Speaks Out After Franchise Cancellation Reported
The Mandalorian’s third season ended with a sense of closure, but also recalibration. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu, now officially Din Grogu, found a quiet domestic resolution. Yet the broader story of Mandalore took precedence, elevating Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze from fallen noble to restored leader. Her journey across Season 3 was marked by loss, reflection, and reclamation. Once de
Read More » -
24 February
Guests Notified: ‘Harry Potter’ Land to Change in Days at All Universal Parks
Every spring, something shifts inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The menus change, the shop windows fill with seasonal merchandise, and a very specific kind of excitement takes hold among fans who know what is coming. Butterbeer Season is back, and the 2025 edition has more going for it than any previous year. Running March 1 through May 31 at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studi
Read More » -
24 February
Disney CEO Lands Role With Company Long Seen as Mickey’s Controversial Rival
Southern California in the summer of 2028 is going to be unlike anything the region has seen in decades. The Los Angeles Olympics are coming, and the entertainment industry is already maneuvering to be part of it. What is starting to take shape is not just a sports event with some Hollywood flair sprinkled in — it is a full-on convergence of theme parks, broadcast giants, and some very recognizabl
Read More » -
24 February
The Self-Driving Car Invasion of Orlando Theme Parks Just Started
Waymo launched its autonomous ride-hailing service in Orlando on February 24, 2026, meaning fully driverless cars with literally nobody behind the wheel are now operating on Central Florida roads, covering Universal Orlando Resort, parts of Walt Disney World Resort, and Orlando International Airport. This isn't some distant future concept anymore. These cars are driving around theme park areas rig
Read More » -
24 February
Another Marvel Casualty: Disney Confirms Series Will Not Return
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has survived cast changes, creative pivots, multiversal resets, and shifting box office trends. It has redefined blockbuster storytelling for nearly two decades. But sometimes, the losses don’t happen on the big screen. This time, the casualty isn’t a superhero. It’s a series that quietly became part of the MCU’s connective fabric — and Disney has confirmed it will no
Read More »
