4 Big CHANGES Coming to Disney World This Year

HUGE CHANGES are coming to Disney World soon, so it’s an exciting time to be planning a trip to the parks!

Cinderella Castle

A new restaurant — Roundup Rodeo BBQ — is opening in Disney’s Hollywood Studios on March 23rd, the fan-favorite Happily Ever After fireworks show is returning on April 3rd, and TRON Lightcycle / Run is opening on April 4th. But that’s not all that’s coming to the parks. Disney just announced a few NEW character meet-and-greets. Here’s a look at all the characters coming soon!

We recently attended a media event where we learned new details about four character meet-and-greets coming to Disney World. First, Moana will be coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! According to Disney, Moana is arriving “just in time” for Animal Kingdom’s 25th Anniversary, which is on April 22nd. That’s the first day that Moana will be meeting guests in Animal Kingdom.

©Disney

Disney said they’ll be “presenting” Moana along the Discovery River. While Disney’s image seems to present Moana standing on the ground in front of the Tree of Life, this language could mean that Moana will be appearing via some kind of flotilla. Another Disney release, however, indicates that Moana will “greet fellow voyagers on Discovery Island.” We’ll have to wait and see what this character interaction is like when it debuts next month.

Mickey, Pluto, AND Minnie Floatilla

We’ve seen Moana at Disney World a few times before for special events and in the Adventure Friends Cavalcade, but now it sounds like she’ll be setting up more of a regular residence in Animal Kingdom (at least for a period of time).

Moana!

Disney also announced that Mirabel from Encanto will soon get her own meet-and-greet in Magic Kingdom. She will meet guests in Fairytale Garden, which is currently home to Merida’s meet-and-greet.

Mirabel in a surprise parade in Disney World

This new offering is set to open sometime in the fall of 2023. The existing space that is currently home to Merida’s meet-and-greet will be “transformed with whimsical decor inspired by La Familia Madrigal,” so you’ll get an extra special experience if you stop by to say hello to Mirabel. We can’t wait to check it out!

Current Merida meet-and-greet

Figment fans, get ready. Disney announced last year that a Figment character meet-and-greet is coming to EPCOT, and many people got SUPER excited about the news. Now, we have more details. The Figment meet-and-greet is coming to the Imagination pavilion later this summer!

Figment!

But that’s not the only new thing coming to EPCOT. Disney shared a sneak peek at what we can expect from the inside of CommuniCore Hall, which will be home to all things EPCOT festivals, special events, and more. In the concept art below, we can see a huge, colorful statue of Figment, along with an Inside Out activity area and more vibrant art all over the walls and ceiling.

As the historic transformation of EPCOT nears completion, a plethora of new attractions and experiences bring the next generation of immersive storytelling to life for guests. Opening as a part of the new World Celebration neighborhood in EPCOT later this year, CommuniCore Hall will be a dynamic exhibition space that can transform with each new festival throughout the year. (DISNEY)

According to Disney, “CommuniCore Hall will also be the home of a dynamic exhibition space that will transform with each festival throughout the year, as you can see here in one possibility imagined for EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. Playing with light, shapes and reflections, the architecture of this building was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering to celebrate the legacy of EPCOT and the original CommuniCore buildings.”

CommuniCore Plaza ©Disney

Not only that, but Disney also shared that CommuniCore Hall will also be the location of a new Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet! We got a first look at what the outside of that meet-and-greet location will look like as well, and you can check it out below. It looks like the classic geodesic Spaceship Earth pattern will be repeated on the outside of this building — we can’t wait to see what it will look like in person.

As the historic transformation of EPCOT nears completion, a plethora of new attractions and experiences bring the next generation of immersive storytelling to life for guests. Opening as a part of the new World Celebration neighborhood in EPCOT later this year, CommuniCore Hall will be home to our newest character meet and greet location, Mickey & Friends, where guests will have the opportunity to meet with Mickey Mouse and some of his best pals. (DISNEY)

So far, Disney hasn’t shared too many details about the new meet-and-greet, other than its location and that we can expect the experience to open “later this year.” We’ll be on the lookout for more announcements from Disney about CommuniCore Hall, the new Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet, and everything currently in the works at Disney World.

Want to learn more about upcoming Disney World changes? Check out these posts:

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Which new meet-and-greet are you MOST excited for? Let us know in the comments.

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of upcoming Disney World events. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ