Disney World Walt Disney World has a firm date for its leadership change. Joe Schott, currently president of Disney Signature Experiences, takes over as resort president on August 3, 2026, succeeding Jeff Vahle, who is retiring after 36 years with the company.
Universal Orlando Universal Orlando is bringing its own separately ticketed after-hours event to Epic Universe. Universal Nights runs two Saturday nights this fall, October 3 and 17, from 9 p.m. to midnight, with 7 p.m. early entry, complimentary snacks, and lighter crowds. Tickets start at $179.99 and go on sale August 13.
Legoland Florida Now that Red, White & BOOM has wrapped, LEGOLAND Florida still has a full summer on the calendar. Catch the FIFA World Cup Experience before it ends July 19, dive into the new LEGO Festival and its Pokémon and F1 zones from July 20 to August 16, cool off at the water park through August 30, and get ready for Brick-or-Treat on Labor Day weekend. Here is every remaining event, in order.
Universal Orlando After weeks of after-hours testing, Universal Celestial Goodnight officially debuted at Epic Universe on July 7. Universal's first full nighttime spectacular runs about 10 minutes at park close, wrapping Celestial Park in fountains, lights, and a fireworks finale, and the first opening-night video is already out.
Disney World On Monday, unionized Disney cast members and Orange County teachers presented roughly 5,000 petitions asking Disney to end its long-running property tax challenges, arguing a $119 million school reserve set aside for potential refunds could instead fund teacher raises. Disney says it is exercising a legal right and declined to comment.
Universal Orlando Universal has added a temporary tattoo choice to the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience at Epic Universe, a lighter-commitment way to get transformed into a classic Universal Monster like Dracula or the Wolf Man. The experience starts at $45 and is open to guests ages 5 and up.
Disney World Imagineering has extended a key construction permit for the Indiana Jones ride replacing DINOSAUR into summer 2027, and with the land's other permits set to expire by spring 2027, fans are debating whether the Encanto and Indiana Jones land opens by next summer or later in the year. Disney's only official word remains 2027.
Disney World For the country's 250th birthday, EPCOT's rare Heartbeat of Freedom fireworks finale is running three nights instead of one (July 3 through 5), Magic Kingdom brings back its Celebrate America concert in the sky, and a U.S. Air Force Reserve flyover buzzes both parks on the Fourth. Here is the full holiday rundown.
Universal Orlando As of July 1, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure no longer accepts Universal Express Pass, so even guests who paid to skip the line now ride standby. Universal calls it an operational update, and it targets the single longest wait at the resort. Here is what changed and how to plan around it.
SeaWorld Orlando Doo doo doo: the Baby Shark at SeaWorld event returns July 6 through September 7, included with admission. Expect a live Pinkfong stage show, character meet-and-greets with Baby Shark and Pinkfong, and Baby Shark themed snacks and souvenirs across the park.
Universal Orlando As Universal prepares to redevelop The Lost Continent, the beloved and award-winning Mythos will close permanently by 2027. Taking over as the park's fine dining flagship, Thunder Falls Terrace in Jurassic Park closes this summer and reopens in 2027 as a new full-service restaurant, and a $6 million city permit shows the work is already moving.
Disney World Fresh construction filings for the reimagined Animation Courtyard confirm Disney is actively building the late summer 2026 attraction, which brings Drawn to Wonderland, an Audio-Animatronic Olaf, and character meet and greets to Hollywood Studios.
Universal Orlando New aerial photos show the Sindbad theater gone and Poseidon's trident toppled as demolition passes the halfway mark at Islands of Adventure. Universal quietly saved the beloved Mystic Fountain's carved face, and a Pokémon land is the leading but still unconfirmed rumor for what replaces it.
SeaWorld Orlando The all-new festival celebrates America's 250th with a coast to coast barbecue lineup, from Kansas City burnt-end sliders to Texas brisket to Louisiana beignets, served weekends through August 23. Here is the full menu rundown.
Universal Orlando The nightly fountains, lights, and fireworks show wraps all of Celestial Park with nearly 600 light fixtures and seven million LEDs. It debuts July 7, and guests at the Helios Grand Hotel are already catching the after-hours tests.
Disney World The spinning Tomorrowland classic closes July 6 for its biggest overhaul since 1994, adding a new intro scene, fresh decades, and an Audio-Animatronic of Walt Disney himself. Here is why July 5 is your last chance to see the current show.
Disney World La Poutinerie, hosted by Air Canada, opens today, July 1, 2026 (Canada Day), at EPCOT's Canada pavilion, replacing the shuttered Refreshment Port. The quick-service stand serves two poutines, Québec: L'Authentique ($10.99) and Montréal: Viande Fumée ($12.49), plus Canadian beers, wine, and a Spiced Apple Slushy or Mule. The redesigned exterior adds Canadian stonework and a centerpiece of Canada geese in flight.
Universal Orlando Universal announced its first-ever Hellraiser haunted house for Halloween Horror Nights 35, coming to both Orlando and Hollywood. Drawn from Clive Barker's original trilogy, the house sends guests through Frank Cotton's family home, the Channard Institute, and the Labyrinth to face Pinhead and the Cenobites. Doug Bradley, the original Pinhead, returns to voice the role. HHN 35 runs select nights August 28 through November 1, 2026 at Universal Studios Florida.
Legoland Florida Legoland Florida has named LEGO Pokémon the headliner of the new Play Zone at LEGO Festival 2026, running July 20 through August 16. Guests will be among the first in the world to try the new LEGO Pokémon SMART Play system, a screen-free, tag-based building experience that launches at retail in August 2026. The zone includes a Nurture area, a Trainer Center for battles, a build-your-own LEGO Poké Ball, and a giant LEGO Pikachu photo op. Included with admission.
Universal Orlando Comcast announced Monday, June 29, 2026 that it will spin off NBCUniversal, including Universal Destinations & Experiences (Universal Orlando, Hollywood, Japan, Singapore, Beijing, Epic Universe, the upcoming UK park), into a standalone publicly traded media and entertainment company. The tax-free separation is expected to close in roughly one year, around mid-2027. Mike Cavanagh becomes CEO of the new NBCUniversal; Michael Angelakis becomes CEO of Comcast. Comcast retains up to a 19.9% stake in NBCUniversal for up to one year after closing. No immediate operational changes to Universal Orlando were announced, and ongoing projects (Epic Universe expansions, Dark Universe permit work, Jurassic Park River Adventure refurb, the UK park) are not affected.
Disney World Disney has added a new Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2026 entertainment offering listed on Disney's site as See Spirited Swashbucklers, with Captain Jack Sparrow leading the action in Adventureland. The party runs select nights August 7 through October 31, 2026 (38 nights), with ticket pricing $119 to $229 depending on date. The Rusty Cutlass pirate band, a longtime MNSSHP Adventureland fixture, is not on Disney's confirmed 2026 entertainment list, fueling fan speculation that the new show replaces it. Disney has not yet announced format, stage, or showtimes for Spirited Swashbucklers.
SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is hosting a Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup 2026 Fan Zone July 4 through July 19, screening the Semi-Finals (July 14 and July 15, 3 p.m. ET) and the Final (July 19, 3 p.m. ET) on the big screen at the air-conditioned Seaport Theater. The outdoor Fan Zone runs throughout the event window with soccer activations, photo ops, limited-edition event premiums while supplies last, and Coca-Cola beverages, all included with regular park admission.
Universal Orlando Aerial photos by bioreconstruct, published by Orlando ParkStop on June 29, show Universal upgrading the original Ultrasaur and baby Stegosaurus animatronics inside Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure during the ride's 10-month refurb. A clean white armature has been installed for the Ultrasaur's neck and the baby Stego has had its face skin removed to upgrade the head's moving elements. Inside The Magic separately confirmed the entrance roof shingles (in place since 1999) and sections of the ride track are being replaced. The ride closed January 5, 2026 and is scheduled to reopen November 20, 2026.
Disney World Level99, the Massachusetts-born "Players Club" of physical-and-mental challenge rooms, opens its fourth and biggest location at Disney Springs West Side today, Monday, June 29, 2026. The 46,800-square-foot, two-story venue carries 63 mini-game challenge rooms, 40 plus original art installations, a two-story bar, Detroit-style pizza and wagyu burgers. Tickets start at $29.99 for 1.5 hours or $39.99 for 2.5 hours per player, with a $19.99 Premium Pass upgrade. The first 500 Players through the door today get a commemorative pin.
Universal Orlando Universal Orlando announced Cybergoria, an original Halloween Horror Nights 35 haunted house with a cryo-future premise: a corporation called Bio Immortal Bionic Intelligent Systems once sold cryo-freezing as immortality, and thousands of years later the machines that took over are still pursuing the goal, even if it kills you. Announced Thursday, June 25, 2026, the house is the sixth of a reported ten HHN 35 houses to be revealed. Senior Show Director Matthew Flood (Universal Orlando Resort) leads the project. HHN 35 runs select nights August 28 through November 1, 2026.
Legoland Florida Legoland Florida's 4th of July event, Red, White & BOOM!, returns Saturday, July 4, 2026 in its biggest form yet, tied to America's 250th birthday. Extended park hours (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), a 12-minute lakefront fireworks finale over Lake Eloise, free LEGO-brick holographic viewing glasses distributed starting 7:45 p.m. while supplies last, a 6 p.m. DJ dance party, collaborative giant American-flag LEGO build stations, and a $30 VIP Fireworks Seating Package capped at 120 guests in South Ski Stadium. Single-day tickets start at $69 for a limited time.
Disney World A stay at one of Walt Disney World's flagship Deluxe resorts is not supposed to come with a box fan, but that has been the reality for some guests at Disney's Wilderness Lodge this week. The main building's central air conditioning has been down since Thursday, June 18, just as Central Florida sweltered under back-to-back heat advisories with feels-like temperatures topping 105 degrees. By Monday, June 22, Disney had trucked in temporary chillers and portable spot coolers and many guest rooms had cooled back down, though the Grand Lobby and some interior spaces stayed warm, and the central system was not yet fully restored. Disney has not commented publicly.
Universal Orlando Something big is taking shape in the spookiest corner of Epic Universe. A new permit filing points to a building of roughly 71,500 square feet planned for the heart of Darkmoor Village, the classic-monsters town inside the park's Dark Universe world, with Stantec Architecture listed on the paperwork. That footprint is on par with full attractions at Epic Universe, like the Mario Kart ride and the Untrainable Dragon show, so this is no gift shop. Universal will only say that permit filings are routine and that it has no further details to share, which leaves the fun question wide open: a new monster ride, a theater, or something else entirely?
Legoland Florida Legoland Florida Resort has revealed a new LEGO F1 Thrill Zone as the headliner of LEGO Festival 2026, the resort's in-park summer event running July 20 through August 16. The Thrill Zone features a Brick Stop Challenge (a timed LEGO F1 pit-crew tire change), a Pit Lane Hype Show with live drum and percussion, a Design & Build Racing Experience where guests build and race their own LEGO F1 brick cars, and an F1 ACADEMY Spotlight for the junior racing championship that develops female motorsport talent. Included with regular park admission.
Universal Orlando Universal Orlando announced "H.R. Bloodengutz presents: Halloween Fright-Tacular" as the first original (non-IP) haunted house for Halloween Horror Nights 35, marking the return of fan-favorite horror host Larry Kurtzberg (aka H.R. Bloodengutz) after a 15-year absence as a headliner. The house is set inside the fictional WKNB television studio in Carey, Ohio. HHN 35 runs select nights from August 28 through November 1, 2026 at Universal Studios Florida.
