Touring Plans

The NFL and the Walt Disney Company dropped a tease last month that left us all wondering who our favorite teams were paired with. And on a personal note, how did the TouringPlans team’s predictions (hopes) fare? I will say there are some surprises mixed with some wins! Click here if you want to see our picks before you read further.

If you are anything like me, you’ve been waiting somewhat impatiently for Disney Cruise Line to release the rest of their 2027 itineraries. Disney has been releasing the late fall itineraries in June or July for the past several years! Until last year. Which was the latest ever – August 19. Well, guess what? We’ve officially passed that. So, what’s the holdup, Disney? I don’t know what the holdup is, but surely we are getting them soon, right? Maybe tomorrow?

Are you planning to visit the Magic Kingdom on a Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) day so you can enjoy low crowds and a break from Lightning Lanes? We’ve mapped out the remaining party days for you! The following information comes straight from our Crowd Calendar. TouringPlans Subscribers (Liners) have access to our 365-day rolling Crowd Calendar where you can see the overall crowd level for all four parks as well as park specific levels and info.

If you’ve used a touring plan in the Disney parks recently, maybe you’ve seen “Rope Drop Mode” under the Advanced Options header. Below is how to activate Rope Drop Mode in your plan and what that means for your morning hustle. TouringPlans Lines App Once you have selected your touring plan or created a custom plan in the Lines app, scroll down to Advanced Options as shown in the image above. Select the “Enable Rope Drop Mode?” button.

The Train Garden in the Germany Pavilion of EPCOT received a neat update! The Germany Train Garden before the recent update. The old garden was beautiful and full of whimsy. We loved waiting for the flags in the center of town to change with the rotating EPCOT festivals. The New Germany Train Garden Aren’t the changes fantastic?! Germany Train Garden gazebo Tiny musicians are playing in the little gazebo as guest look on from wooden benches. Does this mean we’re getting benches AND tables?!?

This week’s SATURDAY SIX takes a look at the “Little Things”! We love amusement and theme parks, from the coaster of Cedar Point to Disneyland’s dark rides and shows. But what takes a regular amusement park up a level and into a theme park? Well many people have suggestions: themes that connect the park to the lands and attractions, engaging and active team members who interact with guests, and lots and lots of attention to little details.

Big Top Souvenirs in Storybook Circus reopened today and stopped in to check out the refurbished space. Big Top Souvenirs in Storybook Circus The interior of Big Top Souvenirs has been refreshed, but the general layout is the same. Merch at Big Top Souvenirs New merchandise, including current Halloween selections, are spread out around the perimeter of Big Top Souvenirs.

Disney Construction,  Disney's Hollywood Studios,  Monstropolis Disney’s Hollywood Studios is in the middle of several construction projects. We stopped by to grab a few photos to document the progress. Dockside Diner on Echo Lake in Hollywood Studios Echo Lake has been drained and there is scaffolding around the exterior of Dockside Diner, which is open during construction.

We thought the new trash cans in EPCOT meant we were losing tables, but no! New Tables in Mexico Just in time for Food & Wine next week, Disney has installed the new tables you can see in the image above! New Solar Powered Trash Compactors in EPCOT The new solar powered trash compactors, above, have been popping up all over Walt Disney World recently.

EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival begins in just a few days, August 27th, and runs through November 21, 2026. Disney finally released the festival menus yesterday ~ you can check out our summary of the menu math here. There are six dishes from our 2025 Best $50 You Can Spend list that are coming back this year! Some of our favorite Pour Decision winners from 2025 are back on the cocktail menus in 2026, too.