How will Disney be celebrating its 50th Anniversary? When will Harmonious (EPCOT’s new fireworks show) debut? What’s going on with the refurbishments happening at Disney’s Contemporary Resort?

You’ve got questions — we’ve got answers!! This week was a big one in terms of Disney news! We’ve got fireworks updates, news about more things that have started to return to Disney World, and so much more. And today we’re breaking down all the Disney news you need to know from this past week right here. Let’s dive in!

1. The Contemporary’s Guest Rooms Are Being Themed to the Incredibles!

Earlier this year, we shared that the Contemporary’s Main Tower guest rooms were going to be refurbished. We’ve seen that refurbishment in action with LOTS of tarps and construction barriers (and construction noise) popping up in the hotel. But, we didn’t know what the refurbished rooms would look like or be themed to until NOW.

This week, Disney revealed that the guest rooms at the Contemporary are being themed to The Incredibles! The rooms now feature an enhanced retro-modern look with touches of the Incredibles throughout.

Guests will find details referencing the Incredibles in various places in the room, including in the closet and even inside of drawers!

Click here to see LOTS more pictures of what these refurbished rooms look like and when the refurbishment is going to be done!

But that’s not the only change coming the Contemporary. The lobby at the Contemporary will also be changing a bit and will feature some more art pieces as well as historical photos from when the Contemporary was being built.

And if you’re a big fan of The Wave…of American Flavors, you should know there are changes coming to that spot too. We previously shared that the restaurant would be temporarily closing this summer for a lengthy refurbishment. But now, Disney has stated that the restaurant will actually “close” to “make way for a reimagined dining experience in time for the Walt Disney World 50^th anniversary celebration.”

Disney hasn’t shared specific details about what this “reimagined” experience will be like, but we’re on the lookout for more details!

Click here to see more about when The Wave will close to be transformed into this reimagined experience.

2. Harmonious Has an Opening Date!

We’ve been watching all of the barges for EPCOT’s new fireworks show, Harmonious, enter World Showcase Lagoon and even go through some testing over the past several months. But, we’ve been left wondering…when will Harmonious FINALLY debut?!

Well, this week we got our answer!! On July 1st, fireworks will return to EPCOT with EPCOT Forever. But, on October 1st (which marks the start of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary) Harmonious will finally debut!

The show will include all kinds of water effects, fireworks, custom-built screens, and much more. Disney World’s President is counting down to the new show’s arrival and we are too!

Click here to learn more about the debut of Harmonious!

3. HUGE 50th Anniversary News!

This week we got an enormous amount of 50th Anniversary news. We’ll start with fireworks. While Harmonious will debut in EPCOT on October 1st, October 1st will also mark the debut of a brand new fireworks show in Magic Kingdom called Disney Enchantment!

The show will feature music, fireworks, lighting effects, and (for the first time ever) projections that will go from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.

Click here to learn more about Disney Enchantment!

Also at Magic Kingdom, guests will get to enjoy a NEW cavalcade for the 50th Anniversary!

During this cavalcade, you’ll get to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and more of their closest friends in their special 50th anniversary outfits!

Click here to see more about this new cavalcade!

Heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom during the 50th Anniversary? There will be a NEW show for you to see there too. On October 1st, a new daytime show called Disney KiteTails will debut in Animal Kingdom!

During the show, performers will fly windcatchers and kites, some of which will feature Disney characters like Baloo or Simba!

Click here to see more about this show!

But wait, there’s MORE! As part of the 50th Anniversary, there will actually be golden character statues spread throughout all 4 parks.

Mickey, Minnie, and more Disney characters will be featured in these 50(!!) statues spread throughout the parks.

Click here to see more about these 50 statues coming to Disney World!

Know someone who is a “magic maker” — a person who brings magic to others through acts of kindness and generosity (big or small)? Well, they could actually win a FREE trip to Disney World for the 50th Anniversary!

Disney is running a contest where they’ll be giving away 50 FREE trips to Disney World for those special people who are magic makers. If you know someone inspiring, you could nominate them now!

Click here to see more and to see how you could nominate someone!

And finally, if you’re looking to celebrate the 50th Anniversary at home, you can pick up one of the 5 new books being released for the anniversary! These books contain everything from unseen concept art to TONS of Disney recipes you can cook at home.

You can actually pre-order the recipe book (Delicious Disney) right now! What magic will you cook up at home?

Click here to pre-order the Disney recipe book! 

4. Distancing and Mask Changes

This week we also noticed a number of distancing changes being made around the parks. First, a bunch of fan-favorite pre-shows are BACK! The pre-shows at Haunted Mansion, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run have all returned (along with some others that returned in previous weeks).

We’ve also seen single rider lines become available again at select Disney World attractions.

If you’re a big fan of the arcades inside of Disney World’s resort hotels, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve started to see some of these arcades begin to reopen.

We’ve also seen self-serve condiments become available at select dining locations in Disney World.

And finally, this past week we saw two changes made regarding Cast Member face mask rules.

Face masks are now optional outdoors for fully vaccinated Disney World Cast Members. And they are now also optional for fully vaccinated Disney World Cast Members working indoors.

Cast Members are also now able to hold guest phones (or cameras) again to take photos of those guests when asked.

We expect more changes will be made throughout Disney World as distancing measures are gradually reduced over the next few weeks and months, so we’ll keep an eye out for more updates.

Click here to see our breakdown of the current mask rules for guests in Disney World.

5. Casey’s Corner Could Reopen SOON!

🚨 SOUND THE ALARMS. 🚨 Casey’s Corner has been closed in Magic Kingdom since the parks reopened. BUT this week we saw 2 BIG changes that could indicate this spot will be reopening soon!

First, we saw some changes made to its menu online. Second (and more importantly), we saw the drapes removed from this spot and chairs added!

Sure, you can usually grab corn dog nuggets from Westward Ho right now to fill a bit of that void, but it’s not entirely the same. Plus, we’re ready for some giant hot dogs and more from Casey’s! Disney still hasn’t announced an official reopening date for this spot but you better believe we’re on the lookout for more details and will share updates with you!

Click here to see what Casey’s Corner is looking like now!

6. Destination D23 Dates Have Been Announced!

Looking to hear behind-the-scenes stories about your favorite Disney rides? Want to be among the first to hear exciting news about things Disney is working on for the future? Then you’ll want to go to Destination D23 later this year!

In 2020, Destination D was postponed, but this year it’s coming back to Disney World from November 19th through the 21st! Tickets will be going on sale soon for D23 Gold Members so be sure to check out all of the details ahead of time so you can grab your tickets.

Click here to see our full post about the return of Destination D23!

And that’s our wrap-up of the big news from this week, but (of course) some other Disney news was shared this week as well. Here’s a quick break-down of some other stories you might want to check out:

• Disney Cruise Line bookings for fall 2022 are now open
• You can eat and drink inside of La Cava del Tequila in EPCOT again
• The Flavors of Florida shopping and dining event is coming back to Disney Springs this summer
• Hotel New York — The Art of Marvel has opened in Disneyland Paris
• More Disneyland restaurants have reopening dates, several snack spots in Disneyland have reopened, AND Lamplight Lounge — Boardwalk Dining is now available in Disney California Adventure Park

• Salt & Straw is opening a new ice cream shop in Disney World next year
• Tusker House Restaurant has reopened in Disney’s Animal Kingdom with character dining
• A Little Mermaid castle collection is being released soon
• We spotted a hidden Mickey you’ve probably NEVER seen before!

• A change is coming to Disney’s Magical Express check-in process
• A Marvel actor is reportedly set to produce and star in a NEW Tower of Terror movie for Disney
• Sebastian’s Bistro and Maya Grill have both reopened in Disney World

And that’s the Disney news from this week! We’ll be on the lookout for more updates and let you know what other big stories we spot in the upcoming days and weeks. Stay tuned for more updates from us here at DFB!

Click here to see 2 more Disney World hotels that are getting refurbished soon!

Will you be visiting Disney World for the 50th anniversary celebrations? Tell us in the comments!