We’re wandering the avenues of Disney’s Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts — and the Skyliner station that’s come between them. Here’s What’s New!

What’s New in Dining at Art of Animation

At Landscape of Flavors — the food court at Art of Animation Resort — we spotted a few new-to-us menu changes. At the salad station, a Power Salad with kale, feta, edamame, and dried fruits has been added. Diners can also dig into the Chilled Asian Noodle Salad with carrots, cabbage, onions, peppers, and sesame dressing.

At the World of Flavors station, Brussels Sprouts are no longer offered as a side. We can hear the cries of children everywhere. 😉

We’ve covered our bases in the Bakery Case, but it sure doesn’t hurt to look at it again.

And it gives us another excuse to look at the yummy Peanut Butter Paws cupcake we reviewed yesterday. It’s available at both resorts.

At the Drop Off Pool Bar, some small signs were added with cleverly-named drinks. The Root Beer Float might not be a new name, but it takes on new meaning — and kahlua! — at a pool bar. We love the Hammerhead (ice cream and whiskey) and the Clownfish (Fanta with vodka and ice cream).

The Guppy is a Clownfish minus the vodka, great for kiddos who love orange/cream treats. There’s also a kid-friendly Root Beer Float.

And for the holiday weekend, a Patriot Colada with Bacardi Raspberry Rum, blue curacao, pina colada mix, and raspberry puree. Berry-licious!

What’s New in Dining at Pop Century

In dining news at Pop Century’s Everything Pop food court, the Barbecue Pork Sandwich is no longer available.

Pasticcio Lasagna with stracciatella cheese (it’s a soft Buffalo cheese…for those of you who, like some of our team, thought stracciatella was just ice cream) and Bolognese sauce has been added to the pasta station.

And Seared Salmon has replaced Blackened Mahi at the grill station.

Here’s another gratuitous shot of the Peanut Butter Paws Cupcake. 😉

What’s New in Art of Animation Merchandise and Activities

Art of Animation has a large board up with July 4th Activities, including trivia, a Fun in the Sun party, and A ROARing Fourth of July Celebration.

Other Resort Activities for the  month of July are listed on a handy print-out.

In the Ink & Paint Shop (the Resort’s gift shop), we spotted two new-to-us Minnie Icon pieces. We’re considering putting the word ‘icon’ on all of our clothes from now on…

Construction work continues in the Art of Animation lobby. Previously work was focused on the main entrance, but it’s moved on to the space across from the check-in desk where there’s typically a wall of animation. You can see it on the right in this photo:

The full length of the animation wall is blocked off, all the way to the lobby’s iconic chandelier.

But both the main entrance and the bus stop entrance to the lobby are accessible, as is the entire check-in area.

What’s New in Pop Century Merchandise and Activities

Pop Century also has a Resort Activities (er, Experience) sheet. The Resort has listed its 4th of July happenings on this sheet rather than a large board.

Painting with a Pop! is available on July 5 and 9 for a $35 fee.

In the merchandise portion of Everything Pop, we spotted… Phone Flippers. Not flip phones; those have gone the way of most of the Resort’s other icons, historically speaking. Phone Flippers. First, they’re very cute.

But then, this is what they do. And we’re just not sure we need this in our lives. “Your hands are free!”… except for the giant phone dangling off the front of them. 😉

The Rainbow Unicorn Keychain we previously saw in Disneyland and at Magic Kingdom has made an appearance at Everything Pop, too. Methinks they may have an abundance of these they need to off-load.

What’s New in Skyliner Station Construction

The Disney Skyliner Gondola System will have a station on Hourglass Lake between Pop and Art of Animation. It’s fairly nondescript, as far as design goes. But we love the sinuous roofline that makes us think of paper fluttering through the air (except it’s actually humans in metal cabins).

Speaking of which, there are plenty of unwrapped gondolas in the station and out on the line here.

We recently shared pictures of the rescue barge in place for emergencies here. Lots of readers had strong feelings about this. Click here to read about it!

And if you need to be rescued via barge, you’ll want to know there’s a bathroom at the Art of Animation end of the Generation Gap Bridge that spans the two Resorts. Lights are on here, and the exterior work appears nearly (if not totally) complete.

And on that note, we turn the page on this What’s New! We’ll be drawing up a few more What’s New in the coming days, so be sure to sketch out lots of time to check DFB!

Better yet…

Thanks for reading our What’s New series! What is your favorite part? Menu updates? Construction news? Merchandise? Let us know in the comments!