It’s time for a Walt Disney World news roundup, and this time we have a big batch of (mostly) feel-good or positive news from Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and beyond. Highlights include adorable baby animals, an iconic attraction anniversary, the end of a controversial AI pilot program, and much more.
Fifty years ago this week, Space Mountain blasted off into the next great frontier at Magic Kingdom, forever changing the (Walt Disney) World. Creating a never before seen roller coaster experience, the iconic attraction’s enduring popularity would grow to boast a mountain range of around the world from Florida to California, Japan, Paris, and Hong Kong.
Popularity of the original Space Mountain at Walt Disney World led Walt Disney Imagineering to create Space Mountain attractions in five out of six Disney resort destinations around the globe. Shanghai Disneyland got TRON Lightcycle Run instead–and in fitting fashion, things have come full-circle with that roller coaster since opening at Magic Kingdom beside the original Space Mountain. Each version of Space Mountain features an iconic conical exterior and serves as a landmark for the park in which it is found.
Construction on the original Space Mountain in Florida began on December 15, 1972, and the attraction debuted a little more than two years later. (Underscoring that even back in the good ole days, new rides didn’t materialize overnight.) The grand opening celebration featured NASA astronauts, a 2,000-piece marching band, daytime fireworks, celebrity appearances, a nationally televised prime-time special, and more. It’s impossible to overstate how big of a deal Space Mountain was when it debuted 50 years ago.
The first official ride on Space Mountain in 1975 was taken by astronaut Colonel James Irwin, who piloted the Lunar Module on Apollo XV to the moon. During the Space Mountain debut festivities Irwin said, “We astronauts are here today to salute all those who…permitted us to see the Earth as a precious blue jewel in the blackness of space. Now, all of us may enjoy this sense of wonder because of Walt Disney. Walt had a dream; today, we see the results of that dream.”
To celebrate 50 years of Space Mountain, Astronaut Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto joined Walt Disney World Ambassadors Serena Arvizu and Shannon Smith-Conrad outside the original Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom. This featured a private ceremony, fireworks launch, and more.
The characters and WDW Ambassadors introduced clips of various celebrities and Walt Disney World executives, including Disney Legend Josh Gad and Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle, sharing their favorite Space Mountain memories.
Here are more photos from the anniversary moment:
To continue breathing new life to the beloved attraction, Imagineers have developed limited-time overlays of Space Mountain. Both Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland are currently home to Hyperspace Mountain, a Star Wars adventure through the galaxy (that has arguably overstayed its welcome in both locations).
At Disneyland in Anaheim, Space Mountain has seen several different overlays through the years, including Hyperspace Mountain, which will return for Season of the Force from March 28 through May 11, 2025. Many people are also asking when Ghost Galaxy will make its triumphant return for the Halloween season. (Okay, no one else is asking. It’s just me. But I love that quirky little overlay–it’s quintessential “Weird Disney.”)
Imagineers are currently working on an entirely new $400 million Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland. Opening in 2027, this version will stay true to the original concept as a thrilling indoor coaster on a high-speed journey through space, while also featuring added enhanced performance, immersive special effects, and provide a greater connection between Earth and the universe. We recently shared a fun photo update on this: Second Space Mountain Takes Shape Above Tomorrowland!
Meet the newest additions to Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Walt Disney World recently welcomed a new litter of baby otters. Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment VP Dr. Mark Penning shared photos of the pups and their mother on Facebook.
Dr. Penning revealed that Mae, an Asian small-clawed otter mom, gave birth to a litter of adorable pups back in early December. These tiny species of otters are the smallest in the world, and in the photos, you can see mom taking care of one of her pups.
Kevin, the dad to these new pups, is also actively involved in taking care of them. While they are still nursing and bonding with mom backstage, they will soon reach some big milestones: opening their eyes, trying solid foods, and mastering their swimming skills in the coming months. Keep an eye out for them on Discovery Island in the future!
As a huge otter advocate, this is really exciting news to me. No joke. There’s a reason why Otter Grotto made our recent list of Little Things We Love About Walt Disney World. It’s one of my favorite recent additions to Animal Kingdom (not that there have been many), and even Walt Disney World as a whole. I think it’s really underrated–an awesome animal exhibit.
I’ve made a point of taking Megatron to Otter Grotto every single day we’ve gone to Animal Kingdom, as I’m excited for her to see the little fellas. So far, she’s spotted exactly zero otters. Not because they haven’t been out, but because she just doesn’t see them for whatever reason. In any case, I’m really looking forward to taking her back once these otter pups are out.
Also at Animal Kingdom, there’s a new entertainment act that began once Dino-Rama went extinct!
A new musical group called Eco-Rhythmics debuted at Animal Kingdom this week once walls went up. This high-energy drumming trio features a three-piece percussion band that, naturally, uses instruments made from recycled and reused materials.
The Eco-Rhythmics band performs familiar Disney music with a conservation twist. It’s fitting for Animal Kingdom, and you’re probably familiar with this type of act from the other parks–EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios have both had similar groups.
Showtimes for Eco-Rhythmics is in the My Disney Experience app, with the drummers currently performing hourly from 9:20 a.m. through 3:20 p.m.
You can find the Eco-Rhythmics band behind the construction walls and the Cementosaurus, behind the former Dino-Rama on the walkway (roadway) between Dinoland and Finding Nemo: The Musical. Don’t be surprised if their location changes during construction to improve visibility, but this path is expected to remain open for a while.
As an aside, the addition of this band along the Donald’s Dino-Bash characters sticking around makes me wonder whether we’ll see another Christmas in Dinoland USA. It was widely assumed that this year would be a first and last scenario for Santa on the back porch of Restaurantosaurus, but now my guess that this is back for a second year. And hopefully, those adorable character costumes, too!
Back to Eco-Rhythmics, it’s always nice when Walt Disney World adds live entertainment instead of removing it, so we’ll take this as a win! Our hope is that Animal Kingdom gets a lot more like this–and hopefully, something bigger–over the coming months. The park already doesn’t have enough to fill out a full day, and that’s only going to get worse with the closure of It’s Tough to Be a Bug for conversion into the Zootopia show, and closure of Dinoland in full for reimagining into Tropical Americas.
More good news, as the Voices of Liberty are debuting new costumes for the start of the 2025 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts! This new look for the beloved a cappella group will be featured year-round, except during the holidays, when they’ll continue wearing they’re gorgeous Dickensian finery. The costumes are the product of talent, time and careful design by the production team, and a collaboration between Creative Costuming and Disney Live Entertainment.
One of the most important aspects of costume design is ensuring the garments are visually stunning yet functional for the performers who will wear them daily while singing. This makes it essential to select fabrics that could be tailored well while providing the crisp construction needed. The Creative Costuming team met with the Voices of Liberty cast to ensure adequate flexibility and comfort for the wide range of arm movements made during performances.
If you haven’t seen the Voices of Liberty in a few years, you may not realize what an upgrade these are. The previous “modernized” costumes made them look like flight attendants–like Disney had searched for “American Airlines outfit” on Temu and bought the cheapest result. These are an unequivocal improvement over those.
Whether they’re as good as the old colonial costumes is definitely debatable. Personally, I don’t think they are–but it’s also my understanding that those were uncomfortable and made performing difficult. So this strikes me as a perfect middle ground for performer comfort, guest experience, and thematic integrity. Kudos to the Creative Costuming team!
To wrap up, we have a couple of technology updates. The My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps rolled out new features this week that allow guests to track Mobile Orders directly from the iPhone’s Lock Screen without needing to open the apps. If you’ve visited in the last couple of weeks, you might’ve seen a test version of this, but the update is now available for all Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort guests (it may not have yet rolled out to all Mobile Order locations).
The feature uses Apple iOS “Live Activities,” which keeps real-time updates visible on your Lock Screen.
You can also tap “I’m Here” directly from the Live Activities display when you arrive at the pick-up location. Live Activities are available on iPhones running iOS 16.1 or later. To use this feature, make sure your My Disney Experience or Disneyland app is updated to the latest version.
Our view is that this is a small change that makes a big difference. We’re big proponents of Mobile Order, which can save a ton of time waiting in line and streamline the order process (it also makes browsing visual menus easier). Perhaps my biggest complaint, aside from when return times are too far into the future, is that the Mobile Order screen often freezes for me after hitting “I’m Here.” Not sure if this is a “me problem” or it’s common, but having this feature in Live Activities will be nice. Nothing groundbreaking or deserving of its own post, but a little iterative improvement that we nevertheless love to see.
Continuing with tech topics, our final news of interest is that the AI self-checkout system that was being tested by Walt Disney World at the End Zone Food Court in All Star Sports Resort has been removed after a little over a month of testing (h/t BlogMickey).
This was always the plan–the AI self-checkout at the food court was to be a pilot program to test & adjust and further refine the technology–or assess whether it’s viable at scale in the first place. Think of this as similar to the test of facial recognition for park entry from ~4 years ago, which (thus far) went nowhere.
According to reports, the AI self-checkout system was a mixed bag. Sometimes it worked flawlessly, streamlining and speeding up the checkout process. Other times, the system had a difficult time identifying dishes and they didn’t scan correctly, or user error complicated things, necessitating Cast Member intervention.
We never used the AI self-checkout system. Although I was very curious, I’m not sure Megatron’s first Christmas trip to Walt Disney World would’ve been the time for a field trip over to All Star Sports. However, we have used somewhat similar systems at UNIQLO (the one there is like magic!), Amazon Fresh, and a couple other spots in Japan. It’s an intriguing system, although I’m not convinced the technology is “quite there” for prepared food (yet). It does work well for packaged items.
What I found most fascinating here is the fan backlash to the food court AI self-checkout test. Part of this was undoubtedly fueled by statements from the Unite Here Cast Member Union, which presented opposition to the pilot program and expressed concern about it eliminating Cast Member jobs. Another part is likely due to it being AI-powered, as there’s become a reflexive aversion to AI by a large segment of people.
Finally, there’s the increasing impersonalization and isolation of the guest experience, and discomforting or dystopian quality of it all. That’s hyperbole, sure, especially when addressing one change by itself. But it isn’t just one change–it’s the totality of modern technology and how that increases human connections in aggregate.
Disney has made a big to-do about how “Cast Members are the magic,” and yet, I strongly suspect that the average guest in 2025 has far fewer interactions with Cast Members than the average guest in 2019 or 1995. The degree to which technology has been leveraged in big and small ways all but assures this.
I’ve written at length about that last point, most notably in response to automated cameras replacing PhotoPass photographers. From my perspective, those automated cameras are very obviously inferior to the humans they’ve replaced.
As a new parent who now spends a disproportionate amount of time at meet & greets, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the ones with human photographers are much better than the ones with machines. To be perfectly frank, we “drag our feet” at the automated ones to ensure we actually get usable photos. Beyond that, I’m honestly surprised that the tradeoff in guest satisfaction for efficiency and cost-savings is “worth it” to Disney.
In other cases, I am far more receptive to technology. MagicMobile, Mobile Order, Table Service To-Go, Walk-up Waitlist, and the Evolv touchless security scanners are all solid improvements to the guest experience. (I assume the same is also true of Merchandise Mobile Checkout, but I don’t buy enough stuff to have an opinion.)
It’s interesting that none of those other things have really caught the ire of fans in the same way as the food court AI self-checkout test. Most exist for the exact same reason–to reduce labor costs and increase efficiency. I would hazard a guess that artificial intelligence is used in at least two of those technologies, too.
The difference is probably a matter of timing. By the time Mobile Order blew up at Walt Disney World, it was ubiquitous elsewhere. People had used it and liked it–there was no going back. The Evolv scanners solved a clear problem in reducing friction and frustrations at security checkpoints; once Walt Disney World regulars experienced the joy of breezing through bag check, there was no going back.
By contrast, the food court AI self-checkout test is coming at a time when this type of technology is still nascent, there’s a lot of backlash towards AI, and concerns about companies automating jobs away. I get these fears and concerns. I have some of them myself! I don’t want to live in a modern day Twilight Zone or Black Mirror episode (or Her or whatever).
It’s worth having a more nuanced view of this stuff and taking it on a case-by-case basis. The analysis needs to be whether this isn’t just innovation for innovation’s sake (or to reduce costs), but whether it actually improves things for people, and by enough of a degree to justify the reduced interpersonal connections.
Perhaps I’m biased as a photographer, but I think there’s a clear distinction between PhotoPass and any form of mobile checkout, as the former requires human skill, expertise, a capacity for emotion that a computer cannot replicate. To be sure, there can be something to be said for the interaction that comes with a human at checkout, but I don’t think that’s inherent to the role. It’s something that could be said for any human interaction.
There’s also the practical reality that the United States has an aging population that is going to necessitate automation. I would absolutely expect unions to push back on it–that’s their job. But at the same time, it also makes sense for everyone else to recognize that this is not a bad thing, and to the contrary, is solving a real problem.
Human labor is a scarce resource like any other, and ideally should be put to its best uses–especially as it becomes more scarce. This is precisely why Asia is on the bleeding edge of these technologies, and you already see things like humanoid care robots or dinosaur receptionist robotos. This problem already arrived there, and they’ve learned that there are only a handful of realistic solutions.
Regardless, for now, I don’t think AI self-checkout at food courts passes the above test. Maybe it will eventually, but that day doesn’t seem to be today. So ending this pilot program, giving this technology more time to incubate, and revisiting this in a few years might be the best course of action.
Walt Disney World also needs to be viewing its suite of technologies from a holistic perspective, as reducing the frequency of interactions between Cast Members and guests is a net negative, even if it’s not picked up by guest surveys and so forth. Walt Disney World should recognize the value of human connections (after all, they named a whole restaurant after it!), and implement changes that reduce these connections sparingly–only when the positives far outweigh the negatives.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the topics covered in this Walt Disney World news roundup? Would you like to see more condensed news articles or recaps like this? Thoughts on Animal Kingdom’s conservation successes? The end of the AI self-checkout test, new costumes for the Voices of Liberty, or anything else? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
