The Muppets Take Hollywood Studios and Soarin' Goes American — Both on May 26
Two signature Disney attractions get meaningful upgrades on the same Sunday. At Hollywood Studios, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets features the first-ever Scooter Audio-Animatronics figure, original Floyd and Janice guitars from The Muppet Show, and props rescued from the shuttered Muppet*Vision 3D. The Muppets IP bridges Gen X parents and grandparents with today's kids in a way Aerosmith never managed; advisors should front-load a Hollywood Studios day while opening buzz is fresh.
Simultaneously at Epcot and Disney California Adventure, Soarin' Across America replaces the international film on both coasts in a single day — a rare dual-park event. For repeat visitors who have written off the ride, this is a concrete new reason to queue. Advisors with clients booked for late May through summer should flag the refresh proactively: it revives an attraction they likely bypassed last trip.
New Mando-and-Grogu Mission Replaces Smugglers Run at Both Parks — Best Repeat-Visitor Pitch in Galaxy's Edge
Effective May 22, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has retired its original mission at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, replacing it with a Mandalorian and Grogu storyline. Guests now choose from new destinations — Tatooine, Cloud City, Coruscant, Death Star orbit — with Mando and Grogu appearing alongside Hondo.
The practical upshot for advisors: this is the clearest answer to the repeat-visitor objection ('we've done everything') on an attraction that families with young children can actually ride — low height requirement, high throughput. With The Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters now, the ride functions as a film extension. That 'complete the experience' angle is an upsell advisors can deploy through the movie's theatrical run, on a booking hook that simply didn't exist a month ago.
Jessie's Roundup Opened May 24 — Two Days Early — With Toy Story 5 Character Looks
The new interactive midday show at Magic Kingdom's Diamond Horseshoe debuted May 24, two days ahead of its announced May 26 date, meaning Memorial Day weekend guests already have access to an air-conditioned character experience in the middle of Frontierland.
The commercial hook goes beyond the early opening: Woody appears in his new bandana cape and Jessie wears her sheriff's badge from Toy Story 5 (releasing June 19), making this the only current venue for families to interact with the film's character looks before opening weekend. Advisors positioning a June Magic Kingdom visit can frame it as a 'meet the Toy Story 5 characters before the movie' experience — a low-pressure narrative upsell that lands naturally with families who already have theatrical plans for that month.
Disneyland's Kids Summer Ticket Lowers the Per-Child Cost Barrier — Book Before the Window Closes
Disneyland Resort is running a named Kids Summer Ticket offer, reducing per-child admission at a moment when three major refreshed experiences are simultaneously live: Soarin' Across America, the new Millennium Falcon mission, and Bluey's Beach Camp. Layered against the 70th Anniversary celebration running through August 9, this promotion gives advisors a complete 'why now, why Disneyland' pitch for multi-child families — the single demographic most sensitive to per-ticket cost.
Advisors should pull current pricing, blackout dates, and sell-by terms from Disneyland.com immediately. These offers typically carry short travel windows and hard expiration dates that can undercut a booking if clients discover the deal has lapsed after the initial conversation.
SeaWorld's Expedition Odyssey Fire & Ice Opens Today — Pre-Opening Reviews Already Benchmark It Against Soarin'
SeaWorld Orlando's new headliner — a reworked soaring-style simulator with Iceland footage, enhanced environmental effects, and a rebuilt narrative — opened today, May 25. Pre-opening reviews specifically benchmark it favorably against Disney's Soarin', which is the single most useful framing an advisor can use with a Disney-loyal family skeptical of a SeaWorld day: it speaks in terms they trust and removes the 'why bother' friction.
The package pitch extends through summer: SeaWorld's Electric Ocean nighttime programming runs June 12 through September 7, with returning nighttime animal shows that haven't run in years. A SeaWorld Orlando day can now hold morning through a full fireworks-and-animals evening — a proposition that justifies its slot in any Orlando multi-park itinerary.
Universal's Mega Movie Parade Quietly Pushed to June 5 — Audit Every Late-May Itinerary Now
Universal Orlando's app now shows the Mega Movie Parade starting June 5, moved from the previously announced May 23. Any advisor who sold a late-May Universal day with the parade as a featured highlight needs to revisit those itineraries immediately — clients arriving before June 5 will find no parade, and the resort has not issued a public announcement.
The gap period's primary new family draws are the Minions & Monsters character experiences and the Spielberg/Discovery Day exhibit; neither carries the crowd-pleasing weight of the parade. Advisors building new Universal packages should anchor family visits on June 5 or later to guarantee the full entertainment lineup. This rollback covers the entire Memorial Day through June 4 window — 13 days of potentially affected bookings.