Hollywood Studios: New Animation Attraction Loses 4 Hours Daily, Tower of Terror Disappears Behind Scaffolding
The Magic of Disney Animation, replacing Star Wars Launch Bay, opens September 14 with generous 9am–9pm hours — but four outlets confirm those hours drop to 10am–6pm starting September 28, an 8-hour window down from 12. Families planning early-morning or evening visits around this new character/meet-and-greet experience will lose access just as fall and holiday crowds build. Advisors booking Hollywood Studios for late September through mid-November should reset client touring plans now rather than assuming opening-day hours hold.
Separately, the park's Sunset Boulevard has changed dramatically: Tower of Terror's 199-foot facade is now largely hidden behind metal scaffolding for an exterior overhaul, with no completion date given. Disney's holiday projection show is still expected to return for the 2026 season, but advisors should warn holiday-trip clients about compromised photo ops on Sunset Boulevard while confirming the ride itself keeps operating.
- Magic of Disney Animation: 9am–9pm at opening (Sept 14) → 10am–6pm from Sept 28
- Tower of Terror: fully scaffolded exterior, no completion date; holiday projections still expected
EPCOT's October Lineup: Two Shortened Days, Four New Food & Wine Booths, a $120 Fireworks Dinner
Beginning October 2, EPCOT adds four new Food & Wine Festival booths — Coastal Eats, Earth Eats, The Alps and India — broadening the lineup for fall group and multigen bookings. Japan's Shiki-Sai debuts a $120-per-person prix-fixe package paired with Luminous viewing, a bookable premium upsell for clients wanting a reserved fireworks vantage point with dinner included.
At the same time, EPCOT will open later than usual on two specific dates in October. Advisors building fall EPCOT days into multigen itineraries need to route clients around those truncated mornings, especially families planning rope-drop strategies around the festival. The combination gives advisors both a new revenue-generating add-on to pitch and an operational wrinkle to plan around for the same month.
Universal's Skull Island: Reign of Kong Shut Indefinitely Amid Damage Rumors
Islands of Adventure's Skull Island: Reign of Kong has been closed for weeks with no official explanation or reopening timeline, amid unconfirmed reports that the King Kong animatronic suffered fire damage during repairs. Universal has not commented on the cause or a return date.
For advisors selling Universal Orlando family packages, this is an open-ended risk: the ride is a marquee draw for the Islands of Adventure side of a multi-day itinerary, and clients booking now for fall or winter travel shouldn't be promised it as a guaranteed must-do. Until Universal confirms status, the safer approach is flagging the closure upfront and building itineraries that don't hinge on the attraction being open, revisiting as new information surfaces.
Margaritaville at Sea Homeports Its Largest Ship, Beachcomber, in Galveston From October 2027
Margaritaville at Sea will relocate its newest and largest vessel, the 100,000+ GT Beachcomber, to Galveston in October 2027 after the ship debuts in Miami that January. From Texas, it will run 4-night Cozumel Express and 7-night Caribbean sailings, joining a Galveston cruise market already served by Carnival, Disney Cruise Line and Princess.
For advisors, this is a new mid-tier, family-friendly large-ship product and a new drive-to homeport option to have on the radar well ahead of launch — useful for Texas-based multigen families who'd rather not fly to a port. Details and itinerary specifics are early; booking windows aren't yet confirmed, but the deployment and capacity are.