We’ve had an AH-MAZING month in Disney World.

Of course, any month in the Most Magical Place on Earth brings us a LOT of news. From entertainment updates to restaurant reopenings, we’re looking at the four most UNEXPECTED things that happened in Disney World in July!

1. The Announcement of the END of Happily Ever After.

True, last month we were SHOCKED to hear about the news of the new Disney Enchantment fireworks show coming to Magic Kingdom for the 50th Anniversary and we knew that show would be replacing Happily Ever After. What we DIDN’T know is that Happily Ever After may be confirmed as gone for GOOD.

In July, however, Disney confirmed that Happily Ever After and EPCOT Forever will both CLOSE in Disney World this summer before they “sparkle into Disney history.” That language sure sounds like these shows won’t return!

Happily Ever After’s final night will take place on September 29th. The show opened in 2017 and will close just four years after its debut. For reference, the previous show Wishes ran for 14 years! EPCOT Forever will end on September 28th. What a surprise!

Want to learn more about the end of Happily Ever After? Click here.

2. The Return of a Hollywood Studios Nighttime Show…but Not Fantasmic!

In other nighttime spectacular news, we were pretty surprised to hear about the return of the fireworks show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Wonderful World of Animation. But, we were even MORE surprised that this show is returning BEFORE Fantasmic!

In fact, we still don’t have a return date for the mega-popular Fantasmic! at all. Last we saw, the entire Fantasmic! theater was drained and though a few permits were filed for the theater, there have been no signs of work wrapping up.

We miss Fantasmic! a WHOLE lot so hopefully, the show returns soon. Of course, we’ll keep you updated with any updates and at least we’ll get to watch Wonderful World of Animation again!

Click here to learn more about the return of Hollywood Studios fireworks!

3. A LOT of Restaurant and Attraction Reopening News!

Right now, reopening announcements seem pretty commonplace as Disney World continues to step towards full operations. Still, we were NOT expecting the BIG number of reopenings that were announced during July! Of course, the month saw some reopenings of its own, but there are still more to come!

Over the course of July, it was announced that Columbia Harbour House in Magic Kingdom will reopen on August 5th, Toledo — Tapas, Steak & Seafood at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort’s Gran Destino Tower will reopen on August 5th, Pizzafari in Disney’s Animal Kingdom will reopen on August 2nd, AND  Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort will reopen on August 5th!

Beyond that, some attractions were announced as reopening. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom will reopen on August 8th and Turtle Talk with Crush at EPCOT will reopen on August 21st. AND, Boardwalk patrons will be pleased about the reopening of  Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn on August 6th!

Whew! That’s a LOT of reopening news. None of these individual items gave us too much of a shock, but altogether we were surprised by the number of announcements!

To learn more about attraction reopenings, click here!

4. Masks returned to Disney World.

This last one definitely caught us by surprise. Late in July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance to recommend that vaccinated people wear masks inside once again in high-risk areas — like Florida.

Shortly after, Disney World announced that they would once again require masks indoors, on attractions, and on most transportation for all guests vaccinated or not. The rule went into effect on July 30th. So, somewhat unexpectedly, masks are once again required in many areas of Disney World.

To learn more about this update, click here.

And there you have it! That’s the news that REALLY surprised us in July! As always, keep an eye on DFB for allllll the latest Disney World updates.

Want to learn more about restaurant reopenings? Click here!

What news surprised you in July? Tell us in the comments!