Happy October! After MONTHS of preparing and waiting for the 50th Anniversary Celebration this month, it’s finally here! So much has changed in Disney World since the beginning of the year; it would take a novel to break down all the changes and announcements since January.

Instead, let’s look back at all the new things we found out in September! (There’s a lot — see if you remembered it all!)

The Rise of the Resistance Virtual Queue is Gone (for now)

On September 23rd, guests no longer needed a boarding group to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Interestingly, Disney was careful with their language, stating that they are “PAUSING” the use of virtual queues for Rise of the Resistance, not eliminating them. 

Lately, the stand-by line for Rise of the Resistance has been surprisingly low (sometimes lower than the posted wait time), but we’ll be curious to see if things change!

We Have an Opening Date for the Star Wars Hotel 

After LOTS of waiting and speculation, we finally have an official opening date for the (pricey) new Star Wars Hotel! 

The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will open on March 1st, 2022. Will you book a reservation? 

Read MORE about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser here! 

Interactive Magic Bands

Right at the end of September, Disney dropped SEVERAL news bombs on us, including the introduction of new interactive Magic Bands! (Still no step-counter on the display, sigh) 

Disney seems to have a thing with the plus sign, the new Magic Bands are called MagicBand+ and will include several interactive features to enhance your park experience. We’re still waiting on more details, so stay tuned!

Learn all about MagiccBand+ and its features here! 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Opening Timeline 

Disney (finally) announced that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will open in EPCOT in 2022! The new rollercoaster will live in a HUGE building with a twisty turn-y track! 

We still don’t have an exact date yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out!

We got to go INSIDE the attraction! Read about what we saw HERE! 

Candlelight Processional Returning 

Between all the new 50th Anniversary excitement and Halloween fun, we almost forgot about Christmas! 

We had been wondering if the Candlelight Processional would return this year since it wasn’t part of the festival last year. And in September, Disney confirmed that the Candlelight Processional will return to EPCOT in 2021 as part of the International Festival of the Holidays! 

Reimagined Finding Nemo Musical

We found out that a NEW version of the old Finding Nemo Musical in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is coming soon! 

Disney explained that a REIMAGINED show (based on the same characters) will debut sometime in 2022! We don’t have an exact date yet, so stay tuned for more information!

Read more about this reimagined show here! 

SO much happened in September that it was hard to keep track of all that! Now that’s it’s officially October, we’re sure that more news will come our way as we get closer to the end of the year. Be sure to stay tuned for all the latest information!

Now There’s an EASIER Way to Give Cast Member Compliments in Disney World!

What are you looking forward to in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!