Happy New Year! We hope 2022 is off to an amazing start for all of our readers! Now, it’s time to look ahead to see what’s coming to Walt Disney World now that the calendar has flipped to 2022.
Below is a list of all of the announced and expected changes coming this year. As always, Disney may change or adjust their schedule.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
Disney’s biggest experiment in years will open March 1, 2022. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser isn’t just a new hotel at Walt Disney World. It’s a two-day experience that is supposed to take guests and bring them into their own Star Wars story.
The concept has a lot of hype around it, but Disney’s marketing for the experience has been … well, let’s just say it hasn’t been very good. Disney has created more questions than answers in the past few months. It’ll be fascinating to see how the first guests respond once the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opens.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Epcot’s first roller coaster will open in Summer 2022! Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will also be Walt Disney World’s first Marvel attraction. This coaster will feature at least one launch (possibly two) and cars that use a controlled spin to face riders in specific directions.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is supposed to be a family-friendly attraction and will be one of the longest indoor coasters in the world.
Festival of Fantasy Parade
A daytime parade is finally returning to the Magic Kingdom in 2022. The Festival of Fantasy parade is set to return in 2022, but a specific date hasn’t been set at this time. More entertainment returning to Walt Disney World is a very welcome sign.
Of course, we can’t help but advocate for Disney to bring a regular nighttime parade back to the Magic Kingdom. We’ll take any regular nighttime parade, even yet another return of the Main Street Electrical Parade!
Reimagined Finding Nemo: The Musical
Finding Nemo: The Musical is coming back to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2022, but it won’t be the same show guests have enjoyed for years. The reimagined show will also debut a new name – Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
The updated show will take place in the ‘Finding Dory’ movie timeline, but will still include some original songs from Finding Nemo: The Musical.
Amazon Alexa in Resort Rooms
Guests staying at Disney resorts will have a new voice assistant beginning in 2022. The service, which is called “Hey Disney!”, will be able to answer questions from guests ranging from park hours to bus times.
The Amazon Echo Show devices should start appearing in Disney resort rooms in the near future.
MagicBand+
The next iteration of MagicBands will debut in 2022. Named MagicBand+, the updated bands will light up, vibrate and allow guests to interact with Walt Disney World’s theme parks. Naturally, the fancy new MagicBands will carry a higher cost.
Disney hasn’t provided much information about MagicBand+ since their original announcement. We expect more information to be released soon ahead of the 2022 launch.
More Epcot construction
The center of Epcot has been a massive construction site for quite some time. That will continue in 2022 as Disney works on the Journey of Water walkthrough attraction, the new quick-service restaurant Connections Cafe and Eatery, and more.
We should learn more about Epcot’s future in 2022.
