The news this week has been dominated by Hurricane Irma which is bearing down on Walt Disney World.

Here are some updates on the hurricane then we will get to the fun stuff.

HURRICANE IRMA NEWS

• Walt Disney World has suspended new dining reservations for September 10-11.
• Orlando International Airport (MCO) is closing on Saturday, September 9 at 5:30pm.
• Port Canaveral will cease all operations at 3:00pm on Friday, September 8.
• The Campsites as Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort will close Saturday afternoon. The performances of Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ have been canceled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
• Highway in the Sky monorail tour has been cancelled for Saturday.
• Disney’s Vero Beach Resort will close at 2:00pm on Saturday.
• Adventures by Disney has canceled their Backstage Magic for Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Their Gardens of the World tour is also canceled for Tuesday.
• Several Disney Cruise Line voyages on the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream were modified or canceled.
• Night of Joy has been canceled for Saturday, September 9.
• Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been canceled for Sunday, September 10. Guests with tickets to this party have the following options: exchange ticket for another Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, exchange ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, exchange for a 1-day Magic Your Way Tickets with Park Hopper option to be used within the next two years, or receive a full refund for the tickets.

WALT DISNEY WORLD PARKS NEWS

August 30 – Slinky Dog has arrived at Walt Disney World! The ride vehicle for the Slinky Dog Dash attraction at Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios arrived on the perfect day – National Slinky Day. (Link)

August 31 – When my daughter was young she thought she was an honored Disney guest when she received the “Red Card” before experiencing an attraction. Rumors out of Disney are saying the “Red Cards” are being phased out due to the multi-purpose use of the MagicBand. (Link)

September 1 – A new tour is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The Ultimate Nights of Adventure Tour offers a 4 hours guided tour which features FastPass+ selections to Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Avatar Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Dinosaur and Rivers of Light. The cost of this tour is $249 per person. (Link)

September 1 – Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground’s Tri-Circle-D Ranch will be hosting the “Return to Sleepy Hollow” select dates this fall which will feature group photos with the Headless Horseman. General seating costs $22 per person, while premium seating, which includes a priority photo opportunity with the Headless Horseman and a Halloween treat bag, costs $38 per person. (Link)

WALT DISNEY CORPORATE NEWS

August 24 – Mary Barra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors Co., has been elected to the Walt Disney Company Board of Directors. (Link)

DISNEYLAND NEWS

August 25 – Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! is getting a Halloween overlay. However, this is not the only attraction getting a holiday spruce up. Haunted Mansion will be getting a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay which will run until just after Christmas. (Link)

August 28 – The medals for the 2017 Super Heroes Half Marathon have been released. This runDisney event takes place at Disneyland Resort in November. (Link)

DISNEY MOVIE/ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

August 25 – Bill Nye the Science Guy is suing several entities of The Walt Disney World Company for $37mm. Nye claims Disney owes him the money for his share of the net profits of his long-running series. (Link)

September 5 – For the second time, Disney is parting ways with a director. This time it’s Colin Trevorrow and he will no longer be directing “Star Wars: Episode IX”. (Link)

September 6 – The stars of season 25 of Dancing with the Stars has been revealed. The pairings are: (Link)

• Shark Tank entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran with Keo Motsepe
• ’80s icon Debbie Gibson with Alan Bersten
• NBA player Derek Fisher with Sharna Burgess
• Property Brothers star Drew Scott with Emma Slater
• Actor Frankie Muniz with Witney Carson
• Singer/actor Jordan Fisher with Lindsay Arnold
• YouTube star Lindsey Stirling with Mark Ballas
• Singer Nick Lachey with Peta Murgatroyd
• WWE wrestler Nikki Bella with Artem Chigvintsev
• Pretty Little Liars star Sasha Pieterse with Gleb Savchenko
• NFL player Terrell Owens with Cheryl Burke
• TV personality Vanessa Lachey with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
• Paralympic swimmer Victoria Arlen with Val Chmerkovskiy

September 7 – Bob Iger has announced that not only will their Disney content be exclusively streamed on their new service, they will only exclusively stream Marvel and Star Wars movies. (Link)

REFURBISHMENTS

Refurbishments are now located on their own page.

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That’s all the news for now. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for breaking Disney news.

Sue Nowicki is an alumnae of the 2014/15 Disney Parks Moms Panel. She splits her time between planning her next Walt Disney World vacation and being team mom to ten high-energy volleyball players where she fills the roles of secretary, navigator, head cheerleader, treasurer, athletic trainer and team psychologist. You can follow her on Twitter @JazzinDisneyMom.