Walt Disney World Resort is planning big, big things this summer and beyond. To ramp up the excitement, the company will make dozens of announcements this week about new attractions coming to the parks in 2016, and News 13 is covering it all.

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Wednesday: What's ahead for Disney's major franchises

11:45 a.m.

Disney's revamped Soarin' ride will relaunch June 17, company officials said Wednesday morning, while revealing more details about several attractions and rides coming to new movie-themed lands at the parks in 2017.

The Soarin' ride at Epcot has been closed for months as Disney redesigned effects and lighting. The ride's new movie will take guests over some of the world's most picturesque landmarks, including the Great Wall of China, Sydney Harbor in Australia and California landscapes.

The new Soarin' will also be a ride at Disney's newest theme park in Shanghai, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek said during the final day of the company's Awaken Summer media event.

Among Disney's other announcements Wednesday:

  • The new Star Wars-themed fireworks and light show, "Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular," will debut sometime in June, Disney representatives said. The show, which will use projection-mapping technology to display images from the movies onto the Chinese Theatre at Disney's Hollywood Studios, will be about 15 minutes, about twice as long as the current Star Wars-themed fireworks show.
  • "Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire," a new stage show in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, will debut in June, Disney reps said.
  • Princess Elena, featured on the Disney Junior series Elena of Avalor, will be coming to Walt Disney World as a character encounter in August.
  • A "Jungle Book"-themed show is coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom for a limited run. It debuts Memorial Day weekend.
  • "Frozen Ever After," the ride replacing Maelstrom at Epcot's Norway pavilion, will open in June, Disney officials said.

The resort also released details about some of the attractions coming to the movie franchise-themed lands coming to the parks in 2017.

The Toy Story land, which will be at Hollywood Studios, guests will be "shrunk" and interact with characters and classic toys in Andy's backyard, imagineer Kathy Mangum said. The two main rides there will be:

  • Slinky Dog Dash: a family coaster in which park visitors ride inside the Slinky toy character, and
  • Alien Swirling Saucers: inspired by the first Toy Story film, guests will spin and rotate in toy flying saucers to jazz music while trying to maneuver "The Claw."
    Mangum also said Toy Story Mania will open a third track Memorial Day weekend.

The new Star Wars land, themed after an outpost on a remote planet, will have at least two rides at the Hollywood Studios park:

  • The Millennium Falcon: Guests will take to the cockpit of the iconic cargo ship.
  • The other attraction will put park visitors amid "a battle between the Dark Side and the light," imagineer Scott Trowbridge said. Guests will be immersed in a fight between Rebels and stormtroopers.

As for restaurants, the new Star Wars land will offer a quick place to eat themed after The Cantina, the Tatooine bar in "A New Hope," plus a "dinner club," a fine-dining, upscale establishment.

Over at the "Pandora: The World of Avatar" land at Animal Kingdom, park officials and movie executives worked together to bring realism and life to all aspects of the area. They wanted the land to be "a living place full of indigenous people" and fantastical creatures from the movie, they said. Officials didn't reveal much else other than more renderings and very preliminary images but did say a ride would take guests on a "flight on the back of a banshee."

EARLIER:

What's next for the Disney's major franchises in the coming months?

That's on tap this morning, when Disney Parks executives are expected to hype Frozen, Toy Story, Star Wars and the company's other franchises during the third and final day of Disney's Awaken Summer media preview.

How will those franchises tie into the new attractions and entertainment at Disney Parks? Will the company firm up plans for the themed lands? We'll bring more information to you this morning from Disney Springs. 

Tuesday: Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom

11 p.m.

Over at Animal Kingdom, we experienced the new nighttime offerings, including the nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari and Rivers of Light.

However, Rivers of Light will be delayed because a special show will begin in May instead.

Disney announced Tuesday night that a nighttime show called "Jungle Book: Alive with Magic" would come to Animal Kingdom's Discovery River. The new, limited-engagement show will feature music and special effects that celebrate both the new and classic films.

4 p.m.

Over to Hollywood Studios we go, where Star Wars reigns supreme. During today’s media event, journalists were able to see a special showing of the new Star Wars stage show, “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away.”

The new show, which debuted earlier this month, features some new and old fan favorites, including R2-D2 and Darth Vader. It’s one of the many Star Wars offerings coming to the park. Disney broke ground on the upcoming Star Wars-themed land more than a week ago. Still no official date for when it’ll be completed.

Here's a really cool new feature to look out for the next time you go to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith: personalized concert posters. The upgraded MagicBand feature uses information from the My Experience app to display your name on the screen.

The feature is already running at It's a Small World at the Magic Kingdom.

Also, the Earffel Tower is still standing. No word yet on when it's coming down.

1:40 p.m.

If you’re a Frozen fan, you'll be excited about the Norway expansion, opening this summer.

First up, the Royal Sommerhus, a retreat fit for, well, royalty. It includes a merchandise shop, the royal cottage and a meet-and-greet area.

According to Disney executives, the cottage is a summer retreat for the royal family, Anna and Elsa. The design is modeled after architecture from Norway. Guests will also get to visit a merchandise show themed after Norwegian storage houses. Once complete, the expansion nearly doubles the size of the Norway pavilion.

Now for the main attraction, "Frozen Ever After." So here’s the story behind it: Now that Elsa has full control of her powers, she has decided to make it winter again during a celebration. Guests are invited inside her ice palace, and along the way, they will see some of their favorite Frozen characters.

Guests will also hear some of their favorite songs. According to Disney execs, the original cast from the hit film returned to record the music.

If you’re one of the guests who miss the Maelstrom ride, don’t worry. There are remnants of the long-gone attraction. The ancient rune stones from the ride have been placed toward the entrance of the new area. So keep your eyes peeled for that.

10:53 a.m.

Big changes are coming to Walt Disney World this summer; among them, new and redesigned attractions at Epcot.

There will be major changes to the popular attraction Soarin'. During the media event today, Disney executives revealed the ride will be completely different from the way most remember it. It’s been three years in the making.

First, it’s getting all new scenes. So instead of taking guests on a flight over beautiful California vistas, guests will be treated to sights from around the world. The scenes will take guests over six continents. The Great Wall of China and Sydney Harbor are some of the new additions.

The attraction is also getting a major tech upgrade. The ride's track will remain the same but will feature a new laser projection system. Disney used specially made ultra-high definition cameras that were mounted onto helicopters to shoot the scenes.

Soarin' will also feature all new scents. So if the citrus grove was your favorite, you might want to get ready for a new one.

EARLIER

It’s Day 2 of the "Awaken Summer" media preview at Walt Disney World.

This week, Disney is making tons of announcements about the newest offerings coming to the parks this summer and beyond. News 13 is bringing you the latest updates as they happen.

On Monday, we got to take a behind-the-scenes look at the new "neighborhood" called Town Center at Disney Springs, which is scheduled to open May 15.

Today, we’re hitting three parks for announcements and updates: Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Disney representatives will share details about the new “Frozen” attraction, “Frozen Ever After.” It’s expected to open sometime this year, but no official date has been announced. Hopefully, we’ll find out today.

The new attraction is in the Norway pavilion at Epcot, where Maelstrom used to be. The boat ride will take guests on a journey through Arendelle. Norway is being expanded as well. A new meet-and-greet area is being added for guests to meet Anna and Elsa.

We’re also expected to learn about the redeveloped Soarin’ (soon to be called Soarin’ Around the World), which will take guests on a flight over some of the world’s most unique landscapes and landmarks.

We’ll also head to Animal Kingdom to learn about the upcoming “Rivers of Light” nighttime show. The show was delayed earlier this month from its original April 22 debut. Still, work is be done to get the show ready for guests.

News 13 will be providing updates from Disney all day for the “Awaken Summer” media event. Be sure to check our website for updates. Also follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed for the latest.

Monday: Disney Springs' Town Center

Disney officials unveiled new details Monday afternoon about Town Center, Disney Springs' largest expansion to date.

The new "neighborhood," the fourth Disney Springs area, is expected to open May 15 and add at least 30 new tenants to the massive entertainment and retail area near Epcot.

Although Town Center is still under construction, Disney officials provided tours of the new retail area to media and guests during a preview event Tuesday. Amid the smell of lumber and plaster, construction workers in hard hats were busy putting the finishing touches on the site as Disney imagineers and representatives framed the "neighborhood's" narrative. 

Town Center is themed on a turn-of-the-century Florida settlement that developed around a natural spring, officials said. At the heart of Town Center is a bright, sparkling blue waterway from which water bubbles from the Florida spring. A "settlement" developed around the spring, officials said. Floating lanterns cascaded around the spring's waters are intended to illuminate the area at night, enhanced by added lighting under the water, they said.

The "spring" is surrounded by oak, palm and cypress trees, all native to Florida. Small, twinkling lights in the trees are meant to invoke fireflies. 

In keeping with early 1900s Florida narrative, "settlers" built around the spring. Restaurant D-Lux Burger, one of two Disney owned-and-operated eateries coming to Town Center, is modeled after a former cattle ranch that was one of the first buildings that "settlers" "built" around the spring. 

Retailers came and went, goes Disney's storyline for Town Center, adding to the sense of entrepreneurship and development around the spring. 

As guests walk further back from the spring, the architecture evolves from the lumber and wood used by the early "settlers" and into Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean themes. Cream-colored, two-story Spanish villas line walkways, with 15 shades of white and topped with nine different shades of hand-glazed, terra cotta tiles. They're meant to invoke a sense of how "store owners rehabbed and built up" the Town Center, Disney officials said. 

Several fountains throughout the area keep with the water theme, tying back to the spring. Even the chandelier in Morimoto Asia, an existing Disney Springs restaurant currently adjacent to Town Center, is made of bottles -- part of the settlement storyline as a former bottling company around the spring. 

Claire and Paul Hawker were visiting Disney Springs from London on Tuesday. This was their second trip; the Disney shopping district was still known as Downtown Disney on their last visit. 

"It's amazing," Claire Hawker, 35, said. "We feel lost."

Said Paul Hawker, 36: "It's similar (to before), but it looks a bit more modern -- modern Disney.

"Part of coming to Orlando is to shop," he said. 

Retailers in Town Center will include Sephora, Kate Spade New York, Under Armour, Coca-Cola Store, Anthropologie, among others.

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