Coolest Summer Ever at Walt Disney World

The Summer of 2015 is going to be the “Coolest Summer Ever” at Walt Disney World Resort.

Here’s the rundown on what Disney has in store for you if you’re heading to the Most Magical Place of Earth this summer!

We missed it again, but the Coolest Summer Ever kicked off with another 24-hour celebration at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Theme Park. We couldn’t be there, but we enjoyed viewing some of the action on the live web stream from Main Street, U.S.A..

Speaking of streaming live from the parks, how many of you are on Periscope? We’re on now and we’ve been enjoying the streams from people in Disney Parks. We’ll be doing some streaming as well when we get there this summer, so give us a follow @advinfamilyhood

Star Wars Weekends

Disney’s Hollywood Studios becomes Star Wars Land on every weekend (Friday-Sunday) from May 22nd to June 14th. Guests will be able to take part in special dining experiences, meet and greets, as well as get treated to unique shows and a special nighttime spectacular! The Force is strong on these weekends!

Frozen Summer Fun

From June 17th – Sept. 7th, Guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be able to take part in Frozen Summer Fun. Your favorite characters from Arendelle will be on hand throughout the day, starting with a Royal Welcome parade, continuing with the For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-a-long Celebration, Olaf’s Summer Cool Down, the Coolest Summer Ever Dance Party, and ending the night with a special Frozen Fireworks display!

You may recall that we got to experience Frozen Summer Fun last year. There are some changes to it this time around. There is no mention of Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post or Playground area. The parade will apparently now feature Elsa on her own “Ice Palace” float. Our daughter will love that! And it remains to be seen if Olaf will appear as part of the parade or only on the big screen like he did last year. We saw him appear on the float during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so it’s possible he will be there in person this summer. Lastly, the Sing-a-long show is said to have some new special effects now that it’s been relocated to the Hyperion Theater.

Once again, Guests are being offered a Frozen Premium Package. For $69 per adult and $39 per child you get reserved seating for the Royal Welcome Parade, reserved seating for one of the Sing-a-long shows, and a Frozen Fireworks Dessert Party.

For our family of four, that’s an extra $220 for the Premium Package. We’re on the fence about whether we’ll purchase it again. The Frozen Dessert Party is the best Disney dessert party we’ve been to, but I don’t know if that justifies the price.

Other Cool Things Around “The World”

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney is in the midst of huge expansion and re-imagination to become Disney Springs. New shops and restaurants have already begun to open, and Guests can find cool fashions and refreshments all summer long!

Disney’s Water Parks

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are two of the coolest places to be this summer! The “Teen Beach 2: Beach Party” at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, featuring a DJ, games, hula hoop contests and more May 22nd – July 5th.

Disney is also offering a great deal where the purchase of a 1-day water park ticket allows you to hop between Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.

Magic Kingdom

Frozen Summer Fun is not the only place to get your Frozen fix. Anna & Elsa meet and greet with guests daily at Princess Fairytale Hall in Fantasyland. The sisters also appear each day in the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade. Guests can also enjoy enjoy a little Frozen magic on Cinderella Castle during the “Celebrate the Magic” show in the evening.

We’re also looking forward to seeing the newly expanded Castle hub area.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

There’s a lot of new stuff coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the next couple of years, but for this summer, Guests can enjoy some expanded Dining and entertainment options. The new African marketplace featuring the Harambe market brings a lot of new choices to the park. The area also serves to expand the area of the park and provide a new pathway between Africa and Asia.

In addition, Tusker House has added dinner to its character dining rotation. Donald’s Safari Dinner is now available for Guests to book!

Epcot

This past year, Epcot said goodbye to some beloved entertainers and welcomed some new faces.

American Adventure – Voices of Liberty performs outside twice a week at the American Gardens Theatre stage. Wednesday – Sunday, a new five-member, contemporary a cappella group called “American Music Machine” will take the stage. The group will perform a diverse range of contemporary and classic American pop hits, all presented in a unique style with custom arrangements by Tim Davis, best known for his work on “Glee.” I could see a lot of people enjoying this show.

Canada – The Canadian Lumberjacks demonstrate the tradition of Canada’s great timber and logging eras in a competition-style show, featuring axe throwing, chopping, log rolling and more. Not sure if this one is for us, but it’s an interesting addition.

Italy – The flag-throwing team of Sbandieratori Di Sansepolcro combines live music, energy, the flair of hand-painted flags, and magnificent period costumes. The Sbandieratori bring to dynamic life a rich, 500-year Italian tradition. This sounds interesting as well.

Morocco – B’net Al Houwariyate, a multi-generational Berber music and dance troupe from Marrakesh, illuminates the stories and experiences of women in Morocco in a lively and interactive performance. I wonder how this show compares to the old show Mo’ Rockin’ put on.

United Kingdom – The Paul McKenna Bandis, a traditional, acoustic four-piece group from Glasgow, Scotland give a contemporary approach to songs that never strays too far from their Scottish, folk music roots. Sounds a bit like Off-Kilter,

Epcot will also host the Sounds Like Summer concert series. From June 7 to July 25, the America Gardens Theater will rock out with some tribute bands.

This year’s lineup includes:

DSB – A Tribute to Journey (June 7-13)
2U – A Tribute to U2 (June 14-20)
Mike DelGuidice & Big Shot – A Tribute to Billy Joel Show (June 21-26)
Don’t Look Back – A Tribute to Boston (June 27-July 4)
Fire & Ice – A Tribute to Pat Benatar (July 5-11)
Stayin’ Alive – A Tribute to the Bee Gees (July 12-18)
Hotel California – A Salute to the Eagles (July 19-25)

Concerts are included with Epcot admission. Show times are 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. daily. (Entertainment and times subject to change.)

Cool Summer Savings

Save up to 30 percent on stays at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels this summer. For example, guests can book a 5-night stay at select Disney Moderate Resort hotels and it’s like getting the fifth night for free. Book now through June 12 by visiting Disneyworld.com/special-offers or by calling 407-W-DISNEY (931-7639) for travel dates June 16th – Aug. 27th, 2015.