Disney is not going to lose one cent from visitors, and it seems they are closing one of the loopholes for free theme park parking.

If you visit Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort, you can park your car for free. Many guests were doing this and then riding the complimentary Disney buses to hotels and then connecting to park buses to avoid paying for Disney’s $35-$60 parking fees.

During the Easter season, Disney limited bus usage to resort hotel guests only. They were scanning MagicBands or phones to prove riders were registered Disney resort guests or had reservations for dining or activities at those locations.

Not a guest? Then you couldn’t get on the bus.

Disney didn’t like losing money, so they will reportedly be doing this again for the July 4th crowd, according to WDWMagic. It reportedly will become a permanent practice moving forward.

“WDWMAGIC sources, the verification process is expected to resume before the July 4 holiday week and will become a permanent, standard operating practice going forward.”

Guests will only be allowed to board Disney Springs buses if they have one of the following reasons:

• An active resort hotel reservation

• A confirmed dining reservation at the hotel they are trying to take a bus to.

• A confirmed reserved activity at the hotel location.

It doesn’t sound like this is just going to be used at peak crowd times.

Of course, Disney has not made any official announcements about this, and the rumor is coming from “WDWMAGIC sources.” But WDWMAGIC is often correct with proven sources.

Disney needs every penny.

As attendance drops, the only way to hit profit goals is to increase spending from the guests they do have. This means they need to stop free parking hacks to make more money.

It is true the buses get crowded, and guests can’t use them if they are full of those trying to hack free parking.

Disney will push this under the guise of better bus availability for paying guests, but it is likely part of a bigger plan to squeeze more money out of guests who are already paying record-high costs for the Disney vacation.

Got to get every possible cent.

Expect to pay for parking moving forward.

The guy who invented Stitch is now running the whole show. Chris Sanders, who co-created, co-wrote, and co-directed the original 2002 Lilo & Stitch and has voiced the little blue menace in every version since, will direct Disney’s live-action sequel, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Friday.

Sanders was already writing the script, a deal that closed last July. Now he’s directing it too, with shooting due to begin later this year. Jonathan Eirich, who produced the 2025 remake, returns through Rideback, with Ryan Halprin executive producing.

The sequel is a brand-new story, not a remake of the direct-to-video Stitch Has a Glitch. Beyond that, Disney is saying nothing about the plot.

Which brings us to the question every fan of the 2002 original asked walking out of the remake. Where is Captain Gantu?

The Gantu-shaped hole in the first movie

The towering Galactic Federation enforcer who chased Stitch across the original film simply doesn’t exist in the live-action version. Director Dean Fleischer Camp told CinemaBlend that Gantu “just didn’t work so well in live action,“ saying the team explored including him but cut the character to free up room for the emotional story between Lilo and Nani.

The practical factors were hiding in plain sight. The remake was made for a reported $100 million, lean by Disney remake standards, and was originally built as a Disney+ release before getting promoted to theaters. A second fully CG alien heavyweight is exactly the line item that gets cut from a streaming budget. It’s also part of why Jumba and Pleakley spent so much of the movie in human form.

The cut had story consequences too. With no Gantu, Jumba got drafted into the final-villain role, one of the remake’s more debated choices, right alongside the new ending that sent Nani off to college in California.

Why the math just changed

Every reason Gantu got cut has now evaporated.

The budget argument died when the remake crossed $1 billion worldwide, the first Hollywood movie of 2025 to do it, with $423.7 million domestic. Nobody is penny-pinching the sequel’s effects budget.

The creative argument changed hands entirely. The director who made the cut and stood by it has handed the keys to the man who helped create the character in the first place. Sanders has lived inside this universe since he first sketched Stitch for an unfinished children’s book in 1981. If anyone knows how to make a four-armed whale-faced alien captain work on screen, it’s the Wild Robot and How to Train Your Dragon filmmaker who’s spent his career making impossible creatures feel real.

And an original story needs an antagonist. The remake already spent Jumba’s heel turn. The franchise’s deep bench of villains, from Gantu to Dr. Hämsterviel to the 625 other experiments, is sitting right there, and the experiments were the entire engine of the animated series.

None of that is confirmation. Disney hasn’t said the character is in, and the script details are locked away. But the conditions that kept Gantu out of round one don’t exist in round two, and the fan demand has been loud and documented since opening weekend.

Maybe Sanders brings him back. Maybe he’s got something stranger in mind, because the man invented this universe and has earned the benefit of the doubt. Either way, the sequel just became a lot more interesting than “remake, part two.”

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• The Hollywood Reporter (June 12, 2026), Borys Kit’s exclusive, verified for the Sanders directing news, production timeline, producers, and original-story confirmation

• Deadline (July 2025), verified for the Sanders writing deal and the remake’s billion-dollar milestone

• CinemaBlend (May 2025), original interview, verified for Dean Fleischer Camp’s Gantu explanation

• MovieWeb (May 2025), verified for the budget, the Disney+-to-theatrical history, and the Jumba antagonist change

Margaret Kerry, the actress and dancer who gave Tinker Bell her body language, died Thursday, June 11 in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was 97. Her family announced her passing in a statement on her Facebook page, and local station WECT reports the cause was lung cancer.

If you’ve ever watched Tink stamp her foot, plant her hands on her hips, or pout her way across the screen in Peter Pan, you’ve watched Margaret Kerry. Walt Disney’s animators needed a live-action reference for a character who never speaks, and Kerry was filmed on a soundstage pantomiming every scene. The footage became the foundation animator Marc Davis and his team drew from.

The character had no dialogue. Everything Tinker Bell feels in that movie, the jealousy, the temper, the devotion, had to come through a dancer’s body. It came through Kerry’s.

“She’s feisty, and I call her beguiling,“ Kerry said of the character in a 2020 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. And she got to speak in the film after all, just not as Tink. Kerry voiced the red-haired mermaid in the same picture.

A Hollywood life that started at six

Kerry was born Margaret McCarty on May 11, 1929, in Springfield, Illinois. Her mother died in childbirth, and she was adopted at three, renamed Peggy Lynch, and raised in Los Angeles, where the work started almost immediately.

Her first role came at six, playing a fairy in the 1935 A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She danced in Our Gang shorts, doubled for Elizabeth Taylor on National Velvet, and landed a featured role in 1948’s If You Knew Susie opposite Eddie Cantor, who decided Peggy Lynch needed a better marquee name and rechristened her Margaret Kerry.

That same picture featured a young Bobby Driscoll, who went on to voice Peter Pan. The two future residents of Neverland shared a film years before either knew where they were headed.

After Tink, Kerry built a long career in voice work, including Clutch Cargo and The New 3 Stooges, where she also appeared in live segments alongside Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe. Her 2016 autobiography, Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life, collected seven decades of stories, and she spent her later years as a beloved regular on the Disney fan circuit.

The love story at the end

Kerry’s last chapter reads like something a studio would reject as too sentimental. In 2020, at 90, she married Robert Boeke, a retired oil executive who had been her boyfriend roughly seven decades earlier. She had kept a bracelet he gave her all those years. They wed on Valentine’s Day.

Boeke died on May 24. Margaret followed eighteen days later.

Tinker Bell outgrew the movie that created her. She became Disneyland’s mascot, the pixie-dust opener of The Wonderful World of Disney, the fairy over the castle. All of it traces back to a dancer on a bare soundstage in the early 1950s, acting her heart out in silence.

Her family asked that donations go to the Thalian Association Community Theater in Wilmington in place of flowers. And they asked one more thing: find the “Second Star to the Right“ some clear night soon. It may be shining a little brighter.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• Kerry family statement via Facebook (June 12, 2026), verified for the date of death, location, and the family’s tribute and donation request

• WECT Wilmington (June 12, 2026), verified for the cause of death and local confirmation

• The Hollywood Reporter (June 12, 2026), verified for the biography, filmography, the 2020 interview quote, and the Boeke marriage timeline

• Deadline (June 12, 2026), verified for corroboration of the death announcement

Guests at Six Flags Magic Mountain got an unscheduled pyrotechnics show Thursday.

A brush fire ignited beneath the X2 roller coaster at the Valencia, California park on the afternoon of June 11, 2026. Los Angeles County Fire Department crews were dispatched to the 26100 block of Magic Mountain Parkway shortly after noon and were on scene within minutes.

Footage from the scene, via video news service Key News Network, showed a palm tree fully engulfed in flames directly under the coaster on the west side of the park. The fire spread to nearby trees and brush, burning roughly half an acre and blanketing the area in smoke before crews stopped its forward progress at 12:48 p.m.

No injuries and no evacuations at Magic Mountain

The headline numbers are all zeros, which is the good kind of fire story.

“There were no injuries or structural damages,” Six Flags spokeswoman Sara Gorgon said in a statement. “The park remains open and is operating as scheduled.“

No guests, employees, or firefighters were hurt. No evacuations were ordered. LA County Fire spokeswoman Kaitlyn Aldana credited the fast knockdown: “Thanks to the firefighters’ quick response and hard work, the incident was declared closed at 1:36 p.m.“ Start to finish, the whole thing ran about an hour.

Officials have not released information about any damage beneath the X2 structure itself, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

X2 and the fire, an awkward pairing

For the uninitiated: X2 is Magic Mountain’s legendary 4th Dimension coaster, the one where the seats rotate independently of the track while the train dives 200 feet face-first. It’s one of the most intense rides in the country and one of the park’s signature draws.

Longtime riders will remember X2’s relaunch era actually included an onboard flame effect as part of the ride experience, later removed. Thursday’s unsanctioned version under the lift structure was not the comeback anyone requested.

Southern California is heading into peak fire season, and a half-acre burn inside a theme park’s property line is the kind of incident that ends fine but gets the grounds crew looking very hard at brush clearance around every coaster footer on the map. Magic Mountain sits surrounded by exactly the kind of dry hillside terrain that makes LA County fire crews twitchy from June through November.

The park is open, X2’s status was not separately announced, and the investigation into the cause continues. As theme park fire stories go, this one had the best possible ending: a burned palm tree, a closed incident report, and everybody home safe.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• KTLA (June 11, 2026), primary source for the response timeline, the palm tree footage via Key News Network, the west-side location, the spread to nearby trees and brush, and the half-acre burn area

• California Post via Yahoo News (June 11, 2026), the Six Flags spokeswoman Sara Gorgon statement confirming no injuries or structural damage and normal park operations, the LA County Fire spokeswoman Kaitlyn Aldana statement on the 1:36 p.m. incident closure, the 12:48 p.m. forward-progress stop, and the ongoing cause investigation

• CBS Los Angeles (June 11, 2026), scene video coverage of the fire adjacent to the coaster

There was a stretch from about 2016 to 2021 when pointing a camera at Main Street U.S.A. was close to a license to print money.

Annual passes were cheap. The parks had no reservation system. YouTube’s algorithm worshipped daily uploads, and millions of people were apparently happy to watch somebody else eat at EPCOT every single night. An entire creator economy bloomed inside that window.

In April 2022, a YouTube marketing site called TubeRanker published a best-Disney-channels listicle that captured the mood perfectly. Every entry came with a growth projection. “If the rate of growth remains stable,” they wrote, over and over, this channel hits this number by 2023. Every line went up forever.

Four years later, that listicle reads like a time capsule. Almost none of the lines went up. The numbers tell the story of an entire genre that peaked, and Disney’s own attendance data explains why.

Tim Tracker’s numbers show what happened to the format

Nobody has worked the format harder than Tim and Jenn Tracker. Seventeen years on YouTube. 5,485 videos. Through the boom, the algorithm changes, a kid, all of it, the uploads never stopped.

In April 2022, TheTimTracker had 874,000 subscribers and 458 million views, and was gaining about 200 subscribers a week.

In June 2026, the channel sits at 925,000 subscribers and 618 million views, and gained zero subscribers across the entire two-week window Social Blade tracks.

That’s not a Tracker problem. That’s the format. The daily Disney lifestyle vlog was built for conditions that no longer exist, and the channel that defined the genre is the clearest before-and-after photo we have.

The catalog still pulls 35K to 97K views a day, real traffic that most creators would take in a heartbeat. It’s just a long way down from the era when the whole genre’s lines pointed at the moon.

The class of 2022 mostly stalled too

The rest of that TubeRanker time capsule tells the same story in smaller fonts.

Paging Mr. Morrow was at 135K subscribers, projected to hit 199K within a year. ResortTV1 was at 157K, projected 186K. Cory Meets World at 41K, projected 49K. Sunny little projections, all assuming the 2021 growth curve was a law of nature instead of a moment.

Meanwhile the volume players keep grinding. WDW News Today runs a news wire at 258K subscribers across nearly 8,000 videos. Fresh Baked has held down the Disneyland beat since 2012 and pulls around 926K views a month. Steady, unglamorous, alive.

Speaking of where the audience went, Mammoth Club

The audience that left the daily vlogs didn’t evaporate. Some of it just got pickier about who it spends time with.

Mammoth Club is what happened when Molly and Alan left AllEars and went independent. The audience followed the people, not the brand, and the DIS Boards receipts are right there: “I followed Molly and Alan from AllEars to Mammoth Club. I don’t really watch AllEars anymore.”

The channel has 301,000 subscribers and only 602 videos. It pulls 40K to 88K views a day, comparable daily traffic to channels with ten times the catalog, and it added a thousand subscribers this week.

Personality-first, once or twice a week, no daily grind. That’s the format that still grows.

Remember when the parks were packed?

Disney remembers. Their accountants definitely remember.

Disney’s own fiscal year 2025 filing confirmed domestic park attendance fell 1 percent, after a 1 percent gain in 2024. Blog Mickey ran the quarterly math and found the flattering version hides a worse one: a 2 percent hurricane dip in early fiscal 2025 followed by only a 1 percent recovery means the parks never climbed back to their own baseline. Flat with a limp.

The longer arc is the part that explains the vlog decline. Magic Kingdom drew 17.8 million guests in 2024, per the TEA index. In 2019 it drew almost 21 million. Animal Kingdom went from 13.9 million in 2019 to 8.8 million. Guests spent last summer posting photos of walk-on Space Mountain.

The passholder culture that fed the daily cameras got priced and reservation-systemed into a shadow of itself. Fewer people in the parks means fewer people who treat the parks as a lifestyle, and the vlog audience was always the lifestyle crowd.

Disney’s revenue rose anyway, because per-guest spending climbed 6 percent. Fewer people, paying more. Hold that thought.

But wait. DFB Guide actually GREW.

Here’s the part that ruins the tidy decline narrative, and it’s the most useful data point in the whole genre.

DFB Guide was in that same April 2022 snapshot at 776,000 subscribers and 224 million views.

Today: 1.1 million subscribers, 468 million lifetime views, and about 4.9 million views in the last 30 days. While the daily vlogs stalled, the Disney food channel added 324,000 subscribers and roughly tripled the monthly traffic of the genre’s old flagship.

The difference is what the content is for. DFB makes food rankings and trip-planning utility, the stuff you watch when you’ve actually booked a vacation.

The daily vlogs were parasocial wallpaper, the stuff you watch instead of a vacation. The wallpaper audience left when the lifestyle got priced out.

The trip-planning audience is still right there, because people are still taking the trips. They’re just not living in the parks anymore, and neither is the content that serves them.

Disney is squeezing more out of fewer guests. DFB is pulling more from a focused audience. Same playbook, opposite ends of the turnstile.

Where this goes

Disney is mid-binge on its biggest parks construction spree in decades. Cars and Villains lands at Magic Kingdom, Monsters Inc. at Hollywood Studios, Zootopia at Animal Kingdom. The walls start coming down in 2027, and the entire bet is that the crowds come back with them.

Maybe they do, and the gimbals come back too. Maybe the daily-vlog moment just passed, the way every format’s moment passes.

But my armchair observation is that the audience never stopped loving Disney. It stopped showing up daily — to the parks and to the vlogs, in the same proportion, at the same time.

The channels still growing are the ones that figured out the difference between an audience that visits and an audience that lives there.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• Disney fiscal year 2025 report (November 13, 2025), primary source for the 1 percent domestic attendance decline, the prior year’s 1 percent increase, and the 6 percent per-guest spending growth

• Social Blade (June 11, 2026), primary current data for TheTimTracker (925K subscribers, 618M lifetime views, 5,485 videos, 35K-97K daily views, zero subscriber growth in the 14-day window), Mammoth Club (301K subscribers, 81.7M lifetime views, 602 videos, +1K subscribers this week), and WDW News Today (258K subscribers, 161.4M lifetime views, 7,959 videos)

• TubeRanker (April 17, 2022), the boom-era snapshot including TheTimTracker at 874K subscribers and 458M views gaining 200 weekly, DFB Guide at 776K subscribers and 224M views, Paging Mr. Morrow at 135K, ResortTV1 at 157K, Cory Meets World at 41K, and the growth projections attached to each

• YouTubers.me (June 2026), DFB Guide current statistics including 1.1M subscribers, 467.8M lifetime views, and 4.93M views over the past 30 days, plus Fresh Baked at 232K subscribers and approximately 926K monthly views

• TEA Global Experience Index (October 2025), 2024 attendance including Magic Kingdom 17.84M and Animal Kingdom 8.8M

• MickeyBlog (November 21, 2025), historical comparison including Magic Kingdom’s 2019 peak near 21M and Animal Kingdom’s 13.9M in 2019

• Blog Mickey (February 2, 2026), the hidden-decrease analysis of Disney’s quarterly attendance reporting

• DIS Boards / TouringPlans community discussions (2021-2026), reaction color on the AllEars-to-Mammoth Club migration

Ask any Disney parks regular and you’ll hear it: Flight of Passage isn’t what it was in 2017. The dives felt deeper back then. The banshee breathed harder. Something’s missing.

So did Disney actually dial it down? We went looking for receipts.

Short answer: there is no documented evidence that Disney ever reduced the ride’s motion intensity. No announcement, no trade reporting, no Imagineering interview, no leaked work order. Nothing.

Longer answer: the ride has verifiably changed anyway. Just not the way the rumor says.

The only documented change was warnings, not motion

Here’s everything that’s actually on the record.

Avatar Flight of Passage opened May 27, 2017 with the Pandora land at Animal Kingdom.

In its first summer, the ride showed up in Florida’s quarterly theme park injury reports. A woman passed out. A 79-year-old guest with a pre-existing condition became ill. Florida’s self-reporting system logged the incidents, and Fox News covered the report in July 2017.

On February 27, 2018, after four reported incidents, Disney added warning cards handed to guests before the queue, similar to the cards at Mission: Space, covering motion sickness, fear of heights, and the seat restraints.

In late 2018, the cards were retired and replaced with a pre-recorded warning message that plays in the room just before boarding.

That’s the entire paper trail. Disney adjusted how it warns you. There is no record anywhere of Disney adjusting how the ride moves.

And here’s a sentence that matters: a company that quietly reprograms a motion base doesn’t have to tell anybody, so “no record” is not the same thing as “no change.” We can only report what’s verifiable. What’s verifiable is warnings, not motion.

What HAS verifiably changed: the ride is wearing out

Speaking of things riders have noticed, there’s a whole DISboards thread titled “Flight of Passage needs maintenance,” and it reads like a repair invoice nobody sent.

Riders documented the projection going blurry, starting with the bioluminescent cave scene (one poster traces it back to mid-2017) and spreading to the opening flight scene. Riders documented the motion base falling out of sync with the film by 2022, with comments suggesting it had been drifting for a while before that. One November 2024 rider described a grinding noise so bad they expected a catastrophic failure: “If my car made that noise, I’d pull over immediately.”

A December 2024 TripAdvisor review describes the modern ride as “mostly vibration and slight movement left to right.”

Compare that to the 2017 opening-week reviews, where ride wimps were taking motion sickness pills beforehand and WDWMagic posters rated it a 6-out-of-10 intensity against Soarin’s 2.

Same hardware. Eight years and millions of cycles apart.

An out-of-sync motion base is the interesting suspect here. When the seat’s movements lag the screen by even a fraction of a second, the dives stop landing in your stomach and start feeling like vibration. Nobody had to turn anything down for the ride to feel turned down. Entropy did it for free.

The other suspect is you

There’s a less satisfying explanation that deserves its paragraph: habituation.

The 2017 version of you had never ridden anything like Flight of Passage, because nothing like it existed. The 2026 version of you has ridden it fifteen times, plus Rise of the Resistance, plus whatever Epic Universe threw at you last summer. The novelty shock of that first banshee dive is physically unrepeatable. Your brain pre-renders the drops now.

Every veteran rider of every intense attraction reports this eventually. Tower of Terror regulars said it for years before Disney actually did change those drop profiles. Sometimes the ride changed. Sometimes the rider did. Usually it’s some of both.

Wrapping up the Flight of Passage question

So, the verdict, as best the record supports one:

Deliberate intensity reduction: unverified. No documentation exists, and we won’t claim what we can’t source. If a former cast member or Imagineer ever goes on record, that changes the story, and we’d love to hear it.

Degradation: documented. Blurry projection, motion-sync drift, grinding mechanicals, all on the community record across multiple years, all consistent with a ride that’s run near-continuous capacity since 2017 and is overdue for the kind of full refurbishment Disney hasn’t yet scheduled.

The ride still pulls a 4.76 out of 5 in TouringPlans’ Summer 2025 rider surveys, fifth-highest at Walt Disney World, so let’s keep the obituary in the drawer.

But if your banshee felt more alive in 2017, you’re probably not imagining it. The banshee’s just got eight hard years on the odometer. Same as the rest of us.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• Wikipedia article on Avatar Flight of Passage, citing contemporaneous reporting, the February 27, 2018 addition of warning cards following four reported incidents and the late 2018 replacement of cards with the pre-recorded queue message (used as a research starting point; underlying changes corroborated by the Avatar Wiki attraction history and 2018 park reporting)

• Fox News (July 19, 2017), the Florida quarterly theme park injury report coverage including the guest who passed out and the 79-year-old guest who became ill on the attraction

• DIS Boards “Flight of Passage needs maintenance” thread (November-December 2024), community documentation of projection blurriness dating to mid-2017 and worsening, motion-base sync drift observed by 2022, grinding mechanical noise, and inconsistent 4D effects (reaction color and rider observation, not official confirmation)

• TripAdvisor guest reviews (December 2024-May 2025), current rider descriptions of the motion experience

• WDWMagic forums (May 2017), opening-week intensity assessments including the 6-out-of-10 rating against Soarin’s 2

• TouringPlans (July 2025), the Summer 2025 rider satisfaction data including the 4.76 average rating and fifth-highest ranking at Walt Disney World, plus current wait time and Lightning Lane context

• Disney Food Blog (March 2024), ride experience and motion sickness guidance context

The Labubu maker would like everyone to know it sells other toys.

Pop Mart COO Si De told Bloomberg News in an interview published June 9, 2026 that concerns about the company being a one-hit wonder are overblown. His argument: Labubu’s explosive growth got so much attention that nobody noticed the rest of the catalog. Non-Labubu items accounted for about 50 percent of Pop Mart’s US revenue last year, a breakdown the company disclosed for the first time in the interview.

In Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, non-Labubu characters already make up the majority of sales, Si De said.

The interview is damage control. And the damage has been measurable.

Pop Mart’s stock dropped 22.5 percent in March

Pop Mart reported its 2025 annual results in March 2026. The numbers were enormous. Revenue jumped 184.7 percent to 37.12 billion yuan (about $5.4 billion). Net profit surged 284.5 percent to 13.08 billion yuan.

The stock dropped 22.5 percent the same day. Biggest single-day drop since April 2025.

The problem was not the year. It was the shape of the year. Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang explained the reaction: “We think Pop Mart’s 2025 revenue and earnings growth have likely missed the market’s consensus estimate, with material slowdown in the fourth quarter amplifying investors’ concern on the durability of top IPs.“

The fourth quarter slowed down hard. The 2026 guidance came in conservative. The dividend payout dropped from 35 percent to 25 percent. Investors read all three signals the same way: the Labubu wave has crested.

Labubu is 38 percent of Pop Mart’s revenue

The Monsters series, the Labubu-led character line, generated 14.16 billion yuan in 2025, up 365.7 percent year over year. That single line made up 38 percent of Pop Mart’s total revenue.

A toy company drawing more than a third of its revenue from one character family is exposed. Trends move fast in collectibles. The plush charm hanging off a Birkin bag in 2025 is the clearance bin item of 2027 unless the underlying brand has more going on.

Pop Mart knows this. The company sold over 400 million toys in 2025, with roughly a quarter tied to The Monsters series. The other three quarters came from a deep bench the company is now pushing hard.

Twinkle Twinkle and Crybaby are picking up the slack

The successor characters are showing real numbers.

Twinkle Twinkle, launched in late 2024, generated 390 million yuan globally in the first six months of 2025 and has become one of the company’s fastest-growing lines. The plush pendants routinely sell out within minutes of restocking. On the Chinese resale platform Qiandao, Twinkle Twinkle items trade above official retail.

Crybaby is doing the same. A plushie from the Crybaby Vacation Mode On series sells at 72 percent above retail on resale platforms.

Skullpanda ranks as Pop Mart’s number two character in the US market.

That is what a functioning hit factory looks like. Disney does not live on one character. Sanrio does not live on Hello Kitty alone (though it comes closer than it admits). Pop Mart is making the case that it belongs in that company.

Wrapping up the Labubu situation

Both things are true at once. Labubu mania has cooled from its 2025 peak, when UK stores suspended in-person sales over brawls and resale prices hit multiples of retail. And Pop Mart has more under the hood than the skeptics assumed.

The 2026 question is whether the successor characters can fill the gap fast enough. Labubu at its peak was a once-a-decade phenomenon, the kind of organic celebrity-driven craze (Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Lisa from Blackpink) that no company can manufacture on demand. Twinkle Twinkle and Crybaby are healthy product lines. They are not cultural moments.

For collectors, the cooldown has an upside. Labubu restocks actually stay in stock now. Resale premiums are compressing. The hobby is getting cheaper to participate in for the first time in two years.

For Pop Mart investors, the next two quarterly reports will show whether the diversification story holds. For everyone who bought a Labubu at triple retail in 2025: maybe hold onto the receipt.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.

Hat Tips:

• Bloomberg News (June 9, 2026), primary source for the Pop Mart COO Si De interview including the first-time disclosure that non-Labubu items accounted for about 50 percent of US revenue and the majority non-Labubu sales in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia

• South China Morning Post / Zhu Wenqian (March 2026), primary source for the 2025 annual results including the 184.7 percent revenue growth to 37.12 billion yuan, the 284.5 percent net profit surge, the 22.5 percent single-day share drop, the 38 percent Monsters revenue concentration, the dividend payout reduction from 35 to 25 percent, and the Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang quote on fourth-quarter slowdown

• Bloomberg / Japan Times / Bangkok Post (March 16, 2026), the post-Labubu diversification coverage including the 400 million toys sold in 2025, the Twinkle Twinkle 390 million yuan first-half performance, the Crybaby Vacation Mode On 72 percent resale premium, the Skullpanda US number two ranking, and the Qiandao resale platform data

• CNN Business / Olivia Kemp (2025), the UK in-store sales suspension following brawls and crowd surges at Pop Mart locations

• WWD (2025), the Labubu celebrity adoption context including Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Lisa from Blackpink, and the TikTok Shop US sales growth data

If you are in Florida, it’s a safe bet that alligators are going to be in or near water, and that includes areas of Walt Disney World.

Given the size of the Resort, you can imagine that there are many gators hidden throughout. Some have even been reported on water attractions.

Alligators don’t know they are somewhere they shouldn’t be. They are simply trying to find a suitable habitat to live. Sadly, this comes at a cost to humans and the alligators themselves.

But how many gators are in the parks, and what happens to them when they are caught?

According to a new report in ClickOrlando, there have been 414 alligators caught and removed from the Walt Disney World property in the last ten years.

Efforts were likely ramped up after two-year-old Lane Thomas Graves was attacked and killed by an alligator near the Grand Floridian Resort on June 14, 2016.

On average, about 36 gators are removed from the Walt Disney World Resort each year. In 2016, there were 83 alligators removed after Lane Graves died.

What happens to the alligators that are caught?

Disney previously said they try to “remove or relocate certain wildlife” that is captured on property.

“In keeping with our strong commitment to safety, we continue to reinforce procedures related to reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife, and work closely with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove or relocate certain wildlife from our property in accordance with state regulations.”

However, this is likely not exactly the case with alligators.

Staying at The Most Magical Place on Earth can lead to a bad end for these reptiles.

Alligators captured on Disney property go to alligator farms and private hunting preserves, which doesn’t sound all that bad, except they will be killed and eaten.

ClickOrlando quoted Ian Hall, the owner of Florida Hunting, Fishing & Outdoor Adventures, as saying,

“We received them all alive, and they are released on our hunting preserve where our clients can hunt them. Then they are processed for eating.”

I guess here they get to at least have limited freedom until they are picked off.

Obviously, they are dangerous and can’t be left in the Walt Disney World Resort, but I always assumed they were relocated and left to go live their gator lives.

So, if anyone else was wondering what happens to them, now you know.

When Pixar announced Toy Story 5, fans assumed Woody would be front and center alongside Buzz Lightyear. After all, the two have been inseparable since 1995. But according to co-director and co-writer Andrew Stanton, that was not always the plan.

In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Stanton revealed that he wrote the entire first draft of Toy Story 5 without Woody at all. The decision was not about sidelining the character. It was a creative stress test after the emotional ending of Toy Story 4.

Why Woody was left out of the first draft

At the end of Toy Story 4, Woody makes a major life choice. After helping Gabby Gabby find a child and reuniting with Bo Peep, he decides to stay behind at the carnival. He gives up his voice box and chooses to live as a “lost toy,” helping other abandoned playthings find new homes. It was a poignant, mature ending for the character, one that felt like a true send-off.

When it came time to write Toy Story 5, Stanton admitted he was not immediately sure how to bring Woody back in a way that felt organic.

“I do admit that I didn’t know how to bring him back at first, and so I just, ‘cause I know it’s gonna take so many drafts to get the movie right, I just wrote the first one without him just to see if I missed him. And, I did.”

Stanton’s approach was practical and rooted in a writing philosophy he applies to every project.

“My rule is if you take something out, especially a character, would the story be able to happen with or without them? And if it can’t, that means good, that they had to be essential no matter how much, it may not be obvious that they’re the role they’re playing in the movie.”

Stanton has spent more than half his life with Toy Story. He was lead writer on the first three films, a script savior on the fourth, and is now co-writer and co-director on Toy Story 5. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said he was initially skeptical about doing a fifth film at all.

“I didn’t know if where I would want to see it go would match with where the studio would want to see go,” Stanton told the AP. “I cautiously said, let me write the crappy first draft, because I always write a crappy first draft, but at least I’ll figure out myself where I’d like to see it go just as a fan, let alone somebody that’s been behind the camera with it.”

The experiment confirmed what Stanton already suspected. He missed Woody.

“Now I can’t imagine it any other way.”

The plot brings Woody back through a modern crisis

Toy Story 5 is set for release on June 19, 2026 and introduces a distinctly modern dilemma. Bonnie receives a tablet device named Lilypad, and the screen’s glow soon monopolizes the child’s attention. The neglected toys grow increasingly anxious.

Jessie, voiced once again by Joan Cusack, is now leading the room and contacts Woody to discuss the crisis. The reunion with Buzz is reportedly emotional and classic, complete with the good-natured bickering longtime fans will recognize.

Tim Allen, 71, who returns as Buzz Lightyear, has teased that the new film’s center of gravity has shifted.

“I can tell you that it’s a lot about Jessie. Tom and I do, Woody and I, do realign. And there’s an unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyear,” Allen told WIVB.

Tom Hanks, 68, returns as Woody, now sporting a noticeable bald spot that has been a major point of fan discussion since the trailers dropped. Stanton has defended the design choice as a thoughtful detail rather than a marketing gimmick.

Stanton first teased the Toy Story 5 concept at the D23 Expo in August 2024. “This time around, it’s toy meets tech. It’s going to be fun, and we can’t wait for you all see it in the summer of 2026,” he said onstage in Anaheim.

Fans were not initially happy about Woody coming back

Producer Lindsay Collins has been candid about how rocky the public response was when Pixar first revealed that Woody would return. Many fans felt that Toy Story 4 had given the character a perfect send-off and that bringing him back would undercut his arc.

“I just loved after our first teaser, like how much hate we were getting about, like, I thought Woody was gone, and then the second trailer we showed, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, I get it. He needed to come back,’” Collins told CinemaBlend.

The cautionary tale is sitting right there in Pixar’s own library.

Lightyear is the warning Pixar clearly heeded

In 2022, Pixar released Lightyear, a spin-off positioned as “the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy.” It featured no Woody, no Jessie, and none of the toy-room dynamic that defines the Toy Story franchise.

The result was a financial disappointment. The film grossed roughly $226 million worldwide against a reported $200 million production budget plus marketing, ultimately losing Pixar an estimated $106 million. While the animation and action sequences were strong, the film struggled to capture the heart, humor, and emotional core that audiences associate with Toy Story.

The takeaway was clear. The buddy dynamic between Woody and Buzz, the sarcastic cowboy and the earnest space ranger, is the secret sauce. Removing one half of that duo, or both in Lightyear‘s case, risked turning the franchise into something that felt more like a generic sci-fi adventure than a Toy Story movie.

By testing a version without Woody, Stanton essentially stress-tested the franchise’s foundation. He discovered that while the supporting cast of Jessie, Buzz, Forky, and the rest is strong, the series still needs its original cowboy to feel complete. Woody brings the emotional weight, the history, and the thematic throughline about what it means to be a toy.

Pixar is also being more honest about sequel fatigue

Beyond the Woody question, Pixar has been publicly acknowledging that the studio cannot keep relying on follow-ups to existing properties. Director Daniel Chong, speaking ahead of Pixar's original feature Hoppers, has said the studio recognizes originals have to keep existing alongside the franchise plays, a sentiment Stanton and the broader leadership have echoed in interviews around the Toy Story 5 press cycle.

The right call

Ultimately, Stanton and Pixar made the right decision by bringing Woody back. Toy Story has always been about the relationships between the toys, especially the deep, sometimes complicated friendship between Woody and Buzz. Removing one of them entirely would have felt like missing a vital piece of the puzzle.

The fact that Stanton was willing to experiment in the first draft shows how seriously Pixar takes these characters. They did not just assume Woody had to be there. They tested whether the story needed him. When the answer came back as a clear yes, they found a way to bring him home.

Toy Story 5 will once again feature the full classic duo, now facing a new threat from technology itself. And thanks to Stanton’s early experiment, audiences can feel confident that Woody’s return was earned, not just assumed.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• CinemaBlend, Andrew Stanton’s full interview discussing the first-draft Woody experiment, his rule on character necessity, and his reaction to the bald spot fan discourse

• ScreenRant, ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and Yahoo Entertainment, follow-up coverage and aggregation of Stanton’s quotes on the writing process

• Associated Press and Washington Times, Stanton’s broader career retrospective covering his work as lead writer on Toy Story 1 through 3 and script savior on Toy Story 4

• People and WIVB, Tim Allen’s comments about Jessie’s central role in Toy Story 5 and the “unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyear”

• Lindsay Collins’ interview comments on fan response to the first and second trailers

• Pixar and Disney D23 Expo 2024 reveals, including Stanton’s “toy meets tech” tease

• Box office and reception context for Lightyear (2022) from industry reporting

• CinemaBlend coverage of Hoppers director Daniel Chong’s comments on Pixar’s commitment to original films

As of this writing, The Mandalorian and Grogu has a Tomatometer score in the low-to-mid 60s on Rotten Tomatoes based on early reviews. While it is too early for a final score, the current trajectory suggests the film is landing in “perfectly fine” territory rather than generating the kind of critical excitement usually associated with a major Star Wars theatrical release.

Early reviews praise Grogu but call it an extended TV episode

The early reactions have been mixed, with praise for action set pieces and Grogu‘s enduring charm, but consistent criticism that the film feels like an extended episode (or season) of the Disney+ series rather than a true big-screen event.

Some of the more positive early takes have called it a “grin-inducing crowd-pleaser” and a “fun, freaky romp.” However, other reviewers have described it as predictable, emotionally flat, and lacking real stakes.

Common criticisms so far include feeling like “a supersized TV episode,” lack of narrative ambition, over-reliance on Grogu cuteness, and not advancing the characters or story in meaningful ways.

How Mandalorian and Grogu compares to other Star Wars films on Rotten Tomatoes

To put the current early score in context, here is how The Mandalorian and Grogu stacks up against other films in the franchise, using final or most recent Tomatometer scores.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) remains the highest-rated Star Wars film at 94%. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) are tied at 93%, with the original earning its score as the franchise foundation and The Force Awakens drawing strong critical reception as the modern revival.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) sits at 91%, with a high critics score despite being very divisive with audiences. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) earned 84% and is generally well-liked. Return of the Jedi (1983) holds at 82%, solid but below the first two original trilogy films.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) leads the prequels at 79%. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) earned 70% with modest reviews. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) sits at 65% as the weakest reviewed of the prequels.

At the bottom of the modern rankings are Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) at 52%, poorly received at release, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) at 51%, one of the lowest-rated films in the franchise.

As it stands, The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently tracking to land somewhere in the middle of the pack, better than the worst entries in the franchise, but well below the heights of the original trilogy and The Force Awakens.

What this means going forward

A “mid” critical reception is not necessarily a death sentence for a Star Wars movie, especially one aimed at families and existing fans of the Disney+ series. However, in an environment where the film is already tracking for a relatively modest opening, stronger reviews would have helped build momentum.

Right now, The Mandalorian and Grogu appears to be delivering exactly what many expected: a bigger, shinier version of the show. Whether that is enough to satisfy audiences and drive strong word-of-mouth when it hits theaters on May 22 remains to be seen.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• Rotten Tomatoes, early reviews for The Mandalorian and Grogu

• Historical Tomatometer scores for previous Star Wars films

• Early social media reactions from critics and screening attendees

The controversy has highlighted growing audience skepticism toward Disney’s marketing tactics, especially as early box office projections for the film remain relatively modest.

What happened at Disneyland

In the widely circulated video, Pascal, dressed in full Mandalorian armor, removed his helmet in front of a group at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Disney’s social media posts framed the moment as Pascal delivering “the surprise of a lifetime.”

However, it was later revealed that the group was not made up of random tourists. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the people featured in the video were Star Wars influencers, bloggers, and fan creators who had been invited to the park. Their reactions appeared genuine, but the entire encounter was staged by Disney and Lucasfilm for promotional purposes.

Quotes on the stunt and the backlash

Disney initially presented the event in glowing terms. The company’s Instagram caption described it as Pascal creating “the surprise of a lifetime” for fans.

After the staged nature of the video came to light, reactions were more critical.

Some participants in the event pushed back against the criticism. One cosplayer who was part of the group posted positively afterward.

“I was a crying fool after shaking [Pascal’s] hand. The team @starwars @lucasfilm worked tirelessly on planning out this epic experience for us,” the cosplayer wrote.

One of the most widely quoted takes came from entertainment commentator EJ Passeos, who wrote:

“The backlash surrounding the Pedro Pascal Disneyland stunt taps directly into a growing problem for Disney: Audiences no longer trust the company’s marketing.”

The Hollywood Reporter framed the story in straightforward terms, posting:

“Disney Accused of ‘Staging’ Viral Pedro Pascal ‘Mandalorian’ Fan Surprise With Influencers.”

Yahoo Entertainment also covered the story with a measured tone, noting:

“Disney under fire over ‘staged’ Pedro Pascal ‘Mandalorian’ fan encounter. The star seemingly stunned a group of Disneyland tourists on Smuggler’s Run. But things weren’t exactly how they appeared.”

While some participants in the event posted positively about the experience, the broader reaction across social media has centered on disappointment that Disney felt the need to manufacture what was presented as a spontaneous, wholesome moment. Many users described it as another example of the company struggling to generate authentic excitement for its projects.

Mandalorian and Grogu is tracking for a soft $74 to $90 million opening

The timing of this backlash is significant. The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently tracking for a relatively soft opening compared to traditional Star Wars theatrical releases.

Current projections have the film opening in the $74 to $90 million domestic range, with some estimates reaching the low-to-mid $90s over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. While that would be acceptable for many films, it is considered modest for a Star Wars movie, especially one arriving seven years after the last theatrical entry.

For context, Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 opened to $84 million and was widely viewed as a disappointment. The current tracking for The Mandalorian and Grogu has put extra pressure on Disney’s marketing team, which may explain the aggressive attempt to create a viral, emotional moment with Pascal.

Is Pedro Pascal fatigue setting in?

Another topic gaining traction online is whether audiences are experiencing Pedro Pascal fatigue. The actor has been highly visible across multiple major projects in recent years, including The Last of Us, Gladiator II, and the upcoming Fantastic Four film.

While Pascal remains popular, some observers have suggested that constant exposure can lead to diminishing returns. Others argue that his likability and star power still make him a valuable asset for The Mandalorian and Grogu. How audiences actually feel about seeing him back as Din Djarin on the big screen will likely influence the film’s opening weekend performance.

The bigger picture

Disney clearly hoped the Pascal Disneyland moment would generate positive buzz and emotional connection ahead of the film’s May 22 release. Instead, the revelation that it was staged has fueled skepticism about the authenticity of the studio’s marketing.

Combined with modest early tracking and questions about overexposure, The Mandalorian and Grogu is facing a more challenging pre-release environment than some had expected. Early reactions to the movie itself have been mixed-to-positive, with some calling it a fun, crowd-pleasing summer adventure.

Whether the film can overcome the current marketing controversy and deliver strong word-of-mouth remains to be seen.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• The Hollywood Reporter, reporting on the staged Pedro Pascal Disneyland encounter

• Box Office Theory and Deadline, early tracking for The Mandalorian and Grogu

• Social media reactions from participants and fans

Here is a clear breakdown of why Disney sometimes closes early and answers to the most frequently asked related questions as of May 2026.

Why does Disney close early?

Disney parks close early for several common reasons.

Private events and park buyouts are the most frequent reason for major early closures. Companies or large groups sometimes rent out an entire park, or large portions of it, for private events. When this happens, regular guests must leave early so the park can be cleared and prepared.

Special events including holidays, special ticketed events like Disney After Hours or parties, or seasonal events can also cause adjusted hours.

Weather or operational issues such as severe weather, maintenance needs, or capacity management can lead to early closures.

Capacity and crowds can occasionally play a role. On extremely busy days, Disney may adjust operations, though full early closures for capacity are less common than private events.

In May 2026, for example, Magic Kingdom closed at 5:30 p.m. one day because it was bought out for a large corporate conference.

What is a Signal 70 at Disney?

You may hear Cast Members mention a Signal 70. This is Disney’s code for a lost child.

Disney uses this phrasing intentionally. Instead of saying “lost child,” Cast Members refer to it as a “lost parent.” This helps keep the child calm while staff work to reunite them with their family. If you hear this code, it means a child has become separated from their group and Cast Members are actively helping.

What is the 2 p.m. rule at Disney World?

The “2 p.m. Rule” refers to an older policy related to Park Hopper tickets and Annual Passholders.

Previously, Park Hopping was restricted, and you could only enter a second park after 2:00 p.m. Disney has since removed the strict 2 p.m. Park Hopper restriction in most cases. Guests with Park Hopper tickets can now hop earlier in the day, subject to capacity.

There is still a 2 p.m. benefit for Annual Passholders. Many Passholders can enter parks after 2 p.m. without needing a separate park reservation, with some blackout dates and exceptions, especially at Magic Kingdom on weekends.

What is the 120-minute rule at Disneyland?

This usually refers to a common guest strategy with Lightning Lane, Disney’s paid line-skipping system. Many guests follow a loose “120-minute rule,” meaning they try to space out their Lightning Lane reservations by about two hours to maximize efficiency throughout the day.

It is not an official Disney rule. It is a popular planning tactic used by experienced visitors.

What is the 2-hour rule at Disneyland?

This is similar to the 120-minute rule above. It generally refers to waiting roughly two hours between booking Lightning Lane passes or between major attractions. Again, this is a guest-created strategy rather than an official policy.

Which Disney World attraction is closing permanently?

DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is scheduled to close permanently in early 2026. The ride will be replaced by a new Indiana Jones attraction, expected to open in 2027.

This is one of the bigger confirmed permanent closures at Walt Disney World in 2026.

Is Disneyland moving out of California?

No. There are no credible plans for Disneyland to leave California. This appears to be a rumor with no official backing. Disneyland Resort remains a core part of Disney’s operations in Anaheim.

Why is everyone boycotting Disney right now?

Disney often faces calls for boycotts from different groups for various reasons, including content decisions and storytelling, corporate political or social stances, pricing and perceived value, and specific controversies involving parks, movies, or company leadership.

These boycotts tend to come in waves and usually come from both sides of the political spectrum depending on the issue. While some people do cancel subscriptions or skip visits, Disney’s parks and streaming services continue to operate with millions of guests and subscribers.

Common reasons for early closures

The most common cause is a private park buyout for corporate events, which closes the park several hours early for all regular guests. Special ticketed events like After Hours parties also require regular guests to leave early. Weather and safety closures happen occasionally and can come with little notice. Maintenance and refurbishment closures are common but usually only affect one ride at a time rather than the whole park.

Always check the official Disney World or Disneyland app on the morning of your visit for the most accurate hours. Private events are usually listed in advance on the calendar. If a park is closing early, Disney will generally make announcements throughout the day.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• Disney Parks Blog and official Disney park calendars, scheduled hours and special event listings

• Walt Disney World News Today and MiceChat, coverage of DINOSAUR closure and Indiana Jones attraction announcements (2025–2026)

• Disney Tourist Blog and AllEars, guides to Park Hopper rules, Lightning Lane strategies, and Annual Passholder benefits

How do I cancel my Disney+ subscription?

Canceling Disney+ is straightforward if you are billed directly by Disney.

1. Go to disneyplus.com on a web browser and log in.

2. Click your profile icon in the top right.

3. Select Account.

4. Under Subscription, click on your plan.

5. Choose Cancel Subscription and confirm.

You will keep access until the end of your current billing period.

If you signed up through Apple, Google, Amazon, or a cable provider, you will need to cancel through that platform instead.

Why can’t I cancel my Disney+ subscription?

This is a very common issue. It usually happens because you are billed through a third party such as Apple, Google, Roku, Amazon, or your TV provider. Disney does not control billing in these cases, so the cancel option may not appear on the Disney+ website.

The fix is to cancel through the original platform where you subscribed.

How do I change my payment method on Disney+?

You can update your payment method easily. Log in at disneyplus.com, go to Account, and under Billing Details select Update Payment Method. Enter your new payment information. You can also switch between monthly and annual plans here when available.

How much does Disney+ cost per month in May 2026?

Current Disney+ pricing breaks down as follows.

• Disney+ Basic: $11.99 per month with ads

• Disney+ Premium: $18.99 per month, ad-free with downloads and 4K

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle: $12.99 per month with ads

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Premium: $19.99 per month, ad-free

The Disney+ and Hulu bundle is often cheaper than subscribing to both services separately.

Is Hulu included with Disney+?

No. Hulu is not included with a regular Disney+ subscription. To get both, you must subscribe to one of the official Disney+ and Hulu bundles listed above. Bundle subscribers can watch most Hulu content directly inside the Disney+ app.

How do I cancel both Disney+ and Hulu?

If you have the Disney+ and Hulu bundle, canceling it will cancel both services. If you have separate Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, you must cancel each one individually.

Why am I getting charged for both Disney+ and Hulu?

This usually happens when someone signed up for Disney+ and Hulu separately instead of through the official bundle. Many people end up with two separate charges because they created accounts at different times. Switching to the official bundle can simplify billing and often save money.

How do I renew my Disney+ subscription?

Disney+ renews automatically. If your subscription has lapsed, log into your account, go to Account and then Subscription, and select Renew Subscription or choose a new plan.

Why are people cancelling Disney+ in 2026?

While many people continue to enjoy Disney+, a noticeable number of subscribers have been canceling in 2026. The most commonly reported reasons include the following.

Price increases. Disney+ has raised its prices multiple times in recent years. Many subscribers feel the service has become too expensive, especially when combined with other streaming subscriptions.

Ad-supported tier dissatisfaction. Some users who switched to the cheaper ad-supported plan were unhappy with the number or placement of ads and chose to cancel instead of upgrading.

Content fatigue. A portion of subscribers say there is not enough new or high-quality content they are interested in watching on a regular basis.

Dislike of Disney’s direction. Some people have canceled due to disagreements with Disney’s corporate decisions, content choices, or public stances on social and political issues.

Bundle confusion and cost cutting. Many households are trying to reduce the number of streaming services they pay for. Some cancel Disney+ after realizing they are paying for it separately from Hulu instead of using the cheaper bundle.

Competition. With so many other streaming options available, some viewers are rotating between services rather than keeping Disney+ year-round.

Not everyone cancels for the same reason. For some it is purely financial, while for others it is a mix of price, content, and personal values.

Quick tips for managing Disney+ in 2026

Always manage your subscription through a web browser at disneyplus.com for the easiest experience. Check whether you are on a bundle or separate subscriptions, since switching to the bundle can save money. Review your billing details regularly so you know exactly what you are being charged for. You can usually pause instead of fully cancel when the option is available.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• Disney+ Help Center, official guides for account management and cancellation

• Recent 2026 pricing and bundle information from Disney’s site

• Subscriber reports and industry coverage on cancellation trends

Jimmy Kimmel stood on stage at Disney‘s 2026 Upfronts and joked that he may have cost the company billions of dollars. The late-night host turned what was supposed to be a sales pitch to advertisers into a self-deprecating roast, saying hiring him 24 years ago was “the worst personnel decision that Disney Corporation has ever made.”

The line got laughs from some in the room, but it also highlighted a very real question. How much has Disney actually paid, in stock value, subscribers, and reputation, for keeping Kimmel on the air through his most controversial moments?

Kimmel’s “billions” joke at the 2026 Upfronts

During Disney’s annual upfront presentation in May 2026, Kimmel did not hold back. He openly referenced the financial and reputational headaches his political commentary has created for the company.

“I cost our company a lot of money this year. Billions,” Kimmel joked in front of advertisers. He went on to say it was “very possible that no employee in the history of any company has cost their employer more,” comparing the decision to hire him to the captain of the Exxon Valdez.

The moment was classic Kimmel, self-aware and defiant. But it came after a turbulent period that included a brief suspension and significant pushback from multiple sides.

The September 2025 suspension triggered backlash from both sides

In September 2025, Disney and ABC temporarily pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air after Kimmel’s monologue comments about President Donald Trump and conservative reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The suspension lasted roughly one week.

During that period, Disney faced pressure from opposite directions. Many on the left accused the company of censorship and caving to political pressure. Many on the right argued Kimmel’s comments were inflammatory and called for his removal.

Nexstar and Sinclair affiliates pulled the show off the air

One of the clearest examples of financial and business pushback came from local ABC affiliates. Major station groups, including Nexstar and Sinclair, announced they would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! and not air the show when it returned. These groups cited discomfort with Kimmel’s comments, especially in the emotionally charged aftermath of Kirk’s assassination.

This affiliate revolt was significant. Local stations control a large portion of ad revenue for network shows, and when major owners refuse to carry a program, it directly hurts both ratings and advertising dollars. Some advertisers also reportedly grew cautious about associating with the show during the height of the controversy, concerned about brand safety amid the political firestorm.

While the affiliates eventually reversed course and resumed airing the show, the initial boycott sent a clear signal. Kimmel’s political hot takes were not just costing Disney in streaming cancellations. They were also creating friction with the local stations that actually distribute ABC programming.

Disney lost up to $6.4 billion in market value during the suspension

At the same time, Disney faced measurable financial damage on the corporate side. The company’s stock dropped several percent during the suspension window, with estimates of $4 billion to $6.4 billion in market value lost in a short period.

Streaming services also saw a sharp increase in cancellations. Reports indicated Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ experienced a significant spike in churn, with some independent analyses estimating over 1.7 million cancellations in the week surrounding the controversy. Celebrity calls to cancel subscriptions and organized online campaigns amplified the effect.

Disney extended Kimmel’s contract through 2027 anyway

Disney has so far chosen to stand by Kimmel rather than fire him. The company extended his contract through 2027, signaling they believe the long-term value of the show outweighs the periodic controversies.

However, the financial picture is complicated. On one side, Disney absorbed stock hits and streaming subscriber losses. On the other side, it dealt with affiliate pushback and advertiser caution directly tied to Kimmel’s commentary. Late-night shows are culturally influential but not massive profit centers on their own. When a host becomes a recurring source of controversy, the costs spread across multiple parts of the business, from Wall Street to local stations to streaming retention.

Kimmel’s joke at the Upfronts was funny to some and frustrating to others. The reality is more nuanced than a single number. Disney has taken real hits in stock value and streaming subscribers. At the same time, some of its own affiliates and parts of the advertising community have pushed back specifically because of what Kimmel said.

Whether keeping him on air ultimately proves to be a net positive or net negative for Disney will depend on how many more of these cycles the company is willing to endure.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• Consequence, The Hollywood Reporter, and That Park Place, coverage of Kimmel’s “billions” joke at the 2026 Disney Upfronts

• The New York Times, CNN, and NBC News, reporting on the September 2025 suspension and affiliate pushback from Nexstar and Sinclair

• Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket and Antenna data, reports on subscriber cancellation spikes

• Various financial outlets, estimates of Disney’s stock value loss during the controversy

Kane passed away on Monday, May 18, 2026, at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, surrounded by family. His cause of death was complications from a stroke he suffered in late 2020. The stroke left him with significant challenges, including right-sided weakness and damage to the speech center of his brain, which ultimately forced him to step away from voice acting.

A four-decade career across Star Wars, animation, and Disney parks

Thomas Kane Roberts was born on April 15, 1962, in Overland Park, Kansas. He began his voice-over career in 1977 and went on to become one of the most versatile and in-demand voice actors in the industry. Over more than four decades, he amassed hundreds of credits across television, film, video games, and theme park attractions.

His most famous roles include Jedi Master Yoda in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, both the 2008 film and animated series, where he also voiced Admiral Ackbar, Admiral Yularen, and served as the show’s narrator. He brought gravitas and warmth to the wise Jedi Master while also handling a wide range of other Star Wars characters across Lego projects and other media.

In animation, Kane was beloved as Professor Utonium, the kind-hearted creator of the Powerpuff Girls, as well as the chaotic villain HIM in the same series. Other standout performances include Mr. Herriman in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Darwin the chimpanzee in The Wild Thornberrys, Lord Monkey Fist in Kim Possible, and Woodhouse in Archer, a role he took over after George Coe‘s passing.

He also lent his distinctive voice to video games, most notably as Takeo Masaki in the Call of Duty Zombies mode, along with characters in titles like Batman: Arkham City, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and various Star Wars games. Fans of Disney parks may recognize his voice from the Walt Disney World monorail narration and other attractions.

Kane spoke out about Admiral Ackbar’s death in The Last Jedi

While generally professional and well-liked in interviews, Kane sometimes shared frank opinions about projects he worked on. One of the more notable moments came after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in which he voiced Admiral Ackbar.

Kane expressed disappointment with how the character was handled in the film. Ackbar’s death occurred relatively off-screen and without much ceremony during the Resistance’s escape sequence. In interviews and appearances around that time, Kane noted that the character essentially got “fried” without the send-off many fans expected. Clips from events, including what appeared to be a Star Wars Celebration panel, circulated online and created discussion within parts of the fandom.

The comments stood out because voice actors are often expected to stay positive about the franchises they contribute to. While it did not lead to major controversy, it did spark conversation among fans who shared his view that Ackbar deserved more respect in his final appearance.

The 2020 stroke ended his ability to voice act

Kane’s career was cut short by a major stroke in November 2020. His daughter publicly shared at the time that it was a left-sided stroke that caused right-sided weakness and affected his speech. He was never able to fully return to voice work after the incident and largely retired from the industry.

Despite the challenges, those who knew him described him as warm and dedicated to his craft until the end. His representative, Zach McGinnis, confirmed the news of his passing and noted that “though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever.”

A legacy across multiple generations of fans

Tom Kane’s voice was a constant in the lives of multiple generations. Whether it was the calm wisdom of Yoda guiding young Jedi, the cheerful guidance of Professor Utonium, or the stern commands of Admiral Ackbar, his performances brought depth and personality to beloved characters.

He is survived by his wife, Cindy Roberts, and their nine children. Tributes from fans, fellow voice actors, and studios have already begun pouring in, celebrating not just his iconic roles but the consistency and passion he brought to every project.

Rest in peace, Tom Kane. Your voice may be gone, but the characters you brought to life will continue speaking to audiences for years to come.

Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• TMZ and E! News, initial reporting on Tom Kane’s passing and cause of death (May 18, 2026)

• Wikipedia and Behind The Voice Actors, comprehensive career credits and biography

• Syfy Wire and fan-reported clips, coverage of Kane’s comments on Admiral Ackbar in The Last Jedi

• Various fan and industry tributes, reflections on his work in Star Wars, The Powerpuff Girls, and beyond

Woods made the comment in a May 17 post on X, responding to fan discussion about how often he reprises the role he originated in the 1997 animated film Hercules. “Not ‘nearly,’ but absolutely every time Hades appears in any iteration, I do his voice,” Woods wrote. “I was in the studio just a few weeks ago in fact. I love this character, and the creative team at Disney never fail to do top notch work.”

The post quickly drew hundreds of thousands of views.

Woods has voiced Hades since 1997 and won an Emmy for the role

Woods first voiced the Lord of the Underworld in Disney’s Hercules, turning the role into a fast-talking, sarcastic schemer praised at the time for its energy and improvisational flair. Woods has previously said he loved the character so much that he offered to return his salary during production budget pressures and finish the film for free. Disney declined the offer and completed the movie on schedule.

He reprised the role in the 1998 Hercules animated television series, winning a Daytime Emmy in 2000 for his work on the second season. He returned for House of Mouse, various Disney park attractions and shows, and nearly every video game featuring the character, most notably across the Kingdom Hearts series.

According to industry records, Woods is the only performer to voice Hades in official Disney productions, with one minor exception. Rob Paulsen handled the singing duties for Hades in a House of Mouse Halloween special musical number.

The Oppenheimer “invisible” request in 2024

Woods has built a reputation in recent years as one of Hollywood’s most outspoken conservative voices. A vocal supporter of Donald Trump, he has frequently criticized what he sees as liberal bias in entertainment and described experiencing professional consequences for his views.

The most cited example surfaced around Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film Oppenheimer. Woods served as an executive producer but kept his involvement quiet during the release and awards campaign. In a 2024 Deadline interview, he explained that conversations about his social media activity led to a suggestion he remain “invisible” to avoid any backlash that could hurt the film’s rollout. Woods called the decision painful but said he “took one for the team.”

Despite that history, Disney has continued bringing Woods back for new Hades work across film, television, games, and theme parks. His comment about a recent studio session suggests the partnership is still active nearly three decades after Hercules debuted.

Tim Allen returns as Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5

The situation has drawn comparisons to Tim Allen, who voiced Buzz Lightyear in the original Toy Story films but did not return for Pixar’s 2022 spinoff Lightyear. Chris Evans voiced a younger, origin-story version of the character instead. Some fans and commentators speculated at the time that Allen’s conservative politics and past public statements played a role in the decision, though Pixar maintained the casting was a creative choice for a new take on the astronaut.

Allen is now set to reprise Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5, scheduled to open June 19, 2026. The full original voice cast, including Tom Hanks as Woody, is returning for the sequel, which pits the toys against technology-driven threats to playtime.

Both cases suggest that audience demand and commercial considerations can outweigh political differences when a project calls for a specific established voice. Fans have long credited Woods’ performance with elevating Hades from a standard villain into one of Disney’s most quotable antagonists, and the character’s blend of menace, humor, and showmanship is closely tied to his delivery.

Woods has made clear he separates the work from the politics. With Toy Story 5 weeks away and Woods confirming fresh Hades recordings, Disney appears willing to keep proven voices in the mix when the project calls for it.

Article compiled and edited by the Pirates and Princesses newsroom for MSN.

For more Disney, theme parks, geek lifestyle, and family entertainment coverage, visit piratesandprincesses.net. Watch the show on YouTube at @Disney-podcast. Subscribe to the Pirates and Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hat Tips:

• James Woods X post, May 17, 2026

• Deadline, “Vocal Trump Supporter James Woods On Why His ‘Oppenheimer’ Involvement Was Kept Quiet” (July 26, 2024)

• The Hollywood Reporter, “James Woods Asked Not to Promote ‘Oppenheimer’ Due to Right-Wing Views” (July 26, 2024)

• Variety, coverage of Woods’ Oppenheimer executive producer credit (July 2024)

• Disney Fandom Wiki and official Hercules production notes on Woods’ role history and 2000 Daytime Emmy win

• People, Deadline, and Pixar announcements on Tim Allen’s return in Toy Story 5 (February–May 2026)

Here’s the TL;DR...

• Dorothy and Rose were 55 in 1985 and would turn 96 in 2026.

• Blanche was 53 and would hit 94.

• Sophia was 79 and would be 120.

• The series ran seven seasons from 1985 to 1992, picked up 11 Emmys and became a blueprint for honest stories about aging and friendship.

• Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty are all gone, and even pilot roommate Coco died in 2019.

• The show’s legacy lives on through streaming, spin-offs and stage tours that still pack houses in 2026.

What Ages Did the Show Give the Characters When It Premiered in 1985?

Early episodes dropped clear hints without ever throwing a big birthday party. Dorothy Zbornak turned 55 in the Season 1 episode “The Competition.” Rose Nylund matched her exactly, confirmed when Dorothy mentioned the number during a job-hunt chat. Blanche Devereaux, who dodged the topic like a pro, clocked in at 53 based on timeline clues about her teen years in the late 1940s. Sophia Petrillo, the no-filter matriarch, sat at 79 right from the pilot.

How Old Would Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia Be in 2026?

Add 41 years to those starting points and the numbers turn eye-watering. Dorothy and Rose would both reach 96. Blanche would celebrate 94. Sophia would hit 120, an age that would make her morning grumbling about the coffee even more justified. At that point the Miami house would probably need more than a fresh coat of paint and a new blender.

What Was The Golden Girls Actually About and Why Did It Feel Different?

Four older women shared a house in Miami after divorces and widowhood left them starting over. Dorothy taught school and delivered deadpan sarcasm. Rose brought wide-eyed stories from her Minnesota hometown. Blanche turned every room into a flirtation zone. Sophia, fresh from a nursing-home escape, dropped truth bombs like confetti. The show mixed cheesecake nights with real talk about everything from dating after 50 to money worries and health scares.

It stood out because television had rarely put women over 50 at the center of the frame. The jokes landed because the characters felt like people you knew, not caricatures. Audiences tuned in for the laughs and stayed for the quiet moments when the four of them had each other’s backs.

How Did The Golden Girls Earn Its Awards and Critical Praise?

Over seven seasons and 180 episodes the series collected 68 Emmy nominations and took home 11 wins, including two for Outstanding Comedy Series. Every lead actress won at least one Emmy, a rare feat for any sitcom. The Golden Globes added four more trophies to the shelf.

Critics pointed to the sharp writing and the cast’s chemistry as the secret sauce. The show tackled topics like AIDS, homelessness and elder abuse without losing its sense of humor. That balance kept it from feeling preachy and helped it connect with viewers who saw their own parents or grandparents on screen.

Why Does The Golden Girls Legacy Still Matter in 2026?

Four decades later the show still racks up more than a billion streaming hours on Disney+ and Hulu. New generations discover the ladies through clips and marathons, finding the same comfort in their friendship that original fans did.

Spin-offs like The Golden Palace and Empty Nest extended the universe right after the finale. Stage productions and parody musicals keep touring into 2026, selling out theaters with crowds who quote Blanche’s one-liners on the way in. The series proved older women could carry a hit show, influence fashion memes, and spark conversations about aging that still feel fresh.

Not to Get Morbid, But How Might the Characters Have Met Their Ends?

Even in the fictional world the odds of all four surviving to 2026 are slim.

Sophia might have finally lost an argument to Father Time after one last midnight snack run.

Dorothy could have gone out with a perfectly timed eye-roll during a particularly bad shuffleboard game.

Rose might have drifted off mid-tale about a distant St. Olaf relative.

Blanche would have demanded the most glamorous exit possible, probably while wearing something fabulous.

None of these guesses are scientific, just a light way to acknowledge that time catches up with everyone, even television legends.

Who Was Coco and Why Did He Disappear After the Pilot?

The very first episode introduced a fifth roommate: Coco, the sharp gay cook played by Charles Levin. He bantered in the kitchen, rolled his eyes at the drama and handled breakfast like a pro. Then he vanished.

The producers realized the four women carried the show just fine. Network concerns after Rock Hudson’s death also made them cautious about developing a prominent gay character’s storylines. Levin was written out before the second episode aired.

Coco’s actor would have turned 77 in 2026, but Charles Levin died in 2019 at age 70. So the “fifth Golden Girl” is off the board too.

What Does All This Mean for Any Future Revival?

The math and the real-world timeline line up against bringing the original quartet back. The characters have aged into a stage where new stories would need major creative leaps, and the women who made them famous are no longer here.

Yet the house on Richmond Street never really emptied. Reruns run daily, streaming numbers keep climbing, and live shows let fans relive the banter in person. The Golden Girls proved that friendship, laughter and a good cheesecake recipe can outlast any calendar page.

The show gave viewers permission to laugh at life’s messier chapters and reminded everyone that 50 is just the start of the good stories. That message still lands in 2026, one episode at a time.

Hat Tips

• Screen Rant, “The Golden Girls’ Ages: How Old Were the Cast During the Show’s Run?” (Sep 20, 2025) – https://screenrant.com/how-old-were-the-golden-girls/

• CBR, “How Old Were the Golden Girls Actors & Their Characters?” (Apr 17, 2025) – https://www.cbr.com/how-old-golden-girls-ages/

• Britannica, “The Golden Girls” entry (updated Feb 12, 2026) – https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Golden-Girls

• The Walt Disney Company, “‘The Golden Girls’ at 40: Honoring the Show and Its Fans” (Sep 8, 2025)

• Wikipedia, “The Golden Girls” page (Emmy and production history, cross-checked 2026)

• Wikipedia, Charles Levin (actor) entry (death confirmed 2019)

Article compiled by Newsroom Staff on March 3, 2026 and was fact-checked by Editorial before publication.

EPCOT’s International Flower and Garden Festival will return on March 4 and will run until June 1, 2026.

Ahead of the festival Disney has released looks at some of the upcoming eats and sips!

Let’s take a look!

• Blackened Fish Slider – Located at the Florida Fresh booth

This dish features fish along with a fried green tomato, Cajun rémoulade, and it’s served on a brioche bun.

• Ceviche – Is located at La Isla Fresca

It’s a shrimp ceviche served mixed with avocado, mango, cucumber, lime, cilantro, tomato, and jalapeno. It also comes with plantain chips.

• Coconut-Chocolate Flan Bizcocho – Also located at La Isla Fresca

This dessert features coconut custard with chocolate and passion fruit caramel sauce.

• Strawberry-Basil Lemonade – Served at the Beach Grub booth.

This drink is a Strawberry-Basil Lemonade made with Minute Maid Lemonade, mixed with strawberry-hibiscus syrup, and finished with some basil.

• Orange Cream Bar – Also located at BRUNCHCOT

This bar features vanilla-bean orange mousse covered in a chocolate shell with marshmallow meringue.

• Avocado Toast – Located at BRUNCHCOT

This dish is served with tomatoes and “Boursin Dairy-Free Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese” served on toasted ciabatta.

• Limoncello-Basil Sparkling Cocktail – Located at Yacht Grub

Made from sparkling wine, Seagram’s Club Soda, and limoncello liqueur.

• Trio of Dips and Chips – Also located at Yacht Grub

This dish featured hand-made potato chips and comes with three dips that include a whipped feta with candied lemon, a caramelized onion dip with caviar, and a pimento cheese dip with pickles.

• Coconut Panna Cotta – Is located in the new Nectar booth.

It contains coconut panna-cotta with a cherry gelée, matcha crumb, citrus cookie, meringue (plant-based), and flower confetti.

• Lemon Tart- The Citrus Blossom

This tart features lemon curd, blood orange gel, meringue (plant-based), and raspberry powder.

• Miso Cola-Glazed Sticky Pork Ribs – Located at the Trowel & Trellis booth.

These are Miso Cola glazed pork ribs served with spicy pickled peppers and peanuts.

• Hibiscus Lemonade Cocktail – Locate at EPCOT Farmers Feast

This drink is made with Islamorada Hibiscus Gin and Simply Lemonade.

• Chicken and Waffles – Located at The Honey Bee-stro

This dish features crispy chicken on a sweet honey-bacon cornbread waffle and served with whipped honey butter, and orange blossom honey.

Disney also dropped this video showcasing these items.

Which items are you looking forward to trying? Comment and let us know!

The 41-year-old actress, known for voicing Kim Possible and playing Ren Stevens on Even Stevens, posted a tearful Instagram video on Feb. 17, 2026. She explained that she and her husband, Brendan Rooney, got screened because cancer runs in her family. His results were negative. Hers were not.

Here’s the TL;DR...

• Christy Carlson Romano, 41, announced positive cancer screening results in an emotional Instagram video posted Feb. 17, 2026.

• The test followed her family history of cancer; her husband’s came back negative.

• No official diagnosis yet — next step is a PET scan, which she is working to get covered by insurance.

• She referenced being shot in the face a year ago and James Van Der Beek’s recent death as reasons for getting checked.

• Romano voiced Kim Possible and starred in Even Stevens and Cadet Kelly; she urged fans to stay proactive about health screenings.

Christy Carlson Romano Shares Her Screening Results in a Tearful Video

In the video, Romano fought back tears while describing the moment the results arrived. “My husband’s came back completely negative. Mine did not come back negative,” she said. She added that she felt “nervous and a bit scared,” but stressed this is not yet a cancer diagnosis. The next step is a PET scan to investigate further.

She noted both her parents had cancer — her mother beat it, her father did not — and her maternal grandmother died of lung cancer. That history pushed her to test. “Cancer is pretty serious, and I have two little girls,” she said, referring to daughters Isabella, 9, and Sophia, 7.

A Year After Being Shot in the Face, Romano Faces New Health Scare

The timing hits hard. Almost exactly one year earlier, in February 2025, Romano was accidentally shot in the eye while clay-pigeon shooting for her husband’s birthday. A fragment remains, but her vision is intact. She has spoken openly about how the incident made her grateful for every day.

In her latest post, she tied the two events together. Life can change fast, she said, and she wants to encourage others to get screened.

Christy Carlson Romano’s Iconic Disney Channel Career

Romano rose to fame in the early 2000s as the sharp-witted older sister Ren Stevens opposite Shia LaBeouf in Even Stevens. She also starred alongside Hilary Duff in the 2002 Disney Channel movie Cadet Kelly. Her voice work as the fearless teen spy Kim Possible became a defining role, earning her a Daytime Emmy nomination and spawning movies, games, and theme-park attractions.

After Disney, she stayed active with podcasting, Broadway (she played Belle in Beauty and the Beast), and voice roles in games like Kingdom Hearts. More recently she has hosted the “Vulnerable” podcast and teased an upcoming memoir.

James Van Der Beek’s Death Spurs Romano to Get Screened

Romano lives in Austin, Texas, and knew Van Der Beek and his family personally. She called him “a pillar of our community” who raised money for charities. Van Der Beek, 48, announced his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024 after noticing bowel changes. He died on Feb. 11, 2026.

“I was able to meet James Van Der Beek a bunch,” she said in the video. “Cancer is everywhere. Which is why I got this test.”

Other Young Celebrities Diagnosed With Cancer in Recent Years

Romano’s news arrives amid several public health battles involving younger stars. Singer Jessie J, 37, revealed an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in June 2025 and underwent surgery. She has shared updates about recovery and perspective gained from the experience.

*Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel, now in her early 40s, announced a breast cancer diagnosis in 2024 and provided follow-ups in 2025. Reality star Katie Thurston, 34, has also documented treatment for advanced breast cancer.

These cases, along with Van Der Beek’s, highlight a noted rise in certain cancers among people under 50 and the value of proactive screening even without symptoms.

What Happens Next for Christy Carlson Romano

Romano said she is leaning on faith, family support, and a sense of gratitude. Her husband posted a supportive comment: “You got this my beautiful wife. We will figure this out and destroy any problem that comes our way.”

She plans to keep fans posted as she pursues the PET scan and whatever follows. In the meantime, she continues work on her memoir and other projects while focusing on what matters most.

Romano’s openness serves as a reminder that celebrities face the same health uncertainties as everyone else. Her story, like others in recent years, may push more people to schedule screenings they have been putting off.

Hat Tips

• People.com, “Christy Carlson Romano Reveals Positive Cancer Screening Results in Emotional Video,” Feb. 18, 2026 (https://people.com/christy-carlson-romano-reveals-positive-cancer-screening-results-in-emotional-video-11908458)

• Page Six, “Christy Carlson Romano tearfully reveals positive cancer screening results a year after life-threatening shooting accident,” Feb. 18, 2026 (https://pagesix.com/2026/02/18/celebrity-news/disney-channel-alum-christy-carlson-romano-reveals-positive-cancer-screening-results-one-year-after-shooting-accident/)

• Deadline.com, “Disney Channel Alum Christy Carlson Romano Reveals Positive Cancer Screening Test,” Feb. 18, 2026

• Variety.com coverage of the announcement, Feb. 18, 2026

• Wikipedia and IMDb entries on Christy Carlson Romano’s filmography (verified career details)

• Additional context on Jessie J from People.com, June 2025 updates

Article compiled by Newsroom Staff on February 18, 2026 and was fact-checked by Editorial before publication.

Here’s the TL;DR...

• South Florida faced its coldest weather since 2010, with lows hitting 35 degrees in Miami and wind chills dipping into the 20s.

• Cold-blooded iguanas become immobilized when temps drop below 45 degrees, leading to falls from trees, but most recover as it warms up.

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission temporarily allowed permit-free removal of stunned iguanas on February 1 and 2 to manage the invasive species.

• A brief warming trend starts mid-week, though another cold front could arrive by Thursday, keeping freeze risks alive.

Why Do Iguanas Fall From Trees During Florida Cold Snaps?

Green iguanas, native to warmer climates in Central and South America, lose muscle control in cold weather because they can’t regulate their body temperature. When South Florida sees dips below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, these reptiles enter a torpor state, appearing frozen and often dropping from high branches. This phenomenon hit hard in early February 2026, with reports from Miami to West Palm Beach of iguanas littering sidewalks and lawns.

Residents like those in Hollywood noted piles of the lizards after overnight lows reached the mid-30s. The event echoed past cold snaps, but this one’s intensity broke records in some areas.

How Cold Has It Gotten in Florida This February?

Temperatures across South Florida plummeted to 35 degrees in Miami on February 1, marking the coldest February day there on record and the lowest overall since 2010. Wind chills made it feel even harsher, reaching the mid-20s in places like Pembroke Pines.

Freeze warnings covered much of the region through February 3, with inland spots dropping into the 20s and 30s. Even Key West felt the bite with 50s, while northern Florida saw flurries. This arctic surge followed a strong front, and meteorologists noted it as one of the deepest cold outbreaks in over a decade.

What Happens to Iguanas When Temperatures Drop So Low?

As ectothermic animals, iguanas rely on external heat to stay active. Below 45 degrees, their metabolism slows, causing paralysis-like stiffness without actual freezing. They don’t die from the cold alone but risk injury from falls or predation while immobile.

Many revive as sunlight raises temps, scampering away once warmed. In this 2026 event, videos showed them lying still on roads, only to stir later. Experts stress they’re not hibernating—just temporarily out of commission.

What Should You Do If You Find a Stunned Iguana on the Ground?

The National Weather Service advises leaving stunned iguanas alone, as they usually recover naturally when temperatures rise. Avoid handling them, since they can bite or scratch once revived, and watch your head under trees to dodge falling ones.

During this snap, the FWC urged reporting or removing them humanely under a temporary executive order, but that window closed after February 2. If you spot one now, contact local wildlife officials instead of trying to warm it yourself.

Are These Iguanas Native to Florida, and What’s Their Impact?

Green iguanas are invasive, introduced in the 1960s via the pet trade, and they’ve thrived in Florida’s subtropics. They burrow into canal banks, erode infrastructure, and devour native plants, disrupting ecosystems.

Thousands were rounded up during the February 2026 cold spell, with removal services like Redline Iguana Removal collecting stunned ones for humane dispatch or relocation. The FWC views these events as opportunities to cull populations, estimating over 600 dropped off at offices in just one day.

How Has This Cold Snap Affected People and Wildlife Beyond Iguanas?

Floridians bundled up against the chill, with crop damage reported in central areas and emergency shelters opening for the homeless. Power demands spiked from heating, but no widespread outages occurred.

For wildlife, the cold stressed other cold-sensitive species, though iguanas drew the most attention. Social media buzzed with photos and warnings, turning the event into a quirky news staple. Some locals joked about “raining reptiles,” but officials emphasized safety.

What’s the Forecast for Florida After This Iguana-Dropping Cold?

Warming begins Tuesday, February 3, with highs climbing to the 60s and 70s by mid-week. However, another front arrives Thursday, potentially dropping lows back into the 40s without reaching prior extremes.

Meteorologists predict a return to normal subtropical weather soon, but this snap highlights Florida’s vulnerability to rare winter intrusions. Long-term, weak La Niña patterns could mean more variable winters ahead.

This February 2026 cold snap serves as a reminder of Florida’s occasional wintry side, blending hazard with oddity in the form of falling iguanas. While the immediate chill eases, it underscores the need for vigilance with invasive species and weather shifts. Residents can breathe easier knowing the iguanas—and the warmth—will return, but events like this keep the state’s ecosystem management in focus.

Hat Tips

• CNN, “Florida cold snap freezes iguanas,” February 2, 2026: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/us/video/florida-cold-snap-freezes-iguanas-digvid

• USA Today, “Iguanas look ‘frozen,’ fall from trees as temps drop in South Florida,” February 2, 2026: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/02/02/frozen-iguanas-fall-trees-florida/88475628007

• The Atlantic, “It’s So Cold in Florida Iguanas Are Falling Out of Trees,” February 3, 2026: https://www.theatlantic.com/photography/2026/02/photos-frozen-iguanas-florida-cold-snap/685863

• Fortune, “It’s so cold in Florida that iguanas are falling out of trees,” February 2, 2026: https://fortune.com/2026/02/02/its-so-cold-in-florida-that-iguanas-are-falling-out-of-trees

• The Independent, “Thousands of ‘frozen’ iguanas rounded up after falling from trees,” February 3, 2026: https://www.the-independent.com/bulletin/news/florida-iguanas-frozen-falling-from-trees-invasive-species-b2913219.html

• NBC Miami, “After historic cold snap in Florida, chilly weather is still expected,” February 2, 2026: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/after-historic-cold-snap-in-florida-cold-weather-is-still-expected/3758024

• Palm Beach Post, “Florida forecast: Another cold front after historic February freeze,” February 3, 2026: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/weather/2026/02/03/second-cold-front-heading-to-florida-after-record-breaking-chill/88488258007

• National Weather Service post on X, January 18, 2026.

• CBS12 News post on X, February 1, 2026.

Article compiled by Newsroom Staff on February 04, 2026 and was fact-checked by Editorial before publication.