If we’re doing our non-comeback, comeback, we have got to post a new edition of News Nuggets. As I mentioned before, there’s a an “in progress” set of News Nuggets that will be lost to the Patreon-only support realm forever (posting news from early September doesn’t seem particularly helpful now.) That means, these News Nugget are much more cutting edge, including: Dates from next year’s Flower and Garden Festival (scheduled to run Feb. 28 – May 28)..

I kid (mostly), the biggest news relates to some of the upcoming changes to The Studios, including learning that Galaxy Edge is located on the planet Batuu and bunch of news / rumors concerning Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, including:

• Rumors of an opening date in April / May of 2018;
• Confirmation that it’s a trackless ride system.; and
• Even rumors for the various scenes that will take place in the ride) (I didn’t read this one, since it’s way too early for me to get spoiled on that stuff.

That said, there were still plently of other News Nuggets over the past few day, so let’s get to it:

• Speedway near Boardwalk to close for Refurb – I assume they’re adding a Fastpass+ return pump.
• Tomorrowland Terrace at the Magic Kingdom Returning for Mobile Order-Only Test – I like mobile ordering, but I fear a mobile order ONLY restaurant is going to cause some headaches.
• New Outdoor Seating Area Opens at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, Magic Kingdom – I wonder how busy this will be. It seems like it might be an okay place to sit and relax during more pleasant weather.
• Buon appetito! Disney Springs Welcomes Three New Italian Concepts – It’ll be interesting to see how these fit in with the newer restaurants at Disney Springs (especially, quality wise.)
• Animal Kingdom’s “Pandora: The World of AVATAR” Banshees Now Available for Adoption Online – Get your Christmas shopping done early!
• Rumor that Flights of Wonder at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to End Later This Year – That would kind of be a bummer.
• Just Announced: The SpectacuLAB Interactive Show Set to Debut at Epcot in November – This sounds like something that is in line with Epcot’s “original vision.” Let’s see if people show up.
• All in the Details: First Look at Woody’s Lunch Box in Toy Story Land – Who doesn’t love an old fashioned soda float?
• Galactic Goodies Galore at Star Wars: Galactic Nights – I wonder how close they are to making this a monthly (or more frequently) event.
• Iconic Mouse-Eared Headwear Sparkles This Fall at Disney Parks – If everyone can get Rose Gold Mickey Ears, will Elyssa still want them?
• First Look at NBA Experience Coming to Disney Springs – Summer 2019 is a long time from now.
• New Ale & Compass Restaurant Menu – I’m looking to give some of the breakfast options a shot (though I actually have a lunch reservation for next weekend.)
• Stitch’s Great Escape Returns for Christmas Season at the Magic Kingdom – Yay?
• http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/11/disney-springs-christmas-tree-trail-opens-today/
• Photos of the 2017 Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail – WDW News Today gives a photo walk through of this year’s Christmas Tree Trail (I haven’t look through the photos, since I want to see them in person without being “spoiled.”) I’m not sure you need to go to Disney Springs specifically to see this, but it’s a nice thing to look at if you’re there.
• Splash Mountain Refurbishment is Still Scheduled for Early 2018 – Even though Splash Mountain isn’t quite finished its more than 2 month refurbishment, it’s still scheduled for a month long refurbishment in 2018. Having such a headline down for a quarter of 12 month period seems weird.
• Duffy’s Friend Gelatoni Makes His Debut on ShopDisney – I wonder how long before Elyssa’s asks that Gelatoni joins Fenway and Shellie Mae at our house…
• Long-Delayed Choza de Margarita Now Open in Mexico at Epcot – We’ll give you a review once Elyssa has had a chance to have one…
• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Construction Milestone Celebrated at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Just 2 more years, right? Right?
• Disney’s Magical Express Now Picking Up Guests 4 Hours Before Their Flight – In 4 hours, I’d already be halfway back to NC if I was driving…
• Hot Chocolate Ganache with Bailey’s, now available at The Ganachery – I see things like this and think “Oh. That’s interesting.” Then I remember the look one of the chefs gave me when I asked about the chocolate bars they used to have when it opened, while telling me “Those are never coming back” and I shrug.
• easyWDW Review of Narcoossee’s – Glad to see Josh joining the team. (Okay, that might be a stretch…but he didn’t hate it.)
• The Magic Kingdom to Distribute Bonus “Surprise” Paper FastPasses on Select Evenings Through November & December – This will be interesting if it happens. I assume they’ll use this to help with distributing people throughout the park.
• Disney Springs Introducing Hands-Free Shopping This Holiday Season – It’s easier to lose track of how much you’ve already spent if you’re not holding the items you bought.
• Enjoy A More Relaxing Black Friday Weekend at Disney Springs – ‘3 Days of Fun”, eh?
• New Permits Show Building Placement for Ratatouille Attraction and France Expansion – It’s pretty much what you’d expect.
• New Road Opens to Magic Kingdom Area Resorts – This is going to make getting to Whispering Canyon so much easier.
• Exclusive First Look: Starspeeder Flight Through Crait on Star Tours – The Adventures Continue at Disney Parks – I’m still avoiding Last Jedi spoilers, so I won’t be looking at this too closely.
• New Projections, Celebrity Appearances & More Announced for Star Wars Galactic Nights – I would be fine with them adding these projections to other evenings.
• Celebrate the New Year at Walt Disney World Resort! – Even though Elyssa and I plan on being there, I don’t think we’ll be doing any of these “special events”.
• Star Tours Will No Longer Mix Places & Characters from Different Eras, Ride to be Separated Into Two Paths – It looks like Star Tours will be a little less random for a bit (6-12 months) and then the “new” trilogy will get split out. I’m not sure that’s necessary, but it’s not entirely unexpected.
• Jessie & Rex Arrive in Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – I say they “have” to get this done before the summer crowds, but I’m sure the holiday crowds wish there was something a little more at The Studios this year.

That’s it for this helping of News Nuggets. It feels good to be back. Let’s end this with a little transformation into Christmas from the folks at Inside the Magic: