Kraft Heinz, Killer Waits, and a Villain-Themed Cookie Empire

The Parks

Tuesday broke the usual script at Walt Disney World. The standing order is Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, in that order, every time. Instead EPCOT jumped a spot and finished ahead of Animal Kingdom, landing at a 4/10 crowd score while Animal Kingdom eased to a 6/10 on lighter than normal waits. EPCOT ran about 12% above its own 30-day median. Animal Kingdom sat roughly 6% below its. Two parks quietly traded places while everyone was busy looking at Magic Kingdom.

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Inside Animal Kingdom itself, the day told an even stranger story. At 10 a.m., Na’vi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris posted nearly identical standby waits, 53 and 52 minutes. Same park, same Lightning Lane program, same crowd shuffling between Pandora and the safari trucks. By 5 p.m. the two rides had nothing in common. Kilimanjaro Safaris collapsed to a 12-minute wait, shedding 77% of its peak. Na’vi River Journey barely moved, holding 47 minutes and 89% of its morning wait straight through the afternoon. One ride bleeds off crowds all day, while the other holds a line like a dam. Anyone building a touring plan around morning standby numbers alone is planning for a park that stops existing by lunch.

Out at Disneyland, Matterhorn Bobsleds went dark Monday for a scheduled refurbishment, pulling one of Fantasyland’s most recognizable coasters off the board for four scheduled days. It is a temporary hit, but a real one for anyone building a west coast trip around a specific ride list this week.

And if you are trying to dodge crowds altogether, the calculus has apparently shifted. Disney World’s most popular park is running emptier than expected right now, which upends the usual advice about which gates to avoid.

The Shows

Marvel dropped the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, and the internet did what the internet does. Thor delivers the Fantastic Four to New Avengers Tower, the assembled heroes face off with the X-Men, and Doctor Doom stops Stormbreaker using two fingers. The clip alone was enough to set a record for views in its first 24 hours, and ticket sales in that same window put any lingering doubt about fan turnout to rest immediately.

Ryan Reynolds, never one to let a franchise cool off, confirmed that another Deadpool movie is officially in development. Wade Wilson was never going quietly, and nobody seriously expected otherwise.

On the page rather than the screen, D23 released an exclusive excerpt from Wings of Reverie, the follow-up to the bestselling Wings of Starlight, landing August 4. This one moves the action into the Winter Woods of Pixie Hollow, where frost fairy Periwinkle crosses into forbidden territory and stumbles onto a thread of lost magic. Fairy politics, but make it seasonal.

The Business

The Kraft Heinz deal is the story of the week. Disney and Kraft Heinz have signed a landmark, long-term strategic alliance that spans foodservice, media, and events, rather than a simple shelf placement deal. Ten Kraft Heinz brands are heading into Disney Parks and onto Disney Cruise Line ships, covering condiments, macaroni and cheese, and cream cheese, starting around the 2026 D23 Expo.

Read the corporate language and the ambition is bigger than snack carts. This is an enterprise-wide platform for innovation and storytelling reaching families across foodservice, media, and live events. Translation: expect this to show up well beyond a hot dog cart, potentially reshaping menus and sponsorship footprints at EPCOT, Disney California Adventure, and beyond. A boring press release about condiments is rarely just about condiments. This is a company deciding who gets to feed its guests for years, and what that partner gets in return across screens and events, not just plates.

Meanwhile Tesla’s Robotaxi service has arrived in Orlando, bringing autonomous ride-hailing into one of the busiest tourism markets on the planet. There is a catch for visitors, and the comparison to Waymo’s existing footprint in the market is going to matter for anyone deciding how to get from hotel to gate without a rental car.

The Details

Disney Springs is finally putting real numbers behind its long-rumored villains-themed expansion. Gideon’s Bakehouse is preparing something well beyond its half-pound cookie, and Disney has published enough detail that guests can already estimate what the new experience will cost. Six years is a long wait for a villain lair. It’s arriving with a receipt attached.

Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights 35 is rolling out Stay & Scream, letting eligible guests into select haunted houses before the event’s official 6:30pm start. Anyone already inside Universal Studios Florida on a daytime ticket with HHN admission qualifies automatically. Anyone without daytime admission can buy a separate Scream Early ticket to get the same early access. Two doors into the same head start.

Napa Rose’s new Chef’s Counter is drawing the kind of scrutiny usually reserved for Disney’s most expensive dining experiences, the sort where the price tag gets justified by entertainment or exclusivity rather than just the plate. And for something considerably cheaper, an $8 version of the Mickey-shaped Churro Waffle has surfaced outside the $54 Crystal Palace buffet where it usually lives, tracked down and confirmed by a Disney foodie account after guests noticed the churro waffle format was worth chasing on its own.

Sources

• Lightning Brain
• AllEars
• Inside the Magic
• MickeyBlog
• The DisInsider
• D23
• Walt Disney Company
• Disney Tourist Blog
• Attractions Magazine
• BlogMickey
• TouringPlans
• EYNTK Disney Parks

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