Mando and Grogu Take Over Every Disney Park Next Week

The Galaxy's Edge Takeover Begins Now

Disney has been teasing Mandalorian and Grogu tie-ins for months, but the full scope of what launches next week is staggering. According to Disney Parks Blog, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort will debut an entirely new storyline on May 22 in which guests join Din Djarin and Grogu on a Hondo Ohnaka-brokered bounty mission across Tatooine, Bespin, the wreckage of the second Death Star near Endor, and Coruscant. The engineer position gets a new interactive feature that lets guests check in on Grogu throughout the flight and make the pivotal planet choice that determines the mission's course. Pilots, gunners, and engineers each get fresh gameplay moments, new interactions, and what Disney calls "unexpected surprises."

That alone would be a significant update to one of Galaxy's Edge's flagship attractions. But the rollout extends far beyond the cockpit. Disney Parks Blog confirms that a new nighttime experience called "The Curious Child" begins tomorrow, May 16, at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland park. The show features Grogu testing his power to recall memories of his adventures with Mando, using projection effects that transform the spires of Batuu near the Millennium Falcon. It plays after "Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga," giving Disneyland guests a double feature of nighttime storytelling anchored in two different eras of the Star Wars timeline.

The food and merchandise push is equally aggressive. Disney Parks Blog reports that Grogu Cookies arrive at Galaxy's Edge on both coasts, while Walt Disney World guests can also try the Sweet-and-Spicy Puffer Pig Pasta. WDW News Today adds that full Mandalorian and Grogu menus have been revealed for both resorts, alongside a BDX Droid Bucket and Grogu Jetpack Sipper available at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, limited to two per person per transaction. Disney Tourist Blog notes that Docking Bay 7 in particular is getting a menu overhaul on both coasts, framing it as a badly needed refresh for what was once the top counter service restaurant in Galaxy's Edge.

What makes this rollout notable is its simultaneity. Disney often staggers experiences between coasts or reserves the best activations for a single resort. Here, Smugglers Run gets the same new mission at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland on the same day. The food and sippers land everywhere at once. The nighttime show is Disneyland-exclusive, but the attraction overlay is universal. For a franchise that has struggled at times to translate streaming-era Star Wars into park-level excitement, this coordinated push signals that Disney sees Mando and Grogu as a tentpole property worthy of the full theme park treatment, rather than just a meet-and-greet and a popcorn bucket.

The Parks

The biggest non-Star-Wars story this week is a genuinely historic one. BlogMickey reports, with aerial photo confirmation from Bioreconstruct, that assembly has begun on a fourth Magic Kingdom ferryboat near the Seven Seas Lagoon. Disney has officially confirmed the new vessel will be 120 feet long, designed to match the existing fleet in capacity and appearance, and named the Meg Gilbert Crofton after Walt Disney World's fourth president. Meg began her Disney career in 1977 as a marketing manager and served as president of Walt Disney World from 2006 to 2013, overseeing the New Fantasyland expansion that brought Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Be Our Guest Restaurant to the park. According to BlogMickey, the boat is being shipped in pieces to Walt Disney World property for on-site assembly, painting, and finishing, with a debut planned for 2027. The fleet has not grown since 1976, making this the first expansion in over fifty years, and it arrives ahead of what Disney has signaled will be Magic Kingdom's largest growth era ever.

Over at Hollywood Studios, the Muppets are making their presence felt in a big way. WDW News Today published first-look photos and video of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets pre-show, revealing Audio-Animatronics in action, repainted ride vehicles captured in new on-ride photos, a painted gate, car details, and a FØØD banner among the latest additions. The outlet also revealed the full FØØD by Swedish Chef menu, which includes nachos, churros, and more. New Muppets-themed merchandise is arriving alongside the attraction's transformation. For fans who have followed this retheme from announcement to execution, the pieces are visibly coming together.

WDW News Today also reports that Soarin' Over California has received an announced closing date, while Soarin' Across America has debuted at Walt Disney World. The two stories are connected: the California version's departure at Disneyland makes way for the next chapter of the Soarin' franchise, while Walt Disney World guests get a version that spans the full country. Meanwhile, Hollywood Studios is already dressing for summer with Toy Story 5 banners installed outside Toy Story Land, according to WDW News Today.

On the Disneyland Resort side, WDW News Today reports that Disneyland has filed permits for a shopping mall to replace the Toy Story parking area, instead of a third theme park. For fans who have speculated about what DisneylandForward might bring to that parcel, the permit filing offers a concrete, if perhaps less thrilling, answer about the near-term future of that land.

Animal Kingdom is preparing for a different kind of invasion. According to one report from The DisInsider, Bluey and Bingo are officially heading to Disney's Animal Kingdom beginning May 26 as part of Walt Disney World's Cool Kids Summer celebration. If the enthusiasm around these characters is any indication, this could quickly become one of the hottest family offerings at the resort this summer. Lightning Brain's daily park report noted that Animal Kingdom posted just a 2/10 (Light) crowd level on Friday, May 15, a 44 percent drop from its 30-day baseline on a clear 90-degree day with no obvious crowd suppressor. Magic Kingdom, by contrast, hit 5/10 (Average) and peaked at 7:00 PM with a 20-minute median wait, a pattern consistent with Friday arrival surges. Space Mountain had a particularly rough day, spending over five collective hours offline across three separate closures, including one that covered the park's entire peak evening period. TRON Lightcycle/Run overlapped with one of those closures, leaving Tomorrowland's two flagship attractions simultaneously unavailable for 44 minutes in mid-afternoon.

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For families weighing summer plans, Walt Disney World's water parks are offering a notable perk. MickeyBlog reports that resort guests receive free water park admission on their check-in day this summer, covering either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon but not both and not transferable to another day.

The Screen

The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues to dominate at the global box office. D23 reports the sequel has earned nearly $440 million across its first two weekends, topping the global charts both times. The D23 piece goes behind the scenes at the Walt Disney Archives, where costume designer Molly Rogers and Archives Director of Operations Joanna Pratt discuss how signature pieces from the original 2006 film, including the iconic cerulean sweater, were pulled from the Archives to serve as both inspiration and direct connection for the sequel. Pratt notes that as The Walt Disney Company has grown to include brands like 20th Century Studios, the Archives' collection has expanded alongside it. The original Devil Wears Prada is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Staying in the Star Wars galaxy, the Mandalorian and Grogu film's premiere took place May 14 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, with reviews embargoed until May 19. WDW News Today flags that early social media reactions have been mixed, with the outlet's recap noting descriptions ranging from "emotionless" to "thrilling." The film opens May 22.

The Vault

The naming of the Meg Gilbert Crofton ferryboat deserves a moment beyond the construction update. According to BlogMickey, Disney confirmed that the tradition of naming ferryboats after Disney legends was established in 1997, and the existing fleet honors Admiral Joe Fowler, General Joe Potter, and Richard F. Irvine. Each of these figures played foundational roles in building Walt Disney World itself. Meg Crofton's addition to that lineage is significant: she is the first woman honored with a ferryboat name, and her portrait will hang on the first deck alongside a plaque sharing her story with guests for generations to come.

Her tenure as Walt Disney World's fourth president coincided with a period of genuine creative ambition at Magic Kingdom. BlogMickey notes she oversaw New Fantasyland, the first major Magic Kingdom expansion in decades, which introduced Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Be Our Guest Restaurant. She also contributed to the opening of Disney's Art of Animation Resort in 2012. That the ferryboat bearing her name will debut ahead of Magic Kingdom's next major expansion era feels like Imagineering drawing a deliberate line between the park's past growth and its future.

Separately, the Cast Member training program behind World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris offers a fascinating window into how Disney builds immersion from the inside out. Disney Experiences reports that nearly 15 months before opening day, Disneyland Paris launched a recruitment effort combining internal mobility, targeted hiring, and a European casting tour. More than 1,200 Cast Members joined new roles across Disney Adventure World, with just 350 selected specifically to become Arendelle's "villagers." Each received what became known as the "letter from the village," written in character from Fredrik, royal emissary of Queens Anna and Elsa. Cast Members received official name badges identifying them as Arendellians, and they were formally welcomed as villagers during a dedicated celebration at the resort. Cast Member Dorine Hermier, an attractions operator and trainer, described being chosen for the opening guest flow team as a "heart-stopping surprise," adding that she felt "speechless, excited, honored, and already imagining the magic ahead." Three weeks after the land opened on March 29, 2026, the impact of that preparation is, by Disney Experiences' account, unmistakable. The approach reflects a philosophy that immersion involves more than just architecture and Audio-Animatronics, as it starts with the people who greet you at the gate.

Sources

Disney Parks Blog · WDW News Today · BlogMickey · Disney Tourist Blog · D23 · The DisInsider · Lightning Brain · MickeyBlog · Disney Experiences