Imagineering Is Building Indiana Jones Fast and Muppets Are Everywhere

Three Permits in One Month: Indiana Jones Is Moving at Expedition Speed

Walt Disney Imagineering filed its third set installation permit in a month for the Indiana Jones attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the cadence alone tells a story worth paying attention to. WDW News Today reports that the latest permit, filed May 27, contracts Icarus Exhibits Inc to install set elements at 501 Restaurantosaurus Rd, the address of the former DINOSAUR attraction. The permit expires on a specific date, April 14, 2027, rather than the standard one-year window, which is an unusual detail that has not yet been explained.

Three permits in roughly thirty days suggest Imagineering is flooding the building with work. The attraction will reuse the existing ride track, which is already nearly identical to Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. But according to WDW News Today, the set pieces are one of the biggest ways the new version will distinguish itself from DINOSAUR. A Maya temple facade will rise in front of the old Dino Institute building, anchoring the attraction within the broader Tropical Americas land that is replacing DinoLand U.S.A.

For guests who loved DINOSAUR's bone-rattling Enhanced Motion Vehicles but always wished the attraction had the narrative depth and scenic detail of the Disneyland original, this is the project that closes that gap. And the permit pace matters because Tropical Americas is slated to open in 2027. Every filing is a signal that the timeline is holding. When Imagineering is moving this fast on set installation, the structural and mechanical work underneath is already far along. The temple is coming.

The Parks

The biggest demand story at Walt Disney World right now has nothing to do with a mountain or a starship. It belongs to two animated Australian cattle dogs. WDW News Today reports that the virtual queue for Bluey's Wild World at Conservation Station filled almost instantly on its second day of operation, May 27. Guests attempting to join even a second or two after the 7:00 a.m. distribution were met with a closed queue. The same thing happened on opening day, and the pattern will likely continue for weeks.

Disney has stated previously that the experience will move to a regular standby queue at some point, likely when demand subsides. For now, guests can attempt to join the virtual queue at 7:00 a.m. without being inside Disney's Animal Kingdom, or at 10:00 a.m. if they have already entered the park. TouringPlans notes that joining a virtual queue does not guarantee entrance. Guests may only enter once per day per experience. If you are planning to try, make sure your My Disney Experience app is fully updated before that 7:00 a.m. window. The experience, part of Walt Disney World's Cool Kids' Summer offerings, features games, activities, dancing, and appearances by Bluey and Bingo.

Meanwhile, the reimagined Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets at Hollywood Studios is revealing itself to be one of the most detail-rich queue experiences Imagineering has built in years. Disney Parks Blog published a deep dive into the easter eggs layered throughout the new G-Force Records building, and the list is substantial. Kermit's original banjo from "The Rainbow Connection" has been recreated for display after the real one was donated to the Walt Disney Archives. Both Floyd and Janice's guitars on display are originals from The Muppet Show. Props transported directly from the now-closed Muppet*Vision 3D include shipping crates, Gonzo's stunt airplane, the cannon the penguins used to aim at Swedish Chef, and Statler and Waldorf's balcony chairs from the theater.

The queue is designed as backstage access to The Muppets' greatest hits rather than a waiting area, according to Disney Parks Blog. The gallery case room is "curated" by Yolanda the Rat. Gonzo has opened a stunt school. PizzeRizzo pizza boxes are stacked nearby. Even the Mona Lisa from Mama Melrose's has found a new home in the alley. For Muppet fans who mourned the closure of Muppet*Vision 3D, the attraction is making good on an implicit promise: nothing was lost, it was all relocated to a place where millions more guests will see it, at 60 miles per hour.

On the deals front, Disney Experiences published a sweeping overview of summer savings across Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line. At Walt Disney World, the 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket starts at $109 per day (total starting at $436 plus tax) for visits between May 26 and October 3. An After 2 P.M. Ticket starts at $235 plus tax for two days. Florida residents can grab a 2-day ticket for $219 plus tax, a 3-day for $239, or a 4-day for $259. Guests staying at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel between May 26 and September 8 get free admission to one water park on check-in day, with both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach open. Disney+ subscribers enrolled in the Disney+ Perks program can access rates starting at $99 per night at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort.

Over at Disneyland, BlogMickey reports that Magic Key holders who renew between May 27, 2026, and May 26, 2027, will receive a Disney Dining Card loaded with value that scales by pass tier: $100 for Inspire, $75 for Believe, $50 for Explore, and $25 for Imagine. The card arrives via email within 72 hours and works at participating food and beverage locations within the Disneyland Resort. It cannot be used at Downtown Disney District locations, for merchandise, or toward the renewal itself. For passholders who eat inside the parks regularly, the top-tier card essentially knocks a meaningful amount off the annual renewal cost.

And if you want data to back up your rope drop alarm, Lightning Brain analyzed over 7 million wait time data points from 2025 across all four Walt Disney World parks and found that arriving at park open saves guests significant time. At Magic Kingdom, Tiana's Bayou Adventure posts a 7-minute wait at 8:00 a.m. but climbs to 46 minutes by noon. Pirates of the Caribbean jumps from 5 minutes to 28. Haunted Mansion goes from 13 to 36. Stack five popular attractions at opening versus noon, and the data shows a savings of 143 minutes of queue time. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, the swing is even larger: Kilimanjaro Safaris averages 11 minutes before 7:30 a.m. and 44 minutes by noon. Na'vi River Journey follows the same curve, from roughly 11 minutes to nearly 56. The 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. window is where wait times climb fastest park-wide, with a 33 percent increase in average waits in just two hours.

Planning your Disney trip? Download Lightning Brain from the App Store or visit lightningbrain.app to optimize every minute of your park day.

The Screen

Star Wars is having a moment it has not had in years. Disney Food Blog reports that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which hit theaters May 22, earned over $100 million in domestic box office sales during its opening weekend. The film cost $300 million to produce, and The DisInsider, citing Variety, pegs the domestic opening estimate at $102 million over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The fan score on Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at 89 percent, which Disney Food Blog notes is the highest fan score any Star Wars film has received since the franchise merged with Disney.

The opening weekend also brought new Mandalorian-themed missions to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at both Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. Disney Food Blog describes the film as the first in an unofficial rebrand of the Star Wars franchise, after Disney shifted away from a quantity-over-quality approach. Whether the box office legs hold through June will determine how much momentum this carries into whatever comes next for the franchise, but the opening signal is strong.

On the smaller screen, Sofia the First: Royal Magic premiered May 25 on Disney Jr. and landed on Disney+ the following day with its first eight episodes. According to The Walt Disney Company, the original Sofia the First series, which premiered in 2012, has accumulated more than 3 billion hours watched and over $1 billion in retail sales. Creator Craig Gerber, who returns as executive producer, told D23 that the new series sends Sofia to The Charmswell School for Royal Magic. "Sofia always had a little bit of magic," Gerber said, "so then I thought, 'What if we went a little further down that road?'" Ariel Winter returns as the voice of Sofia. The series features updated CG animation that Gerber says gets "much closer to that feature animation quality than ever before."

And Toy Story 5 is building its marketing footprint well before its release. MickeyBlog reports that Papa Johns will open four Pizza Planet pop-up experiences in June, located in London, Seoul, Madrid, and Los Angeles. The pop-ups will serve a new line of Toy Story 5 personal pizzas launching June 1, along with exclusive packaging, collectibles, and merchandise. Giveaways will feature items from adidas, Belkin, and more. "Papa Johns Pizza Planet pop-ups give fans a chance to step inside that world and create new memories together," said Lylle Breier, EVP of Partnerships and Events at The Walt Disney Studios. For U.S. fans who cannot visit a pop-up, Papa Johns is also launching its first in-app game, Operation Pizza, which will unlock Papa Rewards perks.

The Vault

Disney Cruise Line is in an era of rapid expansion, and the deal sheet reflects it. DCL Blog reports that as of May 25, Disney Cruise Line has reached an unprecedented level of special offers, with 178 different sail dates now available extending through May 2027 from ports including Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Port Canaveral, San Diego, and Southampton. That volume of discounted sailings is a direct consequence of fleet growth. More ships mean more inventory to fill, and more inventory means more competitive pricing for guests who are flexible on timing.

WDW Prep School's recap of a five-night Alaska sailing on the Disney Magic offers a useful comparison for anyone weighing ship options. The review highlights Glacier Viewing Day and Frozen-themed activities as standouts on the Magic, along with the ship's waterslide and stage shows. The Wonder, by contrast, gets the edge for service and food. For guests choosing between the two classic ships, the tradeoff is clear: the Magic delivers spectacle, the Wonder delivers polish.

Sources

WDW News Today · Disney Parks Blog · Disney Food Blog · BlogMickey · MickeyBlog · TouringPlans · Disney Experiences · Walt Disney Company · D23 · The DisInsider · DCL Blog · WDW Prep School · Lightning Brain