Animal Kingdom's Kangaroos Are Almost Ready for Their Close-Up

Jumping Junction Is Open, and Disney Says Full Access Is Coming

There is a small path inside Disney's Animal Kingdom where, right now, a Cast Member leads a handful of guests at a time through a habitat full of Western Grey Kangaroos, Red Kangaroos, and Red-necked Wallabies. The walk takes five to ten minutes. Touching the animals is off limits. And when it is over, the guests leave knowing they experienced something that most people passing through the park have not yet been invited to do.

That is about to change. BlogMickey reports that Walt Disney World has confirmed plans to expand Jumping Junction from its current limited soft opening into a full walk-through experience open to every guest. The habitat, tied into the Bluey's Wild World area and nodding to the show's Australian roots, is currently capped at fewer than 100 guests per hour. Each small group gets a quick rules briefing before entering. Wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers are not yet permitted, though Disney says that will change as the experience evolves.

The pace of that evolution is deliberately slow, and the reason is the animals themselves. Zoological Manager Maggie told BlogMickey that the team is "acclimating the kangaroos and wallabies to be comfortable with guests in their space" and "allowing the animals to let us know when they're ready." No target date has been set for the full rollout. Disney is exercising restraint here because a walk-through animal habitat only works if the animals are calm and habituated. Push the timeline and you get stressed animals and a diminished experience. Let the kangaroos set the clock and you get something that could become one of Animal Kingdom's most memorable encounters.

Multiple kangaroos in the habitat are currently carrying joeys, which means the population is growing alongside the experience itself. For a park whose identity has always been rooted in authentic animal encounters rather than purely mechanical thrills, Jumping Junction represents a meaningful expansion of what Animal Kingdom can offer. It is also the kind of quiet, immersive moment that tends to become a guest favorite, the thing people mention first when they get home.

The Parks

If Jumping Junction is Animal Kingdom's newest story, the Treehouse Villas at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort are one of Walt Disney World's oldest getting a fresh chapter. Disney Parks Blog published an exclusive first look inside the reimagined villas, and the results are striking. The refresh draws on New England craftsmanship and the Arts and Crafts movement, pairing a rich color palette with natural wood and stone finishes. Each three-bedroom villa still sleeps up to nine guests and includes a full kitchen, in-room washer and dryer, and private deck. Essentially everything you see and touch has changed: new furniture, fixtures, textiles, and wall art, all threaded with Disney storytelling in ways that reward close attention.

According to Disney Parks Blog, more than a dozen nature scenes and characters from Disney Animation films and shorts appear throughout the design. The Fox and the Hound and Sleeping Beauty come to life through wall murals and fine art paintings. Familiar friends from Cinderella appear carved into the furnishings or perched high in the architecture. The renovation will be completed later this year, with reimagined villas debuting over the coming months. For Disney Vacation Club members who have always loved the Treehouse Villas for their seclusion and space, the refresh adds a layer of visual sophistication the originals never quite achieved.

Over at EPCOT, a quieter addition has opened that solves a real problem for guests navigating the park on hot summer days. TouringPlans reports that the Light Lounge at the Odyssey is now open, offering snacks and seats in a building located on the path between Test Track and World Showcase. The Odyssey has cycled through various uses over the years, and turning it into a climate-controlled rest stop with food is a practical, unglamorous decision that actually improves the guest experience. On a 95-degree day, which is exactly what Walt Disney World delivered on June 15, a shaded seat and a cold drink are worth more than almost any souvenir.

Speaking of that heat: our Daily Park Report for June 15 captured a fourth straight day of EPCOT finishing as the busiest park at Walt Disney World, posting a 5/10 (Average) with an 18-minute median wait, roughly a fifth heavier than its 30-day baseline. Magic Kingdom came in right behind at 5/10 (Average), while Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom both settled at a more comfortable 4/10 (Moderate). The 95-degree high pushed a uniform 11:00 AM peak at every gate, as summer crowds front-loaded their touring and then retreated to air conditioning or the pool. The afternoon brought a rough stretch of downtime: Spaceship Earth went down at 4:45 PM and never reopened, Expedition Everest was offline for nearly three hours, and Magic Kingdom lost both Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for extended stretches during prime touring hours. Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios stacked three separate closures across the day.

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One more Walt Disney World operational note worth flagging: WDW News Today reports that the Disney Springs resort bus verification process is becoming permanent after July 4th. The system, which checks that guests boarding resort buses at Disney Springs are actually staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel, had been in a testing phase. Making it permanent signals Disney's intent to manage transportation capacity more tightly as summer crowds build.

The Screen

Stanley Tucci conquered Italy in two seasons of his National Geographic docuseries. Now he is turning to the country he has called home for nearly 15 years. WDW News Today reports that Disney has announced Tucci in Great Britain, a five-episode spinoff that will follow the actor and food enthusiast on a culinary journey from the Scottish Highlands to the English coastlines. The series will stream on Disney+, Hulu, and National Geographic.

"I am very excited to explore the history, culture and people of Great Britain through the prism of food," Tucci said in the announcement, as reported by WDW News Today, which noted that The Hollywood Reporter first detailed the project. Tom McDonald, executive vice president of National Geographic content, called Tucci "one of a kind" and promised the series would "delight and surprise." The show is produced by Salt Productions and OBB, with Tucci and Lottie Birmingham executive producing for Salt. For fans of the original, the format is familiar. For anyone who has dismissed British cuisine as bland, Tucci seems determined to change your mind.

Meanwhile, in a collision of two beloved cultural institutions, D23 has announced that The Muppets are coming to Marvel Comics for the first time. The Muppets Take The Marvel Universe #1, a one-shot arriving in September, celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show with stories uniting Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of the gang with Spider-Man, Black Panther, Wolverine, and more. Eisner-winning writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Pete Woods lead the creative lineup. "It's impossible to overstate how excited I was to write for Miss Piggy, whom I consider to be one of the greatest icons of the last hundred years," Zdarsky said, according to D23. The one-shot follows last year's Muppets homage variant covers and will be accompanied by new Muppet variant covers across Marvel titles throughout September.

Disney has also released "Along The Way," an original song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the upcoming live-action Moana. The track is performed by Catherine Laga'aia, who portrays Moana in the film, alongside Dwayne Johnson, according to reports. Miranda's return to the franchise that produced "How Far I'll Go" gives the live-action version its own musical identity instead of simply replicating the animated soundtrack.

The Vault

Disney Cruise Line is in the middle of an unprecedented stretch of special offers, and the latest batch extends the trend. DCL Blog reports that 193 different sail dates are now available with special pricing, stretching into May 2027 from ports including Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Port Canaveral, San Diego, Southampton, and Vancouver. The sheer volume of discounted sailings is notable for a cruise line that historically held firm on pricing.

Separately, the Concierge experience aboard the Disney Adventure, DCL's newest and largest ship sailing short itineraries out of Singapore, is charting its own course. According to Touring Plans, as reported by our sister publication Cruise Deets Daily, the Concierge program on the Adventure changes the formula in at least ten significant ways compared to earlier ships. The Adventure was designed in partnership for the Asian market, and DCL appears willing to tailor its most premium product to regional expectations rather than stamping the same blueprint across every hull. For longtime DCL loyalists, this is worth watching. Concierge upgrades on newer ships have sometimes previewed amenities that later appeared elsewhere in the fleet.

Finally, The Walt Disney Company reaffirmed its commitment to the military community with the return of the Disney Veterans Institute, a complimentary one-day seminar held June 4 in Washington, D.C. The event, part of a 2026 multi-city series under Disney's Heroes Work Here initiative, brought together policy leaders, HR professionals, and advocates to discuss veteran and military spouse employment. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins delivered the keynote, according to a Walt Disney Company press release. Tinisha Agramonte, Disney's Senior Vice President and Chief Opportunity and Inclusion Officer, called the day's theme "community," noting that as a military spouse herself, the work is deeply personal. The event closed with a surprise visit from Mickey Mouse, because even a room full of policy experts deserves a moment of magic.

Sources

BlogMickey · Disney Parks Blog · TouringPlans · Lightning Brain · WDW News Today · D23 · DCL Blog · Walt Disney Company