Parks News: Disney World's Festival of the Lion King Is Getting a New Home

by Leap on August 2, 2013

It's time for the Frog Family's weekly roundup of Disney and Orlando theme park tidbits from the interwebs.

We love comments! Drop us a line below if you have something to share.

This week’s highlights:

After much speculation and months of rumors that the Festival of the Lion King might be going away, Disney confirmed that the popular show isn't ending -- it's just moving to a new theater inside Disney's Animal Kingdom. The announcement follows the recent move of Mickey and Minnie out of Camp Minnie-Mickey to a new meet-and-greet location at Discovery Island. It is expected that these moves will make way for construction on a newly themed "Avatarland." We can't wait for more details!

Those of you who tuned in a few weeks ago will be happy to hear that a name has been chosen for the first Masai giraffe to be born at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The calf is called Mosi, which means first in Swahili.

Foodies, get ready! Aug. 13 is the day to make reservations for premium events at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. While the festival is included with the regular price of admission, these events include parties and special tastings are an additional charge.
And speaking of tastings, the Disney Parks Blog has also revealed the menus for this year's festival. Mommy Frog, the big foodie in the Frog Family, is quite set on trying the Scottish Banoffee Tart with Bananas, Scottish Whisky Toffee, Walkers Shortbread Crumbles and Sweet Cream at the brand new Scotland kiosk. What are you most interested in tasting? Share in comments below!
Over at SeaWorld Orlando, Shark Encounter has been on the receiving end of some new additions and updated bites! Check out the "Shark Screen," where you can get your picture taken inside the mouth of a shark!

It was a monumental week for Universal Orlando, which already celebrated its one millionth "recruit" for Transformers The Ride: 3D, which opened in June.
If that's not enough, the newest area of Universal Studios, Springfield, is expected to be fully open very soon. The “Duff Gardens” waterfront and the newest attraction, Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl, will round out the Simpsons area, which features the namesake ride and Fast Food Boulevard.

We're a week away from the D23 Expo, dedicated to celebrating all things Disney, and the Disney Parks Blog has given us a look at some of the merchandise, including this limited-edition Dooney & Bourke. The conference is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center, conveniently located near the Disneyland Resort.

For those Cars Land fans, who might not be able to make it out to Disney California Adventure Park, there's a new mobile edition of the popular Cars Land Racers game. And for those of you lucky enough to play the game inside the park, you can earn special achievements. Sounds like a winner to me!