Walt Disney World Railroad Testing, Disneyland Genie, and More News You Missed This Week!

Hello, AllEars Readers!

Although the holidays are usually a quiet time when it comes to Disney news, there have been some pretty major announcements this week. So we’re compiling everything down to the biggest news items so you can get all caught up.

Walt Disney World Railroad Testing

We haven’t seen the Walt Disney World Railroad in Magic Kingdom running in three years due to the TRON Lightcycle Run construction, but testing has started on the railroad, so that’s something.

The Walt Disney World Railroad is getting a refurbishment in its down time.

The railroad has been undergoing a refurbishment during its down time, and although we may not get to ride it anytime soon, we’re looking forward to the day it reopens.

NEWS: Testing Set to Begin SOON for Walt Disney World Railroad!

EPCOT Festival of the Arts

We got a ton of new details about the 2022 EPCOT Festival of the Arts. We now have a full list of food booths, including three NEW booths, for the festival. And we got prices for dining packages for the Disney on Broadway Concert Series that’s returning this year.

We also learned that the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine will return this year. It’s going to be a fun festival.

NEWS: FULL LIST of Food Booths Announced For the 2022 EPCOT Festival of the Arts!

Genie at Disneyland

Disney Genie officially launched at Disneyland this week, and, well, it got off to a rough start. There were glitches with the service, as well as problems with the DAS (Disability Access Service) not working properly within the app.

Perhaps the most surprising thing, though, is seeing that the Individual Attraction Selection for Rise of the Resistance was $20 — $5 more than the highest we’ve seen at Disney World.

PHOTOS: Genie+ is Now in Disneyland Resort — Here’s What’s Different!

Entertainment and After Dark Events Returning To Disneyland

In other Disneyland news, we learned that three After Dark events will return in 2022. This includes Sweethearts’ Nite, Villains Nite, and Star Wars Nite, which will all return to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure in 2022!

Some entertainment will also return to Disneyland next year. Celebrate Gospel!, Tale of the Lion King, the Main Street Electrical Parade, Fantasmic!, World of Color, and the Disneyland Forever Fireworks Spectacular will return to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure in 2022!

This is in addition to the previously-announced return of the Main Street Electrical Parade.

NEWS: The Main Street Electrical Parade, Fantasmic!, and MORE Will Return to Disneyland in 2022

Shang-Chi Gets A Sequel

In movie news, Marvel is currently working on a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with director Destin Daniel Cretton returning to direct.

Disney has not released details about the timeline of the new movie or when we might be able to see it in theaters, but we’ll let you know when we find out.