TRON Testing, Park Pass Updates, and MORE Disney News You Missed This Week

Okay, so it’s been a bit of a quiet week for Disney. But that definitely doesn’t mean that nothing happened!

Even Disney’s quiet weeks have some pretty big news stories. And in between the updates, we’re still busy tracking wait times at Disney World, keeping you updated on what’s going on with Disney Cruise Line, offering our best tips to help you out during your vacation, and more. But there was still SOME news this week, so here are the five biggest stories.

Disney’s Q2 Earnings Call and Report

This week, The Walt Disney Company released its Quarterly Earnings Report for the second quarter of 2022, and they also held an earnings call about the report. Disney announced that its diluted earnings per share from continuing operations decreased during its second quarter from $0.50 to $0.26 from the prior-year quarter, and the diluted EPS (excluding certain things) increased from $0.79 to $1.08.

Revenue grew 23% for the second quarter and 20% over six months. During the second quarter of 2022, the revenues for the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division increased to $6.7 billion compared to $3.2 billion at the same time last year.

Disney+ is growing, too. As of April 2022, Disney+ had 137.7 million subscribers, up 33% since the same time last year and up 7.9 million since Q1. And Disney CEO Bob Chapek also gave an update on the Park Pass Reservations system, implying that the system could be around for a long time.

Check out the update on Disney World’s Park Pass Reservation system here.

TRON Ride Moves Into Next Phase of Testing

In Magic Kingdom, TRON Lightcycle Run has moved into its next phase of ride testing. We previously saw parts of vehicle trains moving slowly on the tracks in what’s called “push/pull” testing, but this week, we saw full trains of Lightcycles being tested at incremental speeds, followed by testing of the vehicles at full speed.

Eventually, Imagineers will put weights in the ride vehicles for testing, followed by real people. Disney still has not yet released an opening timeline for the ride, though.

VIDEO: Watch the FIRST full-speed test for Disney World’s TRON coaster here.

‘Encanto’ Becomes Part of Nighttime Show

If you happen to catch Disney Hollywood Studios‘ Wonderful World of Animation nighttime show, you might notice a new scene has been added. That’s right, a whole new scene dedicated to Encanto is now part of the show.

This new section of the show includes scenes and colorful designs from the movie. So be sure to catch it if you’re a big Encanto fan!

‘Encanto’ is now part of a nighttime show in Disney World!

‘The Soul of Jazz’ Exhibit Is Headed to Disneyland

If you’ve been to EPCOT recently, you might have seen “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” at the American Adventure Pavilion in World Showcase. The exhibit features historical memorabilia and details about the history of jazz music in America. Now, that exhibit is headed to Disneyland.

The exhibit will be available from June 1st to July 4th in Downtown Disney, next to the Star Wars Trading Post. It’s all part of Disneyland’s Celebrate Soulfully event highlighting Black heritage and culture.

Learn more about ‘The Soul of Jazz’ exhibit’s move to Disneyland.

Tale of the Lion King Show Returning to Disneyland

The Tale of the Lion King show has been entertaining guests at Disneyland since 2019. However, since the park reopened in 2021, the show has not been available. But Disney recently announced that the show, which retells the saga of The Lion King, will return soon!

Disney previously announced that Tale of the Lion King would return in 2022, but now we know exactly when. Performances will start again at Disneyland’s Fantasyland Theatre on May 28th.

Learn more about the return of Disney’s Tale of the Lion King show.

So there you have it — the biggest Disney news of the week. If you want to stay updated on ALL Disney news, though, be sure to check back with us often!