Space 220, ruining the Magic, Disney-verse on its head: this week in Disney review Part 1

There were so many goings-on, going on this week in Disney news that we had to break up the Week in Disney Review into two parts!

From a new preview of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride at EPCOT to the discovery of a real-life African princess, this has been an incredible week of Disney news. And in case you’ve been working late, entertaining your mother-in-law, or rearranging your sock drawer and missed anything, here’s part one of your DisneyDining Week in Review.

The Muppets tell Frank Oz to “beat it.”

Ok, so maybe the edict didn’t come from the Muppets. But we learned this week that veteran film director, Muppeteer and Master Yoda’s voice creator, Frank Oz, has not been asked to work on any Muppets projects in years. (He wasn’t even consulted about Baby Yoda, aka “Grogu” from The Mandalorian.)

“I’d love to do the Muppets again,” Oz confessed, “but Disney won’t have me.”

And Oz says he knows why: “They don’t want me because I won’t follow orders, and I won’t do the kind of Muppets they believe in.”

TikTok user ruins the Magic on several popular dark rides.

TikTok user “everythingdisney133” turns out a lot of content on his TikTok account. But what he ought to be turning out is the lights.

The popular TikTok user has posted several videos on his channel during which he experiences popular Disney World dark attractions with the lights on. His videos include recordings of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, the Rise of the Resistance experience, and the DINOSAUR attraction with all the lights turned on, and you won’t believe what we saw inside the Peter Pan’s Flight attraction once the ride went from dark to light!

Greece is coming to the World Showcase at EPCOT.

That’s IF a volunteer group in the Mediterranean country can persuade Disney to make it happen. Volunteers and Disney World enthusiasts at the Hellenic Electronics Center (HEC) in Greece have banded together and created rough concept art and an online petition through which they hope to gain support for having a Greece-inspired pavilion at the World Showcase at EPCOT.

It’s been 33 years since a new country was added to the Showcase, and while it may sound like a stretch, there are 3 things we’ll say for the HEC volunteers: they are dedicated, they are passionate, and they already have nearly 4,000 petition signatures representing countries from all over the globe.

Epcot’s outer space restaurant is coming to earth on September 20.

We finally have an opening date for the long-awaited Space 220 restaurant that was talked about at length during the 2019 D23 Expo!

Guests will have an out-of-this-world experience beginning September 20 as they dine 220 miles about the earth’s surface at Space 220, which is located in the Mission: SPACE pavilion at EPCOT.

The entire Disney-verse is on its head this week!

When announcements were made about the completely revamped annual pass program at Walt Disney World, some were happy. A couple were elated. And some fans were infuriated, wasting no time to say so via social media.

Whoever in Disney corporate made the decision to kill the Epcot After 4 annual pass is an absolute dumbass. The boomer crowd from Winter Park and surrounding areas spends a SILLY amount of money on Epcot dining with the after 4 pass. Absolutely dumb to stop it

— Bret’s Theme Park Microtransactions (@Schmoofy) August 30, 2021

A few even think they’ve come up with something better than Disney World’s new overpriced-underperked pass; it’s call the hard pass.

🚨BREAKING🚨

Disney revealed an additional Pass type: the “Hard Pass”

It’s overpriced, has tons of blockout dates, minimal discounts, and doesn’t include parking, water parks, or photos.

On sale now!!

— KRIS MEETS W🌏RLD (@krismeetsworld) August 30, 2021

Stick around for part 2 of your DisneyDining Week in Review!