Happy Sunday! We’re back with another recap of the week’s biggest Disney news stories!
Last Sunday Hurricane Irma meant the closure of the Walt Disney World Resort for two days. The theme parks reopened on September 12 with mostly minimal damage.
The Walt Disney Company announced a $2.5 million donation to the relief efforts following Hurricane Irma.
In non-hurricane news, J.J. Abrams was announced as the writer and director for Star Wars: Episode IX.
An extended sneak preview of Disney/Pixar’s Coco is coming to the Disney Parks in November.
The Magic Kingdom is hosting several …

J.J. Abrams, the writer and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been tapped to finish the latest trilogy, writing and directing Star Wars: Episode IX.
Last week it was announced that Lucasfilm and then-Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow had parted ways.
Trevorrow’s departure was the second high profile departure from a Star Wars film this summer. Earlier this summer Ron Howard took over the stand-alone Han Solo film from Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Lucasfilm said of Trevorrow’s departure that “we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for …

Happy last day of April! It’s been a busy week of Disney news so let’s dive right in.
We started the week with the highly anticipated announcement of the 2017 Disney World Free Dining Offer.
The free dining offer gives guests at most Walt Disney World Resort a FREE Disney Dining Plan with a minimum 3-night stay at at WDW hotel and a minimum 2-day Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus ticket.
The 2017 D23 Expo is July 14-16 this year and we found out additional details about the lineup of presentations at …

The Force is strong with this story – the official release date for Star Wars: Episode IX has been announced.
The final installment in the new Star Wars trilogy (starting with Episode VII) will be released in theaters on May 24, 2019.
Yes, we still have to wait two years to see how the trilogy ends.
Episode IX will be directed by Colin Trevorrow.
In other movie news, Disney also announced that the next chapter of the Indiana Jones saga will be released on July 1o, 2020.
The fifth movie will be directed by Steven …

If you can’t get enough Star Wars in your life, listen up! The release dates for the next five Star Wars films have been announced.
Several of the films are anthology films – not directly related to the new trilogy.
You only have to wait until December 16 for Rouge One: A Star Wars Story. This film stars Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, and Mads Mikkelsen and tells the story of a band of Rebel fighters who are planning to steal the plans for the Death Star.
Next up is Star Wars: Episode VIII …

The next Star Wars film, Episode VIII, will be directed by Rian Johnson, best-known for directing films including Looper and several memorable episodes of Breaking Bad.
Johnson will also write the script for Star Wars: Episode VIII according to several sources. Ram Bergman will be part of the production team for Episode VIII.
Deadline is also reporting that Johnson will direct Episode IX, but other sources say that’s merely a rumor, although it is likely he will give his input into the story for the final episode of the new trilogy.
Johnson’s hiring …