This week at Walt Disney World, entertainment layoffs rock the resort, a highly-anticipated EPCOT project hits a milestone, plus a new virtual queue system is set to debut next week at Disney's Hollywood Studios. 

Outside Walt Disney World, Universal debuts a new Halloween Horror Nights house for one weekend only, a 2021 house is revealed, plus a resort un-closes to help deal with anticipated high crowds this winter. 

1. Entertainment layoffs rock Walt Disney World as future of shows remains uncertain

The biggest news out of Walt Disney World this week was undoubtedly the massive 90% cutback of the resort's entertainment division, which has put the futures of over a dozen shows in doubt. Though Disney responded to criticisms online by releasing a statement saying that entertainment with return at some point, with no indication of when or what will return, fans are left to speculate what will happen to their favorite shows. 

2. New virtual queue process at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance kicks off this week

In an effort to reduce early morning crowding at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney has announced that guests with a valid ticket or annual pass and a Disney Park Pass reservation for the park will be able to access the virtual "boarding group" queue system beginning at 7:00 AM on the day of their park reservation, regardless of where they are. Boarding groups can be accessed from Disney resort hotel, or wherever else nearby a guest might be at that time. 

And though this early morning boarding group will now be available to all guests regardless of where they are, the "second chance" virtual queue that opens at 2:00 PM daily for anyone who wasn’t already able to join a boarding group earlier in the day will still be location-locked, and guests must be inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios to access this additional virtual queue opportunity. 

3. New entrance signage being installed around Walt Disney World

Work began this week on the redesigns of iconic Walt Disney World resort entrances that will include a new look and the removal of the Year of a Million Dreams tagline at the following locations: 

• World Drive
• World Center Drive
• Western Way
• Osceola Parkway
• Hotel Plaza Boulevard