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Sailing on a black and white boat with Mickey on the Black and White Island in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

How to complete The Now and Then quest in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Monochrome mayhem.

Jafar’s antics land you on a Black and White Island with no feasible way out in Disney Dreamlight Valley’s A Rift in Time DLC. Luckily for gamers, there’s a friend hidden nearby ready to help you escape in The Now and Then quest.

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Working through this quest can be tricky since you’re completely out of your element on this island and there’s a lot you need to get done. Here’s how to complete The Now and Then in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

The Now and Then guide in Disney Dreamlight Valley

A player thinking on the Black and White Island in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
All the color is gone! Screenshot by Dot Esports

Your goal in The Now and Then quest is to find a way to escape the Black and White Island so you can get back to Eternity Isle and finally stop Jafar. This quest begins immediately after The Palace of Time and can be quite complex to finish, so here’s a complete breakdown to help you through it.

  • Explore the mysterious Black and White Island to find Mickey Mouse.
  • Find the Film Projector.
  • Search the Black and White Island for things you can use to build something.
  • Bring everything to Mickey Mouse.
  • Talk to Mickey Mouse.
  • Pick up Jafar’s lamp and the Spark of Imagination.
  • Find and talk to Merlin.
  • Meet Merlin outside.

Explore the mysterious Black and White Island to find Mickey Mouse in Disney Dreamlight Valley

After being transported to the Black and White Island, your first goal is to find Mickey Mouse. His glitching issues caused him to get trapped here too and he’s up on the hill in the middle of the island, ready to help you.

Talk with Mickey Mouse once you reach him and he mentions a Film Projector that’s nearby and might be of use.

Talking with Mickey Mouse on the Black and White Island in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Luckily, you’re not alone on this eerie island. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Find the Film Projector in Disney Dreamlight Valley

The Film Projector is up on the hill with Mickey Mouse and can be found by heading right from where he’s standing. Interact with this item to add it to your inventory and bring it back over to him.

Talking with Mickey Mouse about this item helps you both realize it’s the very same Film Projector you helped Eve make to close one of the rifts during the Use Your Imagination: Eve quest. This means the other three items you helped villagers make are around the island too and you can use them to find a way out.

Search the Black and White Island for things you can use to build something in Disney Dreamlight Valley

The three Black and White Island items you need to find are Rapunzel’s Lantern, Mickey’s Hot Dog Roaster, and Gaston’s Ship. Both Rapunzel’s Lantern and Mickey’s Hot Dog Roaster can be grabbed right away, but you need a key to access Gaston’s Ship.

ItemImageLocationExplanation
Rapunzel’s LanternRapunzel's Lantern trapped in a rock in Disney Dreamlight Valley. In a rock right by the spot you spawn into the Black and White Island at.Use your Royal Pickaxe to break the rock and pick up Rapunzel’s Lantern.
Mickey’s Hot Dog RoasterMickey's Hot Dog Roaster on the other side of a rock in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Hidden behind a rock up on the hill near Mickey Mouse.Use your Royal Pickaxe to break the rock that’s blocking your way, then use your Royal Shovel to dig up Mickey’s Hot Dog Roaster.
Gaston’s ShipThe chest with Gaston's Ship in it in Disney Dreamlight Valley. In a chest inside a small cave behind a rock.Find the small cave blocked by a rock on the island. It’s near the ramp leading up to the hill Mickey Mouse is on. Break the rock blocking your path using your Royal Pickaxe then open the chest with the key to get Gaston’s Ship.

The key you need to unlock the chest containing Gaston’s Ship can be fished out of the water surrounding the island using your Royal Fishing Rod. There are several ripple spots around the island, so fish in each one you see until you find the key.

Bring everything to Mickey Mouse in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Once you have all three items, bring them back to Mickey Mouse so you can work out a plan to escape. Together, you decide to build a boat that can fly up into the rift in the sky, which helps you get back into Jafar’s throne room so you can finally stop him.

Talk to Mickey Mouse in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Back on Eternity Isle, proceed through the dialogue with Jafar to trap him inside a lamp, then talk with Mickey Mouse. You speak about everything that has happened and discuss what to do next, which leads to you grabbing both Jafar’s lamp and the Spark of Imagination.

Pick up Jafar’s lamp and the Spark of Imagination in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Grab Jafar’s lamp from the ground right in front of the throne. You need this item if you want to unlock Jafar. Then, walk over to the bright orb right in front of where Jafar’s lamp was and pick it up to obtain the Spark of Imagination.

Grabbing the Spark of Imagination in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
The island is finally safe. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Find and talk to Merlin in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Take the Spark of Imagination to Merlin, who has finally made his way into Jafar’s place. He should be hanging out near the entrance and you can talk with him to decide what to do with this powerful item now.

Meet Merlin outside in Disney Dreamlight Valley

After speaking with Merlin, head outside to meet up with him and the rest of the Eternity Isle group. Watch the short cutscene that plays as you give the Spark of Imagination to all the villagers, then The Now and Then quest will be complete as the credits for the A Rift in Time DLC roll.

This isn’t the last quest in this expansion pass, but it’s the last major story one, which is why the credits play. Before you move on, make sure you watch the short clip after the credits for A Rift In Time because there’s a massive teaser for future game content.

If you accidentally miss this teaser, I’ll spoil it here, so don’t read any further unless you want to know what the teaser is.

Hades and Maleficent in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
They’re my two favorite villains, so I can’t wait. Screenshot by Dot Esports

A Rift in Time ends with a storybook featuring Hades from Hercules and Maleficient from Sleeping Beauty, which means they’re likely arriving in the valley sometime in the future. Jafar was previously teased in a pretty similar way before he was added to Disney Dreamlight Valley. They’re not part of this DLC, though, so once this scene ends, you’re officially done with all major story quests in this pack.


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Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Disney Dreamlight Valley, Fortnite, Minecraft, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.