Unfortunately, right now CineSational is just that little bit less spectacular because the show has suspended the use of drones following an incident in Orlando just before Christmas. While the decision is the right one, I hope that it’s fixed quickly, as the best part of the entire show requires drones to be properly experienced.

Universal Studios Florida Has Stopped Using Drones In The CineSational Spectacular

On Christmas Eve, Universal Orlando Resort announced that it was “suspending” the use of drones in its nightly show CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular. The show pays tribute to movie music through the use of water effects, fireworks, projection mapping, and, until now, drones lighting up the sky.

While no official reason for the suspension was given, the announcement followed an incident in Orlando last weekend when a holiday drone show saw some sort of malfunction that resulted in a drone crashing into the crowd. A seven-year-old boy was injured and required open heart surgery as a result.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating the incident, but it seems Universal likely decided to put their drones on hold as a precaution. Whatever the cause of the accident, Universal certainly doesn’t want anything like that to happen to their show, so they may be waiting until the investigation is complete in order to be sure their own show is safe before continuing.

Drones Are Key To CineSational’s Coolest Moment

I am entirely in favor of Universal halting drones temporarily. However, I certainly hope the issue is resolved soon and the drones can return to service, because CineSational is absolutely one of the best nighttime shows at any theme park right now. It's also one of the best attractions at Universal Studios Florida, but its best moment isn’t the same without the drones.

I got to preview CineSational over the summer when the show opened alongside the opening of the new Dreamworks land, and I was absolutely blown away by a single moment. During a sequence of Back to the Future music, the show’s different elements combine to create a racing DeLorean projected on a screen of water, while drones form a bolt of lightning that strikes a projection-mapped clock tower and explodes in fireworks.

I’m sure this sequence works OK without drones, but it’s going to be a lot better with them. Drones have added a new facet to nighttime shows that we didn’t have just a few years ago and they truly elevate the experience. Disney World briefly added a drone show over the summer as well which was a highlight.

I certainly don’t want to see people get hurt, so I’m not arguing drones should be reinstated before they’re ready. I just hope they’re ready soon so as many people as possible can see an incredible show the way it was meant to be seen.

Original story continues below...

When popular theme park attractions get replaced you can be sure there will be those sad to see them go. Every ride or show is somebody’s favorite. You need only look at the fans disappointed by the apparent end of Muppet Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the removal of the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom. But there’s a roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida that hs been rumored to be getting replaced, and with news this morning that makes that replacement all but certain, I’m not shedding any tears.

The death of Universal Studios Florida’s Rip Ride Rockit has apparently not been greatly exaggerated. At least according to Orlando ParkStop’s Permit Princess Alicia Stella. She has revealed permits that were filled just before Christmas that have to do with water drainage on the site currently occupied by the coaster. The permit specifically calls for the removal of the existing attraction and replacement with another, as well as the construction of multiple new buildings.

New Permits Signal The End Of Rip Ride Rockit

While Universal Orlando Resort has not made any official announcement, this is about as close to confirmation as it’s possible to get without either an official press release or watching construction equipment actually pull out the existing track Rip Ride Rockit track out of the ground. This also confirms that we’re not getting a simple attraction re-theme or some other update of the existing attraction, but something entirely new. The footprint of the new work is actually larger than the current coaster.

The only questions now are just how much longer the existing ride has before it closes, and just what will be replacing it. It’s been suggested in the past that we could be getting a family friendly Minion coaster, as Rip Ride Rockit exists on the outskirts of the Minions mini-land. It’s also been rumored that Universal Studios Florida could be getting its own Fast & Furious roller coaster, perhaps a version of the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster currently under construction at Universal Studios Hollywood. Intamin, the coaster manufacturer behind Hollywood Drift, is also set to be working on something new at Universal Orlando, likely this same project.

Stella suggests that considering some of the work is happening behind the still in place Ghostbusters facade, perhaps a Ghostbusters coaster is on the way. That would be amazing. Here at CinemaBlend, it’s been suggested that Universal needs to not sleep on the Wicked franchise, and that a Defying Gravity coaster should be seriously considered.

Rip Ride Rockit Is The Worst Universal Orlando Coaster

For various reasons Rip Ride Rockit was the last of the current Universal Orlando roller coasters that I actually rode, but I now wish I’d skipped it entirely. It’s not a great coaster, especially when compared to everything else that Universal Orlando has to offer. Revenge of the Mummy is far superior to it and the two coasters at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Hagrid’s and the Velocicoaster, leave it in the dust.

Add to that all the roller coasters that are coming to Epic Universe when it opens next year, and Rip Ride Rockit just looks more out of place. While we certainly haven’t ridden them yet, there are three coasters at Epic Universe, one in the new Dark Universe land, one in the How to Train Your Dragon area, and one in the Celestial Gardens entrance area, that all look incredible.

It’s not even confirmed that what’s replacing Rockit is a coaster, but that seems likely, and whatever it is, it will have to be better than what’s there. 2025 is only looking up if you’re a theme park fan.

Per some other Universal Orlando superfans, this month signing finally went up announcing Epic Universe. And when I say signage, I mean a huge AF signal to frequent parkgoers about what is to come (though frequent visitors probably know at this point it’s coming). While it’s a big, but small thing to note, it’s really making the theme park feel more real to me.

While the sign is big, I could see how some might see it as a small thing in the scheme of things. However, I’m the type of person who loves the details, like when ET: Adventure got a new sign when Shrekland opened. Or when I rode Velocicoaster for the first time and found out four raptors were loose on the ride! Every time I explore a park there are new and interesting details to collect and store in my theme park mind palace.

The signage in the parking garage already talks about Universal’s three epic theme parks, but right now, that’s actually counting water park Volcano Bay as Theme Park #3. It’ll be interesting to me to see if the signage changes to four once Epic Universe opens its queues for the first time.

We’ve ramped up a lot in recent months with the first look at the park as a whole and all of its mega ins and outs in terms of lands and attractions. Within each of these niches, there are fans, and because we're not talking just one ride or one section of a park, fans are excited about a lot of different stuff coming down the pipeline.

A lot of people are excited about the new Dark Universe portion of the park. And I know more than one person who is interested in staying in the new Helios Grand hotel. For me, personally, it’s going to probably be Harry Potter and The Battle Of The Ministry of Magic that keeps me up at night (though in usual fashion some Potter fans have some questions). In short, there’s a lot we already know about Epic Universe, but learning more just makes me wish I had a Delorean handy so I could travel to the future and back.

Of course, it’s maybe not as much fun as it could be right now, because based on wait times, Walt Disney World is pretty slammed, so if you’re going to be visiting over the next couple of weeks, get ready to either deal with crowds or pay to avoid them.

It’s Very Busy At Disney World For The Holidays

A quick look at the app for Walt Disney World shows that you’d better have a plan of attack if you’re entering theme parks over the next couple of weeks. While wait times aren’t necessarily any higher than they have been at this time in previous years, this is one of the periods where wait times tend to be higher in general, as lots of people are off work and school and so it’s a good time to visit theme parks.

Blog Mickey marked Tron: Lightcycle Run at over 100 minutes earlier today, which is a bit higher than it's used to seeing. The Tron coaster only recently added a standby line, so this is the first holiday season that it has even had that option. Avatar: Flight of Passage, always one of the longest lines at Disney World, as of this writing, has a wait time approaching three hours.

Planning, And Paying, In Advance Can Solve Some Line Problems

While you’re never going to avoid lines at Disney World all the time, there are some ways to alleviate the issue to one degree or another. Of course, those methods involve spending more money for one of the various Lightning Lane options. Using Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, which covers the majority of rides in the four Disney World parks, can let you skip many lines.

In addition to spending money, it requires a strong focus on scheduling your day. Disney World guests have the ability to book some Lightning Lanes up to a week before a trip to Disney World, so it means making some key decisions about where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do early. It also requires one to pay attention to the app while in the park in order to book additional ride return times throughout the day. While I think Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disneyland is worthwhile in many cases, we've found it less valuable at Disney World.

There’s also the new Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which allows guests to skip lines without all the scheduling. Of course, it is a lot more expensive than the other Lightning Lane options, and access to it is limited. In fact, despite the price, Premiere Pass is sold out at some park on some days over the next two weeks, so even it isn’t always an option.

Epic Universe is just about five months away from opening, and so all the folks at Universal Creative are hard at work making sure everything is going to be perfect. This includes testing the fire effects at the Burning Blade Tavern. The location is part of the park’s Dark Universe land dedicated to Universal Monsters and a new video from Bioreconstruct, who regularly gives us a a bird's eye view of the works in progress at Orlando theme parks, has absolutely blown me away. Check it out.

Dark Universe was already shaping up to be the part of Epic Universe I was most excited about, and this only solidifies that. Not only that, I know exactly where I need to stay at the new Helios Grand Hotel, seen in the background of the video, because I need a room with a view of the windmill.

The windmill, a reference to Universal's original production of Frankenstein, stands above the Burning Blade Tavern, one of the main dining locations inside Dark Universe. While the blades won’t be permanently on fire when Epic Universe is open, we know it will light up on a regular schedule in the evenings, just like we see here, and it looks amazing.

I can only imagine what this is going to be like standing on ground level and looking up at it. The end of the video also includes a look at some of the lighting attached to the Frankenstein tower. Lighting design is one of my favorite things about any theme park. The way they light up at night is nothing short of breathtaking when done well, and Epic Universe seems to be on it.

Epic Universe is going to be incredible. That much seems all but certain right now. Unfortunately, getting into Epic Universe is looking a little tough right now. If you don’t have a Universal Orlando Resort Annual Pass the only way to get a ticket to Epic Universe is to buy a ticket package for all three parks, and only one day can be spent at the new location. Individual tickets will certainly be made available, it’s simply unclear when that will happen, or if it will happen at all before Epic Universe opens in May.

It’s not uncommon for people who are “dress-coded” to make their way to social media. Frequently, it’s Walt Disney World that seems to be the hub of dress code violations, but today the TikTok going viral comes from Universal Orlando and a mom who literally lost her shirt at the security checkpoint.

@mommashive

♬ original sound - Sadie

The video shows the woman putting on a sweatshirt to cover her t-shirt, which reads “Women don’t owe you shit.” However, in the post, the woman claims that Universal Orlando actually took the shirt from her and that simply covering it was not acceptable. I’m assuming she was given an option of taking it back to the car or the hotel, but likely didn’t want to make the trip.

It’s a bit unusual to see this sort of thing happen at Universal Orlando but we have more than our share of instances taking place down the road at Walt Disney World. There was something of a rash of problems there as people seemed to see getting a dress code violation as a “hack” to free merch, as Cast Members would offer the offending party a free shirt to replace whatever the guest couldn’t wear.

This would work occasionally but it’s not a requirement, instead is something Cast members are empowered to do. If they see any guest not having a great time, they have some ability to fix problems, which can include spending some money. A Cast Member who thinks they’re being taken advantage of can just as easily refuse entry to the park if a guest’s clothing is deemed offensive. We know that some of the people angling for a free spirit jersey have just been turned away.

This wasn’t a case of somebody looking for a free shirt, but just a case of somebody either not thinking their shirt would be a problem or simply not considering it in that light at all. I honestly wouldn’t have much of an issue with a shirt like this in a theme park, even if my kids happened to notice it. Honestly, it’s a sentiment I hope my daughters take to heart, but I also get that not every parent would feel the same way.

This is something to keep in mind when Epic Universe opens next year. You wouldn't want to spend your one day at Universal's new theme park having to deal with a dress code violation.

Keeping track of what’s closed at Disney World is practically a full-time job. There are so many attractions across the four theme parks that there’s always something that needs to be updated or refurbished. Usually, there’s little rhyme or reason to it all, but sometimes there is. We could have all guessed that Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents would be closing in January, because, after all, there will be a new President.

Just as the Hall of Presidents closed four years ago to replace the Donald Trump animatronic with one of Joe Biden, it has now been confirmed that on January 20, 2025 (aka Inauguration Day) the Hall will close again to swap the two characters back. But while in the case of most attractions, fans get upset when classics get rethemed or updated, many are actually asking for that to happen here.

Fans Want To See The Hall Of Presidents Go Muppet

The Hall of Presidents has been around since the opening day of Magic Kingdom back in 1971. The show contains animatronic versions of every former U.S. President, as well as the current President of the United States. Since 1993, the show has also included the voice of the current President, in a recording usually done specifically for the show.

However, while the Hall of Presidents may have been popular decades ago, it seems far less so now, leading many Disney World fans to suggest the show should be retired. In fact, there’s a particularly popular idea that has made the rounds, recreating the Hall of Presidents, in Muppet form.

The Muppets could be found just outside of the Hall of Presidents from 2016 to 2020 performing The Muppets Present ... Great Moments in American History from windows on the upper level of Liberty Square. It’s become a popular idea to give the Muppets the Hall of Presidents for something like a more fixed version of the show.

There’s no indication that Disney World is planning anything other than its standard refurbishment. While the popular Muppet*Vision 3D attraction has been confirmed to be closing, the Muppets will be taking over the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, so there will be no lack of Muppet representation at Disney World.

Previously it has taken several months for Hall of Presidents to reopen when a new President takes office. It’s unclear if the refurb here will be faster. If the plan is to simply reuse the existing animatronic and the existing audio, the closure could be very short.

Disney World Doesn’t Need The Hall Of Presidents Anymore

Honestly, as a big fan of The Muppets, I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of transforming the Hall of Presidents into a Muppet attraction. It would be a fun way to use the characters and to reinvigorate the Hall of Presidents as an attraction. I don’t think I’ve bothered to see the show since Barack Obama was President.

Honestly, I’ve always found it strange that we had both the Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure at Epcot. Both are theater shows with animatronics that are about telling the American story through history and patriotism. These things are fine, but I’m not sure we need both.

And if Disney World is ever going to close the Hall of Presidents, now is possibly the best time. Nothing will be new if and when the attraction reopens in a few months. With that being the case, finding some way to reinvigorate the attraction would not be out of line. Although considering all the other closures happening at Disney World over the next couple of years, perhaps closing anything that is not necessary is too much.

To be clear, it certainly doesn’t appear that there are any plans to do anything other than replace one animatronic with another. Usually, though not always, when Disney closes an attraction and plans to change things, they announce both the closure and the new idea together. Still, we’ll have to wait and see what, if anything, happens here.

Disney recently filed a lawsuit against its home in Orange County, Florida over its property taxes. The lawsuit itself isn’t particularly newsworthy, as Disney has filed a lawsuit like this a dozen times in the past. The company even won a suit previously, getting property assessment at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club ruled invalid. But what I find most interesting is just what the tax bill actually is for various Disney World properties.

Disney World Owns Almost $60 Million In Property Taxes

Florida Politics has the breakdown of the property tax bills for each of Disney World’s four theme parks, and they are absolutely huge. Epcot, being the largest park, has a property tax bill of $18.3 million. Disney’s Hollywood Studios property taxes come in at $14.9 million, while Magic Kingdom -- the most popular theme park on the planet -- comes in just under that at $14.4 million. Disney’s Animal Kingdom looks downright cheap coming at $11.8 million.

All told, the total property tax bill comes in at just under $60 million. And that’s just for the four theme parks, that don’t include the water parks or the two dozen hotels on the Disney World property. And I thought the property taxes for my single-family home were crazy.

And this is just one item on a long list of the resort’s expenses. It does put into perspective just how big Disney World is and just how much it’s worth. The property tax bills are based on an estimated value of more than $2.3 billion and, again, that’s just for the four theme parks, nothing else.

Disney World Isn’t The Only One Suing Over Property Taxes

Disney World is arguing that the method used to reach the assessed value of its properties is incorrect and, thus, it shouldn’t have to pay the bills it has been presented with. Disney World isn’t alone in this, as several hotels associated with other theme parks are also contesting their property taxes in court.

Lowes., who owns and operates the hotels for Universal Orlando Resort, including the new Grand Helios Resort that will open next year along with the new Epic Universe theme park, is contesting its tax bill of almost $11 million. The Renaissance Orlando hotel at SeaWorld is also suing over its assessed taxes.

The property tax lawsuit comes following a series of legal battles for Disney World regarding the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the governing body that oversees Disney World. The district was created by Florida law in 2023, replacing the Reedy Creek Improvement District which hasd been in place since Disney World opened in 1971.

Or rather, it has to do with transportation between parks and what fans have been saying about the Hogwarts Express.

Will The Hogwarts Express Go To Epic Universe?

If you’ve been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, one of the best attractions is the Hogwarts Express, which allows visitors with a two-park ticket to shift between parks using a train rather than hoofing it through CityWalk. It’s fun, it’s superbly themed, it’s air-conditioned, it’s (typically) quick, and the whole experience is relaxing to boot.

Epic Universe, on the other hand, will be unlikely to ever connect to the Hogwarts Express. Not only is the theming – at the British Ministry of Magic – different, but also if you’ve been on the Hogwarts Express you know it hops between King’s Cross and Hogsmeade in the parks on one track rather than a loop, going front to back then back to front. Adding an additional stop would likely be implausible, particularly given where Epic Universe is situated.

One Other Big Difference About Epic Universe

In the video for the Fantastic Beasts-themed Ministry of Magic area of Epic Universe, fans did get to see a look at the floo network we’ve heard so much about in J.K. Rowlings’ novels and that will allow parkgoers to “travel” from London to Paris as part of the new Harry Potter attraction. I’d heard some wonder if that might be a way to connect between Epic Universe and the two other parks in some way or fashion.

The problem with this is that the new park will not be connected in the same ways as the other two parks. In fact, it’s on the other side of the Universal campus, with estimates putting it 10-15 minutes away from CityWalk. Both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios are connected by the walkable shopping and dining area, but the new park simply won’t.

It’s probable the theme park will just stick to buses, which already connect the parks to myriad excellent Loews hotels on property, in which case some fans have called out doing something like the Potter-centric Knight bus as an option for transport. (Though Universal already has its own buses.) I’ve seen some fans on Reddit and other places imagining other transportation that could be cool, like connecting the parks via a new train that could be Nintendo themed (another element of Epic Universe) such as they did for Super Nintendo World in Japan.

All are great ideas, but doubtless will not be happening by the time Epic Universe opens on May 22, 2025. Ultimately, there’s been a lot of speculation about The Battle at the Ministry of Magic and other stuff coming to Epic Universe, and while I would love for the new park to somehow magically connect to the others, there’s been no indication it will happen right away, though things could always change longterm.

If there is one thing that Disneyland knows how to do well, it’s throw a party. The Disney 100 celebration almost two years ago included some excellent new entertainment, and with 2025 marking the 70th anniversary of the iconic park, expectations were high since the park’s 60th and 50th-anniversary celebrations were both high caliber.

Fans were not disappointed. The lineup of major entertainment offerings for the 70th anniversary, which will start in May 2025, is an impressive list of events. Having said that, I am one fan who is personally a little disappointed, because considering everything we are getting, there are a few items that would have fit perfectly among them that I wish we could have seen as well.

Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Is A Greatest Hits Of Modern Classics

If you’ve been to Disneyland Resort in the last 10 years, then you’re likely to appreciate what the 70th anniversary of Disneyland has to offer. It’s a combination of brand-new entertainment, as well as some recent classics.

The highlight for me has to be the return of the Paint the Night parade. This spiritual successor to the Main Street Electrical Parade is an amazing nighttime parade with great music and incredible floats. It debuted a decade ago as part of the park’s 60th anniversary and has only made a couple of small return appearances.

More recently, as part of the Disney 100 celebration, Disneyland Park got a brand-new fireworks show, Wondrous Journeys. The show had an incredible piece of original music, Baymax flying above Sleeping Beauty Castle, and included projection map sequences from every Walt Disney animation movie ever made. After closing for the holiday season at the end of August 2022, the show only made a brief return in the spring of 2023, so seeing it get a longer run is very welcome.

This past summer, Disneyland Resort ran Pixar Fest, and the highlight of that, in my opinion, was Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration, a spiritual successor to one of my other favorite parades, the Pixar Play Parade at Disney California Adventure. It’s great to hear it will make a return soon.

Two Of Disneyland’s New Additions Could Become All-Time Classics

In addition to bringing back some fan-favorite shows, two brand new attractions will also arrive. Disney California Adventure’s nighttime spectacular World of Color will see a new edition, World of Color - Happy. Since there has never been a bad version of World of Color, odds are the new version will be as good as the others.

The biggest new addition to Disneyland isn't technically part of the 70th anniversary, but it will fittingly debut on the first day of the celebration. Walt Disney - A Magical Life will include a fully functional, and technologically advanced audio-animatronic of Walt Disney himself. Needless to say, such a thing is a huge swing for Walt Disney Imagineering. It’s a controversial decision, but one that could be truly special.

If that’s all that will come with the Disneyland 70th anniversary, it’s a pretty impressive lineup, all things considered. It's very much the lineup I was expecting to see. However, there were also a couple of other additions I was expecting, and I'm a little bummed didn’t get announced.

Bring Back Mickey And The Magical Map

When the global pandemic closed Disneyland for a year, we lost a lot. Live entertainment was one of the areas that was hardest hit, so when the fantastic Disneyland stage show Mickey and the Magical Map didn’t reopen with the park, it was understandable, if still disappointing.

However, the show never returned at all, and save for a run of less than 18 months for the Tale of the Lion King show, the Fantasyland Theater has been criminally underused. Starting in April, the theater space was used for Pixar Fest character meet and greets, and it’s currently home to Santa Claus, but it hasn’t been a theater with a show in far too long.

Mickey and the Magical Map was an amazing show that brought together numerous Disney characters to perform a medley of popular songs. It also included some truly impressive stage effects. Bringing the show back for a special engagement for the 70th anniversary, even if only for a year, would have been the perfect way to celebrate it.

The Mad T Party Tease From D23 Needs To Be Realized

This past August, I was seated in the ninth row of the Honda Center for the Disney Experiences presentation at D23. Considering the announcements we were all expecting, it was sure to be the highlight of the weekend for me, and it absolutely was. However, the first thing to blow me away happened before the show officially started.

On a secondary stage in the middle of the Honda Center, the Mad T Party band appeared and played a complete set, just as they once did at Disney California Adventure. The band, made up of Disneyland Cast Members dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland (the Tim Burton live-action version), performed classic rock and contemporary pop music starting back in 2012, but they hadn’t been seen in the park since Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration ended in 2015.

So what were they doing performing, in full costume, at D23 nearly a decade after they were last seen? Surely this was the lead-up to an announcement. Obviously Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro was going to walk out on stage and open the show with the announcement that the Mad T Party Band would be making a return, perhaps for the 70th anniversary celebration.

Not so much.

The 70th anniversary of Disneyland was mentioned that night, but without any specifics regarding what it would entail. Maybe this was just a special one-off performance after all, a little something extra for the crowd of diehard Disney fans who would appreciate it. But I held out hope that when DIsneyland’s 70th anniversary lineup was officially announced, it would include the return of the Mad T Party. Thus far, my hopes have been dashed.

It’s technically possible that these shows are still forthcoming. Disneyland’s official reveal of the 70th anniversary does state that there is still more to announce. But it seems unlikely that these particular attractions wouldn’t have been included in the announcements we got if they were happening. I will continue to hold out hope; Disneyland is where dreams come true, after all.

Thankfully, the Mouse House heard our concerns and introduced two new holiday dining experiences this year — a pajama-themed brunch with Mickey and Friends, and tea time with Santa and Mrs. Claus. What’s even more exciting is that both experiences take place at Disney’s Grand California Hotel, meaning you don’t need a theme park ticket to experience them.

As a local, I knew I had to try both of these highly anticipated experiences out, and with a little bit of pixie dust, I managed to score early reservations for both. Now that I’ve attended both, I can definitely say one is better than the other.

Mickey’s Holiday Pajama Party Is Great For Fans Of Character Dining

Following in one of Disneyland’s best restaurants, Goofy’s Kitchen's, footsteps, the Grand California Hotel’s Storyteller’s Cafe has become a destination for holiday dining this year. While the restaurant normally offers character dining buffets in the morning, this is the first time guests have ever been able to meet Mickey and friends in pajamas. Previously, the gang only appeared in pajamas on Christmas Eve night as guests left Disneyland upon park closing.

Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto are all dressed in festive holiday pajamas as they make their way to each table for individual interactions. They also routinely parade around the restaurant to music.

Of course, there’s delicious food too! I went during brunch hours, so half of the buffet was dedicated to fan-favorite breakfast offerings like Mickey Waffles, while the other was geared towards lunchtime staples.

Holiday Tea With Santa And Mrs. Claus is Perfect For Getting In The Holiday Spirit

Just across the Grand California Hotel’s lobby, guests can experience high tea with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Hearthstone Longe. With three packages to choose from, guests get the opportunity to snack on festive-themed sandwiches and desserts while sipping on loose-leaf teas.

Of course, the real selling point for this experience, for me at least, is getting to see Santa and Mrs. Claus - the latter of which does not have a formal meet and greet anywhere else. Not only did I get a chance to speak to the iconic couple and get my picture taken, but the entire thing was very intimate since each table was called up one by one. This meant there was no line of impatient parents waiting behind me, silently rushing me through the experience.

Santa and Mrs. Claus also make their rounds to each of the table, leading everyone in a caroling session, which was a fun bonus.

Both Options Are Great, But The Pajama Party Is Just A Little Bit Better

Don’t get me wrong, I had fun at both experiences, but after attending both, I can confidently say that the Pajama Party is the best of these two new experiences. I should preface my choice by saying that I am not a tea drinker and typically spend most of my park time meeting characters rather than going on rides.

Regardless of my biases, the pajama party had a better environment, food offerings, and price. Even the cheapest tea time option is nearly $20 more than the buffet, which grants you unlimited access to some of the best food options. While both offered priceless character interactions, you really can’t beat meeting Mickey and his friends from the comfort of your table.

The best part is reservations are still available for Mickey’s Pajama Party if you’re lucky enough to make a holiday trip down to the Disneyland Resort.

The holidays at Walt Disney World are a magical time. There is absolutely wonderful entertainment that you’ll only find this time of year, but some of it just got a little less magical. A character who might otherwise have gone by completely unnoticed recently went viral on TikTok, which appears to have ultimately resulted in the character’s removal.

We’re not talking about Mickey or Donald here, but a character that, unless you’re a huge Disney World nerd like me, you’ve probably never heard of. Tally the Elf was a character appearing in the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, a special event that’s part of the excellent Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a special hard ticket event at Magic Kingdom. The Cast Member playing Tally had been a viral sensation of late for just being a lot of fun putting various guests on the “naughty list.” Tally was even recently called out by USA Today.

People really loved him, but people got so into the character that some apparently tracked down the name of the Cast Member playing the part. This reportedly resulted in some interactions between Tally and guests that were not “in character” as guests would use the Cast Member’s real name in an attempt to get his attention so they could interact with him. It now looks like this has resulted in Tally being pulled from the parade.

@amandapag31

♬ original sound - Amanda

This is why we can’t have nice things. People suck and I'm mad at everything. There was absolutely no need for this, and yet here we are. The fact that so many people loved Tally the Elf is a testament to the talent and charisma of a Cast Member who everybody else will now miss because of the inappropriate actions of a few obsessive jerks. Anybody doing this should be banned from Disney World. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

It’s ok that people loved Tally the Elf, and I completely understand why people wanted to know who the Cast Member was playing the part, but if that information isn’t readily available, it should be left alone. Not treating a character like a character inside the parks is just insane. Why would anybody think that was ok?

Back in the day when I was a regular attendee at the Mad T Party at Disney California Adventure, we all knew the names of the performers in the band. Most of them were aspiring musicians who released their own music and performed outside the parks under their own names, so finding that information wasn’t too hard. But I’m not aware of a single incident where fans would call them by their real names during a show. That’s just a line you don’t cross.

Disney Parks Cast Members are the people who make the magic. Whether they're in costume, hugging kids, or just helping you get on board an attraction, they are simply doing a job. Sometimes that job is in the public eye and sometimes it can make them minor celebrities. Sometimes it results in Disney World guests being rude or abusive. Honestly, this sort of behavior regarding Cast Members should be treated no differently.

The Ministry of Magic land’s big attraction will be set in the era of Harry Potter and focus on the trial of Dolores Umbridge. But, meanwhile, the other half of the area will be set in France, as it was seen in the Fantastic Beasts movies. The Discover Universal Blog reveals that the land will include audio tracks of people chatting as a way to give the area life but, of course, that means they’ll all be speaking French. Associate producer Cara Pfost Brown said…

Universal Orlando Resort receives a significant share of international tourists from Europe, so there will be those who will actually be able to understand the French conversation. Yet, for the rest of us, we’ll have to resort to other means to figure out just what the people of Wizarding World Paris are actually saying.

It makes one wonder why there was no spell in the Harry Potter universe designed to translate various languages. It seems like it would be useful and help people communicate the details that make theme parks amazing. Seriously, how was there not a charm that could be used for translation of any kind?

That rambling aside, I love this addition to the land. While I’m certainly going to want to learn what everybody is saying, just being able to walk around Wizarding Paris and hear conversations in French is going to add so much to the experience. It’s these little details and more that make theme parks wonderful. Admittedly, I'm not even that big a Harry Potter fan but everything about this new land that I’m hearing is making me one.

And this is just one of the many new lands coming to Epic Universe. The new theme park will also have Super Nintendo World, the amazing-looking Dark Universe, a land dedicated to How To Train Your Dragon and the completely original Celestial Park. Tickets for Epic Universe are now on sale. Also, the new Grand Helios Resort -- which looks to be one of the nicest theme park resort hotels ever and will have its own dedicated entrance to the park -- is now accepting reservations.

This week, a jury in Orange County, Florida found in favor of the family of Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old boy who fell from the FreeFall drop tower attraction at Orlando’s ICON Park in March 2022. The ride’s manufacturer, Funtime Handels, based in Austria, has been ordered to pay $310 million in damages.

FreeFall Manufacturer Was The Only Defendant That Did Not Settle Out Of Court

Needless to say that $310 million is no small amount of money. The family accused the ride manufacturer of negligence when it came to the attraction's design, build and supervision. How the company would respond to such claims is something we don't actually know. According to WESH, the company never appeared in court to defend itself during the trial.

The lack of a defense is certainly one reason for the large damages award. The jury only ever heard the family's side of the story. Funtime Handels did inspect the tower shortly after the accident, but it seems that at some point, the company simply stopped responding to the issue.

Funtime Handels was the only remaining defendant in the lawsuit filed by Sampson’s family. Originally, the suit also included Slingshot, the owner of the attraction, and ICON Park, where the FreeFall tower was located, but those suits were settled out of court and the terms were not disclosed.

Unfortunately, the FreeFall accident would not be the only one of its kind in 2022. A 14-year-old girl in Denmark died in a roller coaster accident just a few months after Sampson fell. A month after that, several people were hospitalized due to a malfunction on the popular El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. The coaster would remain closed for 10 months while it underwent significant maintenance.

An INvestigation Revealed The Attraction Had Been Modified

An investigation following the accident revealed that the weight limit for riders of the FreeFall drop tower was 275 pounds, a weight which Sampson exceeded by about 100 pounds. It was also discovered that seats on the tower had been modified to allow for larger riders. This led to a larger gap between the rider and the harness, which resulted in Sampson falling out while he was in the air.

The attraction closed following the teen’s death and never reopened. Dollywood closed its drop tower attraction, which was also built by Funtime Handels following the incident. Dollywood would eventually reopen its attraction. FreeFall was eventually torn down.

It was recently pointed out that there’s something about the names Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World which seems so coincidental that it can’t possibly be a coincidence (except it is).

Disneyland And Disney World’s Names Have An Interesting Coincidence

An image has gone viral on Reddit as well as social media of a news broadcast out of Palm Springs that shows something quite interesting about the names of Disney’s two U.S. theme parks. Specifically, the name Disneyland contains the letters LA together, while Walt Disney World features the letters ORL, meaning that both parks contain the abbreviated names of their locations, Los Angeles and Orlando.

Woah. 😳 from r/WaltDisneyWorld

This is blowing the minds of a lot of people, and I get it. This is something I certainly hadn’t noticed either and while it’s likely just a coincidence, it’s not an unremarkable one. There’s just one problem, it's wrong.

Disneyland And Walt Disney World Aren’t Located Where You Think

When we talk about where major landmarks are it’s normal to associate them with the largest city or the metropolitan area nearby. Hell, most people, including natives refer to most of Southern California as “L.A.” So, it’s easy to think of Disneyland as being in Los Angeles or Disney World as being in Orlando, but neither thing is actually true.

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, CA, which is in Orange County. Orange County is a drastically different area a full 25 miles south of L.A. With traffic, you can expect a drive from L.A. to Disneyland to take you around 45 minutes. And the O.C. is a pretty conservative area of the state compared to the more diverse and liberal Los Angeles. These things are not the same.

Walt Disney World is closer to Orlando, but you’re still looking at about a 30-minute drive if you’re in the city to get to the resort. Walt Disney World is located in two cities. Most of the resort is located in the city of Bay Lake, though officially the address of Disney World is in the city of Lake Buena Vista.

What’s more, Disney World is actually located in the Orlando Tourism Oversight District (formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District), and as such there’s an argument that Disney World is a city unto itself.

Yes, I’m being pedantic, but the idea that it was somehow planned that the resorts would have these names in order to include these letters is silly. If it was intentional then International Disney Parks would have names that use similar structures. Instead, the only reason the Disney Resort in Paris has the city's name built into it is that it's called...Disneyland Paris.

For those that might not be familiar, After Dark events require separate theme park admission, take place sometime between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., and are centered around a theme. The special ticketed events include rare character sightings, photo opportunities, and exclusive merchandise, food, and entertainment offerings. The more popular events, like Sweethearts and Star Wars Nites, happen multiple times during a month, while others only happen twice a month — like June’s Pride Nite.

Usually, there is a new After Dark offering every year, and Disney Channel Nite was introduced on Disneyland's 2024 schedule. The two-night occasion celebrated all things Disney Channel-related, and it was the event of the year for those of us still obsessed with all things High School Musical and Hannah Montana-related. However, next year it will be gone.

Disney Channel Nite Was Perfect For Fans Who Grew Up Watching The Cable Channel

I was lucky enough to attend the second evening of Disney Channel Nite, and I truly felt like I was living my best nostalgic life.

Though it boasted one of the longest lines, one of the best experiences was the interactive wand ID opportunity on Main Street, where I got to live out my dream of saying, “My name is Danielle, and you’re watching Disney Channel.” In addition to that iconic moment, the event also had several rare characters in attendance -- including Stitch and his Experiment cousins -- and dozens of iconic photo opp backdrops from some of the best Disney Channel original movies and shows.

In fact, there was so much to do and so little time that I had to make some unfortunate choices and skip a few things. At the time, I didn’t feel too bad about it, because I figured the event would come back in 2025, giving me a chance to do some of the photo op experiences I missed out on the first time. Sadly, that’s not going to be the case, as Disneyland has officially confirmed that Disney Channel Nite will not be returning — at least, not anytime soon.

The Event Deserved To Come Back For Another Year

It’s unfortunate that the Disneyland Resort has given up on this event so quickly. Sure, there were a handful of small issues that needed to be fixed, but that could have been worked out at future events. In fact, part of the fun of attending these events year after year is seeing how they improve upon themselves.

Plus, given that Disney Channel is largely absent in the parks, the After Dark event was truly unique, and it will surely be missed by fans of the cable network.

What’s even more disappointing about this news is Disney Channel Nite didn’t get bumped for a brand new event. Instead, the March After Dark event will see the return of '90s Nite, which first debuted in 2019 and celebrates all the best '90s movies and shows Disney has released.

The good news is there is some overlap between the '90s and Disney Channel Nite, with some of the beloved animated characters from The Disney Afternoon appearing at both events. However, I doubt the marquee moments from this year's event will make an appearance at the '90s-themed one.

This also means that 2025 will be the first year the After Dark calendar is made up entirely of returning events. So, it’ll be interesting to see how many people opt out of this year’s offerings, given that none of them are new.

If you’re interested in attending one of these events, tickets for Sweethearts Nite and '90s Nite go on sale December 12th, no earlier than 9 a.m. PT for the general public.

2025 will be the year of Universal Experiences and Destinations. Not only will we see the opening of Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas, but in just about six months we will get Epic Universe, the third gate of the Universal Orlando Resort. It simply doesn't get bigger than a brand-new theme park.

With three full theme parks, Universal Orlando will come one step closer to matching the size and the scale of Walt Disney World. It's been suggested that Walt Disney World simply isn't doing enough in 2025 to compete with Universal Orlando and that Disney needs something big to go up against Epic Universe. But that's not the case at all, and here's why...

Disney World Has Added Major Attractions Over The Last Few Years

Disney World may not have any E-ticket attractions coming next year, but part of the reason for that is that it's opened multiple attractions of that scale over the last several years. Post-pandemic, we have seen Walt Disney World open Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot as well as the incredible Tron: Light Cycle Run at Magic Kingdom. On the smaller side, we got Remy's Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot and Disney World just opened Tiana's Bayou Adventure, an incredible evolution of the log flume.

For people who visit Disney World often, like Florida locals who live nearby or people like myself who visit as often as possible, all this may already seem like old news. That's simply not the case for your average guest. Even the stuff that's a few years old is still new to most people. It doesn't matter if Walt Disney World hasn't opened a brand new E-ticket attraction in 2025 if you haven't ridden the ones that they opened in 2022 or 2023.

Disney World Has Plenty Of New Stuff Coming In 2025

Walt Disney World may not have a brand new theme park or even a new land opening in 2025, but it's not like the resort is taking the year off. There are plenty of new things coming to Disney World in 2025. In fact, taken all together, Disney World is adding the equivalent of a major new land.

Magic Kingdom is getting an entirely new nighttime parade: Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. Fans have been clamoring for a new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom for years, and they're finally getting it. Adventureland will also see a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed tavern opening late in the year.

Epcot will see its own lounge open next year inside the iconic geodesic sphere of Spaceship Earth. It should be the perfect place to watch fireworks. We'll also see a brand-new version of the popular Test Track attraction that is looking to impress both fans and those nostalgic for the original World of Motion.

At Disney's Hollywood Studios, a new show, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, will bring several classic Disney villains together in one place. We'll also see a brand new version of The Little Mermaid - a Musical Adventure with new songs and new stage effects. Not to be left out, Disney's Animal Kingdom will be debuting a brand new movie Underneath the Tree of Life Zootopia: Better Together.

Certainly, a brand new lounge or a revamped existing attraction are not on the same scale as a brand new theme park, but each of these things is good and a net positive to their respective parks. Disney World will be a bigger and better place by the end of 2025 than it was at the beginning.

You Can’t Compete With A New Theme Park Anyway

But at the end of the day, the simple fact is Disney World Isn't trying to compete with Epic Universe because you can't compete with Epic Universe. It's a brand-new theme park, and short of Disney World building its own brand-new theme park, anything they did would be overshadowed by Epic Universe. It honestly makes sense for Disney World to do a little less in 2025, because "competing" is folly.

If Disney World was showing any indication of not investing in the parks over the long term, that would be one thing, but that's not the case. Over the next several years, we're getting a new Villains Land in Magic Kingdom, a Monsters Inc. land at Hollywood Studios, a revamped Frontierland, a new Tropical Americas land at Disney's Animal Kingdom, and who even knows what else? The idea that Disney World needs something particularly incredible during this particular year is nuts. The theme park business is a marathon, not a sprint.

When it opens next summer, Universal Orlando's attendance will see a significant increase. But the fact of the matter is Disney World is not in any major danger. While vacationers might be making a trip to Florida specifically to experience Epic Universe, there's a pretty good chance that a lot of them will stop by Disney World at least for a little while.

And Disney World Is still Disney World. it's still bigger and has more to offer anybody who is looking for a theme park vacation. Some experiences can only be had at Walt Disney World. The idea that everybody vacationing in Orlando is going to run off to Epic Universe and never visit Disney World again seems a little short-sighted.

How the opening of Epic Universe will impact Walt Disney World still remains to be seen. Personally, I'm still not convinced that Disney World won't see an increase in attendance and revenue next year thanks to the bump in tourists that are brought in because of Epic Universe. But even if Disney World sees a dip, that's likely to be a short-term problem and there was very little that Disney World was ever going to be able to do to combat it.

It's natural for there to be a little competition between businesses doing the same thing in the same place. Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort will always be competitors, but the fact is that as long as they're both making money, they can both succeed. It's not a zero-sum game. There doesn't need to be a winner. The only real winners are the theme park fans, because we get it all.

One of the most popular quick snacks at Disneyland for some time has been the cheesy garlic pretzel bread. It’s available in Fantasyland and is an ooey-gooey savory treat, but a popular menu hack among guests for a while has been the act of grabbing the bread from Maurice’s Treats at Fantasyland, then buying a meat skewer from the Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland, and combining them into a delicious meal.

@getawaytodayvacations

Garlic Cheesy Pretzel Bread + Beef Skewer = OUR FAVORITE! Here are our pro-tips for this tasty creation: ✅ Mobile order your skewer from Bengal Barbecue FIRST. ✅ You can mobile order from Edelweiss Snacks, but the Maurice’s Treats location is a little bit closer. Both locations are typically well stocked, so you can’t go wrong with either one. ✅ The bread is pre-sliced into three sections, so it works well with the skewers, BUT some people like to cut up the meat pieces into smaller pieces. You can do it either way! ✅ If you’re traveling with family or friends who like to try different things, order one of each of the skewers and mix and match your sandwiches! We LOVE being your Disney vacation experts! Let us help you book your next Disneyland vacation at getawaytoday.com or call 855-GET-AWAY

♬ original sound - getawaytoday

However, Disneyland is always paying attention and it seems that the park noticed what everybody was doing, so back in late August when the Halloween season kicked off at Disneyland, the park began to sell a cheesy garlic pretzel bread with a bratwurst inside. It can be found at Edelweiss Snacks near the Matterhorn, and it doesn’t look any sexier, but it’s just what people were looking for.

Watching people eat this isn’t exactly the most attractive thing in the world but it still makes me want one. It's a great grab and go item, if you’re looking for something that can be reasonably filling and work as a meal, but that you want to easily eat while standing in line for your next ride. It’s basically the lunch version of the underrated breakfast chmichanga and it’s great.

While the item was officially a seasonal menu item for Halloween, the cheesy garlic pretzel bread with bratwurst is still available during the Disneyland holiday celebration. While it remains to be seen if the item will become a part of the permanent menu, if the popularity of it is any indication, that would seem likely.

There's never been a better time to eat your way through Disneyland Resort. One of Disneyland's best restaurants only recently opened, and the Festival of the Holidays menu at Disney California Adventure is amazing. This viral treat is just another to add to the list.

Of course, as long as the bread itself remains on the menu, the Bengal Barbecue isn’t going anywhere, so the menu “hack” is always an option if this "seasonal" item goes away. But that’s all the more reason that Disneyland just offering the bread and meat combo together makes so much sense.

We’ll have to wait until January to see what comes next for this viral sensation. Once there’s no particular festival or holiday to celebrate after the new year, if the cheesy garlic pretzel bread and bratwurst is still available, then it may have become a new menu fixture.

The Rivers of America are being replaced by Cars attractions at Magic Kingdom, a new Monsters Inc. land is taking over the Muppet Courtyard and, now, we know a little more about Dinoland U.S.A.’s transformation into a Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fans have known that their favorite ride, Dinosaur, was going to be closing, but exactly when that would happen is unclear. In this case, there’s actually some good news Disney has now confirmed that the dino attraction won’t be closing in 2025.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Won’t Close Dinosaur Until 2026

An announcement from Disney World today featured a list of everything guests can expect from the resort in 2025. This included the new version of Test Track, as well as the new lounges at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. It also specified that, in reference to Dinosaur, “2025 is your year to visit before it goes extinct!“ This would seem to confirm that Dinosaur will remain open throughout 2025, likely closing in 2026. This is pretty good news under the circumstances, as it means if you’re a fan who wants to experience the ride again before it’s gone, you now have over a year to do so.

At D23, last August, Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro confirmed that the transformation of Dinoland U.S.A. into the new Tropical Americas land would be done in phases, and indicated that Dinosaur would be one of the last pieces of the old land to be replaced, but that still didn’t give us much idea what that meant. Construction is set to begin at Animal Kingdom early in 2025, but it looks like it will be at least a year before that work will need to include Dinosaur.

Indiana Jones Is Coming To Disney’s Animal Kingdom

While losing Dinosaur is certainly a bummer, it has to be said that what will be replacing it is pretty exciting. A new Indiana Jones attraction will take over the Dinosaur space. While Dinosaur uses the same ride vehicle and track technology as the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, we’ve been told that the new ride will be an original concept, though it may still reuse the same infrastructure.

Dinosaur is an opening day attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and, so while the ride may be showing its age, there are certainly many people with nostalgic memories of it over the years. The fact that we all now have a year to ride it one last time gives those people plenty of time to plan a trip to Disney World to pay their last respects.

I’ve been looking forward to using my Disney+ subscription to see Skeleton Crew ever since seeing the first preview of it back at D23 over the summer. It looked like fun; a simple, but enjoyable show that would send a group of kids on a galaxy-hopping adventure. It’s the sort of premise for a Star Wars series that seems so obvious now, you wonder why it took so long to get here.

As CinemaBlend’s resident theme park expert and Disney historian, the first two episodes of Skeleton Crew were especially good. Not only is the series so far a lot of fun, but these episodes contained two different references to classic Disneyland attractions. One of them was, obviously, a Star Wars ride, but the other, interestingly, was not.

Star Tours RX-24 Is Driving the School Bus On Skeleton Crew

If you went on Star Tours at Disneyland or Walt Disney World from when it first opened back in 1987, to when it closed over a decade ago, then you may have recognized the most obvious of the two theme park easter eggs when it appeared in the first episode of Skeleton Crew. An early scene shows two of our main characters taking the bus to school, and that bus is driven by a droid, one that looks remarkably like RX-24, the pilot of the original Star Tours.

RX-24 (Rex) was voiced by Paul Reubens on Star Tours. He was a droid that had only recently been commissioned to pilot Star Tours flights. As such, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing and he makes a lot of mistakes.

Rex was replaced by C-3PO when Star Tours received a major overhaul a decade ago. However, Rex lives on, complete with the voice of Paul Reubens, as the DJ of Oga's Cantina at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The bus driver in Skeleton Crew has a different voice since Paul Reubens passed away last year, so he’s probably not supposed to be an identical model of droid, but they are clearly, and intentionally, similar.

However, the wildest easter egg connected to a Disney park came in the next episode.

Is Captain EO Part Of The Star Wars Universe?

In Episode 2 of Skeleton Crew, the kids find themselves inside a pirate hideout. While exploring the place, one of the children discovers a stall selling various exotic creatures in cages. One of them might look familiar to you if you remember the other Disneyland attraction that was produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in the late ‘80s: the musical 3D movie, Captain EO.

This is Fuzzball... or more likely it’s a creature of the same species as Fuzzball, a small flying alien who is one of Captain EO’s crew in the short film that starred Michael Jackson and originally ran at Disneyland from 1986 until 1998. Needless to say that as a Disney Parks fan and a Star Wars fan, this raises a lot of questions.

Is Captain EO taking place in the same universe as Star Wars? I need to know. George Lucas did co-write and produce Captain EO, so the two projects are related in that way at least. Did George Lucas conceive that his musical sci-fi story was connected to his magnum opus?

I haven’t seen the film in about a decade (it briefly returned to Disneyland and Epcot following Michael Jackson’s death in 2010), but it was one of the attractions that was running on my very first Disneyland vacation ever, so it holds a special place in my heart.

I feel like the mental gymnastics that would need to be done to make Star Wars and Captain EO truly fit together would be quite significant, and I'm not sure it would work. Still, I would love to see Disney do something with Captain EO again, so if this is the beginning of that, I am seated.

So you can bet that Universal is going to want to keep the party going, even after next fall’s release of Wicked: Part Two. Which is why a new rumor that one of my favorite rides from the Universal Studios Orlando ride rankings is on the chopping block has given me quite the silver lining to talk out.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Is Rumored To Be Closing In 2025…Again

First, let’s get the alleged bad news out of the way. According to a rumor reported by WDW News Today, Universal Studios Orlando may be calling “Cut!” on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit in the year ahead. While this isn’t confirmed, let’s not forget the recent story of how Six Flags Great Adventure’s rumored Kingda Ka closure turned out to be very true after all.

Also, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this particular plan, as our theme park guru Dirk Libbey has shared previous Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit closure rumors. Considering the onboard soundtrack was gutted not too long ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if this thrill ride was heading to that big station house in the sky.

I’m disappointed, as there were so many other songs I wanted to use during future rides I’d planned out. However, while I’m mourning the fact that I probably won’t get to hear “Ride Like The Wind” as I do just that on this very coaster, I wouldn’t be mad about a Wicked attraction to take the place of this current coaster.

Wicked’s Smash Hit Success Must Mean A Theme Park Attraction Is Being Discussed

Even if you’re not tracking Wicked’s second weekend box office numbers, you know that director Jon M. Chu’s first half has already struck a chord with people. TikTok has become overrun with videos of people reenacting the company’s choreography for “What Is This Feeling?”, teases that make Wicked’s year-long intermission seem ill advised, and jokes involving that moment from “Popular.”

If these aren’t the makings of a cultural moment, what really is? All of the success surrounding Wicked: Part One has to have execs at Universal Studios, and all of its brands, thinking about how to keep the fun in flight.

Universal Studios Orlando in particular has some spots that could benefit from a revamp, so there’s no shortage of spots where a flagship theme park attraction could be placed in the park. And there’s a pretty simple choice for what moment from the film should be used to do the honors.

Wicked’s Defying Gravity Sequence Is The No-Brainer Choice For A Potential Ride

“Defying Gravity” sits in a sweet spot when it comes to Wicked. It’s arguably the most popular number of the show. At the same time, it doesn’t spoil too much from the show itself since it’s the Act I closer. You could listen to the song to your heart's content and not need to worry about spoilers. With the first half of the cinematic whole bringing that sequence to beautiful life, you know more people are going to want to relive that segment.

There’s even a possibility that if the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit does close, there wouldn’t need to be a total ground-up revamp. Since the cars for this coaster are already wired for sound, you can easily retrofit them for whatever the new track requires. Naturally the old Hollywood theming would make for a nice compliment to Revenge of the Mummy down the way.

Although I have to admit, this would probably be a seriously tight fit for any sort of new attraction. As it stands, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has the Universal Music Plaza Stage and Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon both occupying spots long the coaster’s route. So any sort of construction would probably have to keep those two spots in mind.

A Wicked Coaster Could Fill Some Other Potential Gaps At Universal Studios Orlando

I have to address another rumor as part of my grand plan to create the Wicked: Escape the Wizard Coaster! And it’s one that I’ve seen other Universal Orlando fans mention in passing. So let’s say that the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit somehow avoids the chopping block.

That’s no problem, because if Universal decides to close The Simpsons attractions as some think they might do, that makes way for not just a coaster, but an entire Emerald City section of Universal Studios Orlando. Of course, another backup option would be to finally use the land from the defunct Fear Factor Live show as a good start to creating this potential Wicked thrill coaster.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that if this is the preferred option by the Universal brass, Men in Black: Alien Attack would have to close to make it happen. Again, it wouldn’t be a bad option, as there’d be plenty of land for a new section themed after Universal’s latest blockbuster. Also, I'd gladly retire as a Galaxy Defender if it meant that we could get twin tracks, offering unique experiences for both Glinda and Elphaba's side of the song.

Multiple Options To Weigh Gives Wicked More Time To Strengthen Its Public Image

If we were merely talking about refurbishing a theater for a Wicked Live! show medley, then the possibility for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande recording their own ride intro video would be even greater. But as we’ve seen with other would-be franchises, public opinion can crater between the first and second installment. Just ask anyone who still feels burned by Ralph Breaks the Internet.

This is a case where having an extended wait is actually advantageous! 2025 is going to be busy enough at Universal Orlando Resort, and that’s only when you take into account Universal Epic Universe’s grand opening. Clearly there’s no rush for a new attraction in either of the older parks on campus, as attention will be focused on the new fourth gate. With older attractions waiting to benefit from the overflow, there’s plenty of time to evaluate the plans that best fit the budget and space available.

I have to remind you all once again that this is merely speculation, and there’s a chance that a Wicked theme park attraction might not even happen. And even if it does, there could be a chance that the Transformers ride could find itself closed down to replace its pseudo-motion simulator ride structure with the very attraction I explained above.

I think a rollercoaster is the best scenario, though, because it would live up to one of my favorite lines from the very song that inspired this madness: “Everyone deserves the chance to fly.” If you’re bummed that this rollercoaster isn’t any closer to becoming a reality, allow me to remind you that Wicked: Part Two is still scheduled to debut on November 21, 2025.

So you can just worry about that agonizing wait while we let the good folks at Universal Parks and Experiences chat over the potential of bringing the Emerald City to its Orlando destination on a more permanent basis. Though you can still check out Wicked: The Experience, which is currently open at Universal Studios Orlando and welcoming all future and returning Ozians.

While Epcot has the best food at Disney World it also -- it must be said -- has the absolute worst drink you could find at the entire resort. It’s bitter and tastes awful, and yet, people can’t stop drinking it.

In fact, I’ve actually had it more than once, even though I admit it’s awful. Sit back my friends and let me introduce you to my friend, Beverly.

Club Cool At Epcot Contains Coke Drinks From Around The World

Coca-Cola and Disney have been partners for years, and in 1998 that relationship resulted in the opening of Ice Station Cool at Epcot. In 2005 the location was renamed Club Cool. The current version of the Club Cool reopened in 2021, being moved as part of Epcot’s five-year redevelopment.

Obviously, the main purpose of the location is to be a place to purchase Coca-Cola products. If you want a cold drink or want to buy some Coke-branded merch, they have you covered. However, one of the big draws for the location is the free samples.

Taking inspiration from Epcot’s World Showcase, Coke from around the world can be found at Club Cool. Not every country offers the same Coke products. Tastes vary among different cultures and so in different countries you can find drinks that can’t be found elsewhere, using unique local flavors.

Most of these are quite good. I made a point to try everything available on my last trip to Epcot. Madagascar’s Bonbon Anglais is a delicious blend of tropical fruit. I was particularly surprised by how much I enjoyed Russia’s Sprite Cucumber, which is even more refreshing than the standard version we have. China’s Suan Mei Tang, which is a sour plum tea, doesn’t work for everybody. But then there’s the drink that works for almost nobody.

What Is Beverly And Why Is It Terrible?

On one side of the soda fountain, you’ll find a drink labeled simply “Beverly.” It was developed as an apéritif specifically for the Italian market. Traditionally apéritifs are alcoholic drinks, though Beverly is non-alcoholic, served before meals. They are supposed to aid with digestion. They are usually not sweet, and Beverly certainly fits the bill in that regard.

Beverly was first introduced in Italy in 1969 and it is an extremely bitter drink. Reportedly, it’s made with grapefruit rind which is what gives it its extremely bitter flavor. While there are certainly some people who somehow actually like Beverly, it’s generally agreed upon as the worst. And yet, that’s exactly why people drink it.

Beverly Is So Popular For Being So Bad That It’s Now Only Available To Sample

Drinking the terrible thing has become something of a rite of passage for people now when they visit Epcot. So, is Beverly really as bad as people say? Many people simply must find out. Other people get their friends to try it as a practical joke and then record the response. This has made Beverly the most popular thing to sample in Club Cool.

While the other available beverages in the Club Cool fountain have changed over the years, Beverly is the one drink that has remained a constant through the years. It’s so popular that it’s now produced specifically to sample.

While it was produced for Italy, Beverly was discontinued there back in 2009. There are now only four places on Earth where it can be found. Coke has two World of Coca-Cola Museums, one at its home in Atlanta, and another in Las Vegas. The other two spots are at Disney World, the Coca-Cola store at Disney Springs, and Epcot’s Club Cool.

Beverly is now produced for no reason other than so people can try it. Regardless, It seems unlikely the crowds will be going away anytime soon.

Now, I have to be honest, it's more likely that we’ll see the show be added to Disney+ as part of its upcoming releases than get a new home in a theme park. However, I wouldn’t be a Disney Parks fan if I didn’t have a little bit of blind hope. If the higher-ups did want to surprise Muppets fans with some much-needed good news, they should consider bringing Muppet*Vision 3D back to the West Coast. Think about it, they could reinstall the entire show in the Sunset Showcase Theater at Disney California Adventure Park.

The Muppet's show ran in the same theater (formally under a different name) when DCA first opened in 2001 until 2014, when the show was replaced by a Frozen Sing-Along. Nowadays, the Sunset Showcase Theater plays Mickey’s PhilharMagic 4D show multiple times a day.

As a Disneyland Magic Keyholder, I can tell you for a fact that the current show is hardly ever sold out. While it’s a fun thing to see once or twice, it’s not one of the best Disneyland Resort attractions. Not to mention, the theater is a bit hard to find for non-locals as it’s tucked into a back corner of Hollywood Land.

Bringing Muppet*Vision 3D back to DCA would not only save the beloved show -- which was one of Jim Henson’s last projects -- but it would also help breathe new life into the struggling Hollywood Land. Right now, the area is grossly underutilized and in desperate need of some TLC. Of course, there are rumors that the area is set to be demolished to make way for the new Avatar-land that has been promised to West Coast Disney parks fans. However, the exact location of the land remains to be confirmed, with some holding out hope the expansion will be part of the Disneyland Forward project.

While the future of Hollywood Land is a valid concern — after all, nothing would be worse for Muppet*Vision 3D fans than having to see the show close twice in a short time period — I don’t see the Imagineers demolishing the area anytime soon (and hopefully not ever). In fact, the beloved show might be the thing that saves the overlooked part of the park, if only because The Muppets are non-existent on the West Coast.

After all, the last time Kermit, Miss. Piggy, and their friends appeared at Disneyland, at least that I can remember, was back in 2021 during the separate ticketed-event Merriets Nites celebration that has yet to return. The gang appeared on one of Disneyland’s famous double-decker cars and serenaded a packed Main Street with Christmas carols.

Based on the crowd side for the short-lived show, Disneyland fans desperately want more ways to interact with The Muppets, so bringing them back to their original home in DCA is a no-brainer. It wouldn’t even be that much work for the Imagineers since they wouldn’t need to build a new venue or even do many renovations to the existing theater. A few news signs and maybe a paint job to make the theater stand out would do the trick.

The fate of Muppet*Vision 3D remains to be seen, but thankfully, the beloved gang will still have a home in Hollywood Studios when they take over the Rock ’N’ Roller Coaster theme. Until then, I’ll be here holding out hope that they will make their way over to the West Coast sooner rather than later.

Walt Disney’s original plan for Disney World included an actual functioning city, and while that never happened, there are some people who actually live within the borders of Disney World today. The only problem is that the homes are wildly expensive and one of the wilder ones that I’ve seen in a while is now on the market.

$15 Million Golden Oak House Has Rooms Dedicated To Frozen And Finding Nemo

Golden Oak is a private development inside Disney World full of multimillion-dollar homes. The residences were originally designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and are built in multiple neighborhoods named after significant locations in the life of Walt Disney.

As one might expect, people who love all things Disney tend to be the people buying homes there, and a recent post on Instagram from ZillowGone Wild shows off one home that is on the market for $15,850,000. It’s nearly 10,000 square feet and includes seven bedrooms, one of which has been built in a Frozen theme, and another that is themed as a Finding Nemo room. There's even a Star Wars home theater.

Needless to say, the internet has found the post, and there are a lot of opinions about the house, as well as the sort of person who might want to live there.

The Internet Can’t Get Enough Of The Disney Adult Mansion

Comments on the Instagram post are quite obviously blown away by both the price point of the house, and the absolutely wild “Disney-ness” of the whole thing. Comments range from the hilarious to the disturbing. Having a Frozen or Finding Nemo-themed room might sound fun, but then, some of the aesthetic choices here are actually a little weird as some suggest with responses like…

• The HOA never bothered me anyway … - beans_eye_view
• Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and u just see the outline of kristoff at the foot of your bed. I would scream. - aldballerina
• I can't even sleep with the closet door open, let alone a gaping shark mouth open. - adaisapalindrome
• Disney Adults are a cult we don’t talk about enough. - namsalot

I mean, don’t get me wrong. If I had $16 million just lying around I would absolutely spend it on this house. I am one of those Disney Adults that everybody hates. Living inside Disney World is my dream, and while I’m pretty sure smiling Bruce the shark would give my kids nightmares If I did have that kind of money, I could also afford to redecorate to something a bit more reasonable.

If you want to live in a Disney community but don't quite have that kind of money. Disney is building planned communities right now. Those will only cost you about $2 million.

The announcement that a new land dedicated to Monsters Inc. was coming was well received, but rumors indicated that to get it, we might lose Muppet*Vision 3D, one of the longest-running attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now the exact plan for the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been revealed and if you’re a Muppets fan, I have some good news and some bad news.

Muppet*Vision 3D Is Closing After All

One thing that fans didn’t want to see will come to pass. Theme park reporter Scott Gustin broke the news that the new Monsters Inc. land will replace the Muppets Courtyard. This will include some sort of Monsters Inc. show going into the location where Muppet*Vision 3D currently runs. The Monsters Inc. Door Coaster will be built into a new area behind the existing courtyard.

There was hope that the new land might go into the Animation Courtyard, an area that is largely overlooked in the current park. A new Little Mermaid stage show is currently in development there, but other than that, there’s just not much going on.

On the plus side, Gustin reports that there are “conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future” which would seem to indicate there’s a possibility the movie, the last Muppet project Jim Henson was personally involved in, might survive in some way.

However, it’s not all bad news for Muppets fans, for whatever happens to Muppet*Vision 3D, the characters will live on elsewhere in the park.

The Muppets Are Taking Over The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster

One attraction at Walt Disney World that fans wouldn’t mind seeing rethemed or designed has been the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. The ride has been rumored for a re-theme for years and one idea that has been rumored, and even suggested by myself, has been the idea of using The Muppet's house band, Electric Mayhem as the musical inspiration. And now, somehow, we’re getting that.

While details are scarce, The Muppets will be taking over the rollercoaster in what’s being called a “rockin’ music festival” that won’t simply feature the Electric Mayhem, but all the Muppets.

An exact timeline for these changes hasn’t been announced, so there’s still time to experience both attractions before they close for work to begin.

Disney World fans generally, and Muppets fans specifically, won’t all love the trade-off here. Muppet*Vision 3D was truly beloved and anything short of rebuilding it in a new theater somewhere likely won’t be enough for some. Still, The Muppets aren’t being completely erased from Disney World, and a re-theme of the Rick ‘N’ Roller Coaster was desperately needed, and it’s wonderful that it’s finally happening.

This just leaves us with one question. What about PizzeRizzo?

One of the iconic places you visit on Soarin Around the World is the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, because the Eiffel Tower is very tall and very straight, the screen being used is not flat, and the camera zooms in very close. The tower gets hilariously distorted to the point that, especially if you are sitting off-axis, the tower literally curves. But as of today, our international nightmare is over, at least at Epcot.

Soarin’ Around The World Has Been Updated At Epcot

Today a new version of Soarin’ Around the World debuted unannounced in the Epcot version of the attraction, be. The main reason for the change was to update the final scene. At the end of the film the “flight” goes over Epcot itself. However, Epcot looks a lot different now than it did eight years ago when the attraction debuted.

The new version of the final scene shows Epcot as it looks now, with the new World Celebration area rather than Future World on display. That change certainly makes sense. After Epcot’s massive five-year update the front of the park looks almost nothing like it once did, so seeing the old version of the park during Soarin’ while it works as nostalgia, isn’t what Disney likely wants people to see.

But while Imagineering was in there updating the end of the film, they also made a significant quality of life improvement by fixing the Eiffel Tower sequence. In the old sequence, the camera viewed the tower closely, and at an upward angle. In the new version, the camera comes at the tower from a distance, and from a downward angle, which eliminates the distortion.

Bring The New Soarin To Disneyland Now Please

Now we just need to get this change added to the Disneyland version of Soarin.’ Perhaps it wasn’t worth the time and effort to fix just this one part of the film when it came to Disneyland. The end of Soarin’ at Disney California Adventure shows Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. and Sleeping Beauty Castle, two areas that are the least likely to ever change.

However, now that the work has already been done, it seems like it’s a lot less work to simply add the new Eiffel Tower segment to the DCA version of Soarin.’ The majesty of the entire attraction is legitimately damaged by the silly visual distortion and it needs to be gone now.

There are some attractions that have tried to emulate Soarin' but not are quite as good. Soarin is one of the best attractions at Disney California Adventure. I'd also argue that due to its location, the version of Soarin' at Disneyland Resort is better than the one at Walt Disney World. Unless they just want to put Soarin’ Over California back at Disney California Adventure permanently. That would be fine too.

Update: The missing episodes of Behind the Attraction have returned to DIsney+ so it appears this was some sort of technical glitch that for whatever reason only impacted a few episodes. The original story continues below...

When studios began to launch their own streaming services, one of the big selling points was that they owned most of the content that was being streamed. This meant that, unlike Netflix, which has always seen a lot of monthly churn when it comes to content, platforms like Disney+ and Max should be able to put content up, especially original content, and leave it there. As we’ve discovered, even among the best streaming services, this isn’t what happens.

Disney+ and Max have both pulled original series and movies as cost-cutting measures. It seems that in some cases it costs the streamers more to have certain things available than they think they’re making from them. But now Disney+ has done something very strange. One of the platform’s original series is still available, just not all of it.

Behind The Attraction’s First Episodes Are Gone From Disney+

Behind the Attraction, a Disney+ original series that looked at the stories behind the creation of some of Disney Parks' most popular attractions, has seen its first three episodes, which cover the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Star Tours, pulled from the platform. All the other episodes of Season 1, and all of Season 2 are still available to view.

As a Disney Parks fan, this is frustrating because Behind the Attraction was a really fun show. As CinemaBlend's theme park expert somebody who has read and watched a lot about the rides at Disneyland and Disney World, the show didn’t include much information I didn’t already know. It’s not the deep dive that The Imagineering Story is. Thank God that series is still untouched. But Behind the Attraction was entertaining and it was a great introduction for people who didn’t know everything about the attractions but were curious to learn.

The fact that the episodes that have vanished cover three of the most iconic attractions in Disney Parks' history doesn’t help. These are attractions that people are more likely to want to know about. They’re the attractions that might get people to give the show a try in the first place, and keep watching if they like what they see.

Why Only Three Episodes?

The fact that any of Behind the Attraction is now gone and can’t be seen anywhere else is annoying, but the whole thing also has me incredibly confused. Why are only three episodes gone? The series now starts with the Tower of Terror episode, which was one that actually had some controversy attached to it. If an episode was going to get pulled that's one you could at least understand.

One would expect that Disney+ would either pull the series in its entirety or leave it up, but only removing certain episodes seems strange. Considering how popular those three attractions are I would fully expect they are among the most viewed of the entire series. It’s hard to believe they got pulled because nobody watched them.

It must be some sort of unusual rights issue that only pertains to these three episodes, but that also doesn’t make a lot of sense. The show was produced by Seven Bucks Productions, Dwayne Johnson’s company. Johnson just recently signed a new development deal with Disney. Anything in the show has to be owned by either Seven Bucks or Disney. Unless there’s a particular person interviewed in those episodes who doesn’t appear in any other, and for whom the show has somehow lost the rights, this doesn’t make sense.

I’m hoping this is some sort of technical glitch or temporary measure until some unusual issue is resolved. Losing entire shows on Disney+ is infuriating, especially since there’s no other way to watch them, but losing part of a show is a new level of frustration.

2024 has been a big year for new theme park attractions with everything from Universal Orlando’s new Dreamworks Land to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. However, 2025 is going to be even bigger as we’re getting entirely new theme parks for the first time in years, and the biggest of them is Epic Universe which will include an all-new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Everything we know about Epic Universe makes the park look amazing, but the new Harry Potter area may be among the most impressive. The marquee attraction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic land will be a state-of-the-art new attraction called Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Today Universal Orlando showed off a first look at elements of the queue, as well as a look at the ride vehicles, which have a lot of people apparently concerned as they seem to indicate the type of ride we’re getting.

Fans Think Harry Potter And The Battle At The Ministry Of Magic Could Be A Drop Ride

Scrolling through the Instagram post which includes a look at various parts of the queue as well as the ride vehicle you’ll see a couple of different types of comments. Many are drooling over what they see, because, and they are not wrong, the images of the attraction look incredible. However, others are more than a little wary, because the image of the ride vehicle (seen above) makes it look like an elevator car with seats, something akin to Disney World’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Comments include…

• Bro it better not be a drop ride
• Def a drop tower ride 🥹
• as long as it’s not like tower of terror 😂
• Getting tower of terror vibes 🤭

There are a couple of reasons why people might be less than excited about the new Harry Potter attraction, which I still think may see the Harry Potter cast reunite, being little more than a drop tower. One is that a lot of people, even those who like other thrill rides, have issues with drop towers, and thus won’t ride them. The other reason is that a drop tower, even one with additional storytelling elements, may be seen as too simple a ride for what is being presented as an E-ticket attraction, and thus is not as impressive as they hoped this ride would be.

Those are fair criticisms, but I think they're unfounded. There’s a lot more going on here than a drop ride, quite literally.

Battle At The Ministry Looks Like A Lot More Than A Drop Ride

The connection to an attraction like Tower of Terror is obvious considering that the ride vehicle in this image looks mostly enclosed, like a service elevator, although the seating looks a lot more comfortable. However, there does seem to be a lot more going on here.

Universal calls the ride vehicle “Omnidirectional Lifts.” The name alone clearly indicates they’ll be moving more than simply up and down like a simple drop tower. This could mean the attraction is something like the Disney Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror, which has two drop shafts that the ride vehicle moves between, but I’m pretty sure we’re getting more than that too.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is more than 30 years old and we’ve seen a lot of advancements in ride technology, specifically in trackless dark rides, in that time. This is where I suspect that Battle At The Ministry of Magic will separate itself from what has come before.

Concept art, as seen above, shows the ride vehicle moving likely horizontally while also at an angle to the action. While concept art should always be suspect, this is not being presented as a simple drop tower. This seems more like a dark ride on par with Rise of the Resistance, one that simply uses an elevator as its ride vehicle because the Ministry of Magic has elevators.

That’s not to say that Battle At The Ministry won’t have drop elements, or at least elements that feel like drops. However, I would expect an experience that feels more like Rise of the Resistance, where the ride vehicle propels you through a story and occasionally gives you the sensation of falling the way Rise does during the First Order escape at the end.

I for one cannot wait until next May when Epic Universe finally opens. This park looks to be pushing the envelope in every conceivable way. The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter looks quite exciting.

This morning, as the annual expo for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions gets underway, The Guardian revealed that Merlin Entertainments, the theme park company that runs Legoland as well as Alton Towers in the UK and several other locations, has made a deal to produce attractions, hotel rooms, and retail outlets themed to the popular game in the U.S. and Europe. The first attractions are already scheduled to open in 2026 and 2027 in the U.K. and the U.S., though specifics of what they will be have not been revealed.

Minecraft Is One Of The Most Popular Video Games Ever

Considering many people have used Minecraft to recreate real-world locations, including, theme parks, it will certainly be fun for fans to experience Minecraft in the real world. Walking through a land that looks like it was built in Minecraft or staying in a hotel room that looks that way could be incredibly immersive.

Minecraft’s global popularity cannot the game has sold over 300 million copies in its life and the property was purchased by Microsoft in 2014 for an eye-watering $2.5 billion, showing just how big the property was. The announcement of Minecraft theme park attractions comes following a Minecraft live-action movie that will come out next year, clearly, there’s a strong desire to build this brand right now.

This is the second major licensing deal for Merlin Entertainments this year. In January Merlin made a deal with Hasbro to bring Peppa Pig to the LEGO theme parks.

Where Minecraft Attractions Could Be Built

The planned Minecraft attractions could be stand-alone creations or they could end up in existing theme parks. In the U.S. this would almost certainly mean Minecraft being added to one of the three Legoland locations, in Orlando, Southern California, or New York. It would be somehow both fitting and ironic to see Minecraft a game that is at its core a block-building experience, added to a LEGO theme park. The visual style would be quite different but the concept would be the same.

With yet another major video game franchise getting the theme park treatment it seems likely we can expect more in the coming years. Ubisoft signed a deal with Storyland Studios in 2021 to develop themed entertainment experiences, but little has come of that so far.

While theme park powerhouse Disney hasn't shown any signs of partnering with any game developers, the company has invested considerably in Epic Games and Fortnite, so one has to wonder if there isn't a Fortnite theme park experience being considered.

We’ll likely hear more about the new deal between Merlin and Minecraft this week as the IAAPA Expo gets underway.

Several months ago, the Hungry Bear Restaurant at DIsneyland’s Critter Country closed down, and it recently reopened as the Hungry Bear BBQ Jamboree. I finally had a chance to eat there when I was close by checking out Tiana’s Bayou Adventure which just opened in the park, and I was thrilled to have some great food there.

Few Theme Park Quick Service Restaurants Really Impress Me

To start, I should say that part of my lack of love for the old Hungry Bear is that it’s rare that theme park quick-service restaurants impress me at all. When I’m in a theme park, I’m either grabbing food that I can eat while I walk, like a Frontierland breakfast chimichanga or a cup of Dole Whip, or I would like to sit at a table where a waiter takes my order and I can have a relaxing meal. Quick-service restaurants are too slow in the first case, and too fast in the other.

I also find the quick service menus to be largely uninspired. There’s some really creative and amazing food to be found at Disneyland or other theme parks, but it's usually found in either high-end meals or creative snacks and desserts. At quick-service locations, you tend to find pretty traditional sandwiches, burgers and the like. I can eat that food anywhere. If I’m going to pay theme park prices for food, it better be special in creativity, if not in taste.

When I do hit quick service locations, I treat them like grab-n-go-style locations. Mobile ordering was invented so that I could walk into Docking Bay 7 and grab a Cold Brew Black Caf without having to stand in line.

The Hungry Bear Restaurant Just Did Nothing Special

I couldn’t tell you exactly when the last time I ate at the Hungry Bear Restaurant was, but I can tell you I found the experience underwhelming. The menu could have come from just about any chain restaurant, with sandwiches, burgers and steaks, and not a steakhouse steak. These are things I can get basically anywhere else at Disneyland and at equal or better quality.

On top of that, the Hungry Bear’s location, near the dead end of Critter Country, meant that unless I was going to ride Splash Mountain (now Tiana’s Bayou Adventure), there was little reason to bother going that way. The food itself certainly wasn’t enough of a draw.

I had certainly heard good things about the Hungry Bear BBQ Jamboree, but I wasn’t really prepared for things to turn out as good as they did.

The Hungry Bear BBQ Jamboree Is Different And Delicious

The Hungry Bear BBQ Jamboree calls back to the former neighbor of the restaurant, the Country Bear Jamboree. There is music from both versions of the show, both the original Country Bear Jamboree and the Disney songs by way of country music version that can be found at Magic Kingdom today. Props and other artistic flourishes can be found around the building, but as any restaurant should be, the star is the food.

It’s amazing what a complete redesign of an entire menu can do for a restaurant. Instead of simply sandwiches and burgers, the menu has gone full barbecue, with the spotlight dish being on a smoked barbecue combo platter that includes choices of pulled pork, beef brisket, pork spareribs or sausage link. Sandwiches using the pulled pork or beef brisket are also available.

Since I wasn’t sure I could eat an entire barbecue platter, I grabbed the brisket sandwich, with beer batter fries, a strawberry shortcake lemonade and the brand-new banana pudding. Needless to say, I thought everything was quite good.

I’m not saying Hungry Bear is better than your favorite local BBQ joint, but it’s quite a step above what had been there before. The brisket was tender, the BBQ sauce was tangy and not too sweet (something that tends to happen with theme park food across the board), and I devoured the sandwich.

The Strawberry Shortcake Lemonade, one of the signature drinks at the location, was fun. Not entirely dissimilar to my Galaxy’s Edge Black Caf, it has a layer of sweet cream on top that holds shortcake crumbs and strawberry dust, adding a bit of complexity and texture to a classic strawberry lemonade.

I’m not the first to sing the praises of the banana pudding, but I also won’t be the last. It consists of layers of crushed wafer cookies, dulce de leche and bananas, each separated by whip cream and topped with crunchy toffee chips. This will be a dessert I mobile order regularly going forward.

Barbecue is just something that’s been missing from Disneyland since Big Thunder Ranch closed to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (reportedly the coleslaw at Hungry Bear is the same recipe as what used to be at Big Thunder). It’s nice to have it back and to have it be so good.

I’m Still Not Sold On Quick Service, But Hungry Bear BBQ Is Worth The Time

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree hasn’t completely changed my tune on quick-service at theme parks. If I’m going to sit at a table and eat a full meal in a theme park resort, I’d still like to do it in a more relaxed atmosphere. Running around a theme park can be stressful, so taking those periods of relaxation is key, and something quick service doesn’t often provide.

However, if I am visiting a Disneyland quick service location for anything more than a quick snack, it’s probably going to be Hungry Bear going forward. It’s got some delicious food and it’s probably the best quick-service menu at Disneyland right now.

If you’re a fan of theme parks and food, then Disney California Adventure is the place to go. With the DCA Festival of Holidays now underway, marketplaces of delicious food are everywhere. There are a lot of returning favorites and brand-new selections available at the festival marketplaces.

I had a chance to preview the food options alongside my chance to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland, and I found several items you’ll want to check out if you’re visiting this season, and at least one you can probably not worry about.

Al Pastor Pork & Pineapple Slider - Winter Sliderland

Sliders are a great happy hour food and they’re equally good as a theme park food because they’re reasonably substantial. So they can be a meal if you want them to be, but they’re easy to eat on the move. Since you’re doing a lot of moving at theme parks, it's a good way to go because you can eat these in line as long as you finish it before it's your turn to ride.

There are a couple of options available at Winder Sliderland, I had the Al Pastor Pork & Pineapple Slider. This may not be just right for you if you don’t like food that’s even a bit spicy, but the sweetness of the pineapple balances the kick from the spices very nicely.

Holiday Mash Bowl - Merry Mashups

If you’re somebody who prefers Thanksgiving leftovers to Thanksgiving dinner itself, the Holiday Mash Bowl is for you. It’s everything from a classic Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and even cranberry, thrown together in a bowl.

It sounds like a bizarre thing to actually spend money on something that looks like leftovers, and I’ll admit it doesn’t look all that amazing, but I promise, this is worth it. It’s a delicious and quite hearty dish, and also pairs well with a Glacier Margarita, seen above.

Chorizo Queso Fundido Mac & Cheese/Savory Kugel Mac & Cheese - Holiday Duets

Mac & cheese is a classic that has existed in dozens of forms over the years at Disney Parks. DCA’s most recent festival, Pixar Fest, and a unique take on the dish that mixed the traditional comfort movie with a spicy combination. The Festival of Holidays is its own mac and cheese duo that maybe isn’t quite as creative, but is no less delicious.

The Chorizo Queso Fundido Mac & Cheese and the Savory Kugel Mac & Cheese are available separately or as a duet. Either are good on their own, and the Queso Fundido is actually vegetarian, as the sausage uses a meat alternative. If you can’t decide, get both as a half-and-half dish.

Café de Olla Cold Brew - Grandma's Recipes

At some point, you’ll need something to drink to wash down all this deliciousness. There are lots of options. There are plenty of cocktails, but also mocktails, and drinks that will warm you up, assuming that it isn't too warm in Southern California already. One of my favorite drinks that doesn't require ID is the Café de Olla Cold Brew.

It blends a Mexican spiced coffee with sweet cream for a deliciously well-balanced drink. It’s served with what DCA calls a “mini” pan dulce, but it’s actually about as large as the cup. You’ll need to eat it first or use a straw to even get to the coffee.

M&M'S® Peanut Butter Fudge Cake - Merry Mashups

It’s not a Disney Parks delicious food festival without some sweet treat, and don’t worry, the Festival of Holidays has you covered there. One brand-new item that you don’t want to overlook is the M&M'S Peanut Butter Fudge Cake.

If you’re a fan of chocolate or peanut butter, but especially chocolate and peanut butter, you’ll be in love. One word of warning however. You might want to consider sharing this one, as it’s incredibly rich. I shared one with four other people and even only eating ⅕ of it, I had plenty.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Macaron - Favorite Things

DCA knew what they were talking about when they named one of the booth’s Favorite Things because it was home to what was my favorite thing at the Festival of Holidays. The Sticky Toffee Pudding Macaron was absolutely incredible

It's a Mickey-shaped chocolate macaroon with vanilla creme, date cake and the piece that I think makes it a winner, a salted toffee sauce. This is a dessert you absolutely will not want to share. Make everybody else get their own.

Barbecue Pulled Pork Cornbread Bake - A Twist on Tradition

If there was one thing I tried at the Festival of Holidays that didn’t blow me away, it was the pulled pork barbecue cornbread pake. It’s a play on a tamale pie with cornbread baked over barbecue pulled pork. It also comes with a side of slaw.

To be clear, I didn’t even dislike the Cornbread Bake. It was perfectly good. It was the first thing I ate at the Festival and I thought it was fine. The problem is that it’s just fine, and there’s so much going on this year that is so much better than fine. Save your money, or your Sip and Savor Pass slot, and use it to get something else.

For my money, there is nothing better than Disneyland at Christmas. It's a joyful place to celebrate a joyful time. The Sleeping Beauty castle decorations warm the heart, while delicious food warms the soul.

The Disney California Adventure Festival of the Holidays began on November 15 and runs through January 6, 2025. If trying lots of different food items is part of your plan be sure to pick up a Sip and Savor Pass, you can buy a pass for four items for $32 or eight items for $63 (alcoholic drinks not included). They cover all the food at the Festival Marketplace as well as a variety of sample size tastes and many of the dining locations all over Disney California Adventure.

Well, I hate to say it, but I was wrong my friends. It's now time to say goodbye to a global, and local legend. That's right: Kingda Ka is officially dead, consigned to resting in amusement park Valhalla with other departed attractions we wish would come back.

Kingda Ka Is Dead, Long Live…A Mystery Coaster

An official statement finally came from Six Flags Great Adventure’s park president Brian Bacica (via NJ.com), and it confirmed several rumored closures that accompanied reports of the former record-breaking steel coaster’s demise.

The portion of Bacica’s statement shared to break the news was as follows:

As the president of the Jackson, NJ amusement destination since July 2023, Brian Bacica has been in place for some time before 2024’s Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger shook things up. Now that shake up is starting to be felt a bit more locally, as it wasn’t only Kingda Ka’s fate that was confirmed in this sweeping round of change.

Those of you wondering about the reported closures of Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, Green Lantern and Twister, as well as the demolition of the Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower and the old school Sky Way, wonder no more. Those are all on the docket, as part of a huge plan to refresh the park. That’s a lot to lose, which leads to my rather mixed feelings about what’s to come.

I Totally Understand Why Six Flags Is Closing Kingda Ka

Let’s start out with the positives, which is the fact that a new “multi-world-record-breaking launch roller coaster” is what’s being teased for that big summer 2025 reveal, teased by Brian Bacica. Now that's a vague promise for the future, but I see it as an opportunity for one of our one Tom Cruise theme park ride ideas to finally take shape.

That concept is kinda helped along by the fact that Six Flags now owns the theme parks that used to be in the defunct Paramount Parks family. So a Mission: Impossible coaster shouldn't be too alien of a concept. Whatever this new ride is, it serves the corporate mandate that the overseer of Six Flags Great Adventure is a part of, which is further reinforced by this remark:

Next May, Kindga Ka would have been turning 20 - and that milestone may still be met, depending on how you measure it. While the Intamin designed hydraulic launch coaster won’t be operating ever again, the structure may still stand until either May 19th or 21st, respectively the soft launch and proper opening dates for the Golden Kingdom’s crown jewel.

After that 20th anniversary date is celebrated, you can probably bet on dismantling to start soon after, if it hasn't already. The 2026 season’s mystery attraction will need to start going up pretty quickly after, which leads to the sadder half of this equation.

I Wish I Could Have Rode Kingda Ka One Last Time

I get that there was a huge whisper campaign that slated Kingda Ka was closing, but there was no official statement. It’s not like when Walt Disney World announced Test Track 2.0’s closure, which gave fans several months to say their goodbyes.

I’m sure I’m not the only person to say this, but if I had known it was the truth, I’d have made a larger effort to get over to Six Flags Great Adventure and take one last ride. That regret is what bums me out about all of this, as it still feels like a sudden move to make without much official fanfare.

I know time waits for no coaster enthusiast, and in all fairness I didn’t even get to ride Test Track 2.0 one last time with ample notice. But it doesn’t change that I fondly remember Kingda Ka, and how it took something as promising as the Batman side of Batman & Robin: The Chiller, turning it into a thrilling experience that didn’t have to compete with an inferior head banging cousin attached to it.

The future of Six Flags Great Adventure looks bright, and there’s plenty of other things to look forward to and catch up with in the park. 2025 will finally see The Flash: Vertical Velocity, after delaying its intended 2024 opening. But for the moment, I shall hold a brief vigil in the memory of the era where Kingda Ka reigned. Oh, how I would have loved to have had one VelociCoaster style rollback before it left this mortal coil.

We're obviously going to have to wait and see what Kingda Ka's replacement will entail, but I'm willing to bet we should keep those red letter days in May 2025 clear on our calendars. In the meantime, I'm going to go continue to dream up just what could be taking the place of the rides we've now seen pull into the station house for the last time.

A journey that began over four years ago, when fans asked for Splash Mountain to be replaced, is now complete. On November 15, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at Disneyland Resort. It will be the second version of the attraction to open, as Tiana made her debut at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom back in June. Having now ridden both versions, I actually have a favorite, which is weird since they’re supposed to be the same ride.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially the same in both places. The story is the same. The amazing music, including the banger finale tune from PJ Morton, is the same. The incredible animatronics are the same. And yet, I think Disneyland’s version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is just that little bit better.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Is A Great Attraction At Both Parks

To be clear, when I say Disneyland has the edge, that’s not due to anything that Walt Disney World did wrong. I’ve written about how much Tiana’s Bayou Adventure impressed me when I experienced it. I was expecting a simple re-theme of Splash Mountain. I thought the ride would be the same and just have a new coat of paint.

Instead, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially a different ride. It’s a log flume, like Splash Mountain, but that’s all the two have in common.

Disneyland’s Tiana gives you all that, just like she does at Magic Kingdom. But Disneyland and Disney World’s two locations are slightly different, and that’s where Disneyland actually builds a better Bayou Adventure.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

When it comes to theme park attractions, there’s a constant race to set records. The biggest, the tallest, the fastest; these are the things attractions want to be. After Disney built its first Splash Mountain at Disneyland, when it came time to build another, of course they made it bigger.

Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom has a longer track, and it includes additional drops that the Disneyland version doesn’t have. These are great if you’re riding for thrill or to get soaked on a hot day, but Magic Kingdom’s version of Tiana doesn’t really do anything with the extra space or extra drops when it comes to Tiana.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has a fun story. Guests are joining Tiana and Louis on a trip through the bayou to find musicians for a big party Tiana is throwing. Then you get shrunk down to the size of an animal by Mama Odie, before being returned to normal size after being sent down the massive drop. Then it’s off to the party.

That story is simply tighter at Disneyland. It starts as soon as you leave the loading area and you move steadily from one scene to the next, with no wasted effort. If it was a screenplay, parts of Disney World's ride would get cut due to being unnecessary, no matter how much fun they are.

Disneyland’s Faster Ride Enhances Some Effects

Disneyland’s version of Tiana is a couple of minutes shorter than the one you’ll find at Magic Kingdom. Part of the reason for that is the added length of the ride in Orlando, but there is also another factor: Disneyland’s log flume moves faster.

While both versions of the ride top out at about 45 MPH when you drop 52 and a half feet, the speed of the water the rest of the time is much faster at Disneyland. This also aids the story's focus, but additionally helps enhance the effects.

When I was in Orlando, the sequence where guests get “shrunk” by Mama Odie, while still fun, didn’t wow me the way it did in Anaheim. The animatronics, a massive frog playing drums, who had been normal size earlier in the ride, and a massive screen showing Tiana and Louis trying to find you, were cool, but I just didn’t connect with that part of the story.

At Disneyland, it was a very different story, as the shrinking element works better. Near as I can tell, this is due to the slightly faster speed of the boat at Disneyland. Because you’re moving faster, you never quite get your bearings. You can’t stop and think about the different story elements around you, you can’t “see through” it. The effect of feeling small comes through better.

If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Is The Beginning, The Future Of Disneyland And Disney World Is Bright

A ride retheme is far from an unusual thing at Disneyland or Disney World. Numerous rides have seen their stories change without being replaced over the years. If there’s a downside to doing that, it’s that there are some core changes to an attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering simply can’t make. This means their creativity is inherently limited.

And yet, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, at both Disneyland and Disney World, might not be a revolution, but it is an evolution of the log flume attraction. It is once again one of the best, if not the best, versions of this type of ride.

And if that’s what Walt Disney Imagineering can do when one hand is tied behind their back, imagine what will be possible when the sky is the limit. Major expansion is currently planned at Disneyland, and major overhauls are also planned at Disney World. While not everybody loves what we’ll be losing at Magic Kingdom to make room for new attractions in Frontierland, the upcoming Villains Land is entirely an addition to the park.

Next year promises a Walt Disney animatronic that, based on the description, will make the ones in Tiana, that look amazing, look dated. It will also give us a brand new version of Test Track at Epcot, another attraction where the core of what it is won’t change, but that doesn’t mean we should expect something truly impressive to come.

I don’t know what’s coming, but my expectations are high because of what Imagineering was able to do to, in Walt Disney’s words “plus” this attraction. Splash Mountain was never a “must ride” for me when I visited either Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, but now it is at both parks, even if the former's is just that little bit better.

Disney has tried twice to turn one of the best Disneyland attractions, The Haunted Mansion, into a successful film. While I would argue that the first Haunted Mansion movie isn’t as bad as most people think, and the more recent Haunted Mansion movie is actually really good, it can’t be overlooked that financially both movies were failures. So, maybe the solution is to bring the Haunted Mansion to TV, and more specifically, into the world of animation.

I recently had a chance to sit down with director Shannon Tindle, and we spent most of our time discussing his new film, Ultraman: Rising (which is excellent). However, I also had to talk to him about a project he never made, an animated series based on Haunted Mansion.

As CinemaBlend’s theme park expert, I found a kindred spirit in Tindle. He told me about his love for one of Walt Disney’s original Nine Old Men animators, Mark Davis, who became one of the primary designers of the Disneyland and Disney World attraction, and how he tried to fine-tune his pitch in more ways than one to get Disney to bite. He explained…

While news of the Haunted Mansion series has been out there, there's a lot we don't know about exactly what it would have been. We know the series would have focused on a young girl dealing with the grief of a lost loved one, but beyond that, details are slim.

Tindle did give me a little taste of some of the ideas he was playing with, though. His Haunted Mansion would have drawn together multiple characters from throughout Disney’s history into a sort of cinematic universe. He even told me how he planned to include one classic Disney character…

Considering that Herbie the Love Bug was part of an earlier Disney cinematic universe, including him in a Haunted Mansion series that would have drawn in other Disney characters over time as well would have been perfect. And the idea that the reason Herbie is a sentient VW is because he's haunted is

Officially Disney passed on the idea before it made it past the pitch reel stage. However, Tindle says here that if Disney were to change their mind, he’d happily go back and get to work on it. I for one would love to see this animated series come to life.

The 2023 Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger is still being felt throughout the theme park community, as this huge happening changes the playing field in the United States. With those sorts of movements usually come a fair share of rumors about how such a new entity will operate thanks to the new corporate family that has emerged. As early as this past summer, the rumor that Six Flags Great Adventure may be closing its Kingda Ka coaster has had my home state of New Jersey concerned.

While those whispers are growing, with a supposed closing date now in the air, I’m not entirely convinced that this is what’s happening, at least for the moment. So let’s take a look at those rumors and why people might want to keep their feelings inside the vehicle at the moment.

Six Flags Great Adventure Is Rumored To Be Closing Kingda Ka…This Weekend

As I mentioned before, there have been rumors swirling for some time that Kingda Ka, once the world’s tallest and fastest steel roller coaster, is being slated to close down for good. Guests who visit the Jackson, New Jersey thrill park have been openly questioning whether or not these reports are true, especially with several local radio stations reporting those rumors themselves.

While no one can really pinpoint where this rumor started, it’s taken a huge turn on social media. As you’ll see in the claims included in the post below, it looks like Sunday, November 10th might be the last dance for The Golden Kingdom’s crown jewel:

Keep in mind, there hasn’t been any sort of official announcement that even suggests Kingda Ka is coming down. In trying to track down the truth, I tried reaching out to a representative through Six Flags’ official live chat host. After being directed to a human agent, I was given the following statement:

While I’m reaching out for further statements to either confirm or deny this sentiment, I’m not buying that Kingda Ka is closing. Or at least, I don’t think it’ll be closing just yet.

Why I’m Not Entirely Convinced Kingda Ka Is Not Closing… Yet

I do not think that Six Flags Great Adventure is closing down Kingda Ka at this moment, and I’m doubly convinced that this November 10th drop dead date is bogus. There’s no sort of official sourcing I could find that would reasonably give this rumor any sort of credence, and that’s the major reason I wouldn’t pay these reports any mind.

As we saw with this summer’s Test Track 2.0 closure at Epcot, a ride closure of something as massive as Kingda Ka is usually announced with a press statement that states this intention. That gives fans plenty of time to make their final pilgrimage to said attraction, post their farewells on social media, and purchase potential commemorative merch that honors the end of an era.

Not to mention, Kingda Ka's closure would technically count as two attractions being lost. That's thanks to Zumanjoro: Drop of Doom, the drop tower ride that's attached to that gigantic top hat that makes up the centerpiece of this steel beast. As luck would have it, this argument happens to have a little bit of gas in the tank, thanks to some official corporate business.

Six Flags’ Latest Quarterly Report Supports Those Key Reasons To Keep Kingda Ka Open

Ride closures are an event, especially in the theme park community of the modern internet. How else would we get those final ride through videos, and lists of Disneyland/Disney World rides we still wish existed? The truth is that sort of buzz generates money in all sorts of ways, as I’d previously highlighted.

If Kingda Ka is going to go away, it’s not going to be with a whimper. That’s a point I’m even more convinced is right, thanks to some language from the recently-released Six Flags/Cedar Fair’s Q3 2024 results. Take a look at this section of Six Flags President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman’s commentary:

Now my 100% armchair interpretation of this segment I’ve highlighted is that since Six Flags and Cedar Fair have merged, they know they need to look at what’s working and what isn’t. Anybody can tell you that, but it’s an important thing to keep in mind, especially when guests are already paying their respects to Kingda Ka after the mere whisper of its demise.

Wherever this rumor may have started, it may have served the purpose of showing how much people actually love the ride. Does all of this rationalization mean we’ll see a full reprieve for Kingda Ka? Absolutely not. The thrill ride is hitting its 20th anniversary at the beginning of the next season, and I’m sure a thrill ride this intense takes a lot of maintenance.

But I don’t think a ride as well known and as long running as this one is going to go quietly during a weekend in November. That’s like a crowd not cheering a Jurassic World VelociCoaster rollback; which, coincidentally enough, also happens from time to time on Kingda Ka.

Further Six Flags Rumors Indicate An Even Larger Replacement Would Be Needed

I could absolutely be wrong, and that possibility leads to another big question we should really be asking ourselves. Which possibility is the least expensive: repairing and revamping Kingda Ka, or just pulling the plug? Those potential costs would also include building and marketing something new in Six Flags Great Adventure, as well as the metaphorical cost of having this record breaking thrill ride down when The Flash: Vertical Velocity is supposed to open in spring 2025.

Now take that concern and multiply it by three; four times if you count Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, which is literally attached to Kingda Ka. That’s thanks to an expansion to this rumor I’ve just learned about, through this video out of The Coaster Spot:

The rumors that Twister and Green Lantern are also closing on November 10th are just as questionable as Kingda Ka’s potential departure, especially with no official statements to confirm them. However, taking this pattern into account, it’s starting to sound like Six Flags Great Adventure could be considering something new spanning the Golden Kingdom and Boardwalk sections.

If that’s the case, this project just got bigger than that story about Mathew McConaughey losing his phone at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Since something needs to replace these rides, and all of the items in question are on the chopping block, there would need to be a lot of planning, preparation, and announcements to let the park going public know. Since we haven’t seen that yet, I’m only further convinced that Kingda Ka will still be here for a little while longer; at the very least, one more season.

We’ll just have to wait and see if the brass at Six Flags/Cedar Fair make some sort of announcement in the weeks to come. But for now, if you’re really worried about missing out on riding any of the rides mentioned above, make your way to Six Flags Great Adventure by Sunday, November 10th just in case.

The soon-to-be Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie recently appeared on the Ive…Been Through podcast when the topic turned to Walt Disney World. Grande knows the resort well as does her family. She told the hosts that her mother legitimately wants her ashes sprinkled over Cinderella Castle, and is serious enough about it that the topic has apparently come up more than once. Grande said…

While I completely understand where Ariana Grande’s mom is coming from, I also understand what Ariana is saying, because being the person who tries to sprinkle ashes inside a Disney Park is tough because Disney really doesn’t want you to do that.

A lot of people have wanted to have their ashes sprinkled inside a Disney park. The Haunted Mansion is a particularly popular location, for obvious reasons, as is the water of Pirates of the Caribbean. Somebody even reportedly dumped human remains on Rise of the Resistance. It happens often enough there's a term for it. It's called a HEPA cleanup because the custodial crew needs a specialized vacuum with a HEPA filter to pick up the debris.

The issue is that sprinkling a person’s ashes like that is a biohazard, so Disney Parks can’t allow something like that to happen. While it’s usually impossible for the park to stop it from happening, it results in a massive clean-up effort after the fact that often results in attractions being shut down. Nobody wants their favorite attractions at Disney World closed for a biohazard cleanup.

Even if we remove the hassle and difficulty that doing this causes for other people, there’s the fact that following the massive cleanup, the mashes won’t even be in the place where the deceased person wanted them. They’ll be disposed of or destroyed in a way that will be far less magical.

It doesn’t look like Ariana Grande is planning to honor her mom’s wishes, which is ultimately a good thing. Grande would almost certainly be banned from Disney World for even trying, and based on the way she talks about the parks, that would be the worst possible punishment.

The recent launch of Lightning Lane Premiere Pass, an eye-wateringly expensive way of bypassing lines at attractions, received a few seconds of time amid the latest edition of Weekend Update this past weekend. I appreciate the joke, but I do have to point out that it actually glosses over a potentially bigger issue.

How SNL Poked Fun At Disney World’s Price Increases

Last month, Disney World and Disneyland announced Lightning Lane Premier Pass, a new premium option that gives guests the ability to pay to skip attraction lines, without having to wait for certain time windows like the current Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass Options. Colin Jost appeared on Weekend Update, and he came up with a secondary solution that doesn’t cost as much. Check out the clip below for the answer:

It’s a solid joke, and one that theme park devotees who watch are going to get. The idea that a person might fake a disability in order to get special treatment at Disney World is one that everybody can understand. The problem is the joke overlooks the fact that disability access at Disney Parks has actually gotten a lot worse.

SNL’s Joke Is Funny, But It’s Missing Something

To be clear, the SNL joke made me laugh, and I’m not expecting anybody in the writer’s room to understand the nuances of Disney World’s Disability Access Services (DAS) enough to realize that the barb isn’t entirely accurate. In fact, a quip closer to the truth wouldn’t have been as funny.

Having said that, as somebody who visits Disney Parks frequently, (and writes about its locations here at CinemaBlend), I know too much about this topic, so the joke has problems. For one, even before Disney World and Disneyland introduced Lightning Lane Premiere Pass, the parks made massive changes to DAS to the point that to be honest, showing up at the park in a wheelchair won’t necessarily get you anything.

Also, Disney Parks has claimed that there has been widespread fraud within DAS, leading to a lot of people getting access to it that should not have it. Disney World banned many independent tour guides recently and cited abuse of the DAS system as part of the reason. More recently, the rules for DAS changed, leading fewer people qualifying for it than previously.

It’s not news that abuse of DAS is something that happens. Years ago, there were reports of people in wheelchairs essentially renting themselves out so that groups could skip lines. There certainly were people taking advantage of the system.

Having said that, it’s been suggested that the recent crackdown to fix the abuse has been specifically designed to get people to pay for Lightning Lane access. So the truth, which isn’t very funny is that using a wheelchair isn’t an alternative to paying to skip the line. It’s actually the other way around. But, as I said, this explanation isn't my way of chastising Weekend Update but simply illuminating some key information.

A Walt Disney World disposable cup, the kind you would normally get a cup of coffee in, has gone viral on Twitter after the cup was apparently discovered sitting out on a street corner in the middle of New York City. Everybody is now asking the same question. How the heck did it get there?

Many in the comments have ideas about how the cup got there. There are Disney stores, Disney corporate offices, and Disney Broadway shows all located in New York. While that’s certainly all true, I would assume that they all have their own cups for such things and wouldn’t use cups specifically branded to Walt Disney World which is located over 1,000 miles away.

Did somebody fly home from a Disney World vacation carrying this cup? Unless it was empty it shouldn’t have made it past airport security. If it was empty, why carry it all that way? Certainly if the cup was left on the sidewalk, there were no plans to keep it long-term. I suppose somebody might decide a disposable cup is the cheapest possible Disney World souvenir, but then it wouldn’t have been left behind.

Perhaps the cup did come from another Disney location in New York. Perhaps Disney World cups were sent to the location accidentally or because other cups were out of stock and it made more sense to use them than not. The real answer for how this cup made it to NYC is probably something as mundane as that.

But I hope this cup has a story. We may never know it, but I choose to believe this cup's journey from Orlando to New York was one worthy of its own Disney movie. Honestly, considering the things that Pixar has made movies about, a film about a sentient disposable cup and its adventure through the world could honestly be one of the best Pixar movies we've ever seen.

Whatever the reason, I'm mildly envious. Somebody got to walk around New York City and in a small way feel like they were at Walt Disney World. I haven't been to Disney World since Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened and I'm ready to go back. It makes me wish I had a disposable Disney World cup to drink my coffee out of each morning.

Generally speaking, I don’t go in much for the “Disney v Universal” battle. It’s been suggested that with Universal Orlando opening Epic Universe next year, Disney World is going to be in trouble because there’s no response, in the form of a major attraction opening to compete with it. Universal could steal attendance Disney won't get back. I have largely dismissed this idea. Disney World is still the vacation kingdom and Universal still has catching up to do. Having said that, Universal may be closer to catching up than anybody realizes, so maybe Disney should be worried after all.

Disney Parks Are Going To Be Fine In The Short Term

To be clear, I still don’t buy into the idea that Epic Universe is going to be some sort of death knell in the powerhouse that is Disney World. There is simply no place in the world like the swamp that Walt Disney transformed into an oasis. Even after Epic Universe gives Universal almost as many theme parks as Disney in Florida, Disney will still be Disney.

In the short term, both Disney and Universal are going to be fine. Epic Universe will absolutely increase attendance at Universal Orlando Resort, but there’s a good chance that those tourists coming to check out Universal’s new park will stay for a few days and visit Disney World too. There’s every possibility that both companies will have a record record-setting 2025 when it comes to attendance, revenue and profit, all those things that businesses love.

Universal Destinations And Experiences Are Offering A Wider Selection Of Themed Entertainment

However, Universal is clearly thinking long-term. Epic Universe is just one piece of what Universal Destinations and Experiences has planned. The same year that Epic Universe opens in Florida, Universal Horror Unleased will open in Las Vegas.

That will be followed in the not-too-distant future by Universal Kids Resort, a family-oriented theme park resort in Texas, and more than likely (though not guaranteed quite yet) a new theme park in Europe, a first for the Universal brand.

Universal isn’t just building new traditional theme parks. It is doing that, and Epic Universe, simply by being more than a quarter century younger than Disney’s newest U.S. park, is guaranteed to be the most technologically impressive park in the world. But what Universal is also doing is expanding its footprint in both a geographic and a themed entertainment perspective.

New locations like Universal Horror Unleashed, a permanently settled version of Universal’s insanely popular Halloween Horror Nights, as well as its new LEGOland-style family resort, are very clearly not for everybody. If jumpscares make you legitimately uncomfortable, then Horror Unleashed isn’t going to be a place to go. If you don’t have young kids, then Universal Kids Resort is unlikely to have much to offer you.

But by the same token, Universal Orlando Resort isn’t necessarily a place for all audiences. If you only visit Universal Parks during Halloween Horror Nights, then Horror Unleashed has the potential to make you a more regular guest. If your kids aren’t quite big enough to get enough out of Universal Orlando’s not inexpensive ticket price because they can’t ride the epic roller coasters, then Kids Resort will be the place to go.

Universal is planning to do more with the concept of themed entertainment in the future than Disney is. Though to be fair, Disney has tried.

Disney World’s Attempt To Expand The Concepts Of Themed Entertainment Flopped

Disney Experiences did try to expand the concept of what themed entertainment was. Unfortunately for the company, and probably all of us, it didn’t work.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was a revolution in the concept of themed entertainment. While I never had the chance to have the full multi-day experience before Starcruiser closed down for good, I did get a chance to preview Galactic Starcruiser, and what I saw was incredible. The creativity, design and immersion of the experience were unlike anything I had ever seen before in a theme park.

Unfortunately, as had been expected, the market for Galactic Starcruiser was limited. The experience was expensive, and while there are probably more than enough Star Wars fans to keep something like that running for decades, the number of those fans with that kind of money was not.

By comparison, Universal Orlando Resort also opened its own unique themed entertainment experience not that long ago. Universal’s Great Movie Escape answers the question, what if your local escape room had an unlimited budget? The answer is a lot of fun, actually. And while it’s unclear how successful the Great Movie Escape has been in an absolute sense, it’s still open, whereas Galactic Starcruiser is closed, which tells you all you need to know.

Galactic Starcruiser was great but it also failed. The reasons for that failure have been and will continue to be debated. However, since all entertainment companies are forever destined to learn the wrong lessons from both success and failure, it’s unlikely Disney will be trying anything like it anytime soon, which is unfortunate because it’s exactly what Disney should be doing if it wants to be in a strong position down the road.

Disney Parks Need To Grow, Not Just Expand

Disney Experiences is investing in its parks. Disney has promised to spend $60 billion over the next decade on its parks, and that’s not nothing. At the last D23, we saw where a lot of that money is going to be spent. Disney World is planning new lands at three of its four parks, including a new Villains land at Magic Kingdom, a Tropical Americas area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and a Monsters Inc land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

At the same time, Disneyland Resort is in the early stages of DisneylandForward, a massive expansion that promises to expand both parks significantly and add who knows what else in the way of hotels, dining, shopping, and if we’re really lucky, a third theme park.

Making the parks better is good, and making the parks different is better. They could be different by existing in new places or by offering more specialized experiences. I'll always wonder if Galactic Starcruiser would have been more successful if it had existed anywhere in the world other than Disney World.

I fully expect Universal Horror Unleashed to be built in more places if it's successful in Las Vegas. It's the perfect way to build a Universal "park" almost anywhere. Galactic Starcruiser could have been that for Disney.

10 years from now Disney Parks will be bigger and better than ever. That’s all but guaranteed. But 10 years from now, Universal Parks will also be bigger, they will also be better, but they’ll also be more. There will be more places to go and more experiences to have.

Disney Parks may still be the best place in the world to get the traditional theme park experience that we know and love, even decades from now. But if Universal is able to offer types of experiences that Disney can’t, or simply doesn’t, they have the potential to draw a lot more consumers to their locations.

Nothing that Universal is going to do is ever going to "destroy" Disney. At the end of the day, however, people only have finite resources when it comes to leisure spending. If Universal becomes the place where more people can do more with that money, then a lot of that money isn't going to be spent at Disney. It could take years, even decades for such a shift to really take hold, but if Disney doesn't pay attention, by the time the damage is done, recovery will only be more difficult.

A criminal complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against a man named Michael Scheuer. According to the complaint, Scheuer was fired from his job for undisclosed misconduct, and in response used passwords that had not yet been deactivated to make significant changes to menus for many Disney World restaurants. While the complaint does not mention where Scheuer worked, 404media reports the man worked for Disney and the menus in question were for Disney World locations.

Disney World Restaurant Menus Allegedly Had Allergy Information Changed

Scheuer’s job at Disney was to work as part of the company that created printed menus for Disney World restaurants via a software program created specifically for Disney. Many of the changes to menus that Scheuer allegedly made were “benign” as the complaint says. This included changing prices, adding profanity, and changing fonts to wingdings, which use symbols rather than letters.

However, one other change could have been significantly more dangerous. Allergen information was reportedly changed, specifically notating that certain items were safe for people with peanut allergies, despite this not being the case. Obviously, this could have led to a lot of people getting sick or worse.

Luckily, the issues with the menu creation software were reportedly discovered before any of the modified menus made it into the hands of the public. Still, it’s not hard to imagine how things could have turned out if the menus with incorrect allergen information made it into the resort.

Disney World’s Current Allergy Lawsuit Is Unrelated

This isn’t the only allergy-related issue that Disney World is currently dealing with. Disney World and the Raglan Road restaurant at Disney Springs have been sued by the family of a woman who died of a severely allergic reaction after eating at the restaurant.

A lawsuit made headlines earlier this year after Disney tried to get it dismissed over a controversial use of its Disney+ terms of service. Disney has since walked back from that defense. The two events are unrelated. The modification of menus of menus took place months after the woman’s death. Raglan Road is also not a Disney-owned restaurant, so it likely does not get its menus from the same source.

Disney World has a Michelin-star restaurant so the resort's guests aren't necessarily massive theme park fans, simply fans of great food. As somebody who loves eating at Disney World and has a kid with a, non-fatal, allergy, I’ve relied on Disney Parks menus to feed my own family, so it’s more than a little scary that something truly terrible could have happened.

There’s proof that it’s working too, as theme park fans can’t get over how insane the new animatronics look for the ride Monsters Unleashed: The Frankenstein Experiment. After getting a look at these effects for myself, I’m totally with the fans on this one. To quote one of the reactions I’m about to share with you, my feelings are as follows: ‘‘Get me on this ride!”

Introducing Universal Epic Universe’s Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

The Frankenstein family business is going strong in Monsters Unchained, as Dr. Victoria Frankenstein is still toiling in the lab her infamous great grandfather founded. The village of Darkmoor is about to see a lot of things go bump in the night, as this latest experiment unleashes a lot of classic Universal Monsters through a ride experience to die for.

As you can see below, the footage Universal Orlando has shared to tease the animatronics that bring it to life is absolutely amazing:

Just one of those animatronics would be enough to impress even the most jaded theme park goer. Now imagine 14 of those beasts, pulled straight from the Universal Monsters canon, waiting to terrorize you in one ride! And since Danny Elfman’s contributing music for Dark Universe, there’s a chance his brand of gothic frights will be the accompaniment on your journey.

But seriously, look at those animatronic figures! No, really, study them a little more, because only then will you understand how much people are going nuts for this coterie of creatures. There may even be an early favorite already forming in the rankings of monsters being unchained.

Theme Park Fans Are Hyped About Monsters Unchained’s New Animatronics

Monster fans are apparently eating this stuff up already, as the reveal of those Epic Universe ride figures have lit a fire on social media. As you might expect, Frankenstein's Monster is one of the figures that seems to be taking an early lead with those who love a good scare.

However, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment has brought out Universal horror fans of all sorts with this early footage. You don’t have to take my word for it, as you can look at some of the reactions shared on that social media post embedded above:

• “WOW! This ride is going to be the sleeper hit of the park, I think!” - @JustinWilsonT
• “I’ve watched this video twice and I’m still not convinced that Frankenstein isn’t CGI… that can’t be real” - @JArnone1016
• “GET ME ON THIS RIDE AS A RIDE TESTER NOW!” - @AloisTrancy17
• “I might get bigger white streaks in my hair from this ride than the Bride, those look scary good and I can only imagine how they’ll look next level in their final environments!” - @RelevntConundrm
• “This image is the essence of LonChaneyJr tiptoeing through the fog that terrified me as a child, and caused TheWolfman to be my favorite Universal Monster. This incarnation is incredible. I LOVE IT! #StillTerrifying I already know DarkUniverse/Darkmoor, will be my favorite World.” - @AnthonyJTropea

Can one really apply to be a Ride Tester at a major theme park? Because if so, I can think of several people who'd want in on that deal… and I’m one of them! I’ll admit, Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe section would be one of the places I’d spend most of my time. That is, whenever I’m not immersing myself in the excitement promised in How To Train Your Dragon’s Isle of Berk.

But with my enthusiasm comes a relatively small request, and that final reaction helped inspire me to think of this. Just as I believe there are lessons Universal Epic Universe learned from Disney Parks, there’s a transformation effect I’m hoping will be involved with The Wolf Man’s piece of the action.

The Potential Wolf Man Effect I Hope Monsters Unchained Is Hiding From Us

You can thank a Beast of a different kind for the hypothesis I'm about to spin here. Now that we’ve seen a lot of fun and exciting details about Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, there’s something I’m hoping is being hidden from us in plain sight. The animatronics look fresh as hell, and as cutting edge as some of the stuff we’ve seen in places like Hong Kong Disneyland.

I mention that park in particular, because it’s the home of Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. That very ride has impressed people with its dancing Belle animatronic, much like Dark Universe has with its Universal Monsters. Now I’m hoping that thanks to the Beast transformation effect you’ll see below, we can expect something similar with The Wolf Man:

Imagine if we actually get to see Larry Talbot, or whomever this happens to be in Monsters Unchained’s lore, turn from a haunted human into a hairy beast? Seeing that happen right before our very eyes would be something, for sure. But if this isn’t something present in The Frankenstein Experiment, you won’t see me crying any time soon.

The entire Dark Universe world for Universal Orlando Resort's fourth gate is something I'd probably sprint straight towards once the gates open. Maybe it's because I'm a monster kid like the people that designed and built this place, but the danger of Monsters Unchained only sweetens the pot for a future trip I'm looking to plan sooner than later.

Universal Epic Universe is shaping up to be something rather spectacular looking, and I know I’m not the only one that’s waiting to storm the gates of Darkmoor with excitement. If you fall into that camp yourself, don’t delay in organizing your potential future stay; especially since the Grand Helios Hotel’s bookings are flying like a bat through the night.

In early 2023 Universal Destinations & Experiences announced two very different themed entertainment experiences on the horizon. One was Universal Kids Resort, a family-friendly theme park currently under construction in Texas. The other was what came to be called Universal Horror Unleashed, a horror-themed experience coming to Las Vegas. A lot of details about exactly what Horror Unleashed will be are yet to be revealed, but today the official Universal Horror Unleashed Twitter account launched with a tease of some sort of announcement coming on October 31.

Whatever the official announcement may be, we already have one key piece of information, as the account bio states that Universal Horror Unleashed is “Coming 2025” so that means both this and Epic Universe will be opening next year. 2025 is going to be a massive year for Universal Parks.

While we really don’t know what to expect from Horror Unleashed, expectations are that it will essentially be a permanent home for Halloween Horror Nights. We’ll likely get one or more of the same sort of houses that we get at HHN every year, though likely bigger and better versions of them. Considering how popular and successful HHN is every year, it’s not exactly surprising that Universal would try to find a way to not have to tear those houses down.

Perhaps on Thursday, we’ll get a more specific opening date than simply 2025. We’ll hopefully also get some specifics about what the experience will be like. If it is essentially a bigger or more creative HHN experience, what sort of story or stories will be told? Will the experience be a long-term construction or will it be designed to change out the experience from time to time? Will there also be food and drink available in order to complete the HHN-style experience?

Between Epic Universe, Horror Unleashed, and Universal Kids Resort Universal isn’t just expanding in a massive way but it’s doing so in a way that is really creating something new for every sort of fan. I’m not even a big horror person but as a themed entertainment fan, I’m as excited for Universal Horror Unleashed as I am for Epic Universe. 2025 is going to be a great year.

Disney Parks are wonderful. The experience is magical. The Cast Members are fantastic. There's always something new at Disney World that makes every trip special. Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for the other guests. We’ve seen numerous cases of adults behaving badly at Disney World, but a comment on the r/Disneyland subreddit reveals what might be the worst when a person reportedly just dropped their pants to crap on the ground at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Redditor stated…

Needless to say, this is the worst thing I’ve ever heard and I’m now afraid to stand too close in line to another human being while waiting for the Tower of Terror. I’m not alone in this. While the Reddit thread is full of discussions of people doing mean/terrible/gross things, this one is getting the most visceral reaction. Responses include…

• Oh. My. God.
• The way I just recoiled from my computer screen.
• Florida gonna Florida I guess
• I laughed, but only because I am distraught.
• Recreating that scene from Bridesmaids, huh?

Considering that the cleanliness of Disney Parks is one of their claims to fame, seeing somebody do this has to be about the most terrible thing I can imagine. I get upset when I see people drop trash on the ground at Disneyland, I can’t imagine watching somebody do this. It’s not like restrooms are particularly difficult to find at Disney Parks.

This is unfortunately not the only case we know of, of a guest going to extreme lengths to relieve themselves at a Disney Park somewhere other than a bathroom. I've heard anecdotal stories from Cast Members as well of people doing this to avoid having to leave the long lines of Disney World and Disneyland. But that’s not even an excuse here since this person was apparently just walking down Hollywood Boulevard.

People have been banned from Disney World for a heck of a lot less than this. It doesn’t sound like the woman had to deal with security following this, but of all the things that Cast Members have had to deal with that should get them hazard pay, I feel for whoever had to clean up this particular mess.

While Epic Universe’s initial tickets are going fast, the May 2025 opening will only be the start of what’s to come in this stellar looking new park. Part of what awaits us seems to have drawn some lessons from recent attractions at Disney Parks’ U.S. locations, and I can’t wait to see what the results are, as they’re linked to one of the strongest franchises being presented.

The Worlds Of Universal Epic Universe’s Will Be Totally Immersive

New York Comic-Con 2024 revealed quite a bit about the world of upcoming 2025 movies and other forms of entertainment. However, it also hosted a pretty eye-opening panel thanks to the Fandom-sponsored sit down “Universal Epic Universe: The Creation Of Universal's Game-Changing New Theme Park,” hosted by Gamespot’s Chris Hayner.

As a member of the press, I was able to also attend the Fandom Party, which celebrated Universal’s upcoming theme park and the 20th anniversary of that very website. Through a scavenger hunt throughout The Venue on Music Row, housed in New York’s Hard Rock Hotel, my fellow journalists and I were primed to learn more about what Universal Epic Universe had to offer.

Thanks to a lineup that included folks like Patrick Braillard, the Senior Show Writer at Universal Creative, we learned that this new theme park is looking to achieve total immersion.

Using the new land of How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk as a prime example, Braillard set up that promise with some familiar sounding concepts. As CinemaBlend was on hand to hear in the panel, I can share that setup with you as follows:

Now here’s where lesson number one comes into play, as our own Dirk Libbey’s recent Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experience taught him something that he felt he should have saw coming. In his opinion, people just don’t want to immerse themselves in this themed land, which upon its opening promised the same type of experience that would leave the world outside of its walls where it lay.

In theory, that’s a great idea, but in execution, both Galaxy’s Edge and the Galactic Starcruiser seemed to fall massively short of the mark. With that in mind, the lesson I’m hoping Universal Parks and Experiences has taken to heart is that while a singular immersive experience may not be ideal, several based on various IPs throughout the park will play better with restless guests.

Though considering there was an audible squee when Patrick Braillard mentioned how we’re going to meet Toothless, I think How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk might even buck that expectation. And speaking of the now-defunct Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, there’s a new revelation about Universal Epic Universe’s Grand Heilos Hotel that brought that particular experience back to mind in a huge way.

An Immersive How To Train Your Dragon Suite Is Going To Be Available At The Helios

What’s better than slipping onto the Isle of Berk in a story that’s been described as “How to Train Your Dragon 2.5?” Well, you’d have to ask the man who made that particular revelation at this panel, and that happens to be Steve Tatham, the Executive Creative Director at Universal Epic Universe.

And as luck would have it, he gave the audience that answer without much prompting. During another part of this extended conversation, Tatham shared this fact with the audience:

Considering the audience at New York Comic-Con 2024 broke out into applause and cheers after dropping that knowledge, I’d say Mr. Tatham got the crowd hyped up. I may or may not have joined in that rabble myself, because of being a How to Train Your Dragon fan who would love to jump into Berk’s ecosystem, and pet me some dragons.

Which feels like Universal Epic Universe has addressed that second lesson I’m hoping has been learned: if you’re going to do immersive lodging, you’d better make sure there’s an option to step out of that world. With Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser’s pricey lifespan still fresh in everyone’s minds, I don’t think anyone is going to want to plunk down a vacation’s worth of expenses on a total enclosed experience ever again.

But as Steve Tatham told us, you could live in that How to Train Your Dragon experience 24/7. You don’t have to, but you could. And this isn’t meant to be a knock against that premium experience that ran inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While I’ve never experienced it myself, and would still gladly do so if given the chance, I can see where the problems may have presented themselves.

The Helios Hotel Looks Into Universal Epic Universe

If you thought an immersive suite was impressive, just wait until you read this final piece of information on the Grand Helios Hotel. Further fleshing out just how connected the Helios is to Universal Epic Universe’s theming and storytelling, Steve Tatham also had these promising notes to share:

I don’t know about the rest of you, but if there was a hotel that allowed me to enter and exit the Magic Kingdom through an experience themed to the Tron Lightcycle Run, I’d pretty much make a reservation now. While that very same park has the Cinderella Castle Suite available, it isn’t something you can readily book. Meanwhile, the Grand Helios Hotel is an entire lodging option built to connect you to the park without having to win a sweepstakes.

Whether you’re talking about Universal Epic Universe’s worlds or its hotel connected to said magic, immersion is the name of the game. As Patrick Braillard talked about the How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk experience in this New York Comic-Con panel, he said something that could be applied to this whole experience overall:

There’s a lot more to behold at Universal Epic Universe, as Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic await eager explorers, with Celestial Park tying it all together. And while there’s still time for you to prepare for the May 20, 2025 grand opening, you’re going to want to book your tickets and park passes as soon as possible. I’d imagine that How to Train Your Dragon suite is about to become very popular for the foreseeable future.

Everything we know about Epic Universe indicates the park is going to be something truly revolutionary. Tickets to Epic Universe for when the park opens in May 2025 can currently only be purchased as part of multi-day ticket packages, with only one day at Epic Universe per package available. However, if you’re interested in staying at the Grand Helios Resort, the hotel attached to Epic Universe, you’re out of luck for about the first month.

The Grand Helios Resort Is Booked Out For Weeks After Epic Universe Opens

Alongside the Epic Universe theme park, Universal Orlando Resort will open a new flagship hotel, the Grand Helios Resort, which is attached to the park with a dedicated entrance to the park for hotel guests. Reservations for the hotel went on sale alongside the Epic Universe ticket packages. The hotel has filled up quickly. As of this writing, the first night that is currently available to book is June 14, 2024, about three and a half weeks after the theme park opens.

As a big fan of theme park resort hotels, this is the news that has me bummed out because honestly, I’m just as excited to experience the Grand Helios as I am to visit Epic Universe. Theme park resorts are a lot of fun, and Universal hotels are as good or better than Disney in many ways. And with this hotel being attached to Epic Universe it promises to have some views that are unlike what’s available at most theme park hotels.

More Grand Helios Rooms Might Be Available Later

While you can’t book rooms at Grand Helios for almost the first month of Epic Universe being open right now, not every room in the hotel may be actually sold out. It’s a strange situation, as the first day that you can book right now seems to have availability for every single room type, but all nights before it have nothing at all.

One wouldn’t normally expect such a stark difference in availability, so the reason you currently can't make a reservation before mid-June may be that rooms are actually being held back. Single day tickets to Epic Universe are not available for the general public yet, but that will certainly happen at some point between now and opening day. I’m wondering if we might see some Grand Helios rooms released alongside those tickets.

Whatever happens, it seems already clear that there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Epic Universe. When it opens next summer we can be sure a lot of people will be there, even if they can’t all stay at the same hotel.

I got to visit Silver Dollar City for the first time a couple of years ago, and I absolutely understand why USA Today called it the best theme park. It’s an incredible place. It's a destination for roller coaster fans, with multiple incredible coasters, but it also has great food and an incredible design. And now, SDC is getting even better because it’s about to become a true theme park resort with a Silver Dollar City hotel coming in 2026

Silver Dollar City Is Becoming A True Theme Park Resort

Back in 2021, Silver Dollar City purchased 800 acres of undeveloped land next to the park. Another plan for a resort fell through and the park swooped in and grabbed the land. Since then, fans have been wondering what it would do with the space.

Silver Dollar City has now officially announced Silver Dollar City Resort, a hotel with 262 guest rooms that will provide easy access to the theme park. There will also be a full-service restaurant on site, and considering SDC has some of the best theme park food, the expectations for a meal at a full-service restaurant on the property are going to be high.

Needless to say, this is wonderful news. When I visited, it was clear one of the things that Silver Dollar City needed most was a hotel. The park is located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, giving it some of the most incredible views of any theme park in the world. The downside of that is there are no hotels located particularly close.

The resort will make Silver Dollar City a true destination.

Even More Is On The Way To One Of America’s Best Theme Parks

The resort is part of a half-billion-dollar investment in Silver Dollar City over the next decade that will develop over 1200 acres of land. The most recent addition to the park was a from-the-ground-up new version of Fire in the Hole, the park's iconic dark ride coaster.

While only the resort has been officially announced, it’s clear that a lot more is planned over the next decade as part of the major investment in Silver Dollar City. We can almost certainly expect a significant expansion to the theme park, which will likely include a marquee roller coaster or two. All of it is going to make this place even more of a must-visit theme park.

Silver Dollar City Resort is expected to open in late 2026.

This week, Disney announced that the planned opening in late 2024 is being pushed back into the summer of 2025. That’s a pretty significant delay for a live stage show. According to Disney, work is set to begin on the exterior of the building, including a new marquee, soon. However, one has to wonder if the delay in the new show and other plans for Disney’s Hollywood Studios may have something in common.

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure Delay Could Mean Big Changes For The Animation Courtyard

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure was originally set to open basically now. The fact that we’re only now getting the announcement that the show is delayed is indicative, though certainly not conclusively, that whatever caused the delay is some sort of last-minute issue that just came up.

In addition to that, the fact that permits to build a new marquee for the theater are only just being filed, when certainly those could have been filed earlier, could indicate that the work about to begin is something different than what was previously planned for the attraction.

If that’s the case, it could mean that even more changes are planned for the Animation Courtyard. The courtyard is one of two spots at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that are likely locations for the new Monsters Inc. land that has been announced as coming to the park. If Monstropolis is coming to the Animation Courtyard, that means the fan favorite Muppet Vision 3D may have received a stay of execution.

MuppetVision 3D May Have Been Spared, At Least For Now

Disney’s Hollywood Studios' Grand Avenue, otherwise known as the Muppet Courtyard, is currently home to Muppet Vision 3D, the last Muppet project that Jim Henson was personally involved in, as well as Pizzarizzo, the oddly popular dining location. Many believe, mostly based on concept art, that this is where the Monsters Inc. land announced at D23 this year is, or at least was, set to go. An official location hasn’t yet been announced.

However, because a lot of people love The Muppets, there’s been an outcry against replacing Muppet Vision 3D. Some rumors have implied that while Disney was planning to replace the Muppets, the outcry has caused them to reconsider, and the new land may go in the Animation Courtyard instead

So the idea here is the delay for The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure is because the previous plans have changed, and in order for Animation Courtyard to accommodate both the new show and a Monsters Inc. land, some additional work on the Mermaid building is needed.

At this point, it’s all speculation. We don’t when work will begin on Monsters Inc. land. Disney World has a lot of construction planned in 2025, with work set to begin at Disney's Animal Kingdom already planned for January, and a major redevelopment of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom also in the cards. Even if we do ultimately lose Muppet Vision 3D, that day could still be several years away.

Theme park companies always try to have something new to offer guests every year but nobody is going to be able to compete with Universal Orlando Resort's newest offering when it opens a brand new theme park. Everything we know about Epic Universe is promising an incredible experience. Fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out just when we'll all be able to enjoy the new park. And now we know and it's even earlier than we thought.

Earlier this week it was reported that Epic Universe could open as early as Memorial Day Weekend 2025, which was already earlier than we expected. Epic Universe had been given a summer 2025 opening window, and most were expecting a date in June or even early July. However, it turns out that the new park will open even earlier, with the first guests set to be welcomed on May 22, 2025.

The First Epic Universe Tickets Will Limit The Time You Can Spend There

But if you want to be one of the first to experience Epic Universe, you will have to jump through some hoops. Tickets are set to go on sale very soon, October 22. Unfortunately, if you plan to spend a week at the new park, that option is off the table for now. As rumors a couple of months ago indicated, the first Epic Universe tickets will only be available as part of vacation packages. Guests will need to buy at least three days' worth of pack tickets to Universal Orlando Resort, and they'll only have access to Epic Universe on one of those days.

Single-day tickets will be available starting October 24, but only to Universal Orlando annual pass holders. Single-day tickets will certainly be made available to the general public before Epic Universe opens, but exactly when that will happen is anybody's guess. It's unclear if buying an annual pass today would get you access to Epic Universe tickets next week.

The three-day ticket package will run guests between $118-$174 per day ($352-$521 total). Visiting Epic Universe will be limited to a single day. Guests can use the other two days to visit Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Islands of Adventure, or the Volcano Bay water park (for an additional fee).

Will One Day At Epic Universe Be Enough?

The ticket package itself isn't necessarily a bad idea. Most of the people looking to visit Epic Universe will likely be planning larger vacations and they'll want to visit the other two parks as well. Having said that, it's a safe bet that many will want to spend more than a single day at Epic Universe. It's a brand new park and anybody looking to experience everything Epic Universe has to offer will probably want to spend at least two days there.

Whether guests waiting to buy single tickets will be able to visit on opening day is a question. It may simply depend on how many people take advantage of these vacation packages. Clearly Universal is looking to manage attendance at Epic Universe to start. That makes sense. If the park is mobbed on opening day it will be a nightmare for Universal team members and will likely mean a lot of guests don't have much fun. This way, at least those that are there are having a good time.

And there's plenty of reason for guests to mob Epic Universe. The park boasts an incredible new roller coaster in Stardust Racers, as well as lands dedicated to Universal Monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, and a Nintendo. There will also be an all-new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

While you might not be able to spend as much time in Epic Universe as you might like, staying at the park's resort hotel will not be an issue. Reservations for the incredible-looking Helios Grand Hotel will open on October 22 as well. There do not appear to be any restrictions on booking, so anybody will be able to stay there for as long as they like.

Beginning October 23 at Disneyland, and October 30 at Walt Disney World, Disney Parks will begin to offer Lightning Lane Premier Pass. The new option will give guests the ability to ride any attraction that has a Lightning Lane queue, once per day, at any time of the guest's choosing.

This will make things much easier for guests, as the current Lightning Lane options force guests to pick the time they can do a ride ahead of time, and not all rides with Lightning Lanes are included in the base price. The kicker of Premier Pass is that it is, well, premier. At Disney World LLPP will run from $129-$449 per ticket per day, depending on the park. At Disneyland, the cost will be between $300-$400 per ticket per day but will cover both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, assuming you have also paid for a park hopper ticket.

Premier Pass Charges A Premium For Simplicity

Needless to say, those prices are enough to make your head spin. Disneyland only recently saw ticket price increases that saw tickets on the busiest days exceed $200 per person for the first time. Since we can guess those days will also include the most expensive Lightning Lane Premiere Pass, we’re looking at a pass that will cost twice what the ticket does, exceeding $600 total for a single person.

Having said that, what you get for that money is simplicity. The current Lightning Lane Multipass system restricts when you can use the faster line, and how frequently you get the chance. The Lightning Lane Single Pass, available at the most popular attractions, costs even more money, and you are forced to choose when you will use it when you buy it.

Premier Pass will allow guests to ride anything with a Lightning Lane, once per day whenever they want. This means guests have the freedom to decide when they ride certain things. Their schedule won't be dictated to them by when they were able to secure a window to use the Lightning Lane.

Lightning Lane Lane Premier Pass Is Meant To Be A Premium Option

While I hate having to pay for something at Disneyland and Disney World that used to be free, I myself have argued that the existing Lightning Lane Multi-Pass system is worth the money if you can afford to spend it. I recently took my family on a Disneyland vacation and found it invaluable. Because it isn’t crazy expensive, a lot of people are spending the money. The cost of Premier Pass, especially for my entire family, is simply not an option for me, but that’s part of the point.

Needless to say, this isn’t something Disneyland is necessarily expecting to sell a lot of. The announcement says they will be available in “very limited quantities” at launch. The idea here is that this is something that people who have the money can spend that will make their experience better, but more than likely large numbers of people won’t be buying this, so it shouldn’t have a significant impact on everybody else.

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass had been leaked previously, so we knew this was coming, though the exact details hadn’t yet been revealed. Honestly, this isn’t that shocking. Many of the other major theme park companies, from Universal to Legoland, have line-skipping options that are a lot more expensive than Disney’s standard Lightning Lane options. One of the biggest problems with Disney previously was that Lightning Lane could be difficult to use because of the need to schedule your rides. Universal Express Pass was much easier to use, but it cost a lot more.

Could Premier Pass Actually Make Lines At Disney Parks Better For Everybody?

Here’s the thing, While Premier Pass may be crazy expensive and something most of us may never be able to afford, it might be a good thing. As it currently stands Disney Parks won’t be selling massive numbers of Premier Pass on top of the current Lightning Lane sales. That would overfill the Lightning Lane and make it move much slower, something people spending $200 on LLPP won’t stand for. This means that more than likely, Disney will simply sell fewer of the current Lightning Lane option for every Premier Pass that is sold. If enough people are willing to pay for the Premier Pass, could the existing Lightning Lane go away entirely?

This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Disney parks could make as much money or more selling fewer Lightning Lanes at a higher price. This makes the line for Lightning Lane smaller overall, meaning it will have less impact on the standard standby line, which would allow it to move faster. As Defunctland has previously proved, line-skipping options are great for those who use them, but they make the experience worse for those in the standby line than they would be if the line-skipping option didn’t exist.

If we lose the existing Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, while it would subject those who can’t afford the more expensive option to the standby line, if that line is regularly a lot shorter than it currently is, that may not be a bad thing.

On the other side, if Lightning Lane becomes practically a walk-on experience, it at least makes spending that kind of money more worthwhile. Having used Universal’s Express Pass in both Hollywood and Florida, there is virtually zero wait if you do spend that money, which makes spending it more palatable.

It will certainly be interesting to see where things go from here. Ever since Disney World and Disneyland brought back a line-skipping option after reopening following the pandemic, it has been going through a lot of changes. Disney Parks are still trying to figure out what to do with this service. It’s unlikely this is the last addition or change. If Lighting Lane Premier Pass does become the standard, at least that would make the decision of what to spend money on easier and less confusing.

While we know almost everything happening at Epic Universe when it comes to the lands and attractions that the park will include, the big thing we don’t know is when we’ll actually be able to experience all of it. Epic Universe has only ever been given a summer 2025 opening window, but that’s a pretty wide period. However, a new story in the Wall Street Journal indicates that Universal is actually eyeing an opening that is technically even earlier, as it could open as early as Memorial Day Weekend 2025.

Epic Universe Could Be Opening By Memorial Day Weekend Next Year

While Memorial Day Weekend is technically still in the spring, it’s often seen as the unofficial beginning of summer. It’s actually fairly common for new rides to open that weekend. Disney World opened the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster that weekend a couple of years ago. But considering the scope and scale of Epic Universe, many were not expecting the park to be open that early.

To be sure, Memorial Day Weekend is not an official opening date yet. The date is being suggested to the WSJ by people familiar with the new park. It sounds like part of the reason that we don’t have an opening date quite yet is that Universal hasn't been quite sure when Epic Universe would be ready. The resort was hoping that everything would be ready by next May, but if construction was taking longer, then the opening would obviously be pushed back.

But if this report is accurate, then an opening date announcement is likely right around the corner, as the same sources indicate that tickets for Epic Universe could be going on sale before the end of the month. If that’s true, then we’ll know the official opening date of Epic Universe very soon.

When An Official Opening Date May Be Announced

If an official opening date for Epic Universe is imminent, then I would look toward New York Comic Con this weekend. There is a panel dedicated to Epic Universe on the schedule, so if there truly are plans to be selling tickets this month, then I would expect an announcement of when those tickets will be going on sale, and what dates they will be for, will be coming then.

With lands dedicated to Universal Monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, Nintendo, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there’s a lot to look forward to with Epic Universe. Even if the new park, and its incredible Helios Grand Hotel, are opening earlier than we thought, they can’t come soon enough.