November 17th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Donkey Kong Country at Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan will officially open on December 11th, it was announced this week.

- Six Flags Great Adventure confirmed that it has closed Kingda Ka for good. Kingda Ka had been the world's tallest roller coaster.

- Disneyland has opened it's version of Tiana's Bayou Adventure this week.

- Disneyland Resort kicked off it's Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure.

- The Walt Disney Company  reported a 4% rise in annual operating income for its Experiences segment, to $9.272 billion, although it was down for the final quarter of the year down 6%, which was driven by a 5% drop in revenue at the international parks.

- Disneyland Paris' upcoming drone show has an opening date and name. It will be called Disney Tales of Magic and it will open on January 10th next year.

- The names of two of the upcoming restaurants for Disneyland Resorts Downtown Disney have been announced, with table service restaurant Arthur & Sons Steak and Bourbon and quick service Pearl's Roadside BBQ.

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September 8th - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 We've had a couple of week's off, so forgive us. Here is this week's Theme Park News:

- Halloween Horror nights in both Hollywood and Orlando kicked off this week, with a highlight being the Mini Puft S'more which is a S'more shaped like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man for Ghostbusters.

- Disney announced today that it will debut a new Disney Villains-themed show at Disney's Hollywood Studios next summer, which will take the place of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy which closed on October 7. The new show themed to the Magic Mirror, the new production "will feature appearances by dozens of the most infamous evildoers, with fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent each breaking through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers," according to Walt Disney World's announcement.

- Walt Disney World has revealed that today will be the final day for the virtual queue on its TRON roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom. Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind are now going to be the only attractions at Walt Disney World with Virtual Queues.

- Disney has also confirmed that the construction of the new Avengers attractions will result in "the removal of the backstage Red Car Trolley barn and, as such, we will discontinue operation of the attraction in early 2025"

- At Disneyland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has re-opened on Thursday as the park's Critter Country land prepares to be transformed into Bayou Country, when Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens in November.

- November 15, the date that Tiana's will open will also mark the start of the holiday festivities across Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. This year's festivities inclue the It's a Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday overlays, as well as the Christmas Fantasy Parade, as well as the Believe... in Holiday Magic fireworks show.

- Universal Orlando have given us more details this week on the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride coming to the Universal Epic Universe park, including our first look at the "Metro-Floo" hallway which is the entry for the ride.

- Universal Orlando has announced that Death Eaters will return to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida for select nights starting August 29 and continuing through November 3, as an unofficial part of Halloween Horror Nights. 

- The Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe and Sanrio Smile Shop opened on Friday at  Universal Studios Hollywood's CityWalk.

- Warner Bros. Discovery has combined  their current Global Themed Entertainment licensing group and the Studio Tours & Retail division into a single unit called the Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences division. It will be overseen by Simon Robinson, Chief Operating Officer of WBD Studio.

- Efteling in the Netherlands has announced that a new Aquanura show, which will debut this winter, will feature a new score as well as four new eight-meter "Beacons of Light" around the park's central lagoon.

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August 18th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Australia’s first and last tourist monorail has now been closed at SeaWorld on the Gold Coast. The monorail has been standing but not operating 2019. It opened in 1986, and closes after 330, 000 laps of the park.

- Disney Parks confirmed that the new Cars attractions announced at D23, will be located in Magic Kingdom will be replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.

 - At Walt Disney World the Peter Pan's Flight ride has re-opened early from it's maintenance, and it has replaced the scene featuring the Never Land Tribe to use less racist stereotypes.

- At Disney California Adventure,  a new show called "The Storytellers of Plaza de la Familia Celebrate The Musical World of Coco!" will debut August 30.

- The 2023 Theme Index Report was released with the top 3 parks being Magic Kingdom, Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan.

- Six Flags announced two new coasters for the 2025 season. Six Flags Great America, north of Chicago, will introduce Wrath of Rakshasa, a Bolliger & Mabillard Custom Narrow Dive Coaster. At Six Flags New England, the Massachusetts park will welcome Quantum Accelerator, an Intamin family launch coaster will feature two launches, sending riders to a top speed of 45 mph on its 2,604 feet of track. 

- They also delayed The Flash: Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Great Adventure and Georgia Surfer at Six Flags Over Georgia.

- Six flags has released concept art of their Halloween Fright Fest event for the Conjuring Universe house. It will feature a tour of the Warren's family Occult Museum.

-The menus have been released for the 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, which starts August 29 and continues through November 23.  You can see the line-up of returning menu items as well on Disney's website. 

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August 11th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- The D23 Parks Panel, named Horizons, has just been completed. Here are there "Non-blue sky" announcements:

- Avatar experience based on the sequel films to DCA.

- Coco ride coming to Disney California Adventure.

- Disney Starlight nighttime Spectacular for Magic Kingdom in 2025

- Frozen land to open in Paris 2026

- Lion King land also coming to Disney Adventure World

- Walt Disney A magic life coming to Main Street Opera House

- All new Indiana Jones and Encanto Rides coming to Tropical Americas.

- Tiana's Bayou Adventure to open November 15th at Disneyland.

- New lounges for Epcot and Magic Kingdom

- Monster's Inc land for Hollywood Studios including Door coaster.

- Cars replacing part of frontier land at Magic Kingdom with two new rides.

- Two new attractions for Avengers Campus at DCA.

- Villains land with two major attractions coming to Magic Kingdom.

- Disney also did some financial reporting ahead of D23 this week, with reporting that it's theme parks division brought in $5.82 billion at its U.S. theme parks during the period, plus another $1.6 billion from its international parks. Due to Higher coast though, the US parks had a decline in operating income, which was down 6%, to $1.347 billion for the quarter.

- Universal Studios Hollywood have finished their house line-up for this year's Halloween Horror Night, with a featuring musician The Weeknd, called The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy. They also confirmed this week that the Terror Tram will return this year with the theme Enter the Blumhouse, featuring characters from M3GAN, The Black Phone, Freaky, The Purge, and Happy Death Day. They will also be bring back The Purge: Dangerous Waters show in the WaterWorld theater.

- Universal Studios Hollywood also announced this week that it has added Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge to the list of attractions eligible for its Universal Express pass

- Canada's Wonderland will open the longest, tallest, and fastest launch coaster in Canada next year, called AlpenFury. The Premier Rides coaster will feature 9 inversions, the most of any launch coaster in North America, and will be 115 km/h  along 1 KM of track, with a 50 metres tall.

- Carowinds is planning a Camp Snoopy Expansion in 2025. They plan to add an ART Engineering family launch coaster call Snoopy's Racing Railway, similar to the one that opened at Canada's Wonderland last year. They will also b adding a Splash Battle ride call Charlie Brown's River Raft Blast.

-  Reuters reports that a private equity firm behind Parques Reunidos, EQT, has enlisted JP Morgan to conduct a review of the Spanish theme park operator that could result in a sale of its US assets. Parques Reunidos's US assets are held by Palace Entertainment and include Kennywood, Lake Compounce, Iowa's Adventureland, Southern California's Castle Park and Raging Waters and the Noah's Ark Water Park in the Wisconsin Dells. Reuters cited a source that the Palace Entertainment properties could be valued at 1 billion Euro.

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August 4th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Universal Hollywood have announced they will open a new Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe and Sanrio Smile Shop at Universal CityWalk.

- Hollywood also announced another house for this year's Halloween Horror Nights, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface, and one more scare zone called Luchadores Monstruosos.

- Universal Orlando this week confirmed details about the last land at its Epic Universe theme park: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. The main attraction in the land will be Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Epic Universe's land will be set in 1920s Paris from the "Fantastic Beasts" films, while it's major attraction will be in the British Ministry in London in the modern day, for the trial of Dolores Umbridge. The land will also host Epic Universe's largest live show, the Le Cirque Arcanus, which is inspired by the Fantastic Beasts movies. The land will host a couple of French eating spots, and American Bar as well as a Butterbeer cart.

- Universal Singapore have reported the first details of it's upcoming Minion Land which will debut in 2025. It will include a minion's theme Super Silly Fun Land, as well as Gru's Neighborhood, which will feature another installation of the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction. This land is replacing the Madagascar themed land and dark ride.

- Disneyland's union workers have ratified the contract that had tentative agreement last week.

- Britain's Drayton Manor has opened its new Intamin family coaster, Gold Rush.

- The newly merged Six Flags parks, are reporting that from next year you will be able to by an All Park Passport add-on to their annual pass, which will over all parks from the former Cedar Fair and Six Flags theme park chains.

- Cedar Point announced it will close its Snake River Falls log flume on September 3rd. The Arrow Dynamics shoot-the-chutes ride opened as the world's tallest, steepest, and fastest water flume ride in 1993. It takes riders 82 feet in the air for a 50-degree plunge at 40 mph.

- Kings Dominion announced its new roller coaster for 2025 - Rapterra, a 145 feet tall and 3,086 feet long wing coaster.

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July 28th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Halloween Horror Nights at both Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood will feature an all-female house called Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines this year. It will feature The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter - Countess Marya, She-Wolf of London, and the mummified Egyptian princess Anck-Su-Namun, as well as a new foe - Saskia Van Helsing, the daughter of Dracula-killer Abraham Van Helsing.

- We also saw two more scare zones announced for Orlando with Duality of Fear and Demon Queens. Duality of Fear will offer fans a choice, with universal saying "As soon as you enter the gates of Halloween Horror Nights, you must choose a path: follow SINIST3R, the manifestation of visceral horror. Or follow SURR3AL, the incarnation of unearthly terror." Demon Queens sits in the same universe as Duality of Fear: "Get caught in an otherworldly hellscape ripped from the darkest corners of your mind. Four merciless queens loyal to SURR3AL rule, surrounded by hordes of fanatical followers."

- Revenue dropped more than 10% at Universal's theme parks during the second quarter of 2024, compared with the same period last year. Its theme parks brought in a measly $1.975 billion in revenue for the three months to June 30, 2024. That's down just over 10% from the same period in 2023, when the parks brought in $2.209 billion.

- - Disneyland and it's labor unions have reached attentive agreement this week. The Master Services Council with represents the four unions said that the deal includes "a three-year contract that contains significant wage increases for all cast members, seniority increases and additional premiums as well as the retention of premiums".

- Disneyland is also re-opening it's Haunted Manion ride on Monday, after being closed since the start of the year. It is returning as it's Haunted Manion Holiday variety July 28th.

- Deadpool has started appearing for a limited time at Avengers Campus Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort this week. This is obviously to promote the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie.

- Our first change from the merge of Six Flags and Cedar Fair happened this week, with Six Flags Entertainment Corporation eliminating a guest surcharge fee on in-park food, beverage, and retail purchases at the legacy Six Flags theme parks. Cedar Fair did not charge these fees.

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July 21st - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- 99% of Disneyland union members this week have authorized strike action if necessary as negotiations between Disney and the 4 Unions involved commence this week

- Disneyland have announced that the Hungry Bear restaurant will be returning as Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree, the first barbeque restaurant in the park since the construction of Galaxy's edge.

- Universal Orlando have announced that Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus is going to play on the Fear Factor Stage during this year's Halloween Horror Nights. This is the fourth Nightmare Fuel since their first in 2021. They've also announced scare zones called the Swamp of the Undead and Torture Faire, a ren fair based scare zone. For Swamp of the Undead, Universal said: "In backwaters Louisiana, you unwittingly wander onto private property, where you’re swamped by zombies borne from the bodies of other trespassers who were killed and dumped in a nearby bog." Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights, which starts August 30 and runs select nights through November 3 

- Busch Gardens Tampa's new family coaster Phoenix Rising  officially opens July 21

-  The board of directors of Sweden's Liseberg theme park has voted to rebuild its Oceana waterpark, which was nearly destroyed in a fire while under construction earlier in February. The 3.5 acre indoor water park has been set to open this summer, for the tragic accident which claimed the life of one of Liseberg's construction managers.

- Disneyland Paris celebrated Bastille Day this week with a record-breaking nighttime spectacular with 1,571 drones forming a tri-color Mickey Mouse head for the show's finale, which was  a Guinness World Records-setting display of the "largest aerial display of a fictional character formed by multirotors/drones."

- In Canada 17-year old girl fell from the park’s Swing of the Century ride at Canada's Wonderland late last week. The girl was reportedly in a critical condition following the incident.

- Europa-Park announced that its characters Ed Euromaus and Edda Euromausi will star in a new animated feature film, to be distributed by Warner Bros. next summer. The film should be hitting theaters in Germany in time for the park's 50th anniversary next summer.

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July 14th - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Disney has announced the program line-up for its D23 event in Anaheim. Formerly known as D23 Expo and now called D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the three-day gathering will feature presentations and show floor exhibits from across The Walt Disney Company, including a strong presence from Disney Experiences and the theme parks. The big event for Disney Parks fans will be Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase on Saturday evening, August 10 hosted by Josh D’Amaro. Other panels of interest include Bringing the Worlds of Disney Animation to Life in Disney Parks,  Dream Chasing: Four Decades with Walt Disney Imagineering, Magic After Dark—The Story of Disney’s Nighttime Spectaculars and Disneyland Foods – Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow.

- Insidious: The Further is joining the line-up for this year's Halloween Horror Nights at both Universal Studios Florida in Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. This was briefly leaked by the Universal website ahead of the office announcement this week. There is one more house announcement to go for Orlando and three more for Hollywood.

- Efteling in the Netherlands have announced that their new haunted house attraction Danse Macabre attraction will open at Efteling on October 31, Halloween. Danse Macabre will be a first of its kind Intamin Dynamic Motion Stage ride which replaces the old Spookslot haunted house.

- Walt Disney World has started previews for it's updated Country Bear Musical Jamboree show at Magic Kingdom. The official opening for this is July 17th.

- Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood has added a new interactive element under the Frosted Glacier. There are four different game play modes for this interactive all, that each correspond to a Power Up icon released from the Question block. The Power ups are: Fire Flower, Ice Flower, Super Mushroom, or Super Star. If you play with a power up band you will collect coins and stamps.

- Disney cruises will be coming to Japan, starting in 2029. Disney announced an agreement with Oriental Land Co. - the owner and operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort - to develop and operate a Disney-branded cruise business in Japan. They are going to start construction on a ship the same model as the Disney Wish vessel very soon.

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July 6th - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

-  Universal Orlando previewed its new Universal Mega Movie Parade at Universal Studios Florida. The 20-minute show currently offers nine units featuring popular Universal movie franchises:

• Back to the Future
• Sing
• Despicable Me/Minions
• Kung Fu Panda
• Trolls
• Ghostbusters
• E.T.
• Jaws 
• Jurassic World

- The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith has reopened at Disney's Hollywood Studios following a 6-month long refurbishment. This opened nearly 4 weeks earlier than expected.

-   B&M family coaster Penguin Trek opens at SeaWorld Orlando tomorrow. The coaster has a dark ride introduction section based out of the former Antarctica trackless dark ride building, and guests exist through the Penguin habitat.

- It was confirmed this week that Danny Elfman would be composing music for the new Dark Universe land at Universal's Epic Universe Theme Park. The former New wave singer/song writer is known for working often. with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, contributing music to nearly 20 Burton projects. He's also well known for the score for Men in Black, The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as writing the theme song for the Simpsons.

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June 30th - Theme Park News in A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

-  Disney World is rebranding and changing it's Genie+ service, moving to Lightning Lane Multi Pass from July 24th. Individual Lightning Lane will also become Lightning Lane Single Pass with this change. The change will also allow the prebooking of these lightning lane passes up to a week before visiting for the entirety of the stay up to 14 days. It will be 7 days for Disney Resort guests, and 3 days for all other theme park visitors, which is a major perk for staying onsite.

- Disney World has also opened Tiana's Bayou Adventure this weekend, after a few weeks of previews.  Disney also released the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure soundtrack across all major streaming platforms. Just search for "Music From Tiana's Bayou Adventure."

- The movie Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is coming to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights this year in both Orlando and Hollywood. In their press release Universal said that visitors  "will find themselves in the sinister world of the supernatural, from Ray’s Occult Books shop to the Ghostbuster’s new high-tech lab and containment facility to the dank New York City sewer system." 

- Hollywood has also announced another original IP house Monstruos 2: The Nightmares of Latin America.

- Knott's Berry Farm reopened its Camp Snoopy land following the latest refurbishment of this 41-year-old children's land.

- The Blue Man Group is coming back to Orlando, to perform as a new theatre at ICON Park on I-Drive. The act had been performing at Universal Orlando Resort up until the pandemic.

- Universal have given details of a third party report into the economic impact of the Universal Great Britain theme Park development, stating that "a new Universal theme park resort on the site could generate £35.1 billion in net economic contribution for the UK during the construction period and first 20 years of operation. The project could generate £14.1 billion in net additional tax returns during that period"

- Dutch theme park Efteling will add a 31st scene to its Fairytale Forest attraction - The Princess and the Pea. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and inspired by a sketch created by park founder Anton Pieck, this installation will be placed between the Troll King and Mother Holle's well, on the forest's edge and behind the new Efteling Grand Hotel.

- Six Flags Magic Mountain and Great Adventure have announced a series of IPs for their Halloween event Fright Fest Extreme, with The Conjuring Universe (The Conjuring, Annabelle and The Nun), Saw, Trick ‘r Treat, Stranger Things and Army of the Dead.  Magic Mountain are also getting Texas Chainsaw Massacre exclusively.

- Finally, The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags ahead of the planned start of joint operations on July 1st.

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June 23rd - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Universal Orlando has revealed official details this week of the Universal monsters themed land at their upcoming Epic Universe theme park, called Dark Universe. They've also given us names for the lands two rides. Monsters Unchained - The Frankenstein Experiment will be Kuka-arm dark ride in Frankenstein Manor, where Dr. Victoria Frankenstein's plan to control Dracula fails, unleashing The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Brides of Dracula. Curse of the Werewolf will be a Mack Rides family spinning roller coaster themed to "The Wolf Man." They will also have meet and greets and a Monster Makekup Experience. Food wise, Dark Universe will offer Das Stakehaus, a vampire-themed table service restaurant serving kebabs, burgers, sandwiches and more.  The Burning Blade Tavern will serve burgers, wings, bratwurst, pretzels and specialty beverages in a hangout for Darkmoor's monster hunters. Finally, De Lacey's Cottage will be a food stand with twisted taters, ice cream, and cinnamon bread. 

- At Disneyland Resort, Haunted Mansion Holiday will use a virtual queue when it returns for Halloween Time, which begins August 23 this year. Haunted Mansion has been down all year as the park builds a new queue for the ride, which will no doubt build up some extra demand when it opens in August.

-   Disneyland resorts version of Din Tai Fung will soft-open at Disneyland's Downtown Disney on Monday June 24th.

- SeaWorld Orlando announced the official opening date for its new family roller coaster, Penguin Trek, will be July 7 with park pass members able to have exclusive ride times from July 2nd.

- Universal Studios Hollywood have revealed their 2nd house for this years Halloween Horror Nights event, it is an original IP called Dead Exposure: Death Valley. This is following the announcement of A Quiet Place coming to both coasts Halloween Horror Nights. Hollywood's Horror Nights run from September 5 at Universal Studios Hollywood through November 3.

- Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana, are going to add an interactive element to their Holiday in the Sky Drone show this summer. Guests will be able to vote for one of 4 characters to appear in the drone show, via QR codes displayed through out the park.

- Cedar Fair and Six Flags have set a date for the closing of their proposed merger, they plan to combine operations and begin operating as one starting July 1. The merger is still subject to a number of conditions in the merger agreement and the meeting of regulatory conditions from the Department of Justice.

- In Ohio,  A 38-year-old man suffered critical injuries after being hit by a roller coaster at Kings Island Wednesday night. The man allegedly climbed over a fence and entered a restricted area around the Banshee roller coaster around 8pm local time on Wednesday. Some reports said that the man was trying to retrieve keys that he had lost when riding the coaster. The park described his injuries as traumatic, and he was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and remains in a critical condition.

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June 16th Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

-  Universal Studios Florida officially opened it's new DreamWorks land this week, which took over the space of the former Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone. The land features play areas and meet and greets themed to Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Trolls. The former Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster has become Trolls Trollercoaster.

- Universal Orlando also debuted its newest nighttime spectacular, CineSational: A Symphony Spectacular. This is the first show at Universal Orlando to heavily feature drones.

- Finally, at Islands of Adventure Universal has opened a new castle projection show, Hogwarts Always. Hogwarts Always traces a young wizard's or witch's first year at Hogwarts, from receiving their admission letter to buying supplies at Diagon Alley and arriving on the Hogwarts Express all the way through to the awarding of the House Cup at the end of the year.

- Universal Orlando also previewed their new Epic Universe Preview Centre this week, mostly because all of the worlds Theme Park media was in Orlando.

- Walt Disney World Resort has gotten final legal approval to go ahead with $17 billion in expansion plans over the next two decades. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has approved a development deal with Disney that will guide additions and expansions at the resort over the next 20 years. It's been widely reported that the now-approved development deal allows Disney to build a fifth major theme park and two minor parks at the resort, in addition to expanding hotel and retail space. Disney also must contract at least 50% of construction work to Florida-based companies and spend at least $10 million on affordable housing projects. 

- Also at WDW, the all-new Country Bear Musical Jamboree will open in Frontierland's Grizzly Hall in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom on July 17.

- Epcot has opened their new Communicore Plaza which features a new live show called ¡Celebración Encanto!. The new area, which replaces the long-gone Communicore West building, also includes the Commincore Hall events space plus an indoor Mickey & Friends character greeting area. There's also a "Festival Favorites" food stand that will be serving popular items from EPCOT's various food festivals.

- In Italy, Gardaland has opened its new drop tower ride. Wolf Legend is a 82-foot Drop & Twist Tower, themed to a curse that turned a giant wolf to stone.

- In the UK, Thorpe Park has re-opened Hyperia, it's new Mack rides Hypercoaster, which had to close just days after opening. Thorpe Park said, "Once again we want to thank everyone for their understanding and patience. Now it's time to forge your wings of steel, conquer the seemingly impossible and embrace your inner fearlessness onboard the UK's tallest, fastest and most weightless rollercoaster.

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June 9th Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Tokyo Disney opened Fantasy Springs this week. the largest park expansion in the resorts history, which features minilands based on the movies Peter Pan, Frozen and Tangled. As part of the opening Tokyo Disney Resort presented a video tour of its Fantasy Springs expansion, "The Fantasy Begins," including views of the "port" at night with character and cast performances, accompanied by drones.

- The Tokyo Disney Resort has also announced that their upcoming nighttime spectacular will be called "Reach for the Stars." In addition to the traditional collection of Disney and Pixar characters, the new show will be the first at Tokyo Disney to feature characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

- Legoland New York has set the opening date for The Minifigure Skyflyer gondola ride, which will open on June 24. To celebrate the grand opening, Legoland New York is planning a record-setting disco dance party. The park is offering the first 2,500 guests who register online free same-day admission to the park for the party. In addition to registering online, you must arrive 8:30am on June 24, wearing "glitter/sequin apparel, sparkly tutus, disco ball themed accessories, [or] other disco-themed duds" to get in.

- Knott's Berry farm have announced that the newly redesigned Camp Snoopy officially will open to guests on June 27. New rides in the land will include Snoopy's Tenderpaw Twister Coaster, a Zamperla family coaster that takes the place of the old Timberline Twister, Sally's Swing Along, a Zamperla Super Happy Swing, Camp Snoopy's Off-Road Rally, a Zamperla Convoy Dino Jeeps ride that replaces Rocky Mountain Trucking Company, and a newly themed Beagle Express train ride.

- Disneyland Resort has closed the  Club Pixar dance show at Disney's California Adventure, and is also preparing to close the Doctor Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts show, which will close June 30th. It's worth pointing out that this isn't related to the Disneyland parade and character performers voting to joining the Actor's Equity Union, and that the Club Pixar dancers are in fact represented already by a different union.

- Universal have announced they are bring A Quiet Place to this year's Halloween Horror Nights on both coasts. This represents a fascinating Sound Design challenge for Universal, as the contrast of the ultra quiet and suspenseful movie with a very rowdy and loud event could be difficult to overcome. I look forward to seeing how Universal stages this. 

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June 2nd Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Walt Disney World have shared a POV from Tiana's Bayou Adventure this week, which shows Tiana and Naveen planning a party, but needing to find a band. Luckily we come across Lewis and his friends.

- Disneyland debuted a new pre-show for its World of Color - One nighttime spectacular at Disney California Adventure, called Emotional Rollercoaster" "which promotes the upcoming "Inside Out 2," which opens June 14.

- Universal Epic Universe Preview Center will open at Universal CityWalk in Orlando. The preview center will include "a massive model offering a bird’s-eye view of the entire park" that will come to life via augmented reality on guests' mobile devices. Epic Universe merchandise and backdrop photo ops will be available in the preview center, which takes over the former Universal Legacy Store location. 

- One of Epic Universe's biggest rides has been given a new name. Universal Orlando's website now lists the Mack Rides racing coasters formerly known as Starfall Racers as Stardust Racers. The change comes after a lawsuit was filed in US federal court earlier this month over the name. In 2023, Universal filed a trademark application for "Starfall Racers," however an opposition was filed to that application. Earlier this month, Starfall Education Foundation filed a lawsuit against Universal City Studios in US District Court for the District of Colorado over the roller coaster's name.

- Universal Orlando is holding a special event for the start of Halloween Horror Nights. One night before it opens officially on August 30 at Universal Studios Florida, the park will welcome a limited number of fans for its first-ever Premium Scream Night

- Disneyland Shanghai will open The Adventure of Rhythm will debut June 3 on Adventure Isle's Storyhouse Stage. This musical will feature "a team of archeologists who specialize in researching music" as the excuse for the line-up of staged performances of tunes from a variety of Disney's animated movies. However the show will actually change from performance to performance, as they move through 5 musical styles, with 2 different musical adventures possible for each of the shows.

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May 26th Theme Park News In A Nutshell

This week's Theme Park News: 

- Fantasmic! nighttime spectacular returns at Disneyland in California, which sees the return of Maleficent, but this time she will stay as the evil queen rather than transforming into a dragon.

- Legoland California has debuted their Lego World Parade.

- Disney Dreams That Soar drone show debuted this week at Walt Disney World's Disney Springs.

- Thorpe Park is debuting Hyperia, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the UK. It is a Mack Rides Hypercoaster that tops out at 236 feet and 80 mph.

-  Paramount Location-Based Entertainment & Experiences has announced a new Nickelodeon Hotel & Resort in Orlando opening in 2026. It is to be located within the 220-acre Everest Place development on west 192 in Kissimmee, this Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Orlando will offer more than 400 hotel rooms and condo units. This is a completely new resort, and not connected to the former I-drive Nickelodean Hotel, which is now the Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites

- Kings Island today officially opens its Camp Snoopy expansion, including Snoopy's Soap Box Racers.

- Because it's the start of the summer season in the US, there is a bunch of new shows and experiences also debuting in the states including:

 - SeaWorld San Diego is opening its new Shamu & Crew Together Again stage show, BMX Blast! stunt show, and Pirates Ahoy! The Battle for Mermaid Cove show, as well as its So Much More to SEA 60th anniversary parade.

 - The Dolly Parton Experience exhibit opened this weekend at Dollywood.

 - the Rhythm of Nature ice skating show debuts at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

 - SeaWorld Orlando is premiering its Xceleration show and So Much More to SEA parade.

 - Potato Smash bumper cars debuted yesterday at Kennywood

- Universal Orlando has revealed a number of it's original IP houses and experiences for this year's Halloween Horror nights inlcuding:

- Triplets of Terror 

- Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America

- The Museum: Deadly Exhibit 

- Major Sweets Candy Factory

- Slaughter Sinema 2

- Goblin's Feast

- Disneyland cast members who perform as characters and in parades at the resort have voted to organize under the Actors' Equity Association union. Yes votes received more than 78% of votes cast. It's the first time that parade performers and characters at the Disneyland Resort have been represented by a union.

- Finally, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Disney has tapped a screenwriter and production team to develop a movie inspired by the famed Club 33 in Disney's theme parks.

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May 19th Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Tiana's Bayou Adventure will use a virtual queue when it opens at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom June 28, it was announced this week. As a major suprise it won't be sold as an Individual  lightning lane, instead being featured as a standard lightning lane option in the Genie+ app. Previews for DVC members will start from June 12th, and for Annual Passholders from Jun 13 on selected days.

- Here in Australia, Warner Bros. Movie World has opened its new coaster Flash: Speed Force. This half pipe coaster has been moved over from neighbouring Wet'n'Wild water park, and repainted. They also put out an extensive update this week about how Superman Escape has had an issue with haudralic launch system which is causing an extended unexpected downtime. The coaster is expected to be closed for at least 6 weeks, while engineers come over from Germany to fix the ride. In the meantime they have delayed the repainting of DC Rivals, which was due for it's extended maintence this month. It will now re-open in the next two weeks. They have also said they've moved forward plans to change the queue for Superman Escape so that riders can have their belonging with them until the very end of the queue line.

- Europe's first Peppa Pig theme park opens this weekend in Germany, next to its Legoland Deutschland theme park in Günzburg.  This is Merlin's second stand-alone Peppa Pig theme park, following the original installation at Legoland Florida in 2022 and coming in advance of its third opening, later this year near Dallas.

- Europa-Park has reopened the Alpine Express 'Enzian' and the Tirol Log Flume which were destroyed by fire last year. The area in the Austrian version of the park, is known as Magical Valley of Diamonds, and is now completely re-opened. Europa-Park also has created an all-new Yomi Adventure Trail with suspension bridges, climbing elements, and slides above and around the Magical Valley of Diamonds. Finally, the park also has redesigned its Gemstone Grotto shop in the area.

- Universal Orlando shared a final construction tour of DreamWorks Land in advance of its official opening next month, with Annual Pass previews starting May 24. DreamWorks Land opens officially on June 14.

- WDW has shared a beautiful preview of Disney Dreams That Soar drone show, which will run May 24 through September 2 above Disney Springs. More than 800 drones will form familiar Disney characters and scenes during the nine-minute production, which play twice nightly and feature a new original song.

- Kings Island's Camp Snoopy expansion opens on May 24, but the Cincinnati-area theme park is sharing a first look at Snoopy's Soap Box Racers, it's new Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster.

- At Cedar Point, Top Thrill 2 has closed just week's after it opened. On social media, Cedar Point said that "Top Thrill 2 is currently experiencing an extended closure as Zamperla (the ride's manufacturer) completes a mechanical modification to the ride's vehicles."

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May 12th Theme Park News in a Nutshell

This week's Theme Park News

- At Tokyo Disneyland Resort we’ve seen the first media previews of Fantasy Springs at DisneySea. Check out coverage from many people but especially TDRExplorer to see glimpses of the new land and new attractions: Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure, and Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies.

- In the US Pixar Fest marketplaces (food booths) at Disney California Adventure as part of Pixar Fest. The food stands offer a variety of bites and drinks inspired by Pixar films "Inside Out," "Elemental," "Luca," "Turning Red," "Soul," and "Ratatouille."

- WDW has announced the opening of their next DVC villa the Island Tower at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will begin welcoming guests this December.

- The DisneylandForward proposal won final approval from the Anaheim City Council this week, clearing the way for expansion at the Disneyland resort.

- Disney has announced its Halloween plans. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party returns to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom starting Friday, August 9 this year. One the west coast, Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party will return to Disney California Adventure for 27 nights, starting Sunday, August 25. around the world, Hong Kong Disneyland will bring back its Halloween celebrations, including House of De Vil-lains, the "Let's Get Wicked" show, and Nightmare Before Dinner experience, on September 12 and continuing through October 31. At Disneyland Paris, the Disney Halloween Festival will run October 1 to November 3. And the Tokyo Disney Resort will stage Disney Halloween from October 1 through November 7, with new theming and entertainment at Tokyo Disneyland.

- First quarter financial reporting in the us this week. At Six Flags, attendance for the three months ending March 31 was up 6% over the comparable period one year ago, to 1.7 million visitors. Total guest spending per capita was down 8%, however, to $74.35. That led to a 6% drop in revenue, to $133 million. The result was an 18% increase in net loss, to $83 million.

- At Cedar Fair, attendance jumped 27%, to 1.35 million, over the same period in 2023, despite the company's parks being open for just 117 total days in the quarter compared with 161 operating days during the same time in 2023. However, average guest in-park spending dropped 6%, to $60.53 and costs were up 10% for the quarter, leading to a net loss of $133 million. Both companies confirmed in their statements that their merger of equals will conclude in the next quarter.

- Attendance rose 2.1% at United Parks & Resorts (which is the new name for SeaWorld parks and resorts) for the first three months of the year, compared to the same period on year ago, the company reported this week.

- Disney's Experiences segment, which includes the theme parks and Disney Cruise Line, reported revenue of $8.39 billion for the three months ending March 30, 2024. That's up 10% from the same period in 2023. Operating income was up 12% for the quarter, to $2.286 billion. The International parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai led the segment, with 29% growth in revenue and 87% growth in income for the quarter. Disney also noted strong results at Walt Disney World in Florida, though it also noted lower results at Disneyland in California. Disney said that attendance was up at Disneyland, but lower occupied room nights and inflation offset those gains. 

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May 5th - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Universal Orlando's new DreamWorks Land will open June 14.  June 14 will see the debut of a premiere its new nighttime lagoon show, CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular, and a new castle projection show with Hogwarts Always.

- Universal Orlando also revealed details about the third land at its upcoming Epic Universe theme park - Super Nintendo World. which will be a clone of the USJ land including the soon to open Donkey Kong Country land.

- Legoland California has announced that new Lego World Parade will debut on May 24th.

- Universal Hollywood have announced that a new terrain coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will open in 2026. The Intamin coaster will feature trains modeled after cars featured in the "Fast & Furious" movies. The ride vehicles also will feature 360 degrees of rotation along the coaster's track to create "a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at furiously fast speeds," according to Universal's press release.

- The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions [IAAPA] said today that it expects to see an overall 2% increase in attendance at the theme parks and attractions it represents in the United States this summer. Wahl said that IAAPA members expect to see a cumulative 7% increase in consumer spending this year, as well. That would put projected total spending on U.S. attractions at more than $32 billion in 2024.

- Disneyland Paris is adding a scene from the Pixar movie Up to their version of the Storybook Land ride, Le Pays des Contes de Fées. Carl and Russell will join the miniature scenes on the ride, accompanied by Carl's balloon-lofted home.

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April 28th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

This week's Theme Park News: 

- Oriental Land Co. - which owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort - announced this week that it will close its Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters ride in October to make way for a new ride based on Wreck it Ralph to open in 2026.

- The Tokyo Disney Resort announced that "Vacation Jamboree" will run at the Country Bear Playhouse from May 17 through November 7. It's the first time in five years that the show has run at the resort.

- A government filing in Shanghai has revealed Disney's plans for its first-ever Spider-Man-themed roller coaster. The new coaster will be the previously announced new attraction to be built next to Shanghai's Zootopia land, which opened last December. The plans also state that an official announcement of the project is set to be May 2nd.

- Universal's theme parks reported a modest increase in income, coupled with a decline in earnings, for the first three months of 2024. Comcast reported that its theme parks segment saw a 1.5% increase in revenue for the quarter, to $1.979 billion. Higher operating costs drove Adjusted EBITDA down 3.9% for the parks during the first quarter of 2024, to $632 million.

- Lots of Pixar is happening at Disneyland resort with the return of Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular, new parade, Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! and an interactive Dug meet and Greet forming part of the Pixar Fest running through to August 4th.

- Fifteen people had minor injuries from a tram crash at Universal Studios Hollywood last week. A Universal spokesperson released the following statement to local media: "There was a tram incident at the theme park tonight that resulted in multiple minor injuries, confirmed by the LA County Fire Dept. We are working to support our guests and understand the circumstances that led to the accident."

- Ryan Gosling has turned out for the preview of Universal Hollywood's The Fall Guy Stuntacular Preshow. The special version of the pre-show also featured "The Fall Guy" film director David Leitch, and two of Gosling's stunt doubles from the movie, Ben Jenkin and Logan Holladay.

- Cedar Point will enforce a strict "no loose items" policy on its Top Thrill 2 roller coaster when it opens for the season on May 4th. But the park will not be providing free lockers or bins for riders to store the items they cannot take on the ride. The park said on its website. "Due to the later revision, the integration of lockers into the queue, similar to those at Steel Vengeance, was not possible. We encourage riders to leave any loose articles with a non-rider. If you wish to rent a locker, they will be near the entrance for a nominal fee."

- Europa Park has opened it's new Voltron Nevera roller coaser this week. Anchoring the park's Croatia land and themed to Croatian inventor Nikola Tesla, Voltron's theme is that you are being transformed into electrical energy. The coaster features a recreation of Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower, which the inventor built to test his plans for wireless transmission of electricity.

- Legoland California have announced the stars of their Lego World Parade

• Fire Chief Freya, who will lead the parade on a Lego City firetruck float,
• Scuba Diver, who will ride aboard her Lego City Deep Sea Adventure-inspired float,
• Scallywag Pirate, who will be seeking treasure aboard his pirate ship float,
• Lloyd, a ninja who will appear on the Lego Ninjago Dragon float,
• Hopsy, who is a bright red Lego Duplo Bunny who will ride on the float at the "tail end" of the parade.

- Efteling in the Netherlands has announced it's create electric powered fake steam trains for the next trains for it's historic Steam Train attraction. Efteling has set goals of becoming climate-neutral by 2030 and climate-positive by 2032, neither of which would be possible with an authentic coal-burning steam train ride in the park.

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April 21st - Theme Park News In A Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Disney Experiences announced that Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris will be renamed Disney Adventure World when its World of Frozen land opens. The new World of Frozen, whose opening date has not been announced, will sit next to Adventure Bay, a 56.75-acre-foot body of water that will be equipped as a future home for entertainment spectaculars in the park, with fountains, music, lights and special effects capabilities. The promenade to Adventure Bay, Adventure Way, will include a new attraction, Raiponce Tangled Spin - a Tangled-themed spinner ride, and The Regal View Restaurant and Lounge, which will offer Disney Princess meets as well as views of the Bay and its entertainment.

- Universal Studios Japan's Donkey Kong Country expansion will now be opening in late 2024 rather than spring as originally announced.

- Universal Destinations and Experiences has entered a public feedback period for its proposed theme park in the United Kingdom. As part of they have release an indicative master plan of how the 476 acre plot could be used. The land is located in Bedford, which is about an hour North of London. You can see more and give feedback at universalukproject.co.uk. Let's hope that they are going to be branding this park Universal Studios UK and not the first rumoured name Universal Studios Great Britain.

- The Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks are about to revamp their procedures for accommodating guests with accessibility needs. The changes come after use of Disney's DAS [Disability Access Service] pass among guests has more than tripled at the Disneyland Resort over the past five years, according to park officials. The DAS pass will remain, however Disney is putting together a new team of cast members and medical experts to determine which guests will get that accommodation, which allows guests to use Lightning Lanes after waiting the equivalent of the standby queue elsewhere. Starting later this spring, Disney visitors no longer will go to Guest Relations for accessibility passes. Instead, they will go to the new team, who will recommend accommodations based upon visiting parties' description of their needs and how they are accommodated elsewhere. Park officials said that they want to ensure that DAS is reserved going forward for guests with developmental disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, who are not able to wait in queues, rather than have it continue as a catch-all solution.

 - Universal Stella Nova Resort will open January 21, 2025, while Universal Terra Luna Resort will open February 25, 2025 on Universal's new south campus, located near the Orange County Convention Center. In a new concept video, we saw lots of details about these two moderate resorts.

• The lobby bars will be Nova Bar at Stella Nova Resort and Luna Bar at Terra Luna Resort.
• The quick serves will be Cosmos Cafe and Market at Stella Nova Resort and Omega Cafe and Market at Terra Luna Resort.
• And the pool bars and grill will be Galaxy Bar and Galaxy Grill at Stella Nova Resort and Moonrise Bar and Moonrise Grill at Terra Luna Resort
• Each hotel will offer 750 double-queen guest rooms that sleep up to four guests, as well as "spaceship-styled" windows, making them the only of their kind now in Orlando.

- Disney has given us more creatures for their new Princess and the Frog ride, with a team of frogs joining the musical shenanigans.

• Felipe the Frog – The band's leader
• Mayra the Frog –The most ambitious of the four frogs, she has been practicing her instrument since she was a tadpole, according to Disney's backstory
• Mondo the Frog – The group's drummer
• Isabel the Green Tree Frog – The youngest member of the group, she also plays the conga drums

- Universal Studios Hollywood is bring in a temporary stunt show called "The Fall Guy Stuntacular Pre-Show" will open April 27 and run through May 19, in conjunction with the opening of the Fall Guy movie, which opens May 3rd. This new pre-show will play in front of the WaterWorld stunt show.

-  The new Real Madrid World theme park officially now is open at Dubai Parks and Resorts. It is a retheme of the former Bollywood Parks Dubai park.

- Holiday World has sent passengers out on the first test runs of its new coaster for 2024. Good Gravy! is a Vekoma family boomerang coaster that is set in the park's Thanksgiving themed land, and it's first passengers were dressed in turkey costumes.

- Dorney Park in Pennsylvania is opening it's new Dive Coaster Iron Menace to a series of special events over the next few weeks, before the parks opening for the season on May 10th.

- Meanwhile Kennywood also in PA has announced that The Steel Curtain will remain closed for the 2024 season.

- Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced the opening date for its revamped Loch Ness Monster, Loch Ness Monster: The Legend Lives On will open officially May 10 at the Virginia theme park. Busch Gardens has replaced 900 feet of steel track on the 1978 Arrow Dynamics Custom Looping Coaster, as well as added new show elements to the ride and its queue.

- Intamin release a video of the newly installed trains for Europe's first installation of its single-rail coaster model. Mahuka will open later this month at Walibi Rhône-Alpes in France. The Intamin Hot Racer is the second installation of the model, following Big Dipper at Sydney's Luna Park.

- Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort has become the first theme park restaurant in the US to be awarded a Michelin star. 

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April 7th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This Week's Theme Park News:

- This week saw the start of the Season of the Force event at Disneyland resort, which also meant the debut of new Star Tours scenes featuring Din Djarin, Grogu, Andor and Ahsoka. The event also introduce Sabine Wren as a walk around character, and also the return of the adorable BD-X droids in Galaxy's edge.

- Bob Iger shared a new "creative inspiration" image of what a potential avatar experience at Disneyland Resort could look like, as he hyped up the DisneylandForward proposal at the annual Disney Shareholder meeting.

- At Epcot, it's been announced that Test Track will close June 17 for its extended refurbishment. This week we also saw concept art for the new facade for the attraction.

- Walt Disney Imagineering has re-announced two major projects for Walt Disney World this week, with reporters getting a glimpse at the Beyond Big Thunder Mountain expansion at Magic Kingdom, and the Tropical Americas rethemeing of Dinoland USA at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The only actually new information in these announcements was that Disney will be filing permits for construction in Magic Kingdom, west of Frontierland very soon, and new clearer concept art for the Tropical Americas land. Speculation around the new animal kingdom land, is that it will feature the Dinosaur ride themed to it's brother attraction Indiana Jones, as well as and Encanto area and potentially a Coco themed carousel.

- WDI also launched a new  YouTube Series, called We Call It Imagineering, which featured new animatronics from the Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride, including Louis the trumpet playing crocodile, and several of the human characters from the movie. This week they also gave us the next round of new creature characters featured in the ride, who are:

- Octavia the Bobcat – a fearless kitten who plays the vaksin, a single-note horn instrument

- Pawpaw the Bobcat – Octavia’s grandfather, who taught her to play the vaksin

- Claude the Louisiana Black Bear – a horn-playing bear who loves to create with things found in the forest

- Bernadette the Louisiana Black Bear – Claude's mate and another horn player

- Sebastián the Louisiana Black Bear – Bernadette's cub Sebastián is a drummer

- Phina the Gray Fox – also a drummer

- Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite returns to Disneyland June 18 and 20 this year, celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and featuring themed entertainment and photo ops for event guests, as well as specialty food, drinks, and merchandise for sale. Tickets will be $159 per person and tickets will go on sale from April 9th.

- Finally, Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that they are being back the red and white striped "Glamour Trams" this summer as part of a celebration of the parks 60th Anniversary. The new version will also include a tram stop, for the first time in many years, where guests will be able to see an original tram, a King Kong backdrop, the original hanging Jaws shark, and a scale replica of the Hollywood sign.

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March 30 - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's (early) Theme Park News:

- Universal Orlando Resort has revealed the details for the next land at its upcoming Universal Epic Universe theme park - How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. They have confirmed they are bringing the "Untrainable" show that premiered at Universal Studios Beijing, which will be called The Untrainable Dragon. Other attractions in the new land will include:

• Hiccup's Wing Gliders, an Intamin multi-launch roller coaster with a top speed of 45 mph.
• Fyre Drill, a Splash Battle-style interactive boat ride, where "Ruffnut and Tuffnut invite teams of Vikings to compete to outscore and out-soak each other on this wet-and-wild boat battle."
• Dragon Racer’s Rally, a Gerstlauer Sky Fly with a maximum height of 67 feet.
• Viking Training Camp, a play area.
• Haddock Paddock, a character meet with Hiccup and Toothless.

- Tokyo Disneyland is adding Marvel Characters to their version of It's a Small World, for a limited time. The attraction will be renamed It's a Small World with Groot. In a Press release, disney stated: "Groot from the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' film trilogy and his friends from Marvel Studios films are visiting Earth for vacation. Groot encounters his friends in various locations on Earth and experiences their regional cultures and music with them as well as with children from all over the world."

- Disney has given us a a sneak peak at the animal characters that will feature on Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the replacement for Splash Mountain.

Tiana's musical critter friends will be:

• Byhalia the Beaver: A percussionist who builds musical instruments from natural materials in the bayou.
• Gritty the Rabbit: Gritty plays a found-license-plate washboard.
• Beau the Opossum: Plays an upright bass made from a gourd, using her tail to play some of the notes.
• Apollo the Raccoon: Plays a squeezebox made from found objects in the bayou.
• Rufus the Turtle: Apollo's companion in adventures, Rufus plays the harmonica in this band.
• Timoléon the Otter: This fiddle player is the oldest member of the band and likes to share stories about the past.

- Orlando's giant observation wheel on International Drive, is now called the Orlando Eye, again, after the attraction was acquired by Merlin Entertainments this week. It was originally named the Orlando Eye, then subsequently ICON Orlando in 2018, then it changed again to be The Wheel at ICON Park in 2019.

- California's Great America is open for the season this week, and made good on it's symbolic Super Bowl bet with its Cedar Fair sibling Worlds of Fun, from Kansas City, by temporarily renaming coaster Flight Deck to be the Soaring Chiefs.

- Gardaland in Italy have this week took delivery of and installed the ride's 82-foot-tall purple octagonal tower for their new 2024 Attraction, revealing that the new attraction will be a "Drop & Twist Tower." A name has not yet been released for this ride, although the park has state that is have a theme based on indigenous Americans.

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March 24th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Walt Disney World has announced the that the final pieces of the Epcot's transformation - CommuniCore Hall and the CommuniCore Plaza stage - will open June 10. CommuniCore Hall will house the Mickey & Friends character greeting as well as being used as flex space for EPCOT's various festivals and celebrations.  The CommuniCore Plaza stage will first feature ¡Celebración Encanto!, a new sing-along stage show featuring the characters from Disney Animation's "Encanto," including Mirabel and Bruno. 

- Also at WDW, a new drone show Disney Dreams That Soar will run nightly from May 24 through September 2 in the skies above Disney Springs.

- Legoland California have opened their new Dino Valley land. Featuring very colourful Lego Dinosaur models that now feature in the two re-themed rides Explorer River Quest and Duplo Little Dino Trail.

- Europa Park have announced that Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac will open officially on April 26. The Mack Rides Stryker coaster features 7 inversions, 4 launches, and what the park is calling the steepest launch in the world, at 105 degrees. Themed to the experiments of Nikola Tesla, the coaster will anchor the park's new Croatia-themed land.

- Universal Orlando's new Epic Universe theme park has started testing it's Starfall Racers trains testing on the coaster's track this week, as shown on local Orlando television. Epic Universe opens in 2025.

- Disneyland have given more details about their "all-new experience" of fireworks from inside Galaxy's Edge as part of their Season of the Force event from April 5 through June 2. Disneyland will recast its fireworks experience as "Fire of the Rising Moons." Guests will hear the fireworks accompanied by music from John Williams' Star Wars film scores.

- The resort also announced that Critter Country will close at Disneyland on May 1, as the  park prepares the land for the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. This work will include re-themeing two of the retail locations to Princess and the Frog, and also widening and improving pathways in that section of the park.

- Mattel and its partners have announced a second Mattel Adventure Park, coming to the Kansas City area in 2026, even before the first park in Arizona has opened. The Kansas city park is due to break ground later this year. The Arizona park is set to open Late this year.

- The Mall of America is opening a new Avatar ride. Avatar: The Last Airbender that is. The new aerial carousel ride is called, Fly with Appa, where you ride on the Sky Bison from the Nickelodeon animated series. It is part of Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe.

- Qiddiya Investment Company has signed a deal with Toei Animation to license the Dragon Ball franchise for a new theme park at the Qiddiya City development in Saudi Arabia.

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March 17th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- The DisneylandForward proposal has cleared it's first major hurdle this week, with The Anaheim Planning Commission voting 5-1 to recommend the  proposal to the Anaheim City Council. The Council is expected to vote on this later this spring.

- Universal confirmed this week that Florean Fortescue soft-serve ice cream shop, originally found in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, will be opening another location at Universal Hollywood later this month. Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream counter will open March 29 in former Zonko's joke shop space within Honeydukes. The counter will serve 10 flavors of ice cream in cups or waffle cones: Banana, Chocolate, Mint, Orange, Vanilla, Toffee Nut, Granny Smith Apple, Pistachio, Toffee Apple, as well as Butterbeer ice cream. To celebrate that iconic flavor, Universal is declaring March 15 through April 30 as "Butterbeer season" at its U.S. theme parks. The parks will feature new Butterbeer-flavored items during the event, including a Butterbeer popsicle as well as Butterbeer caramels, which will be available in Orlando only.

- Shanghai Disneyland this week states that it had "began initial preparation work for construction of a separately themed attraction to be located within Shanghai Disneyland, adjacent to Zootopia." They also announced that they had completed piling work on its as-yet unamed third hotel.

- The Disneyland Resort is previewing new entry gates that will be installed at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, starting later this year. They have opened a test gate this week, which will bel used for a limited time and will assist with traning staff. The project is going to be finished in 2025.

- Disneyland resort dropped a whole bunch of details on Pixar fest, which returns to the resort April 26 and continues through August 4. This year it will feature a food festival, a part called Pixar Pals Playtime Party, and new parade at DCA called Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!

- In the U.S. SC Holdings has acquired Santa Monica Amusements LLC, the operator of Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier.  

- Fuji-Q Highland has announced that its iconic roller coaster, Do-Dodonpa, has closed permanently. The S&S Thrust Air Coaster has been closed since August 2021, after a number of injuries.

- Aquatica Orlando officially opens its newest water slide, Tassie's Underwater Twist. This 129-foot long enclosed Super Bowl water slide from WhiteWater West features an orchestral score and synchronized video display that recreates the underwater world of Australia's Shark Bay for guests to explore as they slide through on two-person innertubes.

- Kennywood has announced the winner in its contest to name the park's bumper cars ride. In a fan vote, Potato Smash beat candidates Deep Fried Derby and Speedy Spuds to become the name for the ride, which has been getting a rebuild as Kennywood themes the cars to its Potato Patch fries.

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And you can find our weekly podcast about theme park news called Nuts About Theme Parks, on all good Podcasting platforms.

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March 10th - Theme Park News in a Nutshell

 This week's Theme Park News:

- Disneyland Resort has it's clearest yet communication on the construction of an Avatar based experience, with Bob Iger saying  "We have one Avatar-based land, Pandora, in Florida. We're going to put a second one in California."

- Disneyland also had another attempt this week at opening up sales for their Magic Key annual pass program, which seemingly went better than last time.

- Disney Parks announced the opening date for the latest version of Star Tours, featuring Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, Din Djarin (aka The Mandalorian) and Grogu, will debut April 5 at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort.

- SeaWorld San Antonio has opened Catapult Falls, which it calls the "world's first launched flume coaster."

- Thorpe Park in the UK has completed track work on Hyperia, its new Mack Rides Hypercoaster for 2024.

- Legoland California has announced that Dino Valley will open officially to Legoland guests on March 22.

- Kentucky Kingdom will extend its 2024 season by staying open for the Christmas holiday season, the park announced this week.

- Gardaland in Italy has been teasing it's upcoming new thrill ride with claims this week of the arrival of a very large WOLF in the park.

You can watch our News in a Nutshell videos on YouTube or TikTok, and catch up with us on Instagram or Threads.

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And you can find our weekly podcast about theme park news called Nuts About Theme Parks, on all good Podcasting platforms.

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