Month: October 2019

Grinchmas To Begin on Thanksgiving at Universal Studios Hollywood

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Image result for grinchmas
Whoville Tree lit up at USH

It’s that time of the year again where the two holidays of Halloween and Christmas collide. Christmas decorations are already being set up at both Disney and Universal and now we are starting to get more information on Grinchmas with some pretty awesome news.

This awesome news is that this year Grinchmas will start on Thanksgiving Day and will run DAILY (instead of the previous just on weekends) through December 29th. Also starting at this time will be the Christmas at the Wizarding Wold of Harry Potter celebration with Christmas themed shows and entertainment including the ever popular projection show on Hogwarts Castle.

The holiday themed food and Hot Butterbeer will also be making a return and eveyr night at Universal Plaza there will be a Whoville themed lighting celebration to light the 55 foot Grinchmas Tree. As I have stated in previous articles about the holidays Christmas is my favorite time of the year at the SoCal parks and I am so excited to celebrate again this year!

What about all of you? Are you excited for Grinchmas this year? Let me know in the comments below and give this page a follow for constant holiday updates and footage!

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Nickelodeon Universe, North America’s Largest Indoor Theme Park, to Open in New Jersey This Week

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
An artist's rendition of the interior of the Nickelodeon Universe theme park set to open in New Jersey.
Concept art of the park

After several years of construction, the largest indoor theme park in North America will be opening in New Jersey on Friday. It will be located in East Rutherford, New Jersey and will be themed to Nickelodeon.

The park will be 8.5 acres and will feature over 35 rides and attractions including multiple different types of roller coasters. There will be plenty of walk around characters and meet and greet from favorite Nickelodeon franchises such as Spongebob, Jimmy Neutron, and The Fairly Odd Parents. Some of the rides and coasters are themed to properties such as Spongebob, Dora the Explorer, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The latter’s roller coaster is expected to have a massive for and indoor park 122 ft drop! There seems to be plans for multiple inverted coasters as shown in the concept art.

Pricing for the park for a general ticket is $39.99 and for the all access pass it is $49.99 and children under 2 are free. Tickets for Friday are being sold in 4 hour time slots and are all sold out as of this writing. I am not sure if everyday tickets will be sold in 4 hour time slots or of that is just an opening day occasion.

Opening weekend hours are 10am-6pm Friday and 9am-10pm Saturday and Sunday. Regular operating hours are 9am-10pm Monday through Thursday and 9am-1am Friday through Sunday.

Parking rates are as follows: 0-29 min is free, 30 min is $3, five hours is $4, six hours is $5, seven hours is $6, and finally eight hours is $24. Valet is a $10 parking fee.

This theme park has been in the works since 2003 and is part of the 3 million square foot American Dream Mall that is also opening in conjunction with the park. New Jersey won’t have the title of having North America’s largest indoor theme park for long though as the same company. Triple Five Development, is building an even larger mall and indoor theme park down the road in Miami, Florida set to open in 2023.

What do you think of this new indoor theme park? Will you be booking a flight to make a visit? Let me know in the comments below!

Dollywood to Host Its Own Food and Flower Festival Next Spring!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Image result for dollywood

Dollywood announced it would be hosting a Food and Flower festival for its 35th Anniversary. The festival will be going on from May 8th through June 14th 2020 and will have giant topiaries that will be up to 15 ft tall as well as lots of other flowers. This article will be updated with more info as soon as it comes!

What do you think of this new festival? Let me know in the comments below!

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at WDW Dethemes Their Food Names

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo courtesy of Laughingplace.com

Just two months after it opened, Disney has decided to simplify the food names at Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland all food names are the original themed names for now.

The reason Disney did this is not known, but I have a theory. My theory is that since Disney World is very tourist heavy and lots of foreigners go there, my guess is that many people had no idea what they were looking at or ordering. If they are from another country then they may not be able to read the names of the food and depending on how good their English is, the cast members may not be able to communicate with the foreign guests very well. All of that mist likely led to numerous guest and even cast member complaints about the situation which then forced Disney to make a swift decision to simplify the food names so that it is easier on guests and cast members for communication purposes.

Disneyland is a mostly locals park and people who are not locals usually come from other parts pf the country such as Nevada Arizona, or Colorado. That is the reason why I believe Disneyland for now is staying the same since communication is easier and those guests are able to read what the actual food product is in the caption under the themed name.

Now as soon as this changed was announced many people automatically became upset because they were promised full immersion from entertainment to food. Disney already let us down big time in the entertainment department with the lack of droids or shows in the land, so people feel like Disney is further taking away the immersion by changing some of the food names.

If in fact my theory is correct than I don’t mind the changing of the food names at all if it means guests know what they are about to order and eat and that drastically reduces complaints. The only thing I am asking for is that Disney bring back the proposed entertainment that was cut such as the roaming droids and the shows. Hopefully with the opening of Rise of the Resistance we get some of that entertainment back.

What do you think of the changing of the food names? Does it make you feel less immersed? Comment your thoughts down below!

Guests To Enter Universal Beijing Using Facial Recognition Tech

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

An awesome news story came out today via the website France 24 saying that guests who enter Universal Beijing will be able to use facial recognition technology instead of showing a ticket. The story also notes that the park is partnering with popular Chinese tech company Alibaba so that guests can use Alipay to purchase meals and merchandise.

I think this is fantastic news and is yet another sign of the theme park industry advancing every year implementing new technology into their parks and enhancing the guest experience in large and small ways. Universal is probably also thinking that this is a way to take a jab at Shanghai Disneyland and all of the fancy high tech rides they have over at that park.

Usually Disney and Universal use their international parks to test out new ride tech and new tech to enhance the guest experience. If successful these new ideas usually make there way to the domestic parks (ie: Tron Power Run) I would like to see facial recognition make its way to Universal and Disney parks in the United States and hopefully both companies start to implement this advanced tech into the parks in the coming years and completely take away the need for paper tickets.

What do you think of this new technology? Would you like to see Apple or a tech company partner with Disney or Universal and implement Apple Pay and facial recognition into the parks? Let me know in the comments below!

It’s Starting to Snow at Disneyland!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo courtesy of WDWNT

Sleeping Beauty Castle is starting to undergo its Winter transformation at the Disneyland Resort. This week the first markings of snowfall have occurred with the rest of the roofing and turrets expected to get snow throughout the coming weeks. Next the icicles will be installed and the castle will be in the holiday spirit by the time the holidays start November 8th.

Each night guests gather in the Hub around 6pm for the Lighting Ceremony that includes music, lighting of the castle and Small World Holiday facade, as well as a snowfall. Are you all excited for the holidays at the resort? What’s your favorite thing about the holidays at Disneyland? Let me know in the comments below!

Disneyland Paris Castle Could Go Under Lengthy Refurb

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
Image result for disneyland paris castle

The most elegant and beautiful Disney park castle of them all, Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty Castle, is rumored to undergo a lengthy refurb starting particularly soon.

This is for now just a rumor since there is no date on the calendar nor has Disney mentioned this refurb, but Disney has mentioned that the castle will not be receiving Christmas lights this year leading some people to believe the refurb will start as soon as next month.

Now this will be a very lengthy refurb as the castle is believed to have structural damage. This refurb would take up to two years and include new tiling, structural improvements, new turrets, and a new and refreshed Castle Stage as well as Castle Garden.

That is all I know at this moment about this rumored refurb, but give this blog a follow for the latest updates to this story. Do you think the castle in Paris needs such a dramatic refresh? Is there anything you would add or take away from the castle or stage area?

NBC Sports Grill and Brew Coming to CityWalk at Universal Hollywood in 2020!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized
nbc sports grill & brew
NBC Grill and Brew in Orlando courtesy of Attractions Magazine

Antijitos is now open at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood and now they have announced their next major addition that will be coming to the entertainment complex.

NBC Sports Grill and Brew (which is already at CityWalk Orlando) will be making its West Coast debut next year as Universal Hollywood aggressively continues to enhance and completely revamp CityWalk. The pub will feature three giant TV screens out front as well as over 100 HD TV’s inside the restaurant. The menu will consist of general pub and bar food and alcohol and will add to the energy and excitement of CityWalk. This should look very impressive and fit in at night when the rest of the complex lights up. Its location is great as well as it will be in the center of everything in the main plaza right next to Antijitos, Tony Romas, and Johnny Rockets.

I am very excited for new changes to CityWalk and personally cannot wait for this to open up sometime in the next few months. What do you guys think about this new addition? Do you like the new changes that are coming or have been made recently to CityWalk? Comment your thoughts down below!

WDW Skyliner Reopens With Modified Hours

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

After extensive testing for a week, Disney has announced that the Skyliner will reopen with a modified schedule so that more testing can occur during the overnight hours. So far these hours are just in effect for October 16th-18th and are as stated: October 16th The Hollywood Studios will be closed, but all other lines will operate from 1 pm-10:30 pm and on October 17th and 18th all lines will be open from 1 pm- 10:30 pm. It is not know what the schedule will be like after that date, but it is widely assumed operation will return to normal.

Did the accident deter you from ever trying or riding the Skyliner? Comment your thoughts below!

Walt Disney Studios Tram Tour Will Be Rethemed to Route 66 This Summer!

by socalthemeparkwizard, posted in Uncategorized

Disneyland Paris has announced that their tram tour will not be going away and will be rethemed to the Cars franchise in summer 2020. Guests will be taking a road trip down Route 66 in this new adventure. It was long thought that with their 2 Billion Euro expansion that this attraction would be biting the dust, but then now we officially know it is here to stay. Below is an updated park map including all of the coming expansions.

Photo from LaughingPlace.com

As you can see the park is looking even smaller than usual at the moment with all of the construction and demolition of the Hollywood Backlot area but luckily in just a few short years that will all change. I find it rather odd there will be two cars themed attractions kind of far from each other. If they were to move the existing Cars ride they could form a Cars mini-land.

So what do you guys think of the Tram being rethemed to Cars? Would you rather it go away and replaced with something entirely new like at Hollywood Studios? Discuss your thoughts in the comments below!