Author: Theme Park Wizard

I am a huge fan of theme parks!

Star Tours Getting New Scenes From Rise of Skywalker Starting Today!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
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Every single Star Tours at Disney Parks are getting an enhancement starting today. New scenes from The Rise of Skywalker will be locked into the Star Tours ride sequences for the next few months.

These new scenes include riding the waves of the Endor moon Kef Bir (shown above) and a special transmission from Lando as you are mid ride about to jump into hyperspace. This new scene joins previous Sequel Trilogy scenes such as Battu (Galaxy’s Edge), Crait (The Last Jedi), and Jakku (The Force Awakens).

Do you like that they updating Star Tours? Would you like to see the ride replaced at Disneyland? Do you like Smuggler’s Run or Star Tours more? Discuss in the comments below!

Flight of Passage Evacuated Due to a Reported Fire

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom were evacuated from Flight of Passage earlier today because of a reported fire. About three hours ago guests went to Twitter to say that the attraction had caught on fire.

Turns out the fire alarm just had an issue and it was a false alarm thank goodness. It must have been scary for guests mid ride to be abruptly evacuated due to the reported fire. Apparently, ever since this ride opened two years ago there have been issues with the fire alarm.

Have you ever been evacuated from an attraction for any reason? Were you excited or was it a dream come true to finally be evacuated from a Disney attraction? Comment your answers down below!

Flight of Passage Adds Mid-Queue Restrooms

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Flight of Passage restroom 12/17/19 14
Photo courtesy of WDWNT

Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is much like Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure, they both average a two hour plus wait time. I have always wondered why Disney has not put in amenities in the queues of their attractions especially the big E Tickets that average wait times of an hour or more.

Universal, Cedar Fair, and at times Six Flags offer merchandise carts as well as food and drink carts in the middle of their queues so guests may be able to get their amenities without leaving the queue. It is also a money making opportunity for the parks.

Disney’s queues are super immersive so I understand why they would not want too disrupt that with food or merchandise carts (although at Disneyland’s queue for Smuggler’s Run they have a beverage cart in the extended queue) but at least put in bathrooms so guests do not have to get out of line and then find their party when they return.

So I am very happy to say that Disney has added restrooms to the middle of the queue for Flight of Passage. This should really help guests who do not want to get out of line and then try and return later. The restrooms are themed very nicely and they are unisex which is fantastic so they will both be able to be used at the same time at all times.

What do you think of this new addition? What other rides do you think Disney should add restrooms too? Let me know in the comments below!

Disneyland Resort Express Shuts Down Operations In January

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Coach USA is shutting down their bus operations between John Wayne and LAX airports January 7th. Supershuttle will also be ceasing operations at the end of this year as both of those companies have filed for bankruptcy.

To get to and from the resort from those airports you must now rent a car or take an Uber/Lyft. This will mean it could be a bit more inconvenient for your next Disney trip if you plan to fly in to the state. Also of note is that if you choose the rent a car option, you will be paying unnecessary overnight parking fees at the Disneyland Hotels and surrounding hotels when you will not be using the car at all during your stay. My suggestion is to rent a car after your Disney trip if you are traveling to other Los Angeles or California landmarks during your stay.

No Roaming Droids in Galaxy’s Edge Says Disney

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

When Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge was announced, Disney promised tons of live entertainment including drone shows and most importantly roaming droids. When the land was closer to opening, Disney had said that they were going to postpone the drone show because of the highly anticipated crowds that did not show up.

People have speculated that when Rise of the Resistance opens and the land is complete then Disney will start rolling out the droids and other live entertainment. Apparently, that is not the case either as Disney has now confirmed that droids are not coming to the lands in Disneyland or Hollywood Studios in the near future.

Personally, I am disappointed in this decision because I believe some entertainment is all that is needed to make this a very good land. I am hoping they change their mind in the not so distant future, but what do you think about this move? Do you care if there are droids or not roaming around the land? Comment your thoughts below!

Disney Files Plans for 12 Story DVC Tower at the Disneyland Resort

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
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A couple of weeks ago Disney filed plans for a brand new DVC tower that they would like to build at the Disneyland Resort. Now this is not exactly a new plan, but more like a Resurrection of an old plan. Years ago Disney wanted to build a DVC only tower but pulled the plug.

In light of the cancelled 4th Disneyland Resort hotel, those plans are now back on and better than ever. This new tower would go on a plot of land that awhile back was earmarked for the fourth tower of the Disneyland Hotel. This tower would have 350 rooms in 12 stories and be Disney’s 17th DVC resort.

What This Could Mean For The Disneyland Hotel

A lot of people speculated that due to the original placement of the 4th hotel for the Disneyland Resort, that the original Disneyland hotel would be demolished right after the new hotel was completed. Now that those plans are cancelled, I still think a major demo and rebuild are in store for the Disneyland Hotel.

This placement of the DVC Tower would still allow for each tower of the Disneyland Hotel to be demoed and rebuilt one by one to allow for a completely remodeled hotel and I for one would be a big proponent of that idea.

What do you guys think of this new DVC Tower? What do you think it means for the future of the Disneyland resort? Let me know in the comments below!

Rise of Skywalker Opening Crawl Leaked!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Hello and welcome back to a breaking news article here on Theme Park Wizard. The Rise of Skywalker premiere is well under way here in Hollywood and with that spoilers and images are slowly starting to trickle their way on to the internet. From this point on their will be major Star Wars spoilers.

Thanks to the website makingstarwars.net we now have a photo of what the official opening crawl for Rise of Skywalker will be.

Photo Courtesy of makingstarwars.net

Now I am not sure if this is the full or partial version of the crawl, but this sure seems real based on what we have seen in the trailers. Either way I am super excited for Emperor Palpatine to return, but how about you? Are you excited for this film? Will you be seeing it opening weekend? Let me know in the comments below!

Classic Space Mountain to Return January 8th

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
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According to the refurb calendar on the Disneyland app, Hyperspace Mountain’s last day will be January 6th. It will be closed for one day and return as Classic Space Mountain on January 8th.

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Are you excited for Classic Space Mountain to return? Are you sick of Space Mountain getting overlays? Let me know in the comments below!

Universal Studios Hollywood Announces Food and Wine Festival!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Today Universal Hollywood announced that on March 19th and 20th they will be hosting a Food and Wine Festival. The only difference between this one and other theme park festivals is that Universal’s will be an after hours hard ticket event.

The event will start at 7pm each night and cost $179 to attend on each night. That price includes food tastings, beer, wine, live competitions and photo ops with Top Chef talent, live entertainment, merchandise, and a gift. For $300 you can get a VIP ticket that allows you access to Universal Studios starting at 12pm and preferred parking with VIP tasting with alumni from Top Chef or for $199 you can get a day and night combo ticket that starts at 12pm but does not include free parking and the special VIP experiences.

If you have not guessed already this event is themed to Bravo’s Top Chef and you will be able to taste some of their delicious meals all night long! Will you be attending this festival? Would you rather it be included in regular park admission like at California Adventure? Do you think what your getting is worth all that money? Let me know in the comments below!

West Coast Racers to Host Previews For Passholders Starting Week of Christmas!!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
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According to commenter Tom Read on the latest West Coast Racers Update from Parks Bros, Six Flags will be hosting Passholder Previews for the coaster starting December 21st and running through the first week of January.

Depending on what type of pass you have will be the day you get to experience this new coaster. Using an educational guess, my thought is that the ride will be open to the general public on January 6th, 2020.

Are you a Six Flags season pass holder? Will you be going to try out this ride early? Let me know in the comments below and follow this blog for constant theme park updates!