Disney announced today that a new game is coming to the Play app. The game is called Behold The Gifts of Mara and will basically be a virtual version of the decoder cards that Disney printed for the ride and its queue when it opened in 1995.
In the game guests will be able to once again decode ancient messages, plus some brand new codes that have been recently added to the queue. These messages will spell out what you need to do to get the Mara’s gift.
I like that Disney is continually enhancing its rides and queues as well as adding new games and experiences to the Play app. All of that just makes the guest experience better and the experience waiting in the queue that much better. Will you be using the Play app next time you ride Indiana Jones? Let me know in the comments below!
The Disneyland After Dark events for 2020 were announced last week and they have some great themes.
The first is 80’s Night which will have plenty of throwbacks including “Flashback to Videopolis”, which will be located in the Fantasyland Theater and will include a VJ playing 80’s hits along to music videos. It will include a fireworks show called “Awesome After Dark-Fireworks To The Max” which will be high energy and have accompanying music. You will be able to meet some throwback Disney characters, have lots of photo ops, and of course special food and merchandise. The event runs January 29th, 2020.
The next theme will be Sweetheart’s Nite which will include love song themed dance parties across the park and a glitzy royal ball. You will be able to meet Disney character couples and have romantic photo ops and special food and merchandise. The event runs February 12th and 13th, 2020.
The third event will be at California Adventure and be themed to Pixar. Pixar Nite will run on March 5th, 2020 and include interactive dance parties themed to Pixar characters and stories, photo ops, meet and greets with characters from your favorite Pixar movies, and special food and merchandise.
The last event will be themed to the Villains and run on my birthday April 30th, 2020. Villains Nite will be at California Adventure (Home to Oogie Boogie Bash) and will have a Villains Cabaret with outlaws singing and dancing throughout the park, a DJ dance party and various sing-along’s throughout the park, photo ops with the villains themselves, as well as special food and merchandise.
Yesterday guests riding the Carousel of Progress at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom were surprised to see another guest that jumped on stage of the attraction. For an unknown reason a guest got out of the ride vehicle and jumped on stage of the attraction during the first Act. Another guest tackled the guest on stage in an attempt to get him down. The set was damaged in the process.
The Carousel of Progress is a classic attraction at Walt Disney World and showcases the past, present, and future technologies of the world. Did you notice this incident? What do you think should happen to the guest as punishment?
Yet another classic Disneyland attraction will be going down for a significant refurb next year. The Haunted Mansion will be going down January 21st until Spring time for an extended refurb that will include new paint on the exterior and mechanical and lighting upgrades on the interior.
Haunted Mansion Holiday fans will be delighted that the attraction seems to be running for an extra couple of weeks this year leading up to this refurb. What do you guys think about this refurb? Do you think too many attractions are closing in one year for extended refurbs? Do you think this is all much needed? Let me know in the comments below!
In somewhat of a surprise, Disney Parks Blog went live this evening and revealed a plethora of opening dates for expierences coming to Disney World in the very near future and I am going to break each of them down right here! Before we proceed please note that all photos and concept art are courtesy of Disney.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
This attraction will be open at Hollywood Studios March 4th, 2020.
Mickey Shorts Theater
This theater will be located in Hollywood Studios and will play Mickey Shorts from the Disney Channel animated series, “Mickey Mouse”.
This attraction will be opening in Summer 2020 in the France Pavilion at Epcot and Disney shared this new look at the ride vehicle and one of the scenes from the attraction. On this attraction you will be scurrying through Chef Gasteau’s restaurant.
Disney’s Ducktales World Showcase Adventure
This is an interactive game experience coming to the Play Disney Parks App that will have you joining all of the ducks in search of a priceless treasure. You will be going on several missions that will take you all around the World Showcase at Epcot.
New Circle-Vision Films to Debut at Epcot
Starting January 17th, 2020 three new films will debut at Epcot. The first will be called “Awesome Planet” and will be a ten minute long film showcasing the diversity of Planet Earth. The second film will be a “Beauty and The Beast Sing Along” and will be located in the France Pavilion. It is produced by Don Hahn who produced the Beauty and The Beast films and will invite guests on a journey on a tale as old as time. This new film will rotate with the “Impressions de France” film which is slated to receive an upgrade to 4K.
Space 220
Space 220 was supposed to be open by now, but was delayed until sometime this winter, most likely January based on job postings on Pantina’s website.
Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts and BBQ
This is a brand new fast casual restaurant that will open at the American Adventure in Epcot this winter. It will obviously be serving BBQ style food and craft beer. This is somewhat of a surprise to me as I had no previous knowledge this restaurant was even in the planning stages.
Roundup Rodeo BBQ Restaurant
Lastly, Toy Story Land is finally getting the proper sit down restaurant it deserves next year at Hollywood Studios. This restaurant will also serve BBQ and have immersive indoor seating.
So what do you make of all these announcements? Will they entice you to start planning trips to Florida over the next year? Let me know in the comments below!
Universal Studios Hollywood announced today that the Toothsome Emporium is set to take over the space occupied by Hard Rock Cafe and open in 2021. Hard Rock Cafe will be closing January 8th to begin the transition.
The restaurant will feature all of the goodies in the Orlando version and be two stories. It will also feature a gift shop, dessert bar, and all day brunch. Universal Citywalk over the past few years has undergone a massive overhaul including the opening of Margaritaville, Antijitos, Voodoo Doughnuts and more. New dining and retail options should be announced in the coming months as there are several more vacant spaces throughout the entertainment center.
What do you think of the Toothsome Emporium coming to Citywalk? I personally love chocolate so I am very excited for this new addition, but let me know in the comments below what you think about this recent change to Citywalk!
Last Tuesday the Legoland New York Resort revealed a brand new type of ride and new ride tech. It will be called The Lego Factory Adventure and this first of its kind ride will be unique to Legoland New York.
Guests will be able to board the ride vehicle and with special technology be able to “shrink” down to the size of a Lego figure. What is really awesome is that facial technology and motion tracking will be used to turn guests into their own minifigures. Each guests minifigure will be shown on a on ride screen in the vehicle.
Ride Vehicle
Here is a look at the trackless ride vehicle that will be used in the attraction. Legoland New York will be opening July 4, 2020. What do you think of this new ride tech to be used in the park? Comment your thoughts down below!
Everyone please welcome Emperor to Sea World San Diego. Yesterday at IAAPA Sea World announced the new name for their 2020 Dive Coaster. The reason for the name change is that this coaster will not be anywhere near the shark encounter and thus thematically would not make any sense.
The new coaster is close to the arctic exhibit though and that is the home of the Emperor Penguin species that this coaster is named after. It thematically makes sense because Emperor Penguin’s can dive up to 1,800 feet deep in the ocean when searching for prey.
What do you guys think of the new name? Are you excited to get out to Sea World San Diego and ride this all new coaster next summer? Let me know in the comments below!
Universal Citywalk continues to go through major changes as the large and iconic Hard Rock Cafe is set to close at the beginning of January. It is rumored to be replaced by a Toothsome Emporium that is currently at Orlando’s Citywalk.
Photo courtesy of Inside Universal
Above is a picture of the Toothsome Emporium in Orlando and as you can see it is a two story full service restaurant with a large dessert section as well. There is also a gift shop attached. Have you been to the Emporium in Orlando? Are you excited for it to come to Hollywood? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello everyone, welcome back to another Theme Park Wizard update! Today I will be going over some photos from @bioreconstruct on Twitter of the Disneyland Resort that he shot last week. Definitely go visit his Twitter account for awesome aerials of places and theme parks mostly in Orlando, but occasionally out here as well, so let’s get started!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
As you can see in this fantastic shot, land clearing and site prep is well underway for the attraction just north of Toontown. The size of the show building is actually larger than Toontown itself. By the time Spring comes we should be seeing this building going vertical, the attraction is slated to open in 2022.
Avengers Campus
Starting from the top of the land and moving down you can see one of the two plazas near the Parade Route and the Spiderman attraction under construction. Moving down you can see the narrow walkway in between Spiderman and the WEB Suppliers gift shop leading to the more central part of the campus. This is the main dirt area that will house the Avengers Logo, the Doctor Strange show, and Pym Foods. This will also lead to the Avengers E ticket when it opens in a few years.
Tomorrowland
Lastly, we have a fresh look at Tomorrowland. As you can see most of the rocks are removed and the only thing that remains under construction walls is the E.E.R building that controls the audio effects for the Astro Orbitor. More work is rumored to be coming to this area and the rest of Tomorrowland this Spring, so it will be very interesting to see what happens.
Well that is all for today’s Disneyland Resort update! Comment below what you think of the ongoing projects at the resort and what are you most excited for?
Theme Park Universe 