Category: Uncategorized

Disney Announces Resident and Hotel Discounts For 2020 and With Me You Can Get Them Cheaper!!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Welcome to 2020! Disney is giving everyone who lives in Southern California a great ticket deal for this off season! There are two discounts I have here for all of you and I am going to break them down for you right now.

The first is the 3 Day one park per day or parkhopper ticket. For $199 you can get a 3 Day non consecutive one park per day ticket to the Disneyland Resort and for $254 you can get a 3 Day parkhopper non consecutive ticket to the resort. Both tickets must be used by May 21, 2020 and have a one week blockout period during Spring Break. Now if you combine the tickets with a two night hotel stay you can save an extra $10 off your package. You may purchase those tickets here!

For the next special it is the same one as above, but without the hotel and is only for Southern California residents. You may purchase those right here!

During these next few months the Disneyland Resort will welcome Rise of the Resistance in ten days, Lunar New Year in a few weeks, Califronia Adventure’s Food and Wine Festival as well as a brand new daytime parade, so go ahead and buy those tickets so you can enjoy the plethora of new entertainment and attractions coming to the resort!

Will Disney Raise Ticket Prices Soon?

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Today marks exactly one year since the last price increase for the Disneyland Resort. Many people are wondering if Disney will raise their ticket prices again soon especially considering Rise of the Resistance opens in two weeks.

Disney usually gives little to no warning on when they are going to raise prices, but the most tell-tell sign is when the website is going down for maintenance which usually happens for a few hours overnight.

My question is how high can Disney raise the already expensive prices? This summer crowds were non-existent due to fear or Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, but come this past holidays the resort was bursting at the seams. My guess is that since I am sure the low crowds this past summer hurt Disney’s bottom line, I do not think there will be a price increase at least until closer to the Avengers Campus opening this summer.

What do you think will happen? Will Disney raise prices and when? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Asian Streets Eats Now Open at Downtown Disney

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

At long last Asian Streets Eats has opened in front of the former Rainforest Cafe restaurant in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort. This location looks like a glorified food truck and that tells me that this is temporary until they figure out what they want to do with the Rainforest Cafe building.

The menu for this establishment will of course be Asian dishes such as Scallion Pancake Wraps and Pot stickers.

Scallion Pancake Wrap from Asian Street Eats
All Photos courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Pot stickers from Asian Street Eats

Will you be trying out this new restaurant? What do you think of the food choices? Let me know down below!

Possible Fire at WDW PeopleMover

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Photos have been circulating on social media of smoke billowing out of the People Mover at the Magic Kingdom. There have been reports of at least fifteen firefighters going towards the attraction. The My Disney Experience App shows that the People Mover and Buzz Lightyear are temporarily closed. This story will be updated as it develops, but comment below what you see and provide any updates on the situation if you have any! Happy New Year and check back here for more stories weekly!

Photo courtesy of WDWNT

UPDATE: This photo provided by Blog Mickey shows that the People Mover is back open and the moving walkways are stopped which means guests just have to walk up and down the ramps.

Final Day To Ride Wild Arctic At Sea World San Diego January 10th

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Sea World has told everyone that the last day to ride Wild Arctic will be on January 10th.

Then they will quickly start prepping for their 2021 addition which will be a family quadruple multi launch coaster. The Wild Arctic exhibits will be safe and perhaps even refurbished to go along with the new coaster. Sea World works very quickly on their new rides with each opening usually in May so to see work start on their 2021 addition so early is not surprising at all.

Coaster Site Plans
Coaster Layout

Here is the proposed coaster layout Sea World filed with the California Coastal Commission and City of San Diego thanks to Behind The Thrills. The coaster height will be a maximum of 30 feet due to a height limit in the area. The max speed will most likely be in the 40mph range. The Wild Arctic simulator is over 25 years old and very rough and is last on guest satisfaction lists which is a major reason why it is being demolished.

What do you think of this forthcoming coaster? Are you excited? Are you glad Sea World continues to switch area from animals to more rides? Let me know in the comments below!

Avengers Campus Opens Summer 2020!

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Image result for avengers campus

Disney yesterday confirmed the opening season of Avengers Campus coming to California Adventure in Summer 2020. In the theme park industry, summer usually means May-August. Disney has been opening new attractions and lands anywhere from Memorial Day until June so I would expect that Disney is shooting for a Memorial Day 2020 opening for Avengers Campus.

The land will include an interactive Spider-man ride, Hank Pym Restaurant, a doctor strange show, and two gift shops. Lots of live entertainment seems to be planned for this land (Hopefully it does not get cut like Galaxy’s Edge) including a Spider-man stunt show using a stuntmotronic and an Avengers stunt show on top of the Avengers HQ building.

Image result for avengers campus
Avengers HQ

Are you excited for Avengers Campus? Will you be visting right away or waiting until the Avengers E Ticket opens in a few years? Let me know in the comments below!

Universal Studios Hollywood Significantly Drops Prices on Annual Passes

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized

Universal quietly dropped their annual pass prices and did so pretty significantly some time in the past couple of weeks. According to an insider Universal is pretty happy with the amount of tourists and VIP’s visiting the park, but is underwhelmed by the amount of local traffic. Repeat visitors are what drives in park spending the most so Universal really relies on passholders during the slow and busy seasons to keep up the bottom line.

The new amounts are listed as follows:

Platinum (Includes no blackout dates and Universal Express): $629 now $449

Gold: $329 now $249

Silver: $179 now $174

I expect once Secret Life of Pets opens next year and when Nintendo opens in 2021 those prices will shoot back up so I would purchase a pass and enjoy the reduction while you can. Another great option, which is what I always purchase, is the season pass which for $149 ($10 more than a one day ticket) grants you 9 months or 275 days of access to the park. It does not include parking, but I always just park at the nearby Metro stop which is only three dollars and take the tram to the entrance.

Will these new price reductions encourage you to purchase a pass? Do you think Universal still does not have enough to do to get a pass? Let me know in the comments below!

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

by Theme Park Wizard, posted in Uncategorized
Image result for new star tours scene

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!