This morning California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he is banning large gatherings of over 250 people in the state, but theme parks, casinos, and movie theaters were exempt. A few hours later, Disney announced that the Disneyland Resort would be closing due to coronavirus concerns for just the fourth time in its history.
A couple of hours later, Universal Studios Hollywood followed suit and announced that it too would be closing its doors from March 14th through the end of the month. This is particular bad for Universal fans as pass member previews were just getting ready to start this Saturday for the new Secret Life of Pets: Off The Leash attraction.
UPDATE: Disney World has now closed effective Sunday March 15th temporarily.
I will update this story as more details become available, but make sure to ALWAYS wash your hands and stay safe and clean!
Disney blog site Micechat has announced that Soarin’ Over California is coming back to California Adventure for another limited time engagement. This time it will be only during the duration of the Food and Wine Festival which will be February 28th through April 21st.
I still think and hope Disney would make one theater the California version while the other theater would be the World version. They should also re-film the California version so it can be up to date with the World version and make it a permanent offering.
What do you think? Which version do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below!
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!
Legoland California has decided to retire their Star Wars area in Miniland U.S.A Merlin announced today. The attraction will close after the holiday season ends on January 6th, 2020. Legoland has said, ” Since opening in 2011 with additions made year after year, the Lego Star Wars Miniland model display has been popular for children and their parents, We are thrilled we were able to bring this generational experience to our guests and hope those who have yet to see it, or want to revisit with their friends, will come experience Lego Star Wars Miniland before it leaves us in January and before we prepare to build new memorable experiences for guests.”
In its place I hope another iconic city like Chicago goes up or the Grand Canyon. Comment below what would you like to see in its place? Also gives this page a follow for constant theme park updates.
Following on the footsteps of Knott’s new 2020 teaser announcement, Cedar Point is now teasing their own new addition for their 150th Anniversary next year. No major construction is happening at the moment so it is safe to say it will not be a major new addition such as a record breaking roller coaster.
Just because it will not be a major roller coaster does not mean that this new addition won’t be exciting. Cedar Fair is partnering with Triotech for Knott’s so maybe a new or revamped dark ride will be coming to Cedar Point as well. Also there could be a new family coaster coming because those do not take as long to build as the major coasters.
The announcement did mention a river though and that is very interesting as Cedar Point could be revamping their river rafting ride like Knott’s did last year. Not much else is known about this teaser, but expect to find out much more on both new Cedar Fair attractions in a couple weeks at IAAPA.
It’s a Six Flags day today because now they have released a brand new look at the West Coast Racers trains coming hopefully soon to the construction site itself (Right now they are in the Magic Mountain parking lot). I must say they look very impressive and just like the original concept art which is fantastic. Great job by West Coast Customs for their work on the trains and in the land itself with the graffiti murals they have been painting all over.
As for West Coast Racers, the track is all done and the station box should be finishing up shortly as it looks almost fully framed. Once that is done these lovely new trains will be hoisted on the track for a slow pull through of the entire course to make sure the sizing is correct among other potential safety requirements and issues. After that full testing can begin and it is law by CalOSHA that every vehicle on every new ride at any park in California must go around its course at least 1,000 times before it can be cleared to open. So expect testing to be going over for a few weeks before hopefully on opening date by Christmas time is what I am guessing.
What do you guys think of the new trains? When do you think this ride will finally open? Do you like the comfort collars being used on these trains or would you rather it be a different type of restraint? Let me know in the comments below!
Concept art of new water slide complex coming to South Bay Shores
Cedar Fair parks announced all of their 2020 projects yesterday and with that California’s Great America announced that their water park, Boomerang Bay, will be expanded and renamed to South Bay Shores.
The expansion will include upgraded food and beverage locations as well as six new water slides. The new slides are SharkReefPlunge which are four vertical drop slides. Next up is Feeding Frenzy which is an enclosed tube slide that will finish in a giant bowl element at the bottom of the slide. Lastly, Barracuda is a slide that will feature a tight constrictor style series of spins and end with a splashdown at the end.
Some other features to be added are a family play and pool area to be called Tide Pool and Pier 76 which is a new restaurant location.
What do you think of CA Great America’s expansion? Will you be visiting? Comment your thoughts below!
WDWNT continues to leak supposed Spider-Man ride concept art including the pre show area and some ride scenes and I am about to break it all down for you right here!
Pre show concept art from WDWNT
Here is the pre show area which continues the very industrial vibe of the attraction. It looks like guests will be given a tour of the W.E.B building as it seems they are hosting an open house of some sort.
Second pre show photo from WDWNT
This photo it looks like guests will be given a tour of the office and this is the place the premise of the ride itself will likely be given.
Ride Scene provided by WDWNT
Here is a photo of one of the ride scenes where it looks like a ship of some sort has crashed through the wall. It is also interesting to note that there is a track on the bottom which if accurate means the vehicles will not be suspended.
Another ride scene
In this scene it looks like were going past more sets in what increasingly looks like a training facility.
Moving along I don’t see a track here so maybe this is part of the queue area?
Now with multiple tracks going different places this could represent different ride experiences or maybe some maintenance bays for the vehicles.
In this scene it looks like someone or something spilled tons of paint everywhere.
This seems to be a dark room with more paint or oil on the ground.
Finally we have the exit of the ride where guests will walk past the Avengers logo and back onto the Avengers Campus outside.
Couple of things to note here: This is NOT official concept art by Disney, we will get that at D23, so take this will a grain of salt until more details are unveiled next weekend. Also if most of the scenes seem like there is nothing going on, it is because this ride is rumored to rely heavily on augmented reality within the ride vehicles themselves.
So what do you think of this rumored leaked concept art? Are you excited for this attraction? Why or Why not? Comment your thoughts below!
Theme Park Universe 