Hi there! Welcome to our weekly roundup of the most interesting theme park news around the Walt Disney World Resort, the Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and other theme parks.
- Grab your dinglehoppers and get ready to dig in! Disney Eats dropped the foodie guide to World Princess Week, which officially takes place from Aug. 20 to 26 at Disney Parks worldwide. But even better, most of these princess-inspired treats will be available during the entire month of August! This new Moana Heart of Te Fiti Cupcake looks almost too pretty to eat ...
- The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival has officially kicked off (and runs through Nov. 18, 2023). The popular food festival has dozens of new items this year, including the Pickle Milkshake from the Brew-Wing Lab marketplace, featuring "The Muppets," as well as many returning favorites, such as the Fry Flight from the Fry Basket. For a full list of global marketplace menus, hop over to our downloadable version or the full food menu post.
- Universal Orlando Resort is de-booing Halloween Horror Nights food items during a new special preview event, taking place on select dates from August 10 to 26 before HHN starts Sept. 1. The Taste of Terror event features all-you-care-to-eat tasting portions of select featured HHN food and drinks, plus a souvenir HHN light-up cup, HHN Coca-Cola Freestyle cup and a photo download taken at the event.
- Trail's End Restaurant and Crockett's Tavern reopened at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort this week with new looks and menus. Trail's End has turned into a quick-service restaurant, offering both family-sized and individual-sized entrees, while Crockett's Tavern has expanded seating and new bites, including a Trio of Sliders.
- Three more Disneyland restaurants are expanding their drink menus to include cocktail, wine and beer offerings. Starting Sept. 12, River Belle Terrace, Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans will introduce new menu items, plus alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Prior to 2019, Disneyland Park did not serve alcohol (aside from the exclusive Club 33) until Oga's Cantina opened in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Blue Bayou began serving alcohol in 2021 when it reopened after a refurbishment.
- Somehow, we're still not done with all the foodie news from this week! Disney Eats also released the foodie guide for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World Resort. This year, there will be over 30 specialty treats, and most of them are brand new — including Zombie Fingers and a Skull Brownie! Some are only available during the party, but others are also available during regular park hours.
- A new interactive experience is coming to Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom Park. Disney describes "Smellephants on Parade" as a "search and sniff" adventure, presented by Scentsy. We still don't know many details, including an expected opening date, but we're always interested in new activities geared toward tadpoles!
- Knott's Scary Farm tickets are on sale now, and your favorite frogs are selling discount tickets to the event this year! It's an extra special year, as Knott's Scary Farm is celebrating its 50th anniversary of bringing nightmares to life. There will be fresh, new haunts as well as returning horrors.
That’s it for the theme park news this week! Have a great weekend.
Hoppy planning!
