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.
Here are this week’s theme park highlights:
The Earfful Tower at Disney's Hollywood Studios is coming down soon. It joins other closed landmarks and attractions that are now part of the park's history. The Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure; Monsters Inc. meet-and-greet and Studio Catering Co. will also all close to make way for the coming Star Wars and Toy Story Lands. No date has been revealed for the tower removal, but the others' last day will be April 2. And for those of you wondering if this is it—according to the Disney Parks Blog—no additional closures are planned.- Universal Studios Hollywood has opened an additional parking structure, adding some 5,000 spaces. Those spaces will surely help later this spring and summer when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens.
There's a new act in Canada at Epcot. For a limited engagement five days a week, TradNation performs Québécois tunes and original family compositions. The foursome replace the Canadian lumberjack show, which replaced the very popular Off Kilter.- Kylo Ren from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is heading to both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios for meet-and-greets. The new villain will be meeting at Star Wars Launch Bay in both parks starting next month.
- Disney World is looking to bring even more Star Wars characters to the park. DisneyAuditions.com is casting for Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren from Disney's Star Wars Rebels TV show.
You may recall a few months back the grandmother working at a North Carolina campus coffee shop whose dream was to one day take herself and her family to Disney World. Two Elon University students took that dream and made it a reality by raising money to send them there. Well, they finally made it!- Last but not least, we frogs were mentioned in Time this week on how to do Disney World on the cheap. As always, we're so hoppy to help families save money on their vacations.
That’s it for the theme park news this week. Have a great weekend!
Hoppy planning!
If you’re thinking about a trip to Disney World, make sure to check out the other news, tips and information we post to the blog throughout the week. If you’re ready to plan your trip, we recommend you start with our Orlando Planning Guide.
