Hi there! Welcome to our weekly roundup of the most interesting theme park news around the Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and other theme parks.
This week’s theme park highlights:
Disney's Studios Backlot Tour will play host to its final guests this Saturday. It was announced last week that the Disney's Hollywood Studios staple, which has been a part of the park since opening day in 1989, will close its doors for good. Plans have not been announced for the majority of the space, although Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Frozen Funland, a "Frozen"-themed ice skating and merchandise area, is expected to move into a building near the end of the tour.
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings has partnered with Alfred Angelo to create an Elsa-inspired wedding gown for you to let it go — I mean, say I do — in. The ice-blue sheath gown boasts a sweetheart neckline, a Watteau train and a sprinkling of icy beading. The "Frozen"-inspired creation will be available in January 2015.- The historic Soundstage 28 at Universal Studios Hollywood, which was where The Phantom of the Opera was filmed in 1925, has been demolished. The land the stage sets on in the Lower Lot is thought to be a prime expansion area for new attractions.
- Tim Burton friend and composer Danny Elfman dropped by Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland this week to record a special reading from "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."
After an extensive refurbishment, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is set to reopen tomorrow at Disneyland Park. Many of the attraction's scenes, rock work and coral were repainted and refurbished.- In awwwww news, a baby gorilla has been born at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The western lowland gorilla was born Sept. 3 to mother Kashata and father Gino, who live on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
- Disney has debuted MagicBands that can be linked at a later time. The "Link-It Later" option, which allows guests to wait to link the band to tickets, lets guests purchase MagicBands as gifts. The Link-It Later option is currently available at select retail locations at the Walt Disney World Resort.
For you Pandora fans, Disney finally shared more details about the collection coming to the parks. Sixteen of the hand-finished, .925 sterling silver and 14K items were created specifically for Disney Parks. I see a new collection in my future!
That’s it for the theme park news this week. Have a great weekend!
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 planning pages.
