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:
- Leapin' lily pads! You can now make a FastPass+ reservation in My Disney Experience for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Disney's Hollywood Studios! Guests visiting the park from Feb. 19, 2020, and later will see the option available to them in the app. That also means that the FastPass tier system in Disney's Hollywood Studios has changed a bit, with Smugglers Run and Slinky Dog Dash as the only Tier 1 options ... which in turn means there are a ton of toadally amazing Tier 2 options now! For more information about the FastPass+ options available in Disney's Hollywood Studios, hop here. Woohoo!
- Disneyland is about to debut another Disneyland After Dark party ... in a galaxy far, far away! Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite will take place on Aug. 27, 2020 (the opening night of the Star Wars Celebration convention coming to the Anaheim Convention Center). The separately ticketed event will take place in Disneyland Park, allowing guests to enter as early as 6 p.m. to experience the specially themed entertainment, food, photo-ops and even a galactic fireworks spectacular! Tickets will be on sale soon.
- It's official: Super Nintendo World is coming to Universal's Epic Universe! Universal's Epic Universe, Universal Orlando Resort's fourth gate, is slated to open in 2023. Later, Universal has confirmed, Super Nintendo World will be coming to Universal Studios Hollywood, as well. Here we go!
- We were toadally excited to hear that the all-new Disneyland parade, "Magic Happens" will premiere Feb. 28! In the meantime, Disney has released some brand-new sneak peeks of additional floats, including the one above. Guests will be able to watch magical moments in Disney film history take place, including the moment that Cinderella's pumpkin transforms into a carriage, taking her away to the ball.
- Attention, Disney Cruise Line aficionados! Disney Cruise Line is giving passengers on the Rhine River sailings the option to add on a sneak peek of the fifth Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Wish! For an additional cost, passengers can tour Meyer-Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where the Disney Wish is currently under construction! The limited-capacity tour will be led by a Disney Imagineer, guiding guests on a hard-hat tour of the shipyard. Construction on the Disney Wish is set to be complete in December 2021, when it will make its way to Port Canaveral to begin sailing in January 2022, from the port’s revamped Disney terminal.
- There are so many inspiring experiences available at Epcot International Festival of the Arts! And among the artists gracing the festival grounds this year was none other than Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." Paige grabbed her paintbrush for a live demonstration of her artistic prowess this week in the France pavilion. While she usually paints princesses (naturally), she branched out and took on a new subject: Gaston. As you might imagine, Gaston's poses were hilarious, and Paige's finished work is incredible! If you'd like to see it in person, Paige will appear on Jan. 24 to 27, 2020, from 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. daily.
- Get those tails wagging for The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood! Guests will hear some familiar voices, as the full cast of "The Secret Life of Pets" films will be reprising their roles for the attraction. The ride will also utilize facial recognition technology to transform riders into stray puppies looking for their forever homes. Aww. The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash will open in spring 2020.
That’s it for the theme park news this week! Have a great weekend.
Hoppy planning!
