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:
- After months of research, gallons of coffee and bags of sea salt dark chocolate covered flies, we're proud to present our Los Angeles Crowd Calendar. It's the same familiar format as our Orlando Crowd Calendar. It details crowd projections, temperature forecasts, holidays and events. Hours for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are there as well.
- We're getting more information about Epcot International Festival of the Arts activities and performers. Six stars from Disney Broadway shows—past and present—will entertain guests during this festival, and select Interactive Workshops that will allow guests to explore drawing, painting, baking or other artistic pursuits are now open to registration. The Festival runs from Jan 13 through Feb 20. Workshops can be reserved by calling 407-WDW-PLAY.
- Brick-or-Treat, The LEGO Batman Movie Days and KidsBob Weekend. The LEGOLAND Florida Resort Special Events will be awesome! The resort released their 2017 special events lineup, and builders of all ages will enjoy events throughout the year, including LEGO Star Wars Days and Christmas Bricktacular.
- The opening of Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom is getting closer. Disney released a behind-the-scenes video that gives us a look at the landscape as well as peeks at both attractions.
- Another spectacular nighttime show will be returning to Disneyland with a BANG! The Remember-Dreams Come True fireworks spectacular will light up the skies above Disneyland beginning in February.
- A new morning welcoming show is coming to Magic Kingdom. The Disney Blog reports that starting Jan. 9, the show will be held at the Castle Forecourt Stage, rather than at the Main Street U.S.A. train station. This should help ease the congestion at the entrance of the park. Morning shows are always more enjoyable with your morning coffee.
- Before you grab the Floo Powder and say "Universal Orlando Resort" make sure you check out Universal Orlando's post about their Top Tips On How To Prepare For A Celebration of Harry Potter.
- The University of Southern California Trojans and Penn State Nittany Lions visited Disney California Adventure this past week. The two teams will face off in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 2. It's always fun to see gigantic football players in small Disney cars.
- Leaping across the water to Hong Kong Disneyland, The Iron Man Experience has soft-opened in Tomorrowland. This Star Tours-like simulator attraction takes you into the skies onboard an Iron Wing as you help Iron Man defeat Hydra. Sign us up!
There are only a few hours left in 2016. Looking back over the year, we understand how lucky we are to hop around the country and help you plan your own amazing theme park adventures. Speaking of adventures, we have a big 2017 planned. You'll be seeing the Frog Family leaping into some new travel destinations. We can't say much yet, but we're excited to bring you more tips for adventures. We'll still your main source for great theme park tips and information. We're thrilled about the new year, and look forward to seeing you there with us. Hoppy New Year!
That’s it for the theme park news this week. Have a great holiday weekend!
Hoppy planning!
