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:
- USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards results are in — and SeaWorld Orlando is a big winner! Not only did SeaWorld Orlando take home the award for the Best Theme Park, but also, Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando won Best New Attraction. Aquatica took the #1 spot for Best Outdoor Water Park. (Mako at SeaWorld Orlando took the #2 spot for Best Roller Coaster!) Congratulations, SeaWorld!
- Ever wonder where all of the coins tossed at Walt Disney World end up? Well, periodically. Disney World collects and donates the change from Cinderella's Wishing Well (and various other fountains and waterways across the resort). Recently, Disney did just that and donated $30,000 to Give Kids the World Village.
- The newest Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Wish, will begin its inaugural journey in a few short months! In the meantime, Disney released a sneak peek at the merch available to guests. Those ears are calling our name!
- "Yo Gabba Gabba" star DJ Lance will host two kids shows at Knott's Berry Farm this summer. On select dates from May 21 through Sept. 5, tadpoles and fully-grown frogs alike can enjoy "Let's Play" and "Everybody Dance." In true "Yo Gabba Gabba" fashion, the show will blend music, dancing, play, education, and of course, fun for the whole family with characters such as Muno, Brobee, Plex, Foofa and Toodee.
- Disneyland Resort is celebrating Black Music Month with daily live entertainment and special offerings this summer! To kick off the celebration, "Tale of the Lion King" will debut in its new home at Fantasyland Theatre on May 28. From June 1 to July 4, guests can "Celebrate Soulfully" at Disney California Adventure Park, with daily live music celebrating music genres from Doo-Wop to Motown. And in Downtown Disney, "The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure" will be available in the Downtown Disney District. If that exhibit sounds familiar, it's because it was previously on display at EPCOT! Hosted by Joe Gardner, the star of "Soul," the exhibit showcases the history of jazz.
- Walt Disney Imagineering shared a video of the first full-speed launch test of Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom Park! While this one doesn't have an opening date just yet, it certainly got us excited to enter the Grid soon!
- We hosted our first-ever Hop to It series on Instagram this week — where we ask you what you want to see, and one of our Froggy Friends, well, hops to it! This week, @MissWizardingWorld hopped to Universal Orlando to share her experience with the Express Pass.
@undercovertourist 🚨 Here are the weekly updates from our frog friend, @thedavidvaughn that you may have missed from your favorite theme parks! Tap link in bio for more details! #undercovertourist #disneynews #themeparks #themeparkfan #disneyfan #disneyfans ♬ Disney-style comical orchestra(475679) - EBISU MUSIC
That’s it for the theme park news this week! Have a great weekend.
Hoppy planning!
