'Once Upon a Time' Castle Show Debuts Tonight in Magic Kingdom

by Mommy Frog on November 4, 2016

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:

Hoppy news for those of you who will be visiting Disney World this weekend. The nighttime projection show "Once Upon a Time" debuts tonight at Magic Kingdom. Look for Mrs. Potts from "Beauty and the Beast" to share bedtime stories with Chip. The show, which replaces "Celebrate the Magic," will include scenes from "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Alice in Wonderland," "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" and others.
Whether you're hopping to the parks soon or not, you can catch the season's first castle lighting and "A Frozen Holiday Wish" at Magic Kingdom on Nov. 7 at 6:25 p.m. EST. The Disney Parks Blog will be live streaming the magical show in which Queen Elsa uses her powers to add frosty, bright lights to Cinderella Castle.
The list of celebrity narrators for Epcot's Candlelight Processional has been finalized. Cal Ripken Jr. and Ming-Na Wen will be making their first readings at the event, which shares the story of Christmas through words and song. The annual event that is part of Epcot's Holidays Around the World also includes a mass choir and 50-piece orchestra.
The Disney Parks will be celebrating Christmas with three holiday specials this season, each shot inside Disney World and Disneyland. The Disney World tapings are taking place in the parks Nov. 9-12, and guests with regular admission can be part of it.
The Festival of the Holidays is coming alive at Disney California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort this season, starting Nov. 10. The brand-new event will draw from Diwali, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas/Navidad and Three Kings Day. There will be food and drinks, crafts, and plenty of entertainment—from the Grammy-winning Mariachi Divas to the RAISE R&B a cappella group.
Universal revealed more details about its upcoming "Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon" attraction, set to open at Universal Studios Florida in spring 2017. Guests will be seated in a "flying theater" as they take in iconic New York landmarks and Tonight Show characters during the race around the streets of the famed city.
No doubt you didn't miss our news about Universal Orlando's coming Volcano Bay water theme park. But just in case you did, the park's headliner is an innovative canoe aqua coaster that will take guests up and down the 200-foot-tall Krakatau Volcano. We'll have tickets for Volcano Bay on sale Nov. 15.
Best of luck to all of you participants in this weekend's Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon events. Be sure to pace yourself for the shopping, because there is some really cool wine-themed merchandise for this year's event.