As the "rope drop" starts the day at theme parks, the Sunday "Rope Drop" post kicks off the week here at Theme Park Insider. Here is what lies ahead for fans at the parks this week.
The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts at Walt Disney World starts Friday, continuing daily through February 23. New food items in the "Food Studios" this year include a Figment Fantasy Cake, Popcorn Chicken and Waffles, and a Skittles Color Scheme Cake at Figment’s Inspiration Station at The Odyssey, Steakhouse Lobster Caesar Salad and Peppercorn-crusted Striploin at The Artist’s Table in The American Adventure, a crab cake in lobster bisque with lemon-dill sour cream at L’Art de la Cuisine Française, a Sparkling Spectacle Gâteau at Deco Delights, plus BBQ Chicken Pizza and a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich at Connections Eatery. You can find a complete menu and details on Disney's website.
This year's concert series at the America Gardens Theatre includes Broadway singers Adam Jacobs and Isabelle McCalla from Aladdin, Sierra Boggess from The Little Mermaid, Jelani Remy and Kissy Simmons from The Lion King, Anastacia McCleskey and Josh Strickland from Tarzan, and Mandy Gonzalez from Aida. The grand finale February 22-23 includes Ashley Brown, Ainsley Melham, James Monroe Iglehart and Susan Egan. Showtimes are 5:30pm, 6:45pm and 8:00pm daily.
At Legoland California, Lego Ninjago Weekends returns Saturday, running weekends through February 16, plus holidays on January 19 and February 16. Legoland is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Lego Ninjago line this year with special shows and entertainment in the park's Lego Ninjago land. For more information and discounts on tickets to the park, visit Legoland's website.
SeaWorld Inside Look concludes this weekend in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio. In San Diego, SeaWorld guests now can visit the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute via a trip on the Bayside Skyride. It's available between 1-3pm on Inside Look days, this Saturday through next Monday. Trainers, aquarists and other animal care specialists will be in the parks as well to talk with guests about animal care at SeaWorld. For tickets to the SeaWorld parks, please visit our attraction ticket partner.
It's refurbishment season, and several other attractions will be closing this week for maintenance and repairs. Those include Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland, from January 12-15, and the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, which is closing on January 12-22 to remove the annual holiday overlay. On the east coast, Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Florida will be closed January 15-21.
Here is the current refurb schedule for America's top theme parks:
January 5: Grizzly River Run closed at Disney California Adventure. No reopening date yet.
January 5-22: Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind closed at Disney California Adventure.
January 5 - February 5: Incredicoaster closed at Disney California Adventure.
January 5 - February 5: Calico Railroad closed at Knott's Berry Farm.
January 5 - February 6: Calico River Rapids closed at Knott's Berry Farm.
January 5 - November 19: Jurassic Park River Adventure closed at Islands of Adventure.
January 12-15: Mark Twain Riverboat closes at Disneyland.
January 12-22: Haunted Mansion closes at Disneyland to remove holiday overlay.
January 15-21: Revenge of the Mummy closes at Universal Studios Florida.
January 20: Star Wars Rise of the Resistance closes at Disneyland. No opening date yet.
January 26: It's a Small World closes at Disneyland to remove holiday overlay.
January 26: Frozen Ever After closes at EPCOT for replacement of Audio Animatronics. Reopens in February.
January 26 - March 13: Timber Mountain Log Ride closes at Knott's Berry Farm.
February 2: Dinosaur closes at Disney's Animal Kingdom for retheme to Indiana Jones. Reopens in 2027.
February 9-23: Hogwarts Express closes at Universal Orlando.
February 17 - March 6: GhostRider closes at Knott's Berry Farm.
March 1: Last day for Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
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