Walk Time: When fantasy cannot escape reality
In theme parks and entertainment, "walk time" is the name for the final paid minutes of your shift, when you gather your stuff and start heading home. At Theme Park Insider, "Walk Time" is our weekend look back at the past seven days in theme park news.
The big story this week around the world surely has been the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran. That affects the theme park business because Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. bases across the Middle East. Interceptors have shot down almost all of those, but some of those intercepts have happened over civilian areas, causing damage, injury, and even death below.
Airports closed throughout the region with all this chaos in the skies. Scheduled flights remain canceled in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which has led the Themed Entertainment Association to cancel its TEA SATE EME event, which was scheduled for March 25-28 at Dubai Parks and Resorts. IAAPA is supposed to hold its first IAAPA Expo Middle East starting March 30 in neighboring Abu Dhabi, and the industry association has said that it will make an announcement about that event next week. I cannot imagine that the decision to cancel IAAPA's Abu Dhabi event has not been made already, and that only wrapping up legal and financial considerations stemming from that cancelation are holding up an official announcement.
Several attraction announcements were expected during the IAAPA event, but those now appear to be on hold until the hostilities cease and people in the region are in the mood to think about theme parks again. Again, I offer safe wishes to all our readers and friends in the region.
Back in the U.S., yesterday the Disney California Food & Wine Festival returned to the Disneyland Resort. That means Soarin' Over California is back through July 2, when the new Soarin' Across America show debuts in Grizzly Peak Airfield. Here is this year's festival menu, which includes new Chicharrón Nachos, a Carbonara Pizzetta, and Ramen Mac & Cheese. For discounts on theme park admission, including a three-day California resident deal starting at $80 a day, please shop our partner's Disneyland Resort tickets page.
In Florida, Walt Disney World and the City or Orlando this week unveiled a plaque on the site of the Cherry Plaza Hotel in Orlando's Thornton Park where Walt and Roy Disney in 1965 announced what would become the Walt Disney World Resort.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (you know him from the MCO airport tram spiel) and Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle, with Mickey Mouse and the new plaque. Photo courtesy Disney
On the roller coaster beat, this week Universal Studios Hollywood invited me to be among the first people to walk onto the load platform for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift and to see the four muscle car-inspired coaster cars that will make up the new Intamin launch coaster trains. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift opens this summer at the California park and next year at Universal Studios Florida.
In Texas, today is the official opening day for Barracuda Strike, the new Bolliger & Mabillard family inverted coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio. You can see the POV and reader reaction here: Texas' Barracuda Strike sets new record for family coasters.
In the United Kingdom, Blackpool's Pleasure Beach Resort opens today for its 130th season. The park this week also released the first on-ride POV video of Avitkas, its new 138-foot-tall Intamin Gyro Swing.
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