Walk Time: Ex-cast members talk Disney, and more
I am happy to kick off the return of the Theme Park Insider podcast, with Jake Sundstrom joining me as co-host. Here is the link to listen.
This year's summer vacation season roared into action this week, with plenty of openings in Orlando.
Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice opened Monday at SeaWorld Orlando while Soarin' Across America, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, and Bluey's Wild World at Conservation Station opened at Walt Disney World on Tuesday. I reviewed the new Disney attractions last week, but we have plenty of news this week from Disney later in today's post.
Regional parks were not sitting back this week. Kentucky Kingdom just opened its first new roller coaster under Herschend ownership. Flying Fox is a Vekoma suspended family coaster and our correspondents Jeff and Colton declared it a winner. And you have to check out our on-ride video starring Colton, if you have not seen it already. Kentucky Kingdom soars with its new Flying Fox.
Now let's get to that Disney news. Walt Disney World is sending its Carousel of Progress family 60 years into the future. Or, more accurately, it is bringing the never-aging family 60 years closer to us in the past.
Disney will close the Magic Kingdom attraction on July 6 to install new scenes. Instead of portraying life in the 1900s, 1920s, and 1940s, the new Carousel of Progress - which will open next year - will show 1969, 1985, and 2000. The idea is to time-shift the experience so it is no father away from us in the past as the original was from audiences at the New York's World Fair in 1964, when the attraction first appeared.
I was a math major and have never feared the subject before, but doing that math scared me. Yup, it checks out. Anyone else feel older now?
Disney showed me the plans for the new Carousel of Progress last week at its big press event in Orlando. But we had to agree to hold that information under embargo until this week. That stuff happens all the time in this business, and I appreciate the chance to prepare a more thoughtful story about an announcement instead of rushing to get something up ASAP in reaction to it.
I suspect that Disney knew that changing COP was going to roil the fan community, so Imagineers wanted a chance to make their case in person to some of the voices that it considers influential in the fan community. That does not change the fact that online publishers face powerful economic incentives to be jerks about stuff like this. Ragebait drives traffic, which drives revenue. But I always have tried to make this place a bit more thoughtful, and I appreciate the thoughtful responses that Theme Park Insider fans have had to this and all our stories. Disney plans 60-year time jump for its Carousel of Progress.
Here's another insider tidbit. Half an hour before the Carousel of Progress embargo lifted, Universal Experiences announced the opening date for its upcoming Universal Kids Resort in Texas. (That's July 1, by the way.) Universal and Disney do this to each other all the time, jumping the other's embargoes when they can. The petty competitiveness of these two multi-billion corporations never fails to amaze and amuse me. I love it. Universal sets opening date for Kids Resort
So what can we expect from Universal's new family-focused park? To me, the benchmark is Legoland. That's the best example from another company of a theme park designed exclusively for families with elementary-aged children, which appears to be the market for UKR. I think that sets the ceiling for annual attendance at around 3 million and the floor at about half that. I am being optimistic, or pessimistic about this park. We are talking about that on the Discussion Forum. What is the ceiling and the floor for Universal Kids Resort?
Back at the mother ship in Orlando, Universal announced a significant operational change this week. No more Express passes for Hagrid's. Maybe that means the standby queue can become bearable again? Universal Orlando removes Express pass for Hagrid's.
Here in California, Universal Studios Hollywood has detailed its plans for the return of Mega Movie Summer. The highlight, for me at least, is the appearance of props from Christopher Nolan's new movie on the Studio Tour. 'The Odyssey' comes to Universal Studios Hollywood this summer.
Looking ahead, Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio will be announcing its new 2027 attraction during a fan event in the park this evening. And sibling Six Flags Great America near Chicago has announced that its 1981 twin wooden coaster American Eagle will resume racing for the first time in 10 years, for the park's 50th anniversary celebration from June 20 to August 9.
Finally, Efteling has announced the name for its new spinner ride that will open this winter - Ravenring: Efteling invites fans to ride with ravens on magical adventure.
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