Robert Niles
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Robert Niles

Walk Time: Happy birthday to Hong Kong Disneyland

September 12, 2026, 1:44 PM · 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.

Happy 21st birthday today to Hong Kong Disneyland, which first opened to guests on September 12, 2005.

Several theme park haunts have opened this weekend, including Hersheypark Dark Nights and Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks across the country. If anyone would like to share a trip report from any of these events, we'd love to read it over on the discussion forum.

Six Flags dominated this news this week, with its announcements of the new Thrill Glider coming to Magic Mountain, its purchase of ArieForce One, and a new monthly payment plan for season passes. Jake and I ripped into that last one on the Theme Park Insider Podcast this week.

At Walt Disney World, the resort this week showed off to invited reporters its new The Magic of Disney Animation area at Disney's Hollywood Studios. In case you missed it, here are our stories:

Looking ahead, Disney also announced dates for its first two festivals in 2027: The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts will run January 15 - March 1, while the next EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will run from March 10 to May 31.

Finally, this week I spoke with the leaders of the team that is bringing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The expansion of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is now under construction for an estimated completion in 2029. Find out what Miral CEO Dr. Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi and Warner Bros. Discovery President Global Experiences & Studio Operations Simon Robinson had to say in my interview with them.

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