Newsletter: In the Loop: Everything you need to know about Star Wars Land
Welcome to another edition of In the Loop, the L.A. Times' theme park newsletter. I'm Funland theme park blogger Brady MacDonald, and this week we get all the details on the Star Wars Lands announced at the D23 Expo, check out a new Howl-O-Scream haunted maze and hang out with Tiny Hamster at Disney World.
D23 Expo
Disney unveils plans for Star Wars Lands at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the the D23 Expo in Anaheim, including new attractions, overlays for popular existing rides and a new seasonal festival celebrating the “galaxy far, far away.” I take a look at what wasn’t said during the announcement with eight unanswered questions about Star Wars Land.
Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announces that Star Wars-themed lands will be coming to Disney parks in Anaheim and Orlando.
(Getty Images)
As if that wasn’t enough news, Disney also unveils plans for a new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.
Toy Story Land is coming to Disney’s Hollwood Studios in Orlando, Fla.
(Disney)
Also at the event, Disney pulls back the curtain on Pandora: The World of Avatar coming in 2017 to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida with a heavily detailed model of the fictional world.
Todd Martens, who writes about video games and interactive entertainment for The Times, takes a journey at D23 on virtual reality versions of two retired Disneyland attractions, Adventure Thru Inner Space and House of the Future. And best of all, the VR re-creations weren’t made by Walt Disney Imagineering but rather an obsessive Disney fan.
Back to the future: At Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, a re-creation of the long-gone Disneyland ride Adventure Thru Inner Space, which opened in 1967. Seen here, models of the Atomobiles that took visitors through the Disney attraction that seemed to shrink riders down to microscopic size. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
With the addition of attractions based on “Star Wars,” “Toy Story” and “Avatar,” Martens asks: Are Disney parks losing their essential Walt-ness?
Want to be a Disney Imagineer? Retired head of Imagineering Marty Sklar offers some tips and secrets at D23.
And check out our full coverage page for complete details of the event.
Howl-O-Scream
A new haunted maze from the creators of “The Blair Witch Project” features a paranormal tale set in the woods with an online campaign designed to build buzz for the multimedia project. The Unearthed maze at a trio of Howl-O-Scream events this Halloween poses an unusual question: Who buries a house?
The horned demon Scarlett from the Unearthed haunted maze at Howl-O-Scream.
(SeaWorld)
Going gaga for giga
The New York Times test-drives four towering 300-foot-plus giga coasters and asks the question: Just how tall can roller coasters get?
Singing the blues
The House of Blues Anaheim plans to relocate from the Downtown Disney retail center to the nearby GardenWalk mall according to the Orange County Register. The move will allow the concert hall, bar and restaurant to nearly double in size when it takes over a 40,000-square-foot space currently occupied by UltraLuxe Cinemas.
Tiny Hamster
Internet sensation Tiny Hamster drops by Disney World for a miniature turkey leg, churro and Dole Whip as well as a rides on scaled-down versions of Mad Tea Party and Haunted Mansion. It’s too adorable to miss. A second video goes over how Disney made the minuscule rides and food.
Sad news
The Washington Post reports that a 45-year-old fifth-grade teacher retrieving his lost cellphone and wallet from a restricted area of Ohio's Cedar Point amusement park was killed when he was struck by the 57-mph Raptor inverted coaster. James Young had just landed his "dream job" as a high school guidance counselor, his mother said.
Cost of fun
Which costs more: A vacation to Disneyland or a family trip to Disney World? Check out this infographic that analyzes the data and picks the cost-savings winner.
The Mad Tea Party ride in Disneyland’s Fantasyland.
(Disney)
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