Welcome back to dispatch. Let’s take a journey together through all of the theme park news
you’ve missed during the past 7 days.
Last week we heard that California parks would be able to open from April 1st. Following this news,
Disneyland have announced that they will not be opening as early as April 1st. Bob Chapek, CEO
of the Walt Disney company, released a statement saying “we are encouraged by the positive trends
we’re seeing” and “we look forward to publicising an opening date in the coming weeks.” The park
will be taking some time to recall furloughed cast members and get ready for guests, and
hope to open with limited capacity by late April. Knott’s Berry Farm have also released a statement
from Jon Storbeck, their Vice President and General Manager. He said they are “encouraged
and excited by the recent announcement that came out of the California Governor’s office”
and that their plan is to welcome guests back to Knott’s Berry Farm this May.
They will also be taking some time to ensure they can open safely and hire and train new staff.
Over at Dollywood they’ve been very busy in the off season re-tracking two of their coasters.
Mystery Mine has been partially re-tracked and re-profiled,
and is set to open in a couple of weeks time. Dollywood has been working with Gerstlauer to
replace the track after the first outside drop and reprofile some of the turns for a smoother ride.
Because everyone complains about it, so they're doing something about it!
Lightning Rod has also been given a bit of TLC too. Two thirds of the track has
been converted from RMC’s wooden topper track to steel IBox track. The park has
done this to improve the rider experience and hopefully make the attraction more reliable.
Though it's been opening day and the ride still doesn't work, so that's good.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot is set to open on October 1st.
The ride was originally supposed to open in Summer 2020.
But now it will be opening on the day which marks exactly 50 years since Walt Disney World
officially opened for the first time. Disney have said: “Everyone’s favorite “Little Chef”
Is he though?
is cooking up something really big for Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary. Chef Remy
will help us kick off “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” in Parisian style.” The new France
pavilion inside Epcot based on Disney and Pixar’s “Ratatouille” will also open on October 1st.
The brand new ‘world of Mythica’ and the UK's first flying theatre are set to open May 29th
at Legoland Windsor. The new area, the world of Mythica, will be a parallel universe where
mysterious Lego creatures come to life, featuring three new attractions. One of which will be the
UK’s first flying theatre, ‘Flight of the Sky Lion’ where guests can travel the realm and meet
some of Mythica’s rarest and scariest creatures. The area will also be home to Fire & Ice Freefall,
two spinning drop tower rides, and Hydra’s Challenge, an interactive water ride.
I have to say I'm really excited to get on the UK's first flying theatre, well done Legoland.
The site of the proposed London Resort has been granted the status of Site of Special Scientific
Interest by Natural England. This means any future development plans must take into account the
wildlife in the area. A leading figure from RSPB said “recognition as an SSSI should end any debate
about developing a theme park here” but the SSSI does not actually prevent development proposals,
it just means plans must consider ways to protect the environment and wildlife. The
CEO of the London Resort, PY, hit back. He said “No one knows more about the land than
us…” and that “we are working closely with Natural England to identify the right ecological solutions
to deliver this grand project.” He also confirmed that “The project will of course continue,
and this is just another issue to address in the long history of this project”.
When was London Resort meant to open, 2019 or something like that?
Currently the London Resort Company Holdings has submitted their planning
application for the resort which is being considered by planning inspectors.
The Merlin Annual Pass pre-booking website temporarily crashed at its launch. Due to
the pandemic, holders of Merlin Annual Passes are currently required to pre-book tickets to
visit the parks in 2021. The link to the pre-booking system was released at
12:30pm last Wednesday and shortly after became unavailable due to demand. Once it was back up,
almost 4000 people were waiting in the queue to gain access to pre-booking for Alton Towers,
as well as 2000 people for both Chessington World of Adventures
and Legoland Windsor. Fortunately for 5 fans of Thorpe Park there was no queue,
it was instant access. Come on Thorpe Park stans, where are you? RMC 2021 who? I’m disappointed....
Unfortunately, the reopening of Disneyland Paris may be delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
We've heard that one before.
Disneyland Paris closed in October 2020 and is scheduled to reopen on April 2nd. But if Covid
restrictions in France aren’t lifted until later in the month this could further delay the park’s
reopening. Oliverier Veran, health minister of France has revealed that restrictions may not
be lifted until at least mid-April. It’s not going well for old Mickey Mouse really is it?
The trains for Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland (the world's worst named roller coaster) at Plopsaland de Panne have arrived at the park.
They shared pictures of the trains arriving on their social media, which look very similar to
the ones currently being used on Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. The Mack Rides spinning
coaster is currently under construction and is set to open sometime in July.
Walibi Rhône-Alpes are renaming, repainting and giving new trains to their Vekoma boomerang
roller coaster. The ride, previously known as EqWalizer, is being given a new steam
punk theme to incorporate it into the Explorer Adventure zone and will now be known as Generator.
Thorpe Park has updated its website with the news that their new attraction Black Mirror Labyrinth
is set to open on the 21st May. The live black mirror sensory-defying maze experience
is set to put you at the core of the Black Mirror universe. They also shared the news that DBGT and
The Walking Dead are set to reopen on the 17th May after being shut for the entirety of 2020
due to COVID related restrictions. Being the world’s only fan of DBGT, apparently because
everyone hates it, this is music to my ears. Not quite IMAscore, but music nonetheless.
Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of dispatch. I’ll see you next week,
and hopefully by then, I’ll only be 2000th in line for Alton Towers tickets
I’ve got my Thorpe ones already obviously.