Sing a summery ’toon! California theme parks are unveiling new thrill rides, parades and more.
Looking for something fresh to do this summer? This is the high season for the world’s theme parks, and many are offering new rides and shows to entice you and your family to visit. Here’s what’s new at Disneyland and beyond.
Disney Resort
Disney is going all in with Pixar this summer, as Disney theme parks in Southern California, Orlando and Shanghai are opening new Pixarthemed lands in 2018. The party has started already at Disneyland, where Pixar Fest opened in April. “Celebrating Friendship and Beyond,” as the slogan says, the event promotes Disney’s animation powerhouse with special food, souvenirs and entertainment in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim.
The Pixar Play Parade has moved to Disneyland, adding new units themed to “Up,” “Inside Out” and Pixar’s hopping desk lamp mascot. The Paint the Night Parade takes over at California Adventure, with a new “Incredibles”themed float that will join the parade Saturday, replacing the “Frozen” float that Disney cut because it was too tall to fit under the Red Car Trolley lines above Carthay Circle. Disneyland also has added a new fireworks show, “Together Forever,” which features scenes from Pixar films projected on Main Street, Sleeping Beauty Castle, It’s a Small World and the Rivers of America.
On Saturday, Disney California Adventure opens Pixar Pier, a makeover of the boardwalk area on the park’s former Paradise Pier. The roller coaster formerly known as California Screamin’ will become the Incredicoaster, with new on-board music and “Incredibles” show scenes featuring the Parr superhero family in action, trying to find Baby Jack-Jack. Disney is
adding several Pixar-themed food stands, too, including Señor Buzz’s Churros, the “Inside Out”-themed Angry Dogs, and Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats, where the Yeti swears that yellow frozen treat is lemon. Ariel’s Grotto and the Cove Bar together will become Lamplight Lounge, a new table service gastropub that will continue to serve the fan-favorite Lobster Nachos.
Even though Pixar Pier opens this month, it won’t be complete. Jessie’s Critter Carousel will replace King Triton’s Carousel next year and an “Inside Out”-themed ride will go in the former Maliboomer spot, too, though Disney has not yet announced a date for that.
Pixar Fest ends Sept. 3, but Pixar Pier is a permanent addition to the park — well, as permanent as theme park attractions can be. Case in point: This also is the last summer for Flik’s Fun Fair at Disney California Adventure, as It’s a Bug’s Land will close to make room for the new Marvel-themed land, which opens in 2020.
DETAILS >> General admission tickets start at $117 for a single-day, single-park ticket, and $167 for a parkhopper pass; disneyland.disney.go.com
Universal Studios Hollywood
Disney isn’t the only big theme park company that’s banking on the power of animation this summer. Universal Studios Hollywood has replaced its Shrek 4D show with a new DreamWorks Theatre that features “Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest.” This original film opened Friday at the Universal City park and shows Po’s mission to deliver a “rare and precious Liquid of Limitless Power” to the emperor’s palace. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong, and visitors’ seats shake and swivel as wind and water hit their faces and projection mapping effects bring the theater seemingly to life.
DETAILS >> Tickets $109 and up; www.universalstudioshollywood.com
California’s Great America
Bay Area thrill fans can hop a ride on RailBlazer, a unique new coaster at California’s Great America park in Santa Clara. This steel coaster features eight-passenger, single-file trains that straddle a single-rail track. The ride starts with a 100foot, 90-degree drop before hitting a top speed of 52 mph and going through three inversions on its 1,800 feet of track.
DETAILS >> Tickets $40 and up; www.cagreatamerica. com
Six Flags
This theme park company recently added Concord’s former Waterworld, which it once owned, to its properties.
The Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park in Valencia is introducing a new attraction this summer. Splashwater Island offers a large water play area with interactive sprayers, water jets and geysers.
The adjacent Six Flags Magic Mountain is skipping new coasters this summer, but will open the world’s tallest pendulum ride, the 172-foot-tall CraZanity.
Meanwhile, Vallejo’s Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has a new thrill ride, the Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster. Billed as the world’s first dueling looping coaster, the inverted coaster is built on a vertically stacked figureeight track, which offers multiple high flybys with “dueling” cars passing each other at combined speeds of 70 mph.
DETAILS >> Tickets start at $45 for Hurricane Harbor, $70 for Discovery Kingdom and $85 for Magic Mountain; www.sixflags.com
Knott’s Berry Farm
For thrill ride fans, Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park is offering the first dive coaster on the West Coast. HangTime, a surfing-themed coaster, has opened in the Boardwalk spot formerly occupied by Boomerang. HangTime
climbs 150 feet — 90 degrees straight up in the air — then leaves riders “hanging” for a moment, facing the ground below, before dropping them at 57 mph into five inversions along the course.
DETAILS >> Tickets start at $46; www.knotts.com
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego also is going for thrills this summer, debuting its tallest and fastest ride to date, Electric Eel. This 150-foot-tall shuttle coaster features multiple launches and a top speed of 62 mph on its twisting, pretzel-like track.
DETAILS >> Tickets start at $60; seaworld.com/san-diego
Legoland
For families looking for something a little less extreme, Legoland California in Carlsbad introduces two major additions this summer. The resort’s second hotel, the Legoland Castle Hotel, will offer 250 guest rooms decorated with knights and dragons, royal princess and magic wizard themes. Inside the park, Legoland will open its Lego City Deep Sea Adventure, an underwater submarine experience that will allow visitors to see real sea creatures as well as seathemed Lego models.
DETAILS >> Tickets start at $95; www.legoland.com/california
Beyond California
Elsewhere around the nation and the world, Disney is opening Toy Story lands at its Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida and at Shanghai Disneyland in China. The highlight in Florida will be Slinky Dog Dash, a family coaster with Slinky Dog trains.
Ohio’s Cedar Point is opening Steel Vengeance, the world’s first hyper-hybrid coaster. At 5,740 feet long, it will be the world’s longest steel-wood hybrid coaster, claiming additional titles as the world’s tallest and steepest hybrid, with a 200-foot drop and a top speed of 74 mph.