Theme Park Bits: Back To The Future, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Little Mermaid, Frozen, Haunted Mansion

By Germain LussierMay 13, 2014 2:30 pm EST

There's something for everyone in this edition of Theme Park Bits. From Back to the Future, to Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Little Mermaid, read about the following:

Is Back to the Future returning to Universal Studios Hollywood?

FastPass + is available to meet Mark Hamill and others at Star Wars Weekends.

You can own an original car from the Walt Disney World monorail.

Check out the new theater inside Animal Kingdom.

See original concept art from Disney's Haunted Mansion ride.

What's next for the Frozen franchise in the Disney theme parks?

Watch a video combining Darth Vader and cupcakes.

The Millennium Falcon takes center stage in a Star Wars Weekend promo.

The California Adventure Little Mermaid ride got a quiet upgrade.

Steven Spielberg speaks Japanese in new Universal Studios ad.

Video and images from the Hogwarts Express ride at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The long standing Back to the Future ride was removed from Universal Studios Hollywood some years ago in favor of The Simpsons Ride but, with the 30th anniversary of the original film coming up next year, it could be making a comeback. Not the ride unfortunately, but a rumor on Theme Park Insider says they might convert the actual Hill Valley Courthouse into an experience on the Studio Tram Tour featuring the famous lightning storm. Which sounds amazing.

Star Wars Weekends are coming soon at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and Inside the Magic reports the new Fastpass + bands will be available for not only rides, but meet and greets with some of the big Star Wars stars who'll be in attendance including Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill.

One of the original, 1971 Walt Disney World monorail cars is for sale on eBay. They're only asking $189,000 bucks. Thanks to Disney Digital Files for the heads up.

Monorail eBay

With the new Lion King show opening soon at Animal Kingdom in Disney World, they've created a new theater. It's called The Harambe Theatre and the Disney Parks Blog revealed this new video of it.

2014 marks the 45th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and it'll play a big part in the annual D23 Fanniversary event, celebrating Disney anniversaries. As a tease, the D23 site put up these cool original concept drawings:

In a new article, Inside the Magic breaks down the Frozen franchise and explores all the upcoming rumors and developments. Most of the article is focused on theme park developments so it's worth a read. One new development? A possible Frozen pre-show before the Disneyland parade.

Darth Vader cupcakes? The Frosting is strong with this one.

Those are coming as part of Star Wars Weekends, where you can get these cool new gift cards via Disney's blog.

More Star Wars Weekends, JediNews isn't sure if this promo video is real for fan made but it's absolutely incredible.

One of the biggest, but most underwhelming, rides at Disney's California Adventure is the Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure. However, it seems the ride got a quiet upgrade in the recent weeks, making the Under the Sea scene totally blacklit. Read more here.

Steven Spielberg speaks Japanese in this fun new preview for Universal Studios Japan. Thanks to Tumblr.

Finally, the Disney and More Blog has a bunch of photos and info about the new Hogwarts Express extension of the Diagon Alley Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion. Head there for more but here's a video.