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Theme Park Bits: Universal's New Haunted House, Bobcat Brings The 'Pain' To World Of Color, R.I.P. Straws At Disney

By Joshua Meyer/

In this edition of Theme Park Bits:

  • Find out about the newest haunted house coming to Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights.
  • Is a Halloween-themed version of World of Color on the way at Disney California Adventure?
  • Sucking down drinks from a disposable plastic straw at Disney will soon be a thing of the past.
  • Which doors at Walt Disney World will that nifty new "Digital Key" for hotel guests unlock now?
  • See Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly announce the name of Hong Kong's Ant-Man and the Wasp ride.
  • And more!

    • When Universal's Aventura Hotel opens on August 16, it will have a rooftop bar and grill called Bar 17 Bistro with views of all three Universal Orlando parks. Now the resort has shared a first look at the bistro's menu, which features frozen drinks, bao buns, salads, sliders, and mocktails.

    Universal Orlando has also given a preview of one of the new haunted houses for its Halloween Horror Nights 2018 event. Carnival Graveyard: Rust in Pieces will transport guests to a world where "the caramel-coated carnivals of yesteryear have long died, but something sinister has festered within the decay."

    At Disney California Adventure, the nighttime show World of Color is out of commision right now, but it still managed to get caught up in the James Gunn controversy. This week, actor Bobcat Goldthwait took to Instagram to defend Gunn and ask that his own voice be removed from the show. In the process of doing this, however, it appears he may have leaked plans for what the show will look like when it returns at some point later this year.

    According to Goldthwait, he is set to reprise his role as Pain from Hercules in a version of the show called "World of Color – Villainous." Theme Park Insider speculates that this could mean the show will be making its return in Halloween form.

    The Pixar Short Films Festival is back at California Adventure, and now it includes Bao, the 8-minute short about a dumpling come to life, which hit theaters last month in front of The Incredibles 2.

    Meanwhile, Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream is offering Hard Floats spiked with alcohol at California Adventure. Not to be outdone, the Scat Cat's Club at Disney's Port Orleans Resort in Florida is peddling "Boozy Baton Rouge Beignets," which literally come served with alcohol pipettes protruding from them, as seen below.

    This time next year, the experience of sipping on a summer drink at Disney may be a little different for some people. The Walt Disney Company is following in the eco-friendly footsteps of Starbucks and other companies by eliminating the use of plastic straws and stirrers at its parks worldwide. The change will go in effect in mid-2019, so if you're planning on visiting after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens, you better pack your Mickey Mouse straws. Can an illicit black market for straws in the parks be far off?

    Funnily enough, while conserving plastic might be Disney's long-term goal, the immediate future will see Ziploc handing out protective plastic bags on a daily basis to Splash Mountain riders as it becomes the official new sponsor of the attraction next month at the Magic Kingdom.

    Over at Disneyland Park, Space Mountain has a new indoor queue, as you can see in the video above.

    There's been some sad news at Walt Disney World recently, as a 70-year-old man with a pre-existing heart condition died of a heart attack in the wave pool at the Blizzard Beach water park. According to Cinema Blend, his death was listed in the resort's quarterly injury report, which also made mention of a man losing consciousness on the Mission: Space ride at Epcot and a woman going into labor on the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

    Mark your calendars now: the Magic Kingdom and Epcot have V.I.Passholder Nights coming to them.

    Elsewhere at Disney World, a number of new hotels have joined the growing list of places where guests can use the "Digital Key" feature on the MyDisneyExperience app to unlock their room doors with their smartphones. Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Beach Club Resort, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Inn, and Boardwalk Villas are all now ready to respond to your smartphone commands. Rumor has it Disney is also developing a smartphone app to help guests take better pictures.

    Hong Kong Disneyland's upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp attraction now has an official name. It's called Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle. In the video above, you can see this name being announced by the stars of the movie, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily.

    In Japan, the world's first Paddington Bear-themed park has opened near Tokyo. In Germany, the world's first virtual reality water slide has opened, utilizing waterproof VR headsets.

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