Theme Park Bits: New Citywalk Eats, Galaxy's Edge Changes, And More
In this edition of Theme Park Bits:
If you've visited Citywalk Hollywood at Universal Studios Hollywood, you no doubt know that the shopping and dining center seems to have an option for just about any foodie possible. And yet there's a new restaurant on the way, the NBC Sports Grill & Brew. The sports bar is replacing a Tony Roma's, and will open next year. I mention it here primarily because it allows me to remind you of my favorite bit of trivia related to Universal and Disney: over a decade ago, Disney received the rights to its pre-Mickey Mouse character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, simply by essentially trading away Al Michaels, the iconic sportscaster. I'm sure Al is still thrilled about this fact. Anyway, a sports bar! In Universal Studios!
Even though it's been open for a few months, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is constantly being tweaked in advance of the arrival of the massive Rise of the Resistance attraction, on both coasts. At Disneyland, Galaxy's Edge is getting spruced up so you can make 60-day reservations at places like Oga's Cantina and Droid Depot. (Speaking from experience: you do not need a reservation at Droid Depot. I made one for my recent trip, and was in line with a lot of people who didn't, and they didn't have to wait any longer than I did.) They're also adding new food options like Kyryll Pork Rinds, a meatless Ronto Wrap, and more. Over at Walt Disney World's iteration of Galaxy's Edge, though, things are changing in a different way: the Docking Bay 7 restaurant has renamed its food offerings to make them clearer to crowds who may not get the Star Wars-y nuance. In essence, this is a debate of how immersive theme-park design can get. When it comes to food, the answer may be "not immersive at all".
Speaking of changes at Walt Disney World, our long national nightmare is over. By "national nightmare", I mean "the Disney Skyliner being closed" and by long, I mean "a week or so". The Skyliner is indeed back up and running, though with shortened hours. The Skyliner is going to be a massively popular way for guests to travel to and from their hotels and Epcot/Disney's Hollywood Studios. One can only hope that the Imagineering team has figured out how to prep those vehicles for long days and longer lines.
Moving onto another Walt Disney World story, it's time for an urgent, all-points bulletin. Have you seen...$20,000 worth of Disney World props? Because they've apparently gone missing, as noticed by a Cast Member a couple weeks ago. Some sails from Peter Pan's Flight, stored in a shed behind Test Track in Epcot, as well as a few seats from Space Mountain (also stored in the same shed, and boy, do I have some questions about this shed) have apparently vanished. And their combined cost is indeed 20 G's. So if you're trolling eBay and see these crop up, you might want to let Disney know because they're on the hunt.
Let's close out today's column by traveling from the States to the European continent and Disneyland Paris. Over at DLP, things are changing with their Studio Tram Tour, which will reportedly be rethemed to Pixar's Cars, with something titled Cars Route 66. The Disneyland Paris brochure confirms this shift, which should be a very interesting installation at the park. Leaving aside your opinion of the Cars franchise, there's little question that the first film is a squarely American story (and Route 66 itself is a distinctly American location). It'll be interesting to see how guests respond to this new attraction.