Theme Park Bits: Galaxy's Edge Sporks, Pokemon In Universal Studios, And More

In this edition of Theme Park Bits:

If you have a hankering for merchandise, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge has you covered. Yes, they've got everything from puppets to droids to lightsabers to...sporks. Yes, you read that right, there are sporks that you can now buy at Galaxy's Edge, if you're so inclined. Now, here's the interesting twist: these sporks used to be at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, for free before they were discontinued. Now, you can buy one...for 11 dollars. If you're the kind of person who would take the sporks back home with you when these were still a free utensil, well, you're probably the reason why they cost over 10 bucks now.

Speaking of Galaxy's Edge, there's a big change that's arrived in Orlando for Rise of the Resistance. The attraction currently requires every rider to hold their place in a virtual queue, with guests separated into numbered groups. Originally, boarding groups would be notified of their return and get a two-hour return window. Now, however, Disney is changing things up a bit and giving some groups just a one-hour return time instead of two. Not that you should be dawdling anyway, but you need to keep a careful eye on your mobile device to make sure you're not missing out on your window to experience this ride.

Back in the Disneyland Resort, they're preparing for some good food and drink over at Disney California Adventure. That's because the Food & Wine Festival is returning, from February 28 to April 21. And you should make sure now to set aside some time for the special events going on during the festival, from the Jammin' Chefs (the singing and dancing show that's pictured above) to a limited-time menu of beer and wine at Sonoma Terrace, to cooking along with none other than Goofy. That last event is in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, and really just for the kids in your group, but talk about a memory they won't forget. Getting to cook with Chef Goofy is the kind of thing I wish I could've done when I was a kid.

Let's hop back to Orlando, over to Universal Studios. They're still in the early planning phase for the Epic Universe park, with a Nintendo area already promised. But rumors abound that there might be another specific video-game world arriving in the park: Pokemon. These are just rumors, to be clear, but with an unknown section of the park yet to be identified, people are starting to wonder if that's where a Pokemon Gym will be built for guests to play and explore. For those of us who never got into Pokemon, and only know any details from stuff like that Detective Pikachu movie from last year, this all sounds a bit foreign. But hey, if you love Pokemon, cross your fingers that they'll be at Universal Orlando soon enough.

We'll end today's column back at the Disneyland Resort, and specifically at the Disneyland Hotel. This hotel has been around in the resort for decades, having opened its doors soon after Disneyland Park did in 1955. But the hotel is getting a big upgrade, in light of the fact that the plans to build a fourth hotel got scuppered. Instead, there will be a Disney Vacation Club tower built as part of the overall hotel, and if you look above this paragraph, you can see the first concept art for the new tower. Seeing as it's just concept art, and the tower won't be scheduled to open until 2023, it's hard to know what this will all end up looking like. But with the other Disneyland Hotel towers themed to different lands in Disneyland, we can only hope this will take on a Tomorrowland theme (that's the only major land un-accounted for so far in the hotel). The outside looks...nice enough, just not too distinctive yet.