Hurricane Milton approaches
A major hurricane is on its way to Central Florida.
I am sending Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter a day early this week, to get ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday. This Category 5 storm is the strongest one forecast to make a direct hit on Central Florida's theme park corridor since I have been covering the industry, so our thoughts are very much with everyone in the path of this storm.
If you have a visit to Florida scheduled for this week and you have not canceled yet, please do that right now. Every hotel room cleared by visitors is one more available for evacuees and relief personnel.
Many of us are expecting all attractions in the storm's path to close by sometime Wednesday, if not earlier, with closures expected to continue through Thursday. Of course, storm paths can vary, so please check the latest updates on Theme Park Insider if you are outside the area and check www.nhc.noaa.gov and floridadisaster.org/evacuation-orders if you are in Florida.
In other theme park news
Queen Mary's Dark Harbor delivers Halloween frights and fun: Thirteenth Floor's Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary in Long Beach provided an ample amount of frights to kick off the month of October. The actors and ambiance were captivating, food and drink options were varied and seemed of consistently high quality, and there were plenty of side activities to complement the main attractions.
October means prime time for the Halloween scare season: Check out our round-up of reviews for several haunt events at major theme parks and other locations around the country.
'One Piece' coming to Universal Fan Fest Nights, as dates set: We have more information about the first-ever Universal Fan Fest Nights, coming to Universal Studios Hollywood next year, including the event dates.
Wizard of Oz roller coaster begins testing: Kansas Twister is a dual-track Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster that is opening as part of the new Wizard of Oz land at Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia this December. We have video.
Kennywood prepares new supports for its Steel Curtain: The Pittsburgh-area theme park has released its latest update on Steel Curtain, the eight-inversion S&S roller coaster that has been standing but not operating since the summer of 2023.
Spotlight - Top 10 roller coasters that don't go upside-down: According to Theme Park Insider readers, here are the 10 best roller coasters without inversions in the United States. Let's start the countdown at number 10.
Disneyland brings back ticket, vacation discounts: I know it's a tough week for vacation planning, especially on the east coast. But for those traveling to the west coast and looking for a deal on Disneyland tickets and vacations, we've got you. Disneyland this week announced the return of $50 tickets for kids, as well as new hotel discounts for early 2025.
Again, best wishes for safety to everyone in Florida and in harm's way this week.