Tough news and tough decisions
A tragedy mars the week, as Disney pursues more changes and we publish two new theme park visitors guides.
Whatever good news the past week might have brought was overshadowed by the death of a park visitor at Sweden's Gröna Lund. The park's Jetline coaster partially derailed, killing one and injuring several others. Gröna Lund will remain closed for a week for an investigation to determine what caused the incident. Here is our post.
With condolences to all involved, we now move on to the rest of the news from the week in themed entertainment.
Goodbye Tom Sawyer Island? Walt Disney World considers major change: Expansion is coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. But where? Disney executives have teased several IP possibilities for themes, but where to put whatever attraction Walt Disney Imagineering can dream up is turning out to be perhaps the most significant challenge for a Magic Kingdom expansion project.
Our Insiders are telling us that Disney is considering what might be the nuclear option for a westside expansion in the park - filling in the Rivers of America. That would mean the end of Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat, putting park capacity in a hole as soon as construction begins. But filling in the Rivers might be the only way for the Magic Kingdom top get access to a track of land big enough to support the kind of expansion that Disney wants for its most popular theme park.
Walt Disney World makes a big change to Disney Genie Plus: Disney this week started selling its Disney Genie+ line-skipping service for individual parks, for guests who are not Park Hopping and don't need access to Lightning Lanes at the other three parks.
Princess Tiana stakes her claim over Disney's Magic Kingdom: There's a new landmark in the Magic Kingdom, as Imagineers have installed the new tiara-topped Tiana's Foods water tower next to the former Splash Mountain - and future Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Of course, readers had plenty to say about it.
Disney shares more looks inside its new Frozen-themed land: Get ready for the debut of World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland this November with newlt released concept art from the land's attractions, dining areas and shop.
New theme park visitors guides
Theme Park Insiders have been visiting and posting trip reports with fresh advice for visitors. Check out our latest:
Visitor's guide to Europa-Park: a worthy challenger to Disney
Visitor's guide to Lost Island: a theme park worth discovering
More from the TEA/AECOM attendance report
Why is Islands of Adventure leading theme parks' recovery? Let's take a closer look at the numbers from the latest TEA/AECOM Theme Index report, which dropped earlier this month. In particular, I would like to look at why one of the nation's theme parks appeared to do especially well in driving attendance last year.
What's wrong at Walt Disney World? Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom once again topped the TEA/AECOM Theme Index report for 2022, drawing more visitors than any other theme park in the world last year. But when you dive into the numbers TEA/AECOM reported, the math shows that the Walt Disney World Resort was far from being the winner last year.
The red flags keep flying at Six Flags: The TEA/AECOM Theme Index report released last week detailed the ongoing recovery in the theme park industry. While few parks have gotten back to their pre-pandemic attendance levels, almost all are well on their way. Attendance is up across the industry two years in a row, and many parks are within 5% of their 2019 numbers... with one big exception - Six Flags.
More news from the week
Need tickets?
Get the best deal on Disneyland's new summer discount: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are offering a three-day ticket discount for California residents, and we have a link to that deal, starting at just $78 a day - that’s less than what Disneyland is offering on its own website.
Check this fresh batch of amusement and water park ticket deals: If you have been thinking about visiting a regional amusement or water park in the U.S. this summer, we have some fresh admission deals for you, with dozens of Palace Entertainment destinations now available through our ticket partner.
Thank you, as always, for reading Theme Park Insider and especially to all of you who share our content with friends and colleagues. Your support is essential and greatly appreciated.
Robert Niles