Theme park news: World of Color concept art, China building Neverland tribute, Obama records Disney World audio track

A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:

Pictures: World of Color concept art from Blue Sky Cellar at Disney’s California Adventure. New website. (Disneyland News Today & Mice Age)

“Mouse Ears” author David Koenig calls fatal monorail accident at Walt Disney World “years in the making.” (Mouse Planet)

Latest accident: Twelve hurt when two Disney buses crash at Walt Disney World. (Orlando Sentinel)

Blueprints: Fantasyland remodel calls for dueling Dumbo rides, “Gaston” restaurant & plenty of character meet ‘n’ greets at the Magic Kingdom. (Disney Report)

Chinese developers to build a scaled-down $15-million Neverland replica on an island off Shanghai to honor Michael Jackson.

$20-million Grand Texas theme park to feature stagecoach, mechanical bull, archery range, pig races and oil derrick water play area.

Ride Warrior Nation website catalogs the Cedar Fair theme park chain’s 122 coasters and 581 rides.

New behind-the-scenes Segway tour takes riders backstage at Epcot. (Orlando Attractions)

Check out Weird Al Yankovic’s new music video about Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise ride. Very clever. (Disneyland News Today)

Fun: 1929 POV MovieTone newsreel footage of Dragon wooden coaster at Rye Playland Amusement Park in New York. (YouTube)

Video: A seemingly reticent Barack Obama records audio track for Disney World’s Hall of Presidents attraction. (Around Disney)

Free Cirque Magnifique shows Sundays through Thursdays (July 12 - Aug. 20) and free Friday night concerts at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Illustration: Official Mystic Point artwork for Hong Kong Disneyland’s version of the Haunted Mansion. (Disney and More).

Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter and Facebook.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Illustration credit: Hong Kong Disneyland

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 7:02 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Asia, California, Celebrity, China, Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, East Coast, Epcot at Walt Disney World, Family & Kids, Florida, Hong Kong Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, New York, Orange County, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Southern States, Texas, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.