Theme park news: Santa Monica Ferris wheel; Star Tours 2.0; X2 campout; GardenWalk opens

Santa Monica Pier unveils new Ferris wheel
The new Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel debuted this week with a fireworks extravaganza and free rides. You can watch time-lapse video of the old wheel coming down and the new one being built. Plus, the live Web cam is pretty cool at night.

Star Tours 2.0 rumors resurface
The oft-rumored, never confirmed makeover of Disneyland’s dated Star Tours motion-simulator attraction resurfaced again when a computer graphics supervisor at Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic let slip in a C-Net story that his next big project is a “redo of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland.” (Hat tip to the Disney Blog.)

‘Misleading’ Toy Story Mania advertising campaign
If you’ve noticed those freeway billboards or television commercials promoting the new Toy Story Mania interactive dark ride coming to “Disneyland” (in giant letters), then you probably missed the “Resort” (in microscopic letters).

Blue Sky Disney calls the ad campaign “misleading” — since the ride is coming in June to Disney’s California Adventure (which is never mentioned on the billboards or in the commercials) and by extension to the Disneyland Resort. Might Mickey be a bit embarrassed of DCA?

X2 camp-out draws the faithful
Theme Park Review provides complete coverage — including video and photos — of the overnight X2 camp-out at Six Flags Magic Mountain that featured day and night early ride times for the truest of die-hards.

Halloween at Disneyland starts in May
Mouse Planet has all the details on pre-sale tickets for Disneyland Annual Passholders to this year’s Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party in October, the theme park’s annual Halloween event. (Yes, it’s still technically spring.)

Anaheim GardenWalk mall opens
Mice Age’s David “Darkbeer” Michael offers a 100-photo tour of the newly opened Anaheim GardenWalk mall across from Disneyland. Apparently only one store (Sketchers) is actually open, with the rest of the shops expected to follow in the coming weeks.

The mall’s anchor restaurants along Katella Avenue have been open for several months. The Orange County Register’s Fast Food Maven columnist, my lovely and talented wife, Nancy Luna, wonders aloud how it’s possible that the Cheesecake Factory next to Disneyland doesn’t have a kid’s menu.

Check out the Register’s Around Disney blog for extensive coverage of all things GardenWalk.

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

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:17 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Family & Kids, Magic Mountain, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.