Theme Park Insider

Dollywood circles August for NightFlight debut

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:13:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Dollywood is looking for a mid-August opening for its new NightFlight Expedition ride, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton said today.

Naughton made the announcement in a video update to Dollywood email subscribers. Dollywood previously had announced that the new hybrid system dark ride would open this spring.

NightFlight Expedition is the first US installation of the Mack Rides rocking boat ride system, and the first installation in a dark ride environment. The ride will create a twilight adventure in the Smoky Mountains, featuring original characters created by the park for its Wildwood Grove land. You can read more about that here: All aboard the hype train for Dollywood's NightFlight Expedition.

Here is how Disney is using AI in theme park design

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:14:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Disney is partnering Adobe for AI systems to help Imagineers develop theme park attractions.

Before anyone summons a rage war over this, allow me to offer some context. Adobe announced today a partnership with Walt Disney Imagineering that I saw in action at WDI headquarters in Glendale, Calif. several weeks ago. Imagineers are using Adobe Firefly Foundry to help access and transform digital assets in their design process.

Imagineers, as well as other designers and creators, have been using automated processes for years. Many people who use Adobe�s Photoshop on a regular basis to do the same tasks have figured out how to program those tasks to happen automatically upon command. Digital feature and shorts animators have been using automated processes for in-between work since the 1990s. What the Adobe Firefly Foundry product allows is a much easier path to create those types of automations.

It�s the same spirit as vibe coding. You don�t have to get into the weeds of manually creating all the specific commands you need for each step of the process so that they can run automatically in the future. Instead, you tell the system where you want to go and what you want it to do, and the AI fills in those steps for you. If the AI model gets it wrong, you tell the AI model that and together you try again.

At Imagineering, the Adobe system can transform sketches into 2D concept art and then into 3D models much more swiftly than Imagineers could do with manually programmed transitions. The system also can access WDI�s digital library of characters and environments that artists across Disney have created. Put it all together, and an Imagineer can accelerate the design process by accessing, transforming and assembling design pieces faster than ever before. That means less development time from blue sky to opening day.

Image courtesy Adobe

What Disney�s system does not do is spawn new designs based on slop harvested from the Internet. WDI�s Adobe Firefly Foundry �trains� only on Disney�s internal catalog of digital assets.

"At Imagineering, we've always believed technology and human creativity can work together responsibly," Kyle Laughlin, SVP of R & D, Technology and Engineering at Walt Disney Imagineering, said. "Our work with Adobe lets us bring Disney stories and characters to life in our parks faster and with the emotional quality our guests expect."

�Storytelling is in Disney's DNA. Empowering creators with the latest AI innovations is in ours," Adobe GenAI New Business Ventures Vice President Hannah Elsakr said. "As the teams at Imagineering build new experiences for fans around the world, our tools and workflows will provide a creative foundation to explore bolder ideas and make the best ones a reality.�

And when I saw Imagineers call for a digital assistant to start this process, they didn�t ask for Siri or some other tech company�s brand name. They kept to a Disney-family brand and asked for Jarvis. Howard and Tony Stark would be proud.

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Six Flags' new dive coaster gets its opening date

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:22:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Tormenta: Rampaging Run now has its opening date.

Six Flags announced this morning that the new, record-setting Bolliger & Mabillard dive coaster will open officially on Friday, June 26 at Six Flags Over Texas.

Tormenta: Rampaging Run will be the tallest, fastest and longest of its model, reaching 309 feet tall and running up to 87 mph on 4,199 feet of track. The initial drop on the coaster will release riders at 95 degrees 285 feet toward the ground.

The coaster will anchor a new Rancho de la Tormenta Plaza area, themed to a Spanish village. Here is the concept POV for the ride, courtesy Six Flags Over Texas.

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Universal sets new nighttime show for Epic Universe

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:11:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Universal Orlando today confirmed its new nighttime spectacular at Epic Universe.

Universal Celestial Goodnight will debut July 7 and run nightly. The show will feature more than 350 fountains and seven million LED lights embedded throughout Celestial Park to tell the stories of the characters and adventures in Epic Universe's four themed portals: Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter � Ministry of Magic, and How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk. Fireworks will complete the show.

Universal Epic Universe opened in May 2025. The park produces a nighttime spectacular event for its opening ceremony, but has not produced a regular nighttime spectacular since.

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Shanghai Disneyland celebrates its 10th anniversary

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:49:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its 10th anniversary tonight by honoring former Disney CEO Bob Iger and announcing the name of the resort's third hotel.

Though officials including Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro hinted at new expansion plans for the park, none were announced at the press event at the park's Walt Disney Theater this evening. Speaking privately with insiders, a second gate in Shanghai is happening, even if it was not announced formally tonight.

As for officially announced projects, Shanghai Disney is building a new Spider-Man-themed land, for which the resort recently completed track work on its centerpiece roller coaster. Other current projects at the resort include a third theater expansion for its Soarin' Across the Horizon show and two new hotels.

The first of those hotels, the resort's third to open, will debut this winter and be called Disney Enchanted Star Hotel, Shanghai Disney Resort officials revealed.

Current status of the Disney Enchanted Star Hotel, as viewed from across Wishing Star Park.

The fourth hotel will be the closest to the park and completed as part of an expansion of the Disneytown shopping district. We got no new details tonight about that project, however.

In the end, as the resort celebrated its first decade, it honored the person who did the most to make that happen. D'Amaro and partner Shendi Group Chairman Guan Taoping presented Iger will a statue miniature of the highest finial atop the park's Enchanted Storybook Castle.

"As we enter the next decade, the Shendi Group will continue to deepen and expand our partnership with The Walt Disney Company," Taoping said. "Leveraging the success of Shanghai Disney Resort, we will develop Shanghai International Resort into a world-class multi-day tourism destination, accelerate the 'multi-day economy' at the resort, and forge a more vibrant and competitive 'cultural-tourism-plus' ecosystem."

Shanghai Disney Resort President Andrew Bolstein added, "As we continue the momentum built throughout the past ten years, defined by continuous expansion and development, relentless innovation and a steadfast commitment to excellence, we are confident that the future of Shanghai Disney Resort is bright."

Update: Monday night, the park celebrated with a birthday concert in front of Enchanted Storybook Castle. Here are the highlights:

On Tuesday morning fans rushed the gates to get into the park on its official anniversary day. As usual, pretty much everyone was heading either to Zootopia or to meet LinaBell. (IYKYK.) But after a couple of hours, everyone spread out a bit and the park brought its character stars and executive leadership out back in front of the castle to sing Happy Birthday in Mandarin and English.

Stay tuned this week for more thoughts about Shanghai Disneyland, its past 10 years, and its future. The best way to keep in touch with me is by signing up for Theme Park Insider's weekend newsletter.

Rope Drop: On the road again

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:22:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: We have a couple of big anniversaries this week in the theme park world.

First, on Tuesday, Shanghai Disneyland celebrates its 10th anniversary. Disney is throwing an international press event for this one, so I am on a plane now, flying across the Pacific, for my first-ever visit to the park. This completes the set of all 12 Disney theme parks for me, so look for plenty of analysis of the 12 parks in the weeks to come on Theme Park Insider.

In addition to all the news from Shanghai this week, of course.

On Thursday, June 18, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure celebrates its 16th birthday. This was the development that elevated Universal to another level, enabling it to add and improve attractions at the scale it is today. If you would like to look back at that historic day, allow me to link again to one of my all-time favorite stories on Theme Park Insider: Harry Potter and the Day That Changed Theme Parks Forever.

In more Universal news this week, the company is hosting a big press preview for its upcoming Universal Kids Resort in suburban Dallas. Jacob Sundstrom will be covering for us in Texas as I am flying back from Japan. Watch the site and listen to our podcast this week for his complete report.

Finally, on Friday, June 19, it's time for the return of Disney on the Yard at Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort in California. This event celebrates HBCUs with a reunion event for alumni across Southern California. Look for Drum Major Mickey Mouse to return for the event this year, as well.

Attraction closings and openings

Here are the current refurbishment schedules from Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.

Pirates of the Caribbean is closed at Disneyland with no reopening date yet.
Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and Silly Symphony Swings are closed at Disney California Adventure with no reopening dates yet.
Universal's Horror Make-Up Show is closed at Universal Studios Florida. Estimated reopening in winter 2026.
June 17: Men in Black Alien Attack reopens at Universal Studios Florida.
July 2: Soarin' Around the World opens at Disney California Adventure.
July 3: Pteranodon Flyers reopens at Islands of Adventure.
July 4: Po�s Kung Fu Training Camp and Po Live! reopen at Universal Studios Florida.
July 6: Carousel of Progress closes at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. New show debuts in 2027.
July 6-16: King Arthur Carrousel closes at Disneyland.
July 20-23: Matterhorn Bobsleds closes at Disneyland.
October 26: Volcano Bay closes for the season, with a planned return on or before April 1, 2027.
November 20: Jurassic Park River Adventure reopens at Islands of Adventure.

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Walk time: Tell a story, or else

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:04:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: If there is a single theme to the past week's theme park news, it's the value of storytelling. Jacob Sundstrom and I dive into that in this week's episode of the Theme Park Insider Podcast, which is live now on all major podcast platforms. Or you can watch it here:

Another longtime member of the Theme Park Insider community, Russell Meyer, visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg this week for the park's media day for its refreshed Verbolten: Forbidden Turn roller coaster. (Let's hear it for the "Los Angeles Angels" of theme park attraction names.) Busch Gardens has plussed the story and decoration for this Zierer launch coaster, showing that it's never too late (or too early) to invest in better storytelling on theme park attractions: Busch Gardens makes the right turn with new Verbolten [with on-ride video].

Down the road at Carowinds, the Six Flags park this week revealed its plans for its new-for-2027 attraction, Rip Roarin' Falls. The new WhiteWater flume ride will set several records, but I was taken in more by the cute lil raccoons that have seen their way to take over this abandoned sawmill. Carowinds did not have to create backstory for its new flume ride, but it did, and that has me - and many other TPI readers - excited to see what the park will deliver: Carowinds plans record-setting log flume ride for 2027 [with concept video].

The theme park wizards giveth and they taketh away. Also this week, Hersheypark confirmed that this will be the final season for its Tidal Force shoot the chute ride. So an un-themed, un-decorated, no-story flume ride goes away the same week that another park announces a well-themed and decorated flume? There's a lesson there... and that is our podcast title for the week! Last call for Tidal Force at Hersheypark.

Miral this week officially announced its next two attractions for Warner Bros. World on Yas Island. A new spinner ride called Kryptonite Collider will open in the park next month. But the big news is the next-generation flying roller coaster now under construction both inside and outside of the Sbu Dhabi theme park. Superman Up and Away is set to debut in 2028, as Yas Island adds new attractions in advance of the opening of Disney Abu Dhabi sometime in the next decade: Miral sets two new Superman rides for Warner Bros World.

In addition to the new DC Comics rides, Warner Bros. World is building its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter land, which I expect to open as early as 2029.

This week I also published two new FAQ articles for readers planning visits to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida:

How to use Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World
The single solution to shorter waits at Walt Disney World [How to use Single Rider queues]

We have a new trip report on the Discussion Forum this week, too: I went to two Enchanted Parks.

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Thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The single solution to shorter waits at Walt Disney World

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:57:00 GMT

By Robert Niles: If you are visiting Walt Disney World by yourself, you will not need to pay for Lightning Lane to skip some of the longest lines in the parks.

Disney offers a single rider queue on six of its rides in Florida. If you have not used a single rider queue at a theme or amusement park before, that�s the queue that load operators use to fill in empty seats so that they can keep ride vehicles running at full capacity.

For example, on rides such as Test Track that use three-person rows, a loader will call for a person from the single rider queue to fill the third seat next to a party of two. That way, cars go out fully loaded without having to slow down load while loaders ask for single riders in the main queue. Full loads and quick dispatch times mean shorter waits for everyone.

If you are visiting by yourself, it almost always makes sense to use the single rider queue when waiting for a Walt Disney World attraction. Single rider queues often have wait times similar to the Lightning Lane for their rides, which means you can save money and still get a quicker wait time by using them.

Some families and large groups try to game the system by using their single rider queue instead of paying for Lightning Lane access. That won�t work for people in the group who do not meet the boarding restrictions to ride alone. It also will force the group to split up as everyone will be assigned seats alone when they get to load.

I have seen too many guests complain about this when they get to the end of the single rider line. If you can�t accept the rules for the single rider queue, don�t use it. Get in the regular standby queue or buy Lightning Lanes for your group or family.

The more people who use the single rider queue, the less of a time advantage it offers. So I cannot recommend this option to anyone who is not visiting alone or who is not cool with splitting from their group for a bit.

Oh, and I can imagine a few readers caught me saying earlier that �it almost always makes sense� to use single rider queues. What�s that �almost?� I�ll get to the exceptions in a bit.

First, here are the four single rider queues at the Walt Disney World Resort that I always recommend that individual visitors try:

Expedition Everest at Disney�s Animal Kingdom
Remy�s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT
Rock �n� Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets at Disney�s Hollywood Studios
Test Track at EPCOT

Look for the �Single Rider� sign next to the Standby and Lightning Lane signs at the queue�s entrance. If you do not see it, as a cast member for help.

Note that the single rider queue might not be open at certain times of the day, such as early in the morning, or on less crowded days. You cannot request a special seat when using the single rider queue, either so if you really need to be front or back row on a coaster, it�s the standby or Lightning Lane queue for you.

Each of these queues can save you substantial time over the standby queue and on Test Track sometimes ever over the Lightning Lane queue. Definitely check them every time you visit as a single rider.

So what are the other two attractions where I don�t always recommend using single rider?

Millennium Falcon Smuggler�s Run at Disney�s Hollywood Studios

The problem with single rider on the Falcon is that it inevitably results in you being assigned the Engineer position in the cabin, which is not nearly as cool as being the pilot. That said, it�s tough to get the pilot assignment as a single rider in the standby or Lightning Lane queues, as load ops typically send single riders from there to the Engineer slot anyway. But at least in the standby or Lightning Lane you can request a pilot slot and hope for the best. There�s no asking for specific seats in single rider.

Some people have had success negotiating a change in roles with the other people in your Falcon cabin. That�s not limited to single riders, of course. Experienced Disney visitors often try to dissuade families with little kids or apathetic adults from taking the pilot spots. The pilots really do influence the motion of the cabin on the ride, and bad pilots can make the Falcon experience literally uncomfortable for everyone.

Star Wars Rise of the Resistance at Disney�s Hollywood Studios

Using single rider on Rise of the Resistance means skipping several show scenes that help set up the ride�s narrative. You also miss an absolutely jaw-dropping visual experience during those scenes. I cannot in good conscience recommend that any first-time visitor to Star Wars Galaxy�s Edge use the single rider queue for Rise of the Resistance.

Now, if you have been on the ride before and are happy with a quick return visit to the trackless dark ride portion of the adventure, go ahead. Use the single rider queue and enjoy. Ask a cast member at the ride�s entrance for directions to the single rider queue.

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