Jeff DePaoli

This week in DePaoli on DeParks: Jeff discusses the potential future of Jurassic Park in Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

What Disney Parks icon do you picture when someone says to you, “Disney’s Hollywood Studios”?

It was recently announced that the world-famous Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom would be getting some updates. It’s sometimes hard for guests to hear that their favorite attractions are getting changed in any way — especially if it’s a day-one attraction that Walt Disney was involved with. But did you know that there were many changes made to Jungle Cruise through the years, even during Walt’s lifetime? Let’s take a look at some of them.

One of my favorite things about theme park rides are the Audio-Animatronics. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they often make a huge impact, as it’s something that physically exists in the world of the ride.

When it comes to Southern California, the big theme parks that people all over the country have heard of are Disneyland Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Knott’s Berry Farm (owned by Cedar Fair) is a park that I hadn’t personally known about until after moving to California.

Earlier this week, we heard the news that several titles by Dr. Seuss were being removed from store bookshelves due to racist and insensitive imagery. This certainly puts the land at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure, Seuss Landing, in a bit of an awkward spot.

“The Muppet Show” recently made its Disney+ premiere, causing Muppet fans everywhere to cheer whilst throwing their arms in the air in a Kermit-like fashion. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but there did seem to be a lot of excitable chatter on social media about this TV series from 1976 coming to the streaming service. Whenever I see something Muppets-related getting positive attention, it always makes me wonder why we don’t get more of The Muppets in the Disney Parks. This time around, it got me thinking about The Muppets Whatnot Workshop.

I am not a roller coaster fan. There, I said it. I know this may upset some of you, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t like certain roller coasters. I’m just missing the gene that gets excited when you see those steel tubes intertwining in the air.

During the 2000 holiday season, the much-anticipated movie “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey hit the big screen and became an immediate holiday tradition for many. As part of the promotion for the film, Universal Studios Hollywood threw their first ever Grinchmas.

Earlier this year, Disney announced they would be retiring Disney’s Magical Express in 2022. When I heard the news, I felt a mix of emotions. Part of me was extremely sad, but part of me was expecting it as well. Due to that fact, it wasn’t shocking news to me, but it does feel like a bit more of that undeniably wonderful customer service that sets Disney apart is being stripped away.