Summer Attractions Preview 2024
Summer 2024 is shaping up to be a season of historic new theme park attractions, from drone shows to coasters to Shrek’s outhouse.
Tiana Finally Arrives
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — the log flume starring characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “The Princess and the Frog” — is nearly here (or “almost there,” whichever you prefer) after four years of hype. The attraction replaces Splash Mountain at both Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. The east coast’s version will open sooner, debuting June 28, 2024 at Magic Kingdom Park. Disney has not announced an opening date for the Disneyland counterpart other than “2024.”
Disney first announced Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in June 2020. Whereas many new theme park attractions are shrouded in secrecy during their development, Disney has brought the public along during every step of the creative process behind the scenes, from artists’ New Orleans research visits the ride’s state-of-the-art technology.
The thrill, scope, and pacing of Splash Mountain’s framework paired with advanced new Audio-Animatronics figures — not to mention all the storytelling details Disney has shared so far and the sheer significance of the project at large — tee up Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to be a flagship attraction on both coasts, and perhaps this summer’s biggest headline in theme park news.
Roller Coaster Ups and Downs
Summer 2024 was destined to be legendary for roller coaster fans, but a number of new coasters are experiencing delays. Top Thrill 2 — poised to be an industry-changing successor to the already-record-breaking Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio — closed just one week after it opened for “mechanical modification.”
Elsewhere, flashy new coasters remain without opening dates. Knott’s Berry Farm in California delayed Snoopy’s Tenderpaw Twister Coaster from Memorial Day Weekend to sometime in June (exact date TBA). SeaWorld Orlando changed its verbiage for the new Penguin Trek family coaster from a “spring 2024” opening to just “2024.” The revamped Antarctica area surrounding Penguin Trek will instead open May 25, 2024 without its centerpiece attraction operating. Meanwhile, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay still teases a spring 2024 opening for its Phoenix Rising family coaster, but the clock is ticking on that deadline and no opening date has been announced.
Image courtesy of Knott’s Berry Farm
Image courtesy of SeaWorld Orlando.
Image courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Despite this, there’s still plenty of newness to enjoy. Several coasters just recently opened with the onset of the summer vacation season, including the Iron Menace dive coaster at Dorney Park in Allentown, Penn.; Good Gravy! Family Coaster at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind.; and Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers, a family boomerang coaster, at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio.
Photo courtesy of Dorney Park
Photo by Andy and Abby Guinigundo
Photo courtesy of Kings Island
Rounding out the coaster openings, Georgia Surfer will debut sometime this summer (exact date TBA) at Six Flags Over Georgia. The coaster foregoes the traditional roller coaster train vehicle in favor of a circle-shaped platform that independently spins while positioned on top of a surfboard-shaped structure that travels along a track.
Image courtesy of Six Flags Over Georgia
Fantasy Springs
Tokyo DisneySea will officially open its major expansion, Fantasy Springs, on June 6, 2024 (along with the adjacent Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel). The new “port” — the eighth in the park, effectively rendering its “seven seas” thesis null and void — contains mini-lands based on “Peter Pan,” “Tangled,” and “Frozen,” brought to life with all the high-tech rides and world-building atmosphere you’d expect from a modern park adaptation of prominent fantasy franchises.
See our Fantasy Springs photo tour and video library for a sneak peek inside the new port and its attractions: Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure, Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies, Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, and Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey.
Notably, “Tangled” and “Frozen” released theatrically in 2010 and 2013, respectively, following the 2009 debut of “The Princess and the Frog.” This period is now sometimes referred to as the Disney Revival. The string of fairytale musicals ascended Walt Disney Animation Studios to a place of prominence within popular culture it had been lacking for the better part of the decade prior. Now, all three films receive major theme park attractions of similar nature in the same summer.
The Future of Theme Parks
There’s also a lot to look forward to in the future of the theme park industry, and this summer is poised to provide a preview of things to come.
Universal Orlando Resort has been abuzz recently with news about this year’s Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses. More event updates will follow throughout the summer, building toward the opening night of HHN33 on Aug. 30, 2024.
Universal has also been busy periodically revealing each world of the upcoming Universal Epic Universe theme park one by one. So far, the resort has mapped out details for Celestial Park, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Super Nintendo World. Eventually, perhaps this summer, it will share details for Dark Universe and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
Meanwhile at Universal CityWalk, an Epic Universe preview center is under construction. Though Universal hasn’t announced an opening date, the preview center is expected to include concept art, scale models, and multimedia providing a sneak peek into Epic Universe to entice current Universal Orlando guests to plan a repeat visit and see the new park.
Disney will drop its own batch of major news at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, a sold-out convention in Anaheim, Calif. from Aug. 9-11, 2024. Though the entire weekend will have its share of news from across various arms of Disney, the parks panel is slated for Aug. 10, 2024, during which Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, is expected to provide updates on the Tropical Americas replacement of DinoLand, U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, among other major projects.
Drones in Orlando
While a handful of regional parks nationwide have introduced drone-based nighttime shows in recent years, Orlando’s parks have remained drone-less (save for a holiday drone show that performed at Disney Springs for less than two months in 2016 and never returned).
That will all change this summer when both Disney and Universal unveil their drone extravaganzas. “Disney Dreams That Soar” is up first, debuting May 24, 2024 at Disney Springs with 800 drones. “CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular” will follow on June 14, 2024 at Universal Studios Florida with 600 drones. Importantly, Universal’s show is a long-term addition, performing indefinitely into the future. Disney’s is just for the summer, running through Sept. 6, 2024. Additionally, Universal’s show will group the drones with fireworks, projections, and fountains. Disney’s production is drones only.
Photo courtesy of Disney
Image courtesy of Universal
Repurposing Old Spaces
What’s old is new again as many parks spruce up existing attractions and infrastructure with new theming and/or updated technology debuting this summer.
Among the refreshed coasters are an overhauled Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, now open. At Universal Studios Florida, Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster is now Trolls Trollercoaster, officially opening June 14, 2024 with DreamWorks Land, itself a revamp of Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone (complete, of course, with a kids slide at Shrek’s outhouse that makes flatulence noises).
Photo by Melody Matheny
Photo by Matt Roseboom
Photo by Matt Roseboom
Photo by Matt Roseboom
Meanwhile at Six Flags America near Baltimore, Md., the Mind Eraser coaster has become Professor Screamore’s SkyWinder, opening sometime in June. The attraction joins several other reimagined attractions and one new flat ride in the park’s new SteamTown area.
On the Disney side of things, “Fantasmic!” will return to Disneyland Park in California on May 24, 2024 with an abridged finale. The west coast’s version of the popular nighttime show has been closed since last year, when the Maleficent dragon caught fire. Upon its return, the show will also reinstate the “Peter Pan” sequence from the show’s original 1992 version, replacing the “Pirates of the Caribbean” scene that debuted in 2017.
Photo courtesy of Disney/Richard Harbaugh
In the sunshine state, Country Bear Musical Jamboree will debut sometime in the summer at Magic Kingdom (same bears, new songs). Across the lake from the park, Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort will roll out over 350 new cabins on July 1, 2024.
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo by Matt Roseboom
New Shows in Theme Parks
Beyond the aforementioned drone productions, more new live entertainment will debut this summer in various theme parks. The limited-time “¡Celebración Encanto!” show will open at Epcot on June 10, 2024, performing in the newly minted CommuniCore Plaza flex space, which also opens that day.
Universal Orlando will unveil “Hogwarts Always,” a projection show using Hogwarts as its canvas, on June 14, 2024 at Universal Islands of Adventure. Next door at Universal Studios Florida, “Universal Mega Movie Parade” will premiere July 3, 2024 as a celebration of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Back to the Future,” “Minions,” and more favorite films.
“Alice & the Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland,” a bike stunt show, will officially debut at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris on May 25, 2024. The show will occupy the amphitheater formerly home to “Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular.”
Smelling the Roses (and Elephants)
Theme park fans know there’s more to destinations than just rides and shows. To that end, a handful of experiential spaces and activities debut this summer across parks and resorts.
Earlier this month, Magic Kingdom introduced Smellephants on Parade, a free scavenger hunt in the “Dumbo”-themed Storybook Circus area.
Memorial Day Weekend, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. will open The Dolly Parton Experience, a walkthrough museum-like attraction.
CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza will open at Epcot on June 10, 2024, marking the “completion” of the park’s multi-year transformation and providing flex space for programs connected to Epcot’s seasonal festivals.
Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point — a private port for Disney Cruise Line guests on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas — will welcome its first sailings in early June 2024.
Special Events This Summer in Theme Parks
A number of seasonal special events are in full swing throughout the summer.
The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival continues through May 27, 2024.
At Disneyland Resort, Season of the Force lasts through June 2, while Pixar Fest continues through Aug. 4, 2024.
Summer Brick Party will return to Legoland Florida Resort from June 1 – Aug. 11, 2024, complete with a watersport stunt show.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Lion King” with special art classes, merchandise, and food June 10 – Sept. 6, 2024.
LA Pride will host Love Is Universal, an after-hours party at Universal Studios Hollywood, on June 15, 2024. Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite will return June 18 & 20, 2024 following its historic inaugural year last summer, featuring special character greetings and live entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Universal
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo courtesy of Disney
All three SeaWorld parks in the U.S. — San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando — are currently celebrating SeaWorld’s 60th anniversary, which began in March and will continue through Dec. 31, 2024. SeaWorld Orlando will also host the Viva La Música entertainment and food event on Saturdays and Sundays in June.
Spooky season will begin particularly early this year on both American coasts. The first Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party of the season is Aug. 9, 2024 at Magic Kingdom, continuing select nights through Oct. 31, 2024. Down the road, Halloween Horror Nights will begin at Universal Orlando on Aug. 30, 2024, continuing select nights through Nov. 2, 2024. On the west coast, Disneyland Resort will begin Halloween Time on Aug. 23, 2024 and last through Oct. 31, 2024. Its first Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party will commence Aug. 25, 2024 at California Adventure, continuing select nights through Oct. 31, 2024.
At the tail end of summer, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will commence Aug. 29, 2024, continuing through Nov. 23, 2024.
New for Annual Vacationers
On top of everything mentioned throughout this story, a number of major attractions that opened over the past year may be new experiences to vacationers who visit their favorite park annually each summer. These include “Luminous: The Symphony of Us” and Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana at Epcot; Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland; World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland; and Minion Land at Universal Studios Florida.
Photo by Attractions Magazine
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo courtesy of Universal
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