Disneyland’s award-winning Napa Rose is booked solid for the month of February and deep into March even before the California wine country-themed restaurant reopens to the public following a 10-month renovation.
Napa Rose has no reservations available from when the fine dining restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel returns on Friday, Feb. 6 through March 10, according to the Disneyland website.
Advance reservations are highly recommended for the main dining room and chef’s counter that will feature $188 to $250 fixed price seasonal menus with optional wine pairings at $150, $300 or $500.
Disneyland has hosted a series of media previews over the past week that have helped boost anticipation for the returning restaurant.
The Napa Rose bar and lounge during a media preview following a 10-month renovation at the fine dining restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
It’s still possible to make a reservation for two or four on select weekdays a month from now: March 11, 16, 17, 19, 23 and 25 and April 2 and 6. But those are going fast.
Larger groups are completely out of luck. There are no reservations available for parties of six or eight through April 6 — the last date currently open for booking.
The refreshed Napa Rose menu at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Occasionally, a table pops open briefly due to a cancellation, but it disappears almost as quickly.
Curiously, the restaurant will be closed on Feb. 16 — just 10 days after the grand reopening.
The Napa Rose bar — offering small bites a la carte alongside wine, beer and cocktails — will not require reservations and will take walk-ins based on availability.
Foodies will be flocking to the Disneyland resort this weekend for the kickoff of the festival season and a chance to sample a dozen new food and drink items from the Lunar New Year menu with a Sip & Savor pass.
The 2026 Lunar New Year event will run on Friday, Jan. 23 through Feb. 22 at Disney California Adventure.
The Asian-inspired food festival pays tribute to Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean traditions with a lineup of multicultural live entertainment and Disney characters dressed in festive attire.
The six festival marketplace booths will once again include Bamboo Blessings, Wrapped in Love, Lucky 8 Lantern, Red Dragon Spice Traders, Prosperity Bao & Bun and Longevity Noodle Co.
Sip & Savor passes available during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
DCA restaurants offering new Sip & Savor menu items during the Lunar New Year festival will include Aunt Cass Cafe, Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, Cozy Cone Motel, Hollywood Lounge, Lamplight Lounge, Lucky Fortune Cookery, Paradise Garden Grill, Smokejumpers Grill and Studio Catering Co.
The 2026 Sip and Savor pass with six digital coupons good for individual items at marketplace booths and select restaurants throughout the festival will cost $49 ($46 for Magic Keyholders).
Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession during Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Let’s take a closer look at all the new food and drinks available with the Sip and Savor pass during Disney’s Lunar New Year festival.
Marketplace Booths
Sip & Savor passes can be used for most of the new and returning food and nonalcoholic beverages at the Lunar New Year festival marketplace booths along the DCA parade route.
This year’s festival marketplace menu lineup will be dominated mostly by returning favorites — with only two new food items and one new nonalcoholic drink.
Five-Spice Popcorn Chicken available at Bamboo Blessings marketplace booth during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Bamboo Blessings
Five-Spice Popcorn Chicken with sweet chile-garlic sauce
Guava Dragon Fruit Sparkler made with lemonade, sparkling mineral water, guava and dragon fruit syrups and a frozen dragon fruit garnish
Japchae Noodles available at Longevity Noodle Co. marketplace booth during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Longevity Noodle Co.
Japchae Noodles with kalbi short rib
DCA Restaurants
Festival-goers looking for something new to eat with their Sip & Savor passes will have to try the tasting-size portions at select restaurants and vending carts throughout DCA.
Crispy Fried Chicken Bao available at Cozy Cone Motel during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Cozy Cone Motel
Cars Land
Crispy Fried Chicken Bao coated in sweet chile sauce with cucumbers, carrots and sesame seeds served in a soft bao bun
Tteokbokki Rice Cakes available at Hollywood Lounge and Studio Catering Co. during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Hollywood Lounge and Studio Catering Co.
Hollywood Land
Tteokbokki rice cakes with gochujang sauce topped with cheese, sesame seeds and green onions
Grilled Lemongrass Pork Belly Skewers available at Paradise Garden Grill during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Paradise Garden Grill
Paradise Gardens Park
Grilled Lemongrass Pork Belly Skewers served with fried garlic rice, pickled carrots and daikon radish with a side salad
Bulgogi Fries with marinated beef, kimchi, cucumber, mozzarella cheese and gochujang aioli topped with sesame seeds and green onions
Bulgogi Fries available at Smokejumpers Grill and Paradise Garden Grill during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Smokejumpers Grill
Grizzly Peak
Bulgogi Fries with marinated beef, kimchi, cucumber, mozzarella cheese and gochujang aioli topped with sesame seeds and green onions
Pandan Cheesecake available at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
Paradise Gardens Park
Pandan Cheesecake with brown butter graham crust, coconut whipped topping and strawberry jam
Strawberry Green Tea Bread Pudding available at Aunt Cass Cafe during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Aunt Cass Cafe
San Fransokyo Square
Strawberry Green Tea Bread Pudding with green tea creme anglaise and whipped topping
Almond Cold Brew with orange cold foam
Mango Milk Tea available at Lucky Fortune Cookery during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Lucky Fortune Cookery
San Fransokyo Square
Mango Milk Tea with brown sugar tapioca spheres topped with pineapple cold foam
The Feng Li Su Churro available at the Hollywood Land Churro Cart during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Hollywood Land Churro Cart
Feng Li Su Churro rolled in shortbread sugar topped with pineapple jelly and cherry-flavored popping pearls
Spicy Pork Belly Grilled Cheese available at Studio Catering Co. during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
More New Food
A handful of new Lunar New Year food items will not be available with the Sip & Savor pass.
Chef’s Special with Mongolian Beef (Lamplight Lounge)
Coconut Pandan Donuts (Lamplight Lounge)
Vietnamese Coffee Roulade (Paradise Garden Grill)
Year of the Horse Bread (Aunt Cass Cafe, Cozy Cone Motel and Boudin Bread Cart)
Guava Cocktail available during the 2026 Lunar New Year food festival at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Cocktails & Beer
The rest of the new items on the Lunar New Year menu will be filled out with several dozen cocktails, spiked coffees, beers and seltzers. Sip & Savor passes can’t be used on alcoholic drinks.
Disneyland is ready to start work on a new parking structure for the influx of visitors flocking to see the new Avatar themed land, Marvel attractions and Coco boat ride debuting at the Anaheim theme park resort over the next five years.
Disneyland has filed a pair of building permits with the city of Anaheim for new commercial construction of a 3.2 million-square foot, 8-level parking structure as part of the $1.9 billion DisneylandForward project.
The permits also call for the installation of electrical, plumbing and mechanical services in addition to 300 electrical vehicle chargers at the East Parking Structure.
The new 6,000-space Eastside parking structure and transportation hub would push the existing Disneyland bus drop off/pick up area along Harbor Boulevard to Disneyland’s Manchester employee parking lot that backs up to the I-5 Freeway.
A pedestrian bridge would connect visitors by foot between the existing Disneyland bus drop off/pick up area on the west side of Harbor Boulevard and Disneyland’s Manchester employee parking lot on the east side of Harbor Boulevard.
Concept art of the Disneyland pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard set to begin construction in Fall 2026. (Courtesy of Disney)
Work is set to begin in fall 2026 on the multiyear construction project on the east side of the Disneyland theme park resort.
The new garage and bridge are an essential first step as Disneyland plans to build four new attractions at Disney California Adventure over the next five years as part of the DisneylandForward plan.
Concept art of the Avatar themed land proposed for the Disneyland resort. (Courtesy of Disney)
A Manhattan judge delivered the verdict in Daniel Hyden’s trial, where victims’ relatives, survivors and witnesses described how a holiday gathering of friends and relatives suddenly became a horrific scene when the truck jumped a curb, tore through a chain-link fence and barreled into the group.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a statement that said he hoped the conviction “can bring at least some measure of comfort” to the victims’ friends and families.
Hyden, 46, of Monmouth, New Jersey, also was convicted of assault and aggravated vehicular homicide, Bragg’s office said.
Text and email messages seeking comment were sent to Hyden’s attorney.
Ana Morel, 43; Emily Ruiz, 30; Lucille Pinkney, 59; and a relative, Herman Pinkney, 38, were killed, and seven other people were injured in the crash in Corlears Hook Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Less than an hour earlier, Hyden was refused entry to a nearby party boat and clashed with security, according to testimony from police who responded to the boat scuffle. At that point, they walked Hyden to a park bench and departed.
He subsequently got behind the wheel of a Ford F-150.
Prosecutors argued that Hyden — who wrote a 2020 book about coping with addiction — was drunk, was speeding and didn’t hit the brakes until far too late, trapping four people beneath the truck. Prosecutors said he then tried to put the vehicle in reverse, but witnesses grabbed the keys to stop him.
Hyden’s lawyer suggested that the man had a foot injury that complicated his driving.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Universal Orlando Resort plans to reopen its Stardust Racers ride at Epic Universe more than two weeks after a 32-year-old man died of blunt force injuries after going on the high-speed roller coaster.
Signs will be updated to reinforce existing warnings and eligibility requirements to help visitors decide if they should go on the dual-launch coaster, which reaches speeds up to 62 mph (100 kph), Karen Irwin, president and chief operating officer at Universal Orlando Resort, said Friday in a memo to workers. The ride will reopen on Saturday.
The family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala publicly had urged Universal not to reopen the ride until all investigations were finished and they had a better understanding of how he died. The medical examiner for the Orlando area ruled the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries and said the manner of death was an accident. The full autopsy report hasn’t been made public.
Zavala had a spinal disability from birth and used a wheelchair, but his family’s attorneys said his disability didn’t cause his death on Sept. 17.
Irwin said the ride at Universal’s newest theme park had undergone an extensive operational and technical review that confirmed the ride systems had functioned properly and Universal workers had followed proper procedures. The ride system’s manufacturer and an independent roller coaster engineering expert also conducted on-site testing which supported Universal’s findings, she said.
Separately, a woman sued Universal Orlando Resort last week, claiming she was injured on the ride which she claimed shook her violently and slammed her head into her seat’s headrest. The attorneys for Zavala’s family said this week that others have reached out to them with similar stories about the ride which officially opened in May with the debut of the new theme park.
The 2,000-pound Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland weighs 10 times as much as the average American man and a thousand pounds more than the 9-foot-tall Frankenstein’s monster animatronic that just debuted at Florida’s Epic Universe theme park.
“It’s a lot of machinery,” according to Walt Disney Imagineering’s Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz. “It’s 2,000 pounds of an Audio-Animatronic figure that steps and rises during its performance.”
Shaver-Moskowitz revealed the new details about the “larger than life” Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic figure at Disneyland during “The Happiest Story on Earth” special on ABC’s “20/20” newsmagazine TV show.
The $5 million “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” animatronic show debuted in July in the Main Street Opera House as part of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebration.
Imagineering vowed to create the “most life-like animatronic ever” and succeeded with the world’s first robotic figure of Walt Disney.
“That was a huge feat for the team to accomplish,” said Shaver-Moskowitz, an Executive Creative Producer at Imagineering.
An Audio-Animatronics of Walt Disney greets visitors to the Main Street Opera House during “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” inside Disneyland on July 14, 2025, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The impressive Walt animatronic appears to walk toward the audience as he puts his hands on the edge of the desk, leans forward and takes a couple steps.
The Walt animatronic weighs more than five times as much the 375-pound Shaman of Songs animatronic in the Na’vi River Journey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and more than twice as much as the 800-pound Frankenstein’s Monster animatronic in Universal’s new Monsters Unchained dark ride.
An Audio-Animatronics of Walt Disney greets visitors to the Main Street Opera House during “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” inside Disneyland on July 14, 2025, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The 2,000-pound robotic Walt is by no means the heaviest animatronic ever built.
The 8,000-pound Yeti animatronic in the Expedition Everest roller coaster stopped operating shortly after debuting in 2006 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. At the time, the 25-foot-tall Abominable Snowman was the largest and most complex animatronic figure ever built by Disney, according to Orlando Park Stop.
The temperamental Maleficent animatronic dragon in Disneyland’s “Fantasmic” nighttime spectacular — mockingly nicknamed Murphy by fans after Murphy’s Law — weighed 18,000 pounds before it was destroyed in a spectacular fire in 2023.
The 55,000-pound King Kong animatronic made by Italy-based EOS Rides is the centerpiece of a 2018 spinning roller coaster at Carthageland in Tunisia, according to Blooloop.
The new “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” animatronic show will initially run solo before playing in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”
The original Abraham Lincoln animatronic created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair weighed 140 pounds, significantly lighter than the 180-pound U.S. President, according to a memo from WED Enterprises, the precursor to Imagineering.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Multiple people have reached out with related stories to the family of a 32-year-old man who died of blunt force injuries two weeks ago while riding the new Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park, the attorney for the man’s family said Tuesday.
People who’ve contacted the family and Ben Crump’s law office since Kevin Rodriguez Zavala died Sept. 17 while riding the roller coaster include a woman who says she lost consciousness and suffered neck and spine injuries soon after the ride opened in May, Crump said during a news conference in Orlando.
The woman reached out to Zavala’s family on a GoFundMe page and told them about the experience she had on the roller coaster.
“All we want is answers regarding my son’s death,” Zavala’s mother, Ana Zavala, said through an interpreter at Tuesday’s news conference. “We want these answers so we can be able to honor him. We want these answers so we can have some peace. It is extremely difficult losing a son and we do not wish this pain on anyone.”
The dual-launch coaster reaches speeds up to 62 mph (100 kph) and debuted officially in May when Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park opened to the public.
A spokeswoman for Universal didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry on Tuesday.
Separately, a central Florida woman sued Universal last week saying she had suffered injuries while on the roller coaster. Sandi Streets said her head shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest when she was on the ride in April, before the park’s official opening, giving her permanent injuries, according to the lawsuit.
Crump questioned what Universal did after receiving reports from the woman and others who said they were injured on the ride.
“She told them that you all need to do something about this because someone is going to be seriously injured, or worse, they’re going to be killed,” Crump said. “She gave them notice, and she believed that the employees already know that there were problems with this roller coaster. And it begs the question, what did Universal do about it?”
In Zavala’s case, the medical examiner for the Orlando area ruled the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries and said the manner of death was an accident.
Karen Irwin, Universal Orlando Resort’s president, told workers in a note shortly after Zavala’s death that internal findings showed ride systems functioned normally, equipment was intact and Universal workers followed the proper procedures. Investigators with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also said that their initial findings align with that of the theme park.
Crump said his team will be calling for greater government oversight for large corporations such as Universal and Disney. Florida’s largest theme parks are exempt from state safety inspections, unlike smaller venues and fairs. Instead, the largest theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal conduct their own inspections and have their own protocols, but they must report to the state any injury or death.
Since Epic Universe opened in May, there have been three reports made about rides at the theme park. In May, a 63-year-old man with a preexisting condition experienced dizziness and “an altered state of consciousness” and a 47-year-old woman with a preexisting condition had a “visual disturbance” and numbness after going on the Stardust Racers coaster, on separate days. A 32-year-old man experienced chest pains after going on the Hiccup’s Wing Gliders ride, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
“We believe there were warning signs that there was something wrong with the design of this ride and that they tried to blame the victims,” Crump said.
Zavala’s family has said he had a spinal disability from birth and used a wheelchair, but that didn’t cause his death.
“If they believed that disabled people should not be on this roller coaster, then why would you assist him in getting on the roller coaster?” Crump said. “Now you can’t justify this by trying to blame the victim.”
Crump is asking anyone who has been injured on the roller coaster to contact his office, as well anyone who witnessed what happened that day.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman has sued Universal Orlando Resort, claiming she was injured on a roller coaster at its newest theme park. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, comes a week after a man died from blunt impact injuries after going on the same ride.
Sandi Streets filed the negligence lawsuit in state court in Orlando, days after the death of 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala in a separate incident.
Streets said she was invited to Universal’s Epic Universe theme park just a few weeks before it officially opened to the public in May and went on the dual-launch coaster, which reaches speeds up to 62 mph (100 kph). On the ride, her head shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest, giving her permanent injuries, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Streets has suffered disability, medical care expenses, loss of the ability to work and an exacerbation of a preexisting condition since going on the ride. Her attorney, Nicholas Spetsas, didn’t immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking further details on her injuries.
The ride failed to properly restrain her head, and the theme park failed to adequately warn her of “the unsafe and unreasonably dangerous condition” of the roller coaster, the lawsuit says.
Universal didn’t respond Thursday to an email seeking comment about the lawsuit.
In Zavala’s case, the medical examiner for the Orlando area ruled the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries and said the manner of death was an accident.
Karen Irwin, Universal Orlando Resort’s president, said in a note to workers last weekend, after Zavala’s death, that internal findings showed ride systems functioned normally, equipment was intact and Universal workers followed the proper procedures. Investigators with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said last Friday that their initial findings align with that of the theme park.
Lawyers for Zavala’s family took issue with that conclusion at a news conference Wednesday. Zavala had a spinal disability from birth and used a wheelchair, but they said his disability didn’t cause his death. His family hasn’t filed a lawsuit, as of yet, and said they want to understand how he died.
DENVER — A jury has awarded $205 million to the parents of a 6-year-old girl who fell to her death at a Colorado amusement park after she wasn’t strapped in to a ride.
The verdict was reached Friday in Glenwood Springs, where Wongel Estifanos fell about 100 feet (30 meters) to her death on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in 2021.
The floor drops out from underneath riders, who plunge down a mine shaft strapped to their seats. State investigators found Estifanos was sitting on top of two seat belts instead of wearing them across her lap, and two newly hired operators never noticed despite doing checks. Investigators also found that an alarm system warned of a problem, but one of the workers reset the system and started the ride because they weren’t trained well enough to know what to do about it.
Jurors found the amusement park, the maker of the ride and two operators should pay the verdict, with the park responsible for paying most of it, according to court documents.
In a statement to The Denver Post, Glenwood Caverns spokesperson Kimberly Marcum said the park worked with independent engineers to redesign the ride after Estifanos’ death. She also said the verdict puts the park’s existence “at serious risk.”
Marcum did not immediately return a telephone call or email from The Associated Press on Wednesday asking whether the park planned to appeal the verdict.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A man who was unresponsive after riding a roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort’s newest park died from blunt impact injuries, a medical examiner said Thursday.
Joshua Stephany, the medical examiner for the Orlando area, ruled the death an accident after performing an autopsy. The statement from Stephany did not mention any details about the injuries, including where on the body they were found.
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By JEFF MARTIN and MIKE SCHNEIDER – Associated Press
Bloody Mary will beckon you to say her name into any one of the 20-plus mirrors scattered throughout her Knott’s Berry Farm haunted maze so she can drag you into the underworld where she’s been trapped for years.
Knott’s Scary Farm creative designer Jon Asperin offered a walk-through tour of the new maze that brings to life the Bloody Mary urban myth told by children for generations.
Knott’s Scary Farm creative designer Jon Asperin outside the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The backstory for the maze follows the mournful tale of Mary Worth after the tragic death of her family. Mistaken as the murderer, Mary is stoned and buried alive in a shallow grave by the enraged townspeople. Aggrieved and pained, Mary returns from the grave to exact revenge on anyone who steps inside her family home.
Mary’s apparition can be summoned by anyone who turns out the lights and says “Bloody Mary” into a mirror three times. Mary pulls the summoner through the mirror and into her underworld realm.
Today, the Worth family home has been turned into a group home for disenfranchised teenagers and their counselors, caretakers and caregivers where Scary Farmers will visit on Halloween night.
Two key elements were still missing from the maze during the preview walk-through tour: Blood and bodies. Expect almost every room to be splattered in blood.
The Bloody Mary maze was codenamed “Cujo” during the development phase.
Let’s take a scene-by-scene look inside the new Bloody Mary maze coming to Knott’s Scary Farm 2025.
The exterior of the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Entry Foyer
A counselor will greet maze visitors in the foyer and guide them into the group home.
Framed pictures of the families and children who have lived in the home will line the central hallway and help set up the backstory for the maze.
The Kitchen scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Central Staircase
An eerie apparition of Mary Worth will appear at the top of the staircase.
“Her body is contorted and her bones are breaking,” Asperin said. “She beckons down to the guests, telling them to get out of the house.”
The Dining Room scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dining Room
Mary will materialize and address the maze visitors in the first of a series of mirrors found throughout the house.
“The mirrors are definitely something to look out for,” Asperin said.
Mary’s hands will reach out of the mirror and creep up on either side of a teenager sitting at the dining room table.
Cameron’s Bedroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cameron’s Bedroom
A teenager named Cameron will be combing her hair when she sees a vision of Mary in a mirror amid thunder and lightning.
“You’ll see Mary for a split second during that lightning crash,” Asperin said.
Mary’s hands will reach out from both sides of the mirror and attack Cameron.
The Boy’s Bedroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Boy’s Bedroom
Mary’s face will appear on the video game monitor in a boy’s bedroom strewn with dirty underwear and socks.
The boy dressed as a pirate will be standing at a full-length floor mirror getting ready for Halloween.
When he turns around, the boy will be a monstrous beast with peeled back skin and an extra head.
The Bathroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bathroom
Mary will peer through the bathroom mirror and beckon visitors to “Say my name.”
She will also appear as a silhouette behind the shower curtain.
The pristine bathroom will switch to something more ominous every time lightning strikes.
“The whole room turns red with blood that’s going to be projected on the walls,” Asperin said.
Cameron’s Bedroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Closet
A “scareactor” named Shush will emerge from the closet and warn visitors not to summon Mary.
“His mouth is stitched shut so he doesn’t say Mary’s name,” Asperin said.
The Kitchen scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kitchen
The kitchen cabinets will mysteriously open and close on their own — with a Shadow Goblin hiding in one of the cupboards.
An underworld demon named Skinback will be wearing the skin of one of the group home counselors.
“A whole bunch of skin has been stitched together to create this mask,” Asperin said.
The Backyard Greenhouse scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Backyard Greenhouse
Visitors will pass through a laundry line filled with old Knott’s Scary Farm T-shirts as they enter the backyard.
“There’s some cool Easter Eggs from Camp Gonnagetcha and Cinema Slasher,” Asperin said.
Visitors will be forced to avoid falling tree limbs, a garden shed full of severed body parts and a pack of rats as they head toward the greenhouse.
A rotting dead girl on an animatronic swing surrounded by maggots, centipedes and cockroaches will deliver an unexpected scare.
Mary will try to claw her way out of a shallow grave in the greenhouse courtesy of a clever Pepper’s ghost effect.
A Cujo doghouse will sit in the backyard in a tribute to the maze’s codename.
The Storm Cellar scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Storm Cellar
Two more mirrors covered in chains and padlocks will be waiting for visitors in the storm cellar.
Mary’s hand will reach out of one of the mirrors to play a nearby upright piano.
Mary will appear as a scareactor for the first time in the maze — just not in place you expect.
Just when you think it’s safe, a sheet ghost will rise out of a winged chair stored in the basement.
The Counselor’s Bedroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Counselor’s Bedroom
The maze heads back inside the house where a priest will be conducting a bedside exorcism.
A victim has been pulled headfirst into a vanity mirror over a dresser.
“You start seeing what Mary’s been doing,” Asperin said. “She’s pulling these bodies in through these mirrors and making them her next victims.”
Mary will emerge from a trio of mirrors above the bed — with her massive animatronic head popping out of the middle mirror and her arms coming out of the two side mirrors.
Watch out for monsters under the bed.
The Counselor’s Bedroom scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Upside Down
Visitors will enter the counselor’s bedroom again in the very next scene — but this time the room will be upside down.
“This portal opens into Mary’s world,” Asperin said. “It’s very similar to our world, but it’s cold, desolate and barren. There’s no signs of life. It feels very much like the Upside Down in ‘Stranger Things.’”
The victim that was pulled into the vanity mirror in the previous scene will emerge headfirst in the Upside Down.
There’s still a monster under the bed — only now the bed is on the ceiling.
The Backyard Greenhouse scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Infinity Room
Visitors stepping into a closet will encounter four Mary mannequins repeating endlessly in opposing mirrors.
“From here on out it’s bloody,” Asperin said. “It’s just nasty.”
The Moving Hallway scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Moving Hallway
The walls will tilt, sway, expand and compress as visitors pass through a narrow hallway.
“It’s like the Star Wars trash compactor where the walls are closing in,” Asperin said.
A shattered window at the end of the hallway will bear the Wiccan symbol of a witch’s knot — traditionally used to contain bad spirits.
“Behind that is going to be a large video monitor with a gigantic Mary peeking through,” Asperin said. “It’s like a dollhouse effect and you’re inside her dollhouse.”
The Dark Room scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dark Room
The only way to exit the moving hallway will be through a darkened room filled with Mary’s wet hair. You read that right: A room filled with hair.
“It’s going to be absolutely complete darkness,” Asperin said. “You’re not going to see anything.”
Emerging from the darkness, visitors will encounter a character named Hair Sway on an overhead gangway. Hair Sway will scare visitors with her six-foot-long locks of hair.
The Backyard Greenhouse scene in the Bloody Mary haunted maze during Knott’s Scary Farm at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Finale
The finale will be filled with a whole lot of mirrors and a whole lot of Mary.
A huge animatronic puppet of Mary will mysteriously emerge from a mirror and reach out toward visitors.
A Bloody Mary scareactor will deliver the final scare.
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean City, the towering “Giant Wheel” was the first thing they saw from miles away.
The sight of the 140-foot-tall (42-meter) ride let them know they were getting close to the Jersey Shore town that calls itself “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” with its promise of kid-friendly beaches, seagulls and sea shells, and a bustling boardwalk full of pizza, ice cream and cotton candy.
And in the heart of it was Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, an amusement park that was the latest in nearly a century-long line of family-friendly amusement attractions operated by the family of Ocean City’s mayor.
But the rides were to fall silent and still Sunday night, as the park run by Ocean City’s mayor and nurtured by generations of his ancestors, closed down, the victim of financial woes made worse by the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy.
Gillian and his family have operated amusement rides and attractions on the Ocean City Boardwalk for 94 years. The latest iteration of the park, Wonderland, opened in 1965.
“I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible, through increasingly difficult challenges each year,” Mayor Jay Gillian wrote in August when he announced the park would close. “It’s been my life, my legacy and my family. But it’s no longer a viable business.”
Gillian did not respond to numerous requests for comment over the past week.
Sheryl Gross was at the park for its final day with her two children and five grandchildren, enjoying it one last time.
“I’ve been coming here forever,” she said. “My daughter is 43 and I’ve been coming here since she was 2 years old in a stroller. Now I’m here with my grandchildren.”
She remembers decades of bringing her family from Gloucester Township in the southern New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia to create happy family memories at Wonderland.
“Just the excitement on their faces when they get on the rides,” she said. “It really made it feel family-friendly. A lot of that is going to be lost now.”
There were long lines Sunday for the Giant Wheel, the log flume and other popular rides as people used the last of ride tickets many had bought earlier in the year, thinking Wonderland would go on forever.
A local non-profit group, Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, is raising money to try and save the amusement park, possibly under a new owner who might be more amenable to buying it with some financial assistance. Bill Merritt, one of the non-profit’s leaders, said the group has raised over $1 million to help meet what could be a $20-million price tag for the property.
“Ocean City will be fundamentally different without this attraction,” he said. “This town relies on being family-friendly. The park has rides targeted at kids; it’s called ‘Wonderland’ for a reason.”
The property’s current owner, Icona Resorts, previously proposed a $150-million, 325-room luxury hotel elsewhere on Ocean City’s boardwalk, but the city rejected those plans.
The company’s CEO, Eustace Mita, said earlier this year he would take at least until the end of the year to propose a use for the amusement park property.
He bought it in 2021 after Gillian’s family was in danger of defaulting on bank loans for the property.
At a community meeting last month, Gillian said Wonderland could not bounce back from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the pandemic in 2020 and an increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage that doubled his payroll costs, leaving him $4 million in debt.
Mita put up funds to stave off a sheriff’s sale of the property, and gave the mayor three years to turn the business around. That deadline expired this year.
Mita did not respond to requests for comment.
Merritt said he and others can’t imagine Ocean City without Wonderland.
“You look at it with your heart, and you say ‘You’re losing all the cherished memories and all the history; how can you let that go?’” he said. “And then you look at it with your head and you say, ‘They are the reason this town is profitable; how can you let that go?’”
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Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Universal Orlando Resort will open its fourth theme park in central Florida just in time for Memorial Day next year, upping the competition against Disney in the theme park capital of the United States.
Universal Epic Universe will open to visitors on May 22 with themed areas based on Harry Potter, Super Nintendo and “How to Train Your Dragon,” as well as monster movie brands, Universal officials said Thursday.
“This is such a pivotal moment for our destination, and we’re thrilled to welcome guests to Epic Universe next year,” said Karen Irwin, president and chief operating officer of Universal Orlando Resort.
Tickets and vacation packages for the new theme park go on sale next week. At first, visitors with multi-day passes will be allowed to visit Universal Epic Universe on only one day due to its anticipated popularity. They can choose from the other three parks — Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and the Volcano Bay water park — as part of multi-day ticket offerings.
The park’s new hotel, Universal Helios Grand Hotel, also will open at the same time, joining 10 other hotels at the resort.
Universal’s main competition in the Orlando area, Walt Disney World, also has four theme parks, and it too plans to expand. Disney officials have indicated that they could invest up to $17 billion in the Florida resort and add a fifth theme park.
The Walt Disney Co. is set to pilot a new pass for guests to get on rides faster at its domestic theme parks, but the cost might be a bit out of reach for some people.
Disney said Wednesday that its Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which will be available in limited quantities, is set to debut at Disneyland on Oct. 23 and Disney World on Oct. 30. The pass is for one-time entry to each available Lightning Lane experience at the theme parks, and guests will still need to purchase a separate admission ticket to enter the parks.
The pass is similar to Disney’s existing Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass in that it lets guests skip the standby line and use the Lightning Lane entrance to join what is typically a shorter line. Many guests like to use such passes to try to save time so that they can attempt to ride more attractions and partake in more park experiences, like shows and character meet and greets. The new pass, which is similar to offerings at other rival theme parks, is meant to provide a convenience that some guests have been requesting.
One of the perks for guests who purchase the Lightning Lane Premier Pass is that they will not have to choose a specific arrival time for an attraction. This is different from Disney’s Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass options, which require guests to select a specific arrival time.
At Disneyland in Anaheim, California, the Lightning Lane Premier Pass will cost $400 per person, per day for visits to both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure through the end of the year as long as the guest also has a valid admission ticket with a Park Hopper benefit. Starting next year, pricing will vary by date and demand within a $300 to $400 range, the company said. Guests will be able to see pricing in the Disneyland app up to two days before a park visit.
At Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the Lightning Lane Premier Pass will be available to guests staying at its deluxe resorts, deluxe villa resorts and certain other hotels. Pricing will vary, depending on the date and which theme park is being visited (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios). Disney said that prices will range from $129 to $449 per pass at launch, with the highest prices occurring on a limited number of days over peak travel periods.
The Lightning Lane Premier Pass for Disney World will give guests one-time entry to each available Lightning Lane entrance in one park for one day. There is currently no option to use the pass at multiple Disney World parks on the same day.
Aside from the various passes that Disney offers, guests will still be able to use standby lines at most of its attractions and experiences. A virtual queue is also available for a limited number of rides, and those rides don’t have standby lines.
NEW YORK (AP) — The famed Cyclone roller coaster in New York City’s Coney Island has reopened two weeks after a mechanical problem forced a mid-ride stop and people had to be helped off the attraction.
The 97-year-old wooden roller coaster at Luna Park returned to service Saturday after city inspectors gave a thumbs up following repairs.
The Cyclone was shut down indefinitely on Aug. 22 due to a damaged chain sprocket in the motor room. The operator stopped the ride and several people were removed without injury, the city’s Department of Buildings said. The department cited Luna Park for violations related to the damaged equipment and failing to immediately notify the city.
City inspectors said the ride passed inspection Saturday morning after test runs over several days.
“This American icon has captivated guests for nearly a century, and our dedicated team and attraction engineers continue to ensure that this legendary 97-year-old landmark continues to operate safely and smoothly,” Alessandro Zamperla, president and CEO of the amusement park’s owner, Central Amusement International, said in a statement.
Delta Air Lines said Friday that its chief operating officer will leave the company next week after a little more than a year in the airline business to take another job.
The departure of Michael Spanos comes a few weeks after Delta canceled thousands of flights during a botched recovery from a global technology outage,
Spanos spent most of his career at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group and was CEO of amusement-park operator Six Flags Entertainment before joining Delta in June 2023. He is one of three executive vice presidents of the Atlanta-based airline.
In a regulatory filing, Delta gave no reason for Spanos’ departure — only that he would receive severance benefits that he is due under the company’s plan for officers and directors. Spanos received compensation valued at $8.6 million last year, mostly in stock awards.
CEO Ed Bastian said in a note to employees that Spanos told him “earlier this summer” he was considering leaving Delta. A spokesperson said this happened before the technology outage.
Bastian wrote that Spanos will move in September to another company, which he did not identify. The CEO credited Spanos with improving Delta’s performance, and added that Delta will not name a new chief operating officer.
Chief operating officers typically run the day-to-day affairs of a company and report directly to the CEO. They are often considered the second-ranking executive, but at Delta, President Glen Hauenstein is generally seen as playing that role.
Delta was hit harder than any other U.S. carrier by last month’s technology outage that started with a faulty upgrade from cybersecurity-software provider CrowdStrike to computers running on Microsoft Windows.
Other airlines recovered within a couple days, but Delta canceled about 7,000 flights over five days as it struggled to reposition crews and match them with planes.
Today is Wednesday, July 17, the 199th day of 2024. There are 167 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California after its $17 million, year-long construction; the park drew a million visitors in its first 10 weeks.
Also on this date:
In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that all slaves taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.
In 1902, Willis Carrier produced a set of designs for what would become the world’s first modern air-conditioning system.
In 1918, Russia’s Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.
In 1944, during World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California.
In 1945, following Nazi Germany’s surrender, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II.
In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower link-up of its kind.
In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance.
In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Europe-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, New York, shortly after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.
In 2014, all 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine; both Ukraine’s government and pro-Russian separatists denied responsibility.
In 2020, civil rights icon John Lewis, whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died at age 80.
In 2022, a report said nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to a mass shooting that left 21 people dead at a Texas elementary school, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in a chaotic scene that lasted more than an hour before the gunman was finally confronted and killed.
Today’s Birthdays: Sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 84. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 77. Rock musician Terry “Geezer” Butler is 75. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 73. Actor David Hasselhoff is 72. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 70. Film director Wong Kar-wai is 66. Television producer Mark Burnett is 64. Singer Regina Belle is 61. Country music artist Craig Morgan is 60. Rock musician Lou Barlow is 58. Actor Bitty Schram (TV: “Monk”) is 56. Actor Jason Clarke and movie director F. Gary Gray are 55. Country singer Luke Bryan is 48. Film director/screenwriter Justine Triet is 46. R&B singer Jeremih is 37. Actor Billie Lourd is 32. NHL center Connor Bedard is 19.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
NEW YORK — Busting to go in the Big Apple? Some relief is on the way.
New York City is not only getting more public toilets, but making them easier to locate using your smartphone.
Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday a plan to build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing ones located in city parks, adding to the city’s roughly 1,000 such facilities over the next five years.
The Democrat said the city has also developed a new Google Maps layer so people can easily find the locations of every public restroom operated by government agencies and civic institutions, including libraries and at transit hubs.
“Part of making New York City a more livable city is tackling the little things — the things we don’t think about until we need them,” Adams said in a statement launching the effort, which his administration has dubbed “Ur in Luck.”
The lack of public restrooms has long been a problem in a city where more than half of households don’t own cars and hoards of tourists go sightseeing by foot and subway. It can be especially difficult for parents of young kids, pregnant women, seniors and people with medical conditions, officials noted at a news conference.
New Yorker Teddy Siegel created a now hugely popular social media account and online map dedicated to public bathrooms in the city “after nearly having an accident in Times Square” in 2021. She welcomed the additional amenities Monday.
“Over the past three years, I’ve learned from my community that New York City’s lack of publicly accessible restrooms is not only a quality of life and public health issue, but it’s an equity crisis,” said Siegel, whose own crowdsourced got2gonyc map lists more than 2,000 places to find a facility.
The mayor said 28 of the new or renovated restrooms will be in Manhattan, 23 in Brooklyn, 14 in Queens, 10 in the Bronx and seven on Staten Island.
The existing restrooms being renovated will receive improvements ranging from additional stalls to accessibility upgrades, as well as energy efficient features, Adams said.
The Google Maps layer will be updated biannually and will include restrooms operated by the city parks department, local transit agencies and the city’s library systems, he said. Data on the city’s public restrooms will also be available on Open Data.
Last month, Adams’ administration said baby changing tables were installed at all city park restrooms where it was feasible.
“Public bathrooms are essential to a well-managed and welcoming public realm,” the Alliance for Public Space Leadership, a local advocacy group, said in a statement. “They allow New Yorkers to use public space more often and for longer.”
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Workers who help bring Disneyland’s beloved characters to life said Wednesday they collected enough signatures to support their push for a union.
A group of 1,700 performers, including those who represent characters and dance in parades at Disney’s Southern California theme parks, said they filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board. A vote would likely be held in May or June.
The workers said they also asked The Walt Disney Co. to recognize their union, which they are calling “Magic United.”
In a statement Wednesday, Disney officials said: “We support our cast members’ right to a confidential vote that recognizes their individual choices.”
Most of the more than 35,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort already have unions. Parade and character workers announced their plans to unionize in February to address safety concerns and scheduling, among other issues.
The union would be formed under Actors’ Equity Association, which already represents theatrical performers at Disney’s Florida theme parks.
Union membership has been on a decades-long decline in the United States, but organizations have seen growing public support in recent years amid high-profile contract negotiations involving Hollywood studios and Las Vegas hotels. The National Labor Relations Board, which protects workers’ right to organize, reported more than 2,500 filings for union representation during the 2023 fiscal year, which was the highest number in eight years.
Disney has a major presence in Anaheim, where it operates two theme parks — Disneyland and Disney California Adventure — as well as a shopping and entertainment area called Downtown Disney. Disneyland, the company’s oldest park, was the world’s second-most visited theme park in 2022, hosting 16.8 million people, according to a report by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.
DENVER — A heavily armed man who was found dead at a Colorado mountaintop amusement park last year had researched mass shootings online, but investigators haven’t determined why he amassed such an arsenal or didn’t follow through on “whatever he was planning,” authorities said Thursday.
The body of Diego Barajas Medina, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was found in a bathroom at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on the morning of Oct. 28 in a building that houses a ride that drops 110-feet deep into caverns. His body was surrounded by alcohol and weapons, according to a previously released 911 call. The words “I’m not a killer. I just wanted to get in the cave” were written neatly on the bathroom wall.
The discovery led to the belief that Medina, who entered the park when it was closed, could have been planning to launch a deadly attack at the attraction located above the Colorado River in western Colorado. But three months later, his intentions remain a mystery.
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a written update on its investigation that it was “unable to uncover any motive for Diego amassing such a lethal arsenal nor did it explain what happened to change his mind and why he did not follow through with whatever he was planning.”
Despite the 911 call’s description, no alcohol or illegal drugs were found in his system and there was no evidence that he had been working with others or was a member of an extremist group, the sheriff’s office said. He also didn’t have a criminal record or any known ties to the park. Friends, family and school officials described Medina as “a bit of loner,” it said.
“In the end, Diego took his own life in the women’s restroom at the Amusement Park for reasons known only to him,” it said.
Medina’s family has never spoken publicly about what happened. His brother didn’t immediatley respond to an email seeking comment and a person who answered his phone hung up when reached by The Associated Press.
Medina, who lived with his mother and brother, was dressed in black tactical clothing with patches and emblems that made it look like he had law enforcement links. He had a semi-automatic rifle, a semi-automatic handgun and multiple loaded magazines for each gun, as well as several hundred rounds of ammunition, the sheriff’s office said. He also had real and fake homemade explosive devices.
Medina legally acquired all of his weapons, ammunition and tactical gear online, the sheriff’s office said. Both guns were determined to be so-called ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms that lack a serial number and that anyone can buy and build without passing a background check, it said.
“The Sheriff’s Office acknowledges that given amount of weaponry, ammunition, and explosive devices found, Diego could have implemented an attack of devastating proportions on our community resulting in multiple injuries and possibly death to members of the public as well as first responders. As a community, we are fortunate and thankful that this did not happen,” the sheriff’s office said.
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Associated Press writer Jesse Bedayn contributed to this report.
