Newsletter: In the Loop: Dead body found in Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Paris
Welcome to another edition of In the Loop, the Los Angeles Times’ theme park newsletter. I’m Funland theme park blogger Brady MacDonald, and this week, we drop in on the Wizarding World grand opening, taste-test Disney’s Food and Wine Festival, bid farewell to the last-remaining Back to the Future ride and marvel at Phantasialand’s visually stunning new coaster.
Wizarding World
Times columnist Mary McNamara writes that Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood is the place where “magic comes to life, or as close as it gets.”
For those who have never been on the world’s best dark ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey turns the traditional dark ride experience on its head by placing riders on the end of a unique robotic arm.
The often-overlooked Flight of the Hippogriff at Wizarding World is a short but fun ride that’s perfect for young kids eager to climb aboard their first roller coaster.
Tom Felton -- a.k.a. Draco Malfoy -- takes us on an emotion-filled tour through Wizarding World as he steps back into the cinematic universe he inhabited for eight “Harry Potter” films.
Expect big crowds: Online tickets for opening day are sold out.
Everything you need to know about opening day.
Check out our live blog for full coverage of the grand opening events.
Phantasialand
The visually stunning Taron multi-launch roller coaster debuting this summer at Germany’s Phantasialand theme park combines an endlessly twisting track with dark-ride elements inside a craggy crater of faux volcanic rockwork.
Disney California Adventure
The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival returns after a five-year hiatus with celebrity chefs, culinary demonstrations and beer, wine and spirits seminars.
SeaWorld
SeaWorld’s Chief Executive defends his decision to halt breeding of killer whales, saying, “It was either a SeaWorld without whales or a world without SeaWorld.”
Crime report
A Disney World security guard and a SeaWorld Orlando janitor were arrested in a Florida child sex sting dubbed “Operation April’s Fool,” CNN reports.
Body found
A 45-year-old Disneyland Paris maintenance worker was apparently electrocuted while working on a light fixture inside Phantom Manor, the French theme park’s version of the Haunted Mansion, authorities said.
And finally
The last remaining Back to the Future motion-simulator ride will close May 31 at Universal Studios Japan.
Still need more theme park news? Check out the Los Angeles Times Funland theme park blog on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram. Also feel free to email me with any feedback on the newsletter.
MORE:
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Disneyland 2055: What the future may hold for the original Disney park
Disneyland 1955: ‘Walt’s Folly’ got off to a nightmare start
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