Theme Park Bits: Butterbeer Ice Cream, ‘Inside Out’ Ride, Fried Chicken Day At Disney, ‘Toy Story’ Land Opens
In this edition of Theme Park Bits:
Can’t believe it–very last time on the Jurassic Park ride@UniStudios@Amblin with hubby@MarkAaronBoltonand our close friends@actorkendalland Phil Erklen.#JurassicPark25#JurassicParkpic.twitter.com/eTv354PrCg
— Ariana Richards (@GalleryAriana)June 15, 2025
This week, Ariana Richards, the child actress turned painter who portrayed John Hammond’s granddaughter, Lex, inJurassic Park, rode Jurassic Park: The Ride one last time at Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s not too late for you to follow Lex’s example. The attraction closes on July 24, 2025, so there’s still time to give it one last ride before it’sreconfigured to be aJurassic World-themed attraction.
Elsewhere in the same park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter isnow serving butterbeer ice cream. And in case you missed it, the 30th anniversary ofChild’s PlayandKiller Clowns from Outer Spacehas prompted Universal Orlando toadd two new scare zonesto this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event. Steven Spielberg’sReady Player Oneisn’t the only game in town when it comes to 2018 Chucky homages.
LOL Incredicoaster standby line is all the way back at Little Mermaid entrancepic.twitter.com/YFaSLcpgB0
— /Film (@slashfilm)July 30, 2025
Here aresome first reactionsfrom /Film’s other resident theme park Josh (Spiegel), who was at Disney California Adventure for the opening weekend of Pixar Pier. /Film Editor Peter Sciretta was also there and tweeted out some pics if you want to follow the thread above.
As Josh noted in his reactions, Pixar Pier is actually still partially under construction. The day before it opened, Disney Parks Blog shared a first look at a new attraction calledInside OutEmotional Whirlwindthat will open in Pixar Pier next year along withJessie’s Critter Carousel. So while Pixar Pier is now officially open, it has clearly just started the process of revealing itself. Check out its “secret lounge” below.
If that’s not enough and you’re still curious to see more of Pixar Pier, you can also take a closer look at its Lamplight Lounge inthis post. In the end, if you still feel full of pent-up Pixar energy, you can head on over to Disneyland and join Pixar characters for aPixar Pals Dance Partyas part of Pixar Fest.
As of today, Fasstpass distribution for Radiator Springs Racers has been moved to the open area immediately behind Ramon’s. The former location near the entrance of Bug’s Land is closed as preparations are made to take that whole section for a#Marvelthemed area.#Disneylandpic.twitter.com/e2wyCdXTQm
— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place)July 10, 2025
At California Adventure, FastPass distribution for Radiator Springs Racers continues to relocate, as you can see above. Anyone inCarsLand between July 6—July 8 might also want to pop on over to Flo’s V-8 Cafe. July 6 is National Fried Chicken Day (who knew?) and Disneyland Resort is holding its first annualFried Chicken Celebration. Plaza Inn at Disneyland Park will also be participating in the finger-lickin' fun.
By the time you read this,Toy StoryLand may have already celebrated its grand opening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on June 30. Here’s a last-minutepreview tourof the land’s rides. You can see a video of the newToy StoryMania! entrance and queuehere. An early review of the new land is available below.
In other Walt Disney World news, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is adding some"new spooky experiences"this year.
Finally, if you’re like me and you feel threatened and mildly incensed by the encroachment of Friends of Duffy on Disney’s Asian parks, then prepare to sound the bells of disaster yet again. It was only last year that the ballerina bunny StellaLou pirouetted in on the scene at Tokyo DisneySea, and now she’s being joined by adog named Cookieat Hong Kong Disneyland. Together, these two characters and their friends Duffy, ShellieMay, and Gelatoni are now one step closer to staging a coup d’etat over Mickey Mouse and Disney’s core group of mice, ducks, dogs, and chipmunks in Asia. The conspiracy of cuteness continues!
