Latest in Theme Parks

A trip to Disneyland or Disney World is growing more expensive, but that’s part of a Walt Disney Co. strategy to increase spending from visitors and downplay annual pass holders, the Wall St. Journal reports. The strategy is helping the company stock price and financial results at a time when the other company…

UPDATED, 5:10 PM: Just about a year ago, the Walt Disney Co. announced plans to move most Southern California-based jobs not fully dedicated to Disneyland in its Parks, Experiences and Products Division to a new regional facility in Central Florida. What a difference a year makes. Today, after months of less-than-ideal…

Confronted with a question increasingly on investors’ minds — namely, is streaming a real business? — Comcast CEO Brian Roberts made the case that for his company it is. “You got to be able to make money and you’ve got to have a roadmap to get there. And we believe we can do that,” the exec said during a keynote…

Disneyland said today that a second of its four categories of new Magic Key annual passes has sold out, leaving only the two most heavily restricted types of passes available. One of those remaining types is for Southern California residents only. That means out-of-state guests have only one option: the Enchant Key…

One woman who visited Shanghai Disneyland on Saturday either later tested positive for Covid or came into contact with someone who had it, according to reports. As a result, more than 30,000 visitors were locked in the park Sunday by Chinese government officials and forced to test negative before they were allowed to…

Going to the Happiest Place on Earth will cost a little more this holiday season. Disneyland today introduced price hikes on some one-day tickets and also added a new top tier for the most-coveted weekends and holidays, noting “pent-up demand after 14-month closure” in an official statement. The new one day/one park…

Responding to concerns from the theme park industry, Los Angeles County has slightly eased its upcoming Covid vaccination/testing requirement for visitors to large venues such as Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood, but the overall mandate will remain. Under a recently-enacted county Health…

Disneyland rolled out a new program called “Magic Key” on Tuesday. It is meant to replace the much-loved annual pass program and to signal, according to a Disneyland announcement, that “You belong to the community of core Disneyland fans who all share a passion and love for the parks.” Magic Key passes go on sale…

Most people — especially parents — who took their kids to Disneyland in the weeks leading up to the park’s March 14, 2020 shutdown were in for a shock. In early February 2020, the park raised ticket prices. For the lowest-demand days — Tuesdays, for example — a one-day ticket to Disneyland or California Adventure…

Disneyland opened its gates a bit more on Tuesday, but it was not enough. On the first day of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California reopening, the Anaheim park was allowed to return to full capacity — and it was inundated with visitors. While Disneyland officials — and those at many other parks in Southern California…

Universal Studios Hollywood is ramping up for full-capacity operations. With the ability to jump from its currently-mandated 35% attendance limit to full capacity on June 15, the theme park announced Tuesday that it is looking to fill more than 2,000 jobs. The openings include a wide variety of full-time, part-time…

With the green shoots of spring — and mass vaccinations — bringing continued drops in Covid-19 cases, events and venues sidelined for the past year are cultivating comeback plans. Below is a running list of theme parks and movie theaters that are reopening, movies rescheduled, and awards shows, film festivals and…