Category: Extras

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Battle of the Beverages: A Taste Test of Theme Parks’ Must-Sip Signature Specialty Drinks from Butterbeer to Blue Milk

You’ve stumbled on some “magic in the making!” This story is still under development. For now, only Gold and Platinum Members can preview the story while it’s “under construction”…

If you can comfortably do so, consider supporting ad-free, in-depth, clickbait-free theme park storytelling by joining the story at Park Lore! Otherwise, check back soon to read this brand new feature!

If you said two decades ago that the next arms race between Disney and Universal wouldn’t be around new rides, but new drinks, people would’ve called you crazy.

Yet here we are, more than a decade into the era of the “Living Land,” when immersive, cinematic theme park expansions plucked from blockbuster intellectual properties are all the rage. And from Hogsmeade to Avengers Campus; Cars Land to Arendelle; Springfield to New Fantasyland, the race is on to develop new signature retail and dining experiences that’ll convince guests to spend big bucks to “live” in their favorite worlds.

Countless custom-designed specialty drinks have popped up at parks around the globe, each vying to be that must-try $8 impulse buy and selfie star. But which reign supreme? Today, we’ll consider how these “in-universe” beverages fit into the parks – and of course, how they taste – in the ultimate beverage battle. Which drinks will earn our medals? We’ll find out… But let’s start with some honorable mentions.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The Kong Effect: 11 “New” Disney & Universal Rides That Have Actually Outlived Their “Classic” Predecessors

For almost as long as designers have been adding things to Disney Parks, they’ve been taking things away. In the name of progress, expansion, modernization, changing trends, or funding, sometimes beloved attractions are simply lost to time. As readers of our Lost Legends or our THEN & NOW layout series know, even Walt Disney World’s “blessing of size” doesn’t guarantee that classics are spared from the wrecking ball. 

Given that fan-favorites are talked about like the timeless, definitive highlights of Disney Parks, sometimes it can be shocking to discover that… well… time moves on! Here, we’ve collected 9 rides Imagineering fans still tend to think of as mere “replacements” that actually lasted longer than the “classics” they took the place of! Prepare to have your mind blown. 

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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Lost Animatronics: A Collection of 10 Disney Parks Figures That Were Removed, Retired, or Replaced… and Why

Let’s face it – the overlap of theme park fans and animatronic fans is practically two circles, perfectly overlapped. And why not? For nearly as long as Disney Parks have existed, so have Audio Animatronics – Disney’s patented name for programmable figures whose motion is synchronized to audio (versus simpler, mechanical figures that merely go through mechanical, repeating motion).

Here at Park Lore, we dove deep into our much-shared list of the 25 Best Audio-Animatronics on Earth (as well as Member-exclusive Extra Feature side quests into animatronics that have broken right in front of guests, animatronics you can only find in ride queues, and animatronics that aren’t inside rides at all). We’ve also chronicled the in-depth stories of Lost Legends – industry-shaking attractions that are no longer around. So it simply made sense to find the overlap. Today, we’ll highlight just a few key figures of the countless animatronics that have been lost to time… and why some were for good reason.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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Is “Avatar” Over… Again? The Puzzling Problem with Disney’s Weirdly Forgettable Blockbuster Mega-Franchise

By now, we all know the story – in the 2010 wake of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it was clear that the theme park industry had been changed forever. The age of the “Living Land” had arrived, and theme park operators raced to choose, purchase, or license the biggest intellectual properties they could find in (or out of) their home-grown studio catalogs. 

As the story goes, seeing guests line up for shops and restaurants in Universal’s Hogsmeade lit a fire under Disney that had not been seen in decades. The first Disney-distributed Marvel film was still a year away; the company’s purchase of Lucasfilm, two years away. So there, sensing a seismic shift to the business, Disney looked around for something – anything! – Potter-sized to bring to its parks. And in 2010, nothing was bigger than Avatar.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The Age of RMC: 6 Cutting Edge, 21st Century Coaster Icons… And a Peek Into What RMC’s Cooking Up Next…

Rocky Mountain Construction. The very name leaves coaster enthusiasts gushing, ranking, and daydreaming. Yep, there may be no coaster manufacturer who’s more transformed the amusement industry in the 21st century than “RMC.”

Today, we’re taking a cross-country roadtrip to look at six landmark RMCs of the past and present – including rides that redefined what roller coasters can be. Then, we’ll dip our toes into some forecasting, looking at two high profile projects that lay just over the horizon for the cutting-edge, industry-changing coaster manufacturer… and for all of us who love thrill rides. Strap in and hang on!

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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The Zootopia Paradox – Why Disney Parks Fans Are Divided On Whether an Animal City Fits at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Believe it or not, it was less than 15 years ago that the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter changed the game for theme parks. Since then, a global race to build immersive, plucked-from-the-screen lands has been on, with operators racing to build worlds based on high-earning blockbuster franchises. From Hogsmeade to Batuu, Diagon Alley to Radiator Springs, Super Mario World to Avengers Campus, Pandora to Arendelle, the battle of the “Living Lands” is still in full force.

Now, Disney’s next entry in this expanding collection of cinematic theme park lands is readying for its big debut… but for several reasons, fans are divided on whether or not this one should make the jump back to Walt Disney World… What do you think?

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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MUTANT COASTERS: The Hybrid Breed of Multi-Manufacturer Rides Fusing Old and New Into One…

Things are getting weird in the roller coaster world…

Once upon a time, fans knew their coaster manufacturers forward and backward. Arrow. B&M. Intamin. Premier. RMC. But increasingly, something very unusual is spreading across the world of thrill rides: “Mutant Coasters“. These unique hybrids are literal fusions of new and old; of wood and steel; and even of multiple ride manufacturers whose dissimilar pieces are literally bolted together in plain sight. Like a chemical reaction, these unlikely combinations together create something entirely unique.

Today, we’ll take a look at six wild case studies of mutated rides, made of unusual pieces that build into one complete whole. We think you’ll agree that in most of these cases, we’re lucky to have seen what happens when these parts hybridized into something new…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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Beyond Galactic Starcruiser: 4 Blue Sky Ideas for Other Immersive, Multi-Day, “Living Theater” Experiences…

You’d have to be pretty off-the-theme-park-grid to have missed the ups and downs of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Just about every moment of the Starcruiser’s 18-month life has been covered online, in equal parts adoration and mockery. And it’s easy to see why…

On one hand, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was the kind of ambitious, forward-thinking, risky, and industry-pivoting project we just haven’t seen from a play-it-safe Disney since California Adventure’s $1.2 billion reimagining kicked off. Despite the shorthand, calling the Galactic Starcruiser a hotel was like calling Disneyland a fair. Sure, it had beds, but guests aboard the “Halcyon” didn’t just sleep. They were part of a multi-day, fully-immersive, living theater experience that cast them as real denizens of the Star Wars universe who found themselves in an all-encompassing, unfolding story…

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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After Starcruiser: Lessons (Hopefully) Learned From Disney’s Immersive Star Wars Cruise & Where Its DNA Can Live On…

In January 2022 – just two months before it opened to the public – our friends at Theme Park Tourist asked their readers to “Place Your Bets” on whether Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would be a blockbuster or a bust. No matter which side of the debate you “locked in” on, you probably didn’t expect to have an answer this soon. But it’s true: just 18 months after its debut, former CEO Bob Chapek‘s premium pet project will close forever after its last voyage returns on September 30, 2023.

The public never quite seemed to “get” the Starcruiser, whose experience (and pricing) was modeled after a cruise swirled with a low-capacity boutique theme park sprinkled with an escape room. The landlocked experience invited guests into one of 100 intentionally-compact “cabins” with screen-based “windows.” There, they set up camp for two nights’ accommodations, exploring the ship’s bridge, engine room, & chambers, engaging in app-based missions, enjoying all-inclusive dining and entertainment (including all-you-can-drink Blue Milk on tap), traveling to and from Batuu, and meeting-and-greeting Star Wars characters in the context of an immersive, multi-day story.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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Quantum Overload: How Can Marvel Overcome Its Over-Complication and Saturation in an Expanding Multiverse?

By now, you know the story.

During a particularly rough patch in the ‘90s, longtime comic book giant Marvel Entertainment decided it needed an influx of cash. Over the course of a decade, the company licensed out the film rights to nearly all of its most well-known superheroes – Spider-Man to Sony, Hulk to Universal, X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four to Fox…

What Marvel leaders couldn’t have known then was that superheroes would explode into the cinematic landscape beginning with 1999’s X-Men and 2002’s Spider-Man, becoming big budget box office gold.

No doubt regretting its character fire sale a decade earlier, creatives at the comic book giant (led by Avi Arad and Kevin Feige) regrouped to discover that despite their most famous characters being scattered to the studio winds, Marvel had managed to retain the rights to a ragtag crew of heroes known only by the nerdiest comic book aficionados – relative nobodies like a frozen-and-thawed WWII veteran, an interstellar Norse god, and a billionaire industrialist in a metal suit who all just happened to belong to a larger comic book team called… The Avengers.

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


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