From tickets deals to splash zones, vampire flicks and retro wonders, California theme parks are rolling out the sparkly welcome this summer, wooing vacationers and locals alike with flashy roller coasters, glitzy thrill rides and special events large and small.
Here’s what’s new at amusement parks across the Golden State this year — and in the years to come.
A Giant centennial
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will celebrate the 100th birthday of its historic wooden roller coaster — the Giant Dipper — with a centennial fireworks show on May 18 and “Dipper Days” that drop the ticket price to $1 on Wednesdays from May 29 to Aug. 7. Meanwhile, two new rides await boardwalk fans this summer: The Dream Wheel, a 65-foot Ferris wheel, will loft families skyward aboard 15 rotating gondolas, while a Surge ride takes guests on a spinning, tilting thrill ride.
Film lovers arrive early to stake out sandy spots for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s free summer movie series. (Photo courtesy of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk)
The boardwalk’s popular Free Movies on the Beach will return June 14 with the cult fave vampire flick, “The Lost Boys,” kicking off a Friday night series of family films including “The Sandlot,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Barbie” and “Wonka” through Aug. 9. Evenings on the Colonnade, which includes food, music and entertainers, runs June 17-Aug. 8. And a new Mornings in the Plaza series offers half-priced arcade games, breakfast specials and a dance party for early morning revelers.
Details: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk season passes start at $90, daily ride wristbands start at $40; https://beachboardwalk.com.
Disney summer deals
The house of the mouse will be less pricey this summer, with Disneyland dropping multi-day ticket prices to as little as $50 a day. The three-day, single-park-per-day tickets start at $149 for children and $249 for adults and can be used for visits Monday through Thursday from June 10 through Sept. 26. That works out to just under $50 per day for kids and $83 a day for adults. (Tickets go on sale May 29, and sales may be paused or stopped at any time, so don’t dally.)
Pixar Pal-A-Round, a 150-foot-tall eccentric wheel, and Incredicoaster, at Pixar Pier in California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, September 9, 2021. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A weekend option — three-day, one-park tickets good on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — is $199 for kids and $299 for adults. That’s $67 a day for children and $100 for adults.
The three-day tickets don’t have to be used on consecutive dates, but reservations are required for each visit. Disneyland warns that reservations may be difficult to get as the ticket expiration date approaches. The ticket deal includes Pixar Fest (which runs through Aug. 4), the “Fantasmic” nighttime spectacular (returning May 24) and Halloween Time (starting Aug. 23).
Details: Find information on Disneyland reservations, tickets and attractions at https://disneyland.disney.go.com. Summer ticket deals begin May 29.
Retro studio tours
Universal Studios Hollywood is celebrating its 60th anniversary from now through Aug. 11 with a nostalgic tour — aboard retro red-and-white candy-striped Glamor Trams, no less — through six decades of Universal theme park history.
The studio tram enters Fast & Furious – Supercharged! at Universal Studios Hollywood. The park has started construction on a new Fast & Furious roller coaster. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Among the sights: a 10-foot scale replica of the Hollywood sign, an updated version of the Earthquake attraction, the return of the Runaway Train, a growling T-Rex, a massive King Kong photo backdrop, the Jaws shark and Doc Brown tinkering with the DeLorean time machine in Courthouse Square. Expect retro-themed food and drinks at Hollywood & Dine, Mel’s Diner and the Studio Scoops ice-cream parlor too.
Details: Single day passes to Universal Studios Hollywood start at $109; www.universalstudioshollywood.com.
Carousel revamp
California’s Great America, the Santa Clara theme park, has reopened for the season with weekend hours giving way to daily operation after Memorial Day, and the splashy South Bay Shores water park opening May 25 through Sept 2. You’ll find both Carousel Columbia and Celebration Swings have been fully restored and other areas of the park updated, with 1950s-style live musical offerings added to the Gazebo Stage.
The New Orleans-inspired Carnivale at Orleans Place returns July 12-Aug. 4 with live music, Cajun fare, a Spectacle of Color Parade and fireworks. Tricks and Treats pops back onto the scene Sept. 20-Oct 26, and WinterFest will be back — with snow — Nov. 29-Dec. 31.
Details: Single day tickets start at $40, season passes begin at $90; www.cagreatamerica.com.
Gilroy water play
Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is getting splashy this summer with the opening of a new Lakeside Splash water play area set for Memorial Day Weekend, augmenting the watery fun already available at Water Oasis. The new lakeside zone will offer water slides, a water maze, sprayers, spinners and other fun. Also conveniently close: Parent-friendly, reservable cabanas with lounge chairs and 32-inch TVs, plus a revamped eatery with barbecue fare, cocktails and beer for those who prefer to frolic less … wetly.
Details: Lakeside Splash cabana rentals start at $250. Theme park admission tickets are $80 (or $65 online); www.gilroygardens.org.
Michelin Mickey
The new $25 million Paseo at Downtown Disney offers a trio of Mexican cuisine concepts — Paseo restaurant, the Centrico courtyard bar and a Tiendita takeout stand — from celebrity chef Carlos Gaytan. The new eateries celebrate Mexican flavors and heritage, offering small plates, seafood, tacos, ceviches and tequila-based cocktails.
The new Paseo outdoor patio dining area at Downtown Disney. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The menu draws inspiration from Gaytan’s Chicago restaurant, Mexique, which earned its first Michelin star in 2013. Among the Mexique dishes reappearing here are Mejillones ($26), Prince Edward Island mussels with saffron beurre blanc, Pulpo Enamorado ($24) and Carne Asada ($54), a 12-ounce New York steak with oven-roasted tomatoes and fingerling potatoes.
Dinner reservations start June 1 for Paseo and Centrico. Centrico is also open for lunch, with daily lunch and weekend brunch service coming soon for Paseo.
Details: Paseo is open from 4 to 10 p.m. daily at 1580 Disneyland Drive in Downtown Disney, Anaheim; www.paseoanaheim.com.
Still ahead … Zydeco Disney
A musical group of beavers, opossums, racoons, bobcats and other Audio-Animatronic bayou critters will play songs from the 2009 “Princess and the Frog” animated film when the transformation of Disneyland’s Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is completed in the fall or winter of 2024.
Bayou frogs in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. (Courtesy of Disney)
Walt Disney Imagineering has revealed 19 critters in three bands that will play Zydeco, Rara-style and Afro-Cuban music on makeshift instruments and populate the bayou in the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions. The six bayou creatures playing Zydeco-style music, for example, with the “Gonna Take You There” song from the film include a percussionist beaver, a squeezebox-playing raccoon and an otter-turned-fiddler. And Haitian Rara-style music will be heavy on bamboo horns played by, in this case, animatronic bobcats and bears.
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And … Hollywood drift
The new Fast & Furious roller coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood will feature 360-degree rotating coaster vehicles designed to look like drifting race cars from the film franchise that has earned $7 billion at the worldwide box office. This will be the first high-speed outdoor coaster at the theme park — the 2004 Revenge of the Mummy is an indoor coaster and the 2016 Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddie coaster.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift riders will enter through a red brick auto repair garage before boarding a coaster vehicle themed to look like an authentic Fast & Furious film car. The coaster will debut in 2026 on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood.
And far, far ahead…
We don’t talk about Bruno, no, no, no — or rather, yes, we do. Because 10 new themed lands — including expanses inspired by Encanto, as well as Avatar, Frozen, Tangled, Black Panther, Coco, Zootopia and more — may be headed to Disney’s Anaheim theme parks as part of an ambitious four-decade plan dubbed DisneylandForward.
The Anaheim City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to the proposal in mid-April, with final approval expected in May, and major announcements — perhaps even what will Disneyland build first? — likely in August during the D23 fan event at the Anaheim Convention Center. Disneyland has committed to spend $1.9 billion over the next decade as part of DisneylandForward and hopes to bring a big chunk of the $60 billion Disney has earmarked for theme park investment to Anaheim.
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