Disney goes “behind the attractions” again

October 5, 2023, 8:11 pm ·

Get ready for next season with a behind-the-scenes look at Disney Theme Parks’ top attractions.

Disney+ has announced that the second season of Behind the Attractions will launch on November 1st. His first 10-episode season in 2021 featured Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain. [Disney Invites Fans to Peek ‘Behind the Attraction’] This new six-episode second season will focus on Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Epcot, food and nighttime spectacles.

And I use the verb “highlight” intentionally. Created by Brian Volk-Weiss (“The Toys That Made Us”), “Behind the Attraction” featured a crisp, breezy style designed to draw in casual Disney fans. It’s a highlight, not a deep dive, and we’re sure to see more of that style this season. Stay tuned later this month for details on these new episodes, which include two of my old Walt Disney World attractions.

Sesame Place Philadelphia will open its new 6,800 square foot Sesame Place store on Sunday. The park is calling it the world’s largest Sesame Street-themed store. Season Pass members will get a sneak peek of the store on Friday. The store will be open seven days a week.

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SeaWorld San Antonio is the latest theme park to install solar power in its parking lot, beginning construction of a solar canopy that will cover approximately 1,200 spots in the VIP section of its parking lot. SeaWorld said the canopy’s solar panels have a capacity of 4.3 megawatts and will generate 16 percent of the park’s electricity consumption.

Construction is expected to be completed by April and solar power generation will be operational by August.

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In financial news, entertainment and design company Falcons Beyond Global will begin trading on the Nasdaq starting Friday morning. To commemorate this, representatives of the company will ring the opening bell at the stock exchange on October 10th. The company’s Falcons Creative Group produces Battle for Yell at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Turtle Trek at SeaWorld Orlando, Manta at SeaWorld San Diego, Lionsgate Zone at Motiongate Dubai, and IMG World. Of Adventure theme park and many other projects around the world.

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Finally, Merlin Entertainments announced the impending retirement of Chief Financial Officer Alistair Windybank. (This is a borderline abbreviation.) Alistair joined Merlin from Deloitte in 2008 and has been his CFO at the company since 2020.

CEO Scott O’Neill said: “Even before becoming CFO, he was a key member of our team and has played a critical role in Merlin’s international growth and success.” “Notably, he played a key role in taking the company public in 2013 and more recently in successfully guiding Merlin through the pandemic. Alistair will be greatly missed, but I am reassured that I will have many months of guidance and support for him. A successor will be found and an orderly handover will take place.”

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