In less than 100 days, the portals will open.
Hello, astrophiles. It’s Haley.
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The side-by-side photo above is an aerial view of the progress of Epic Universe’s construction. The left photo is from June and the right was from footage taken on Tuesday.
Notice how evolved the landscaping, walkways and waterways have become as the final touches are being made. It’s looking more like an operating theme park instead of one under construction.
The Universal Creative team behind Celestial Park has praised the waterways, so I imagine it won’t be long before we start seeing fountain shows. There’s also been a lot of progress on the portals as fine details have been made, such as inscriptions and lighting.
So moving forward, construction crews will thin out, and we’ll see more Team Member sightings with team formation and training underway.
I’m hoping Universal will unveil a few more behind-the-scenes looks at some of their highly anticipated attractions before then.
By the way, I’ve been reminiscing about Epic Universe coverage this week and circled back to the official announcement that a fourth Universal theme park is happening. That dirt plot has come a long way.
Epic eats 🍺
My celestial senses were tingling that Universal was going to reveal something Epic Universe-related this week.
We are easily excited about all the attractions, but the first taste of this highly-themed menu is also something to talk about.
I’ve already been building a hype list for rides in my mind and now, I’ll do the same for food.
I’ll take one Bowser’s Fireball Challenge, a “Blood” Orange Chicken Sandwich and a Butterbeer Crêpe for starters.
Aloho-MORA wands! 🪄
Wands are like mugs. What’s one more to your collection? And if you don’t have a collection, a few Parisian wands are a good starter pack.
We love Ollivanders at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic opens, Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique will have a fine collection of esteemed artisan wands.
The French are known for their art, so I have no doubt these wands will be a beautiful souvenir.
Be my ‘Villaintine’? 🖤
We may be a few months away from the debut of “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” but right now, Disney is showing extra love for its Villains.
I stopped by Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a ‘Villaintine’s Day’ celebration. Guests could pick up Villains-themed Valentine’s Day cards and do some wicked character meet-and-greets. While I was there, I also spotted some filming with actors. The shoot definitely had a Villains vibe.
Disney has been dropping details here and there about the new stage show. We know now it will be a 40-minute show.
I sense that we’ll be seeing many more villainous additions to Hollywood Studios in the months to come.
A dream is a mist 👃
Mentally, I’m in a Bath & Body Works store smelling all the candles in the new Disney Princess Collection.
Candles, hand soaps, sanitizer — all the scented items you’d expect to find are included in these Bath & Body Works collections.
The collection is inspired by six Disney princesses, so you have at least one for every season.
An E-A-G-L-E meets M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E 🦅
I didn’t have a preference on who won the Super Bowl this year. However, I was excited about the post game celebratory tradition of returning to Disney World again.
The champ MVP has gone to Disneyland for the past few years with the host stadium being closer to Anaheim.
Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles got to say the iconic “I’m Going to Disney World!’’ phrase this year. What makes this experience even more magical is that the QB more than likely got a “First Visit” button.
Mouse care for manatees 🥬
If you’ve frequented The Seas with Nemo & Friends at EPCOT over the years, you might be familiar with two resident manatees, Lil Joe and Lou.
As part of the infrastructure changes to the pavilion/aquarium Disney announced last year, Lou was relocated to another manatee rehabilitation center in Florida. Turns out, Lil Joe was relocated just last month.
But that’s a good thing! Because Disney is transitioning from a long-term permanent manatee care residency to short-term acute critical care. It’s part of a statewide initiative to rescue, rehabilitate, and release manatees back into the wild.
So now, there are new manatee friends you can visit at EPCOT. For an in-depth look at the program, click here.
“Sea” is for STEM 🔬
A STEM field trip to SeaWorld? Sign me up.
The park is hosting STEM Days where students have a chance to take part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities. STEM Field Stations will be set up around the park allowing students to learn about animal care and conservation efforts.
There’s a STEM Day happening next month. I wouldn’t doubt SeaWorld will be hosting more throughout the year.
That was a good haul on today’s In the Loop newsletter.
If you have any theme park news or rumors, connect to me by email or reach out to me on my X or Instagram.
