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The Great Refillable Souvenir Cup Program at LEGOLAND Florida

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If you’re going to spend a day at a theme park, especially one in Central Florida in summer, hydration is going to be very important. Thankfully LEGOLAND Florida has you covered with their souvenir cup refill program. Each cup will cost between $17.99 and $20.29 (depending on the number you purchase) and get you free refills throughout your visit that day. When you come back for another visit you can reactivate the cup for $10.99/day and enjoy another day of free refills. A standard soda at LEGOLAND Florida is just over $5, so it won’t take long to break even on a cup. The park also makes getting those refills super easy and convenient utilizing the Coca-Cola Freestyle system, providing dozens of beverage options.

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Family Review of Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida: A Spectacular Experience That’s So Much More Than a Ride

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Galacticoaster (Image courtesy of LEGOLAND)

Our family of 3 had a chance to experience Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida and we were wowed, awestruck and captivated by this amazing attraction. Calling Galacticoaster and “ride” or a “roller coaster” really sells it short as this is a multi-part story driven experience. The actual “coaster” portion of Galacticoaster is pretty short, but you’ll be entertained thoroughly over 10 minutes or so as you’re completely immersed in the ride’s story. This ride and its twin at LEGOLAND California represent a $90 million investment by Merlin Entertainment and you’ll immediately see it was money well spent.

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The Best Six Flags Dark Ride is Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia

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Monster Mansion is also an opening day attraction at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1967. It was formerly known as Tales Of The Okefenokee (1967–1980) and Monster Plantation (1981–2008) and now it’s Monster Mansion. There’s a ton of history here and even connections to Disney. This was the first “dark ride” at Six Flags Over Georgia and most reviews claim it is the best in the whole Six Flags chain or any regional theme park. It is also a source of original characters for meet and greets and some cool merchandise for the park. So let’s dive into what makes Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia so special and it’s evolution that continues today.

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Is the Theme Park Industry Going Virtual?

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During IAAPA 2025 I was struck by the number of virtual and digital attractions on display. What also surprised me was how exceptional most of them were in creating a totally immersive experience. Also, many of these attractions were of a size that could allow them to be used by any park, family entertainment center (FEC) or even arcade. Some would require a building, some a room and some were as small as a single chair. Some were purely ride experiences where others were enhanced versions of classic sit down arcade shooters and many combined both. The Rilix Coaster VR stood out as a compelling immersive experience in a traditional arcade format. The virtual theme park probably isn’t replacing your favorite roller coaster anytime soon, but it does offer operators another option to entertain guests.

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The Battle Over Straws at Walt Disney World

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Cup with straw in front to castle at Magic Kingdom

The humble drinking straw appears to have become a political lightning rod and the controversy has extended to Walt Disney World. It almost seems like you can tell someone’s political affiliation by their straw preference, it’s the new “paper or plastic?” for this generation. In July 2018, Walt Disney World announced a major environmental initiative to eliminate single-use plastic straws in all their global parks and resorts by mid-2019. In 2023 Disney went one step further in no longer making any straws readily available at quick service locations and only providing paper straws upon request. However, Florida lawmakers are now trying to ban paper straws in the state starting in 2027 due to concerns over PFAS (forever chemicals) often found in paper straws. Scientists however point to similar PFAS chemical concerns with plastic straws as well the consumption of microplastics. It seems like the answer going forward may just be no straws.

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Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker III Go to Disneyland!

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Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker III on the Disneyland Tea Cups (courtesy of X/@ESPN)

It’s become a tradition for a representative of the winner of the Super Bowl to make a trip to Disney the following day and that continued with the Seattle Seahawks victory in Super Bowl 60. Quarterback Sam Darnold and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III made the trip to Disneyland in Anaheim to celebrate their victory. There was a victory parade down Main Street, U.S.A and the pair also got to take in some rides including the famous tea cups! There’s also a really complex process that allows a TV commercial to be made about it on the fly as soon as the game ends.

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A Bluey Roller Coaster is Coming to Alton Towers

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Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies
Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies! (https://www.altontowers.com/2026/)

A Bluey roller coaster has nearly completed construction at Alton Towers in the United Kingdom for a 2026 opening. The ride is located in the park’s CBeebies Land and signage around the construction leaves no doubt as to what is coming. For Americans who may not know, “CBeebies” is a free British public broadcast children’s television channel owned and operated by the BBC. Alton Towers is leaning into the attraction heavily for its 2026 marketing as you’d expect and no doubt this will be a huge hit with families who love the iconic show.

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The World of Sid and Marty Krofft: Atlanta’s Former Indoor Theme Park in the Old CNN Center

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The World of Sid and Marty Krofft

If you visited Atlanta over the last couple of decades that trip may have included a stop at the former CNN Center integrated into the Omni Hotel. This is especially true if you were visiting the neighboring Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, Mercedes Benz Stadium Philips Arena (now State Farm) or Centennial Olympic Park. The food court at the base of the atrium was massive with tons of choices for those looking for a quick meal, but there was also a CNN Tour. However, this space 50 years ago in 1976 housed an indoor amusement park called The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.

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Fake American Flags at Disney? No, Just One From the 1900’s That’s Used for Theming and Practicality.

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Main Street U.S.A. Magic Kingdom
Main Street U.S.A. Magic Kingdom

Many areas of Disney are filled with American flags. The most prominent of these are the main flag poles at the entrance of the parks, but areas like Main Street, U.S.A. are filled with flags on top of each of the buildings. However, many of these flags are not “real” official United States flags, but are often missing some stars or have some other imperfections. Why would Disney do this? It’s not due to any lack of patriotism, but rather is more about practicality in not having to follow United States Flag Code for every single one.

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Will Six Flags Keep the Exclusive DC Characters License or Will it Move to Universal?

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DC Universe at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
DC Universe at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

It has been reported that Warner Bros. Discovery is considering licensing its DC characters to Universal. Six Flags currently holds exclusive theme park rights to DC Comics characters in theme parks, so the question is if the characters would potentially be found in both chain’s parks going forward or move exclusively to Universal. Warner Bros. currently license Harry Potter to Universal, so the two companies already have a track record of working together on theme park attractions. A DC license could also be seen as a replacement for the Marvel IP Universal still has in its park Disney now owning the rights to Marvel. Given the media merger landscape, we could see a major reshuffling of theme park IP in the coming years.

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