The Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts updated the Disability Access Service programs on Tuesday, April 9 that offer assistance to theme park visitors with developmental disabilities like autism and other neurodivergent disorders.

The changes go into effect May 20 at the Walt Disney World resort and June 18 at the Disneyland resort with the goal of limiting the Disability Access Service program to only guests who require the services, according to Disneyland officials.

ALSO SEE: First look at Avatar themed land proposed for Disneyland

Disneyland spells out the dire penalties for lying during the Disability Access Service registration process under the Frequently Asked Questions section of the updated DAS page on the theme park’s website.

If caught, DAS cheats will be permanently barred from the Disneyland and Disney World resorts and all daily tickets and annual passes will be forfeited without refund, according to the DAS websites for both parks.

How would Disneyland catch a disability fraud?

Disneyland doesn’t say, but Disney cast members would likely be the first line of defense backed up by the digital trail left by using the Disneyland app for Lightning Lane access. There are also security cameras covering virtually every corner of the park and security guards monitoring suspicious activity.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland closes 4 attractions during busy spring season

In 2023, Disney World cracked down on third party tour guides selling unauthorized services including Genie+ and Disability Access Service, according to the Disney Tourist Blog. The unaffiliated tour guides who serve as in-park escorts have been stopped by Disney World managers, issued trespassing notices by local police and indefinitely banned from the Florida theme park resort, according to the Disney Tourist Blog.

Tales of DAS abuse and tips for cheating the system are rampant on social media.

Twitter user Wildest Ride recounted how friends use false claims of Irritable Bowel Syndrome to fraudulently acquire Disability Access Service passes at Disney theme parks.

“Obviously not a large sample size, but of the four people I know who have a DAS pass, 3 of them claim it’s because they have IBS — which they told me personally they don’t, they just don’t want to wait in line,” Wildest Ride wrote on Twitter. “Seems like anything to prevent abusing ADA is a win for everyone.”

The Disability Access Service has become the most widely requested service at the Disneyland and Disney World resorts with the volume of guest usage more than tripling over the last five years, according to Disneyland officials. Disneyland and Disney World are taking steps to preserve the DAS program now because the trend is only expected to continue.

The Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts updated the Disability Access Service programs on Tuesday, April 9 that offer assistance to theme park visitors with developmental disabilities like autism and other neurodivergent disorders.

The changes go into effect May 20 at the Walt Disney World resort and June 18 at the Disneyland resort with the goal of limiting the Disability Access Service program to only guests who require the services, according to Disneyland officials.

ALSO SEE: First look at Avatar themed land proposed for Disneyland

All of Disneyland’s accessibility options will not be available to all guests with disabilities, according to Disneyland officials. Disneyland hopes a wide suite of options will offer solutions for everyone.

The Disability Access Service has become the most widely requested service at the Disneyland and Disney World resorts with the volume of guest usage more than tripling over the last five years, according to Disneyland officials. Disneyland is taking steps to preserve the DAS program now because the trend is only expected to continue.

DAS is intended for Disneyland visitors with a developmental disability like autism who are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time. DAS visitors get a return time through the Disneyland mobile app comparable to the current standby wait time for an attraction.

ALSO SEE: See early Disneyland ride concepts that never got built

Disney will continue to operate DAS on both coasts and partner with Inspire Health Alliance on the implementation of the updated programs. During the interview process, Disneyland visitors seeking DAS will be asked about their life experiences but not their disabilities. The program update will require everyone who has an existing DAS pass to reapply.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland closes 4 attractions during busy spring season

The sheer number of DAS users today are overwhelming the limited capacity of Disneyland’s infrastructure and bogging down the whole system, leading to backups in the Genie+ Lightning Lane queues shared by DAS guests, according to Disneyland officials. The increased volume of DAS users means longer wait times for guests with disabilities and those who have paid for Genie+ — defeating the purpose of the shorter lines for both groups.

On June 18, Disneyland will move the DAS processing center from guest relations inside the parks to new disability services windows at the ticket booths on the esplanade between the parks. For now, DAS processing will remain at the guest relations desks at Disneyland City Hall and Disney California Adventure’s Chamber of Commerce through June 17.

Visitors who do not qualify for DAS will be directed to other options like Rider Switch passes, Stroller as a Wheelchair tags, Location Return Time passes for older non-ADA compliant queues, wheelchair transfer options, handheld devices for the visually impaired and sign language interpreters.

DAS validation will be good for the length of the daily ticket type or for 120 days for annual passholders.

DAS use has exploded in recent years in part because more people have become aware of the service. Social media hacks have exploited DAS as a free way to avoid paying for the Genie+ line-cutting service and have led to abuses.

The updated Disneyland disability services website highlights rules that limit the number of people who can use a single DAS pass, requirements that the visitor who registers for DAS must ride the attraction and penalties for making untrue statements when registering for DAS.

Tickets for the Pride Nite events go on sale Tuesday, April 9 for Magic Key annual passholders and Thursday, April 11 for the general public. Ticket sales start both days no earlier than 9 a.m.

The Pride Nite events will be held on June 18 and 20 at Disneyland.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland closes 4 attractions during busy spring season

Entertainment will include a Welcome Pride cavalcade with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Clarabelle in rainbow outfits, Pride Nite fireworks, the Pride Nite Dance Club along the Rivers of America, the Ohana Dance Party in Tomorrowland and Country Line Dancing in the Golden Horseshoe.

The 2023 Pride Nites were the first time Disneyland had hosted an official LGBTQ special event. Unofficial Gay Days Anaheim mix-in events with theme park meet-ups, trivia games, scavenger hunts and parties have been a regular fixture at Disneyland for more than two decades.

The 2023 Pride Nite featured more than 30 Disney characters along with a pair of openly gay superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Phastos from “Eternals” and America Chavez from “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

ALSO SEE: See early Disneyland ride concepts that never got built

The Pride Nite photo op locations throughout the park included the Rainbow Steps on Main Street USA, the Rainbow Crosswalk in Fantasyland and Rainbow Ridge in Frontierland.

Disneyland has already hosted two After Dark events in 2024 — the returning Sweethearts’ Nite and the new Disney Channel Nite. The always popular Star Wars Nite events return on select nights between April 16 and May 9 at Disneyland.

All of the Disneyland After Dark events feature specialty themed entertainment, character meet-and-greets, photo op backdrops, food and drinks, collectible merchandise, commemorative keepsakes and unlimited PhotoPass digital downloads along with select rides and shows.

Pre-party mix-in starts at 6 p.m. each night with the private event running from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. each evening. No theme park reservations are required to attend the separate-admission events. Parking is not included.

Located just south of State Farm Stadium, which hosted the Final Four, work continues on VAI Resort, a new entertainment destination that will include a Mattel-themed indoor park that is scheduled to open later this year. VAI Resort also features an innovative amphitheater built up against a hotel tower, allowing hotel guests to watch a live concert from their rooms.

VAI Resort and the new Mattel Adventure Park will be the latest additions to a growing list of attractions in Glendale, where Camelback Ranch has been the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training home since 2009. In addition to the Final Four, two Super Bowls and the kickoff of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, State Farm Stadium hosts the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. North of the stadium lies the Westgate Entertainment District, which is home to Desert Diamond Arena, the former home of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.

That’s a fascinating story, as the city basically decided that its arena was better off financially without the NHL team, which is now playing in a tiny college arena in Tempe. Since the break-up, Desert Diamond Arena has booked a variety of concerts and other shows, with an Arena Football team soon to move in. The arena’s naming sponsor, Desert Diamond Casinos, also operates a casino in Glendale, adding to the city’s attraction line-up.

But with a new theme park and its surrounding resort, local officials are hoping to drive even more new tourists to the city. Last month, I got to walk the VAI Resort construction site and see what developers have planned for the resort.

In addition to the amphitheater, VAI Resort will offer 1,100 rooms, convention facilities, shopping, a one-mile white-sand beach and pool, a 130-foot tall rotating sky bar and a tethered hot air balloon ride. Mattel Adventure Park will offer two Hot Wheels themed roller coasters, a Thomas the Tank Engine land and a Masters of the Universe-themed laser tag arena, among other attractions. The park’s biggest draw, however, is likely to come from what might be the hottest entertainment property in the world over the past year — Barbie.

The new park will include a Barbie Beach House attraction that has been announced to include a rooftop bar, Barbie-themed Flying Theater ride and a Barbie Dream Closet experience.

Other U.S. cities offer sports stadiums, concert halls and the sundry attractions Glendale now has, including a Tiger Woods miniature golf attraction and a pickleball-themed bar and restaurant concept. Theme parks can take a destination to a new level of popularity, however, especially when they are based on franchises as popular as Mattel’s, led by Barbie.

Only when the Mattel Adventure Park opens will we see if its attractions can challenge establish industry leaders such as Disneyland and Legoland to lure potential visitors from Southern California. As a fan, though, I love seeing more communities and companies step to compete for our business.

––

Robert Niles covers the themed entertainment industry as the editor of ThemeParkInsider.com.

The Incredicoaster, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln will temporarily close in mid-April or early May as part of Disneyland’s standard refurbishment schedule.

ALSO SEE: See early Disneyland ride concepts that never got built

The four new attraction closures join the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and “Fantasmic” that were already shuttered for refurbishment.

The timing of the attraction closures coincide with the two-month-long Star Wars event that started Friday, April 5 at Disneyland and Pixar Fest that kicks off April 26 at Disney California Adventure.

The Incredicoaster in Pixar Pier will go down Monday, April 8 through April 18 for a seasonal refurbishment.

ALSO SEE: First look at Avatar themed land proposed for Disneyland

The Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster will close three times on slower weekdays — April 15-18, April 22-25 and April 29 to May 2.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will close on May 1 as part of the larger closure of Critter Country while work continues on the transformation of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. A reopening date has not yet been set for the Pooh dark ride.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln will close on April 16 with no reopening date set. The venerable Disneyland Audio-Animatronics show will remain closed at least through May 20.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland to convert Autopia cars from gas to electric

The Haunted Mansion closed in January for an extended renovation of the outdoor queue area that will add a new accessibility elevator for wheelchair users exiting the ride and a new retail shop at the attraction’s exit. Disneyland has not announced a reopening date for the popular haunted house dark ride.

The latest temporary closures don’t include Splash Mountain — which is undergoing a yearlong conversion into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The Critter Country log flume ride is scheduled to reopen with a new “Princess and the Frog” theme in fall or winter 2024.

“Fantasmic” will return on May 24 after a yearlong hiatus following an inferno that engulfed the show’s audio-animatronic fire-breathing dragon.

Also not on the temporarily “out of order” list are several attractions that never returned following the yearlong pandemic closure that shuttered Disneyland and DCA.

Disneyland’s Star Wars Launch Bay and DCA’s Blue Sky Cellar are being used for Imagination Campus — an educational travel workshop that teaches students about the arts and sciences used in Disney theme parks.

The Magic Eye Theater in Tomorrowland remains dark with no upcoming show in the works.

DCA’s Hyperion Theater in Hollywood Land briefly returned for a two-month run of “Rogers: The Musical” before closing again with nothing planned for the 2,000-seat Broadway caliber venue.

The Fantasyland Theatre no longer has regularly scheduled shows after the “Tale of the Lion King” ended its run in January.

Disneyland was forced to cancel the inaugural “Fire of the Rising Moons” fireworks show due to high winds during the kick-off of the annual Season of the Force event on Friday, April 5.

Winds gusted to 20 mph during the day in Central Orange County on Friday. Steady rain greeted Disneyland visitors on Friday morning who rose early to be among the first to experience a new Star Tours destination on the venerable Tomorrowland motion simulator ride.

The “Fire of the Rising Moons” fireworks show is scheduled to be performed nightly at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 6 through April 14 and on select nights after that.

The Season of the Force event runs through June 2 at the Anaheim theme park with the new fireworks show in Galaxy’s Edge, the new Star Tours destination and return of Hyperspace Mountain in Tomorrowland, new Star Wars character appearances plus specialty themed food and merchandise.

What started out as an unofficial annual celebration on May the Fourth of all things Star Wars has evolved into an eight-week tribute to the 1970s sci-fi epic space opera.

Doubling in length from 2023’s month-long fest, the 2024 Season of the Force runs for a month on either side of May 4 — the unofficial holiday of the epic saga.

The annual Season of the Force event returned Friday, April 5 and will run through June 2 at the Anaheim theme park with a new Star Tours destination in Tomorrowland, a fireworks show with a galactic soundtrack in Galaxy’s Edge, the return of Hyperspace Mountain, new Star Wars character appearances plus specialty themed food and merchandise.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland gears up for 3 different Star Wars fireworks shows

For a limited time, every Star Tours voyage will include one old destination followed by a new trip to Seatos — or at least the skies above the Star Wars planet of red forests and vast oceans.

The new scene opens with the parting of some ominous storm clouds. Accidental pilot and perpetual know-it-all C-3PO explains the new planetary destination and the pod of space whales heading our way.

The Purrgil space whales on the Star Wars planet of Seatos are both beautiful and terrifying as the massive beasts roll through the sky like the next foes in a Godzilla movie.

ALSO SEE: First look at Avatar themed land proposed for Disneyland

Star Tours riders weave among the Purrgils’ fins and tentacles before Togruta rebel Ahsoka Tano pops up on the screen of the Starspeeder 3000 to warn us of incoming fighters.

With Ahsoka’s help, our Starspeeder successfully fends off the fighters and barely avoids flying into the gaping mouth of a Purrgil. A celebratory barrel roll completes the mission before we make the leap to hyperspace and relative safety.

The Purrgils were seen during an episode of the “Ahsoka” live-action Disney+ television series that served as an inspiration for the new Star Tours scene.

“It always starts by going through the scripts on the shows with the filmmakers,” Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Creative Executive Tom Fitzgerald said. “I’m looking for what would make a good sequence. The Purrgil being such a cool new creature seemed like a natural. That feels like something that would be very different from the other sequences and a lot of fun.”

ALSO SEE: See early Disneyland ride concepts that never got built

In between planets, a new transmission comes into the Starspeeder from Cassian Andor or Din Djarin. While the message from Andor is suitably stern and anxious, the transmission from the Mandalorian is playful and silly thanks to the antics of Grogu — better known as Baby Yoda. Without ruining the gag, let’s just say a 3D floating frog is at the center of a lot of laughs.

Over in Galaxy’s Edge, there will be a few new Star Wars additions as well during the Season of the Force.

Force-sensitive Mandalorian Sabine Wren joins the walk-around characters in Galaxy’s Edge. The Jedi trainee will pose for photos and talk with visitors about her storylines in “Star Wars Rebels” and “Ahsoka” as well as her reasons for being on Batuu — the Star Wars planetary setting at Disneyland.

The adorable BDX droids that made a test run in October are back during Season of the Force making appearances throughout Galaxy’s Edge. The free-moving Audio-Animatronics are truly a marvel to watch as they scan the crowd for bounty hunters, wiggle their antennas, nod their heads and dance to the delight of the audience.

The BDX droids finally pay off Imagineering’s long-time promise of having droids roam through Galaxy’s Edge. Appearances of the duck-like droids will be scheduled but seemingly random — so ask a Disney cast member for help in seeing the performances.

The annual Star Wars event continues to grow in size and scope. What started out as an unofficial annual celebration on May the Fourth of all things Star Wars has evolved into an eight-week tribute to the 1970s sci-fi epic space opera.

Doubling in length from 2023’s month-long fest, the 2024 Season of the Force runs for a month on either side of May 4 — the unofficial holiday of the epic saga.

The first-ever Butterbeer Season is now underway through April 30 at Universal Studios Hollywood. The annual Knott’s Boysenberry Festival continues through April 28 at the Buena Park theme park.

ALSO SEE: Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates 60th anniversary with retro Studio Tour

Butterbeer Season brings a few new items to the menu featuring the signature flavor of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

There’s a new Butterbeer soft serve at Florean Fortescue’s ice cream counter — which took over the former Zonko’s Joke Shop.

The new Butterbeer Ice Lolly — what muggles would call a Popsicle — will show up later during the two-month long run of Butterbeer Season.

The new items join an ever-growing line-up of Butterbeer-flavored foods and drinks at Universal that include fudge, potted cream and hard ice cream. That’s all in addition to the four versions of the Butterbeer beverage served cold, frozen, hot or nondairy.

ALSO SEE: Universal’s new Nintendo cafe is fun, cute and fast – but is it any good?

I love Butterbeer. So much that I’d drive 40 miles just to sip one. The creamy foam top mixes perfectly with the butterscotch and shortbread sweetness of the drink. I’m never happier than when I have a Butterbeer mustache while gazing up at the snow capped roofs of Hogsmeade village.

I’m also a big fan of Boysenberry on almost anything — which is why I always enjoy it when the Boysenberry Festival returns each spring at Knott’s Berry Farm.

Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights and Knott’s Scary Farm battle every year over October supremacy. Now it looks like Universal’s Butterbeer Season has the Knott’s Boysenberry Festival in its crosshairs as well.

ALSO SEE: Universal Studios Hollywood offers 15% discounts on annual passes

Butterbeer and Boysenberry have a lot of similarities. They are both distinct tastes that serve as signature flavors for each theme park. They also pair well with a variety of foods and drinks.

Knott’s offers more than 75 unique Boysenberry recipes during the festival and comes up with dozens of new dishes every year.

Universal is just getting started with Butterbeer Season, but it’s easy to see how the Universal culinary team could dream up a host of new Butterbeer dishes to roll out with future festivals.

ALSO SEE: Niles: Super Nintendo World continues Universal’s transformation

I tried all the Butterbeer offerings during a media event at Universal on Thursday, April 4.

The potted cream had the most intense Butterbeer flavor of anything on the menu. It’s like injecting Butterbeer directly into your veins. Way too intense for me. It left me wondering if there was such a thing as too much Butterbeer. Never a good thought to have at the beginning of a Butterbeer Season tasting session.

The soft serve Butterbeer was just the opposite of the potted cream. The taste was so subtle as to be almost absent. The golden Butterbeer swirls looked beautiful in the twists of soft serve, but they didn’t deliver much of a punch beyond the vanilla base.

ALSO SEE: 5 best things I ate at Knott’s Boysenberry Festival 2024

I felt the same way about the Butterbeer fudge. I was expecting an overwhelming Butterbeer taste and I found myself searching for the flavors. What I got in the two-toned chunk was a little cream taste from the lighter top and a hint of shortbread from the pinkish bottom.

My favorite Butterbeer drink is the original cold version — it has just the right consistency of flavors. I feel like I’ve stepped into a Harry Potter movie every time I take a sip.

The frozen Butterbeer is basically a Slurpee version — which means the flavor consistency changes with every strawful. Plus it gave me a brain freeze.

I tried the hot Butterbeer for the first time and it burned my tongue — so I don’t need to do that again. It tasted like melted Butterbeer ice cream.

The nondairy version of Butterbeer is a nice option for those who need it — but I prefer the original topping. The nondairy topping tends to curdle on the hot Butterbeer — so it works better on the cold and frozen versions.

While Universal has slowly expanded the Butterbeer menu over the years, the new Butterbeer Season will force the park’s culinary team to consider new ways to introduce Butterbeer into existing and new dishes and drinks in the coming years.

The Three Broomsticks menu in Wizarding World offers a good place to start when the time comes to introduce more Butterbeer flavors to the festival.

Butterbeer potatoes and/or Butterbeer sausage would go perfect with the Bangers & Mash. Knott’s offers plenty of Boysenberry potato and sausage options.

I’d love to taste Butterbeer-battered Fish & Chips with some powdered Butterbeer seasoning sprinkled on the French fries. A Butterbeer dip for the fries might be going too far — but I’d definitely try it.

It would be pretty easy to bake some Butterbeer flavor into the crust of the Shepherd’s Pie, blend Butterbeer into the Mac ‘n’ Cheese or stir it into the pancake batter on the English Breakfast menu.

I’m sure the Universal chefs could mix some Butterbeer into the barbecue sauce on the Spare Ribs Platter. Knott’s puts Boysenberry barbecue sauce on everything.

Going beyond the basics could be tricky for Universal — which gets guidance on every detail in Wizarding World from Warner Brothers and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

Knott’s doesn’t have any such restrictions — and comes up with all sorts of wild Boysenberry concoctions every year. Some of them work and some of them don’t.

I could see a Butterbeer coffee working great. I’m less certain about a Butterbeer Burger. I definitely don’t want to try a Butterbeer lemonade — Eww!

The coming years will reveal whether Butterbeer Season was a one-off event or becomes an annual food festival to rival Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry dominance. Time will tell if the bloody battle between Universal and Knott’s each October extends into a sticky food fight every April.

Universal would likely win that fight too — and could expand the Butterbeer Season food festival to its parks around the globe. That’s something Cedar Fair can’t do with the Boysenberry phenomenon — which is distinctly tied to Knott’s history and culture.

When SeaWorld San Diego marked its half-century anniversary 10 years ago, it was enmeshed in a public relations quagmire following the release just a year earlier of “Blackfish,” the searing anti-captivity documentary that threatened to upend the theme park’s identity as the home of Shamu the beloved killer whale.

What a difference a decade makes. As the park embarks on a yearlong celebration of its 60 years in business, much has changed, even in the past 10 years.

While the San Diego park has yet to exceed — or even reach — its peak annual attendance milestone of 11 years ago, it ultimately weathered a yearslong “Blackfish” backlash from both the public and animal rights activists and retained its appeal as a marine theme park while doubling down on thrill rides. In just a five-year span, SeaWorld added four roller coasters, although one — Tidal Twister — was plagued by multiple operational problems and was shuttered for good in 2023, five years after it had opened.

RELATED: Will SeaWorld San Diego ever get back to peak attendance of 10 years ago?

SeaWorld also survived a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that shut down the park for months and kept it from returning to full capacity for more than a year.

The iconic Shamu show is now gone, although it lives on, sort of, in what’s now called Orca Encounter. The park no longer breeds killer whales but still has a healthy population of eight orcas. And its trainers stopped riding astride dolphins four years ago in the shows featuring the acrobatic marine mammals.

Is it an amusement park or a marine park?

As much as SeaWorld continues to showcase its animal population and the rescue work it conducts year-round, the park opened two coaster rides in just the last two years, the most recent being Arctic Rescue, which debuted in 2023.

There was a time not all that long ago when some pundits wondered whether SeaWorld was planning to transition to a more traditional theme park model as it fought back against unceasing news stories about the marine park’s treatment of killer whales in the wake of the “Blackfish” film. The documentary focused on Tilikum, a 12,000-pound killer whale that fatally attacked a SeaWorld Orlando trainer in 2010.

“This park was lacking on rides so we started adding rides,” said Byron Surrett, chief parks operation officer. “We survey our guests and we ask what they’re missing and they told us pretty loud and clear you need more rides when comparing us to other parks in California. We listened to that and responded. So we have had several teen to adult rides as well as some of the kids rides in our Rescue Jr. area.

Embracing jellyfish

This year, in a departure from its string of spine-tingling coasters, SeaWorld is debuting in late spring a new exhibit that reinforces the park’s roots as a sea life-focused attraction.

“Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience,” which will be housed in the park’s former Clydesdale barn near Journey to Atlantis, will be a first for any of the SeaWorld parks. The new exhibit area will give visitors a close-up look at the tentacled invertebrates in a three-room gallery that will include an 18-foot-tall cylindrical acrylic aquarium. The new exhibit will reinforce SeaWorld’s educational mission, which is incorporated into SeaWorld’s master plan and requires that at least 75 percent of the park’s total attractions include “significant” educational and/or animal conservation-related elements.

A new entrance and souvenirs

SeaWorld also will be revealing this month its brand-new entrance, which, in addition to featuring a new look, will eventually have self-service kiosks and biometric-equipped turnstiles that will allow pass holders to enter the park via facial recognition. The technology upgrade is expected to come on line later this year

To mark the occasion of its 60th year in business, the San Diego park has a number of things planned, including limited-edition food and beverage items, like the return of the Shamu cookie and a special 60th Anniversary IPA from San Diego’s Mike Hess Brewing. There’s also “vintage merchandise,” such as reusable water bottles, plush animals, and backpacks, plus a collectible figurine featuring a boy and a girl looking down at a dolphin, orca and sea lion.

Come summertime, there will be two new entertainment options: a 60th anniversary parade and a revival of the live performance character show, “Shamu and Crew,” which was last at the park a decade ago.

A mega aquarium

SeaWorld, to a degree, remains a giant aquarium, with its touch pools, marine mammal underwater viewing areas and animal shows that the park now characterizes as educational presentations. And the park’s parent company continues to remind the public of its longstanding animal rescue work. In all, the SeaWorld parks have participated in more than 40,000 rescues.

“I grew up in the company and went through that whole period (following the release of ‘Blackfish),’” Surrett said. “I never heard within the company — nor did I ever think it would happen — that we’d become a rides-only park. We’ve had the conservation theme since 1964, and we are still that same company. That’s why our rides are themed after animals, and we try to partner with other industries out there that are either protecting or saving animals.

“I can’t talk about upcoming attractions, but I will tell you that we continue to have animal habitats in our plans.”

Moving beyond its original vision

With its collection today of 12,000 animals, more than a dozen rides and an off-site water park in Chula Vista, SeaWorld San Diego has come a long way from when it was a kernel of an idea to create a park full of sea life that would rival Marineland in Palos Verdes, which closed nearly 40 years ago. It too was known for its performing killer whales.

George Millay, a former stockbroker and successful restaurateur, was looking for a new challenge and found just that after talking to a customer, Kenny Norris, curator of fish and mammals at Marineland. Why not build a rival park in Mission Bay, Norris suggested.

And so they did. The two men, joined by two of their UCLA fraternity brothers, opened the park on March 21, 1964.

Some of Millay’s grand ideas have survived to this day — the Skytower ride and a killer whale show. Others, like the pearl diver shows and hydrofoil boat rides, did not.

Eventually, the San Diego park would successfully spawn two more marine parks in the U.S. — in Orlando and San Antonio — which opened in 1973 and 1988, respectively, and are under the umbrella of parent company United Parks and Resorts. More recently, the Orlando-based company opened a SeaWorld park in Abu Dhabi under a license agreement with the Abu Dhabi-based company Miral Asset Management, which is the park owner and operator.

Still facing challenges

SeaWorld has long been one of San Diego’s biggest tourist attractions and an important driver of visitation to San Diego, but in recent years, the relationship between the city and the theme park has frayed. After multiple failed efforts by the city to collect back rent that went unpaid by SeaWorld during the height of the pandemic, the San Diego city attorney filed suit in September of last year, demanding payment of more than $12.2 million in outstanding rent and fees.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for next April.

Even as SeaWorld’s ownership ventures into overseas parks and is in the midst of developing plans for its own branded hotels, it is still struggling, as are other theme parks, to build attendance back to pre-pandemic levels. Some analysts are predicting that the industry as a whole may not see a full recovery until possibly 2025. SeaWorld San Diego, though, has a ways to goes before it approaches the peak visitation it reached more than a decade ago.

Surrett says he has faith that SeaWorld can continue to grow its attendance in San Diego but acknowledges the challenges of wooing visitors at a time when people are still cautious about their discretionary spending.

“I don’t think money is as easy to come by as it was prior to COVID,” he said. “I see it out there everywhere. As we continue to add compelling rides and products like the jellyfish habitat, people will continue to come back.

“The economy has to change at some point and when people have more money in their pockets for discretionary spending, they’ll want to come back to theme parks more.”

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

The Art of Disneyland auction will be held Friday, April 5 through Monday, April 8 at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills.

ALSO SEE: First look at Avatar themed land proposed for Disneyland

The auction includes hand-drawn sketches from the Bradley/Bushman Early Disneyland Archives featuring rides and themed lands conceived but never realized at the Anaheim theme park. Opening bids for the Bradley/Bushman sketches ranged from $1 to $420 at press time.

Walt Disney hired Beverly Park owner David Bradley in the early 1950s to help develop rides for Disneyland. Bradley worked with Disney artist Bruce Bushman to design the attractions and overall layout for the park.

“I can’t draw,” said Bradley, according to Heritage Auctions. “But I could talk to Bruce Bushman.”

The two worked together on early concepts for Disneyland — with Bushman quickly sketching Bradley’s ride ideas and Walt offering periodic feedback.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland to convert Autopia cars from gas to electric

The Bradley/Bushman Early Disneyland Archives up for auction includes never-before-seen theme park plans and concepts for Disneyland that never got built or morphed into other attractions.

Walt’s early vision for the center of the park featured an 80-foot-tall Goofy dressed as a clown. Visitors would have walked through Goofy’s legs where Sleeping Beauty Castle now stands. Bradley ultimately convinced Walt to take a more subtle approach than the Goofy gateway.

Bradley and Bushman explored and ultimately scrapped a number of ideas for Disneyland.

Anything Can Happen land would have been based on Anything Can Happen Day that was the theme every Wednesday on the “Mickey Mouse Club” variety television show.

The land catering to young kids would have had attractions themed to cartoon shorts featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Among the brownline sketches are unrealized concept art for Steamboat Willie’s Paddle Boat, Pluto’s Dog House, the Lost Boys Tree and a Casey Jones Jr. roller coaster.

One section of the Anything Can Happen land would have been dedicated to a Jungle Compound where kids could sit on figures of lions, tigers and zebras and swing from jungle vines like Tarzan.

Bradley and Bushman developed plans for a pair of underwater aquariums where visitors would have walked into the gaping mouths of Tick-Tock the crocodile or Monstro the whale to view marine life.

Another concept imagined a shoot-the-chutes thrill ride exiting the mouth of Monstro the whale with riders splashing down into a bay below.

The unrealized Duck Bumps bumper boat ride would have been paired with an attraction based on Disney’s 1937 “Old Mill” animated film with riders spinning aboard seats attached to the windmill blades.

An early version of the Alice in Wonderland dark ride that was ultimately built in 1958 was originally conceived as a walk-through fun house attraction during the planning stages of Disneyland.

Scenes would have been dedicated to the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter Tea Party, Caterpillar, Queens Court, Card Soldiers, Rose-painting Knaves, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The plan was scrapped when research proved a walk-through attraction would be plagued by bottleneck congestion.

Bradley and Bushman were tinkering with a centerpiece concept for the Mad Tea Party spinning teacups ride five months before Disneyland opened.

One sketch featured the Mad Hatter and March Hare atop a giant teapot at the center of the ride with another depicting the pair atop the tea party table. Large figures of the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar were envisioned for the periphery of the attraction.

Motor Mania started out as a simple bumper car ride and evolved into a dark ride maze of twists, turns and thrills.

A detailed dimensional layout of Motor Mania showed riders navigating thunder and lightning, rock slides, falling trees, broken bridges and trash cans. After smashing through a haystack, bumping into a cow and crashing through a brick wall, riders would have heard heavenly music and passed through the pearly gates.

Motor Mania ultimately morphed into Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Early plans for Fantasyland envisioned a “Birth of a Mouse” show starring Mickey Mouse, a towering Ferris Wheel, a Babes in Toyland attraction and a circus-themed concession stand with a pair of giraffes poking their heads through the roof.

A birds-eye view of the Skyway gondola lift attraction included a hidden-in-plain-sight Easter Egg: The unrealized Airboats ride on the ground down below.

The Submarine Voyage ride that ultimately opened in 1959 was on the drawing board in 1954 during the development of Disneyland. Brownline concept art shows underwater explorers with a Nautilus submarine in the background from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

Exploratory conceptual art of Tomorrowland shows a pair of rockets poised for interstellar flight flanking the entrance to the futuristic themed land.

Another view of Tomorrowland imagined a rocket ride swooping through the land on an overhead rail like a high-speed PeopleMover attraction.