Theme Park Bits: Imagineering in a Box, Animal Kingdom at the Holidays, and More

In this edition of Theme Park Bits:

• Learn how to be an Imagineer via YouTube.
• A new holiday experience is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
• Hong Kong Disneyland’s castle is getting some new princess-themed towers.
• And more!

Maybe you’ve always wanted to be an Imagineer, but you haven’t had the fortune to learn all the details. Now, Walt Disney Imagineering and the Khan Academy are letting you think outside the box with…well, Imagineering in a Box. This new video and activity series will educate you about pitching ideas, building your own theme park, controlling Audio-Animatronic characters, and more. And the part you can’t help but love: it’s all free. So get to Imagineering your own ideas right now.

As Disney’s Animal Kingdom has expanded its attractions and lands in the last few years, so too have its specialty and seasonal offerings. This holiday season will be no different at Animal Kingdom, as guests can experience daily holiday gatherings at Discovery Island. Winter animals will come to life through puppetry and music during the day, and the evening will feature unique lanterns and an updated Tree of Life show. It all sounds pretty exciting, and a well-deserved upgrade for a park that’s always been more than a half-day experience.

If you’ve traveled to Disneyland lately, you know that mobile food ordering has become extremely common and is a great way to avoid standing in line for your next meal or snack. Good news: mobile ordering via the Disneyland app has now expanded to a handful of quick-service snack counters in both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, including Schmoozies, Troubadour Tavern, and Adorable Snowman Frozen Treats. The latter is the kind of place where mobile ordering will be a crucial time-saver: lines there can get very hairy.

We don’t talk often here in Theme Park Bits about the international Disney theme parks, but for now, that’s going to change! At Hong Kong Disneyland, its castle is getting an update in the form of not one, not two, but…13 additional towers. And that number isn’t a spooky superstition, but a reflection of how many Disney Princess characters there are, and how they’ll be the inspiration for the new towers. Everyone from Cinderella to Tiana to Merida will get a tower of their own in the updated castle, with a reveal date as yet determined. I can’t wait to see what it looks like.

Disneyland is just a few weeks away from starting up its Halloween celebration, but the resort is doing things a bit differently this time around. This year, in large part because of the arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Halloween bash, titled Oogie Boogie Bash, is going to be located at Disney California Adventure. Now, we can take a sneak peek at some of the exclusive merchandise for the two-month celebration, with everything from shirts to Mickey and Minnie ear hats. Plus, as you can see, there’s some spooktacular-looking food and drinks on the menu. If you like gummi worms, you’ll be in heaven.

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