You might not be hardcore Disney enough to have attended this year’s D23 Expo, but we’re sure that you are probably interested about what it means for the theme parks. The ultimate disney fan event—their words, not ours—took place last weekend, and it produced some pretty decent news on the update front.

Down in Florida at Walt Disney World, upgrades are still on schedule for the Magic Kingdom. Over in Fantasyland, theme park officials are working on a new Beauty and the Beast section that will focus on meeting and greeting some of your favorite characters from the film. If you’ve outgrown character autographs—we understand—just make your way over to Ariel's Undersea Adventure, an attraction copying the blueprints from a similar ride out in California. ]]> kjb 2011-08-24T10:49:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/22/81620/0174

Theme park season might be winding down for the year, but that doesn’t mean that the behind-the-scenes work will be slowing down anytime soon. Game Nation officials have plenty of work ahead of them during this offseason, as the world’s first video game theme park works to get off the drawing board and into construction mode.

Developers are calling Game Nation the world’s first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort. To us this means that things are way more than just an arcade, and that we can expect some serious rides, attractions, and experiences. They’ve got a basic idea of what they want to do, and they’ve even named the different areas of the soon-to-be park. ]]> kjb 2011-08-22T13:10:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/29/23130/2869

Get your little plastic pieces ready, as it's finally almost time to hit new world's newest Legoland just outside of Orlando. It's not just any old land dedicated to Legos either, as this place is going to be the biggest—as in 150 acres—Legoland in the world. As you might remember the place was kind of Cypress Gardens for many many years, but on October 15 it will be officially transformed into a shrine of all things Lego.

It's park number five around the world for the Lego empire, as there's already a park in California along with options in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In total there's going to be around 50 new rides, shows, and attractions, so there will be more to see than just crazy-nuts Lego creations. Although, we're pretty sure there's going to plenty of those too. ]]> kjb 2011-06-30T08:42:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/5/24/122323/765

Memorial Day weekend is only days away. If you aren't sure how to mark the start of summer, consider staying stateside. There are plenty of places where you can enjoy the patriotic three-day weekend whether you want to spend it cruising, vegging on the beach or hitting the rides at a theme park.

Check out three last-minute Memorial Day vacays in the U.S. of A.]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-05-24T13:53:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/4/12/7829/06382

The summer vacation season is right around the corner, and that means a trip to the local water park is in order for many families around the country. However, this year we’re suggesting a little bit of a road trip to hit up one of the most unique water worlds, and best of all, it’s educational too!

Evergreen Wings and Waves Waterpark is attempting to live up to its promise as the country’s only aviation-themed water park when it opens up this summer. There’s ten different waterslides planned for the park, along with a wave pool that holds just shy of 100,000 gallons. It’s located right next to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon—not too far from Portland—so we’re totally jealous of any kids that are lucky enough to visit on a field trip. ]]> kjb 2011-04-12T09:17:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/3/3/83332/80031

We’ve mentioned all the bulldozers at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure on and off for quite some time, and it looks like Mickey is still busy in his construction worker outfit as the warmer weather approaches.

The two parks are already getting ready for the influx of locals and tourists, and this year visitors are going to have quite the summer. Projects to revamp the park across from Disneyland have been ongoing, but this summer another big milestone arrives. The front entrance of the park will be changing—so get ready to enter in some kind of weird maze way—but once you’re inside get ready for a whole new ride. ]]> kjb 2011-03-03T15:49:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/1/17/12186/9316

Star Wars fans, you'll want to pack your lightsabers and head to Legoland in Carlsbad, California. The theme park will open a new Star Wars Miniland area on its grounds on March 31.

You will be able to see seven famous scenes from the Star Wars saga and one from the animated TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars made entirely of the colorful plastic building blocks. Plus, you can come dressed in your Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia costume and pose for pics with life-size Lego replicas of Chewbacca, Darth Vader and R2-D2.]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-01-17T12:18:06-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/