California Archives - Page 52 of 58 - Uncle Walt's Insider
LEGOLAND California's new Castle Hotel. Photo by Jarrod Lombardo via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0), modified.

LEGOLAND opening long-delayed hotel

LEGOLAND California has announced that their newest resort, the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel, will open on April 27, 2018. Fans of the little plastic bricks can start booking now! Theft and supply constraints cited for setbacks Although the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel was announced just last year, many people do not realize that it has been under construction for nearly seven years. While the official announcement was made in January of 2017, that was just to cover for some embarrassing setbacks. Despite operating many LEGOLAND theme ... Read more
News Brief: Knott's Berry Farm hosts Peanuts celebration; allergy warnings posted.

News Brief: Allergy warnings posted for upcoming Peanuts Celebration

Reminder: Guests with Peanuts allergies may wish to avoid Knott's Berry Farm starting this weekend. BUENA PARK, CA -- As Uncle Walt's reported recently, signs have gone up at the entrances to Knott’s Berry Farm advising guests who may have allergies or sensitivities to avoid the new Peanuts Celebration. The Celebration, which will occur on weekends starting on January 27 and running through February 5, is sponsored by Planters and will feature food stands and restaurant menus that incorporate the nut (actually a ... Read more
A fake Legacy Award name tag? Photo credit: Cory Doctorow via Flikr, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0), modified.

Cast member grants Legacy Award to self using blue magic marker

Disney's highest employee award is just one arts-and-crafts project away! We here at Uncle Walt's Insider love and appreciate Disney cast members and other dedicated theme park employees. As such we especially watch out for cast members who have won the highest award available to them: the Legacy Award, which allows the cast member to wear a special white-on-blue name tag. Imagine our surprise, then, on encountering one such winner who appears to have made his own Legacy Award name tag using ... Read more
Disney. Depositphotos_69250695_original

Disney: controversial changes will be ‘permanent’

Uncle Walt's Insider reported in November about radical changes coming to the Disney company, with far-reaching and controversial impact throughout the resorts, theme parks and even upcoming movies. Disney fan sites and forums, including our own, have been ablaze with heated discussions, with most of the comments being negative. In spite of the controversy, however, Disney announced yesterday that the changes would be permanent. Too much, too soon? When Uncle Walt's first reported the news, blowback was immediate. Although the modifications and additions ... Read more
Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure Park, soon to be Pixar Pier. Photo by Carlyc999 via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

New “Pixar Pier” to be entirely computer rendered

Most of the former Paradise Pier area at Disney California Adventure Park has been closed, ostensibly to convert it to "Pixar Pier," a celebration of that animation studio's biggest hits. However, Uncle Walt's Insider has learned that the new land will actually be digitally rendered in real time, rather than constructed usually traditional techniques. Falling short of Paradise Paradise Pier was one of California Adventure's original lands -- and one that drew heavy criticism from Disney purists. Up until the park's 2001 opening, ... Read more