Remember, all links in TPEI open up in a new browser window. So feel free to check stuff out, we’ll be here when you get back! Each photo opens up to a larger version as well, and with that out of the way let’s look back at what happened during the past month, starting with…

*4th of July

For the American theme parks, every 4th of July is pretty special because both Disney and Universal go above and beyond in unforgettable experiences. This includes the annual flyover at Magic Kingdom which always draws a crowd, many ready to take pictures and video of the event in unbloggable portrait orientation.

For 2026, the flyover formation featured a Lockheed HC-130 Combat King II aircraft and two HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters.

I don’t care who you are, that’s pretty dang cool.

One of my personal favorite traditions for the July 4th holiday is seeing the Disney characters dressed up in Old Timey colonial garb. Truly thankful for the real heroes like Denise and Jeff of Mousesteps who brave the crazy lines to meet these characters and get us the great photos.

Also out meeting guests are Chip & Dale, who look their patriotic best.

Truly one of the best things Disney can deliver is character experiences that extend beyond just the traditional meet and greet. Catching Chip & Dale playing something like “Rock, Paper, Scissors” is something incredibly small in the larger scheme of things, but also magical.

It honestly reminds me of our experience on the Disney Cruise Line. While we were enjoying a game of shuffleboard, Donald Duck was walking by and wanted to play. There is no price you can put on memories like that.

Meanwhile, over at Universal, one of the big things they do on July 4th as compared to almost any other day of the year is FIREWORKS. Many don’t realize that Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are smack dab in the middle of a residential area (and across the street from a high school) and have to abide by different code enforcement when it comes to nighttime spectaculars. Look at this photo taken by blogger-in-the-sky @bioreconstruct to see just how close the Wizarding World is to the Real World.

The good news is that Epic Universe was built in a totally different area of Orlando, having much more leeway when it comes to fireworks. So this July 4th they had one heckuva show that was only topped by the HOW CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE TRUE fact that our pal @bioreconstruct filmed this performance via 7 different cameras.

That’s right, Bio had cameras stationed inside Epic Universe as well as at Helios Grand Hotel and Stella Nova Resort to film the show. Just an unmatched level of creativity. He then combined all his footage into the Must See video below:

Be sure to subscribe to Bio’s YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

July 4th also inspired many of the talented artists in the theme park community. Several had a single muse of inspiration for this patriotic holiday… the one and only Sam the Eagle.

You have to love this piece featuring the American Adventure Pavilion (featuring one of the most underrated attractions in all of Walt Disney World.)

TPEI SCORE: + 4 USA! USA! USA!

*Supercharged gets evicted

When Universal officially announced the upcoming Fast and Furious – Hollywood Drift coaster would replace my beloved Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, they also said that the much reviled Fast and Furious – Supercharged attraction would be ending its Universal Studios Florida run in 2027.

However, earlier this month Universal announced that the last day to “enjoy” Supercharged was moved up to August 16th, 2026.

The debut of Supercharged was a true heartbreaker for me on a personal level. I had the same feeling of a “gut punch” I haven’t felt as a theme park fan since EPCOT replaced Horizons with Mission: Space.

For the most part, I unashamedly *love* the Fast & Furious franchise. Granted, that love is slowly disappearing with each non-sensical sequel they have released over the last decade, but nothing can take away how awesome movies like Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6 are. When Universal announced they were creating a Fast & Furious attraction, essentially coming off those two films specifically, how could I not be excited?

I learned the hard way to be careful what you wish for, because Fast & Furious – Supercharged at Universal Studios Florida is neither Fast nor Furious (unless you count guest comments afterwards.) Guests board a party bus and drive by the worst looking screen-based scenes you’ve ever seen in a theme park park, filmed with actors mailing it in at a level so uninspired that the ride could have been sponsored by the United States Postal Service.

The amount of talent involved in this ride from the Universal Creative end is staggering. People who would be on the Uni Theme Parks Mt. Rushmore like Theirry Coup and Mark Woodbury. Instead of a game changer like attraction similar to the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man or Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, what Florida ended up with was THE perfect attraction to be used by “Disney Only” fans to give as a reason why Universal can’t compete. An uninspired, screen-based ride that ultimately appeals to no one.

Not helping things, the attraction was originally created to be a segment of the world famous Studio Tram Tour out in Universal Studios Hollywood, while it was converted into a standalone ride here in Florida. I’ll cut Universal a little slack on this point because I’m sure they were still riding high on the success of Island of Adventure’s Skull Island: Reign of Kong, a standalone ride also based on a Studio Tram Tour segment, and surely thought, “let’s do it again.”

TPEI SCORE: – 22 Good Riddance. Normally this would be a positive score because its Universal finally taking out the trash, but they took WAY too long to do this. Last week I wrote about our dinner at Blue Dragon Restaurant in Epic Universe and talked about our disappointment with the Sea Bass plate. We took a bite, it was awful, we sent it back. That was pretty much my experience after first riding Supercharged, except Universal kept it in the park for 8 more years. Sometimes you just put out a stinker. Yeah, I get concepts like ROI and how many millions of dollars are put into something that you have to justify its existence…but at a certain point its a sunk cost, and something at least Disney learned to accept with disastrous shows like Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom and Harmonious at EPCOT. Sometimes you just have to take the Mea Culpa and move on.

I won’t leave without saying at least one nice thing about Supercharged. There were definitely some cool elements in the attraction’s queue, including references to attractions that held the same space in the park previously (Earthquake and Disaster!) My personal favorite detail can be found on a trophy case containing various keys and titles from cars that the characters had “won,” including the Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit, and the flying Ford Anglia from the Harry Potter series.

A close look also reveals the key and title to a certain Time Traveling DeLorean.

*.YSND + UNIVRS = GTFO

Imagine me having a perfectly good day scrolling across social media only to see this…

What is .YNSD you ask? Why it is “a new lifestyle collection that blends contemporary streetwear and layered storytelling.”

My initial thoughts reading that?

Maybe I’m overreacting. So let’s check out what Zack Riddley, Disney’s SVP of Global Creative Strategy says about that the .YSND brand. Riddley claims that it was “conceived and created by a collective of Imagineers, with stories embedded into every piece.”

My reaction to that nonsense?

Am I the only one thinking that Walt Disney IMAGINEERING shouldn’t be wasting one second of their time designing clothes? What are we doing here?  Do they of all people need to have a side hustle? Although, looking at the first batch maybe they didn’t even dedicate that one second of resource to this “street wear.” Layered storytelling? This is what we in the wrestling world call working the marks, because they are talking about things like elements in the shirt that appear only when exposed to sunlight, a concept which has been used in the clothing industry for almost 50 years.

There was some reaction online by people writing that at least these items look better than the traditional Disney low-effort merchandise we’ve seen in the parks lately. Sorry, but YOU DON’T GET EXTRA CREDIT FOR FIXING A PROBLEM YOU CREATED. Fans have been creating good Disney shirts for years for print-on-demand sites like RedBubble and Dashery, so maybe we should refer to this new line as Etsyneering.

Let’s also talk about this name: .YNSD. Zack Ridley explains, “.YNSD (yen-sid), is the reversal of ‘Disney’ without vowels, and a reference to Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey’s mentor from Disney’s Fantasia. ” This name is also very similar to the equally goofy UNIVRS line of clothing that Universal started several years ago. Here’s a look back at a UNIVRS store (which was then converted into a Wicked experience.)

UNIVRS clothing can only be purchased at Citywalk at Universal Hollywood and throughout the Universal Orlando Resort, although I highly doubt the major textile retailers across the country are knocking on Universal’s door to get the rights to sell the latest Betty Boop or Felix the Cat shirt.

TPEI Score: – 2 Can someone explain to me who exactly is the target audience for .YNSD? This is a supply for which there is no demand for. Disney already created this type of clothing brand about a decade ago with Twenty Eight & Main. What happened to that? It was another high end clothing line targeting Disney consumers with “subtle styling” that failed to catch on. There’s only so many Disney Fans who are going to spend $70 on a t-shirt, even if they are spending $10,000 on a WDW vacation. Just like there were only so many Star Wars fans who were going spend $2500+ for a two night “experience” on the Galactic Starcruiser. To me – and I could be alone on an island here – both are a fundamental misunderstanding of their target demographic.

**QUICK HITS**

*Carousel of Progress closes for update

Early in July the Carousel of Progress closed to make way for a massive overhaul that will include all new scenes and an audio-animatronic of Walt Disney himself. Why now? Well, Villains Land and Piston Peak are going to be opening in the near future drawing a whole bunch of  guests to the Frontierland area of Magic Kingdom, so Tomorrowland is going to need some stuff to draw some of that crowd away to the other side of the park to help improve capacity issues.

One user on social media made a post that is similar to my “be careful what you wish for” adage, in that Disney’s changes to this iconic attraction may not be the ones we’re all looking for…

This gag is referring to a recent change that Disneyland made to its version of Pirates of the Caribbean. After almost 60 years of operation, Disney changed out a static pirate skeleton and replaced it with an audio-animatronic with projection mapping on the face. I don’t think Disney got the fan reaction they thought they were going to get with this change, and you may want to spend a couple minutes watching this video below to get a good summary as to why…

*Space Mountain Rumors & Innuedo

Also hitting the rumor mill this month is a big refurbishment of Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain. Speculation was out of control with this one, as several people online were melting down about possible changes to the attraction, saying that it would RUIN the ride. I’m not against changes, because the queue and ride experience aren’t the best, but I’m also more along the lines of thinking that Digital Maestro Scott Walker had when he created the image below…

*Berlin Wall Comes Down For Second Time

One of the “best kept secrets” at Universal Orlando was the actual piece of Berlin Wall that sat on the side of the Hard Rock Café in Citywalk. There was really no reason to ever walk near this area unless you knew this item was there.

However, due to the construction of Fast and Furious – Hollywood Drift coaster, the Berlin Wall was removed from its former residence.

Now the piece sits in a much more valuable piece of real estate at the FRONT of the Hard Rock Cafe.

It *is* directly next to stroller parking, so who knows how many parents will be subject to international extradition after accidentally bumping into this historical artifact and breaking who knows how many NATO treaties.

Part of the inscription reads that the Berlin Wall was originally erected in 1961. It stayed up until 1989 when this “wall of oppression” was symbolically taken down and allowed freedom of movement between the Communist East Berlin and the Non Communist West. Wow, it truly makes you appreciate that we don’t have to deal with competing ideologies in America today, doesn’t it?

*E-Ticket Ketchup

Disney announced a  multiyear “strategic alliance” with Kraft Heinz that will bring Heinz brands to Disney theme parks and to the cruise line, along with – and I’m being completely serious here – Disney’s film and TV content.

The deal involves 10 Heinz brands, including Philadelphia cream cheese, Kraft mac & cheese, and – of course – Heinz ketchup. It promised these brands would get prime placement in the parks, and we’ve already seen Disney hard at work accomplishing this with condiment stations such as the one below in Disney Hollywood Studios.

I, for one, welcome our new Heinz overlords because Heinz ketchup is the ONLY ketchup allowed in my household. However, if I had my druthers, I would have negotiated for bigger ketchup cups in the deal. Having these small cups that hold enough ketchup for about 3 crinkle cut French fries just doesn’t cut it.

I mean, c’mon, even the Simpsons mocked how ridiculous this is. How about we double the size of the ketchup cups and in return Heinz gets a documentary on the Pittsburgh Steeler’s Terrible Towel on Disney+?

*World Cup

Once every 30 years or so America pretends to enjoy the sport of soccer when the World Cup is played in our country. Because Comcast owned the television rights to the World Cup, there was some examples of synergy with the Universal parks. This included World Cup games being broadcast on the gigantic screens in Citywalk at NBC Grill & Brew and the Legacy Store.

Citywalk also featured several World Cup experiences and photo-ops.

What I enjoyed was a Doritos outdoor kitchen that offered up several nacho-style plates using Doritos chips as the base.

Can we start a petition to get this stand brought into Universal Studios Florida as part of Halloween Horror Nights array of food options?!

Voodoo Doughnut had a soccer-themed donut as part of their seasonal offerings.

Not to be outdone, the shrimp character you can meet outside Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was wearing a soccer jersey (I’m being told they are called a “kit.”)

DID YOU KNOW, the mascot’s name is Shrimp Louie?

However, all good things come to an end, and once the World Cup final was played, we all went back to the important things in life…

*Bioreconstruct

Alright, let’s look at some of our favorite shots from blogger-in-the-sky @bioreconstruct, including several taken just yesterday, such as this amazing Big Picture shot below…

Take a moment and admire how INCREDIBLE this shot below is composed. Photos like this make me look forward to compiling our year end Best of Bio article.

I covered the debut of Universal Celestial Goodnight in last week’s ROAD TRIP article, but even with every single theme park blogger in America covering the show, who got shots as spectacular as this?

Even better, Bio did some deep dives on how some of the fireworks effects were achieved…

Just amazing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until my dying breath, Bio isn’t the hero we deserve, but he is certainly the one we need. Look at this shot below that includes the top hat of Fast and Furious – Hollywood Drift combined with perfect placement of the Universal Globe.

Bio’s been getting a lot of views for his amazing coverage of the lengthy refurbishment of Jurassic Park River Adventure in Islands of Adventure.

There is a sub section of photos that I like to refer to as Only Bio, because he’s literally the only person providing coverage.

There’s even a Only Bio element in Bio’s YouTube channel where you can see footage of an upcoming multipurpose building being constructed at Epic Universe.

Let’s close with some next level shots from Bio over Walt Disney World…

*Ripped From the Headlines

One thing I still love about theme park social media is the ability of people to instantly take crazy stories from the Real World and immediately have fun with them. To wit, in July there was a next level bonkers story of a person being hit by a Bison in Yellowstone National Park. That lead to this great post…

*Not a good sign

Last August we covered the debut of Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas. This is a year round HHN experience that TouringPlans’ own Guy Selga felt underwhelmed by. Apparently,  he wasn’t the only one…

*Investigative Journalism 101

The SAT SIX Special Investigation Squad has covered many controversial subjects in the theme park world, but even our exposes on things like theme park photography can’t hold a candle to the boots on the ground research we get from DisTwitter’s Woodward and Bernstein (AKA @servoisnaked and @FiBelleFi.) These two tenacious reporters get us all the really important news stories at the Disney parks, including the infamous Living with the Land escalator.

For YEARS, this monstrous escalator has been eating the Crocs of Disney fans young and old.

It doesn’t matter how many signs or stickers that Disney puts to warn unsuspecting guests, this escalator is hungry, and the only thing that satiates its appitite is CROCS.

*FOOD

Big month for snacks at the American theme parks, including the debut of a new themed pretzel out at Universal Studios Hollywood. Right now the fans of the park are on Double Secret Probation, because their lack of support for the Energon drink at the opening of the Transformers attraction out there led to it never coming to Florida. If they let this pretzel fail on their watch, there will be consequences from the Be Fair To Florida board of directors.

Meanwhile, Epic Universe opened up the new Satellite Shakes with an option that included a milkshake dedicated to Captain Cacao.

This was just fantastic, and it has the same “layered storytelling” as those .YNSD shirts because each element of the shake ties into the lore of Captain Cacao, including the blackberry syrup being a nod to Cacao himself being a black bear.

The Isle of Berk also got some new dishes in Mead Hall.

However the best food debut at Epic Universe this month came in the form of a Pizza Moon Pick-Up station located outside the restaurant.

This allows guests to mobile order pizzas and just pick them up outside the restaurant. Even better? After Celestial Goodnight this pick-up stand has pizzas ready to Grab and Go on your way out of the park!!

Over at WDW we got a new Create-Your-Own popcorn gimmick at Goofy’s Candy Co. in Disney Springs.

This offering allows guests to choose a popcorn base, a drizzle, and various toppings.

There are also exclusive flavors you can only get at Goofy’s Candy Co. (as opposed to the popcorn location in Disney’s Magic Kingdom)

*ART!

Big month of art for me personally, as the Tiny Coloring books Bacini and I ordered for the STOP HATE Fundraiser arrived. These were drawn by Tiny Artist Jaime S. and are off the charts great.

Artist Dreamfinder 1983 created this fantastic piece of work of the Poly done in a postcard style.

A year ago we covered the wonderful Opening Team Stickers that artist Andres Orellana made for Epic Universe Team Members. This year he created a set for those working at the newly opened Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas.

How great are these? Major props to Andres, who you can find as Imaginaticart on social media.

Longtime readers of this fine blog series know how much I love comic books, and check out some of these Marvel Comics/Muppets mashup covers coming soon. One featuring the return of PIZZERIZZO PIZZA!!

We also got this amazing mashup pin set from Visonary Pins that combines Disney and Broadway shows. Check out this Les Mis design that uses Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder along with Mulan.

A Hadestown design featuring Megara and Herc from Hercules as Eurydice and Orpheus.

And a pitch perfect design mashing up The Phantom of the Opera with Beauty and the Beast.

Last month’s Theme Park Enjoyment Index: 66
This month’s net change: – 20
Current enjoyment level: 46

Writer Derek Burgan, when not cleaning Len Testa’s pool, can be found reading comic books, watching professional wrestling, organizing his various Tsum Tsums in alphabetical order, and taking his dog Bacini to Universal and Disney.. He will not, we repeat not, be found at a Disney Outlet Store. An official DisTwitter Influencer, you can interact with him @derekburgan

Digital Artist Scott Walker hails from Scotland and is the fifth most famous person from this country following Alexander Graham Bell, Ewan McGregor, Gerard Butler, and Groundskeeper Willie.