Saturday Six

Theme Park Enjoyment Index for OCTOBER 2025 (Mickey’s Not-So-Scary, HHN, EPCOT Trash Can Stickers and MORE!)

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The Theme Park Enjoyment Index (TPEI) is a monthly look at the events that have made an impact, both positive and negative, in this wild world of theme parks we all love so much. Each TPEI comes out on the last Saturday every month, and we assign each piece of news a positive or negative number, tally it all up at the end and chart it. The range goes from 0-100 with 0 being Animal Kingdom Poop Snacks while a perfect score of 100 would be the snacks at Universal’s Epic Universe.

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!

Reminder that this is the LAST edition of TPEI for the year because next month we have the annual Theme Park Turkey of the Year Awards and December brings the In Memoriam series (which this year is loaded.)

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…

*2025 Spooky Season

Over the last decade or so, the Halloween season has turned into the best time to visit the Florida theme parks. Over at Walt Disney World we have the iconic Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party taking place at Magic Kingdom.

While Disney doesn’t add a ton of new things to MNSSHP each year, they definitely know what people want and have amplified the experience to cater for those guests looking for character experiences. Not only do you have a whole bunch of exclusive meet and greet opportunities throughout the park (including “Elvis” Stitch in Tomorrowland along with other classic characters like Donald Duck, Goofy, and Winnie the Pooh in Halloween costumes) but also you have the chance to encounter some incredible rare characters such as The Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion. This trio made their debut last year as a photo-op at a Frontierland balcony, but this year also made their way over to Liberty Square at the Diamond Horseshoe treat stop.

This was an unexpected surprise for us, and it was such a neat moment to see other guests walk through the door with their treat bags only to spot this shimmering trio up on stage! There were a lot of happy folks when we passed through.

I mentioned the treat stop because while my brain knows it is a complete waste of your time and money to make your way around the park during an after-hours party getting “free” candy you easily buy at your local supermarket or CVS for a fraction of the money, my heart loves the concept of trick or treating again as an adult.

The candy stations are also in the category of where I put things like parades; a win-win for all guests because for those that like them it’s great, and for those that don’t like them it takes other guests away from the things you do want to experience, like attractions, which lowers the wait times.

Another theme park win-win is street entertainment. Over at the Universal parks, I love walking through the park and stumbling into a Beat Builders performance or catching some of the Blues Brothers show. It’s things you can pop in, enjoy for a bit, and just leave whenever you want. During MNSSHP they had an interesting gimmick called the Fearless Flyers. This was an acrobatic troupe dressed up in old timey carnival/wrestling wear doing flips and stunts. Just a total blast.

Like character meets, Disney knows one of the other big draws to their annual events are the exclusive snacks. This is completely my jam, and any time a theme park puts out a themed Pop Tart like the Tombstone Tart, they get extra points in my book.

The Boo-To-You parade is probably one of the best in ANY theme park, and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Disney’s fireworks for either an after hours party, July 4th or New Years Eve. The fireworks you see at the Magic Kingdom are already some of the best you’ll see anywhere, but for events like MNSSHP they take it up a notch and its worth going out of your way to experience.

I wouldn’t say Disney goes all out resort wide during the Halloween season, but one place that is “extra” is the Fort Wilderness Campground. I implore each and every one of you reading this to one day go out of your way to take a trip over to Fort Wilderness and walk around during the Halloween or Christmas Season. The guests who stay here are next level bonkers in the best way possible and put more effort into decorating their campsites than any house in my neighborhood back at home. You also haven’t lived until you’ve seen one of their golf cart parades.

I don’t know how they do it and I don’t know why they do it, but God Bless every single one of these incredible families for making all of our lives better for no reason other than the love of the game.

Halloween decorations at Fort Wilderness. (photo by Brandon Glover)
Halloween decorations at Fort Wilderness. (photo by Brandon Glover)

Meanwhile over at the Universal Orlando Resort they have turned their Halloween season into a Resort Wide Experience that is now the best in the business. Of course it is all headlined by Halloween Horror Nights, which has become the best pound for pound haunt experience in the entire world. The combination of unique original creations mixed with the biggest names in horror IP is just incredible.

Masquerade: Dance of Death characters. (photo by Mike Sperduto)

What I absolutely LOVED this year was Universal going all-in on the Mel’s DIE-IN experience. Not only did we see zombie servers added into the mix, but also a full line of great merchandise. Like the Hitchhiking Ghosts at MNSSHP, hopefully this is a concept that returns every single year.

Mel’s DIE-IN. (photo by Mike Sperduto)

Who would have known that the biggest breakout character of this year’s HHN would be Art the Clown from the Terrifier series of films (which I find to be completely unwatchable.) The Team Members playing Art deserve an extra round of applause because they have been terrific in their performances with guests, something very challenging to do with a character who doesn’t speak.

Art the Clown statue. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

One thing I didn’t cover in my write-up of HHN was the annual Tribute Store, which this year took place in the Revenge of the Mummy gift shop along with the small Palace arcade that is connected to it. Just a ridiculous environment to set something up in such a small timeframe and expect good results. I feel like this was like that moment in Office Space where management is just trying to get someone to quit by making their work experience miserable.

Instead, the creative team responsible for the Tribute Store made lemonade out of those lemons and created a pretty neat experience in the space that they had.

It seemed like there were a lot of repurposed elements from Poseidon’s Fury, which I for one am thankful for.

Some of the added theming in HHN Tribute Store. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

As they seemingly do every year, midway through the season the Tribute Store got even more stuff, including a themed scavenger hunt with hidden scarabs throughout the store. There’s no reason to do this other than make a nice value-add for the guests that come to the parks often (which is relatively easy to do for HHN because of the variety of ticket options they have.)

Keeping your head on a swivel, you’ll see these little beetles in all sorts of areas, including the top of a sarcophagus.

Have to throw this in, because it’s related to HHN Tribute Stores. The mad genius himself, The Horizoneer, created a LEGO Version of the all time greatest Tribute Store, the haunted comic book store from HHN 32. Is this guy working on another level or what?!

Haunted Comic Book Store in LEGO form. (created by @TheHorizoneer)

TPEI Score: + 6 While I’m much more of a “Christmas Guy” than a “Halloween Guy,” the state of Florida has much more going on during the spooky season than they do during Christmas. Disney’s MNSSHP has their best parade, one of the best nighttime spectaculars, incredibly fun characters and FREE CANDY while Universal’s HHN is just humming along like a fine tuned machine, getting better and better (and they were already the best.) Meanwhile, the other parks in Central Florida – including LEGOLAND and SeaWorld – also have fun stuff going on during Halloween and don’t sleep on events nearby including Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail. This is the place to be in September and October, so make sure you book a trip to come on down next year.

SAT SIX Editor-in-Chief Megan Stump with Sir Henry himself.

*HHN Deathly Afraid Lanyard

One “controversial” item that Universal had this year was a Deathly Afraid lanyard. For $20, guests could purchase the lanyard to limit the amount of scareactors approaching them inside the park.

Deathly Afraid lanyard. (photo by Hedgehogs Corner)

The lanyard would light up, allowing scareactors to see a person wearing it from a distance. You can read TouringPlans’ full review of the lanyard by CLICKING HERE.

The lanyard glows a bright red- signaling the scare actors to relax a bit.

Why was this lanyard controversial? Because HHN hardcore fans are fanatical. There is a segment who believes that the event should emphasize the “horror” aspect and be as scary as possible. Their argument is along the lines of “if you don’t want to be scared, you shouldn’t be going to an event called Halloween Horror Nights.”

Mutations: Toxic Twenties scarezone. (photo by Mike Sperduto)

For me personally, I think HHN is thriving now because it has become more accessible to a casual audience as they have moved farther away from a traditional haunt event based on scares. Because I’m not a big fan of horror movies, I put off going to HHN for years because I assumed it was just like all the other scare based haunts I’ve been too and I had absolutely no interest. However, the addition of The Walking Dead got me through the turnstiles and I realized the event was so much more than what I thought it was. Since then, the addition of IPs like Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, and WWE are bringing in more people to the event who may have otherwise had little interest (along with young kids.)

For HHN to grow, it needs to be a “big tent” and have a wide variety of people coming to the event and not just the group of fans who go to see stuff like Terrifier in the movie theaters (which ain’t that many in the big scheme of things.) I believe that casual fans love the concept of horror films, but are going to enjoy stuff like Get Out, Weapons, and Sinners over slash and gore stuff that only a small minority of people get into. These casual fans would probably love HHN, but don’t want to have a scareactor in their face every 20 feet. You also have the amount of people who have high levels of anxiety… others with personal space issues… some with young kids who may not fully grasp the concept of what’s real and what’s not but love things like WWE, Five Nights at Freddy’s video games and Hello Kitty (all of which were a part of this year’s HHN.)

The good news is that this “controversial” appears to only exist in the hardcore HHN fandom. The Deathly Afraid lanyard completely sold out in its first batch and had to be restocked. The demand is there, and what the hardcore base apparently doesn’t understand is that the bigger HHN gets, the better its going to be for them because Universal will have even more money to put into the haunted houses and scareactors roaming the streets.

Deathly Afraid lanyard. Restocked after a sellout. (photo by Hedgehogs Corner)

TPEI Score: + 1 This lanyard was an “aha!” moment for me and something I didn’t even understand that the event was missing. I mentioned earlier that it took me many years to even sample HHN, but while I love it now, almost none of my family will try it out even though they love the Universal theme parks.

We should add one more thing into our recap of this great haunt season…Volcano Bay adding Scooby Doo into the mix for their Volcano Bay Nights event (which you can read our Good, Bad, & Ugly review of by CLICKING HERE.) I’ve always wanted to experience Volcano Bay after the sun went down and it was better than I could have ever  hoped for. However, the addition of Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang into the mix was definitely unexpected and has me looking forward to how they could use these characters in the theme parks during Halloween Horror Nights in the future.

Let’s be serious, who would have ever expected that a Scooby Doo villain like the Ghost Clown would make an appearance at Volcano Bay? Just incredible.

Even better, we got the entire Mystery Inc. team, the Mystery Machine, and the trademark villain unmasking (with – of course – THE FAMOUS LINE.) Something like this is tailor made for a fun Scooby Doo experience inside the traditional theme parks and I can’t wait for it. Just think of how many Scooby Snacks they’ll sell in the outdoor kitchen. Like, zoinks!

Speaking of Scooby Doo, did you know that artist Brian Cooper – yes, OUR BRIAN COOPER, designed a new shirt for RSLVTS that features our favorite canine sleuth and several of his most iconic baddies, including The Ghost Clown?! That’s right, the “Haunting Heads” shirt is available now and  you can get yours by CLICKING HERE.

It’s incredible seeing people that we have featured in our Artist Spotlight series go on and do amazing things. Rob Yeo has had work featured prominently in Disneyland Paris, Hayden Evans created some amazing pieces used in Universal Studios Hollywood, Ava Buric has become the Queen of Sports Mascots and so much more. I think it’s clear that one way to artistic success is a lifetime of practice, putting in long hours of hard work, and always having a “can do” attitude while dismissing rejection. However, a second – much faster – way to success is being featured in the SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight series. The results speak for themselves.

All kidding aside, kudos to Brian Cooper for this wonderful RSLVTS shirt, and be sure to keep Brian in your thoughts and prayers because this very week I emailed him the final sketch for his 2025 Theme Park Turkeys of the Year drawing, and I promise its gonna be a doozy.

*Soarin’ Around America

Disney announced that next year we’ll be getting a temporary update to Soarin’ in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.

© Disney

Not many details were given, but it led to some really great stuff on social media with people giving examples of what flying through current day America might be like…

‘murica. (meme by Jordan A Hill)

I loved this one that flies by Las Vegas with an incredible tribute to the Soarin’ Distortion we saw when Soarin’ Around the World made its debut back in 2016 (an issue that only took a decade to fix.)

Vegas. (meme by that_tara_girl)

Even better might be this one which took the distortion gimmick and added it to a more American symbol…

Soarin Across America let’s go!!!!!! (meme by @esplanerd)

As the world’s biggest fan of Buc-ee’s, you knew I’d love this one (and if any of you were wondering why people love Buc-ee’s, just check out my article on The Best Theme Park Gift Shop That’s Not In A Theme Park.)

Buc-ee’s. (meme by @ParkObseesion)

The only thing missing on this great Soarin’ over I4 in Orlando is 3 separate accidents and large congestion. Actually, could have also used a small @bioreconstruct helicopter in the sky too, but maybe that’s just me.

Soarin’ Over I-4. (meme by The Horizoneer)

Speaking of flying over Orlando, this one featuring the I-4 Eye Sore is just fantastic. The perfect example of IYKYK.

I-4 Eyesore. (meme by the Permit Princess Alicia Stella)

Our own digital maestro Scott Walker was so inspired by that concept he updated Disney’s attraction poster.

Be sure to also check out this video which shows a great Soarin Across America. Despite all it’s faults, stuff like this show why DisTwitter is still a great place to be. Because something will be announced and you get some really fun ideas playing with it by some truly creative people.

TPEI Score: We’ll Wait And See… In theory, this should be an obvious huge plus to the parks. However, I personally think that Soarin’ Around the World was a HUGE downgrade to the original Soarin’. Did Imagineering learn any lessons from that, or are we just going to double down on the awkward transitions and maybe throw in stuff like IPs.

*A Fool And His Money…

This month we saw some interesting signage at the Universal parks, offering guests the chance to buy Single Attraction Access.

This would basically be Universal’s version of Disney’s Lighting Lane program, which I’m not sure is needed considering the amount of options one can already get with Universal Express.

At Universal Studios Florida, this signage was outside Revenge of the Mummy, which when we walked by was showing a 50 minute stand-by wait time.

Clicking on the QR Code leads to the Universal app, where you could purchase a Universal Express for just Revenge of the Mummy at the price of $26.62 after tax. I’m not sure the value is there at this price point.

Even more implausible, this same offer is available for Skull Island: Reign of Kong over at Islands of Adventure. Hey, I’m the first one to knight up for the amazing Skull Island queue experience, but paying over $25 per person to get a Universal Express for it? This is the strongest NAY NAY in the history of NAY NAYs. At least give me the option of paying for something like Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure or The VelociCoaster.

However, turns out $25 is the bargain price because over in Disneyland the price for a Lightning Lane to Rise of the Resistance hit $40 this month. CAN YOU IMAGINE? That’s per person. A family of four is paying $160 to experience one single attraction. An attraction which can’t even keep all its effects working. Just mind boggling.

Rise of the Resistance Individual Lightning Lane for $40 at Disneyland on 10/18/25 (screenshot by @RyanThemePark)

TPEI:  – 4 Why do I have this feeling that in the not-too-distant future we’re going to have day tickets to the parks at over $200 per person, a nighttime ticket option upgrade, each attraction has a separate pay-to-play Express Pass/Lightning Lane and we’ll be asked to either donate to a GoFundMe or “add a tip” after the ride experience to get proper maintenance done?

***QUICK HITS***

*Going, Going, GONE!

I wrote my love letter to Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit last month, and this past week we saw the Grand Dame of USF take her last gasps in the park. The last days were especially rough, including a fire breaking out on the last remaining pieces of track. My hopes of this being like a phoenix rising from the ashes moment was apparently what trained professionals call “delusional.”

Fire. (photo by Magic City Mayhem)

Our ol’ pal Bio was able to get this shot of the LAST PIECE OF TRACK before it was taken down.

Last track standing in the demolition of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Look at this gut punch. At least when Disney removes something like Dinoland USA it takes months and months and months so you just become numb to everything. RIP RIDE ROCKIT WAS RUNNING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST and now its completely gone.

Pile of debris from the demolition of base of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Only Bio could find the silver lining to this story… as the removal of Rockit allows guests the rare opportunity to see Islands of Adventure from inside Universal Studios Florida.

Seuss Landing can be seen from Universal Studios Florida. View previously blocked by the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Tower. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Here’s a closeup of the view you get from Bio.

Speaking of “gone,” I like this gag…

meme by Days Gone Disney on Facebook

*Disney Garbage Can Stickers

Earlier this month, theme park investigative reporter @FiBelleFi noticed that EPCOT had World Showcase log stickers placed on garbage cans.

For those who don’t know, garbage cans in World Showcase will generally have this very same logo printed as a 3D medallion, as seen in this photo below by the Disney Food Blog.

Immediate reaction to the trash can sticker was pretty negative, but others pointed out this was most likely a case of Disney needing extra trash cans in the area fast and having a “quick” theme on the cans rather than “no theme.” I can definitely see that being the case, however we have also seen some very notable examples over the last couple years of Disney saving some money rather than doing things the right way. One example was last year in the World Showcase at the Morocco Pavilion.

When EPCOT originally opened, their was painstaking work put in when creating the various pieces of tile you would see in the area along with its deep roots and significance in the Moroccan culture.

Morocco Pavilion. (photo by Scott Kumka)

The tile work looked absolutely gorgeous.

Morocco fountain tile work. (photo by Blog Mickey)

When Disney redid the tile work themselves, the results weren’t exactly the same.

Morocco Pavilion. (photo by Blog Mickey)

I know a design isn’t that good if it looks like I could have done it.

Morocco planter tile. (photo by @FiBelleFi)

So I’ll grant Disney a little grace and take the excuse of the trash can sticker being a temporary thing rather than an indication of a budget cutting culture, but I think we all can agree that DreamWorks Land shouldn’t have better looking trash cans than World Showcase.

Themed trash barrels in the Shrek section of DreamWorks Land. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

*Mandalorian Trailer

In case you missed it, the first official trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu dropped out of nowhere (it conveniently appeared during a time in which Disney was getting a lot of heat for taking Jimmy Kimmel temporarily off the air.) I think it looks great…

However, one user on social media noticed something pretty special.

That is pretty amazing catch, and the Han/Leia story is 100% true, being was first established in the book Star Wars: The Princess and The Soundrel,

As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, are a lightning rod for all—including Imperial remnants still clinging to power. “

H S + L O initials as seen engraved on the Halcyon AKA Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. (photo by Brian Shapiro)

Before we go, as much as I love the trailer, I gotta say I don’t know where Disney is going with this Mandalorian and Grogu movie poster. As a longtime movie fan, I love it because it evokes movie old timey movie posters from the 1940s and 50s, but I’m not sure today’s movie audience is going to feel that connection as much as I do.

*Stars, They’re Just Like Us

I was in a local Greek restaurant last weekend and they have a wall in which guests can sign their name. While we were there, a young kid got excited about the idea of signing the wall and the restaurant gave her a sharpie (and a ladder) to put her name on the wall. It was a cute moment and brought back memories of me loving things that have a lot of signatures (like my high school yearbook or team signed pictures.) Anyhoo, this month former Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki got a chance to sign a wall backstage at the Cirque Du Soleil: Drawn to Life show at Disney Springs.

Actor Johnny Galecki signs the wall backstage during a recent visit to see Drawn to Life Presented by Cirque du Soleil and Disney in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World in Florida. (Photo Courtesy Cirque du Soleil)

I’d say that the Drawn to Life show at Disney Springs is one of the most underrated experiences in all of Walt Disney World. Cirque du Soleil in general is a truly amazing show filled with “wow” and “how did they do THAT?!” moments and Drawn to Life combines that artistry with a story revolving around Disney animation. This is something worth going way out of your way to check out on your next Disney vacation.

 

*MERCHANDISE!

Did you know that this very month the new edition of the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando became available to order? If you’re a fan of this fine blog series, this book is a must get because it includes multiple segments by Yours Truly mixed in with the rest of the book written by my co-authors Seth Kubersky and Alicia Stella (who do 99.994% of the book, but don’t sleep on that .006%.)

My history with the Unofficial Guides goes way back, as it was something me and my mother enjoyed reading when she took me on Disney vacations growing up. It was a tradition I then passed on to the younger generation in my family.

I’m also trying to open the door into getting the book placed strategically in pet stores (maybe next to the books on How To Put A Small Cowboy Hat On Your Iguana.)

Years ago, I thought it might make for a fun article to take a copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW to Universal Orlando for a photo shoot. Here’s a pic of the book during a Halloween Horror Nights Unmasking the Horror Tour. I tried my best to get a caricature artist in the park to draw the book but they looked at me like I had three heads. I also almost dropped the book into the Islands of Adventure lagoon while trying to get a photo in Port of Entry, so I just abandoned the project.

In a true pinch-me-I’m-dreaming moment, my beloved Cabana Bay Beach Resort came out with another new Coke Freestyle souvenir refillable cup design! The resort is just over 10 years old and has well over a dozen different designs over the years, which handily beats the old record of “1” design held by every other Universal onsite hotel.

Coke Freestyle Refillable Mug. (photo by LitemAndHide)

Speaking of Coke, check out these EPIC Universe bottles that have been seen all around the Orlando area at Target, Walmart and Publix. Straight up E-Ticket.

Epic Universe coke bottles at Target.

We mentioned Brian Cooper had an RSVLTS shirt this month, but guess who else did? Hayden Evans, and it featured Universal Classic Monsters!

 

How great is this?!!!!

Meanwhile, TouringPlans’ own Country Bears Superfan Guy Selga found a shirt with price that has to be seen to be believed…

Speaking of out there shirts, we all remember this guy right?

WHAT? (photo by @Camandcompany_)

Well, our own digital maestro Scott Walker came up with an even better design playing with that absolutely insane shirt concept. He even fixed the next level bonkers “Lightening” typo…

Two weeks ago I found myself in Miami to watch my Chargers play the Dolphins.

Imagine my surprise when I saw they had Disney merchandise at the Dolphin’s gift shop.

I definitely did not expect this (and if they would have had Chargers versions I would have bought them on the spot.)

While we are on the subject of merchandise you might not expect to see, let’s first check out this photo of the upstairs seating at PizzeRizzo (which closed earlier this Summer at Disney Hollywood Studios.)

Photo of the upper level dining of PizzeRizzo. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Over at the Lakeland Antique Mall (which carries a whole bunch of theme park related items) you can buy one of these PizzeRizzo tables for your own house!

*RUMORS AND INNUENDO

Universal filed permits that demolition will be taking place in the Lost Continent area of Islands of Adventure,  which probably means we are probably going to be saying goodbye to the remains of Poseidon’s Fury (which closed in 2024) and other cool visual elements in the land.

A very wide photo of ruins in The Lost Continent. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

While all the major attractions of Lost Continent have closed, one thing that remains open is Mythos Restaurant, but the Those Who Would Know tell us that Mythos is scheduled to be shut down for good as well early next year. We’ll have a lot to say when that actually happens, but aside from being a great restaurant to eat food in, the overall design is out of this world. Check out this detail where the outside of the restaurant has a large stone face built into it.

Narcissus staring at himself in the water.

What many don’t know is that face is actually that of Narcissus, a character from Greek mythology who was known for his extreme vanity. Well if you look below that stone face you’ll see a similar one built into the water feature below, to show that the story is Narcissus is looking at a reflection of himself. Just incredible. INCREDIBLE!

Let’s take a look at Mythos from the blogger-in-sky copter.

A nearly-straight down aerial photo of the trident and Mythos restaurant in The Lost Continent. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Zooming in gives a better look at the face in the water. I think one day we’re going to need to do an article on “Details From Disney and Universal Done Specifically For Bioreconstruct.”

Another Lost Continent item on the chopping block would be the famous Mystic Fountain, but hopefully this interactive feature can be located to another area of the park.

*RIP Drew Struzan

While many reading this may not know his name, I promise every single one of you have seen artist Drew Struzan’s work. An icon of movie poster design, Struzan was the artist behind many of the most well known movie posters in modern history including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, The Goonies, and The Muppet Movie just to name a few.

Drew Struzan’s art for the Back to the Future trilogy.

As it turns out, Struzan has also done his fair share of work for the Disney and Universal theme parks…

The picture below was originally created for a charity, but Universal loved it so much they began to use it for marketing the theme park. Struzan’s own son was the character model for the kid riding the bicycle with E.T.

Can you imagine the Disney of today hiring one of the world’s best artists to do spot work for an attraction like Ellen’s Energy Adventure?

Out in California, Struzan was contracted to do artwork for the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. This was a no-brainer because Struzan’s work was synonymous with Indy, as he did the iconic movie posters for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and the Last Crusade. Let’s check out Struzan’s first pass at the attraction poster. As you can see it has Indy’s face in shadow because Disney didn’t get the rights to Harrison Ford’s likeness, which is why he isn’t seen in the attraction.

In the book Poster Art of The Disney Parks, Struzan tells the story of what happened next…

This leads us to the attraction poster we finally got, featuring the Indiana Jones that everyone knows and loves.

For Disney’s television animation department, Drew Struzan provided the poster artwork for it’s first ever theatrical release: Ducktales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.

Struzan’s artwork was also used in a very memorable way for anyone who was visiting central Florida in the late 1980s and early 1990s…

…as Universal based one of its most iconic billboard signs off of his original E.T. artwork.

Good artists create, but great artists inspire, and Drew Struzan has inspired countless others in the world of art. This includes @SatisfacticualSC, who has created art using Epic Universe characters based on Drew Struzan’s original work for Universal Studios Florida.

Isle of Berk design evocative of original E.T. billboard. (art by @SatisfacticualSC)
Isle of Berk design evocative of original E.T. billboard. (art by @SatisfacticualSC)
Ygor diorama based on old timey Universal billboards. (art by @SatisfacticualSC)
Mine Cart Madness done in style of Old Timey Universal billboards. (art by @SatisfactualSC)

Let’s check out some more great art including this amazing Tron-inspired piece by PixelKitties. In fact, I’d say that Minnie and Daisy in the grid is more fulfilling than the Tron movie that came out this month.

Really love how this IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth piece came from Imagination Station Art. The World Showcase Pavilions execution is brilliant.

Our favorite Tiny Artist Jaime S. gave us not one, but all four versions of Tower of Terror from across the globe!

We did an entire article dedicated to Artists Inspired by Epic Universe earlier this year, and we’re still getting great stuff like this piece featuring a wide variety of characters you’ll run into at Dark Universe.

Left to right: Darkmoor violinist, Hound member, Ygor, Victoria Frankenstein, Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience scientist, Das Stakehaus waiter, Maleva. (art by sharkodude.bsky)

Speaking of Dark Universe, I couldn’t love this piece more that is having a bit of a laugh with the ill-fated Dark Universe photo that Universal had with Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, and Russel Crowe.

Witness the rebirth of a Dark Universe. (art by Sharkodude)

*Be Fair To Florida!

Can  you believe this, out in Universal Studios Beijing, they have Universal branded bottles of water.

Branded water bottles. (photo by @SoCal360)

Even better? They have a fully realized villains restaurant featuring the baddies from the Despicable Me universe.

The Lair restaurant. (photo by @SoCal360)

This is almost too good to be true.

The Lair restaurant. (photo by @SoCal360)

Are you kidding me?!

The Lair restaurant. (photo by @SoCal360)

I’m about to lose my mind so we need to move on to another subject.

The Lair restaurant. (photo by @SoCal360)

Let’s close this month with an incredible piece of merchandise. I don’t collect coffee cups, but the few that I do have all feature theme parks in the You Are Here collection from Starbucks. Our friends over at Views and Queues have created their own coffee cup in a similar design. How cute is this?!!!

Pizza, towel animals, rubber ducks and other fun stuff from the world of cruising (which I don’t do enough of!)

You can purchase the mug by going to View and Queues website or by CLICKING HERE.

Last month’s Theme Park Enjoyment Index: 55
This month’s net change: +12
Current enjoyment level: 67

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.

Did you happen to notice any STAR WARS news this month? We did. (pixie dust by Scott Walker)

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