Disneyland Fans Return for 'A Touch of Disney'

Disneyland’s “A Touch of Disney” food and merchandise event kicked off this past weekend at Disney California adventure. This is the first ticketed admission in one of the Disneyland theme parks since the pandemic closed the parks over a year ago. Needless to say, fans were ready for the event.

Each guest attending the event receives a $25 Disney Dining card as part of their $75 admission, and Disney has filled the park with a “best of” menu of both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Guests also receive unlimited Photopass downloads with their admission, and Disney has stationed photo ops around the parks, including distance character encounters. The event includes merchandise too, so guests can seek some relief from the sun inside the many open stores and pick up some new Disney souvenirs. Learn more.

Enterprise Helps Local Restaurant Industry With Employee Bonus

Enterprise Holdings, owner of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, recently gifted all 80,000 of its employees worldwide a $100 gift card to a local restaurant in honor of Employee Appreciation Day. The company’s gift not only rewards their dedicated employees, but also aids in local restaurants’ recovery, injecting $8 million into the more than 9,500 communities in which both its part-time and full-time employees work and call home.

Next time you are thinking of way to say thank you to your employees, consider doing so in a way that supports their local communities, such as gift cards to local businesses.

Dollywood Is Open With New Attractions and Events

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived—Dollywood is officially open for 2021. The park took on a number of projects to enhance guests’ experience in the off-season, including new infrastructure, additional restaurant seating and new or enhance rides at Lightning Rod, Blazing Fury, Thunderhead and Mystery Mine. Additionally, the park is planning new shows and entertainment, concerts and culinary festivals that will be sure to attract guests of all ages. The Dollywood Company President, Eugene Naughton, stated that if guests have ever felt compelled to purchase a seasons pass, 2021 is the year to do so.

Learn more about what’s coming to Dollywood here.

“Our people are doing a great job to care for our guests, and I’m just glad that everyone is seeing what the good folks at Dollywood have been doing to make it one of the best family destinations in the entire country,” said Dolly Parton, the namesake and founder of the park, in a statement. “This season looks bright, and I just know families are going to love making a lot of great memories this year.”

Ikea Creates AR 'Escape Room' on Snapchat

Ikea is turning decluttering into a game with a new augmented reality (AR) “escape room” on Snapchat that tasks users with organizing items with the company’s very own products. The entire experience takes place in a miniature model of a bedroom that can be superimposed on a tabletop, floor or other flat surface through a smartphone camera. Users can record their solution to the puzzle and share it with others through Snapchat’s story feature.

This game helps Ikea to engage potential customers in a new way, allowing players to visualize Ikea products within their own homes and creating a unique experience for creating home furnishing solutions. Ikea’s U.S. interior design leader, Paul Anderson, describes the Snapchat feature as the perfect way to “really meet people where they are at” during the pandemic. Read more.

Universal Studios Hollywood to Reopen for Weekend Dining Experiences

Universal Studios Hollywood will reopen to the public with a new weekends-only outdoor dining and shopping experience starting Friday, March 12. Although rides and shows will not be operating, visitors will be able to walk around their favorite areas of the park, enter stores, take pictures with characters and eat some of the park’s best dishes that they have been missing after the park’s prolonged closure. This “Taste of Universal” event will feature 70 culinary options, 30 of which are completely new, and guests will be privy to brand-new areas of the park such as The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash attraction shop.

Tickets start at $44 plus tax for adults and $25 plus tax for children, with special discounts available for annual and season pass holders. Tickets cover the cost of five culinary choices for adults and three for children, with the option to purchase more. Limited capacity and temperature checks will be in effect to ensure the safety of all guests. Learn more.

Airbnb Introduces New 'Flexible Dates' Feature

Remote working has inspired many to explore new places, move to new cities and has given rise to the “workcation” model of traveling to work somewhere new just because. Airbnb is now catering to this trend with its new ‘Flexible Dates’ feature. This feature allows travelers to search for homes without a specific check-in or check-out date, allowing travelers the ability to browse more options while staying flexible on the exact dates of their trip. While the traditional travel industry was built around fixed destinations with fixed dates in mind, remote work has made this model a thing of the past.

Attractions could also adopt this model, allowing interested guests to see what dates and activities are available without asking them to select a fixed date beforehand.

Branson's New Aquarium Reinvents Aquarium Experience

Learn more about Branson’s unique aquarium here.

Aquarium at the Boardwalk in Branson, Missouri opened its doors to the public in late November of last year, the first attraction developed at the Branson Boardwalk entertainment complex. The attraction is reinventing the aquarium guest experience, aiming to create a highly themed environment that would make visitors feel as though they were traveling to another world. Instead of guests walking from box to box to view different underwater species, the aquarium made each exhibit unique in both tank shape and musical background. Additionally, the aquarium provides an educational experience that creates strong emotional connections between visitors, marine life and the conservation messaging through immersive, multi-sensory ambience. It also doesn’t hurt that the entire aquarium is an Instagrammable experience.

Six Flags Magic Mountain Announces Drive-Thru Car Show

Six Flags Magic Mountain has announced is next special event—a drive-through car show presented by creative partner West Coast Customs. Cruis’n the Park Car Show will take place in the park on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through mid-March, providing approximately thirty minutes of entertainment. The drive-through tour will feature cars, trucks, motorcycles and watercrafts and will be accompanied by themed music, entertainment and a narration by West Coast Custom’s Ryan Friedlinghaus via a special mobile app.

The park is excited to offer a safe, fun event for car lovers of all ages. Tickets are on sale now for $79.99 per vehicle on Fridays and Sundays and $89.99 on Saturdays. Discounts are available to Six Flags members and passholders, and snack and merchandise add-on packs are also available for guests.