Theme Park Enjoyment Index For JANUARY 2026

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…
*Our Long National Nightmare is Over
Since buying Star Wars from George Lucas for $4Billion back in 2012 they have had some really cool stuff added to the overall Star Wars Lore. With Rogue One, Andor, and The Mandalorian, they have made some of the best Star Wars based entertainment in my lifetime. They were able to bring back Ewan McGregor to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi and they created one of the all time greatest theme park attractions with Rise of the Resistance.
However, Disney has also made a lot of questionable decisions when it came to Star Wars as well. They green lit a new trilogy of movies, but apparently didn’t have the directors of the films coordinating with each other leading to an overall muddled mess of a story with a completely nonsensical finish. They announced grandiose plans of releasing a Star Wars film every year, until the disastrous results of Solo: A Star Wars Story immediately back in 2016 put the kibosh on those plans. They created the first-of-it’s-kind multi day Star Wars interactive experience with the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, only to close it within two years and introduce many of us to the financial phrase accelerated depreciation.
The once hyped Galactic Starcruiser is currently in the process of being converted into office space. (pixie dust by Scott Walker)
Now, one of the biggest things Disney did with Star Wars since taking control was giving their theme park fans what they have wanted for years, an entire land dedicated to the franchise. However, from the very jump Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge seemed to be snake bit. First we had the grand opening out in Disneyland. As a reminder, the 1987 opening of Star Tours in Disneyland led to the park being open for 60 straight hours to accommodate the passionate fans who wanted to experience Star Wars inside a theme park. As a comparison, the grand opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019 led to the park having to advertise on social media that the ride times were extremely low because the parks were completely empty.
There were several reasons why the opening of Galaxy’s Edge wasn’t the success that Disney had planned on, but one reason that continues to this day was the fact that the entire area was based solely around the most recent trilogy of movies. Whether you loved or hated the latest trilogy, no one can make the case that it is even in the same ballpark as the original trilogy in terms of its effect on pop culture. The names Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker are synonymous with the Star Wars brand to this very day.
This month Disney announced that Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland will be expanding its timeline to include the original trilogy. HALLELUJAH! Not only do we get the characters we have wanted since the land opened, but Disney is also going to use the iconic John Williams Star Wars scores throughout the land. Can you imagine that Disney owned some of the most recognizable and beloved music in cinema history and instead said “nah, we’re good” when it came to background music in the parks? It’s like someone at Disney looked at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter and wanted their version of it, but didn’t take five minutes to understand why fans love those lands.
The way it will be done is that the characters in the land who are from the newest trilogy (including Rey and Kylo Ren) will be located in the area of Galaxy’s Edge around Rise of the Resistance. The original trilogy characters, along with those from the Disney+ shows The Mandalorian and Ashoka, will be found in the Black Spire area of the land.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge map showing distribution of timelines in Disneyland. (created by @SkywalkerBrian)
Disney Imagineers used lots of fanciful jargon when describing these new changes including that it “transforms the land’s feel, turning it into a growing platform for storytelling that spans Galactic Civil War to First Order conflicts.” I can sum up the changes from a guest standpoint in one word…
FINALLY!
In fact, I think this year we are going to do a whole SAT SIX dedicated to “FINALLY!” moments in theme park history. Times when Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando finally did something that they should have done YEARS earlier. Some of my inclusions on that list include: Giving up on “the legendary years” at Pop Century and making Art of Animation, adding a new game into Toy Story Midway Mania, Volcano Bay replacing Wet ‘N Wild (which had gotten so bad by the end that after a tour SeaWorld’s owner August Busch said at the time their upcoming Aquatica water park would be “the opposite of this,”) and the VelociCoaster replacing a dormant Triceratops encounter. If you have any suggestions please put them in the comments at the end of this article.
Anyway, back to the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. One thing that’s always interesting when a form of entertainment retcons something (retcon means changing established facts) is the stories they need to fabricate so that things can make at least some sort of storyline sense. Disney Imagineering came up with a doozy for Kylo Ren’s ship that is parked in the Black Spire area of Galaxy’s Edge but will now have original trilogy characters around it…

Ultimately, there is no need for retcons because not only do regular people not care about stuff like this, every single one of them wanted original trilogy characters in the land from Day One. If Disney wanted to really earn some more goodwill they could just bring back Star Wars Weekends again and give everyone what they really want, the return of Hyperspace Hoopla!
Luke Skywalker in Disneyland.
The only negative to this news? That Disney is only doing this change for the California park and not for Walt Disney World. Let’s hope they come to their senses sooner rather than later and BE FAIR TO FLORIA.
(meme by Scott Walker)
TPEI Score: + 8 What’s interesting is that Universal could have fallen into the same Galaxy’s Edge trap Disney did with their Wizarding World at Epic Universe. In the blue sky phase, it was probably assuming that the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films would be close in popularity to the Harry Potter films. Unfortunately we all found out the hard way that an author who can write fantastic books can’t write a watchable movie screenplay to save their life. So while the Ministry of Magic area of Epic Universe is fully themed to 1920s Paris, the time and place where the Fantastic Beasts movies take place, the E-Ticket attraction of the land immediately takes you back to the regular Harry Potter world that everyone loves along with the characters they want to see (including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.)
(meme by Gratuitous Theme Parks)
*Stacy J RETURNS!
But that’s not all folks, here’s the real blockbuster. Brace yourselves, you might wanna sit down.” – J Jonah Jameson, Spider-Man: Far From Home
It takes a lot to shock us in 2026, but the return of Stacey J. Aswad had us completely floored this month.

As surely almost every single person reading this knows, Stacey J. was the host of Must Do Disney, a show featured on the TVs in Walt Disney World hotels that many of watched religiously when staying onsite. Watching the Must Do Disney video itself became a Disney Must Do.

We hold Stacey J. in high esteem over here and she has been featured in many of our articles over the years, including this fun look at Six Disney References in James Cameron’s Avatar.

In one of the Must Do Disney videos, Stacey J. visited EPCOT and recommended guests get a giant pretzel and a beer at the Germany Pavilion…

…which was then used by artist SonderQuest for the basis of this great drawing.

When Disney stopped airing the Must Do videos, we thought we would never see our beloved Stacey J. again. But then a miracle happened, Disney aired an ad on social media to kick off this month that featured the return on Stacey J! You can watch the entire ad by CLICKING HERE!

TPEI Score + 5 Like Andy Dufrense in the Shawshank Redemption, I’ve been writing Disney a letter a week demanding politely asking that they bring back many things they have taken from us over the years. This list includes Captain EO, Horizons and the Handwich. Seeing the return of Stacey J. gives me hope.
*runDisney Marathon Weekend with @bioreconstruct
Aside from seemingly giving us weekly construction updates of Tropical Americas in Animal Kingdom, Villains Land & Piston Peak in Magic Kingdom, Monstropolis in DHS, and the new Fast & Furious coaster at Universal Studios Florida, blogger-in-the-sky @bioreconstruct is also The Guy when it comes to getting coverage of Walt Disney World’s annual runDisney Marathon Weekend. Bio was on the scene to give us “bell to bell” coverage of the event, starting at the pre-event Race Expo…
Overall theme of WDW Marathon weekend seems to be stories read from books. Photo op here seen at race expo. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Each of the four runDisney races that take place over the course of Marathon Weekend had its own seperate theming.
runDisney 5K story book theme with Pluto, at the starting line. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Piles of books anchoring the starting line banner. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Chip and Dale in story book theming. At the start of the 10K through the EPCOT resort area. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Donald and Daisy in storybook theming. At the start of the Half Marathon. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Mickey, Minnie, and Chernabog in 2026 race start theming. Walt Disney World Marathon. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
runDisney Marathon Weekend consists of four different races. The 5K, the 10K, the half marathon and the full marathon. There are also two bonus achievements that runners can get by competing in multiple races. The Goofy Race and a Half Challenge is for those running both the half marathon and the full marathon. For the true runDisney sickos, the Dopey Challenge is completing all four events during the weekend. The total distance for all four races is a staggering 48.6 miles, which is just about the same distance runDisney participants queue in line at the Race Expo to buy the event merchandise.
All of the book-themed shirt logos for 2026 Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. (photo by @bioreconsttuct)
Here’s an interesting runDisney fact. Going into this year, there were 337 Perfect Dopey participants entering the event. That means they have completed EVERY Dopey Challenge over the decade plus that it’s been in existance. There were also 49 Perfect Goofy Race and a Half Challenge participants. That is actually an unbelievable number.
Anyway, the runDisney Marathon Weekend medals are always on point. Let’s take a closer look at the 2026 Walt Disney World 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon medals. Dale, Donald and Daisy are on a separate level connected by springs to the background level. The flower above Donald is also is a spinner. Unlike CommuniCore Hall, no expenses were spared when it comes to these medals.
2026 Walt Disney World 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon medals. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Now let’s check out the full marathon, the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge, and the Dopey Challenge medals. For these, each of the characters is on separate level, connected by springs to the background level. Note the drop shadows. Each medal also has a spinner element at left (which include a shield, a trophy, and a red jewel.) Just amazing.
Close look at 2026’s Walt Disney World Marathon medals. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Let’s check out some more next level photos that our pal Bio took this past month, including this incredible view of the USF globe…
A straight-down aerial photo of the Universal globe. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Optimus Prime reaches out to touch the crescent Moon. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Universal globe with the Moon and Jupiter (at arrow). (photo by @bioreconstruct)
A VelociCoaster train flying by The Moon. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Bio’s bird shots alone this month are all going into our Best of Bio 2026 article next year.
Eagle on top of the Walt Disney World Swan resort. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Eagle on top of the Walt Disney World Swan resort. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Daddy Osprey with a takeaway fish dinner for the family. Nest on top the billboard facing I-4 WB at Universal Blvd. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
How INCREDIBLE is this shot below?
An Osprey has built a nest next to a scare owl on top of a billboard at Universal Orlando. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
In December, TIME Magazine announced it’s annual Person of the Year. The winners for 2025 were a collective bunch of tech bros referred to as The Architects of AI, whose sole existence seems to drain every cent from our economy and make all of our lives worse. I prefer this person’s suggestion…

*Social Media, the best and absolute worst thing in the world
Over the years, you’ve probably seen me reference the phrase “DisTwitter.” For me that is an all encompassing phrase that includes theme park people posting on social media groups such as Twitter (sorry, I’ll *never* refer to it as “X”), Facebook, and Instagram. Over the past few years there have been a mass exodus of normal people leaving Twitter because the app has devolved into a cesspool of racists, bots, and grifters. One of the Twitter competitors is an app called Bluesky. We are finally starting to see a lot of great theme park content on Bluesky, including this post below which may be the greatest post in the social media app’s history.

There are many people you know from reading this fine blog series that post on Bluesky including Bioreconstruct, Blog Mickey, and the artist SonderQuest. In fact, TouringPlans’ own head honcho, Len Testa, is also exclusively on Bluesky. This past month Len posted an interaction he had inside EPCOT that I would consider a gripping and heart warming tale…

Meanwhile, over on Twitter itself, my account was hacked. This happened because I was an absolute moron, clicking on a link thinking I was helping someone. Apparently I gave enough information for the person to switch emails associated with my account and immediately change the password.

I can still be found on Twitter, over at my backup account @PTPDshow. This whole experience has been a little frustrating, but has allowed me the unique opportunity to see something like this…

It also allowed Digital Maestro Scott Walker to propose a header for this month’s TPEI that included my dog Bacini in the very same car that the hacker was posting on my @derekburgan account.

As they say, it is what it is, and while hopefully I can get control of my account in the near future, it’s not like I’m losing sleep over it. That is, unless the hacker who currently controls @derekburgan starts posting vertical photos. In that case I WILL LOSE MY FRIGGIN MIND.
*Florida is the new Wild Wild West
One thing I have noticed while living in Florida is that laws don’t seem to work the same down here as they do everywhere else in the country. Take for example the liberal use of established IPs to sell your product, such as this home theater installation company using Back to the Future’s Doc Brown. You have to tip your hat to them not just using Doc Brown, but the Doc sporting two bandages on his head after he slipped trying to hang a clock. This accident resulted in Doc visualizing the “flux capacitor” that made time travel possible.

Forgive the quality of these photos, as all of them have been taken by me while driving to and from work. Not only did I see the van featuring Iron Man below, but there is an air conditioning company which uses Captain America. So apparently Disney itself is the only company that can’t use these characters in Florida.

This one is next level, not only do you have a company named after the “Bad Guys” in a film, but these bad guys were also well known for being incompetent at their jobs.

And c’mon, this is a plumbing company…STORM POOPERS was right there waiting for you!

Have to give points for creativity for this pet mobile grooming company. They are also the only ones who at least do something to make their name and logo a parody rather than an outright IP theft.

After posting the above picture, a follower on social media alerted me to the time they had an Avatar themed food truck show up in their neighborhood.

You gotta have an extreme level of schutzpa to just take screencaps from a movie and post them as the art for your food truck. I’d love to give full credit to the person who sent me these photos, but as you know, I’m locked out of my Twitter account and can’t remember who it was.

*As Seen On TV!
Eagle Eyed viewers may have caught the Disney Club 33 logo during a Stranger Things documentary on Netflix.
Club 33 Logo seen during a Stranger Things documentary. (photo by Ella Layton)
Disney+ released a documentary this month titled Disneyland Handcrafted. This must watch documentary explores the unbelievable year of construction that ended up giving us the Disneyland theme park (keep in mind that it now takes the same company up to 5 years just to build one attraction in a theme park.) You’ll be amazed at the level of craftsmanship on display, but will also be reminded how much the world has changed since the 1950s. I think this parody poster created by Jordan A. Hill sums it up pretty well…

Back in December, my beloved Chargers were part of this year’s FUNDAY FOOTBALL event. On ESPN, you could watch the live NFL game between the Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles. On ESPN 2 you could watch the very same game, except it was animated real time involving characters from the Monsters Inc Universe.

Every element of the game was converted into a Monstropolis-like gimmick, even the announcers.

It is definitely a neat idea in theory, but for the most part the experience is unwatchable. Maybe it’s because the technology is just not there for animation to accurately replicate what is happening in real time.

The game was notable for having some really memorable plays, including the first time in NFL history where a player had two turnovers on the same play. That’s right, Philly QB Jalen Hurts threw an interception and then later fumbled the ball just seconds later. The Sunday Funday game pretty much malfunctioned at this point because it was impossible for the computer to even understand what just happened, let alone have it make sense with cartoon monsters.
Hurts then threw another interception that ended the game in overtime.

I watched the game, and none of this stuff below makes any sense. In fact, I’m not 100% sure who the audience is for these types of games. It’s impossible to watch for NFL fans, and I’d imagine for kids or Disney fans its just boring.

*The End of Dinosaurs at Animal Kingdom
Readers of our annual In Memoriam series saw our writeup on the loss of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama in Animal Kingdom. The weekend that this article goes up will be the last days of the attraction Dinosaur. The entire area of the park is being converted into Tropical Americas, featuring rides themed to Indiana Jones and the movie Encanto.
Many people on social media were posting their last visits to Dinosaur and pointing out things they will miss. This includes the well known Easter Egg that the red, yellow, and white pipes in the attraction are references to ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, as the original attraction was sponsored by the fast food chain McDonald’s.
Did you know these pipes have the chemical composition for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise on them? This is leftover from the original McDonald’s sponsorship. (photo by Alicia Stella)
The Permit Princess Alicia Stella did point out something I had never seen before. It involves something written on a white board seen in the photo below.
Dinosaur queue. (photo by Alicia Stella)
A closer look at the board reveals “Today’s Trips” include a trip back to 1955. That was the same year Marty McFly time traveled back to in the movie Back to the Future. To the right you’ll also see “88 Days” which may be referencing the 88mph that the DeLorean Marty McFly uses needs to reach before it can travel through time.
Back to the Future Easter Egg on whiteboard in dinosaur. (photo by Alicia Stella)
Back to the Future Easter Egg on whiteboard in dinosaur. (photo by Alicia Stella)

Artists have been posting work inspired by the attraction, including this E-Ticket print by the incomparable Skipper Hoss. So many wonderful details packed in (as always.)

I’m not sure if it’s that I don’t notice stuff like the Back to the Future reference in Dinosaur, or I’m just oblivious when visiting the parks, because the group @Parkeology pointed out that the apostrophe in Mickey’s Philharmagic logo is actually a musical note, tying into the overall theme of the ride.

Are you kidding me?!!!

Friend of TPEI Cabel Sasser also noticed something small on the E.T. Adventure attraction at Universal that is definitely something that makes you go “hmmm….”

Speaking of E.T., our favorite airport made a fun tweet during the weekend we had a Supermoon in the sky…

Was a great month for theme park construction fans because not only did we get that fantastic documentary on the creation of Disneyland, but Rob Bloom on Twitter has been posting some incredible “behind the scenes” photos of how the Universal theme parks were brought to life.
Cool shot taken during the construction of Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure.
Those gorgeous dueling dragons at Islands of Adventure before they were painted. Fire and Ice.
Speaking of the Universal theme parks, a long time “Rumor and Innuendo” suggests that the very first thing built at Islands of Adventure was the Zax Bypass in Seuss Landing. The backstory of the Zax Bypass is that it features two characters too stubborn to move, and it’s a great detail if the actual park was indeed built around them. If you can confirm or deny this story, please reach out in the comments below or through email (derek@touringplans.com) because both myself and TouringPlans’ own Joseph Matt want to settle this debate once and for all.

*HEY KIDS, ART!!
Can you imagine a full on Star Wars overlay of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland? That could have been on the table if the success of The Force Awakens back in 2015 hadn’t convinced Disney to think even bigger and eventually created Galaxy’s Edge.

A Raising Cane’s (fast food chicken) opened up in Universal Citywalk out in Hollywood but did you know that a Raising Cane’s in Morgan Hill, CA features artwork by hometown artist (and iconic Disney Imagineer) Mary Blair?
Mary Blair art in Morgan Hill, CA Raising Cane’s. (photo by Eric Chu)
Next month we will be presenting the 2026 Artist Spotlight Class, and one of my all-time favorite Artist Spotlight features was on Henry Taylor (AKA the Theme Park Preservation Society.) Henry uses theme park imagery and masterfully combines them with real world elements so that we get things like this amazing Epic Universe-themed Tarot Card.
The Tower” card represents immense change— a shakeup, for good or for bad. Immense things are on the horizon. – Henry Taylor

Another Artist Spotlight standout – Jess Siswick – created this retro ad to celebrate Disneyland looking great at 70.

Artist Jess Feldman continued her amazing series doing a deep dive on the food options at Epic Universe. The latest piece focused on what you can find in Dark Universe, featuring some of my favorite snacks in the park including the Frankenstein pretzel, the garlic “stake,” and the warm hearted cinnamon bites. You can read about all these items in our deep dive into DARK UNIVERSE.

The Muppets are getting a lot of attention recently because we’re all excited for their upcoming special on Disney+. How great are these illustrations of Medieval helmets by artist Jordan Collver resembling the faces of Muppets characters Gonzo, Kermit, Piggy, Animal, Fozzy, and Sam Eagle (as an Aztec, being truly American.)
We’ll close this month with a couple pieces of merchandise. The first item isn’t a traditional piece of merchandise, but was available to purchase this month on eBay. That’s right, for the low, low price of almost $8,000 you can be the proud owner of a Disney Dining “Table for 2.”

The infamous EPOCT was the basis for the creation of our Disney Signage Hall of Fame, but we now have a new player in the game…

EPOOT.

Last year’s Theme Park Enjoyment Index: 67
This month’s net change: + 13
Current enjoyment level: 80

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.
How I picture Bioreconstruct delivering his best-in-the-world photos to us. (Pixie Dust by Scott Walker)

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