immersive

George Lucas’ original 1977 film “Star Wars” is being reimagined for its 50th anniversary. The pop culture phenomena that started an empire is coming to Inglewood’s Cosm, home to a high-definition spherical screen that wraps around audiences.

“Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” is the first in a multiyear, multifilm agreement between the Walt Disney Co. and Cosm. The film will begin screening in March 2027. Cosm has previously screened films such as “The Matrix,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” all from Warner Bros.

“We are thrilled obviously to be a part of the 50th anniversary,” said Alexis Scalice, vice president and head of Cosm Studios. “There are definitely going to be moments and effects that you haven’t ever seen before at Cosm.”

The El Segundo-based Cosm has been making more inroads in Hollywood of late. It was recently announced that Sony Pictures will invest $100 million and take a minority stake in the company.

Cosm’s entertainment offerings present the original film untouched in a frame that may shift around the screen, but accentuates it with supplemental, CGI content that helps flesh out environments. Cosm also has theaters in Dallas, Detroit and Atlanta, with a location in development for Cleveland. Cosm, which first drew attention for presenting live sports, shares its content among all its locations.

“Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” will open at Cosm in March 2027. Artist Shepard Fairey designed the poster for the event.

(Cosm / Lucasfilm / Walt Disney Co. )

While “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” hasn’t been immune to tinkering and enhancements over the years, the Cosm treatment will be a step in a different direction. Cosm’s domed, 87-foot-diameter wraparound screen surrounds audiences and represents today’s hunger for collective, so-called immersive experiences that place attendees in fantastical environments. Cosm refers to its productions as “shared reality,” a term that in part is a nod to their communal nature.

Cosm will be screening the 2019 edition of “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” a remaster to coincide with the release of streaming service Disney+. The film will be displayed in its original 16:9 format on the Cosm screen. Cosm is partnering with Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and visual effects house MakeMake on the release, and worked with artist Shepard Fairey on a poster for the event. Like past entertainment offerings at the venues, Cosm will create a themed food and drink menu inspired by the film.

“I always say it’s like a best-hits album, where you have got to deliver,” Scalice said when discussing Cosm’s approach to embellishing original cinematic content. “You’ve got to deliver on light speed. You’ve got to deliver on moments.”

Over the decades, there have been efforts to expand the moviegoing experience, be it the on-and-off flirtation with interactive cinema, a brief trend in the ’90s that lived again on Netflix a few years ago (see “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch”), to more recent 4-DX theaters with movement-enabled seats (see the light, water and wind effects of “Twisters”). Cosm, like the bigger, more live music-focused Sphere in Las Vegas, seems to have a different pitch: an all-encompassing screen that can provide previously unexplored vantage points, at times even creating a theme-park-ride sense of movement.

Audience members watch the “Seek” immersive show at Cosm in 2024. The dome-like screen can create a sense of movement, making the venue feel akin to a living space.

(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

Cosm’s interpretation of “The Matrix,” for instance, a collaboration with experiential creative agency Little Cinema, envelops audiences from its opening action sequence when a nighttime view of a city skyline seemingly places us on a rooftop. Elsewhere, an office building becomes a maze of cubicles. The film’s centerpiece red pill versus blue pill moment centers the frame among oversized, glowing capsules. When Keanu Reeves’ Neo awakens, we are lost amid mountainous, industrial pods.

“My favorite compliment from fans is, ‘I’ve seen this movie 100 times, but I feel like I’ve seen it for the first time today,‘” Scalice said. “That’s our biggest compliment because we don’t want to take away the authenticity of it.”

Cosm has worked best when it’s able to use its venue to create the illusion of no longer being a spectator, when the space itself starts to appear like a living theater. Feel this, for instance, in “Harry Potter” when the young wizards traverse a moving staircase. The frame of the screen may move, creating a slight sense of disorientation as the stairs themselves shift. The portraits on the wall, whose characters occasionally come alive, start to envelop us.

It’s moviegoing fit for a theme park, a medium in which “Star Wars” has long been familiar.

At Clifton’s in downtown Los Angeles, a Halloween wedding is taking place, a courtship between a woman and a demon lord. Modantus is his name, his head a skull, with brassy adornments ascending like a satellite dish. He doesn’t talk so much as click, growl and grunt as if clinging to life.

Before dinner is served, a masked man approaches people in the crowd — half in costumes, half in formalwear — in Clifton’s second-story ballroom, once a swing dancing haven. He’s in a vested suit, his mask, a sort of triangular sundial, reflecting light off of the candles at a head table.

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1. Patrons arrive to to attend “The Dark Wedding.” 2. The Clifton’s tiki bar at its Halloween event. 3. The Clifton’s facade. 4. Neil Biondich, center, backstage prior to the show with the cast getting ready for “The Dark Wedding.” 5. Cast members perform and interact withe guests.

“I’m collecting fears,” the man says, as a singer nearby performs a Gothic rendition of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun.” Nightmare creatures from the netherworld feast on the worries of mere mortals, he explains, and so he invites guests to unload some of their own.

Clifton’s, the famed institution that dates to 1935, once a Depression-era oasis designed to look like a woodsy, Northern California lodge, has quietly started operating again after years of post-pandemic fits and starts. Its new operators, Neil Biondich and Alex McCullough, are ramping up events to activate the myriad spaces inside the building, all five stories of forest-themed kitschy wonder. That means magic shows in a mystical basement, karaoke in a lavish tiki bar, and live immersive theater parties in the main room, like its Halloween weekend event “The Dark Weekend.”

And for those who miss Clifton’s as a casual hangout space, their vision also includes two restaurants, the first of which they hope can come online in early 2027.

Their dream — a grand one — is to turn the space into an immersive entertainment venue, one where a live action role playing game (LARP) is running daily. Clifton’s, with its collection of oddities, be it a taxidermied bear or a bartop meteorite, is just the sort of fantastical place, they reason, to house a never-ending “Dungeons & Dragons”-inspired game.

A painting displayed backstage shows a vintage Clifton’s.

“We’re not looking to radically change what this place looks and feels like,” says Biondich, an entrepreneur who has worked in 3D animation and directed commercials. “It should feel just like coming to Clifton’s. There just happens to be some decor that takes you deeper into an urban fantasy.”

Except, for now, maybe don’t call it Clifton’s.

Guests arrive at Clifton’s on Halloween weekend.

Here’s where the story becomes more complicated. Biondich and McCullough do not have access to the Clifton’s name. They’re attempting to rebrand the building as Sanctuary, and running all events and ticketing via Sanctuarydtla.com. If one goes to the official Clifton’s site or social media pages, it will tell you programming at the space is paused.

Prior owner Andrew Meieran recently sold the building to real estate investment firm Robhana Group. Meieran, however, retained the name Clifton’s and its intellectual property (IP). He hasn’t ruled out reviving the brand elsewhere someday.

He bought downtown’s Broadway location in 2010 and invested more than $14 million in renovating it, including building out its heavily detailed tiki bar, complete with a vintage speedboat. Meieran has been outspoken about the challenges of running a large nightlife business downtown but held onto the brand, he says, because Clifton’s is a rarity, a unique only-in-California business.

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1. Actors perform during the Clifton’s Halloween immersive event “The Dark Wedding”. 2. Nathalie Bryan as the bride during “The Dark Wedding.” 3. VIP guests in the Clifton’s dining room.

“It’s not a restaurant,” Meieran says. “It’s not a bar. It’s not a theme park. It’s sort of in between all these things. It’s hard for both an operator and a guest, in terms of appealing to everybody. It wants to be the cafeteria for the people who want the cafeteria. It wants to be an immersive nightlife destination for the people who want that. It also wants to be a tourist destination and a place for families.”

Both Biondich and Meieran are careful when speaking about the other party, and hesitant to do so on the record. The relationship, it’s safe to say, is challenged. Both want to see Clifton’s revived but have yet to come to an agreement. After initially declining to comment on the talks, Meieran later emailed a statement.

“Clifton’s has never been just a building — it’s a concept that’s endured more than ninety years of upheaval: the Depression, a world war, riots, a pandemic, and a city whose people and tastes have changed many times over,” he wrote. “We’re working with the building’s owners to put a foundation in place that allows Clifton’s to thrive for another ninety years, bringing Clifton’s special brand of magic to Broadway for generations to come.”

Cast member Nugget performs during “The Dark Wedding”

Neil Biondich, co-founder of Sanctuary DTLA and co-executive producer of the Clifton’s Halloween immersive event “The Dark Wedding.”

Biondich is, for now, moving forward with the Sanctuary name, even developing an app that will bring augmented reality monsters to the venue. He describes his vision for the LARP as something between “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Pokémon Go.”

“We’ll eventually have glasses where you can see people in neighboring dimensions,” Biondich says. “We call it a dimensional tuner. You can look at higher frequencies and see if there’s any fae spirits around, or down-tune it and see if there’s any undead spirits or demons around.” Once the game launches, those who play it will receive rewards, such as discounted food or drinks.

It’s a welcome moment for Clifton’s to reemerge. Downtown has struggled since the end of the pandemic, with many workers not returning to its plethora of office space and a significant number of business abandoning the neighborhood, jeopardizing what was once a robust community. There are some smattering signs of life right now, however. Cole’s, for instance, is set to reopen in the coming weeks, and there’ve been rumblings that the Original Pantry will also soon return.

Guests at one of the bars following the Clifton’s Halloween event “The Dark Wedding”.

“Everybody who works and lives down here loves downtown,” Biondich says, “and they’re doing everything they can to bring it back and make it a more palatable place for people to come and enjoy. I really enjoy the passion of people who live downtown. It’s infectious.”

Biondich envisions a day when the building now known as Clifton’s operates as a restaurant in the day and early evening, then “wakes up” at night with actors in monster garb in its core bar spaces. Long term, he is planning a late-2027 opening of a second, more upscale restaurant in the venue. He intends for the comedy, magic and karaoke events to continue.

Biondich wants people to speak of Sanctuary in the same way they would talk of other noteworthy immersive venues. He cites art collective-turned-experiential firm Meow Wolf as an inspiration, only Sanctuary would have a more linear narrative that would emphasize game-inspired socializing.

“Our goal is to make this an international destination,” Biondich says. “If you’re going to Los Angeles, you’re going to check out Clifton’s for Sanctuary, in a similar way one would go to a Meow Wolf.”

Guests during the Clifton’s Halloween immersive event “Dark Wedding”

But he’s also trying to walk a line, to assure longtime fans of the space, as well downtown residents, that Clifton’s will still primarily cater to them. He’s hired a chef, he says, and Clifton’s serves a limited menu — a burger, fish tacos — on days it’s open. While many of the early events, such as a “Dungeons & Dragons” social club or a “Super Smash Bros.” tournament, have courted the geek community, Biondich, a Northridge resident, says once the lower-level restaurant is open, it will honor the Clifton’s legacy.

That means that yes, there will be a Jell-O dish.

POTTERHEADS will need their wands (and wallets) at the ready as the biggest Harry Potter shop in Europe opens tomorrow.

The enormous store on Oxford Street will be a haven for fans with plenty of photo opportunities, exclusive merchandise and Butterbeer treats.

In fact, the shop is so big that it’s the joint biggest Harry Potter store in the world alongside the one already open in New York.

The UK shop will be set across two floors and as visitors first walk into the shop, they’ll be transported to Diagon Alley – the famous shopping street in the franchise.

There will be ‘hidden magical details’ along the way, and you’ll be likely spot familiar stores like Ollivanders Wand Shop and Flourish and Blotts.

Visitors should watch out for the enormous dragon that towers over Gringotts Bank.

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At the Leaky Cauldron pub, shoppers can take a break from browsing and enjoy a refreshing pint of Butterbeer.

They will also serve up Butterbeer Ice Cream and other sweet treats.

There are plenty of photo opportunities throughout the store including one inside a full-sized purple Knight Bus – so you’ll feel fully immersed in the action.

Inside the Oxford Street shop will be exclusive merch for sale including a Diagon Alley wand, a Harry Potter Funko Pop and artwork.

There’s also the Hogwarts Bear Ceremony – an interactive experience where fans can ‘celebrate the magic of the Sorting Ceremony’.

It will also sell goodies like knitwear (think Ron’s Weasley’s jumper from the Philosopher’s Stone), as well as gift and even Christmas decorations.

There will be an option to personalise the products too including customised house robes, exclusive trunks and notebooks.

You can even get a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter personalised with your name and address.

The store will join the King’s Cross Shop as the only official Harry Potter retail destinations in the UK.

Celebrating the announcement of the magical new store, Karl Durrant, Warner Bros senior vice-president of worldwide retail, said: “Following the success of our Harry Potter shops around the globe, opening the Harry Potter Shop in London is a truly special milestone.

“We’re incredibly proud to bring the magic back to the city where Harry Potter’s story began.

“There’s no better place to create a destination that celebrates the magic, creativity and storytelling that has captivated generations of fans around the world.

“Step inside and you’ll feel as though you’ve walked straight into Diagon Alley. Every detail has been designed to transport fans into the wizarding world.”

The shop on Oxford Street will open ahead of the new HBO series launching on Christmas Day.

TeamLab, the Japan-born, tech-heavy immersive art collective, is plotting its first permanent U.S. exhibition in Anaheim. The group, stylized as teamLab, is moving into a 110,000-square-foot space at OCVibe, the 100-acre mixed-use entertainment district currently in development near the Honda Center.

Details are scant, as the TeamLab spot is not estimated to open until 2030, but a press release specifies this will be a new exhibition and not a recreation of one of the collective’s popular international exhibits. TeamLab got its start in Tokyo in 2001, but over the years grew from exhibiting in galleries to building its own museum-like spaces, today having permanent locales in Japan, China and Saudi Arabia.

A TeamLab installation is something of an immersive playground, inviting guests to sometimes take off their shoes to interact with floor-to-ceiling walk-through attractions that split the difference between art and play. One of its showcase facilities, Tokyo’s TeamLab Planets, welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors in 2024, a Guinness world record for the most visited art museum by a single group.

An artist’s rendering of the Anaheim location, estimated to open in 2030.

(OCVibe)

“For teamLab, through art, we seek to explore what perception is and what existence is,” said Toshiyuki Inoko, a founder of TeamLab, in a release announcing the exhibit.

“The artworks change with the presence of people, making them an integral part of the art itself. People immerse themselves with their entire bodies, transcending the boundaries between themselves, the artworks, and the world around them, becoming part of a borderless continuity.”

TeamLab’s Anaheim location is just three miles from Disneyland, which draws more than 17 million people to the area. TeamLab is just one of many immersive art destinations coming to SoCal, as Meow Wolf will be opening a permanent exhibition in the coming months, and firms such as Hopscotch and the Museum of Ice Cream also have area exhibitions on the horizon.

“Anaheim has always been a place where people come to experience something they can’t find anywhere else, and teamLab will expand our appeal to new audiences from around the world. Experiences like this inspire longer stays, repeat visits,” stated Mike Waterman, president and chief executive of the tourism-focused Visit Anaheim.

The deal between TeamLab and OCVibe backers is worth more than $100 million, Bloomberg reported. OCVibe is the vision of Henry and Susan Samueli, owners of the Anaheim Ducks, and it will open in phases. A 5,000 capacity concert hall is set to open next year, followed by a food hall.

The TeamLab building will be visible from the freeway, and is being designed by Smith-Clementi, OCVibe’s master planners. Based on concept art shown, expect a shimmering, scale-like pattern designed to evoke movement.

“This building feels different depending on the direction or pace of your approach,” said Julie Smith-Clementi . “The time of day, or movement of clouds participates in rendering its iridescent cloak, enriching what you think you see. We want the design to leave room for imagination and discovery and, like in nature, to offer something new with each visit.”

OCVibe will also offer office space, residences and two hotels. It’s estimated to be completed by 2033.

“Night Watch” has an easy hook, starting with its setting. The immersive monster show is staged inside an ominous white van.

Yes, a real van. It’s creepy, and pulls equal inspiration from immersive theater, video games, escape rooms and environmental design. At a little over 30 minutes or so, it’s refreshingly approachable, a bite-sized slice of interactive, participatory theater that lingered with me long after I saw it. And not just because there were moments that startled me. “Night Watch,” like any good monster story, has metaphors on its mind.

“Night Watch” is the creation of Sara Biel and KJ Knies, a husband-and-wife creative team with day jobs working for a themed entertainment design firm. On their own, however, they go by Bee’s Knees. There’s buzz around “Night Watch.” Its initial October dates sold out nearly instantly, but the couple is extending the run at least into mid-November. Additional tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 9 p.m., and those interested are advised to join the waitlist.

The couple’s experience in theme park design is evident in “Night Watch,” as its small cargo van is ripe for exploration, with TVs, monitors, filing cabinets and more outfitted with vintage tech and lore-building corporate paraphernalia. Before the show properly began, I started frantically combing through folders and flipping through notebooks.

KJ Knies and Sara Biel are the creators of “Night Watch,” an immersive horror story set in a van.

(Bee’s Knees)

Yet I soon learned my goal here was not so much to find clues, like in a typical escape room, but to build a personality profile. Participants are assigned the role of an overnight security guard to monitor a mysterious tech firm. You’re unaware, at least at the start, of what kind of business the company is in, but “Night Watch” wants you to get to know the person who held the job before you. The van is outfitted with posters of national parks, hinting at someone who was longing for a life with more freedom and travel than a working-class career provides.

“Night Watch,” off the bat, wants us to grapple with how personal dreams can clash — or become lost — with the corporate world. It feels personal, and that’s no accident, says Biel, as the show was informed by the couple’s own talks about their future.

Throughout “Night Watch,” attendees are tasked with examining security footage.

(Bee’s Knees)

“I moved to L.A. to become a writer. KJ moved to L.A. to become a filmmaker,” Biel says. “Now we’re on this different corporate path. Is this the path that we should be on or should we have listened to our gut and went a more artistic direction? I feel like all of our friends are going through this. You move to this city to do one thing, and you fall into a different path. That’s not bad. I’m of the opinion that you follow the doors that open as you go, but that’s what we were grappling with and what we wanted to bring into this show.”

With monsters, of course.

I completed “Night Watch” solo, but the show can accommodate up to four people (tickets for two start at $90). You’ll interact with an actor who plays your co-worker during the production, primarily via a two-way radio. At times, you’ll monitor the action outside of the van. Other moments have you digging into the digital files of the previous security guard, who is said to have mysteriously left his job. But mostly you’ll just talk with your unseen co-worker, who might push you into philosophical discussions about your hopes for a better life. This creates an inherent tension in “Night Watch.” You might know on one level that this is a monster story, and yet like me, find yourself opening up about personal details, trying to manifest a better day for yourself.

Details inside the van.

(Bee’s Knees)

With “Night Watch’s” emphasis on security footage and old computer logs, Knies says he was influenced by full-motion video games, citing the work of Sam Barlow and his voyeuristic crime game “Her Story.” It isn’t hard to see the show as a thinly veiled statement about our current tech-obsessed era, with each day bringing with it seemingly fresh announcements about some new site, social media add-on, gadget or AI tool that promises to improve our lives (but rarely, if ever, does). There’s a moment when you start to wonder if the business you’re providing security for is actually one of the “good guys.”

The project’s story, says Knies, began with a simple sketch from Biel: “The first idea that Sara pitched me was a monster sucking souls and pooping gold.” It spiraled from there, and the last half of “Night Watch” comes quick as we unravel its multiple mysteries. And that’s where the frights, heightened by the intimacy of the van, come in.

“We really wanted to play with having a confined space that we could manipulate to our advantage,” Biel says. “We wanted to play with the effects of moving the van and shaking the van and closing off your viewpoint.”

The confined venue — a dimly lit storage van — helps participants narrow in on the mission.

(Bee’s Knees)

The van has other benefits, too, especially in L.A. where it’s hard to find a unique venue for a limited-run show. “The cheapest and easiest places you can get are white walls with tile floor, but then you’re going to spend so much money decking that out to make it feel like a lived-in space,” Knies says.

“Night Watch” is currently staged outside of Hatch Escapes, home to some of the city’s finest escape rooms, in Arlington Heights. Biel says the two are talking to Hatch about hosting the show there long-term, but there is one hitch. The van is a rental, and at some point it will need to be returned.

“Don’t tell Enterprise that we painted on their walls,” Knies says.

This week in SoCal theme parks

An audio-animatronic Indiana Jones figure hangs above guests on Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

• Indiana Jones is adventuring again. Disneyland’s popular Indiana Jones Adventure reopened after a six-week refurbishment on Friday with a number of changes. Most of them will be invisible to guests, but Disneyland engineers worked behind-the-scenes to make the attraction more reliable and found ways to increase its capacity. They also added some spiders. Read all the details here from my walk-through of the attraction last week.
• A bookstore for us immersive, theme park geeks. Coming next year to Los Angeles, near the corner of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, is Genres Book Society, boasting a design led by former Walt Disney Imagineer Ann Morrow Johnson. Genres is part bookshop, part speakeasy and part immersive venue. There’s a dragon, a secret bar and a tree with glowing books. Read more about this bookshop dreamed up by Clare Grant and Karissa Marston here.
• Nikki, meet Nikki. One of my highlights of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood was interacting with a scare actor playing the role of Nikki from the film “Obsession.” The other week, the actor who initiated the role in the movie, Inde Navarrette, visited the horror event and had her own dalliance with one of the park’s Nikki performers.
• Still need Halloween plans? The doors of downtown’s Clifton’s, a venue some say inspired Walt Disney (although this isn’t really confirmed by any official sources), will be open for an immersive theater dinner show. Expect roving actors, multiple storylines to follow and an otherworldly wedding that may or may not involve monsters. The current operators of the historic space have big plans for programming similar such events throughout the holiday season. “The Dark Wedding” runs Friday through Sunday, and tickets start at $65.

A farewell to Halloween season (but mostly just to Cars Land’s zombie car)

A mostly deceased “zombie car” struggles to come to life at Cars Land in Disney California Adventure.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The first Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure was held this year on Aug. 18, which means Halloween season is coming to a close after a 2½-month celebration. Our local theme parks will be wrapping up Halloween festivities this weekend, and it was a good one. Universal Studios Hollywood shined with a “Sinners”-inspired maze, but the star of the event was its dedication to Ozzy Osbourne. And Knott’s Berry Farm was wise to partner with the Magic Castle.

But in terms of pure decor, the Disneyland Resort has everyone beat, and I wanted to take a moment to salute my favorite Halloween adornment. I was initially nervous, as when the resort debuted its Halloween look in August the zombie automobile in Cars Land was missing. I make a beeline to it each season because it’s such a demented tale that I want to make sure it hasn’t left the park. This mostly dead skeleton car sits outside Radiator Springs Curios, owned by the character of Lizzie. Lizzie is a widow, lovesick at the loss of her husband Stanley.

The shop was under refurbishment earlier in the season, hence the reason for the zombie car’s late arrival, but I was relieved when it finally materialized a couple weeks ago, its body trying to emerge from the ground from under a tree. It’s a morbid story. Lizzie, see, has created a “ghoul-ant” (coolant, get it?) in the hopes of bringing dead cars back to life. She wants to use it on Stanley, but not until its perfected. It’s not. This mostly lifeless car struggles every few seconds to get its engine going. Occasionally, it musters enough strength to get the radio powered on. But it’s mostly just trapped in a near-dead state.

This zombie car is nothing more than the result of a failed experiment, and the implication is there will be more, as Lizzie will not stop until she’s reunited with Stanley. It’s more than a little sick, but also a statement about the way a lost love can forever haunt us. In that sense, it’s perfect, and I adore it. See you, hopefully, next year, zombie car.

The best thing I ate at the parks this week

The short rib lasagna from the Hearthstone Lounge.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

With the heat briefly lifting a little bit ago, it was time to revisit my favorite dish at the Disneyland Resort. It’s heavy, hence the reason I was eager to tackle it when things cooled down. I’ve ordered the short rib lasagna from the Grand Californian’s Hearthstone Lounge three or four times over the past year, and I’m now convinced it’s among the best items on the menu at any restaurant at the resort, including the high-end fine dining establishment Napa Rose. It’s that good. And yes, it’s pricey at $42, but it’s a large portion and could easily be split. In fact, I wish I had done the latter, but I was at the park solo and had to immediately end my night after feasting on this decadent dish because I was simply too full to continue exploring. The tender short rib easily peels apart with a fork, and it’s plentiful. A trio of cheeses, and a heavily creamy Bechamel sauce, coupled with a buttery Mascarpone, make this the perfect winter dish. I’ll be at Disneyland on Thanksgiving, and am half thinking of making this my holiday meal rather than turkey.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Morning crowds at Disneyland just after park opening, known as “rope drop.”

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Late breaking theme park news arrived Tuesday morning courtesy of trade group the Themed Entertainment Assn., which released its 2025 global attendance report. The news for the theme park sector is … mixed? Here in SoCal, attendance at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure increased ever-so-slightly, at 0.4% each. Disneyland drew 17.4 million in 2025, making it once again the second most-visited park in the world, behind only Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Just over 10 million visitors took in California Adventure.

Universal Studios Hollywood fared less great, suffering an attendance dip of 8%. The report attributes the downtown to our devastating wildfires early in the year, as well as a decline in international tourism to the region. It’s worth noting that the park in 2023 opened Super Nintendo World, and it’s newness may have worn off a bit for local visits last year. Overall, the park drew 8 million guests.

Also suffering declines in attendance were Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags’ Magic Mountain, each dipping about 4%. Knott’s drew 4.3 million attendees while the Valencia park brought in 3.2 million visitors.

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