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YOU don’t need a huge holiday budget to jet off on an amazing European city break.

With flights from £13.99 each way and hotel rooms from under £40 a night, a weekend escape to Spain, Italy, or France can easily cost less than a big night out at home.

Whether you fancy sipping €3 (£2.50) wine by the river in Porto, grabbing fresh beachside tapas in Malaga, or drinking in views from a 360-degree rotating bar in Tirana, you can do it all while on a budget.

Here are the best bargain European city breaks you can book right now for under £18 a flight, with ridiculously cheap hotel stays to match.

Lyon, France

Bag a cheap city break to Lyon where you can sip a drink on a floating bar at the River Banks, wander Renaissance-era cobblestone streets in Old Lyon, and sample some of the best food in France.

Known as the food capital of France, it isn’t hard to find somewhere good to eat here – even on a budget.

Head to Marronniers Street at lunchtime and take your pick of Bouchons, which are traditional, local restaurants serving high-quality authentic meals for as little as €10 (£8.50).

You can fly to Lyon with Wizz Air from £17.99 each way. Sometimes the return flight from Lyon can be as low as £13.99.

The People Lyon offers rooms from £37 a night. The building used to be a secondary school, and has now become a vibrant spot for people to sit and enjoy views of the Fourvière Basilica.

Milan, Italy

While famous for high fashion and luxury, Milan is surprisingly easy to do on a budget if you know where to look.

The city’s aperitivo culture is ideal for inexpensive light snacking and drinking – especially in the vibrant, canal-side district of Navigli.

Soak up world-class architecture for free by wandering through the mall Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, admiring Sforzesco Castle, and of course taking in the views of the famous Milan Cathedral.

With super cheap flights, an affordable metro system and plenty to do for free once you’re there, you can book a city break to Milan knowing it won’t dent your wallet.

You can fly to Milan with Ryanair from £14.99 each way.

The Glam Hotel Milano has rooms from £50 a night, and is a modern hotel directly opposite the train station.

Malaga, Spain

Far more than a typical getaway to the Costa del Sol, Malaga is a vibrant, sun-soaked city full of Andalusian culture.

Dining out is wonderfully cheap, with beachside bars serving fresh sardine skewers for only a few euros, alongside plenty of low-cost tapas spots.

Sightseeing costs next to nothing thanks to free Sunday afternoon entry to art museums and historic sites like the Alcazaba fortress.

Pair that with beach days and scenic hikes to the Gibralfaro viewpoint, and you’ve got yourself a very affordable few days away.

You can fly to Malaga with Wizz Air from £17.99 each way.

Rooms at funky capsule hotel Futurotel Malaga start from £59.

Porto, Portugal

Cheap wine, unique architecture, amazing city viewpoints – Porto is the ideal pick for a walkable city break packed with affordable things to do.

Spend a day strolling through the Ribeira District where medieval colourful houses and charming cafes line the riverfront.

Another top free sight is to watch the sun set behind the huge steel Dom Luis I Bridge from the Jardmin do Morro, to the sound of local street musicians.

As for cheap wine, pop into neighbourhood tascas for a bite to eat and a drink – here you can enjoy local wine by the jug for €3.50 (£3)!

You can fly to Porto with Ryanair from as little as £13.99 each way.

The ever-reliable ibis budget Porto Gaia has rooms from £55 a night.

Tirana, Albania

Tirana is easily one of Europe’s most underrated and budget-friendly capitals, buzzing with pastel-painted buildings and an amazing coffee culture.

You can explore giant, Communist-era nuclear bunkers turned underground art museums at Bunk’Art, or catch a cheap cable car ride up Mount Dajti for sweeping views across the valley.

Nights are best spent in the trendy Blloku district – a neighbourhood once off-limits to locals as it was an restricted zone for communist regime leaders – now it’s open to everyone with lively cocktail lounges and traditional grill houses that serve up dishes and drinks for pocket change.

You can fly to Tirana with Wizz Air from £17.99 each way.

The four-star Sky Hotel Tirana has rooms from £38 per night, and is home to the largest rotating bar in the Balkans.

The revolving rooftop bar completes a 360° turn every hour, giving you sweeping city and mountain views alongside your meal.

Dublin, Ireland

When you can hop over to Dublin on a £14.99 hour-long flight, this might just be the quickest and easiest city break to tick off in a weekend.

While Temple Bar is certainly worth a visit to walk its pretty cobbled streets and grab a pic outside the famous red pub, save your pint of Guinness for elsewhere.

Head to South William Street to find cheaper beer at spots like Pygmalion and Grogan’s, where all the atmosphere comes from taking your pint back out into the street to listen to buskers.

For an affordable yet delicious lunch, head to Pablo Picante. Dublin has a huge burrito culture, and this Mexican chain offers well-stuffed wraps that will keep you full all day from €10.75 (£9.20).

You can fly to Dublin with Ryanair from £14.99 each way.

Stay at the Wetherspoons-owned Keaven’s Port Hotel from £82 per night. The hotel sits on Camden Street, which packed with some of the city’s best bars, pubs and clubs.

Alicante, Spain

With year-round warmth and 300 days of sunshine per year, Alicante is a solid bet when it comes to booking a sunny Spanish city break.

Spend your days wandering the whitewashed, flower-filled lanes of Barrio Santa Cruz, or taking in sweeping Mediterranean views from the hilltop Santa Barbara Castle for free.

Eating well can be remarkably cheap if you visit Mercado Central for fresh tapas, or tuck into authentic regional paellas at backstreet neighbourhood bars.

You can fly to Alicante with Ryanair from £14.99 each way.

You can book a stay at the Travelodge Alicante Puerto from £39 per night, which is conveniently located a short walk from Alicante Harbour and the Explanada de España.

DANIELLE Lloyd has opened up to fans after her son Ronnie was unexpectedly rushed to hospital.

The model, 42, revealed the news on social media following a ‘heavy night’ but reassured that he was now on the mend.

The mum-of-five took to her Instagram Stories to share a photo of her eight-year-old son laying asleep in a hospital bed. 

Danielle captioned the post: “Well that was a heavy night!

“Thanks for all your messages Ronnie is out and feeling a lot better (heart emoji)”

After reassuring fans of Ronnie’s recovery, a later snap uploaded by Danielle showed the model all smiles as she posed alongside her daughter and nephew. 

READ MORE ON DANIELLE LLOYD

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She penned: “Tired but… love my kids & Nephew.”

Danielle shares sons Archie, George, and Harry with ex-husband Jamie O’Hara, while she and Michael O’Neill are parents to Ronnie and Autumn Rose.  

The star had previously gone through her own health scare after being diagnosed with a melanoma last year.

Danielle, who is now cancer free, had admitted to The Sun at the time: “Being a mum, I was trying to put a brave face on for everyone, but inside I’ve been crumbling. 

“I was worried every single day that I was going to die.”

Danielle has been very candid about her cancer journey and shared photos alongside health updates to raise awareness of skin cancer.

She had an operation to remove a cancerous patch from just above her collarbone, after spotting a change in a small freckle.

She said the freckle was “smaller than a five pence coin” but had started to raise alarm bells after she saw how much it had evolved over time.

She responded to a fan in her comments: “Mine was melanoma which was sun damage x”.

Danielle admitted she believed her tanned skin tone gave her some protection from cancer.

She revealed she rarely wore sunscreen with a high SPF, saying: “Honestly, if I did, it was very low factor as I go so brown very quickly. I never thought my skin tone could get skin cancer and if I did anyone can”.

The mum also said she had ditched sunbeds for the first time in her life.

Posting the update to her fans, Danielle urged others to be vigilant about any skin changes, especially those that may seem minor at first glance.

She said in the comments: “I used to be a total sun worshiper, never really thinking about the risk of skin cancer.

“Sunbeds before holidays? Absolutely! But now, I’ve decided it’s better to fake the glow because my health and being there for my kids are what truly matter.”

Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott brought her “To Whom This May Concern” album — her first in more than a decade — to life at Inglewood’s YouTube Theater last week. Backed by a razor-sharp 11-piece all-male band (including background singers fittingly dubbed “Freeman”), Scott moved effortlessly through a two-hour set filled with songs from the genre-expansive album along with several fan favorites like “He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)” and “Gettin’ in the Way.”

Enforcing a phone-free policy at her personal request, the North Philadelphia native kept the audience intensely locked in — hanging onto her every word and every seemingly impossible note she struck with ease. Before long, it was easy to forget that we didn’t have our devices. Smiles filled the intimate room. Couples danced together. Strangers sang to each other in joyful unison, while others closed their eyes or held their hands on their chest in complete awe of witnessing a veteran artist in her element.

Jill Scott is on tour for “To Whom This May Concern,” her first album in over a decade.

(Jada Imani M)

In her only interview during the tour thus far, we caught up with Scott backstage to talk why she never performs a song the same way twice, how removing devices makes concerts better and why she thinks “To Whom This May Concern” deserves several accolades.

I’m still coming down from all of the energy from the show. How are you feeling post-show?

I am hot from the inside, and it’s gonna take me hours to calm down. [Laughs]

You’ve always described music as an intimate, two-way conversation between you and the audience. For this tour, you created a strictly phone-free space. Why did you decide to do that and how did this shift the experience for you as a performer?

In a couple of ways. One part is that it’s terrifying because there’s no buffer between me and them, so that’s actually scary, but I embrace it. The other part of it is that it’s wonderful because people initially come in kind of nervous about not having a buffer between myself and the space or themselves and space. Then I watch them gradually release, and I get a kick out of that every night. That’s my favorite part.

I’m surprised to hear that it’s scary for someone like you who’s been performing at such a high level for so many years.

Because I care. It matters to me. I really want them to have a good time. I really want them to release some things, allow themselves to be. If you want to make out, if you want to dance, if you want to cry, if you want to shout, or put up your hands in the air, or sit still, I want them to be able to do that. I think it’s important. That’s the relationship. That’s the real relationship between artist and fans of the music. It’s the connection between the music. I’m here to [be of] service. I’m here to push the ship along, but it’s really their relationship with the music and I’m a conduit. That part is probably one of my other favorites. You have to relinquish your id and allow the thing to be the thing. I think sometimes you can practice the joy and the life out of a thing. We practice a lot, but then we forget everything we practice so that it’s alive. My musicians’ freedom is mandatory. It’s a part of the job. So if they show up and play the exact same thing in the exact same way every night, they’re probably not going to be around very long. I need them to be wide open and to rediscover the music every night from their perspective. It’s their 11 perspectives on stage, and then of course there’s the lighting designer. I need him to be free. Don’t give me the same light at the same time every night. Even front-of-the-house sound engineer as well as our in-ear monitors, everybody is playing a part. “What does she need? Let’s read her. Let’s, you know, pay attention. What does she want?” It’s a lot of fun.

You could see really feel that from you and your entire band.

Tonight was a different audience. They were very attentive. Last night they danced all night long from the very beginning. I couldn’t even see the floor. Tonight they were listening. I know it’s a Wednesday night. Everybody’s got to go to work [the next morning], but they were beautiful. The listening audience is probably my favorite. They get quiet and I’m like “Oh, it’s so scary. Am I doing the right thing?” [Laughs] But that means they’re listening. Who doesn’t want to be heard?

Your son came out with you tonight. How was that experience for you?

It’s beautiful to see. He told me Tierra Whack is not traveling with us because she has a new album out, “Whack’s Museum,” so she’s a little busy. He was like, “Mom, how do you feel about me doing the second verse?” and I was like “Be at sound check tomorrow with a mic in your hand.”

He looked so comfortable on stage.

He does. It’s kind of scary. Super exciting. I don’t know what he’ll want to do, but he’s working our set, so he’s a part of the crew. So after he does his performance, he puts back on his blacks and he does his job, and I love that for him, to have that sense of responsibility. He’s exceeding anybody’s and everybody’s expectations. He’s so good at this. All the clothes you see, he steamed up.

He’s really working his way up.

Yes, you must earn your way.

Your album “To Whom This May Concern” released in February, and it feels like a love letter from your favorite auntie. There’s lessons about learning from your mistakes, honoring your ancestors and loving yourself. Now that your fans have been living with these songs for several months, I’m curious if performing them live has shifted your relationship with them at all?

No. On a great night, I like telling the stories that I’ve read. I like embodying them in front of other people. I like watching them experience them in a new way. I’m a fan of that. It just makes it more and more true. Then I see how many people are singing along and how many people are looking at me, and I’m like “Yesss.” It’s reaching the people and I know it’s going to be different because there’s a different audience every night. So I’m thrilled about the project and how it’s touching people. You hope you don’t work this hard at a thing for it to fall on deaf ears, and I know how microwavable music has been, but I believe the cream rises to the top. It’s been a beautiful 26 years. I look forward to 26 more — in my way.

Your album has been receiving a lot of praise from fans and critics. There’s still a few months before the Grammy nominations are announced, but at this point in your career, how important is that recognition to you? Is it as important as it was when you first started your career?

I think I deserve it. That’s all. [Flashes a smile]

I mean everything about this project from beginning to end is blood, sweat and tears. I stayed up many nights just to write, a hunger in my belly and a savage appetite. And I mean it. Everything is true and I love that for me. That’s the kind of thing that takes time and I think musically, it’s incredible. I think the stories are awesome and intentional, and everything about it, from the planning of it to the marketing, has been from my soul, and I think it deserves several.

LONDON is one of the most expensive cities in the world for a holiday.

Whether that means spending six quid on a coffee, £10 for a pint or the bill you rack up constantly tapping in and out of transport – a visit to the city certainly isn’t cheap.

And when it comes to finding somewhere to stay not only can the choice be overwhelming, with around 3,000 hotels to choose from, but it can also be yet another huge expense.

In fact, the average three-star London hotel costs £161 per night and if you are wanting something a little better quality, one night in a four-star property can set you back around £249.

So finding somewhere to rest your head that doesn’t rinse your budget for food, drink and entertainment can feel almost impossible.

Lucky for you, we have tried and tested a tonne of hotels in the capital and here are the very best that are under £100 per night…

The Drey

Streamlined hotels are becoming increasingly common in cities, scraping all of the extra offerings in exchange for cheaper prices.

One of the newest – and most affordable – is The Drey in Earls Court.

Staff are on hand at the lobby but the tech-focused hotel lets you open your room via your phone rather than a physical card.

I stayed in the smallest room, The Snug, although there are also bunk-bed rooms, rooms for six people or windowless rooms for people who “take beauty sleep seriously”.

Complimentary toiletries, a coffee machine and compact bathrooms make it feel more like a four-star hotel.

For anything else you need, there is direct Whatsapp contact with hotel staff who can help out.

The on-site restaurant has been skipped, but they’ve teamed up with local cafe Elixis with a 10 per cent discount.

Rooms start from £84 (with 20 per cent off August stays right now). Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Moxy

Think grown up hostels but in hotel form and you get Moxy.

There’s pool tables in the lobby, welcome cocktails on arrival, and 24-hour bars.

The rooms feel airy and light but with nice touches – some have bunk beds, others have funky LED lighting.

But go downstairs and you’ll usually find great music, bars that feel more like clubs and enough of a vibe that you don’t need to leave, if you’re too exhausted from a day of sightseeing but still fancy a drink.

Gyms and on-site restaurants finish it off so they tick all the boxes even on a budget. It’s not just in the city either, as they even have airport hotels too.

Albeit, these are usually a bit more pared back when it comes to the interiors, but offer the same atmosphere of a jazzed-up budget hotel.

Rooms start from £55 a night. Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Yotel

Did you know there is a hotel whose designs were based on first class plane cabins?

Yotel is known for its famous white and purple decor, and being a great affordable option in the city not just in the UK, but also in the US, Amsterdam, Porto and even recently Japan.

Their city stays are ideal when you want a simple, but clean place to stay in a great location.

I’ve stayed in Yotel City which has fantastic views of London’s iconic landmarks like St Pauls and The Shard.

The rooms themselves are simple and functional but clean, with one of their famous features being the reclining bed, going from a space-saving sofa to a full bed.

Small cubby holes for all your gadgets and compact toilets and showers; they come with towels and toiletries.

Some have gyms and restaurants, as well as umbrellas you can rent and 24-hour grab-and-go stations.

Skip the room being made up and you can even get a discount at the bar. Rooms start from £85. Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

easyHotel

Not content with just having flights, easyHotel offers the same affordable offerings the airline is known for, but in hotel form.

Found all across Europe, most of the UK destinations are in major cities including London, Newcastle and Leeds.

Expect very basic rooms – large beds, towels and compact bathrooms with unfancy toiletries – but all you need if you need a hotel as a base.

The iconic orange branding is even dotted throughout the hotels.

You won’t find much else apart from a lobby and vending machine, so no gyms or bars here.

You’ll also have to pay extra if you want them to store your bags, but there is a 24/7 reception if you need help at any time of the day.

And for the central location – I’ve stayed in both the London City Shoreditch and London Victoria – the basic price isn’t one to be sniffed at.

Rooms from £41 a night (15 per cent off for three or more night stays). Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Zedwell

Would you be willing to sleep underground without any windows? If you want a mega cheap city stay simply as a base to rest, then Zedwell is your hotel.

The Zedwell Tottenham Court Road takes you four floors below ground, with all the rooms being windowless.

Even as someone who is claustrophobic, I was surprised with how I felt cosy rather than trapped.

The only sound was the slight rumbling of the London Underground trains going overheard which was weirdly soothing.

Being such a budget hotel, don’t expect much else at the hotel – there’s a lobby with a vending machine, as well as a ‘beauty and ironing room’ if you need some extra amenities to get ready.

But in your room there is an ensuite with towels and toiletries, so what more could you need?

The TVs have been skipped (all in the name of better sleep) but it has fully working WiFi despite its underground location.

Rooms from £66 a night. Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Bob W

Standing for ‘Best of Both Worlds’, Bob W has since expanded to London after success elsewhere in Europe.

Mixing all the benefits of both the perks of hotels and the freedom of Airbnb, this means mini kitchenettes and even laundry facilities at some of them.

The rooms are chic, feeling a lot fancier than the price suggests. Free Wifi, toiletries and towels, as well as complimentary luggage storage are all included in the price.

Forgotten something? Some even have complimentary lockers in reception for things like coffee pods and toilet roll if you run out.

But with no lobby or reception, everything is done via the Bob W app, and a Whatsapp chat if needed.

Due to their central location, you will easily find somewhere to eat and drink nearby if you need something, as there are no restaurants or bars within the hotel.

Or you can add on a breakfast package, usually teaming up with a local cafe.

Rooms from £70 a night (five per cent off with free Bob’s Inner Circle loyalty scheme). Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Premier Inn

You can never go wrong with a Premier Inn in my opinion, and I’ve stayed in my fair share of them. (To prove my credentials, I even have the Premier Inn pillows at home).

But I’ve stayed in them all over the country, especially when it comes to weddings and hen dos, as well as at airports before an early flight.

For £35 a night, you get a clean, simple room, usually with a fairly standard but satisfying menu of food and drink from the onsite restaurant.

One of the most beautiful I’ve stayed at is the newish hub Premier Inn London Farringdon (Old Bailey) which has turned an old Victorian police station (hub being the compact city-centre affordable sister brand).

If you want some peace and quiet, book a room on the quiet floors, while their upgraded Next Evolution rooms are also being rolled out.

And with kids staying and eating for free, it’s no wonder the budget hotel chain is so well-loved.

Want to go even smaller? Try the ZIP by Premier Inn – even more basic but £25 a night.

Rooms from £35 a night. Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

The Z Hotel

Z Hotels Gloucester Place is home to a room package that is all-inclusive, which means you get soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, snacks, lunch and dinner all included in the price.

The Z Club room is exclusive to the Gloucester Place hotel and inside each room you will find a king-size bed and ensuite.

While the rooms are nothing special, they are spacious and have everything you need.

And you can’t argue with the location – Marble Arch tube station is just a 10-minute walk away, and Baker Street is a five-minute walk away.

Guests can check in from 3pm, which is what I did and I beelined straight for the dining area where I helped myself to afternoon tea selection, which included ham and cheese croissants and a cake stand featuring macarons, brownies, flapjacks, and pots of tiramisu.

You can also order items from a menu, including salmon and sauerkraut ciabatta or a salad.

In the evening, cheese and wine appears – you just have to ask the host for a glass of wine, but you can have as many glasses as you like.

In the morning, breakfast then consists of toast, flatbreads with omelette and bacon, fresh fruit, Greek yogurt and pastries. A Z Club Room costs from £110 per night, which is just £55 per person, per night. Cyann Fielding, Travel Reporter

Zedwell Pods

Zedwell is one of the city’s newest hotels to open, right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus where you can normally expect hotels to have high prices.

Not Zedwell – the new hotel claims to be the world’s biggest capsule hotel, and with that, comes the small price of just £30 a night.

That definitely makes it the cheapest hotel room in the city (unless you want to bunk up in an 18-bed dorm).

Inside, decked out with a modern concrete and timber design, there are nearly 1,000 individual sleep capsules over five floors.

It’s a twist on the traditional ‘dorm style’ hostel set up as each guest gets privacy and security of being tucked up in your capsule, with the ability to lock it from the inside.

On first glance, the dorm rooms, which are minimalist and dimly-lit looked a bit like a car park or a storage locker with pods stacked on top of each other – but inside, I was surprised to find a cute little space, with mood lighting and welcoming interiors.

Each capsule is made from oak and comes with a single Hypnos mattress, Egyptian cotton bedding, individual mini aircon or heat, smart climate control, noise reduction, and ambient lighting.

There is also a plug socket inside, two USB plugs and a mirror – there isn’t much storage space though, so you’ll need to leave your suitcase outside your capsule.

There are clean common areas too, which felt more adult then teen-backpacker, which includes a lounge and co-working space.

The city is crying out for affordable places to stay and for £30? It can’t be beaten. Helen Wright, Travel Writer

A&O

There’s a little-known London hotel hack that can get you an entire “suite” for just £65 a night.

A&O London Docklands Riverside used to be a Hilton Doubletree Hotel, and some of the spacious rooms which used to be king junior suites are now being sold for the price of a double room under the new ownership.

You can bag a suite-sized room with a large double bed, sofa and lounge area, desk to work at plus even your own balcony overlooking the Thames from just £65 a night.

The hotel sits opposite fancy finance district Canary Wharf, and a stay here even bags you free unlimited travel on the ferry to cross over the river.

Visit Fairgame to go head to head at fairground-style shooting and sports games, and make sure to book in for dinner at the American-style BBQ restaurant Big Easy.

You won’t miss it, thanks to its giant neon lights illuminating the waterfront and blasting country music. Jenna Stevens, Travel Reporter

Ibis London Luton Airport

Sometimes, when you have a really early flight, it is just easier to stay at a hotel the night before.

If heading on holiday from London Luton Airport, make sure to stay at ibis London Luton Airport.

The three-star budget friendly hotel is just a 10-minute walk from the terminal and rooms are basic but well air conditioned, comfortable, sound proof and come with a TV, tea and coffee making facilities and your own bathroom.

Inside, there is a 24-hour bar and a cosy onsite restaurant too.

In the morning, you can help yourself to a breakfast buffet – though if your flight is super early like mine was, let reception know and they will make up a breakfast bag for you to collect when you check out.

Rooms cost from as little as £56 per night. Cyann Fielding, Travel Reporter

Holiday Inn Express London – ExCeL

I love Holiday Inn hotels. Which might seem excessive, given they are a chain of budget hotels, but I’m always astonished at the ease of check-in, the quality of the rooms and how good the food and drink options are.

One of my favourite pre-holiday treats is to check in to one of their airport properties before a super early morning flight, to avoid the pain of leaving my house at 3am on the morning I fly.

Holiday Inn London Gatwick is an absolute giant of a hotel with 216 rooms, but it’s always super quiet in the rooms and it has a two-minute walk to the check-in desks.

But my favourite so far is the Holiday Inn Express London– Excel, which is right next to the Excel Centre in the Docklands and a short taxi ride from London City Airport.

With recently refurbished rooms from £87 a night, which includes a free hot breakfast, the beds are super comfy and very clean and the bathroom is always spotless.

Much like Gatwick, the rooms are really quiet – essential when you are under a flight path and guests are arriving and leaving at all times of the the night.

But my favourite part was the restaurant though, which was stylish with a wide range of options for adults that included curries, burgers, pizzas and ribs from £15.50 for a main.

Kids can have a two-course menu from £5.99, which choices like pizza, spaghetti bolognese and fish and chips. Caroline McGuire, Head of Travel, Digital

Otherwander

Otherwander recently opened in the heart of Soho, approximately 30 seconds away from Oxford Street’s Elizabeth Line entrance so the location couldn’t be better for exploring the capital.

Unlike a normal hotel, Otherwander is a pod hotel which means you get a capsule-like room, with just a bed – no windows, no bathroom.

When you book, you can opt between an upper or lower pod; I opted for an upper pod, which feels more like climbing into a UFO.

I was surprised to find my upper double pod didn’t feel boxy or claustrophobic, despite being only the width of a standard double bed.

You’ll get USB and USB-C charging points, your own air con, a night light, reading light and even a colour-changing light.

You’ll also find a shelf, complete with a strap to secure your backpack or cabin-sized suitcase and three hooks for coats, jackets or towels.

The pod self locks and if you feel a little claustrophobic in the night then there is a little window with a shutter that you can leave open.

You can also choose between a double for £80 per night (£40 per person, per night) or a single for £70 per night. Cyann Fielding, Travel Reporter

The Disney theme parks are entering their fan feedback era.

This past weekend’s all-things-Disney fan event at the Anaheim Convention Center was the first with Josh D’Amaro installed as CEO. And D’Amaro’s message to fans was clear: We’ve heard you, we know what you want and we’re working on it.

That means Disneyland Park is at long last getting its Tomorrowland makeover, a top fan request for much of the last decade-plus. Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom is fixing its broken yeti, the star of thrilling roller coaster Expedition Everest that has been busted for about 20 years. Epcot’s fan favorite purple dragon Figment will soon be starring in a brand new attraction that resurrects his bearded creator, Dreamfinder, saving fans from suffering through its current half-hearted iteration in which “Monty Python’s” Eric Idle essentially treats the beloved character as a pest. (I ride it because I adore Figment, but I cringe throughout, and not just because at one point we’re annoyingly blasted with the smell of a skunk.)

And Disneyland Paris is yanking the marketing-driven “Star Wars” overlay Hyperspace Mountain from Space Mountain to return the coaster to its superior Jules Verne-inspired original. Disneyland officials take note: We don’t want Hyperspace Mountain here, either, but at least ours isn’t semi-permanent.

The long-broken yeti on Walt Disney World’s Expedition Everest will eventually be fixed. The above is an artist rendering of the attraction released by Disney Experiences.

(Disney)

It’s a sharp move, and may seem like a no-brainer, but following fan feedback doesn’t come without some risks. Fans, after all, rarely know best, often prioritizing nostalgia and lore over evolution. And Walt Disney Imagineering has remained one of the most respected corporate creative institutions for a reason. In short, fans, don’t let this go to your head.

But D’Amaro is also showing that he understands something not all Disney leaders have appeared to be well-versed in. And that’s the fact that the best IP of the Disney theme parks are the parks themselves.

Disneyland Park’s biggest selling point is not “Star Wars,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “The Princess and the Frog” or “Peter Pan.” It’s Disneyland itself, a temple dedicated to our narrative myths and communal play.

For too long Disney parks seemed to be, if not led, steered by its marketing teams. A franchise here, a franchise there. That thinking led to lesser designs such as a misguided remake of Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier at California Adventure, in which Pixar characters are basically treated as decals. It’s led me to argue in the past that Disney’s IP was squeezing the theme out of its theme parks.

Tomorrowland in its current state is a mess of ideas with a number of underutilized buildings.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Disneyland last attempted to revamp Tomorrowland in 1998, and while the concept was on point — a retro-futuristic, Verne-inspired look of sci-fi fantasy — the company didn’t fully commit to it and the land has largely been a mess of ideas since. Space Mountain remains a symbol of optimism dedicated to the joy and unpredictability of galactic exploration. But the rest of the land, save for the monorail, one of Disneyland’s most recognizable monuments, should be considered fair game.

Tomorrowland has become such an eyesore that even Disneyland President Jill Estorino recognized its negative press at a pre-D23 media event. “Painful to read,” she said to the assembled media as she rattled off stories observing the “little tomorrow in Tomorrowland” and describing the land as “tired.” Estorino conceded it was “all true.”

That made this past weekend’s announcement even more of a surprise. The reimagining, as Disneyland is calling it, is in good hands. Imagineer Emily “Emo” O’Brien, the creative producer overseeing the Disneyland Resort, recently worked on Fantasy Springs at Tokyo Disneyland, a highly acclaimed modern take on a Fantasyland-like area home to fresh takes on “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan.” O’Brien has been with Imagineering for about 30 years, and one of her first projects was hand-shaping the armrests of the approximately 2,000 seats of Disney California Adventure’s Hyperion Theater. The little details at a Disney park matter.

Promotional art for a reimagined Tomorrowland released by Disney. The project, according to Imagineers, is in its infancy.

(Disney)

“I grew up in my career with this legacy,” O’Brien said. “I understand the kind of gravitas and the responsibility that I have with our team to guide us through this journey of reimagining the only Tomorrowland that Walt [Disney] actually envisioned, designed and walked in.”

A remade Tomorrowland, to be clear, is years away. No questions were answered on Tomorrowland at D23, so fans will have to wait to hear what this means for the long out-of-work PeopleMover. And as previously reported, Estorino said the reworking of the original Disneyland area will come after California Adventure opens its “Avengers” and “Coco” attractions. The former two were given a 2028 date, while “Coco” still does not have an opening window. After Tomorrowland, the resort intends to tackle “Avatar.”

The fan favorite purple dragon known as Figment at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. The attraction Journey Into Imagination With Figment has been earmarked for renovations.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

At a Disney parks presentation Saturday evening, the Tomorrowland announcement received arguably the largest applause. But it was closely followed by the reveal of a reworking of what is currently known as Journey Into Imagination With Figment at Epcot. That ride has been a shadow of its former, glorious self since the late ’90s, even as the squeaky-voiced Figment has remained a popular mascot for the park. That’s no real surprise, but I, of course, am biased, as I have a Figment tattoo and the character was my childhood favorite.

Figment is a dreamer, his very existence the result of a dreamer. While I don’t necessarily trust the memory of my 10-year-old self, I remember Figment becoming an astronaut one moment and pretending to be a ship’s captain in the next. Visions of that ride are burned into my brain. Figment was a reminder to a video-game-obsessed kid that while you can’t do everything, you can at least envision anything.

And Imagineering appears to be doing just that at the moment. The projects, of course, will have to be conceptualized, designed and built, and there’s still time to make mistakes, such as attaching a known IP to the reimagined Imagination (don’t do it).

Concept art for the Maleficent attraction coming to Villains Land.

(Disney)

Tomorrowland has been flawed since the early 2000s and Disney can survive without touching it. Its attractions — Star Tours, Autopia, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters — still, after all, draw crowds. The commitment to redesign it may be a crowd-pleasing one, but it’s also a reminder, a symbol of understanding.

If something’s broke, you correct it. You don’t let it sit in a derelict state simply because the financial math doesn’t justify new guest spending or increased crowds. The Disney parks are a home away from home for many a visitor, and they should be treated as such.

D’Amaro, of course, as CEO will be evaluated on much more than simply how he leads the parks. But he and and his partner Thomas Mazloum, the chairman of Disney Experiences, came to this D23 with one message: We’re one of you. Expect the Disney die-hards to hold them to it.

One more D23 thought

An Imagineering research and development project in which Grogu and the character of Hugo are represented as robotic figures serving guests.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The Imagineering booth on the convention floor was full of delights and wonders, especially in its research and development section. I tend not to devote a ton of newsletter space to R&D, only because I’d rather focus on what guests can or will be seeing in the future, but the two “Star Wars” attractions shown not only deserve their props, but belong in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

One is a no-brainer, and it’s a snack stand featuring Grogu and Hugo from “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The latter, voiced by Martin Scorsese in the film, is largely asleep and snoring in the food truck-like stand, while Grogu uses the Force to whisk orders across the counter. Fan were transfixed. And this seems like the perfect mix of corporate and creative desires, as no doubt many a Disney guest would order an extra soda if it came with a show featuring “Baby Yoda.”

An Imagineering research and development project featuring robotic Anzellan mechanics that can interact with guests.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The other was an Anzellan work bench. Anzellans are tiny creatures introduced in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” known for their engineering skills, and here they were seen working on droid parts. But they also interact with guests.

Get close enough, and they’ll stop what they’re doing to quizzically look at you, ask you a question or maybe even repeat what you said to them. They’re as lifelike a robotic as Disney ever created, and the 14-acre Galaxy’s Edge is never not in need of more activity. Here’s hoping these little guys find a destination in the parks soon.

This week in SoCal theme parks

The vibrant, dance-focused “Magic Happens” parade will return to Disneyland in 2027.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

• Halloween is here! While the temperature may not feel like it, the fall Halloween season has arrived, and the Disneyland Resort’s Oogie Boogie Bash begins Tuesday evening. Additionally, the resort-wide Halloween Time launches Friday. There are still tickets available for many an Oogie date, and new this year is a Haunted Mansion-inspired street festival as well as the arrival of Yzma, the villain from “The Emperor’s New Groove.” Oogie is a good time, especially if you haven’t done it before.
• Looking ahead to Disneyland in 2027. With the new Avengers Campus not opening until 2028, the Disneyland Resort in 2027 will rely heavily on entertainment to lure locals back to the park. That means the fantastic “Magic Happens” parade is returning before next summer season. While it has the requisite mix of Disney characters, it’s also notable for its use of contemporary dance. Also returning is the original “World of Color” to Disney California Adventure and a refreshed version of the fireworks show “Remember… Dreams Come True” at Disneyland Park. Both are expected in February, shortly after the holiday season concludes.
• A blow to the in-park games of Disneyland. Reports surfaced Monday that the Walt Disney Co. was killing the Play Disney Parks app, which is home to the enjoyable Star Wars: Datapad game Batuu Bounty Hounters. The app was largely designed to give fans activities while they waited in lines, and was also meant to turn Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge into a live-in video game. The app will go offline Sept. 16, according to Disneyland officials.
• A new window on Main Street. Former Disney CEO and future Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Bob Iger has received a window on Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A. The honor is reserved for those who have heavily impacted the Disney parks, and Iger certainly qualifies, as his many acquisitions — Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm — changed the tenor of Disneyland and beyond. Look for Iger’s window above the Emporium gift shop, where he is heralded as a “new century builder.”
• Good news for Disneyland’s ‘Monsters, Inc.’ fans. With the announcement that Disney California Adventure’s “Avatar” experience won’t arrive until after Tomorrowland’s redo, the attraction Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will get to remain open a little longer. Previously, the attraction was supposed to close in early 2027, but Disneyland officials now say the dark ride will remain open for the foreseeable future. A closing window will be announced at a later date.

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.

A still from the Smugglers Gambit game in Fortnite.

(Image from Disney)

The Disney theme parks this past weekend deepened its connection to “Fortnite” as part of a partnership with Epic Games. The latter’s Unreal Engine already fuels Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, as well as a new Pirates of the Caribbean audio-animatrionic. And now guests who utilize the Disneyland app and connect it to their Epic Games account can receive in-game rewards for experiencing the Millennium Falcon attraction, including the recovery of a unique crate on the ride.

I had a chance to play the “Fortnite” experience inspired by the ride, “Smugglers Gambit,” and appreciate the way park worlds are being used to fuel connection to them at home. “Fortnite,” admittedly, is not my game of choice, but “Smuggler’s Gambit” was more robust than I expected, and I’m happy see aspects of the fictional planet of Batuu represented in the digital space. Business writer Samantha Masunaga has more on Disney’s relationship with Epic Games.

In a nondescript black building in downtown L.A.’s Arts District, rich sounds of sax and bass filled the air for hours. Inside, surrounded by the paintings and posters of iconic musicians, albums and films, dozens of people gathered for a night designed to prove a simple point: You can’t “cancel” jazz.

On Thursday night, eight jazz artists and groups performed a pop-up show, including Okay Coleman!, the Don Brown Collective, Joy Guerilla, and Genghis Don, who also organized the event. All of these artists had one thing in common: They were billed to perform on the now-canceled inaugural L.A. Jazz Festival.

The planned 17-day event was supposed to kick off on Aug. 7 and feature dozens of performances spread throughout every City Council district. Organizers hoped the shows would draw 250,000 attendees and inaugurate the city as a home for jazz events on par with New Orleans and Montreal. The festival was to include a final show headlined by Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Charlie Wilson, Parliament Funkadelic and Raphael Saadiq at Dockweiler State Beach.

“When I got booked for it, I was really excited,” Genghis Don said. “It was one of the bigger festivals I’ve done so far in my career.”

Glen Turner of Joy Guerilla performs at the “Can’t Cancel Jazz” event Thursday.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Then, the festival was abruptly canceled due to “last-minute public safety and municipal costs.”

But Don was determined for the show to go on. He partnered with Tída Norasingh of JIJI’s Jazz Club to host the “Can’t Cancel Jazz” pop-up show at Slow Jamz Gallery — a musical experience that was curated in less than 72 hours, according to Don.

“It all came together thanks to so many people who were involved in this,” Don said. “I really couldn’t have done any of this without them.”

The crowd, which leaned younger in part because the event allowed attendees 18 and older, trickled in around 7 p.m., and by 9 p.m., the party was in full swing. It was easy to see how audience members connected with the music by the way they cheered, danced and sang along through the night.

The pop-up show struck a balance between creating an accessible, music-forward environment for fans and providing support for the musicians who had been affected by the cancellation. The event’s entry fee was $20, while the nonalcoholic bar accepted additional donations. Some artists also had merch available for sale on site.

While “Can’t Cancel Jazz” may have been a response to the L.A. Jazz Festival being called off, it wasn’t aiming to replace it. Instead, the pop-up offered something more intimate. At times, the music overtook the gallery, completely captivating the attention of the room. At other moments, conversation and connection were happening right outside on the balcony between attendees, some of whom were meeting each other for the first time.

The result was something distinctly authentic with an underground quality that would have been hard to replicate at a sprawling, weeks-long festival.

“This was more so a test of L.A.’s community,” Don said. “They showed out, people came, the artists came together, and you know that’s the true definition of community.”

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip in a killing that rocked the rap world, the trial of the man prosecutors allege did everything but pull the trigger got underway Monday with new revelations.

Nevada prosecutors allege Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a one-time Compton gang member, orchestrated Shakur’s killing as revenge for an attack on his nephew hours earlier and are using Davis’ own words in interviews and a book he co-authored as evidence.

In opening statements, prosecutors said an ugly gang rivalry on the streets of Compton led to the slaying of Shakur, a famed rapper and actor, who died six days after he was shot.

The Sept. 7, 1996, shooting, they said, was rooted in a war between Southside Crips-Burris Street, led by Davis, and Mob Piru, a gang long associated with Death Row Records. Shakur was closely affiliated with Death Row, and the record company’s boss, Marion “Suge” Knight, was inside his car the night he was attacked.

In court testimony Monday, it was revealed that Shakur was conscious after the shooting en route to the hospital but did not cooperate with authorities.

The first witness, Garry Dale, a Las Vegas Metro police officer, testified that he saw Shakur pulled out of the car with gunshot wounds and rode in the ambulance with him.

When he asked Shakur who shot him, the rapper replied, “‘No, we’ll take care of it,’” Dale said. “I couldn’t get him to talk any further.”

Duane “Keffe D” Davis is accused of murder in the 1996 killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur.

(Steve Marcus / Associated Press)

The incident, according to Clark County Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Binu Palal, followed a violent confrontation at a Mike Tyson fight earlier that night in Las Vegas. Palal showed video of Shakur’s entourage attacking Davis’ nephew Orlando Anderson. Travon Lane, a Mob Piru member, had spotted Anderson in the MGM Grand hotel lobby. Months earlier, Anderson stole Lane’s Death Row Records chain in the Lakewood mall during an attack.

The rivalry between the groups grew after the Southside Crips became the West Coast security for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ record label, prosecutors said.

“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Palal said. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”

Palal noted that Shakur’s shooting was followed by numerous slayings in Compton, including that of an 11-year-old girl.

“In this world, silence means survival,” Palal said. “The one person who has had a hard time being silent is Duane Davis.”

The prosecutor played parts of an interview with a Los Angeles Police Department federal task force in 2008 in which Davis acknowledged his role in the rapper’s fatal shooting. They also cited other interviews as well as his own memoir.

The prosecutor said Davis got the gun from Eric Zip Martin, an East Coast drug dealer associated with Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment.

“He admits putting the gun he obtained that night in the back seat of the vehicle so the shooters could shoot,” the prosecutor said. “You will learn that Duane Davis got the gun. … You will learn that he got into a white Cadillac. You will learn when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooter was armed and ready to execute their revenge.”

Palal said Davis and his crew set out in search of Knight and Shakur. In multiple accounts, including in his book “Compton Street Legend,” Davis wrote that they spotted the Death Row caravan stopped at a red light, with Shakur waving to female fans while hanging out of the BMW window.

“Tupac, he gave himself away,” Davis said in the recording played in court. “Otherwise, they would’ve got away.”

Davis was arrested in 2023 and indicted for masterminding the killing and providing the gun.

Rapper Tupac Shakur is show at Club Amazon in New York on July 23, 1993.

(Al Pereira / Getty Images)

Michael Sanft, Davis’ defense attorney, told jurors there will be no evidence linking his client to the shooting.

“There are no facts to point to Keffe — not one,” he said. “You’re going to hear about this over and over again.”

Sanft recounted decades of probes and noted that prior investigations did not take his client’s statements seriously because they were not credible. “He treats that book like it’s fact,” Sanft said of a lead detective in the case. The defense attorney, in an unusual move, repeatedly undermined his own client’s credibility.

Sanft portrayed Las Vegas police as incompetent, with lost records, and the LAPD and then Compton police as corrupt.

“What facts do they have to put Keffe D in a car in 1996? When you look at the video in 1996, do you see Keffe D?” he added, referencing the lobby beating.

Sanft said Death Row’s security chief was Reggie Wright Jr., a felon and former Compton police officer whose father led the Compton police gang unit. He said the former officer was not with Knight and ordered his security team not to carry firearms. The defense lawyer cast Davis’ memoir as fiction and said there was no evidence his client was in Las Vegas.

The prosecutor, however, told jurors that Davis, from 1998 to 2023, made several incriminating statements and, in 1998, admitted to the FBI to being in Las Vegas at the time of Shakur’s slaying.

Davis, according to prosecutors, told investigators during a secret meeting he “was mad about Orlando Anderson’s beating” and he was the boss who got the firearm and was in the white Cadillac. When Greg Kading, an LAPD detective who led the task force, left policing and later published a book revealing Davis’ role, it made Davis want to go public, according to the prosecution.

“Greg Kading is profiting off Duane Davis’ life story,” Palal said. By the time the book was released, the others who were allegedly in the car the night of the shooting were dead. Anderson was killed and Smith passed away. In 2019, after a series of interviews, Davis published his own book, which, full of bravado, gave a similar account of Shakur’s killing as that of the federal task force. The prosecutor then played an interview from the time of the book’s release, in which Davis justified his actions.

Rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight appears in court in 2018 in an unrelated case.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Ingrid Stokes, one of four women in a car that had been following Shakur the night of the attack testified that she freaked out and screamed, then fled the scene, telling police she “didn’t see anything” because “snitches get stitches.”

A third witness who testified Monday, former Las Vegas Metro Det. Brent Becker, said he interviewed Knight about the beating in the MGM Grand lobby, and Knight said he basically “didn’t know anything.” By 1997, detectives suspected that Davis was in the Cadillac that opened fire on Shakur, he testified.

Davis, now 63, has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. In recent weeks, he’s denied being in the Cadillac or Las Vegas that night and, in interviews with Las Vegas TV stations, blamed a former head of Death Row Records security.

“I had nothing to do with nobody’s murder,” he told interviewers.

Prosecutors are expected to call witnesses to support Davis’ claims from over the years. Davis’ lawyers will seek to portray him as a fabricator — his bragging is all fiction. Davis has done the same with Las Vegas reporters.

“I did not write the book; a ghostwriter wrote that book,” Davis said in a recent jailhouse interview. “I was trying to make my family some money.”

ARIANA Grande left fans stunned after bringing out a special guest for a ‘mesmerising’ duet on the second night of her London tour shows.

The singer and actress, 33, is performing at The O2 for the UK leg of her Eternal Sunshine Tour.

On the second night, Ariana had a big surprise for the audience as Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo joined her on stage.

The pair portray Glinda and Elphaba respectively in the smash-hit musical films.

An onlooker told The Sun: “The crowd absolutely lost their minds when Cynthia came on stage for the Wicked reunion.

“Cynthia and Ariana couldn’t stop beaming as they were reunited to sing For Good.

Read more on Ariana Grande

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GRANDE FINALE

Ariana admits she’s ‘overwhelmed’ on stage as she kicks off O2 residency

“It was almost the end of the concert and everyone was shocked.”

They then went onto sing another song Called Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again

It comes after Ariana revealed she felt “overwhelmed” with emotion on stage as she thanked her fans for their support.

At the opening night of the UK leg of her Eternal Sunshine Tour, the American singer said: “London, I love you so much.

“As you know, London is my final stop on this tour.

“And I just wanted to say I’m going to savour every last second of these last ten shows with you guys. As this is one of my favourite places in the world.”

Longtime Disneyland fans are finally getting one of their top theme park wishes. The aging Tomorrowland will soon undergo a large-scale overhaul, one that will include brand new attractions.

Walt Disney Imagineering, the arm of the company devoted to theme park experiences, announced the intent to reconceptualize the original Disneyland area at its all-things-Disney fan convention D23, which kicked off Friday in Anaheim. Many details — and questions — remain, and Imagineering stressed that the project is in its infancy, but it’s one the Disneyland faithful have clamored for.

“We are going to reimagine Tomorrowland,” said newly installed Disneyland President Jill Estorino at a pre-D23 media event. “It is coming. We are finally committing to it and doing it.”

Tomorrowland has long vexed Disney designers. Park founder Walt Disney led a major overhaul before his death in 1966, and the land again went under scaffolding in the late ‘90s. The problem: Theme parks are built to last, and the future moves fast. As Disney himself once said, “Tomorrow is a heck of a thing to keep up with.”

Promotional art for a reimagined Tomorrowland released by Disney. The project, according to Imagineers, is in its infancy.

(Disney)

Today, Tomorrowland is home to a number of popular attractions — Space Mountain, Star Tours and Autopia among them — but is also littered with underutilized buildings and a dead PeopleMover track. The latter closed soon after Tomorrowland’s 1998 refresh as the Rocket Rods, one of the shortest-lived rides in Disneyland history.

The reimagined Tomorrowland, said Imagineer Emily “Emo” O’Brien, won’t ignore its history, noting the team has been researching Disney’s original thesis. “We were inspired by his vision of Tomorrowland being a vista into wondrous worlds, and we really garnered the sense of optimism that was at the core of everything he was thinking about.”

And yet the future Tomorrowland will have “new attractions for sure,” said O’Brien, as well as more open, breathable spaces for guests. “We really want to keep the heritage and the responsibility to honoring that legacy at the center, but we have to evolve it for our new generations,” O’Brien said.

Tomorrowland is home to popular attractions such as Autopia.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Disneyland Resort is on the verge of a major transformation over the next decade or so, of which Tomorrowland is just one project. Estorino said the reworking of the original Disneyland area will come after the completion of “Avengers” and “Coco” experiences currently under construction in Disney California Adventure, but before that park’s addition of an “Avatar” experience.

In fact, many of Disney’s North American theme parks are targeted for changes in the coming years. Here are some highlights of this year’s D23.

Rides announced for Walt Disney World’s Villains Land

Concept art for the Maleficent attraction coming to Villains Land.

(Disney)

Disney pulled back the curtain on its Villains Land — yes, that’s its official name — coming to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. And Disney is going dark, creating a mysterious, cursed environment that Imagineer Caroline May says will take inspiration from the woodlands of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” There’s a backstory, involving a wishing well that was corrupted by a stranger’s evil desires that have caused poisoned magic to envelop the forest.

But let’s talk about the rides. There are two, and Disney is thinking big. The centerpiece attraction is a roller coaster that will include an encounter with Maleficent atop her mountaintop fortress. The second is a dark ride into the catacombs of the Evil Queen’s palace, where the Magic Mirror will conjure visions of many a Disney villain.

The villains, said May, a self-described “art school emo indie Goth girl,” are also stylish. So expect the non-forest parts of the land to feel a bit refined. “The villains have high standards,” May said. “They have impeccable taste.”

Orlando’s version of Cars Land gets its close-up

A model of Piston Peak, Walt Disney World’s answer to Cars Land, was revealed at D23.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

Walt Disney World’s answer to Anaheim’s Cars Land began with doubts from fans, largely because it was replacing the Magic Kingdom’s Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, two historic park attractions. Here in SoCal, those spaces represent the soul of Disneyland, but the Magic Kingdom is a different beast and has sorely needed new attractions. What Imagineers showed at D23 should, if built to the level of detail revealed in a model, calm many nerves.

Piston Peak, as the land is to be called, looks fantastic. Imagineer Jason Grandt says the area was heavily inspired by Rocky Mountain National Park as well as the painterly vistas of plein air artists and the murals of Thomas Hart Benton. Realistic, but also vibrant, animated and colorful. It will feature transitions through lush forests, majestic red rocks and even snow capped mountains.

The showcase ride has been known. It’s a sort of high-speed run in an all-terrain vehicle around the landscape — over bridges, through tunnels and around colorful geysers. It will frame the entire land, also home to a small family attraction with dancing, spinning cars in a demolition derby setting.

Avengers Campus expansion opens at Disney California Adventure in 2028

Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab, the two new attractions coming to Disney California Adventure that will essentially double the size of Avengers Campus, will open in 2028, according to Imagineer Brent Strong. The new attractions will complete the land.

Infinity Defense is pitched as a centerpiece of the land, and will feature Marvel actors such as Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Chris Hemsworth. The ride is expected to rely heavily on 3D effects and high-definition screens, but Strong made clear that there will indeed be large-scale physical sets on the ride. It is a dark ride through the multiverse to take on a battle with King Thanos, and guests will be placed in the role of assembling the Avengers.

Stark Flight Lab was shown at D23 as sitting next to Infinity Defense. The ride is more of an amusement park-like thrill attraction, in which guests will sit in two-person pods and then attach to a mechanical arm that will lift them into the air and attempt to simulate sensations of flight.

A “Coco” boat ride for all

While Disney didn’t reveal a release window for the upcoming “Coco” boat ride at Disney California Adventure, Imagineers did note it would be a family attraction without a height requirement, which will be especially needed after the park closes its “Monsters, Inc.”-inspired ride next year to make way for “Avatar.” The ride will be set about one year after the original film.

The narrative of the attraction will center on Miguel and his great great grandfather, musician Héctor Rivera. Guests will enter a museum dedicated to Rivera and then explore the Land of the Dead via Miguel’s memories. Expect a vibrant, colorful attraction that Imagineers said will nod to classics such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion in its reliance on audio-animatronics and open-to-interpretation dioramas.

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.

Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride comes out every Tuesday, but we occasionally publish special editions (like this one!) when we have breaking theme park news. Make sure you’ve signed up to be the first to know.

Jac Caglianone homered and drove in five runs on a three-hit night, Michael Massey also homered and had three hits and the Kansas City Royals beat the Angels 7-6 on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.

John Schreiber, Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz threw scoreless relief innings for the Royals, with Cruz finishing for his fourth save.

Nolan Schanuel had two hits and four RBIs for the Angels (48-75). They had won three straight.

After Josh Lowe’s solo homer off Alex Lange (2-7) gave the Angels a 6-5 lead in the sixth, Kansas City (50-73) scored twice off Tayler Saucedo (0-1) in the seventh to make it 7-6.

Caglianone is batting .438 (21 for 48) with five homers and 18 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak. In the ninth, he took second on an error and scored on Massey’s two-out RBI single to finish the scoring.

Caglianone’s two-run homer — his 22nd of the season — off left-hander Sammy Peralta gave Kansas City a 5-4 lead in the fifth.

Royals starter Seth Lugo gave up five runs and seven hits in 4⅔ innings.

Up next: Royals RHP Randy Dobnak (2-1, 2.00 ERA) was set to oppose Angels LHP Reid Detmers (3-8, 4.00 ERA) on Saturday night.

Disney California Adventure is on the verge of a transformation. The 25-year-old next-door neighbor to the Disneyland Resort will be doubling the size of its Avengers Campus in the coming months.

Farther down the road will be the arrival of an “Avatar”-inspired area in the current Hollywood Land corner of the park. Walt Disney Imagineering, the arm of the company dedicated to theme park experiences, revealed a detailed model an “Avatar” water ride destined for the park at its all-things-Disney convention D23.

The miniature shows the ride snaking around the Disneyland Monorail, and reveals a landscape that will fully transform the look and tone of California Adventure. It’s green, it’s lush, it’s a little rustic and it looks as if a mini rainforest will be slotted into the park.

A model of the forthcoming “Avatar”-inspired area includes a monorail in a lush forest.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times )

The “Avatar” model is just one part of expansive booth dedicated to what’s currently in development at Disney’s global parks. The centerpiece of the D23 area is no doubt a model of Piston Peak, a “Cars”-inspired land coming to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which, in contrast to Anaheim’s Cars Land, takes on the feel of a woody town nestled next to a national park.

Elsewhere, Imagineering has revealed a look at the soon-to-be remodeled Avengers Campus, which is deep in development on two new attractions that will effectively double the size of the area. The two attractions will different drastically in style.

One is a previously announced ride featuring the Avengers in battle across the multiverse with King Thanos. At a media preview on Thursday, Disney didn’t show off much of the attraction, Avengers Infinity Defense, but expect a dark ride that will emphasize 3D screens in a battle across quickly changing locales.

A look at the expanded Avengers Campus Disney California Adventure shown at D23. Two additional rides are currently under construction.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times )

The other, Stark Flight Lab, is pitched as a testing of new Avengers technology. It’s an amusement-park-like thrill ride, in which guests will sit in two-person pods and then attach to a mechanical arm that will lift them into the air and attempt to simulate sensations of flight.

“It’s going to be definitely thrilling,” said Emily “Emo” O’Brien, an Imagineer who helps lead creative direction of the Disneyland Resort.

Timetables for the completed Avengers Campus and the “Avatar” expansion were not yet detailed, although the Marvel additions are widely seen as not far off. Disney is expected to reveal more info on both projects, as well as a “Coco”-inspired boat ride coming to the park, at a Saturday evening presentation.

Concept art of an “Avatar”-inspired attraction coming to Disney California Adventure.

(20th Century / Disneyland Resort)

The addition of “Avatar” is especially notable as it veers the park, one that began with a mission to reflect our Golden State, into further realms of fantasy. Cars Land, for instance, could be read, in part, as an exploration of Southern California car culture and an ode to Route 66.

An especially noteworthy aspect of the “Avatar” model was the appearance of the ride to be visible outside of its grand show building, as guests walking through the park will be able to glimpse its boats gliding past them. A model of the ride vehicles appears to show six rows that can accommodate five or six guests per row.

The boats are flanked by cascading waterfalls, and mountains that appear to curve in on themselves. An assortment of mystical critters dot the landscape. Speculation is the attraction will be utilize an updated version of the ride system found in Shanghai Disneyland’s rousing Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

“Over its 25 years it has significantly changed, especially at the time we brought in Cars Land and reimagined Buena Vista Street,” O’Brien said of California Adventure. “I think it’s a park that stands on its own now. It’s grown up.”

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.

Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride comes out every Tuesday, but we occasionally publish special editions (like this one!) when we have breaking theme park news. Make sure you’ve signed up to be the first to know.

Duvetyne, or in this case the alternative spelling Duvateen, is a twill fabric with a matt finish that makes it ideal for blocking out light.

In its black fire-retardant form, it has widespread use in the film industry to ensure the right controlling effect.

In the first season of the ­original Star Trek for instance, exterior shots of space, “the final frontier”, were created by gluing glitter to it.

As you’ll discover, it was also used by The Afghan Whigs’ frontman Greg Dulli — and now it’s the name of a pivotal song on the band’s tenth studio album, Soft Control.

It is 40 years since he formed the Whigs in Cincinnati, Ohio, later moving to Seattle to become Sub Pop label mates with grunge pioneers Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden.

But Soft Control, their first LP in four years, has to be one of their most urgent, textured and captivating efforts yet.

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When he calls from America’s West Coast, it’s the first time I’ve spoken to Dulli since 2008.

He was in London then during an extended Whigs’ hiatus, promoting The Gutter Twins’ album Saturnalia, made with the late Mark Lanegan, one of the grunge movement’s defining singers both with the Screaming Trees and as a solo artist.

Lanegan died aged 57 in 2022, a year after battling a severe case of Covid at his adopted home of Killarney, Ireland. “Mark is someone I miss . . . every day,” Dulli tells me.

He returns to the subject in hand and provides a fulsome explanation of his song Duvateen.

“There was a time in my life when I put it on all my windows,” he admits. “I kept my house in permanent night, living the vampire life.

“I had a friend in the movie business so I went with her to get some. I saw what it could do for me.”

So, what DID it do for you? I venture with a degree of trepidation.

“It was decades ago and I just didn’t have any use for sunlight or for being outside,” replies Dulli, before adding with a knowing sigh, “It was clearly not a healthy time for me.”

By calling the piano-led song Duvateen, Dulli, who delivers the lyrics with white-knuckle intensity, is using it as a metaphor for the infinite void — or, if you like, ­mortality.

He admits: “The symbolic nature of it is not lost on me.”

With lyrics that span his childhood, “teacher gonna chase us down the hall”, to the grave, “dig somebody’s hole”, it encapsulates the circle of life and serves as the album’s heartbeat.

Its sound is in stark contrast to the more rock-heavy numbers, drawing this response from Dulli: “When I get a piano song like that, it’s an exciting moment in my life.

“It’s the sort of thing I could play to my mom.” As for the idea that Duvateen is the album’s centrepiece, he says: “You write songs and, as some emerge, they state their alpha-ness.

“Duvateen got my attention very quickly. It started out differently — a bit like Honky Tonk Women for a minute — but I completely changed it.

“It was one of those songs when you feel as if your hand is being guided from beyond.”

I suggest to Dulli that listening to Soft Control’s ten tracks “feels like an emotional rollercoaster”.

“Well, life in general is an emotional rollercoaster for me,” he replies. “It would stand to reason that any art I put forth would be a similar thing.”

Next the single-minded singer describes his path to the album: “We did a Covid record that came out in ’22, then we toured it for a year.

“Then I took some time off and travelled. I didn’t start working on a new record until ’25.

“But once I began writing songs again, they were happening fast and furious. I did 20, 22. Cut them down to ten. And here’s the ten.”

The result is a concise, dynamic punch of an album. “I like 40 minutes or less and I like ten as a round number,” says Dulli. “I’ve been landing on it for the past four or five records.

“They’re like a little family and sometimes they waiting for a little brother or sister to show up. I wrote the final song, Loose Talk, earlier this year.”

The album comes bursting out of the blocks with taut Jungle Roux and riff-heavy House Of I.

Elsewhere, My Lover leans into the band’s R&B credentials while stately The Deepest Part Of The Darkest Shadow serves as a companion piece to Duvateen.

There’s a song called Memphis, Texas, not as strange as you think because there is such place, along with the famous Memphis in ­Tennessee where Elvis made his name.

The album ends with A Simulation, 70 seconds of ambient beauty segueing into one of Dulli’s most tender vocals and a gorgeous string arrangement.

He calls it one of his “most existential songs”. “I get overwhelmed by injustice, sadness, and people and animals being hurt. I know I’m not the only one wondering, ‘What the f*** are we doing here?’”

But now, before we go any further, it’s time to tell Dulli’s story beginning with his teenage dream of fronting a band, inspired by a legendary psychedelic soul band.

He recalls: “I went to see The 5th Dimension. When (singer) Billy Davis Jr. took off at the end of Let the Sunshine In, it was the most electrifying thing I’d ever seen. I knew I wanted to be a lead singer.”

Having dropped out of studying film at the University Of Cincinnati and flirted with the idea of becoming an actor, Dulli formed his first band, The Black Republicans, in the mid-Eighties.

Did they find it hard to get noticed at first? I ask. “When you’re 20 years old, nothing’s hard, man,” he answers. “You’re literally immortal.

“We all had regular jobs. I drove a taxi. I cooked in a restaurant. I painted houses, put roofs on houses. I was a roadie-type guy at the big theatre in town.”

Crucial to Dulli’s trajectory was the recruitment to The Black Republicans of bassist John Curley, the only Whigs founder member still by his side today.

He says: “We would see this bearded dude at our shows. We all thought he was about 40.

“Then one night after the show, he walked up and introduced himself to me, saying, ‘I’m better than your bass player.’ John came by our rehearsal place and played his way into the band.”

Dulli describes what happened next: “I moved to Arizona for six months and wrote a bunch of songs.

“Then I came back to Cincinnati and started the Whigs with John, Rick McCollum (guitar) and Steve Earle (drums).”

He remembers the Midwestern city on the Ohio River being a “great jumping-off point” because so many towns “weren’t that far away from us”.

Dulli rattles off the places in the manner of Johnny Cash singing I’ve Been Everywhere — “Louisville, Lexington, Kentucky, Columbus, Athens, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh.”

But most inspirational to Dulli was a venue in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati, The Jockey Club.

“Back in the day, the jazz dudes Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. played there,” he says.

“Then it fell into disrepair before opening again as a punk rock club. When I got to college, my roommates were deep in that scene and that’s how I got into The Jockey Club.

“I saw The Damned, Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Violent Femmes, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Killing Joke, so many great people.

“And everybody in the area cut their teeth there. If you were in a band, you played The Jockey Club and you played it multiple times a month.”

In 1989, the Whigs self-released debut album Big Top Halloween caught the attention of Seattle-based Sub Pop’s boss, Jonathan Poneman, who offered them a contract.

Suddenly, they were label mates with grunge pioneers Nirvana and Mudhoney — but they were a very different beast.

Dulli says: “We were outsiders in more ways than one. We were from Cincinnati and we weren’t from the Northwest.

“Our covers were R&B covers instead of Stooges’. I love The Stooges but we had bonded over The Temptations. At our first rehearsal, we played Psychedelic Shack.

“We formed in October, 1986, and played our first gig in January the following year — and I guarantee you we played Psychedelic Shack at that show.”

Dulli was also infatuated with a Midwestern powerhouse in the shape of genre-defying Minneapolis-based Prince.

“We weren’t trying to sound like Prince,” he says. “But you could grab elements of him and stick them in your quiver.”

So what was it like heading to Seattle and mixing with Kurt Cobain and Co?

“It was like seeing people our age doing cool things,” says Dulli. “When Nirvana knocked Michael Jackson off No.1 on Billboard, I thought, ‘Wow! One of our own is at the top’.

“It was an exciting time, certainly in Seattle, where we had a front-row seat to it all.

“We loved all those guys and we loved those bands, played with everybody, and got to know everybody.”

When it came to meeting his biggest buddy from the scene, Mark Lanegan, it was via a different route.

“I met Mark in Boston when the Screaming Trees, Primus and the Whigs were on the same bill but we didn’t start hanging out until around 2000.”

The Whigs enjoyed a stellar Nineties, navigating their way through the music industry “machine” on various labels but coming up with at least three first-rate albums, Congregation (1992), Gentlemen (1993) and 1965 (1998).

In 2001, frazzled Dulli decided to take a step back and the Whigs disbanded. Aside from a brief recording reunion in 2006, the ­hiatus lasted ten years.

He says: “I had absolutely no intention of being in the Whigs ever again. In my creative life, I’m so proud of the things I did during that time — The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins.

“But when the door opened to the Whigs again, I was a different person and ready to step through it.”

Dulli remembers the times he would pass through his home town of Cincinnati where bassist Curley and his wife were raising their two daughters. “We were all pretty cooked from the Whigs experience but John would come to the shows and would get up on stage and play with either one of my bands — and everybody loved it.”

In 2010, when Dulli was on a solo tour, Curley did his usual thing but was then persuaded to do the next night in Chicago, a five-hour drive away.

He says: “It was the first time in 11 years that anyone had seen John Curley and I on stage together outside of Cincinnati.

“When I introduced him, the ovation was so unexpectedly loud and long. That, effectively, was the catalyst for the Whigs reforming.”

Since getting back together, they have made four studio albums, Do To The Beast (2014), In Spades (2017), How Do You Burn? and the imminent Soft Control.

The current line-up is Dulli, Curley, multi-instrumentalist Rick G. Nelson, Christopher Thorn (guitars) and Bryan Lee Brown (drummer who recently replaced Patrick Keeler who tours with Jack White).

Forty years on since the Whigs formed, Dulli says: “I’m still smiling at my good fortune. Still putting out music, playing live, the whole works. I’m a lucky fella.”

He accepts that he used to be “an angry young man” but, at 61, he has found a degree of peace.

“I had an imaginary chip on my shoulder that I needed to get rid of,” he says.

“You can tame yourself but you can always go back to the wild side — just in case you need to explore.”

It’s fair to say that The Afghan Whigs’ latest album is one of his walks on the wild side.

THE AFGHAN WHIGS

Soft Control

★★★★☆