Bluey foodie 🍰

I’m celebrating red, white, and Bluey for Independence Day and beyond.

Greetings, friends. I’m Haley. The voice of the In the Loop: Theme Park Scoops newsletter.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is known for its slower pace vibe and heavy emphasis on nature, but it’s also making a name for itself as a destination for food lovers.

News 6 Insider Guide Kaia Poisall recently toured the park’s food offerings, and her experience makes a compelling case for why Animal Kingdom has earned the title of the foodie park.

I want to highlight my new favorite item at Disney’s Animal Kingdom — Fairy Bread Cake, described as a vanilla birthday cake dipped in white chocolate and rainbow sprinkles with raspberry dipping sauce.

If cake pops are your thing, this treat is right up your alley. Fairy Bread Cake was introduced as part of the food rollout tied to the debut of Bluey and Bingo at Animal Kingdom. It’s available at Pizzafari.

Tradition retired 🎄

After 25 years, Disney’s Grand Floridian gingerbread house is officially a thing of the past.

You may remember that the iconic Christmas decoration display didn’t make an appearance last year. For this holiday season, the culinary team has something new up its sleeve.

Making holiday plans 🎁

With temperatures soaring, Walt Disney World is giving fans a reason to dream of cooler days — the resort has announced its 2026 holiday season lineup.

Click here for a very early guide.

Swim safety first 🥽

For nearly 600 Central Florida kids, a day at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon meant more than just fun in the sun — it meant learning life-saving water safety skills.

The water park hosted the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson, and the swimmers also got a surprise visit from an Olympic gold medalist.

Universal Orlando Resort

Epic neighbors 🏠

Before Epic Universe opened in 2025, we took you inside Catchlight Crossings — an ambitious 1,000-unit mixed-income housing development rising just south of the new theme park — and we recently headed back to see how things are coming along.

The project is bringing affordable and attainable housing to the area alongside on-site perks like a preschool, grocery store, fitness center, and UCF educational programming.

Click here to see our hard hat tour.

Hawkins haunts Orlando 🕰️

House announcements for Halloween Horror Nights 35 are coming in steady, with the second IP-based attraction now confirmed.

“Stranger Things” fans will get a chance to return to Hawkins, Indiana, at Universal Orlando later this year, with a haunted house featuring moments from the show’s final season — including a face-to-face confrontation with Vecna.

How are Central Florida’s theme parks celebrating America’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July?

I made a guide that covers celebrations, deals, and patriotic attractions.

As always, keep me in the loop through my email or reach out to me on X or Instagram.

- Haley