Been meaning to make it back to @WDFMuseum. Now I have a great excuse: www.latimes.com/travel-exper... via @toddmartens.bsky.social

Do you enjoy theme parks? Watch this documentary, which does an excellent job of portraying the artistry behind these spaces. Full disclosure, I’m in it, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with what the team accomplished and I thank them for interviewing me.

I was lucky enough to get to interview Jay Stein a year ago. He was as fiery as I had hoped. Here’s a story about how he changed all theme parks forever. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Dinner theater, reimagined. “Family Meal” is a pricey but special show. Immersive theater for those weaned on the likes of Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential,” “The Bear” and other high-energy, behind-the-scene looks at the restaurant business. www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

Amanda Shires’ ‘Nobody’s Girl’ is one of the year’s most honest explorations of heartbreak www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

The creator of "The Jejune Institute," a crucial modern immersive text, is back with a new experience in "The Cortege." It's an exploration of grief and community via the ancient art of the procession. But is it immersive? Designer Jeff Hull is conflicted www.latimes.com/travel/story...

All the cool kids love theme parks www.latimes.com/travel/story...

“You can make every month horrific.” Universal Horror Unleashed, a Halloween-style haunt opening this month in Las Vegas, is betting big that audiences are craving year-round frights. The belief is that guests today are craving a darker sort of fairy tale. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Laguna Beach’s Museum of Make Believe, a 1,000-square-foot love letter to fairy tales, is a fantastical, mystical wonderland, where fables of lost love, ghostly pets and irresistible avarice are told via miniature installations and ornate, storybook art. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

My colleague @toddmartens.bsky.social looks back on 70 years at "the happiest place on Earth," Disneyland www.latimes.com/travel/story...

The Nintendo Switch 2 is a refinement rather than a reinvention. Is that enough? www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

‘He’s ours.’ Walt Disney’s granddaughter takes a stand against Disneyland’s ‘robotic grandpa.’ www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

"“When you’re not evaluating it against some kind of standard,” says Blackley, “you can be a kid again.” A fun article about @seamus.bsky.social and @a-sure-thing.bsky.social's attempts to grow cacao and make chocolate in LA, by @toddmartens.bsky.social.

Too much happiness can be oppressive. Disneyland's 70th launches today, and by the end of its new “World of Color Happiness!,” I found myself wanting to scream at "Inside Out's" Joy: Just leave me alone and let me be down. www.latimes.com/travel/story....

It ‘keeps Walt alive in the medium he pioneered’: Imagineers defend new Walt Disney robot www.latimes.com/travel/story...

My dream of working in animation was dashed at an early age — 8, to be exact — when I failed at drawing a Mickey Mouse in this WDW animation class. But I appreciate that I ambitiously signed it

Loved seeing a Beholder at Uni’s Fan Fest Nights. My father was a TSR exec and I had a lot of nostalgic feels here. Unfortunately the ambitious event is a mixed bag of experiences. Uni wants to elevate the haunt maze to theater, but did not fully commit to it. Hope to see it improve in the future.

As someone who loves a good Disney monorail, it's always a joy to catch up with Bob Gurr. We touched on the new Walt animatronic ("There will be quite a reaction"), the cultural temperature (Trump is a "bully") and more. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

It may not be Star Trek: The Experience, but I’ll take it. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

“Yes, this pay phone works. Some day, these will be gone, like you, me, and everyone else,” read stickers on working L.A. pay phones. An art project called the invites callers to leave goodbye messages. People are calling. www.latimes.com/travel/story... @toddmartens.bsky.social

I lovely write up of Epic Universe. I got to work on it for a wee bit of time at Thinkwell in 2018/19 & we were all blown away by what had already been designed. Kudos to all of my colleagues at Universal Creative & the vendor companies who brought it to life. I’m so excited to see it in person!

Epic Universe is largely a triumph, a park that rivals -- in some ways bests -- those of Disney. It will immediately be the favorite theme park of many. Yet I do worry: What happened to the theme in our theme parks? www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Say goodbye, before it’s too late. A new L.A. art project asks us to pick a pay phone and make a toll free call to “remember, to pay respects, to turn the page” to a loved one or part of yourself. People are calling. The Goodbye Line is a snapshot of loneliness in our city.

The Nintendo Switch 2: On tariffs, pricing and even some impressions www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Quick Epic Universe thought. It’s impressive. There are wow moments in every land. It’s the definitive IP park, which is the direction theme parks are heading. Now, I haven’t felt a real emotional attachment to it (so so so so IP), but people will love it.

It’s new theme park season

New ink, dedicated to my ma. Mid century tulips, her favorite flower.

apple.news/AV3qXHlATQKK... OK, I guess, but only if I am the Gene Wilder version.

This is a profound and heartbreaking read. Thank you, @toddmartens.bsky.social, for the unexpectedly cathartic cry -- and I'm so very sorry for your loss. Your mother imparted you with gentle wisdom, and your lovely writing honors her beautifully.

I lost my mom and I’m having a really hard time. I wrote about that, the importance of theme parks and the power of imagination www.latimes.com/travel/story...

This was a fun one. Spent quite a bit of time with modern physicist Seamus Blackley, best known as the creator of the Xbox. His next goal? To build an LA-based chocolate company. With cocao trees grown in Southern California. Yes, Willy Wonka came to mind. www.latimes.com/food/story/2...

Hey L.A.! This is tomorrow! Come to Pasadena and chat games and theme parks with myself and the wonderful Margaret Kerrison, if you can. vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-0...

The theme restaurant is back, and it will cover your table in flowing lava www.latimes.com/travel/story...

“Love Game” is the rare immersive theater rom-com. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

I’ve set foot in many light-and-sound installations over the years and am used to being promised something akin to a world of wonder. At Chromasonic, I didn’t want to leave. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

On survivor’s guilt and living in Los Angele right now www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

In a world of barely-warmed-up press releases and hyper-positive can’t-lose-access influencer first looks, it’s so refreshing to read actual reporting on a Disney park! Insightful! Answers real questions! Makes WDI feel a little less corporate and more human! Just more great work from Todd.

First look: Disneyland’s original Haunted Mansion returns with a heartbreaking new scene The Mansion has been the subject of regular tinkering, its illusions evolving and changing as technology — and culture — advances. This time is no different. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Global catastrophes are hard enough without being alone. I would give most everything I have right now for the absolute worst day with my ex just to be together with her in this moment. Hug your loved ones.

Last summer I had a chance to strike a deal with the devil. Don’t sleep on “Undersigned.” www.latimes.com/travel/story...

In the precarious world of location based entertainment, it was safe to assume the worst when L.A.’s Two Bit Curcus closed. Yet founder Brent Bushnell is confident Two Bit will rise again. First up is a pop-up in Santa Monica. With a space elevator. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Hi! This is tomorrow, Game Awards Eve! Come out, if you can. I’m sure to say something ridiculous but Jason Schreier will balance me out with something smart. pen.org/event/the-ga...

"Festival of Holidays taps into the original mission of Disneyland, that is, presenting an aspirational view of society that looks at much as the world beyond its gates as it does the fantasies held inside them." Love this.

“It would be the low-hanging fruit to do a sing-along.” How Disneyland’s Festival of Holidays elevates theme park fare, and does so by centering diversity. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Chicago barroom poet Ike Reilly is overlooked. “Salesman and Racists” is a masterpiece, now available on vinyl via his site. Clash-inspired with a boozy, hip-hop-aware cadence, Reilly treats swagger and sleaziness as sacred. He skewers the upper-crust, captures that broke 3 am walk home in the snow

He turned his UCLA dorm room into an escape room. www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Here with some UCLA kids who are turning dorm rooms — and stairwells — into escape rooms. Story next week.

Had an occasion to experience GREAT GOLD BIRD tonight, and found it lovely. I fully endorse its "wanderplay" billing, and would love to see more of this intimate, story-driven form in the immersive landscape. @toddmartens.bsky.social describes why you should make the trip during its run:

I played this game with a couple of pals and we all loved it

Los Angeles, if you’re able to get to IndieCade tomorrow night, I promise you Apple Avenue Detective Agency is a very special show/game/LARP. You don’t want to miss it.