Changes are coming to Epcot! Along with a new Mary Poppins attraction in the Great Britain pavilion, a Moana-themed water maze, a Guardians of the Galaxy ride and so much more, Walt Disney World will unveil an out of this world eatery in 2020!
Space 220 gives guests the chance to dine among the stars. The all-new restaurant is an extension of the park’s Mission: SPACE pavilion and set to open this winter.
So what can you expect from this other worldy foodie attraction? To start with, you won’t enter the eatery simply by walking through the front door. Instead, guests will magically travel 220 miles above the planet (not IRL, of course) to dock with the Centauri Space Station.
The awesomely immersive experience includes panoramic outer space views and an all-too-real feeling of flying high above the Earth. Even though you’ll feel like you’re floating in space, the food isn’t exactly alien. According to the Walt Disney World website, the menu will feature modern American cuisine for the fam and more than 1,000 bottles of wines and craft beer for grown-ups only.
Patina Restaurant Group’s (the company behind Space 220) Nick Valenti said in a press statement, “I look forward to welcoming guests to Space 220, an immersive culinary journey intended to celebrate the wonders of our solar system and transport guests 220 miles above Earth’s surface to experience the height of dining.”
As of now, there’s no word on specific menu items or an opening date.
If your young Jedi’s Baby Yoda obsession is next level, they’ll be over the Endor moon for the Baby Yoda ice cream being dished up at this Southern California gelato shop.
Eiswelt Gelato is betting Star Wars fans will fall hard for their Baby Yoda-inspired ice cream cones and we think they’re right. The dessert shop in Westminster, California, which is already famous for its animal-shaped scoops, is now serving up a cone that resembles The Child from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Customers can order the “Alien Baby” treat with any of the shops green colored flavors like matcha, avocado, pistachio or green tea. It can be made to order in a cup or a cone.
Forget about pricey Star Wars cookie sets. One Instagrammer just posted a Baby Yoda cookie hack that will make your holiday baking so much easier!
Do you have an angel-shaped cookie cutter in your bin or Christmas cookie-making gear? If so, you’re in luck! If not, you can nab one of these tried and true holiday shapes for almost nothing just about anywhere that sells cooking wares.
So what do angel cookie cutters and Disney+’s The Child (a.k.a. Baby Yoda) have to do with one another? Posting on her Instagram page, Katy Atakturk wrote, “When you chop off the head of an Angel cookie-cutter it sorta looks like Baby Yoda!” Judging by the pic, it looks like Atakturk’s cookie-cutter hack makes magnificent Manalorian treats.
After lopping off the head, just ice the remaining little alien in green, brown and white. Now you have a flock-full of Baby Yoda’s to serve at your next out-of-this-world holiday party!
Disney+’s Mandalorian has one new character that’s getting major attention—The Child. The super-popular “Baby Yoda” is suddenly popping up everywhere. From ugly Christmas sweaters to t-shirts, this adorable alien is all over new Disney merch—and now Hasbro has a talking plush toy.
The Star Wars The Child Talking Plush Toy ($25) would be the perfect addition to your kiddo’s holiday wish list. Sadly, the popular plush is only available for pre-order right now.
photo: Amazon
The new “Baby Yoda” toy officially debuts May 18, 2020. If you want to make sure you get your hands on one (before they sell out), you can pre-order the Mandolorian merchandise on Amazon, from Target, at ShopDisney.com or from other fave retailers.
The Child plush, which is age-graded for children three and up, comes with 10 sound effects, poseable arms, a bone broth bowl and a Sorgan frog.
You weren’t the only one to “phone home” on Thanksgiving. An all-new E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial short debuted on NBC, Syfy and Comcast Xfinity’s website this Thursday—and it gave us all a glimpse into what life is like for the adorable alien, Elliott and the rest of his fam almost 30 years after the original film.
The four-minute-ish film, titled A Holiday Reunion, starts with Elliott’s children finding E.T. As you might remember from the classic flick, the scream-filled exchange is more than reminiscent of the original meet and greet (or rather, meet and shriek) that happened when Elliot and Gertie first saw the alien.
As the short goes on, E.T. gets the chance to experience all kinds of new and exciting 2019 adventures, such as the Internet, virtual reality goggles and Reese’s Pieces cupcakes!
Henry Thomas, the original Elliott, told Deadline, “The audience is going to get everything they want out of a sequel without the messy bits that could destroy the beauty of the original and the special place it has in people’s minds and hearts.”
Even though acclaimed director Steven Spielberg helped the original movie, he didn’t return for the short. Instead, Lance Acord (cinematographer for Lost in Translation and Adaptation) directed A Holiday Reunion.
The welcome piece of nostalgia for the holidays comes to us courtesy of Comcast Xfinity. According to Deadline, Peter Intermaggio, SVP for Marketing Communications, Comcast Cable, said, “Our goal is to show how Xfinity and Sky technology connects family, friends and loved ones, which is so important during the holidays.” Intermaggio also added, “The classic friendship between E.T. and Elliott resonates around the world.”
There’s no better time to cozy up with the kids for a movie day than in the fall, and you’re in luck because there are tons of exciting family-friendly movies coming out in theaters in the months ahead that both parents and kids will love. Here are all the awesome family movies we can’t wait to watch this season.
This magical tale of unexpected friendship finds a young teen befriending a Yeti and going on an epic adventure to help him find his way back home.
Rated: PG Ages: 7 & up Releases Sep. 27
The Addams Family
MGM
They're creepy and they're kooky and for the first time on the big screen, The Addams Family is getting animated. Parents will get nostalgic and kids will enjoy an exciting ride with the not-so-ordinary family next door.
In this follow-up to the hit 2014 film that turned the story of Sleeping Beauty upside down, the bond between Maleficent and Aurora is broken by a new queen. It also reveals a whole new fairy world as Maleficent discovers that she is not the only one of her kind.
Aardman's stop-motion hero Shaun the Sheep is back for a second film, but this time he's headed off the farm for an out-of-this-world adventure helping an adorable alien named LU-LA find her way back home after crash-landing on the barnyard.
Swifty the Arctic Fox dreams of leaving the mailroom behind and commanding a sled as Top Dog of the Arctic Blast Delivery Service, but when he gets in over his head trying to make his dream come true he inadvertently stumbles on a villainous plot to destroy the arctic. With the help of his friends, he leads the charge to save his home and prove he's much more than he seems.
The moment fans have been waiting for six long years has finally arrived and we can all let it go and enjoy the fantastic new journey Elsa and Anna are embarking on to save Arendelle.
If Mister Rogers was your favorite neighbor growing up, then you won't want to miss this beautiful biopic starring Tom Hanks. Just make sure you bring a box of tissues to go with your popcorn.
Move over LEGO, there's a new movie based on popular plastic figures in town. A brother and sister find themselves magically transported in the world of Playmobil and they have to find their way back to the human world with plenty of wacky characters and silly humor along the way.
The crew is headed back into the game and this time they accidentally brought along their grandfathers. Video games and grandparents go together about as well as LEGO bricks and bare feet so you can expect some hilarious results.
The epic Skywalker saga is coming to an end, but before it does fans are sure to have their burning questions answered in what promises to be an action-packed adventure in a galaxy far, far away.
Fans of Netflix’s sci-fi drama Another Life may remember the not-so-tasty fruit the crew sampled after landing on a somewhat Earth-like (except for the massive crustacean-esque creatures) planet. As it turns out, the alien fruit is a total IRL treat called rambutan!
So what exactly is rambutun? To start with, it doesn’t come from a distant moon––it’s actual origins are much closer, such as Guatemala and Honduras. You can get the fruit right now at some of your fave retailers, including Trader Joe’s.
If the the sci-fi version of the fruit was less than tasty, the real-world version is super-sweet. Rambutans, which taste like peeled grapes, only have around 10 calories each. But don’t try to eat the spiky skin! Peel your rambutan, toss the skin and pit and eat the lush insides.
HLB Specialties first introduced the fruit to U.S. consumers in 2016, and now it’s back from Aug. 22 through Sep. 14 at select Trader Joe’s locations, as well as Midwest and East Coast Walmart, Whole Foods, Meijer and Freshfield Farms stores.
Powerful stories of the immigrant and refugee experience can help kids understand what people go through when they move to a new country and start new lives. These novels and memoirs for kids 10 and under can help build empathy and sensitivity among readers, and kids from immigrant families can see reflections of their own struggles and triumphs. For more books about the immigrant experience that kids of all ages can enjoy and identify with—from Illegal, a graphic novel that paints a harrowing picture of a refugee crisis, to classics like The Joy Luck Club for older kids—check out the entire list at Common Sense Media.
This delicate, finely wrought story about a young Latina girl lays out the difficult circumstances of her immigrant family while celebrating her as a kid like any other.
This is the story of author Yuri Morales’ her own immigrant experience, traveling from her native Mexico to San Francisco, California, with her infant son. In an end note, she makes clear that the book is not about "Dreamers" as we use the word today, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, but in the sense that all immigrants are dreamers, coming to "a new country carried by hope and dreams, and carrying our own special gifts, to build a better future."
Mamá the Alien is a cute, bilingual picture book that introduces issues related to immigration, documentation, and citizenship in a warm, lighthearted way for kids as young as preschool.
A father's advice to his daughter about her mixed indigenous Mexican and Muslim heritage reads as both intensely personal and widely universal, airily poetic and solidly concrete. The book represents Muslim kids and families in a positive light, providing a mirror for Muslim kids, and a window for readers of all backgrounds.
It's not every day that a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist writes a picture book, and this one vibrantly celebrates diversity by mining the author's own Dominican American immigrant experience.
In This Is Me, an Asian-American teacher describes the journey of her great-grandmother, who came to this country carrying only one small suitcase filled with personal items. This book helps kids dig up their histories and relate them to their own lives and identities in a personally meaningful way.
This excellent book introduces young kids to the plight of refugees and is brought vividly to life by the photos and faces of very real children who've been affected.
This moving, haunting story of a young refugee draws its power from its simplicity, as the girl herself tells her own story, observing what's happening around her in ways kids can absorb. The Day War Came is frank and heartbreaking, but gentle. Author Nicola Davies makes clear this kid is like any other.
This tender, masterful family story about a hardworking Vietnamese refugee dad and his son focuses on a simple outing that speaks volumes about their lives and the strong ties that bind them.
Through photographs, original poems, and interview excerpts, Russell Freedman tells young readers about the experience of immigrants coming through San Francisco's Angel Island during its operation from 1910 to 1940.
Loosely based on Kelly Yang's experience growing up as an immigrant in America, this powerful, moving tale highlights the importance of tolerance and diversity, making it a must-read for kids. Front Desk takes place in the early '90s, but many of the heartbreaking stories mentioned in the book are still a reality for immigrants and minorities today.
As two teenage cousins take the perilous journey from Guatemala to the U.S., this harrowing, heartfelt tale brings to life the plight of thousands of young refugees and the dangers they face.
This ambitious, harrowing page-turner is chock-full of historical information, and it succeeds in providing a vivid window onto the lives of three fictional child refugees from different time periods and settings: 1938 Berlin, 1994 Cuba, and 2015 Syria.
This novel about an 11-year-old Afghan immigrant will give readers of all ages sensitive insight into the hardships immigrants experience in their daily lives, especially those seeking asylum from oppressive cultures. And, they will be reminded of how the 9/11 terrorist attacks made the lives of Muslim immigrants even harder.
Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.
Baby it’s cold (or slushy, or wintry mix-y) outside! One solution for winter weekend woes is to head to a show. New York City is a theater town, and there are lots of theaters here that cater just to kids. Plus, you’ve got Sesame Street Live rolling in to town for a giant run. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite shows for kids this winter, including big musical productions, more than a little bit of magic, puppetry, and more. Snap up some tickets today for a guaranteed weekend plan!
For an Immersive Adventure: Pip's Island
Pip's Island
Pip's Island, the interactive and immersive show that premiered back in 2016, has returned to New York City! The fantastical production, designed for kids ages 4 -10, begins previews March 11, and opens March 21. Audience members move through imaginative environments, help characters along the way, and play a part in helping save the day. (Lots of positive messaging is throughout the show as well.) Pip's Island is in a new home on 42nd Street, and while it maintains much of the original story, sets, and characters, it’s been updated and improved. Take the kids on a special date, or book the best birthday ever for up to 50 kids! Tickets are $49 online, and $59 at the box office. Read our full review from its first NYC run here!
Starting March 11 Tickets: $49 in advance; $59 at box office 400 W. 42nd St. Midtown West 212-609-1372 Online: pipsisland.com
For Artful Puppetry with a Green Message: Ajijaak on Turtle Island
Richard Termine
In this show from New York City company IBEX Puppetry, kites morph into soaring birds and branches transform into a gentle deer. Puppetry artist Heather Henson and Grammy Award-winner Ty Defoe bring together an ensemble of North American First Nations Peoples to tell the tale of Ajijaak, a young whooping crane who must face her first migration south. Indigenous songs performed live, languages and dance weave together in a spectacle of artistry to create an affecting fable about the dangerous effects of climate change on animals and Mother Earth. Recommended for ages seven and up.
March 1-10 Tickets: $17 and up New Victory Theater 209 W. 42ndSt. Times Square 646-223-3010 Online: newvictory.org
For a Tale As Old As Time: Beauty and the Beast
Symphony Space
This classic tale is performed by one of the oldest, continually-running marionette theater companies in the country. The National Marionette Theatre presents the story of The Beast and Fiona with meticulously-crafted marionettes. Recommended for kids ages four and up, the show is 60 minutes long.
March 9, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Tickets: $17/non-members; $14/members Peter Jay Sharpe Theater 2537 Broadway at 95th St. UpperWestSide 212-864-5400 Online: symphonyspace.org
To See Kids' Words Come Alive (Hilariously): The Story Pirates
As Lin-Manuel Miranda (allegedly, and probably) likes to say, "Have you not seen Story Pirates yet? Get on that." This troupe of comedians, performers and teaching artists takes kids' ideas, stories, and words, and acts them out to pretty much everyone's delight. These shows, which do sell out, support their work of Story Pirates Changemakers, which brings life-changing literacy programs to kids in low income schools, homeless shelters, and the foster care system. PS: Have you heard? The Story Pirates have a new book out, Digging Up Danger!
Sat., Feb. 16, Noon-1 p.m. Tickets: $35 Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre 555 W. 42nd St. Midtown Online: eventbrite.com
For the youngest of theatergoers (ages 2 to 5), Pillowland, produced by New York City Children's Theater, is inspired by kindie rocker Laurie Berkner's song of the same name. Kids are encouraged to wear their pajamas to this 30-minute interactive show that takes them on a trip to the titular destination. Kids get a primo spot in the small performance area, and parents can join them or hang back and sit in chairs. Note: shoes off before entering the theater. Hang out after the show for photos with the cast!
Through April 14 Tickets: $27 Peter Theater at the Flea Theater 20 Thomas St. Tribeca 212-226-0051 Online: nycchildrenstheater.org
Become a Jedi Master (and Laugh While Doing It): Jedi Academy
Symphony Space/Just Kidding
Calling all Star Wars fanatics who like to laugh! Young intergalactic adventurers are invited to learn the ways of the Jedi with Panniken Moonjumper, a true Master of intergalactic fun and adventure. During this comedy variety show, little Jedi Warriors, Princesses and Darth Vaders will feel empowered to discover the great Force within their hearts. The all-ages show, from the brain of kids' entertainer David Engel, involves comic antics, exciting physical challenges, magical mayhem, lightsaber lessons and a visit from our space hero’s furry alien sidekick. Bonus: audience members are invited to come in costume!
March 16, 11 a.m. Tickets: $17/non-members; $14/members Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre 2537 Broadway at 95th St. Upper West Side Online: symphonyspace.org
For many of us, we grew up with tons of male superhero leads, but for our kids, it’s a whole new world full of diverse, inclusive representation. Today’s kids’ shows are all about she-ros—and we’ve rounded up some of the best kids shows with strong female superhero leads.
Check out our picks below!
Rainbow Rangers
Courtesy of Nick Jr.
The new addition to the Nick Jr. lineup features an all-female cast of characters. Co-created by the team that brought us Disney's The Lion King, Mulan, The Little Mermaid and Frozen, Rainbow Rangers includes a diverse group of young girls, each with unique superpowers. Oh yeah, and they save the world too! Look for this fun, fearless, female-led show to debut on Nov. 5, aimed at kids 6 and younger.
Get ready for a reboot! Oh, but this isn't just an ol' reboot. This is She-Ra. Yep, your childhood female superhero is back and she's all new—and she's on Netflix too. The Princess of Power is joining up with other princesses of power in all-new DreamWorks adventure.
Ms. Marvel, Ghost-Spider, Patriot, Inferno, Quake and Squirrel Girl star in this new animated series. Find Marvel Rising on the Disney Channel, along with the made-for-TV animated flick, Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors.
Don't let the show's name, Steven Universe, fool you: there's a whole lot of incredibly diverse female representation happening here. The popular Cartoon Network just featured a same-sex marriage proposal and wedding between characters Ruby and Sapphire. The show has been praised for its depiction of queer characters and storylines.
While not a superhero in the most traditional sense, older kids will enjoy the first-ever female in the iconic role of Doctor Who. Jodie Whittaker stars in the thirteenth incarnation of the longest-running sci-fi series in TV history. With plenty of team-work, STEM themes and of course, alien superhero awesomeness, this BBC show is can't miss TV.
