By Charly SHELTON

The past year seemed to fly by. There was no shortage of fun and exciting stories in the Travel & Leisure section. Let’s take a look back at some of the best ofs, month-by-month throughout 2018.

January

Pop-Up Museums: 29 Rooms: 29 Rooms is an annual pop-up art installation by Refinery 29, a women’s blog on art, style, news and more. Each of the 29 Rooms was a different art experience from a different artist, usually promoting a different product or movie/show. Not all of the installations were promotional, but so many of them were that I got the feeling I was living in an advertisement.

February

“Black Panther:” For all of their tricks and eye-catching images, for all of the Marvel masters and those dastardly villains they’ve saved the world from, none of the Marvel universe films have had the “wow” factor like “Black Panther.” “Black Panther” exploded forever the idea that a white guy must always be the one to ride to the rescue.

Disneyland’s Lunar New Year: There was plenty to do, see and taste at this annual event, from specialty foods to face painting to arts and crafts and more. The street show “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession,” which features Mulan, Mushu, Goofy and a troupe of dancers and acrobats, was something not to be missed.

ScotsFest at Queen Mary: I don’t want to make a blanket statement on the quality of Celtic fairs, but this may have been the most fun I had in years at any similar event. Yes, it was a Scottish-based festival and not Irish, but all Celts came together to share-and-share alike with the American people. This offered a oneness of many cultures blending together as brothers and sisters who were once oppressed by Britain. The Irish county kilts blended in with the Scottish clan kilts and the thing that was all agreed upon was that if you’re wearing underwear, it’s called a skirt. This sentiment was reflected on many T-shirts seen throughout the event.

March

Bahamas (articles run throughout the summer, beginning in March): The Bahamas are the heart of the Caribbean not only economically, culturally and geographically, but also in the lifestyle of the Caribbean state of mind. It’s a concept called “island time” and nowhere is that more apparent than in Nassau, capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

King Tut’s Stuff at CA Science Center: While Tutankhamun’s mummy and iconic golden coffin weren’t part of the exhibition many of his grave goods were – more than ever before. Whereas the 1978 King Tut tour featured only 55 artifacts, this tour featured more than 150 artifacts, 60 of which have never before left Egypt. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the treasures of his tomb in LA.

April

Maple Opens at Descanso: Descanso Gardens is our own Central Park in the Crescenta Valley. It’s a meeting place, a quiet retreat, a tourist attraction and, now, a brunch hot spot. Whether it’s after a morning stroll through the Gardens or before heading out, Maple at Descanso Gardens offered an expansive brunch that hits the spot, fueling diners for whatever the day brings.

Queen Mary’s B340 Opens to Guests: If the tales are true then unbridled psychokinetic thought-energy would charge the room to cause manifestations of nomadic spirits that, to me, is even cooler than a haunt. But whatever happened in the room to give it its spirited beginnings, there was real activity in there. Covers have reportedly been pulled off guests while sleeping, clothes hangers rattled and footsteps were heard as were knocks and more. And, for the first time since the ’80s, the room was finally open to check-ins.

“Avengers: Infinity War:” On the one hand, it is a movie of gloriously inventive CGI, witty inter-character banter and captivating performances. On the other hand, Thanos sees the problems of the universe as overpopulation. In order to solve this dilemma and bring all into balance, his solution is simple: wipe out half of the citizens of the universe so the other half can prosper.

May

Summer Rides, from May through July: Hangtime at Knott’s. This is a coaster all about hanging upside down. It has a 96° drop, meaning it’s more than vertical, it actually curves past straight down and makes the guests rise from their seats for a split second before dropping into the decline. Electric Eel at SeaWorld: A vertical coaster, it features multiple launch experiences – sending the coaster train back and forth through the station to gather speed before launching straight up into a twist and experiencing loops and corkscrews all the way back down. Deep Sea Adventure Ride at LEGOland: Though many other parks with a submarine ride have only animated fish or high-tech projections in a dry set with a water sluice track for the ride vehicle, Legoland pumped it up a notch by actually submerging the ride vehicles into a living fish tank with sharks, fish and some of the biggest rays I have ever seen.

Dreamworks Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood: DreamWorks Theatre is a 4D theater attraction (think Shrek 4D) that was set to open June 15 and featured “Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest.”

Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Fan Event: In celebration of its silver anniversary, Universal Studios Hollywood hosted an event for fans of the original film to come together and revel in their nerdy passion. And, for me, it felt like going home.

June

Becoming LA Reopens: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County featured “Becoming Los Angeles,” an exhibit detailing the history of the City of Angels from the first humans settling the area through present day. After briefly closing it reopened with updates to some sections, newly commissioned artwork by local artists, and newly added artifacts from the NHMLA archaeology/anthropology collection.

Arroyo Seco Weekend Concert: The air smelled of craft brews and Gucci perfume at the Arroyo Seco Weekend festival. Located on the rolling fairways of Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, millennials and their families got to share an event that both could enjoy.

July

Grand Californian Hotel Behind-the-Scenes Tour: The hotel is a salute to the many California architects and artists who lent their styles to the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Improving upon building practices, Disney made this hotel a more environmentally friendly iteration of the A&C style so as to not needlessly damage the forests that the hotel pays tribute to.

August

Halloween Conventions: The trade show Midsummer Scream was held in July and was focused more on haunt industry professionals who were looking for things to add to a house. The second of two shows, ScareLA, was held in early August and it was geared more toward haunt fans, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the basics of how haunters make the sets, the costumes and the scares that go into a house.

September

A Tearful Farewell to Jurassic Park: The Ride: For 22 years the Jurassic Park ride was a staple at Universal Studios Hollywood. Even during the park’s resurgence in the last 10 years with Transformers, Simpsons, Harry Potter, Minions, Fast and Furious and other popular recent franchises, Jurassic Park still was an anchor of the bottom lot. In September it closed. It just closed, and that was it.

October

Halloween Events at the Theme Parks: Universal Studios Hollywood is a major player, Six Flags Magic Mountain holds its own, even the Queen Mary gets into the act with its festival area transformed into a nautical haunt. And the granddaddy of them all, the one that started it off, Knott’s Berry Farm – or, as it’s known during the season, Knott’s Scary Farm.

Séance at Queen Mary: “Magic has changed [in the last 100 years]. Today, a deck of cards is symbolic of that magic, of trickery, sleight of hand,” said Illusionist Aiden Sinclair in his new show, Illusions of the Passed. “Ladies and gentlemen, when [master magician of the early 20th century] Howard Thurston performed, nobody asked him ‘How long did it take you to learn that trick?’ People would ask Howard Thurston, ‘When did you realize you had these abilities?’”

November

Little Landers’ Chasing History: Part treasure hunt, part motor rally, part photo contest and part history tour, this unique event brought together the best of all those worlds to make for a very fun afternoon.

Mickey Mouse’s 90th Birthday at Disneyland: Mickey Mouse debuted on Nov. 18, 1928 in the cartoon short “Steamboat Willie,” which makes him 90 years old. And for the main Mouse’s birthday, Disneyland threw a big party. After months of teasing it out, a special art exhibition in New York and several TV specials on ABC to celebrate, Mickey’s big day was finally met at the original Disney Park with special events, special merchandise and special food items.

December

A Holiday Séance Aboard Queen Mary: Aiden Sinclair’s holiday show focused more on the family and connectedness of lives and how the living reacts when someone dies. With holiday-themed experiences, like contact mediumship through presents, the experiences were independently fun and exciting while also being just holiday-themed enough to fit within the overall Queen Mary Christmas celebration happening throughout the rest of the ship.

  Charly Shelton