11/16 Theme Park Day Around Orlando

So I went all over town today and took a bunch of pictures:


First I stopped at the I-4 flea market, it is located in the building where Dixie Stampede used to perform. It was awful, dirty, unorganized, confusing and some place I have no desire to return to, no matter how cool there jumbotron on the side of the building is.


View from Sky Tower of some slide parts over by Aquatice, probably for the 2010 project. The one piece definetely looks funnel shaped.


Bayside Stadium getting ready for the christmas ice show.


Sea World wasn't too busy, here is a shot of the parking lot from the Sky Tower.


Manta is fantastic.


I met Santa Shamu!!


The space shuttle taking off.


I was very impressed with the Polar Express Experiance. The attraction really puts you in the christmas spirit and is much more themed & extensive then I was expecting. In the animal areas you can meet Santa and buy hot chocolate.


Sleepy polar bear.


Went over to Universal, which was empty at 4 o'clock.



Potterland keeps growing.

10/5 Orlando Update: Universal Orlando Resort

Mickey Mouse & Spider-Man

Adult Content

This week I feel like I am such a Disney fan. For those who know me you know that I like going to Disney, but when it comes down to it, I normally go the cheaper rout and end up going 7 days at Universal then one day at Disney. Thats not to say I dont love Disney, I do... I just cant aford it. Whats the saying? Living a Champlain live on a beer budget?

This week two story's really cough my eye and got me thinking. The first being the Mouse kicking Universal in the soft "no no" spot by buying up Marvel comics, and with that would be the new owners and holder of any contracts Universal has with Marvel. Kinda makes me think, did Mickey do this just so they could hit Universal where it hurts? Will this hurt Universal?

When I look at Universals IOA, I see two lands that are successful, and some stuff thats not. The kids area, and the comic area are the two areas I feel are the biggest crowed pleasers. This will change with Potter flying in next year. Non the less Disney will now own the rights to one of the more popular areas at IOA. I think thats a low blow and sucks. Again, love Disney...

So my prodiction is that we will only see a few more seasons of our Spider-man ride (witch really is the only big themed ride that would actualy be effected if Marvel left). Good news is that Spider-man and Darkastle were designed in a way that could let the ride system stay, but the ride itself could be re-themed. So now the question is, does IOA have the guts to put in the Knights in White Saten, The Trip!

Wake Up A Walk In The Park Blog

Hey Folks!

Hello all and welcome to the A Walk In The Park Blog. I know it has been way to long since things were handed off but we are finally back in the saddle and ready to go with some blogging.

First I would like to introduce my self. My name is Clint Novak, and I am taking over things for Pat well he becomes rich and famous. I never really had my own blog before, so this will be a new experience for us! Also want to point out to the people who don't know me my spelling and grammar is not so good, so you will have to forgive me if I spell something wrong. Also, I live in VA and my home park is Kings Dominion, so you will have to forgive me when I talk about Dominator and Intimidator 305 all the time!

I think thats where I will start with the blog. In the last few weeks the Coaster Crew and myself have been running all over covering the new roller coasters that are coming out. Not just coasters but other water rides and such as well. I think I will go down the line and give a little opinion about them.

Kennywoods Unnamed Coaster

This cool looking coaster I think is one of the bigger suprizes of the summer. I did not see Kennywood jumping in to this kind of coaster. The coaster is being built by Primier rides. It kind looks like Speed: The Ride mixed with Flight of Fear. Dont know how great of a ride it will be but I did not see it coming! Kennywoods first launch coaster!




Holiday World's Wildebeest

This was I think the biggest let down of the summer. When the hip first started for this ride I really thought they would be getting there first steel coaster. Then I saw the price tag, and said well its not a steely, but it could be a small woodie. Its a good thing that they are adding to the water park, because there water park is there big money maker and I think thats really cool. But I just think this is a lot of money for a water slide. BUT, it does look like a kick ass water coaster. Not a big fan of water coasters. Been on both in Sandusky (Convar belt and water jet) and really would like to see how the LIM system works with the water coaster. Also would love to see more water parks add flow riders. Love flow riders!!

Kings Dominion's Intimidator 305

Now this ride I can not wait to ride! I will admit that I knew about the details of this coaster before it was announced. I am not going to say how long I knew, but I will say this. If I ever had to choice between knowing before everyone, and finding out with everyone... I want to be a fan and find out like everyone else! That said I am so excited that my home park is getting such a great ride. I know there are a lot of winning coaster nerds and they are unhappy with is, but dude... we are getting a $25 million giga coaster! secend only to MF at Cedar Point in the USA!! I really cant wait. Love the layout.. but don't care for the theme. I am not upset with it because in the last few weeks I have seen how great this theme will be fore Kings Dominion and Carowinds (more so for Carowinds)

Carowinds Intimidator

This coaster is my secend favorite so far this year. As far as B&M Hypers go it looks nice. Kinda like Apollos Cheriot and Dimaond Back mixed in to one. I think Carowinds stepped up the themeing of this coaster and have told us of the details of the Que line and ride entrince. I really hope Kings Dominion does something like that as well.





Over all I really think next year is going to be a great summer. The only other big announcment I think we will see this year is Cedar Point and I am sure its some kind of water ride. So we will have to see in the upcoming weeks what that may be.

Well hope you liked the first blog. I know you are asking "If you are doing the blog, who is doing the podcast?" The answer is also me! Our webguy will be working on getting the feed over to Coaster Crew's website and we will get it back up and running. The podcast will be done the same way it was when Pat was running it. Will need your help to keep it going, so get ready to do some trip reports from the park!

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions, or comments!

Tell next time!

My Final In The Loop Tonight

Hey Everyone,

Tonight at 8 eastern its my final episode of In The Loop. Tune in at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/In-the-Loop

5/26 USF "Changes Are Coming" Edition

Hello Everyone,

Before I get to todays update from Universal I got some news about the future of A Walk In The Park (Podcast/Blog). I got a new job today and will no longer be able to run A Walk In The Park or In The Loop, for more information see my post over at Coaster Crew:

http://www.coastercrew.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2180

Back to today, swung by Universal to see how things were going on the big projects.

Some Pics:


Here is Rip Ride Rockit, moving along well. I didn't see any testing, but there was progress. Lights were on at the top of the lift, station is coming together, a new railing has shown up and landscaping work continues on the 'Citywalk' section of the ride.


Sweet shirt.


Potterland: very large and construction moving very slow. I am starting to have a hard time believing that what is in these pictures, will look like this in just a year.

Ride Count

Men In Black
Simpsons (2 Times)
Mummy (2 Times)
Spiderman
Mummy

5/22 "Quick Trip To DTD" Edition

I got a little bored today sitting around the apartment and decided to go for a walk around Downtown Disney. Even though I have been critical of the decision to close Pleasure Island, I do enjoy walking around DTD.


They have made some changes since the Virgin Megastore went out of business (insert joke here about Downtown Disney losing it's virginity here). They have taken down the old music banners on the backside of the building and replaced them with Downtown Disney banners and have covered some of the windows with "Celebrate Today" graphics.


Starabillia's has upped its discounts from 20% to 40%, which could be a sign that this store could be on its way out in the near future. I don't think Disney will have trouble selling this piece of property as they have had with the former PI clubs, because this is a much smaller space and is in an excellent location.


Paradiso 37 got it's sign as it gets closer to opening. I have no idea what the opening date for this place is, but I can't imagine its too far off.


I was pretty surprised to here the rumor on Screamscape this week that McDonalds is possibly going to be leaving Downtown Disney. I can see one of two things: It is going as a continued separation between the two companies (fries gone from theme parks & no disney toys in happy meals) or it will close to be rehabbed into a more modern McDonalds, similar to what is currentely being done to the one near the All Stars.


Up merchandise has arrived at World Of Disney, I'm looking forward to seeing this in 3D next week!


I found this cool retro espn shirt in Team Mickey. I am so going to buy this........ once I get a job.


In case you didn't know T-Rex is a huge hit. I have never eaten there (I do want to give it a try), but this mob was around the restaurant at dinner time.


As a big fan of the old Pleasure Island, it actually pains me to see this. They have closed up the clubs and replaced them with this lame excuse for entertainment. Pleasure Island has gone from the home of one of my favorite places on the planet, the Adventurers Club to a dead zone where a mic'd DJ runs around to try and get passers by to do the chicken dance. Yuck!


I walkaround Downtown about once a week, and this is the first time I have ever seen Characters In Flight selling tickets and taking guests up.

Thats it, hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Final American Idol Thought

This weeks show didn't wow me like I thought it would & I thought the original song at the end wasn't very good.

Favorite This Week & Favorite Overall: Adam Lambert

Star Tours of Freestyle's New Hotness

So I got some thoughts on some recent things:


Star Tours 2.0

I am so excited that they are filming Star Tours 2.0. The original ride is a classic, but at about 20 years old has become pretty outdated. I think with all the technology out there (HD, 3D, Widescree, Holograms) that the imagineers can really put on a spectacular show here. I guess the big question on this one becomes, just when Star Tours 2.0 becomes a reality, my guess would be it opens on both coasts for the summer of 2010.


Freestyle Coming Together

Well the Freestyle Music Park finally has put more details on there website. They have a full map and ride names, a calender and prices. The big changes include Led Zepplin becoming the Time Machine, with 5 different soundtracks. I really like this idea, as it makes the attraction much more re-rideable. Of course there are some whiny coaster geeks out there that are complaining about the Zepplin being painted pink (these are probably the same losers that bitch about what unthemed coasters are named) but I think the Concept Art of the finished product looks pretty neat. The fireworks are returning, which is something I didn't expect to see.

I think the people behind FSMP seem to know more of what they are doing then the previous operators, but they are still going to need a good marketing campaign to get people to show up. Two major questions I have are just what music is going to be played on the roller coasters and more details about this 'Monstars Of Rock' dark ride that is replacing the Nights In White Satin attraction. I will get a chance to ask these questions tomorrow on In The Loop as a rep from the park is going to come on the show!!


New Hotness

So new rides have started to open and the new hotness is sweeping the country. The picture above is from the LA Times Blog showing off the highly detailed trains (complete with onboard audio) that look outstanding.

Monster Mansion re-opened at SFOG and looks very cool. I loved this ride when I went to the park back in 2002 and really really want to go on an updated version. While I really don't like six flags new super cheap plan of throwing a million dollars at a ride, changing its name and marketing it as new to try and dupe the public into thinking they got a new roller coaster (I actually had a conversation with my dad a few weeks back who said "I see great adventure is getting a new coaster this year" to which I had to respond "No, thats a painted Medusa with a new name") I think this one is really being marketed better, as "we updated a classic come check it out" so I approve.

Finish up this update with a youtube video of some of the new hotness out at DCA. If the rest of the 1.1 billion expansion is this good in quality then I have very high hopes for that parks future.

5/8-14 "Finally Have The Internet Back" Edition

Its been a while since an update blog (and there's plenty to update about) I haven't had my internet working since Friday, so did plenty of playing here in Central Florida instead. I went to Sea World (5/8), Universal (5/9 & Today), Magic Kingdom (5/10) and Animal Kingdom (5/12).

Some Notes:

- Rode back row on Manta, pretty intense.
- I saw Blue Horizons for the first time and really enjoyed it. Its the dolphin/bird/acrobat/diver show Sea World has, its a bit odd, but I dig it.
- Can't say the same for Believe which I saw for the first time. This version of the Shamu show I thought was pretty tame, really seemed to try and make a bigger deal about itself then it should and I think was designed to mostly sell necklaces.
- Sea Worlds food is great, but a tad on the pricey side $8 Burgers & over $10 for the BBQ.
- Shamu Stadium is absolutely massive, not sure what holds more people this or Lights Motors at DHS.
- Dolphins were fun to watch in their exhibit, as they were swimming in packs.
- Pets Ahoy is just a simple, fun (and air conditioned) little show.

- Saw the vortex-less Poseidons Fury, which isn't nearly as good as the Vortex version, but I don't find awful. The host had a good line while encouraging guest not to move on to the next room "There Could Be Snake In There............. Or Voltemort".
- Why isn't parts of the castle at Dueling Dragons AC'd it made waiting in line very uncomfortable.
- MIB score 218,000.

- I was at the Magic Kingdom on Mothers Day and the park did a very nice gesture and there was a guy on main street giving flowers out to all the mothers that past.
- I got to the park too late to see the new Stitch stage show, while not something I'm particularly looking forward to, it's something new I haven't seen.
- Both cannons were down on Stitch's Great Escape, which really hurts the show.
- Park was pretty empty for the Magic Kingdom.

- Had a really good walk thru of the Majarah Jungle Trek, the tigers were wrestling and the Tapir was swimming around.

- Mummy animatronic was down again today.
- MIB score 269,000
- "I like those rides with scores, you get to shoot stuff" - Simple Man Getting Off Men In Black
- Didn't see to much work going on at Rockit.

Some Pics:


Some of the merch over at Manta, nothing that really strikes my fancy.


Reminder: Your not in Disney World anymore.


Not sure what they were doing, but these two firefighters were walking around the park in full gear.


Am I going crazy or are these boxed trees in Adventureland outside the Jungle Cruise new?


New shirts at Pirates.


Completed Stitch stage.


Small World getting some love and has a temporary tiny entrance not where it usually is.


Sweet Goofy as Davy Jones plush.


Wipeout was a Downtown Disney on Monday, not as impressive as I thought it would be.


Tapir chilling in the water.


This one's for you Rapids Nerd.


A terrifying gathering of birds on the safari.


Why would they let the incredible failure that is 'Celebrate Tonight' grow?? It now has its own fail shack.


I think Laffers got a new color.


Construction continues on Paradiso 37.


Virgin Megastore is now closed, for those of you keeping count at home that makes 8 empty spots in Downtown Disney.


Potter construction.


A temporary stage was being set up at Universal, not sure what its for, I'd guess some special after hours event.


They re-arranged the Mummy gift shop, not sure why this was done.


Some sweet plush for sale in Suess Landing.


Potter keeps growing.

Ride Count

Manta
Blue Horizons
Sky Tower
Shark Encounter
Believe
Pets Ahoy
Kraken

Poseidons Fury
Fire Dragon
Spiderman
Hulk
Mummy
MIB
ET

Pirates
Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise (2 Times)
Stitchs Great Escape
Buzz
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Wishes

Dinosaur
Everest
Kilamanjaro Safari
Jammin Jungle Parade

Twister
Mummy
MIB
Cat In The Hat
Spiderman

The Podcast Returns

After about a month and a half off, The A Walk In The Park Podcast has returned. Check out the latest video featuring Clint Novak live from Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

5/5-7 "Back From The Wedding & Back To The Parks" Edition

So I've come back to sunny Florida after my buddies wedding in Chicago. I was over at Universal on Tuesday (5/5), swung by Downtown Disney yesterday (5/6) to see Wolverine (which I enjoyed) and was at Disney's Hollywood Studios today (5/7).

Some Notes:

- Lots of work going on at the Rockit construction site on Tuesday. There were three different cranes in the lift area doing various kinds of work, there were a few pickers with guys working on some touch up painting. Still no signs of trains, but progress is apparent.
- I love that the 'Yokeian' in the Jimmy Neutron ride has a Universal Studios floppy hat on.
- Mummy animatronic wasn't functioning.
- Over in Potterland a new building has shown up, pretty small near the entrance arch.
- In Citywalk there was going to be quite the party at Latin Quarter for Cinco De Mayo, that included one free beer or margarita per person! I couldn't stay as I didn't wanna miss American Idol.

- Balloon wasn't running again when I was at Downtown Disney. But I have seen it in the air while driving around town and it is pretty cool.
- The discounts still weren't high at Virgin Megastore, even with the end about 3 weeks away.
- There were construction walls over by 'Celebrate Tonight' with a stand/shed like structure looks like it was being built. I swung back around after the movie (hopeful that Disney had already pulled the plug on this piece of crap) but no, it was still there. If you haven't seen it, its basically a DJ with a microphone running around bugging people to dance or talk about celebrating. It's crap.

- Park was busy today, but not packed.
- The tram driver in the parking lot sounded just like CoasterBoy from In The Loop.
- Went to American Idol Experiance and saw the worst set of singers that I've ever seen at that show.
- They had a bunch of cool displays in One Mans Dream, all about the history of the Hollywood Studios. As the park celebrated its 20th birthday last week.
- I love the background music in the Muppet area.
- Pizza Planet was smelling great today.
- "I wanna go on that Looney Tunes Ride" - A statement I overheard some apparentely confused teenage girl say.

Some Pics:


Crowds at 4.


TNA was taping today, I want to go to one of them at some point.


Rockit construction. Lots of work on the lift and some painting. It's getting there.


A neat shirt for sale.


There was a higher then normal number of pickers hanging out in the lost continent.


The entrance archway that used to have a yellow construction wrap, now has a black construction wrap. Also I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that this is the arch on the signs on the construction walls.


The new small structure which is near the entrance arch and the restaurant.


Hogwarts keeps growing.


Cinco De Mayo festivities.


A shot of the shack/shed under construction and the disgrace that is 'Celebrate Tonight'.


Margaritas coming soon.


This thing sure has a lot of downtime from wind.


Discounts are going to need to be cheaper before I start bargain shopping there.


Banner celebrating the 20th.


Wait times at 1 pm.


New 'American Idol Mickey' plush.


I thought this shirt was funny.


A shirt for the 20th, I like that they made shirts for the event, but this one isn't my style.


Some work being done on the exterior of the theater, not sure what they are doing, maybe adding a facade so it doesn't stand out so much.


Random construction. No idea what this is for, not very big and is on the corner across the street from the backlot tour entrance and club penguin meet and greet.


Construction wall at Pixar Place.


20th displays at One Mans Dream.


Finishing off the update with a shot of Lights Motors Action.

Ride Count

Jimmy Neutron
Mummy
Simpsons

Jurassic Park
Doctor Doom
Spiderman

American Idol
Star Tours
One Mans Dream
Great Movie Ride
Lights Motors Action
Tower Of Terror (2 times)
Rock & Roller Coaster

Manta Review

I had the chance to catch a soft opening of Manta on Monday and was pretty impressed.

The Look Of The Ride

Manta is one outstanding looking roller coaster. Sea World Orlando like all of the Busch Parks is a very pretty place, adding a large roller coaster like Manta in smack in the middle of the park could hurt that, but they pulled it off perfectly. One of the first things you see when you walk into Sea World is the splashdown section of Manta. The second half of the ride which features the famous splashdown, some low flying manuevers and the waterfall looks just fantastic and makes for great pictures. The first half of the ride is much higher up and is more compact, the lift goes right over a major midway so there is some fun interaction between the people on the train and folks below. The ride looks as if it has always been there.

The Queue

A lot has been made over the Manta queue, and I thought it was nice, but not mind blowing. Before entering the indoor queue (which makes up the most of it) you pass thru the big cave/waterfall thing. The indoor queue with the aquariums is nice, but not as nice as some of Sea Worlds other aquatic viewing areas. There is one view of the aquarium which is very very cool. Another nice thing is that the queue and the area around the ride is that it has a very tranquil background music being played, this works really well in the aquarium area. Also when the train in the station and lifts into the flying position a cool sound effect is played, which is also well done.

The Ride

I liked the ride a lot more then I thought I would. The first half is very reminiscent of the Superman: Ultimate Flight, except better I think there is more flips involved. Of course the highlight of the first half is the pretzel loop, which is one of the craziest manuevers of any roller coaster. I think the second half of the ride is where Manta really makes its mark. The dive out of the block brakes into the 'wing dip' curve and then towards the waterfall fly by are true trademark elements of the ride.

Overall I loved it, I had high hopes and it exceeded them. Looks great and rides great. It is WAY better then Superman: Ultimate Flight, and no not as good as Tatsu, but it is A LOT closer then I thought it would be.

Check Out Some Pictures:

4/28-29 EPCOT-USO "Trackwork Is Complete" Edition

I went to EPCOT yesterday to meet up with an In The Loop listener and then stopped by Universal today to see how the construction was going and to enjoy the nice weather.

Some Notes:

- I did the Test Track single riders line and had no wait whatsoever, didn't even had to watch the preshow, just walked thru the line right onto the car. The ride experiance wasn't so great, because the on board audio wasn't working, this really hurts the ride.
- I rode Mission Space Green Team for the first team. I definetely prefer the more intense version and wouldn't recommend green unless you have a motion sickness issue.
- Universe Of Energy = great place for a nap.
- At Universal today I was thrilled to see the track had been completed on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, yep including the troublesome lift hill. There was a lot of construction people working all over this thing, it seems like Universal is putting the pace into overdrive to open this thing up asap. I can't wait to ride it myself.
- I did Shrek 4D for the first time since the big move earlier in the month and this is by far the worst 3D movie in central Florida. The jerky movement of the seats is a bit painful and the lack of theming in the main theater gives me a real un-inspired feeling.
- For some reason the background music around Men In Black was 2 Legit 2 Quit, which gave me flashbacks to that awful MC Hammer concert from earlier in the month.
- Scored 315,000 on Men In Black today.
- Both Universal parks were pretty empty, which was nice for me as a guest, but probably kills their bottom line.

Some Pics:


Crowds on Monday at 10:50 AM.


I enjoy both of those.


Crowds today at 2:40.


And there it is in all of its lift hill goodness. Man, going up that thing is going to be crazy. There was also some more work being done back in the turnaround area, not exactly sure what that picker was doing back there. Also there were two guys working on what look like the brakes at the end of the ride. I wonder how long before we start seeing some trains & testing?


And while the ride is under construction, you can still buy the merch!! I didn't see anything that I was in love with, seems like they went very 'cool' on the t shirt design.


Cool HHN display outside of the Horror Make Up Show.


First time I've seen the Shrek meet and greet character and well, its kinda creepy.


Potterverse keeps growing.


A little shout out to my buddy The Rapids Nerd.


I only posted this because I love the term St. Practice Day.


Sign for Thursday's 80's Night at The Groove. I'm not the biggest 80's guy, but the folks over at the Save Pleasure Island Blog reccomend it. Thinking about it I could probably use a good drunken night out club hopping at Citywalk.

Ride Count

Test Track
Mission Space
Universe Of Energy
Seas With Nemo
Spaceship Earth
Figment
Honey I Shrunk The Audience
Living With The Land
Soarin

Horror Make Up Show
Shrek 4D
Mummy
MIB
Doctor Doom
Spiderman

Life In Orlando Note


So for some reason this is for sale at the gas station near my place, wierd right.

American Idol Thougts

Favorite This Week: Adam Lambert

Favorite Overall: Adam Lambert

Who I Think Should Go: Matt Giraud

Aquatica Review

Last weekend I had the oppurtunity to visit Aquatica, Sea World's Waterpark. I had a lot of fun in the three hours I spent there. My opinion of the park is that what they have is nice, but the park is a bit on the small side. The theming in some places is pretty good and in more then half the park theming is non-existant. With the exception of a few things its a very 'off the shelf' waterpark. Also at $45 (which I think makes it the priciest waterpark in the country) it is not worth the cost. I'm going to give my thoughts on the various sections of the park as I post pictures from them.


First up some shots of the park in general. As you can see they still have some Busch Parks classics like the beer canoe and flowered eagle. The picture of the colorful animals statue, you see things like this all around the park and those characters act as the mascot for Aquatica. The picture of the lady is a character actor they had entertaining guests at the entrance of the park.


Aquatica's biggest attraction is the Dolphin Plunge slide and this part of the park is very well done. The slide itself I enjoyed more then I thought I would, looking at I was thinking this would be one of the super fast claustrophobic 'feel like you drowning' speed slides, but it wasn't, it was a gentle enjoyable slide. I got on this one twice, and while I didn't see any dolphins on my trip thru the shoot I could see the aquarium very well. Another cool thing about the plunge area is you can view the dolphins from two different areas, a traditional aquarium type viewing area on one side, and on the other side you get a great view of the dolphins and the slide from the lazy river, which makes this the coolest area in the park.


This section of the park was a very cool idea, something I haven't seen done before. It was a lazy river with a pair of bowl slides in the middle and the only way to get to the bowl slides was to take a half trip around the lazy river, and then the slides dumped you right back out into the lazy river. This was also the lazy river with the commerson dolphin plunge viewing float past area.


This was your average 'every waterpark has one' four tube slide complex. It was fun, ordinary and didn't ever have a line.


Aquatica has a double wave pool and it's just an ordinary wave pool, no Typhoon Lagoon, but a fun average waterpark wave pool. When I went in there was a duck swimming around in the wave pool with the guests for a while, that was different.


The family tube slide complex. Both sides were pretty fun, but nothing to write home about.


The racing slide was a surprise to me. It was a lot taller then any other one I been on and you really start picking up speed. This was the surprise of the park for me.


Another highlight of Aquatica was this, its a speed up version of a traditional lazy river. Theres no tubes, you can just go in swimming or grab a life vest and float. It may not sound that appealing, but this thing can really book and was a ton of fun to float a few laps in.


I'm gonna finish up my review with the two sections of the park I didn't explore, the two childrens areas. The water playground/fortress was one of the largest I've ever seen.

To sum it up, Aquatica was good not great, small and not worth $45 admission. Highlights were the 2 lazy rivers, racing slide and the dolphin plunge.

4/26-27 DHS DTD "Not To Busy" Edition

I spent the afternoon over at the Hollywood Studios yesterday, and took a quick trip around Downtown Disney today to pick up a few things.

Some Notes:

- I stopped by the WDW Radio meet of the month. If you've never heard of WDW Radio its one of the biggest Disney podcast on the net and is truly top notch. I had a good chat with host Lou Mongello, about various things including both of our moves to the sunshine state.
- Crowds really weren't bad at all, this was the least busy day I've seen a Disney park since moving here.
- The posted wait time at Tower Of Terror was way off, the attraction was a walk on, but for some reason the sign read 40 minutes, thats just wrong.
- If you've been on Tower Of Terror more time then you've needed to, try looking straight up while in the drop section, its different.
- Great Movie Ride was running at half capacity, but didn't have a wait anyway.
- "Your gonna hate this ride." A dad to his little kid behind me about to board Great Movie Ride.
- I got to see former Adventurers Club French Maid Sugar Snap as Paula in American Idol Experiance, which was a lot of fun.
- Downtown Disney was quick, picked up some things at World Of Disney, took some pictures.

Some Pics:


Park wasn't busy, but there were still two showings of Fantasmic. I guess they must have been predicting higher numbers, cause I can almost guarantee that that 10 PM show was rather sparsely attended.


Some rides closed up early for I'm guessing grad night stuff.


Stage for grad night.


Crowds at 1.


Fastpasses were still available at 1 o'clock for Toy Story Mania, which is almost unheard of.


Found another shop where you could buy a Mr.Gibbs action figure. I think one day I'm gonna spend the entire day just park hopping around Disney World trying to find the awful product that no one wants that is the Mr.Gibbs action figure. Sao Feng is actually worse.


I like this shirt, almost bought it. Still thinking about it, might need to go back.


It was a little bit windy today, so the balloon was grounded.


Virgin has started its going out of business sale, as it has about a month left before closure. The 20% off just brought the DVD's down to regular prices.


Adventurers Club........ still closed. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


Curl has it's "WERE OPEN, NOT CLOSED LIKE THE REST OF THE ISLAND, PLEASE COME IN" sign out.


Paradiso 37 construction moving along. Margaritas, so soon. I hope they serve them in those GIANT margarita glasses, that be sweet.


Happy Hours are good.

Ride Count

Rock & Roller Coaster (2 times)
American Idol Experiance
Great Movie Ride
Tower Of Terror

Flower & Garden Festival

Currentely going on at EPCOT is the Flower & Garden Festival, while I don't have a green thumb nor am I that into horiculture, I do enjoy the festival because it fills the park with some very awesome topiaries. While some of them are the same as last year, walking around and seeing them everywhere is pretty cool. Here are a whole lot of pictures of what I'm talking about:



So post in the comments section with which one is you favorite. Me, I really like the chinese dragon.

Another cool thing during Flower & Garden, the shuttered Wonders Of Life pavillion opens its doors as Garden Town. While none of the old rides operate anymore it is neat to be somewhere thats normally closed. Here are some pictures of whats left.


Outside of Garden Town/Wonders Of Life.


Where the old Body Wars mural used to be.


Some presentation areas. (Notice in the second picture the large Cranium Command marqui is no more)


Past those blanked out signs is where you used to enter Body Wars.


Not sure what this is for, reminds me of 'The Line Ride' from that South Park episode.


A small exhibit for the new movie.

4/24 IOA USF "Construction Abound" Edition

So I had to go to the bank of Friday and since the bank is right next to Universal, I decided to stop in for 2.5 hours of playtime and to pick up some construction pictures.

Some Notes:

- Wasn't too busy at the parks when I was there, but this was my first time to Universal since moving down that it wasn't a Mardi Gras night.
- I saw the Sinbad stunt show for the first time since the big move if your into fart jokes, a guy spitting mist (sort of like the move by former WWE wrestler Tajiri) and the kitchen sink then this is the show for you, personally its not my favorite.
- Animatronics were back working at Revenge Of The Mummy.

Some Pics:


A cool Margaritaville shark golf cart, not sure exactly what its purpose is, but its neat.



Wait times around 3 o'clock.


Work continues on what I think is going to be the structure that acts as the entrance to Potterland.


Three Broomsticks restaurant is getting its roof.


The massive main Potterland building. There was a large 'pumping services' machine doing something there on Friday.


Some huts over by Flying Unicorn.


An interesting T Shirt in Jurassic Park.


Not sure what this is, would have investigated but needed to get home before Yankees vs. Red Sox.


Rockit getting closer to 'Summer'.


I was excited to see that a large crane was over in the area of the lift hill. There were guys in that bucket hanging from the crane doing work the entire time I was there. Not exactly sure what they were doing, but my guess would be some sort of electrical work on those cables.


More good news for Rockit, the work walls are down in the turnaround area. It seems like all the work is done on the firehouse bust through. One question I have though is where is the entrance and queue going to be for this ride? There isn't a whole lot of room around the station and I would guess they are going to need a queue that holds a very large number of people.


New Land Of The Lost giant poster.


Happy Hours are a good thing.

Ride Count

Seuss Trolley Ride
Sinbad
Dueling Dragons Ice
Spiderman
Mummy
Jaws
ET

Thoughts On A Few Things

Files Gone

So as some of you may have heard on the Special Edition Of A Walk In The Park Podcast I dropped something on my external hard drive and have lost all my files. The fine folks at Best Buy told me they could save the files for ......... $1500, no thanks. I was able to save my all my music because it was on my iPod and 300 or so of my favorite pictures from my digital picture frame, the rest are history. The big stuff I lost were the 3000+ non-favorite pictures and all my videos, including the complete history of A Walk In The Park Podcast, bummer but life goes on.



Freestyle Music Park

So Hard Rock Park is now Freestyle Music Park, and even though many people have said otherwise, I don't hate the name. I think it is original and not a 'cop out' like they could have easily gone with something generic like 'Rock Hard Park' or 'Rock & Roll Theme Park' or 'Music Park'. While the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear 'Freestyle Music' is an Eminem 8 Mile-esque rap battle, I still don't mind the name. What sends up a red flag for me though is that they are a month away from supposedly opening back up and have no information on there websites about what will be at the park, when the park will be open or how much it will cost? How are people supposed to plan a trip (which I am doing) when these important pieces of information are missing.



2008 Attendence Numbers

The 2008 Attendence Numbers came out this week, nothing too groundbreaking, but I did have a few thoughts.
- I was surprised there wasn't much of a bump from Toy Story Mania at DHS or DCA, I absolutely love the attraction, but apparentely it didn't equal an attendence increase. Hollywood Studios was up 1% and California Adventure down 2%. I would think that DHS would see higher numbers from people showing up one day seeing the insane lines at TSM and then coming back earlier on another day of their vacation.
- IOA was down again, no big surprise as this was another year with nothing major added (yes I know Potter is coming - I take pictures of it once a week).
- Jungala cost BGT a lot of money, their reward a 2% attendence decrease.
- I'm always impressed Knotts does 3.5 million.
- Canada's Wonderland is a monster when it comes to attendence, but never seems to get talked about in the enthusiast community.
- I wonder how high Kings Island jumps this year with Diamondback. It only needs 72,000 to leapfrog CP for top park in Ohio.
- I'm shocked Hersheypark was down so much. I know 07 was big for them with the 100th anniversary and the boardwalk, but they still got Farhenheit last year.
- Aquatica opens strong with almost a million guests in not a full first year of operation, sure seems like that was a good idea.
- Damn Splish Splash jumped up 17.6% without adding a thing!! I grew up about an hour from this park and do enjoy it, wish them continued sucess and expansion.



Sum Of All Thrills Coming To Innoventions

There's a new attraction coming to the ever changing Innoventions at EPCOT and it's a Robotic Simulator Called Sum Of Thrills. Whats awesome about this is that its using the very cool Kuka Robocoaster technology. This is something I'm pretty excited about and something that seems way too good for an Innoventions attraction. Also Disney isn't building a whole lot right now, so at least its something to look forward to.



Kings Dominion Getting A New Coaster Next Year

I was pretty surprised this week when Kings Dominion Filed Paperwork For A New Roller Coaster. Of course now the million dollar question becomes, what is it? Personally, I'm not sure. Normally you would look at park chains trend of expansion and the roller coasters Cedar Fair parks have been adding the past few years have been Geauga Lake Leftovers (all outta those), GCI Woodies and B&M Hypercoasters, so the smart money would be on one of the last two. I guess seeing a coaster at KD isn't too shocking, as I don't think they will be adding much to the three parks on the chopping block (CGA, VF & WOF). I do like that Cedar Fair has really been beefing up the former paramount parks and I'm still a fan of them taking over.

And that's whats been on my mind lately in the theme park world.

4/22-23 MK EPCOT "Starting To Get Hot Here" Edition

I took a quick afternoon trip to EPCOT yesterday and spent the afternoon today at Magic Kingdom, nothing too groundbreaking.

Some Notes:

- I was only at EPCOT for about two hours, I wanted to take pictures of the Flower & Garden Festival, (like the one above) should have a full F&G update sometime this week.
- The descent on Spaceship Earth looks like its half finished with some trippy illuminated triangles have been added in spots.
- I had breakfast this morning at 1900 Park Faire at the Grand Floridian. It was excellent, the food from the buffet is delicous and the 'cooked to order' omelette guy is my favorite. Its a character breakfast so Mary Poppins and Winnie The Pooh among others stop by from time to time. It is a tad expensive (I think it was around $25) but I think its worth it from time to time as a special thing.
- Magic Kingdom was busy today, but not packed. I was there about 4 hours and got on quite a bit of attractions. Its a bit harder to tell just how busy MK is now with three attractions down for rehab (Hall Of Presidents, TTA, Space Mountain).
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor got me giggling with one of the jokes: "Why did Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella? For drizzle."

Some Pics:


Pagoda is half way back.


American Adventure was 'Bushed Off' for a private event which I assume was both very large & very expensive.


A humorous and quite good chalk drawing.


Crowds on Thursday at one.


Village Haus getting some love.


Construction walls up between the entrance to Pirates Of The Caribbean and its gift shop. I'm assuming this is for The Pirates League which is essentially a manned up version of the Bippiddi Boppiddi Boutique, could be a cool idea.


Tomorrowland has some huge balls.


Stitch construction. More details have been added to the lower part of the stage since the last time I've been there.


This sign is at the entrance to Tomorrowland letting everyone know that Space Mountain is down.


The fastpass return lane at Peter Pan's Flight can get quite backed up.

Ride Count

Spaceship Earth

Tiki Room
Pirates
Stitch
Buzz Lightyear
Monsters Inc
Haunted Mansion
Country Bears
Big Thunder Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight

American Idol Thougts

Favorite This Week: Kris Allen

Favorite Overall: Adam Lambert

Who I Think Should Go: Lil Rounds & Anoop

4/21 "Been To Many Parks Since Friday" Edition

Well I been doing a lot of parks lately and have seen a lot of stuff. I hit EPCOT Friday, Aquatica (full review coming soon) IOA & USF on Saturday, DHS on Sunday and DAK/MK yesterday. Got a whole bunch of pictures and thoughts so here we go.

Some Notes:

- Nothing too special to report from the Friday EPCOT trip.

- Grabbed a big 32 Oz beer at the outdoor bar at NASCAR Grill before heading into Universal on Saturday. Not a bad value at $7.50. I was first put off by the idea of the NASCAR place, because I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I didn't see anything NASCAR at the outdoor bar and they were playing NFL & NHL on TV.
- The animatronic was functioning the first time I rode, but not the second.
- Got to hang out with my Coaster Crew blogging buddy Erik Yates for the day, which was enjoyable as always.
- The Jimmy Neutron ride has cameos from Rocko's Modern Life & Ren & Stimpy, which is awesome!
- "I'm Bill Paxton"
- I had a little bone to pick with the ops at The Simpsons Ride, they moved us into the small preshow rooms before the first preshow had ended, so anyone riding for the first time wouldn't know as well just what is going on in the ride.
- I'm getting better at Men In Black got a score of 129,000 this time.
- Been a while since I've done T2:3D, that is one awesome show.
- This was the last night of Mardi Gras and the concert was Nelly. I'm a big Nelly fan and have all his albums and was very happy with the show. He went thru all his hit songs and performed for an hour and twenty minutes, which is longer then the other Mardi Gras concerts I've seen. He brought Murphy Lee & the rest of the lunatics with him, so they performed as well. Good show, I'll miss Mardi Gras.

- Crowds weren't as bad Sunday at Hollywood Studios. The easter crowds must have finally left. Tower of Terror was a walk on often. Got on Toy Story Mania during the first showing of Fantasmic in about 20 minutes which is unheard of.
- I saw the American Idol Experiance Finale Show for the first time ever and that was a pretty cool thing to see. I do like that show quite a bit, and see it pretty much every time I'm at the park.
- I saw Fantasmic for the first time since they cut down the performances. This was the most pleasent WDW Fantasmic experiance I've ever had. The park wasn't busy and for some reason there were two shows. I went to the second show which was about half filled and sat down in a good seat 2 minutes before the show. Much better then the insane crowds this show normally draws.

- Not too much out of the ordinary at DAK/MK on Monday.
- It rained which made the day less fun.
- McDonalds is completely gone from Dinosaur, no signs, no "Brought To You By A Generous Grant From The McDonalds Company" announcement.

Some Pics:


Ate at ESPN Club on the Boardwalk on Friday. Enjoying some beer & wings, while watching the Yanks in a day game. Cool place, since I'm a big sports fan I really enjoyed it. The prices were well, Disney prices.


The cool Velcro frog I made in Innoventions.


Crowds at EPCOT on Friday at 5 pm.


Guy rocking the old school Yanks shirt jersey.


You can guess which part of this sign caught my attenion.


Crowds on Saturday at 2.


Construction of Rip Ride Rockit. When I was there on Saturday they were working on the firehouse bust through and some touch up stuff in that area. Still no sign of a lift hill. The station looks better then the last time I was there.


Do they have Kingda Ka or El Toro? Cause thats how I like my Great Adventure.


Potterland construction continues.


Starburst makes ice pops?!? I wasn't in the Ice Pop mood at the time, but that sounds delicous.


Some cool plush prizes from one of the midway games at USF.


A shirt with reference to the classic "Oops I Ripped My Pants" episode of Spongebob.


I'm astonished that Universal has this big empty building right in the middle of the park.


Nelly!!!!!


Crowds at DHS on Sunday in the afternoon (sorry I didn't write down at what time).


Because other people in my group wanted to, I saw the High School Musical street show. Not my favorite.


Another new personal high score for me at Toy Story Mania!!


Signs for the new Picnic In The Park program at DAK.


Crowds on Monday at 1:20.


Crowds at MK on Monday in the afternoon.


Space Mountain refurb signage.


Stitch construction is getting there.


TTA doesn't get the fancy signage Space Mountain has.

Ride Count

Friday

The Seas With Nemo & Friends

Saturday

Mummy (2 times)
Men In Black
ET
Doctor Doom
Spiderman
Seuss Trolley Ride
Jimmy Neutron
Twister
Simpsons
T2
Disaster

Sunday

American Idol (3 times)
High School Musical
Tower Of Terror
Toy Story Mania
Rock & Roller Coaster
Fantasmic

Monday

Dinosaur
Everest
Haunted Mansion
Philharmagic
Buzz Lightyear

4/15 BGT "Its Been A While Edition"

Some Notes:

- This was the first time I've been to Busch Gardens Tampa since 2002. I have always loved this park and after my visit on Wednesday, I still do.
- I apologize for the quality of pics in this update, my camera battery died half way thru the visit, so half the pictures were taken on the iPhone.
- I was only at the park for half a day, cause I wanted to drive over to St. Pete to watch the Yanks beat the Rays.
- I was kinda bummed they don't have koalas anymore, and they don't even use the really cool koala building.
- Equally as bummed about the lack of free beer.
- Walking past the land of the dragons they were playing this insanely dumb Banana Phone song.
- Sheikra was a sweet ride. I had high expectations after riding & loving Griffon, and they were met. The holding break before the big drop is an awesome idea. Between the two I don't have a favorite as they are so similar. This was my 307th Roller Coaster.
- Jungala didn't wow me like I thought it would. I thought the tiger habitat was very well done and the rest of it was just okay, I guess I have high expectation from the Busch brand or I'm spoiled from living 10 minutes from Animal Kingdom.
- Kumba is still pretty smooth and still kicking ass.
- Got on Cheetah Chase, an average wild mouse, nothing special. Was Roller Coaster number 308 though.
- They had crane machines in the arcade for 50 cents, which I like. Didn't win though.
- Rhino Rally was one of few attractions with a lengthy line over an hour, so I didn't get to do that.
- Saw the new KaTonga show. I thought the sets and costumes were excellent, but the story and songs to be just mediocre.
- Montu has been in my top ten steel coasters, and after yesterday it still is. I love all the tunnels.
- Gwasi broke down when I was in line, so that was a no go as well.

Some Pics:


This was cool, one of the first thing you saw after going thru the gate was these flamingos just hanging out on the midway.


Tiger exhibit = very cool.


This ones for you Rapids Nerd.


Best name ever!!


Even though the run in Williamsburg ended, Captain Lucky lives on in Tampa.


DING! Coaster #308.


I wasn't expecting to find this in one of the gift shops.


I didn't get on this today, but I prefer Kilamanjaro myself.


Hey Micheal, does this count?


Anacondas!! Someone warn Ice Cube & J-Lo.


A cool museum type area all about the history of the park with some cool artifacts and pictures.


I miss Akbar. I hate when a park just shutters an attraction with no replacement.


I didn't get on Gwasi Wednesday.

Ride Count

Sheikra
Kumba
Cheetah Chase
Montu
KaTonga


So I haven't gotten an update up in a few days, here some more random pictures from my adventures this week.


I went to the Yanks vs. Rays game at Tropicana Field on Wedneday. The game was great with a come from behind Yankee victory. The stadium I enjoyed more then I thought I would, the dome I think is rather ugly, but the corridors and amennities around it are pretty good. Parking around the stadium is kind of a mess.


New 'Celebrate Tonight' DJ's at Pleasure Island, complete crap, bring back the Adventurers Club.


Construction continues. I will be drinking margaritas there soon enough.


Got the 'Full Montagu' sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Delicous just like anything else there.


I played mini golf at Winter Summerland for the first time ever. Very cool, well themed putt-putt course.

4/13/2009 MK "Easter Crowds Are Still Here" Edition

Spent the afternoon at Magic Kingdom yesterday, very very busy.

Some Notes:

- I was surprised how crowded it was, park had people and long lines everywhere.
- Crying little kids ruined my Carousel Of Progress experiance.
- It was so busy we went over to Tom Sawyers Island (where I haven't been in forever) still has some cool stuff: escape hatch, caves, gun turrents in the forts, barrel bridge. The caves are an excellent place to lose little kids.
- "Celebrate A Dream Come True" is not my favorite 3 o'clock parade.
- Ended up sitting in the front row for Philharmagic, it was a different way to see the show, not something I'd be jumping at to do again.
- All the effects were working on Stitch's Great Escape.
- Time is ticking on Space Mountain with the big refurb coming on Sunday. I got a ride on it and its still a wild little ride, can't wait for updated effects and have fingers crossed for on board audio.
- Had an excellent Jungle Cruise skipper. When stalling for time he told some Disney jokes including: "Why is Cinderella bad at soccer? She keeps running away from the ball ..........and has a pumpkin for a coach."

Some Pics:


Crowds at 1 pm.


Stitch stage show construction.


You know there getting desparate if there advertising "Come in it has air conditioning!"


Giggle Giggle.


Long line at Haunted Mansion.


Highly themed vending machines.


Matt rocking the double guns.


........I know a better 'Mystery Mine'.


Go Teixeira!!


Stupid people, instead of saying "Hmmn bushes and a rope, maybe I should go around" they walked thru the bushes and hopped over the rope. It was rather amusing to watch the people struggle while at Pecos Bills though.


That is one big ass keychain.


Do any of you blog readers out there have this DVD set? I been wondering whats on them and if there good?


Sweet retro Tomorrowland mug.


Really Disney! Who is going to buy a figurine of Mr.Gibbs from a tomorrowland gift shop? I don't know anyone who would really want one anyway, but if they did it would be at Pieces Of Eight or maybe the Emporium, but not Mickeys Star Traders. I wonder how many of these they sell each day?

Ride Count

TTA
Carousel Of Progress
Walt Disney World Railroad
Tom Sawyers Island
Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade
Philharmagic
Stitch
Space Mountain
Jungle Cruise

4/11/2009 DHS EPCOT "Yep, I Was In Harbor Attack & Went To A Peter Noone Concert" Edition

So I spent all day yesterday at the Hollwood Studios & EPCOT. Fun day, not too much out of the ordinary.

Some Notes:

- Started of at Toy Story Mania like usual, me and Matt tore it up! I got my highest score ever, 198,000.
- Matt made the observation that the second room of Star Tours queue has some big time similarities to the Disaster Transport queue at CP.
- Crowds were big, but not as big as they were on Tuesday when the parks hit capacity.
- Great line by the guy playing Simon at American Idol Experiance "that was a performance worthy of any Six Flags Over Georgia Salute To America show I've ever seen"
- Did the 'new' automated spiel Backlot Tour, ride still isn't any good. But I was in Harbor Attack.
- Watched the trampoline section of Block Party Bash, love that parade.
- Took the friendship boat over to EPCOT, where I did a whole lot of nothing.
- My friend really wanted to see the Peter Noone concert, so I joined, and was surprised when I didn't hate it and actually knew three of the songs (which was more then I figured I would).

Some Pics:


Starting to get good at Toy Story Mania.


Very long line to get fastpasses.


Epic Stunt Spectacular was a packed house.


Crowds at Noon.


I had a kids meal for lunch (anyone can order them) and its a pretty good value at only 5 bucks.


I got to be in Harbor Attack which was fun, Matt got some good video of it.


D23 ad on the Backlot Tour.


Sweet Binford Tools Merch!!!


One Mans Dream brought to you by D23.


Broken seat at tower.


Matt picked up this sweet souvenir.


Picked up one of these for my brothers birthday.


Bern Baby Bern!!!


My favorite autographed picture at Sid Cahuengas.


How many teams ago was this??? I mean is anyone gonna buy this?


I knew all 5 answers, go me.


Spoodles, still here for now.


Thats Peter Noone, a very happy older man that put on a decent show.


This pastry was a lot bigger then it looked, but still delicous.

Ride Count

Toy Story Mania
Rock & Roller Coaster
Great Movie Ride
Star Tours
Muppetvision
Indiana Jones
American Idol
Backlot Tour
Tower Of Terror (2 Times)
Block Party Bash
Illuminations

Vote TL Brown

My buddy from the Kalahari trip & occaisional In The Loop co-host TL Brown is up for 'Fredericksburg Idol' and he needs your vote. Voting is really really simple and takes 2 seconds (no signing up or anything), just click the link below and place a vote for TL Brown (Option #1).

http://www.993thevibe.com/ManageFolder/BurgIdol

MK 4/9/2009 "Quick Evening Trip" Edition

So last night after a long (and successful) day of unpacking here at the apartment, I needed to get out and was craving some ice cream, so I hopped in the car and headed over to Magic Kingdom for two hours of relaxing.

Some Notes:

- I took the ferryboat over for the first time in years. I prefer the monorail, though they did play Hi Ho and Country Bears on the ride over the loud speakers which I give a thumbs up.
- I despise the fish smell from Columbia Harbor House.
- Playful spooks interrupted my tour again, I haven't gotten a 'clean' ride on Haunted Mansion yet since moving down here.
- I watched Wishes from over by the Adventureland bridge, not a great view.
- Philharmagic might be the most plesent attraction in all of Walt Disney World.

Some Pics:


I got to the park during the 9 o'clock Spectromagic and the park was so packed (easter week) they were actually sending guest backstage (behind main street) instead of up main street like usual. As a disney geek I loved this of course.


I thought this shirt was a little different, would look good on my dad.


This is the first time I remember seeing these, Disney branded Lego rip offs. A cool idea and since I like any attraction specific merchandise, I'm all for it, probably won't be purchasing it though.


They are really working hard to finish up the Stitch Stage Show, there were people working on this thing at 11:15 PM.

Ride Count

Haunted Mansion
Wishes
Jungle Cruise
Pirates
Philharmagic
TTA

How People Find This Blog

So it always boggles the mind as I run thru the analytics and see what kind of wacky searches that have led people to this blog, some of my favorites this month are:

a walk in the park bear mountain soundtrack
adam lambert nights in white satin
azamat
blog comments for legoland discovery center
bull fright pic
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goodsites spoof movie
i was "putrid." capital p, capital u, capital trid.
jurassic park dark continent 2011
knoebels dream suite
lou mongello moving to sunshine state
mc hammer concert in orlando sucked
public invasion jana model in park
schlitterbahn in kansas stupid idea
schlitterbahn lockers cost
six flags over georgia pay scale
what is the closest apartments for rent by kalahari sandusky ohio

DHS MK 4/7/2009 "Holy Crap Easter Week Is Crowded" Edition

I hit up the Hollywood Studios for the first time since being down here on Tuesday, and DAMN Easter Week is busy.

Some Notes:

- So I've never been to a park as busy as DHS/MK were on Tuesday. Both parks closed to capacity at some point. Some of the peak wait times I saw were: 160 minutes at Toy Story Mania, 2 hours for Tower of Terror & Rock and Roller Coaster, 170 minutes for Space Mountain. Even traditional 'walk-on' attractions were busy: 40 mintures for Muppets and 60 minutes for Stitch.
- Got on Toy Story Mania twice. Beat my ride partner once & lost once. Scores of 164,000 and 158,000.
- For some reason I did the Narnia 'attraction'. Not fun, more of a commercial then an attraction. With Disney not doing anymore Narnia movies I can't see this sticking around long.
- Sounds Dangerous was actually open, so I saw it. Not great, good place for a nap if ya need one.
- Ate lunch at Studios Catering Company, one of few places you actually get an annual pass discount, I saved a whopping 67 cents.
- Bounced around a little bit after seeing Block Party Bash, swung by Port Orleans Riverside enroute to Magic Kingdom.
- Move It Shake It Celebrate was different because of high winds. The characters weren't on top of the presents and no confetti.
- My one friend lost her car in the massive parking lot of the Hollywood Studios, which reminds me as a tip always write were you parked down in your phone.
- Spent 13 hours in the parks with friends both old and new, and had a excellent fun filled day.

Some Pics:


The morning mass cattle stampede to Toy Story Mania.


The beatdown I layed on some guy I rode with right after opening.


Yep, thats the wait time 15 minutes after park opening. Toy Story Mania is a great ride, but its hard one to ride as lines get really long really fast and fastpasses run out early.


Some cool Mickey T's, there a lil different, but I kinda dig um.


Crowds at 12:50.


Crowds at 5:00.


Stitch stage show construction, anyone know when this thing is opening? (I'd guess pretty soon after Space Mountain & TTA go down for refurb)


I thought this was a very cool piece of merch.


So we passed by this van about 5 times in our pathetic (and quite lengthy) search for my friends car. Go Ravelli!!

Ride Count

Toy Story Mania (2 Times)
Journey Into Narnia
Rock & Roller Coaster
Great Movie Ride
American Idol Experiance
Sounds Dangerous
Block Party Bash
Move It Shake It Celebrate
TTA
Carousel Of Progress
Tower Of Terror

A Few Random Things

Got a few things on my mind today:


Wrestlemania 25
So last night I watched Wrestlemania 25, and was pretty impressed. For those of you that don't know I have been a big WWE fan for a long time. The show was a tad long at four hours but was filled with great moments like:

- Kofi Kingston's mad ups in the ladder match
- Santino as Miss Wrestlemania
- Mickey 'Ram Jam' Rourke knocking out Y2J, wish he would have gone of the top rope like in the movie though
- Jeff Hardy is crazy, its incredible he hasn't really seriously hurt himself yet
- Stone Cold beer HOF celebration
- Rey Mysterio's Joker outfit
- The army of Cena look-a-likes
- The highlight the night was definetely Undertaker vs. HBK. A classic match, between two future hall of famers. I thought taker almost broke his neck on the dive out of the ring.


New York Yankees
Season starts today and I am sooo pumped. Rotation is stacked this year and a brand new 1.5 billion dollar stadium should make for a good time.


Adventureland
I saw this movie today (at the closest theater to me, which is at Downtown Disney, nice theater, comfy seats) and I really didn't like it. I went in expecting to laugh my ass off at a Superbad-esque comedy, what I got was a boring romantic movie. I think I may have only laughed once or twice. Very disapointing, as I was looking forward to it growing up only 20 minutes from the park it was based on (Adventureland in Long Island NY). And for a rated R movie there weren't even any boobs!! But, I don't recommend it, thumbs down!!

And finishing up with some PI pics I took after the movie. Word on the net is the dueling DJ's started playing last night.

USF IOA 4/4/2009 "Hammertime Edition"

I hit up Universal both parks and hung out at Mardi Gras.

Some Notes:

- First thing I did was pick up my premium pass, a tad pricey at $300 but I think it will be worth it between the free express pass after 4 and the free Citywalk admission.
- Parks were crowded, not sure if this was due to Mardi Gras or the start of easter week, but probably a combination of the two.
- I got a great view of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit from Doctor Doom, that ride is gonna be sweet.
- Hulk is getting a bit rough now that its turned 10 years old.
- The first mummy animatronic wasn't working, bummer.
- This was the first time I went on Simpsons since the opening, that is one well done ride. I think I had a good positioned car, cause the dome looked massive.
- I rode Jaws twice, for some good cheesy fun.
- MC Hammer was the concert tonight, and well besides "2 Legit 2 Quit" & "U Can't Touch This", it was terrible. I mean no one knew any of his other songs and they were generally un-entertaining.
- I hung out at the Citywalk Rising Star for a bit after the concert and thats a cool place.

Some Pics:


Crowds at IOA at 3 PM.


After hangning out at Disney for a few days, this was a clear sign that I was NOT at a Disney park, there was beer everywhere.


They are into construction of what I think will be one of the entrances to Potterland. This structure is at the dead end in the back of the Lost Continent (where the carnival games are).


Construction of what I think is going to be the Potter Restaurant.


Construction of the main Potterland show building, I'm guessing that newer construction near the corner of the warehouse might be for the large tower section of Hogwarts Castle.


Some cool Popeye merch.


If I was a little kid I would love this.


Express Pass lines can get a bit backed up.


This was a good find. The bar at IOA does a happy hour and its only $3.50 for a 20 oz beer, sweet deal!!


Rockit station is going to need some touch up paint.


I didn't see any construction going on at Rockit today. The progress I saw agrees with what online reports have said that there might be some problems with the lift design. Which is a shame, cause I'm looking forward to riding this as soon as possible.


.................... a classy Universal customer.


I am gonna finish this update with the man himself, MC Hammer.

Ride Count

Spiderman
Doctor Doom
Incredible Hulk
Cat In The Hat
Jaws (2 times)
Simpsons
Mummy

EPCOT DAK DTD 4/2-3/2009 "I Think I Could Get Used To This Edition"

So I hit EPCOT for the afternoon & Evening on Thursday, and Animal Kingdom on Friday with a quick side trip to Downtown Disney for dinner.

Some Notes From The Days:

- Looks like they were doing some work to the descent of Spaceship Earth, as I don't remember the funky triangle designs the last time I rode.
- Good to see the fountain out of refurbishment.
- My buddy Matt had never tried the Beverley at Club Cool, so I had to do that. Always a fun time.
- There was a different Hat Lady playing the piano then the last few times I been to EPCOT, and it wasn't a change for the better. This lady was very very old and not that entertaining.
- I saw Reflections of China for the first time ever, some reall cool scenes in that Circlevision film.
- The tram speel always includes "Sit Back & Hold On Tight" which reminds me of
my In The Loop Co-Host Will Holder
- Got on Back Row Expedition Everest for the first time ever and that was good fun. Yeti still not working.
- Saw Flights Of Wonder for the first time ever, parts of the show were entertaining, parts were excruciating.
- I really hate that Primeval Whirl didn't use its fastpass. Its a fun ride, but I'm not going to wait the 30-45 minutes for it.
- The animals on the trails were pretty awesome on this trip. The tigers we out and jumping around, the hippo was gigantic and swimming around the pool and the gorillas were wandering around and one even did the King Kong chest pound thing, I didn't even know that was real, figured it was just in the movies.
- One of the cast members I was talking to grew up like 3 blocks away from me, wierd. Guess it is a small world after all.
- While having dinner at Downtown Disney the loop played the Main Street Electrical Parade soundtrack, I was pleased.

Some Pics:


Crowds at 5 PM.


Fountain is back.


Gary Sinise, sort of like Disney's answer to Bill Paxton from Universal.


I always liked that commercial.


Some neat merch from the Flower & Garden Festival.


On my trips in December and February there were a lot of discounts in the shops, I haven't seen that many since I have moved here, this is the first one.


Mexico has some wierd stuff.


A note to all budget watching Coke loving folks, most places 20 oz bottles are $2.50 and for some reason this stand in Morocco has them for $2.00.


I love the pastry shop in France, this time I went with the eclair (the most fallic of all the pastries) which was like everything from that store was delicous.


I had a Strongbow beer at the Rose & Crown. Different kind of beer, tasted more like apples or wine then beer.


Kung Fu Mickey, not to be confused with Kung Fu Naki.


Crowds at 12:40


Everest has some wierd merch.


And some cool merch, I'm not big on skulls though. Surprisingly I don't have an Everest shirt............ yet.


Rumors on the net have McDonald's leaving as a sponsor of Dinosaur, and while I didn't see the golden arches on any signage, they did still have the "made possible by a generous grant from the McDonalds corporation" recording playing in the hallway after the pre-show.


I took the "Train To Nowhere" for the first time in many visits.


Sale at Starabillas, I've heard rumors that they were in a little bit of trouble.


New balloon ride looks sweet and I think is a perfect addition to Downtown Disney. Sixteen bones is a tad pricey, but seems in line with the rest of Disney's prices.


Adv Club .........still closed, sad face.


Paradiso 37 construction, I'm looking forward to this one cause I enjoy a good frozen drink.


T-Rex Cafe, very popular at dinner time on a Friday night.


Hawaiin BBQ sandwich for dinner from Earl of Sandwich. Absolutely delicous.


Word on the net is that this is where DJ's will now be entertaining passers by at downtown disney. I saw someone in the booth, but i was out of DTD by 7 so no idea if they were doing anything on friday night. Seems dumb to me, pay DJ's to play music to people walking by instead of hmmmmn maybe in one of the empty nightclubs perhaps.

Ride Count
Spaceship Earth
Mission Space
Test Track
Figment
Maelstrom
Grand Fiesta Tour
Reflections Of China
Illuminations

Everest (2 Times)
Dinosaur
Tough To Be A Bug
Train To Nowhere
Kilamanjaro Safari
Flights Of Wonder

Life In Orlando Note

So when I returned from a fun evening at EPCOT I found this little guy hanging out on the pathway to my apartment. I was a bit surprised cause well I'm not used to having armadillos hanging around. They are kinda neat though.

MK 4/1/2009 "Happy Birthday Edition"

Hello eveyone,

Been a while since I posted over here on the blog. It was a big week moving out of my old apartment, driving the 20 hours to my new pad here in Orlando Florida. After checking in an unloading the car here in the wonderful new apartment I decided to spend the rest of my birthday at Magic Kingdom.

Notes from the day:

- Crowds were medium. Mountains were around 40-60 minutes.
- I picked up my birthday $75 gift card!!
- Didn't have a good ride on Stitch, one ear on my headset was out and one of the really cool cannons that I love wasn't working.
- I had my favorite MK foods for the big 24th B-Day: Dole Whip, Pecos Bills & Main Street Popcorn.
- My buddy Matt had never had a dole whip before, so we had to fix that.
- There were real deer just wandering around in the back of Walt Disney World Railroad. This was pretty cool and you really had to do a double take cause there are fake deer on the ride.
- I really don't like it when the fireworks are at park closing cause the mass exodus of people is no fun.
- I saw part of the Electrical Water Pagent for the first time in years.

Some Pics:


I think this is the first time I have ever seen this place open.


Stitch stage show construction, pretty big set up.


Boo to you non-functioning cannon.


A pirates shirt I don't own ..........yet.


There needs to be more Big Al merch.


I like these computerized ordering stations.


Nothing says the old west like a phone!


SWEET!! When did they start selling Dibs in the park?


I entered the annual passholder contest to win a piece of Space Mountain.

Ride Count
Stitch
TTA
Pirates
Country Bears
Haunted Mansion
Tiki Room
Big Thunder
Walt Disney World Railroad
Space Mountain
Snow White
Philharmagic
Small World
Pooh
Monsters Inc.
Buzz Lightyear
Wishes

Life In Orlando Note

NEVER go to this grocery store, its insanely overpriced like a 40% markup. Screw you Goodings. Stay away.

Guest Podcast Spot

I just wanted to let everyone know that I was a guest on the Season Pass podcast this week. Myself, host Doug Barnes & his wife discuss enthusiast events, SFMM & a bunch of stuff.

Doug does a great job with his podcast (in case you haven't heard about it) and I have been a listener for over a year.

Check out this weeks show with me at:

http://seasonpasspodcast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=447874

Getting Close

With my last day at work tomorrow and the big move to Orlando happening on Monday, I got most of my stuff packed up and have been quite busy.

American Idol Thougts

My Favorite This Week: Matt Giraud/Danny Gokey

My Favorite Overall: Adam Lambert (Sorry Ricky)

Who I Think Should Go: Michael Sarver

Old School Universal

So, I was linked to this series of 9 YouTube videos from the old 1991 Souvenir Video from Universal Studios Florida called: "Universal Studios Florida: The Magic Of Movies". It is about an hour long, and I just had an absolute blast watching it. Its incredible to see how much that property has changed since then. Here are some thoughts:

- Wild West show looked like a hoot.
- Love the old KongFrontation ride system.
- Hehe, The Fashions of 1991.
- Not too much is still there from 1991 (ET & Fievel, is about it. You could see the JAWS lake in a few of the overhead shots, but it wasn't mentioned in the video & I think opened later). Some is still similar but different to what was there in 1991 (Horror Make Up, Earthquake, Beetlejuice).
- The aerial shots of the Pre-IOA/CityWalk/Parking Garage Universal are eye openers.
- I think back in 1991 USF was so much better then DHS 1991. Nowadays I prefer the Hollywood Studios.
- The Murder She Wrote Editing Show Looked Awful.

Got a spare hour, check it out:

Final MouseFest Show Now Up

This week its the fourth of four episodes from this past Decembers MouseFest.

American Idol Thougts

My Favorite This Week: Matt Giraud

My Favorite Overall: Adam Lambert

Who I Think Should Go: Michael Sarver