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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/27/2024 in Posts
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I appreciate you coming on here to post whatever news you can give. You don't come off as an official anything, just someone with some knowledge sharing info.1 point
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Hey! It's all good! Most of us are passionate about the park too or we wouldn't be on here. I (and I am sure several others) appreciate any information you feel you can pass along.1 point
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We were up bright and early the next morning to traverse the island, heading first to the Kualoa Ranch. This insanely picturesque, privately owned section of the island is famously favorited as the hottest spot to film movies and shows with tropical, mountainous or forested backgrounds. The ranch's notable filmography includes films from the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise (earning the ranch as second moniker as "Jurassic Valley"), 50 First Dates, George of the Jungle, Kong: Skull Island, LOST and many, many more. The Kualoa Ranch offers a variety of tours and experiences, including a horseback riding experience. While tempting as that was, we were here for something a little more rugged. It is important to note that none of the individual tour options cover ALL that there is to see at the Ranch, so if you're tight on time like we were, you have to choose the one that visits the landmarks and points of interest that matter to you, or plan to experience multiple tour types to maximize your access. Reservations are absolutely recommended and walk-up availability is not guaranteed. Today we'd be piloting UTVs across the grounds of the Kualoa Ranch, the best way to get a sense of adventure off-road while seeing some of the best locations across the property. Kualoa Ranch is expansive and has coastal sections with amazing views as well as inland valleys and forested areas where you couldn't feel farther from the ocean if you tried. Over the years, film/tv production has facilitated the creation of sets that, rather than demolition when production has ended, the Ranch has maintained and reutilized, both for future productions as well as for tours to visit. The money shot. Fans of Jurassic World will recognize this as the station for the Gyrosphere attraction. This bunker was featured in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom--a key location on Isla Nublar as the island is being engulfed in lava from the re-awakened volcano. Absolutely unreal. You do get a chance to exit your UTV for several stops along the tour. This was the partially-built Indominous Rex paddock used in the filming of Jurassic World. Movie magic and digital effects completed the rest to make a fully constructed housing for the villainous dinosaur hybrid who wreaked havoc on the film's namesake park. Iconic imagery from Kong: Skull Island can be found along the tour. Seriously stunning. Another bunker along the route... Notice the tour bus to the left and the open air bus to the right of the bunker. Both are different types of tour options to explore Kualoa Ranch. A breathtaking view which also serves as the perfect location for the finale shot of Jurassic World where the hero T-Rex roars over the remains of the park before the film cuts to the credits. We filmed a ton of footage and took so many more photos over the course of our time at Kualoa Ranch but this magical place is best experienced in person and I can't recommend it enough. Next we drove to the North Shore to experience CLIMB Works - Keana Farms for an amazing zip-lining tour across this side of the island. After our ascent to one of the highest points of Keana Farms, we were met with an opportunity to crack open fresh macadamia nuts with rocks by hand and it was all kinds of fun and tasty. The experience includes zip-lines, rope bridges, rappelling and even some climbing along the way. This was a very active (sometimes tiring) course so it is definitely recommended that you come prepared to work for the reward of getting across the course. Keana Farms is an active agricultural farm as well as a wind farm, so you get some really neat views along the way. You get all kinds of neat views along the way! Did I mention that you rappel several times along the way? The experience includes 8 dual lines (which was great for us as a couple being able to zip alongside each other), 2 rappels, 3 sky bridges, a floating staircase, an ATV ride and a few surprises (hope you have core strength in your body!). Proof it was me who endured all of this. The guides are awesome and ensure you have a safe, fun and funny trip along the way... They encouraged us on this one line to try experiencing it upside down, so this was my POV. That's me on the left, just hanging out. I mentioned earlier that LOST was filmed at Kualoa Ranch, and while that is true, the production spanned much of Honolulu (and at times, beyond). One such famous location was the "Others' Camp" which is actually a YMCA on the far end of the island. With permission from the operating staff, you are allowed to visit the grounds to see this notable location. It has been repainted from its recognizable orange color but the Dharma Initiative houses-turned Others' homes-turned Oceanic Flight 815-survivors' homes are still the ones you would have seen on the show. We made the long drive back to Aulani and checked in for our first official night at the resort. In case you're wondering what a room in Aulani looks like, here you go. Such a fun touch! Color me intrigued! After a very active day we decided to take in some stargazing with our outdoor dinner at Makahiki. The restaurant has a beautiful interior that really looks great at night. Some incredibly fresh ahi tuna for dinner. Leave it to Disney to help us celebrate in small but meaningful ways! Roasted Pineapple Cobbler with a Haupia Gelato for the win! And since it was Valentine's Day during our visit we picked up some special macarons from the resort to enjoy! On the walk back to our room we noticed this neat mural. Quite incredible. The next morning we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise over Aulani. And the view from our balcony... We returned to Makahiki that morning for breakfast complete with a serenade... And a first for us--Red Velvet Minnie Waffles (accompanied by more traditional Mickey Waffles)! Punaluu Sweet Bread French Toast was my treat for the morning. Part of the benefit of breakfast at Makahiki is that you get to meet several characters in their Aulani gear! Goofy's hard at work in the kitchen! And Max has taken up being a server for the day! We also saw Minnie and Pluto during our visit. And yes, fans of POG Juice can rejoice that they have it available for breakfast at Aulani... I might have had so much that they sent me out with a to-go cup for the road. Stitch caps this update off... But there was a lot more fun at Aulani still to come!1 point
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And yet you come on here and socialize all the time with people who do actually care about those things.1 point
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For the record two of the best-run seasonal parks in the country with the highest guest satisfaction numbers routinely post updates on what is going on around the parks during the off season. If those kinds of updates diluted the product or signaled desperation they wouldn't be the best. Now maybe those updates don't contribute directly to their quality and their goodwill at all and maybe they'd be even better without them, or maybe they're a huge part of WHY they're so good. Truth rarely lies in the extremes. Some people like behind the scenes content. Others don't. Behind the scenes stuff very rarely ends up being a negative and has nothing at all to do with lowering expectations1 point
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Perhaps I am in the minority but I really think the park should focus on maintaining their current 20 coasters and, dare I say, have a portion of the year where they are all open at once - as well as fix up a bunch of the severely outdated infrastructure throughout the park before they open up coaster #21. With that being said, coaster #21 will bring them attendance and $$$ versus fixing up operations and infrastructure which doesn't have an ROI so, what do I know lol.1 point