disneyfan1313

Love it! I collect a lot of "paper" items as well so its nice to see some VERY unique things in your collection. Do you do the shadowbox / framing yourself or do you have someone who does it for you? Oh - and let me know if anything ends up on ebay...

That was *really* awesome that you guys got to do that before you leave! Thanks for posting it - it was great to see the ariel views of Dollywood. I've done a helicopter ride before but it was over flat Florida - did the wind whip you around a lot with all the hills and mountains?

^ I have heard that quite a bit as well. I think if they can communicate it correctly and sell it as a "soft opening" of the land and not the ride it will be OK. I think they will get some AP traffic of folks who want to see the wand store, try Butterbeer, etc.

Was that hole really just concrete? Are these places generally kept up a bit better during the season or are they always a bit ghetto?

This whole situation is *very* strange and I am glad TPR is bringing some attention to it. I have to wonder what would have happened if it had never been questioned. I imagine that the manufacturer requirements don't state a height requirement if parks in Europe don't mandate one. If no MR then the intelligent solution would be to look at the comparable attractions in the area...

Price point is a bit too high for me with the limited new features but the data plan is intriguing. I love the "Pay only when you need it" concept and also the blurb about international data options coming in June. This would be awesome if I could pay a flat fee for unlimited data in Europe just for the month I am traveling.

I am wondering if they are looking to market to tourists as well as locals. I think it might be a bit tougher of a sell because the average tourist to Beijing probably doesn't bring a bathing suit! Have there been any rumors about capacity? I feel like the existing locker and changing areas couldn't handle as many people as could be in the park.

Well looking at the wording of "Entertainment Resort", I have to believe it will have more than just a standard waterpark. Perhaps they are looking at doing some type of "all-inclusive" resort or even more attractions (mini-golf, etc). It will be interesting to see more details.

I like the "nighttime experience" twist. I wonder if that will help spread lines throughout the day more or if it will just cause many re-rides at night.

I realize he can't say anything else - but a FANTASTIC location?!?! How about "A location we can deal with". A FANTASTIC location would be at I-4 and 192 or next to the convention center. LOL. Also the "historically" attracted a million visitors a year - most of their "popular" years were back when folks drove on US-27 before the Florida Turnpike! I also agree about the Water Ski show - why bother? It was a below average show to begin with - what are they going to do? Have Lego characters ski? I feel like I am watching HRP all over again....

^^ You do realize that they bring a TON of $$ to the area and it is because of them that WDW has the hours and the staffing that it does this time of year... right? It is important to be respectful and grateful for all of your customers no matter what industry you work in - but especially the hospitality industry.

^ We do - its called the Dania Beach Hurricane and its surprisingly decent! I am curious about the hump in the seat as well - put those trains on something like Gwazi and I can imagine it would be horribly painful! Just out of curiosity, what is the silver bar behind the seat for?

This might be a silly question, but has Zamprela ever *run* a park before? I looked on their website and it has a brief blurb about "management" but no specifics and I can't remember hearing about them doing more beyond park design.

I think Starliner would not exactly fit with their brand image. They want attractions that most of the family can experience together - plus the costs to maintain a "historic" woody are probably a bit prohibitive.

Add me to the list of folks who are going to be sad to see these updates go. But on the good side - welcome to Orlando!

I have to go with Boulder Dash. That at night was one of the most perfect coaster experiences I have ever had.

Finally catching up on movies - saw Sherlock Holmes tonight. Really, really enjoyed it! Loved the stylized look, the way the story all came together and Robert Downey Jr. was really great.

Just out of curiosity has Kennywood ever said *officially* why they didn't offer a season pass in the past? I think as more and more parks offer them (even smaller ones!) they would probably end up turning some customers away by not having them. Little confused by the "limited" part and how they are going to announce that and administer that. Or - is the "limited" some ridiculous # like 1million and they are just saying that to make folks happy.

I would ride the first and not the second. The first one is not far enough off the ground to do any real damage - the second looks like you could die on!

The other concern that I am not sure has been brought up is where they are going to find their labor pool. My memories of Cypress Gardens include many ride ops with "meth mouth" and a general redneck feel. Not sure that is the image that Merlin wants. Sure - they might be able to get some folks who live on the Disney side of 27 (by I-4) to work there but I don't think many of the hospitality industry folks who live in the WDW / Universal area will be willing to make the hour drive. And a note on the drive on US-27 - it is a borderline country small road. Its poorly maintained, lots of lights that take forever with semi-trucks and pickups driving very slowly. One accident and the road grinds to a halt. It is a *miserable* drive when I visit friends who just live in Haines City - further than that feels like you are driving through rural Mississippi or Alabama. Don't get me wrong - I want this park to succeed.. I just am not sure it is possible.

I think the challenge they have will be two fold. 1) Convince all the visitors who have no rental car and who are enjoying their resort area (either I-Drive, WDW or Universal) to either get a car for a day or arrange bus transportation for the hour drive to this property. 2) Convince people to take a day out of their already crowded plans to visit. It is very tough to do everything in the Orlando area for the average visitor. Add another park in to the mix? Something is going to get cut. The examples of other regional parks that survive when they are in the middle of no-where are a bit flawed. The reason they survive is they are the best option in the area. In Orlando when you have the competition of some of the busiest and most popular parks in the world? I'm not sure they can do it regardless of what they put in there. The cherry on top of all of this is the infrastructure in the area. I'm not sure all those small county roads can survive the much greater traffic that they would need to for this park to be a success. Living in Orlando I could get to BGT faster than I could to Cypress... that should tell you something.

What an awesome time we all had! The pictures can't even begin to show all the shenanigans and fun that were had by all. Thanks again to Elissa for planning it and to everyone else for being so much fun!

I've heard good things about atlantic.net . They are based in Orlando and have a good rep around here and I know they do dedicated servers.

Boy and His Blob is on sale this week at Best Buy for only $19.99. This is a seriously great game at full price, much less $19.99!

I personally think it is a great idea. I think it is important to realize the cost to run a site like this and to help support something we all get a lot of enjoyment out of. I don't know about you guys, but the enjoyment and entertainment I get out of reading TPR, watching videos on CoasterTube, etc. is worth WAY more than 3.33 a month.