robbalvey

You need to see more theme park shows! I respectfully disagree... whereas Illuminations is the BEST NIGHTTIME SHOW IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT, World of Color is severely underrated. Just my opinion. My original description of World of Color from when I saw it on media day was: "It's like watching movie trailers in the shower" And I still stick with that! Personally, I feel like World of Color took the most boring parts of other shows like Illuminations and Fantasmic! and compiled them into one long uninteresting show. Fountains and movie screens just do nothing for me. It was nice that they added a little bit of fire to it, but that still doesn't do it for me! BUT...if that was the first big "night time show" you've seen, I can see why you would enjoy it. Personally, it only gets better...MUCH BETTER from World of Color onward!

You need to see more theme park shows!

I might know what those stones are...

Damn, you should have tweeted at us. We almost never check the forums when we are busy doing a media event, sorry. It's almost exclusively social media for us at those things! Here's a little video we put together from today. Should have a whole report up soon! [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]

We will have a full HHN 26 report soon, but for now here is a walk through video of the American Horror Story Maze:

^ I was joking.

Yeah, that doesn't mean anything. I'm sure Richard Michael Crosby was his real name and the initials are just a coincidence...

I'm actually having a really good time responding in it! And besides, Rick knows everything I said is 100% true!

It's people like you that ruined the ride for everyone else. Mean Streak was one of the smoothest wooden coasters when i rode it earlier this year, front seat ride. Or are you just not smart enough to realize the front of the train is smoother than the back? There is absolutely NO REASON for you to be that rude and obnoxious to someone else on our forum. Banned for one week for being an asshole.

Ha! The Log Flume pic turned out great!

It's creepy af. Don't push your wacky religious beliefs on me. And if you're going to do it, don't do it subliminally. Maybe that's another reason why I just don't really like the place. Food is over-rated and they're a bunch of pretentious bible-thumpers. Not for me, sorry...

This is another issue I have with In-N-Out. I don't really know anyone that doesn't customize it. The normal Double Double is actually kind of gross. You pretty much HAVE to customize it for it to be "decent." Animal Style. Chopped Onions. Extra Toast. Flying Dutchman. Etc, etc... It annoys me that the "vanilla" items on their menu are not their signature items. I mean, I still feel like if I walk into a McDonalds and I order a Double Quarter Pounder right off the normal menu I get a decent burger every time. I don't have to *DO ANYTHING* to make it good. It's just good when they hand it to you. And the stupid pretentious "Secret Menu" of In-N-Out (which really isn't a secret) is just so damn annoying. Here's an idea,... PUT THE ITEMS YOU CAN ORDER ON YOUR ACTUAL MENU!!!!! Why all the guessing and hidden crap? Ugh, I really just don't like that place. I'll go when someone else wants to go and I don't dislike the food, but I personally think it's one of the most over-rated anythings in the history of over-rated things. I really don't like the overall vibe of In-N-Out. I have to remind myself to take a Sharpee with me so I can cross out the hidden bible verses on their cups and wrappers, too. That annoys me more than anything. Yes. They are seriously some of the worst most disgusting fries I've ever eaten. I don't care if they are fresh or came out of an elephant's butt. They're just gross.

Wh...why is it white. Does it have to be white? Can it not be white? STOP BEING WHITE!!! IT LOOKS WEIRD!!! Keep in mind that is NOT painted. That is sun bleached or whatever you want to call it. I don't think I've ever seen any other wood coaster turn white due to natural weathering. It's honestly quite weird.

#DUMB #UNDERSTATEMENT #LIE #FIXED #DUMB ...and not just because you don't know the difference between "there" and "their"

Then we had some ridiculously annoying persons at West Coast Bash this year!

Do we have anyone who would be interested in covering the Haunt media event for TPR on Sept 23rd? If yes, please email robbalvey@themeparkreview.com When you email us, please give us at least a little bit of information as to who you are. Thanks.

Do we have anyone that would be interested in covering the Fright Fest media event for TPR on Sept 25th? If so please email robbalvey@themeparkreview.com When you email us, please give us at least a little bit of information as to who you are. Thanks.

Food & Wine Festival opened on Wednesday and of course we were there! We will be at the media event on Saturday so we will have more to share this weekend. But for now, here's some pics... Today is opening day for @WDWToday #EpcotFoodFestival! Our absolute favorite annual theme park event! The #EpcotFoodFestival is open daily! Let's go check it out! Here's a look at some of this years #EpcotFoodFestival merchandise! Love the new logos! 2016 #EpcotFoodFestival guide includes booth stickers! No more holding up lines to get stamps! Great idea! #EpcotFoodFestival food booths getting ready to open for their first time this year! Once again, @ElissaAlvey is first in line for Pot Stickers in China! Our first stop @WDWToday #EpcotFoodFestival is China! Unfortunately they've radically changed the PotSticker sauce this year. Sadly, It's not good. Compared to previous years, the Potsticker sauce is now like a BBQ sauce. Flavor is disappointing. It's very strange because this seems like a very unusual choice for potsticker sauce. Here's a look at Africa! The Italy pavilion is a little taste of @realtuttoitalia Everyone will be Wang Chunging tonight! You can always find some good stuff in Japan! The new Hummus Fries in Morocco are FANTASTIC! Now on the "must have" list! New #EpcotFoodFestival stickers are AWESOME! Eliminates line cutters & waiting for guests wanting stamps! New France items also delicious! Onion soup & alcoholic push pops are thumbs up! We are celebrating another "fish free year" in Canada! YAY!!! Always awesome running into TPR fans @WDWToday #Epcot! We love you guys!!! Menu items @WDWToday #EpcotFoodFestival Patagonia booth are always delicious! New "Islands of the Caribbean" area had some great looking dishes! The new "Next Eats" area has old favorites along with new items! Some @WDWToday #EpcotFoodFestival items that will help you make your visit even easier! Wrapping up this visit @WDWToday #EpcotFoodFestival with the always awesome and now "@TheChew approved" Pork Slider! See ya later #EpcotFoodFestival! We will be back for more on Saturday!

You know, I super appreciate this comment. I have a lot and I mean a *LOT* of respect for someone who has dietary restrictions and takes it upon themselves to be responsible about it. Instead of coming to an event and complaining that we aren't catering specifically to certain people's needs, like we heard some vegan and gluten-free people loudly bitching and complaining on Saturday. Like, really, guys? You're at a catered lunch at Magic Mountain. If you're looking for specially developed Vegan and Gluten Free items, DON'T expect them to be at the catered lunch at Magic Mountain. I think they just wanted to make sure everyone around them knew they were Vegan, though. But seriously, as someone who lives with a picky eater and knows a lot of people with dietary restrictions, it means a lot to us that you were responsible enough to take care of it, and not expect us to personally cater to everyone. Thank you.

I will never understand the hype for In-N-Out. It's an "ok" burger at best. The fries are terrible, but they do make a pretty good shake. And don't even get me started on the creepy-as-hell bible versus hidden on their cups and wrappers. I'm not sure if people love it because they actually like or so many people say how good it is and it's already planted in their brain that it's awesome. I really don't know. I just know that, while I don't "dislike" In-N-Out, it has never, ever lived up to the hype for me. Personally, I'll take Five Guys, Shake Shack, The Counter, Burger Fi, even Carl's Jr. over In-N-Out any day. It's an "ok" burger, maybe even a "decent" burger, but as someone who was born & raised in SoCal, it just never grew on me and I'll never get why people like it so much. Great start to the report! Looking forward to the rest.

FIXED!

Same.

And that's all it is... "A SHOW"' Beyond that, the rest of it is "A JOKE"

Without naming names, a certain company that produces and overhauls wood coaster trains continues continues to produce the same product for years and years. After a year of operation on a brand new coaster, my park of employment asks about abnormally worn parts throughout the train. The ride manufacturer says the trains do not handle modern track designs very well. The response from the company who made the trains says to us, "Well, your track is too extreme." This company continues to produce trains that are nearly identical to trains produced almost two decades ago with very little innovation. Unfortunately, innovations in wooden coaster trains can't come fast enough, and the high price tags aren't always favorable for an instant change for parks. Many parks are stuck with these outdated trains on modern track layouts that bang along the track causing excessive wear and premature track repair and upkeep costs. Hopefully Millennium Flyers, Timberliners, and RMC trains continue to improve and many parks begin to convert to them. It's a shame you wouldn't mention the certain company name. I'm trying to figure it out, but I have no idea. In any case, I certainly hope the ride you're taking about eventually gets the Proper Train Care it deserves.

But would it? Again this is the issue I have. Don't get me wrong, I love LOVE Knoebel's "quick service" food options. Damn, it's good. But when it comes to quick-service offerings please don't make me have to choose between Cesari's pizza and Japan's Chicken Katsu Curry. Or an order of Perogies and China's Mongolian Beef Noodles. Or a funnel cake and a German pretzel w/ Grapefruit beer. Or an ice cream sandwich and France's Croque Glace. Or a Rib-B-Q and Morocco's Falafel Wrap. There is simply so much good food, either restaurant or quick-serve at Epcot, that it *DOES* put it at an unfair advantage over other parks. So you either have to automatically call it #1 or just not include Epcot at all. But the fact that it's not #1 is not right either. And this doesn't even take the Food & Wine or Flower & Garden festivals into consideration which now run almost 6 months out of the year at Epcot. The only way to eliminate Epcot from winning is if you labeled the category "Traditional Amusement Park/Carnival Food." And this right here is really the problem with the Golden Ticket awards. It's one thing if you're going to poll "roller coaster enthusiasts" to rank the roller coasters. Fine. While I might not agree with the silly and sponsored results, at least the people voting have an area of expertise in the field. But the people voting "best food" are *NOT* culinary experts. The majority of them inherently are going to have about enough culinary intelligence to eat a funnel cake or cheese on the stick. I'll bet 90% of the people voting for the Golden Ticket awards aren't even smart enough to know what "Chicken Katsu Curry" or "Croque Glace" is even after Googling it and reading the description! So why are they voting on "best food" when they aren't qualified to do so? They shouldn't be. And THIS is why the Golden Ticket awards are flawed and completely stupid.